Let's Play Persona 4: Everyday's Great at your Junes!

High School Musical Basketball

I don't care about sports (both in real life and the vote)

Drama club for sure, though.

Kou and Yumi are both my favorite choices out of the two.

I always do basketball and drama, therefore:

Soccer

Uncomfortable music club

Also:

Solo

Whatevs

No Max Links. None.

Easy choice. Musical Soccer.

Never played this one but Basketball and Drama sound fun.

Persona 4: The Intro (Part V)

The night passes uneventfully, and Pockets goes to school again.



Ms. Sofue: First, a little about me. I love to use my dowser to look for lost items, and there's nothing quite like a romance.
In fact, world history is a magnificent romance. History is like a river; it was born in the past and flows ever forward.
I hope we can all enjoy the profundity of history together. Hohoho.
And since this is my first lecture, I'll start with an easy question.
Our transferee, Mr. Pants, please stand up.



Throughout the game, Pockets will get quizzed by teachers with questions like this. This question is very easy, but the majority of questions are very obscured, and it's almost impossible to get all of them without referencing a guide.

In any case, to facilitate your need to randomly guess, I'm going to put all quiz answers in spoiler tags. The answer: When Jesus was born.

Ms. Sofue: Ah, you seem to understand this well. And does anyone know what B.C. stands for? Oh, I'll just tell you.
Before Christ, or the years before Christ was born.
This is, of course, the way we count our years today, but it wasn't adopted in Western Europe until the 15th century.
Hohoho, it was around that time that there were many religious wars and power shifts occurring.
Anyhow, the world's beliefs have been in an ever-flowing tide since humanity began to emphasize religion.
Most holidays are related to religion, you know. If you do some research, you may find some interesting facts.
But regardless of the culture or the tradition, the tide decides who will survive in the present and the future.
And those survivors ensure that their will is passed down to the next generation…
…But now it's time to start from the beginning. Let's take a look at the origin of civilization…

Because we answer the question correctly, our Knowledge increases --- which doesn't make any sense to me! Why does your knowledge increase when you answer a question that you already know the answer to? Instead, your knowledge should increase if you answer the question incorrectly... though I guess that doesn't make any sense as a game mechanics.



Next, after classes are over, we observe the Persona series's great tradition of eavesdropping on our classmates.



Sitting Girl: Is it supposed to be like, mimicking an execution? It's messed up…
Short Girl: My senpai told me it was a third-year named Saki who found the body.

Yousuke interrupts us by striking up a conversation.



Yousuke: Y-Yo. Um… It's, uh, it's not really that important, but… Well, yesterday on TV, I… Oh, uhh… Never mind. Look, I'll tell you later. Ahaha…

Before Pockets has a chance to respond to Yousuke's suspicious behavior, Chie chimes in.



Chie: Saki-senpai's supposedly the one who discovered that body.
Yousuke: I wonder if that's why she looked so down… She doesn't seem to be at school today either.
Chie: Huh? Hey Yukiko, are you helping out at the inn today too?



Yousuke: Is it just me, or does Yukiko-san seem way stressed out today?
Chie: I guess they're running her ragged… By the way, did you see… it… last night?
Yousuke: Huh…? Uh, well… What about you?
Chie: I did! I seriously saw a girl! But… my soulmate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean? I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure… Her hair was brown, about shoulder length. She was wearing our school uniform, and...
Yousuke: Hey… I think that's the same person I saw. I couldn't make out that much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier…
Chie: Wait, so you saw it too!? And we saw the same girl…? Does that mean… we have the same soulmate?
Yousuke: How should I know? How 'bout you? Did you see it?

We decide to tell them everything, including the part where the TV wants to eat us.

Yousuke: It sounds like we all saw the same person… But weird voices aside, what was that about getting sucked into your TV…? Were you that tired last night? You must've just fallen asleep in front of your TV.
Chie: That'd be one interesting dream, though. I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your TV was too small. That's pretty realistic. Well, if it had been bigger, the- Ohhh, that reminds me. Our family's been talking about buying a bigger TV.
Yousuke: Oh yeah? Well, flatscreen TVs are definitely in these days. Wanna go check 'em out on the way back? We're beefing up our electronics department this month.
Chie: Oh, definitely! My parents don't know anything about electronics, and I've gotta see my kung-fu movies on the big screen!



