Board 8 > 428 Shibuya Scramble Playthrough Topic

(+) Yeah! (+)

BAD NO.35

CATS

i have no words

how convenient that osawa found out 6 days ago that hitomi was infected with the ua virus, but it hasn't come up in any other dialogue/inner thoughts until now =/

oh, so its not that hitomi had the antiviral on her somehow, it's that she literally got injected with it.

and i guess if you kidnap her you can somehow do tests on her to reverse engineer it...?

Dels posted...

how convenient that osawa found out 6 days ago that hitomi was infected with the ua virus, but it hasn't come up in any other dialogue/inner thoughts until now =/

Yeah you'd think his mind would go there right away lol. Dude is in another world though
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hm. i guess i'm starting to come around to the idea that maybe hitomi really is hitomi =P

not everything needs to be a twist i guess... sigh...

my suspension of disbelief is being massively challenged this chapter

it's such a lucky coincidence that when achi stumbles into maria and calls out for her, he never says "hitomi!"

14:00-15:00 Thoughts

- Started Tama! Two good routes I could go down early on and I'm curious towards, and then... well, good to see Tanaka's a bad guy right away. ****.

- Go to Kano! Keep Out for who owns the condo the ransom money was going to. Hmm...

- Achi time! Early interest in Canaan. Also, all you can eat ice cream for ten-million yen? Sounds like a midday snack for Chiri! Maria went to the Middle East with Ozawa? I thought that was Hitomi...? Probably misremembering the photo story beats.
- Definitely starting to drop my guard on Hitomi. The college party story is hitting me in some feels. Though Hitomi's smile... felt less like she was happy about getting to apologize to Maria and more... "I can't believe he fell for such a dumb story."
- YANAGI! Wow, this magazine is getting passed everywhere. Who will end up with the scratch card?
- And Tanaka's talking about the minivan and a lock. Yaaaay. Tanaka is the evil.
- OH GOD!!! XD XD, the plates in front of Chiri, daughter of Goku

- Osawa! Didn't expect Tanaka to get tackled since he's been in the mall. And of course Ai gave it to him, she has bugs too.
- Hitomi is carrying the drug, in theory? Ugh, I wish that I didn't see Hobbs & Shaw yesterday because I don't remember which supervirus does which.
- Another keep out! So soon!

- Minorikawa! It's been two days and I already forgot about his laptop issue. Feels like he's got some Weird Al "Trapped in the Drive Thru" drama half the time.
- Poor smart waitress.
- ...XD XD XD. Minorikawa's face is priceless. And he's been reading copy aloud. Heh, you know who is not amused? Kano's girlfriend's dad just looking so done with Minori from two tables away. Damn, how long have they been in the restaurant now? Three hours?
- Ooh, Kanodad owns up! FLIMFLAM!
- Kano's girlfriend was a judge for Miss Midoriyama. Maybe she could enlighten us as to whether Hitomi was really deserving or not!
- Maria and Hitomi do not share the same blood type. Sounds very important, especially with Bombay blood being a thing.

- To Tamaria! Whoa, a photo of... Stanley?! Whaaaat?! With the fritzing perspective and the red curtains in the background, I'm getting even bigger Twin Peaks vibes.
- Canaan tattoo!!
- Lookin' cute Miss Midoriyama! Dodges Achi, skips Tanaka, misses Chiri, but hey there's Hana!
- Cane guy is here, too! Everyone is coming together!
- Whoa! Tama wasn't just skilled fighting off the pro wrestler earlier. Now she takes out debt collectors and poses on them! Hell yes!
- To be continued! Alright, so... who does Tateno work for? Who left the storehouse door open? What happened in the Middle East? Where did Hana go? And how cute is Maria's new outfit?

- To Achi! XD, chasing Hitomi down, then Maria up!
- Toyama popping in and out for like two screens is never not hilarious.
- D'awwwwwwww! Nothing says perfect match like proper recycling!!
- Toyama and Yanaga, fighting over the scratch ticket, both with regards to dealing with the debt collectors. WELL PLAYED!
- Haha, the thugs running away from Hitomi. Twin magic!
- Ugh, to be continued again with mysterious Canaan.