Yousuke: We've got some pretty big ones in stock. I bet they'd be big enough for you to fit into, hehe.

Yousuke and Chie don't believe our story of being sucked into a TV! Who would see that coming? We decide to go to Junes with them, nonetheless.

The electronic apartment and Junes wows Chie.



Yousuke: I dunno… Rich folks? Honestly, not many people shop for TVs here. That's why we don't have clerks around.
Chie: Huh… Not worth trying then, I guess. Well, at least looking's free.

Remembering your story, Chie and Yousuke step forward and touch the TV. Mockingly, too (probably).



Yousuke: …Nope, can't get in. Figures.
Chie: Haha, this proves it. It was all just a dream.
Yousuke: Besides, these flat-screen TVs are so thin, you'd just end up on the other side… Argh, what am I saying!? So, Chie. What kind of TVs are you guys in the market for?
Chie: O-Oh, they said they wanted one that's cheap. You got any suggestions?

They walk over to another area, leaving Pockets alone.



Yousuke: I should've asked what you meant by "cheap" right off the bat.
Chie: You've got connections, right? C'mon, hook me up!
Yousuke: You know I can't do that…
Hey, how about this one over here? It's a display unit and it's a little old, but…

Being left alone with a huge TV calls for to us stick our hand into the TV again, naturally.



This definitely attracts our friends' attention.



Chie:Huh? Something wrong, Yosuke?
Yousuke: I-Is his arm… in the TV…?
Chie: Whoa… Uhhh… Is that some kinda… new model? L-Like with a new function?
Yousuke: Hell no!

Chie asks the obvious question.



Yousuke: Oh man… This is for real… That's some magic trick, man! So how's it work, huh!? What's the magician's secret!?

Naturally, we wow them some more.



And then Yousuke and Chie suddenly got a temporary linguistic memory lost.

Chie: Oh my God!
> There's empty space inside…
> You tell them that.
Yousuke: Wh-What do you mean, "inside"!?
Chie: Wh-What do you mean, "empty space"!?
> It seems very spacious in here…
Yousuke: Wh-What do you mean, "spacious"!?
Chie: I mean, what's going on!?

And then, Yousuke suddenly encounters a problem that every person in his situation would surely encounter.



Chie: What the--? Are you gonna pee your pants!?
I've been holding it in all day! I-I haven't had a chance to go…
Yousuke:Aaarrgh! Can't… hold it… anymore…! Shit! Customers! They're coming!
Chie: What!? But we've got a guy half stuck in a TV here! Wh-What're we gonna do!?

Then your very competent friends do what panicked people usually do, which is running around pointlessly.



As they run around, they run into Pockets, pushing him into the TV! For some reason, though, they fall into the TV too. That doesn't make any sense, but we'll take it.

A very short cutscene is then played, for some reason. It's too short for me to spend time and look for on youtube.

Pockets and his friends hit the ground hard, and slowly recover.





We get some pretty pictures of our party.





Because we choose the most thoughtful option of the 3, our Understanding increases.



Yousuke: I think my butt's cracked now…
Chie: Of course it is!
Yousuke: Whoa!
Chie: Wh-What now!? Did you wet your pants!?
Yousuke: No, stupid! Look around!

Yousuke, who didn't look around until now, realize that we're in a strange, yellow, studio-like world.



Chie: Is this… a studio? All this fog… Or is it smoke?
There's no place like this in Inaba, is there…?
Yousuke: Hell no… But man… this place is huge…
Chie: What're we gonna do…?



Chie:Huh? B-but... Look, we need to get home and--! H-Huh…? Wait a minute… Which way did we come in from? I don't see a way in… or out!
Yousuke: What? That can't be right! H-How could that be!?
Chie: I don't know! Don't ask me!
I can't take this anymore! I wanna go home!!
Yousuke: Okay… so how!?



Yousuke:Y-You're right. Okay... okay. Let's calm down and think about this. All right, so we need to find a way out.
Chie: Is there really a way outta here…?
Yousuke: We got in… so we must be able to get out somehow.
Chie: That's true, but…
Yousuke: If there's no exist, we're trapped, so let's cross our fingers and look around.

With that, Pockets and his friends start wandering around this strange place.



Suddenly, we wander onto a balcony of some sort. At the end, there's a strange red vortex. No one seems to be perplexed by this for some reason.