- To Ozawa! Minorikawa calling on the tapped phone line, lol.
- Wait, he DID do that to Hitomi?!

He wasn't actually on his hands and knees, but he doesn't realize they see him through the intercom camera. AND YET HE POINTS!

- Wonder who Stanley's brother is in relation to all this.
- Street dancer Sasayama XD
- O_o NOOOOO...
- NOOOO AND IT'S TO BE CONTINUED TOO?! DAMMIT

- I like how Minorikawa finally officially enters the storyline. I just wish he spent a moment to tell them about the dry ice machine.......

Good chapter, 31 bad ends.
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lol, sorry i'm behind, probably finishing 14:00-15:00 tonight though

oh. in achi's story he actually calls her name as she leaves. in maria's though i could swear he only said "hey! hey!"

still too late for her to hear and say "oh, do you know my name?" i guess though

tfw sasayama gets stabbed but its not a bad end =/

ok, 14:00-15:00 done and no need for spoiler bars for it anymore

gotta sleep, comments (if any) tomorrow

_stingers_ posted...

Oh man, pretty hunny is definitely kanos girlfriend's father. They basically spell it out. That's pretty hilarious, though. I've actually really enjoyed this games humor for the most part, it's made me laugh out loud a few times

wait what. i didn't get this at all. but i'm sure you're right lmao

yeah i'm basically not only done with my "hitomi and maria are switched" theory but I'm also basically starting to trust hitomi. i actually don't think she's hiding anything anymore...?

maybe i'm being fooled.

but her relationship with achi is just too cute.

urgh, i dunno, maybe i'm falling for it... must remain vigilant...

Dels posted...

yeah i'm basically not only done with my "hitomi and maria are switched" theory but I'm also basically starting to trust hitomi. i actually don't think she's hiding anything anymore...?

maybe i'm being fooled.

but her relationship with achi is just too cute.

urgh, i dunno, maybe i'm falling for it... must remain vigilant...

Saaaame. I'm also beginning to think Maria is only so wholesome because of the amnesia and might actually have been a monster? I don't know! I'm doubting our neko protagonist!'

Also, if there is one thing I want more than anything out of this game that I fully expect it not to have is extra post-game storyline content with just straight VNs of the ancillary characters going through the day. Toyama & Hana, Kawa, and especially Sasayama. ESPECIALLY Sasayama. Since Tamaria's changed her menu outfit three times, I want to see Sasayama's outfits in all their glory PLUS his inner monologues that span multiple pages for his costume choices and transformations.
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I was actually surprised at how quickly Maria changed outfits! She just had her char-select image changed, and then halfway into the chapter its changed again

I like your theory that Maria is actually a monster, but wasn't Maria (allegedly) good friends with Canaan? And Canaan seems like a good person who wouldn't be friends with a bad person...

What I'm wondering, honestly, is how long the game is. I don't actually know this and don't really want to be told since it's sort of spoiler-y? But also maybe not. I see a lot of achievements on the list but this game surely won't go all 24 hours, will it?

This game's pacing is so good though. I have to say it's quite refreshing after Umineko. Never a dull moment. Things always moving along. Feels like just yesterday I was still at like, early hours "just starting out, meeting the characters" and yet suddenly we're at some pretty climactic stuff, with big things happening every chapter.

pretty weird start to 15:00-16:00

started with minorikawa, yanagishita steals the laptop but it's not a bad ending! i have to admit i am actually feeling physical stress from how much time is being wasted here. we'll never get the magazine articles done! of course, i chose to spend 10 minutes telling the company about the ice machine, because, well, we made a promise.

and then there's an explosion and we die i guess, so.

uh.

will have to find out more about that.

Canaan reveals that Maria was kidnapped by mistake and that they really wanted Hitomi.

This is a "reveal" but I think the player basically already knows it at this point, it's been heavily inferred.

And Canaan introduces the concept of a Mastermind. There's a main villain in this game - and we have no idea who it is. But... it's probably... someone we've met.

Well, there goes your theory that Maria is a monster. She actually sacrificed herself to save Hitomi.

And the necklace is a GPS tracker I'm sure.

omg

to save achi's life, i have to make minorikawa not tell them about the ice machine?!

NOOOOOOO

oooook. according to an info screen, AI and multiple personalities are a thing now.

uh.

hm.

yanagishita actually has a proper idea for once - chiri really CAN get us ten million yen from this eating contest

i'm a little surprised though that the side characters for everyone have all stayed relevant

like i kinda thought yanagishita's arc was done and we'd move on

but every main character has basically kept the same supporting cast so far.

in fact i kind of wonder if yanagishita would've been a stronger character if we just ended his plot with the minorikawa interview after the sales demo

uh

apparently its a bad end because... meeting yanagishita there and joining the eating contest is bad... and we should've had him meet us in the alleyway instead?

that feels kinda forced. nothing actually bad happened.

most bad ends are very clearly like "bad thing happens, you die/waste your day", this one was just kinda like "eh, you didn't do what we wanted so let's just say it's a bad end"

Hm. So Maria is infected with the Ua virus and will go active in a few hours?

But...

That doesn't make sense. I thought Tateno (Cane man, but let's just call him Tateno) was after Hitomi for that reason - because she has the virus and needs to die to save everyone. But... Maria has it...?

I'm a bit confused then as well, because if Maria has the virus, why was Hitomi the real target? So the criminals want Hitomi because she has the antiviral, is that seperate from whoever injected Maria...?

hm.

finished achi, minorikawa, and maria.

haven't even started kano or osawa. tomorrow.

Finished 15:00-16:00

Osawa and Kano's sections were actually quite sweet.

I actually do really like Osawa as a character, and even though his chapters are constantly derailed by shenanigans, he gets one of the most serious scenes in the game here as he finally opens up to Kajiwara and discusses all his shortcomings. It's quite nice and I feel bad for him.

Kano, surprisingly, also has a sentimental scene, with Rumi's father, who is, uh, much less immature this time around.

Nice stuff.

Still confused about why Hitomi is the "target" when Maria is the infected one... Why does Tateno want Hitomi dead then? Is there really a twin switch after all?! It doesn't feel like it...

also Ai's shriek basically confirms she was romantically involved with Tanaka, I assume

16:00 - 17:00

So Maria met Canaan when Canaan saved her from some thugs...? Just like Hitomi met Achi when he saved her from the criminals... See the parallel? And yes, this means I'm shipping Maria/Canaan, they're totally in love with each other

Dels posted...

also Ai's shriek basically confirms she was romantically involved with Tanaka, I assume

yeah thats what I got out of it

the plot is really good now, i want to play 16-17 soon but refraining from reading your latest post until then
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kanos scene with the father nearly made me cry it was pretty sweet
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15:00 - 16:00

- I got a Snickers bar and as I paused to eat it, the screen moved over to a weird code. Now I'm in a special episode regarding Rumi o_O. Maybe my dreams of a Sasayama episode might come true... with some special attention and patience for more hidden treasures?
- FMV of Stanley and Kano!
- Ooh, the medal has a GPS device? And Maria was supposed to give it to Hitomi?
- A random Minorikawa shows up! ...And gets Achi stabbed.
- The detective assassin knows Maria, and Maria will hate him?
- Oh goodness... Yanagi!!!
- Achi's bad end adds to Ozawa's bad end!

- A lot of playing without notes, but now that Minorikawa is listening to Kano... oh ****, Maria's infected >_<
- Toyama didn't kill himself though? He walked off with Hana...
- Stanley knows Canaan. Maria was with Canaan in the Middle East. There was a bioterrorist attack two years prior. Stanley knows all about the Ua virus... hmm... lots of dots I haven't connected yet.

- Huh. Kano is talking with Shizuo, and Rumi is out doing something. And the first time we've seen Aya is when she bought poems from Hana... ....Naaaahhhhh. Kano can't be so oblivious either, what with Aya on every visible poster and screen in Shibuya, and everyone's ringtones.
- TANAKA?! Hmm, ID from the personal belongings? Then... Tanaka faked his death?

Got all the endings for this hour, then decided to get some more in previous hours.
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16:00 to 17:00

Wow!

This hour was insane.

Where to begin?