Yousuke: It looks like we're in some kinda building, but… Damn, this fog's so thick, I can hardly see.
Chie:Are you sure we're not wandering further away?
Yousuke: I can't be positive, but we've gotta trust our instinct a little.
Chie: I know, but…

We decide the best thing to do is to walk into the creepy red vortex. Beyond the red vortex is a strange bedroom.



Yousuke: No service. What a surprise…
Chie: Can't you guys slow down a little? It's hard enough to see where you're going… Huh? What the…!? It's a dead end! There's no exit!
Yousuke: It keep getting creepier and creepier the further we go…

This is the perfect time for Yousuke to revisit an unsolved problem. Oh, by the way, the room is kind of creepy.



Chie: Yousuke, what are you doing?



This screenshot is kind of weird. It makes Yousuke looks like he's standing on the creepy chair.

Chie: You're going here!? Oh, you have got to be kidding…
Yousuke: T-Turn around! I can't go if everyone's watching! Aaaaargh… I can't do it! It's all your fault if my bladder bursts!
Chie: Like I care… Anyways… what's with this room? Check out these posters… Their faces are all cut out… Somebody must really hate this person…

It gets even creepier!



Yousuke: It's tied in a noose… Is this a scarf?
Chie: C'mon… Let's go back to where we came from, and look somewhere else for an exit…
Yousuke: Hey… I think I've seen that poster before…
Chie: Who CARES!? Let's go! I am sick of this place! And I'm not feeling so good…
Yousuke: Now that you mention it, me too…



Oh no! Something strange is going on with Pockets. We decide to GTFO.



After wandering around and encountering creepy things, we're back to square one where we started.



Chie: Wait… What's that…?
Yousuke: Th-There's something over there!

There's some strange shape in the fog. It's walking toward us!

Chie: *gasp * It talked!
Uhh… What are you! Y-You wanna fight!?



The bear is cowering is fear, so we decide to talk to it nicely.



Mysterious Bear: This place is what it is. It doesn't have a name. It's where I live.
Yousuke: You… live here?
Mysterious Bear: If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side. Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache.
Yousuke: Huh? Throwing people in? What're you talking about?



It didn't seem to occur to Chie to be nice to the bear, however.

Chie: Hey, what's your problem? What gives YOU the right to yell at us like that!? What are you!? Where are we!? What the heck's going on here!?

It gets scared and runs to hide behind Pockets.



And Yousuke fails his listening comprehension.

Mysterious Bear: A-Anyways, you should hurry back.
Yousuke: What it comes down to is, you want us to get outta here, right? Well, so do we! We just don't know how, dammit!
Mysterious Bear: Urrrrgh! That's why I'm saying I'll let you out!
Yousuke: Like I keep saying, we don't know where the frickin' exit- Wait… What?

The bear taps his feet two times, and suddenly a stack of 3 TVs appear literally out of nowhere.



Yousuke: What the hell?
Chie: Wh-Where did these TVs come from!?





Some seconds and a lot of pushing later...



... we're back to Junes's electronic department.



Yousuke: Did we… make it back?
Store Annoucement: Attention, shoppers. Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor. Why not try the delicious, fresh produce Junes picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight? All ages are invited to take advantage of this incredible bargain!
Yousuke: Crap, it's already that late!?
Looks like we were in there for quite awhile…
Yousuke: That's right…



Yousuke: Now I remember where I saw that poster before… Look over there! That's the poster we saw!
Chie: What's up now?



It's a bit hard to see, but they're talking about the picture in the middle of the two TV. Misuzu Hiiragi is the wife of the politician whom the dead reporter was having an affair with.

Chie: She's been all over the news lately. Something about… her husband having an affair with that announcer lady who died the other day.
Yousuke: Hey, so does that mean…? That weird room we saw… Could it be related to that Yamano lady's death…? Now that I think about it… there was that creepy noose hanging from the ceiling…
Yaaargh, stop! No more! We gotta stop talking about this. I'm gonna wipe what happened today from my brain. I don't think my poor heart can take anymore.
Chie: I'm feeling a chill too… Let's go home… I wanna lie down and rest.

With that, we also go home. Dojima and Nanako is already home, watching TV.



Dojima: Uh-Hmm… Well, I doubt you'd know… But have you heard anything about a student named Saki Konishi?

We recall that Yousuke said she wasn't at school today.



We recall that Yousuke said she wasn't at school today.