Osawa's plot was short and sweet again - I told you Kajiwara was a good guy! Osawa and Kajiwara becoming buds is very heartwarming. Osawa's self-introspection continues and I still feel bad for him.

Tateno's backstory flashback was heartbreaking, damn! I was nearly in tears at that, and this is just a story of some side characters! Beyond that, it's just incredibly sad that Tateno is ultimately not a hero or a good guy after all... Just a sad man who was broken by love and his job. Feels bad for Kano.

And then... Maria got an "end"!? What?! How?! Her story is just barely beginning! I guess the game has other plans in mind and we don't get to see her PoV anymore, but still... Feels like a bit of a letdown when she's so important to the plot and we were just starting to get somewhere. We barely spent any time with her outside of the cat suit anyway...

I can't tell if this means a) the story is winding down and there's only a couple hours left, and so we'll get a few more Ends... or b) the story is just getting started and we're going to slot in a new PoV character.

I'm kind of hoping for the latter... There's a decent amount of characters that I could see slotting themselves in if the first 5 characters get more Ends...

16:00-17:00

- Makino was silent for a few moments. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Star Fox."
- Bureaucracy is complicated. Yes, the fate of all mankind rests on what happens in the next few hours, but there's a process!
- Sent from inside the house?!?!
- Geez. To be continued already?!
- The "Batista" procedure doesn't involve powerbombs or https://twitter.com/XavierWoodsPhD/status/1105333721547317248
*thumbsdownbatista.gif*
- This sister story happening right now DEFINITELY feels like one of those mid-season 24 storylines to give a main character something to do.
- Organ damage on Sasayama... hm... either there's going to be organ harvesting or a donation to Suzune!
- I like how we get a detailed backstory on Kuze's older brother randomly.
- Time to play Minorikawa and stop everyone else's bad ends!
- The 'klutz' message reads like a 'henway'.
- Seventeen years ago? ...What?
- O_O
- Kotone Endo... oh my god...
- Wow. I made a comment about Suzune's story feeling out of place earlier, and now it's central and pivotal to several characters.
- ...Damn ;_;
- Wait, is... is he going after Hitomi to save Suzune? But... then what's all this about the virus? Is Tateno using what's happening there as a smokescreen to get at Hitomi for himself?? That explains why he hasn't killed Maria who has the virus, and why he wants to kill Hitomi who has the antiviral, and how he hasn't mixed the two up on that front...
- Daisuke pleading for Tateno to kill Hitomi? Wait... Yanagisus, this is getting hairy.
- Damn, is Achi going to be confronted with this choice?!
- Is that Daisuke attacking Maria with the hammer?!?!
- Forgot about Alphard. Who will he be?
- Ooh, cat's cradle as a back-and-forth string-pulling game, not unlike 428SS is a back-and-forth string-pulling game...
- WAIT WHAT?!?! WHAT?!?! *pokes Maria repeatedly* WHAT DO YOU MEAN END?! *points aggressively* YOU STILL HAVE TO, UM, TELL MINORIKAWA YOUR STORY OF BEING MISS MIDORIYAMA! (Was it Midoriyama? As in Mt. Midoriyama? Oh my god. She's Miss Midoriyama and Canaan is her Ninja Warrior!!!)
- *saves Achi by getting his attacker to go back and find a better weapon*
*kills Achi five seconds later*
- Can't tell if Jack Stanley's ID is a real fake ID or a deliberate fake ID. "United states of America." Ooh, I hope the entire thing is a bad translation on Japan's end! That would be fun!
- ****... Achi's dad has been tracking Achi this entire time... Poor Achi...
- Flashbacks: The Episode
- Heaven Publishing trying to do more, but only the gossip sells.
- OMG BABY HANA IS SMILING!!!
- Aw, dang! I did everything right with Kano and everyone is TBC. I need to do a few things different to get some more BAD ENDs! ...Even if the BAD ENDs are not very funny anymore...
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"Ooh, cat's cradle as a back-and-forth string-pulling game, not unlike 428SS is a back-and-forth string-pulling game..."

ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh.

I think it was a pretty cool mislead that you assumed Tateno was hunting Hitomi for the greater good. Until you learn Maria's the one with the virus, it made sense to assume maybe Hitomi had it or needed to be killed to save anyone. And of course, the game sets you up, because you follow Kano's PoV, and Kano sees Tateno as a hero. And with Stanley's insistence otherwise, it really feels like we're meant to understand "Tateno must be a good guy, but why is he doing it"

But he just isn't. He's not a good guy. And honestly, I don't even see him as a bad guy. He's just a broken guy.

His actions led to the woman he loved being murdered right in front of him. And to his best friend losing his wife.

I can certainly understand why he'd do this.

It's really tragic.

And I'm still surprised how much the game makes me care, even with its cheesy live action shots.

the other thematic thing going on is,of course, that alphard (or whatever their name is) likes creating plans that rely on randomness and coincidence

and hey, that's what the game is about!

Toyama's flashbacks and storyline are actually pretty touching as well. He was introduced as sort of a pathetic character and almost just a joke, but the storyline is actually very sweet. This game is good at pulling on the heartstrings. (get it, strings? cat's cradle?)

Just realized part of why that felt like such a dark chapter, and was so reminiscent of the first chapter in that regard... it's the first chapter without Yanagi and/or Chiri!

Maria's part has ended!!! ;____;
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I don't really understand Maria's part ending, but she is sort of with Achi now so maybe she'll just keep being in other people's stories and doesn't need her own PoV anymore? I dunno. Still weird. Do you think someone will replace her?

Dels posted...

Toyama's flashbacks and storyline are actually pretty touching as well. He was introduced as sort of a pathetic character and almost just a joke, but the storyline is actually very sweet. This game is good at pulling on the heartstrings. (get it, strings? cat's cradle?)

Yes, Minorikawa's flashbacks to Toyama were excellently realized and showed just why Toyama was someone he felt duty-bound to help as much as possible. A majority of these side characters getting bits of limelight has been amazing. Common thread through this hour has been showing the main character's heroes aren't nearly as perfect or strong as they imagined, even being very broken and desperate:
- Kano's reverence for Tateno, Tateno's reason for the gasoline, and his tragic backstory with Kotone
--- Even has a small moment with Kuze and the heavy load that the day carries, and thoughts on Sasayama
- Achi's revelation at the end about his father.
--- Even extends to Susumu and his reverence of Achi, how he tried his hardest to live up to Achi and despairs in his role, feeling completely abandoned
- Minorikawa's relationship with Toyama, how he became the persistent writer he is, and knows just how rough a time Toyama had before he tragically 'died'
--- And he passes on Toyama's teachings to Chiaki!
- Maria reflecting on Canaan and learning of her past, accepting her past, and becoming her own person again
- Ozawa... his dealings and despair trying to get his boss to help definitely count, as well as revelations about his wife sending the e-mails. I like the friendship and relating to Kujiwara as well.
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Dels posted...

I don't really understand Maria's part ending, but she is sort of with Achi now so maybe she'll just keep being in other people's stories and doesn't need her own PoV anymore? I dunno. Still weird. Do you think someone will replace her?

??? She's on the rooftop with Tateno and Kano. Hitomi's with Achi, silly =-P
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oh man. thanks for doing the heavy hitting thematic analysis that i am not

Sorry, I meant Kano, not Achi

THE PRINTER GUY lS ALPHARD

i'm calling it

uh, i mean, 17:00-18:00 commentary from here on out

this game has a way of making every character sympathetic, even when you thought they wouldn't be

even ai is sort of sympathetic. now that she's admitted the truth about everything...

in fact, it's good they are both being honest with each other. maybe they could actually be friends without these circumstances they were forced into.

sigh... and i'm stuck again...?

not enough jumps...

i have achi and kano at the electronic store, but they both get KEEP OUT

minorikawa is done

but osawa is KEEP OUT'd after talking to ai

I feel like I've done all the jumps I can, but nothing is working?

i'll have to make some other choices... maybe...? but I dunno.

achi's KEEP OUT is right when someone (maria?) arrives at the door, which feels almost like you can still play as maria. but you... can't...? right?

yeah, i've got nothing. someone please give me a hint if possible!