Dojima: Oh. I see…
To be honest… we got a call from her family. She's disappeared.
We've got people looking for her, but she hasn't been found yet…
*sigh * Work just keeps piling up…

There's more murdering news on TV.



Announcer: Not long ago, television announcer Mayumi Yamano was found dead in the small town. Up until now, her whereabouts prior to her death had been unknown. But the police investigation has found that she had been staying in the region's famous Amagi Inn. She had apparently been staying there alone. Perhaps she was taking a vacation to recover from her ordeal...?
Commentator: Oh yes, the Amagi Inn! Their hot springs are first-rate. The manager's teenage daughter also works there, and it's rumored that she'll take over the inn this spring. If that happens, she'll be one of the youngest managers on record! I should book another trip there!
Announcer: Uhh… I-I see… Moving along, it's time for the weather report. The rain has begun to subside. From now until morning, heavy fog warnings will be in effect in the Inaba region. Visibility will be severely reduced, so please be careful if you plan on driving in the area…

In case you don't remember, this is Yukiko's inn.



Pockets is still unwell from his adventure into the TV world.



Dojima: Are you sick? You're probably still adjusting to the new environment. Nanako, could you get him some cold medicine? You should get to bed right after you take it.

After dinner, we gain control of Pockets once a game, and again the only useful thing we can do is saving the game. This evening, Dojima is also around. He's not in the mood for conversation, though.



Neither is Nanako.



With nothing else to do, we go to sleep.

Next: The final day of a very long intro! Or is it?

Persona 4: The Intro (Part VI)

The day starts on an eerie note as we witness another dead body on a telephone pole.



You know what this means. Dojima even has more work to do.



On his way to school, Pockets again eavesdrops on his schoolmates.



Red Umbrella Girl: When I looked, I saw three police cars zooming by.
White Umbrella Girl: You live by the police station, don't you? Did you hear anything?
Red Umbrella Girl: I heard yelling, but nothing more. Total disappointment.
White Umbrella Girl: Geez, you need to pay more attention to stuff like that. How else are we supposed to get the juicy stories?



As soon as Pockets's arrived at school, he learned about the next unordinary event of this unordinary day: an unscheduled school assembly.



Long-Haired Girl: Of course not… What, is that rumor for real?
Rumor-Loving Girl: I dunno, but it seems like a lot of people have seen it.
> You overhear people gossiping about something.
Chie: Yukiko said she'd be here after lunch… I wonder why they're holding a school assembly all of a sudden …Hey, what's wrong, Yosuke?
Yousuke: Oh, it's nothing…

A teacher finally walks up to the podium.



Principal: I… regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for all of you. One of our third year student, Ms. Saki Konichi of class 3... has passed away.
Chie: Passed away…!?
Yousuke: ……
Principal: Ms. Konishi was found deceased early this morning… The reasons behind her passing are currently under investigation by the police. If they ask you for your cooperation, I urge you as students of this school to provide only the facts. All right, please quiet down… I have been assured by the faculty that there's been no evidence that bullying was involved in the incident. So mind what you say, not only to the police but to anyone who asks…
Chie: Found dead…? How could this happen…?
Yousuke: ……
> The Principal's address continues…

Oh no! This is terrible. We're worried about Yousuke, who presumably has a crush on Saki Konichi. The principal, meanwhile, proves to be a jerk, as typical for all Persona games.

The gossiping continues when Pockets is walking with Chie to their classroom.



Girl's Friend: Well, last time, it was from an antenna, but this time she was hanging from a telephone pole. It's gotta be a serial murder case…
Rumor-Loving Girl: Someone said the cause of death was some unknown poison.
Girl's Friend: Unknown…? C'mon, this isn't some sci-fi drama. Oh, by the way, did you hear? Someone saw a girl that looked like Saki on that Midnight Channel thingie. They said she totally looked like she was in pain. Isn't that scary?
Rumor-Loving Girl: Haha, sounds like someone had a nightmare. The media's been broadcasting their interviews with her nonstop, so maybe they just had Saki on the brain.
Chie: Sheesh, it's easy to toss around theories if you're not personally involved...

At this point, Yousuke finds us.



Yousuke: Hey… Did you guys check out the TV last night?
Chie: Yosuke! Not you too!
Yousuke: Just listen for a sec! Something kept bothering me, so… I watched it again, and… I think the girl on the screen… was Saki-senpai. There's no mistaking it… Senpai looked like… she was writing in pain… And then… she disappeared from the screen.
Chie: What…?
Yousuke: You heard Senpai's body was found in a similar situation as that announcer's, right…? Well, remember that guy you told us about? How he was all excited that his soulmate was the announcer? Ms. Yamano might've been on that Midnight Channel before she died, too.
Chie: What's that supposed to mean…? Hold on… Are you saying… People who appear on that TV… die…?
Yousuke: I can't say for sure. But something tells me… I just can't dismiss it as coincidence.
Chie: ……
Yousuke: Plus, remember what that bear thing said? How that place was dangerous, and we should leave before the fog clears…? It also said that someone's been throwing people in there. And that room with the posters on the wall… It has to have something to do with the announcer's death. I mean… don't you think there's some kind of connection there? Couldn't that world in the TV have something to do with Senpai and the announcer's death!?

Does sound pretty sensible! We agree.



Yousuke: …So it's not just me, huh? If there is a connection, then it's a good bet that the two of them went inside that world. That would explain the posters in that room. Which means… if we look around, we might find a place that has something to do with Senpai, too.
Chie: Yosuke, don't tell me…
Yousuke: Yeah… I'm thinking about going in again. I want to find out for myself.
Chie: D-Don't do this… You should just let the police hand this and-
Yousuke: You think we can rely on the police!? They haven't made any progress on the announcer's case. Besides, even if we told them about the world inside the TV, there's no way they're gonna believe us! If I'm completely off-base with this, that's fine… It's just… I need to know why Senpai had to die like this.
Chie: Oh, Yosuke…
Yousuke: After what I've seen and what I've put together, there's no way I can ignore it now. Sorry… but you're the only person who can help me. I'm gonna go get ready. I'll be waiting for you at Junes.

With that, Yousuke takes off.

Chie: I can kinda understand how he feels… But we can't be sure we'll be able to get out safely again. What should we do…?



Can't let him go be the hero alone!

Chie: Y-You serious...? Uh… Anyways, let's go to Junes. We can't leave Yosuke alone…

So we head to Junes! Yousuke is already there waiting for us in the electronics department.



Chie: We came to stop you, idiot! C'mon… You really shouldn't do this. It's too dangerous.
Yousuke: I know… But we were able to come back once, right? If we go in from the same location, maybe we'll meet that bear again.
Chie: "Maybe" isn't good enough!
Yousuke: Look, I can't just act like everyone else and pretend this has nothing to do with me.
Chie: That's true, but…
Yousuke: What about you? Could you just walk away?

This where the game encourages us to be chauvinistic. If we pick this option, Pockets's Understanding will increase. Not that we aren't worried about Chie, of course!



Yousuke: Yeah, it'll be just you and me.
Don't worry, I'm not going in without a plan. Chie, I'm leaving you in charge of this.

Are you ready to hear one of Yousuke's great plan?



Yousuke: We'll go in with this tied to me, so I want you to hold on to this and wait here.
Chie: Wh-What? Then, is this a lifeline? C'mon, wait a sec…
Yousuke: Here, Pockets… This is for you. I thought it might be better than going in empty handed.

But wait, there's more! Ready to hear the next part of the plan?



Yousuke: Alright… Let's go. There's no use wasting any more time. Chie, whatever you do, don't let go of the rope!
Chie: H-Hey! I said wait!

Too late!



Meanwhile, in the real world, back in Junes's electronics department..

Yousuke: Is this…? Look, this is the same place as last time! So they are connected from place to place!

There's also a familiar voice.



Yousuke: You're that thing from last time…! Wait, what the hell did you just say!?
Mysterious Bear: Lately, I can tell someone's been throwing people in here. It's making this world more and more messed up… This is the second time you guys came here. And I don't think anyone forced you in. That means you're the most suspicious! You guys must be the ones throwing the people in here, raaaawr!

RAWRRRR! Nice to meet you, Mr. Jumping to Conclusions.

This bear says things that aren't true; it hurts Pockets's feelings.



Yousuke: What're you talking about, "throwing people in"!? If someone was thrown in here and they couldn't get out, they might die!
Who would do such a- Wait a sec… All this talk about someone throwing people in here… Does he mean Senpai and the announcer? Did that "someone" throw those two in here?



Yousuke: Yeah… I agree. Let's assume he's telling the truth…Could it be that someone's throwing people in here, intending to kill them…? If that's the case…
Mysterious Bear: What're you guys mumbling about? Why'd you come here, anyways!? It's a one-way door! You can't get out once you're in! Remember? How I had to let you guys out?
Yousuke: Yeah, whatever. We don't need your help this time! See, this time we have a lifeli-



Uh oh.

Yousuke: H-Hey! You better let us out once we're done investigating here!
Mysterious Bear: Grrrrr! I'm the one who wants to investigate! I've lived here for a long time. But it's never been noisy like this till now. Do you have proof!? Prove to me that you're not throwing people in here!



Mysterious Bear: See! So it is you guys!
Yousuke: For the last time, it's not us, so we've go nothing to prove to you! Hey, you better answer our questions. This isn't like last time, when we came by accident. We're dead serious! Listen up, 'cause people have died in our world… Every time the fog appears, a dead body shows up with it. It has to be related to this place somehow! If you know something, tell us!
Mysterious Bear: A dead body? Whenever the fog appears…?



What? The bear has never left the TV world, how does he know that?



Mysterious Bear: Aaaah… I get it…
Yousuke: Huh…? If you get it, then explain it to us, dammit! If it's foggy on our side, it isn't in here…? Shadows get violent…?
Mysterious Bear: That's why I said to hurry back! It's dangerous when that happens! Okay, no more questions. I know you guys did it! You better stop right now!
Yousuke: I've told you and told you, we're not the ones doing it! I've about had it with you… Why the hell won't you listen to what we're saying!?
Mysterious Bear: I-I'm just saying… you might be the culprits. I'm just making sure…
Yousuke: What…? Man, this bear's driving me nuts… What is this place, anyways? It looks like a TV studio… Is something being filmed here…? H-Hey, don't tell me… Is that weird show being filmed here!?
Mysterious Bear: Weird show? Filmed? What does that mean?
Yousuke: Uh… I'm asking if someone's been filming the people that get thrown in here.
Mysterious Bear: ……? I don't get it…



Mysterious Bear: Only me and Shadows are here! I told you before!
Yousuke: Ugh… We don't know what these Shadow things are! Or what you are either, for that matter! You keep telling us to prove our innocence, but you're the most suspicious thing here! Maybe you're the real culprit! And what's with that stupid costume!? I'd say it's time you showed your face!

Yeah, what's with that?

Determined to find out himself, Yousuke violently approaches the bear an takes off his head.





Yousuke: Wh-What the hell are you…?
I-It's empty inside…

The bear quickly puts his head back in place.



Mysterious Bear: I just want to live here peacefully…
Yousuke: ……
Mysterious Bear: Okay. I'll believe that you guys aren't the culprits. But I want you to find the real guy who did all this. You have to stop him. Promise me, or else… I'm not gonna let you out of here.
Yousuke: Y-You little…!
Mysterious Bear: This can't keep going on! My home here will be a complete mess! And then… and then… I… Waaah…
Yousuke: Wh-What're you crying for all of a sudden? Geez, this thing's really weirding me out… *sigh* Hey, what should we do?

A bear is threatened to trap us here if we don't promise to do what we came here to do in the first place anyway! But before that, this sounds like a good place for some inner dialog.





Mysterious Bear: Th-Thank you!
Yousuke: Damn bear… Practically holding a gun to our heads… But… it's true that we came here to figure things out. So far, we're completely in the dark. Look for the culprit, huh…? Bring it on! You got my word, too. Might as well introduce ourselves… I'm Yosuke Hanamura, and this is my buddy, Pockets Pants. You got a name?

You'd never have guessed his name!



In Japanese, his name is "Kuma", which is the word for "Bear". So this is already some creative translation!

Yousuke: *groan * Figures… But how are we supposed to find the culprit in the first place?
Teddie: I dunno… Oh, but I know where the last person came in.
Yousuke: The last person…? You mean Saki-senpai!?
Teddie: I mean the person who came in and disappeared last time. I dunno the name. I'll take you there. You might find clues. Oh, one thing first. You two should put these on.

Teddie produces two pairs of glasses. Teddie always carries them around, for the best look possible during battles. Can't ignore fashion even when you're busy fighting monsters left and right.



Yousuke: Whoa! The difference is like night and day… With these on, it's like the fog doesn't exist.
Teddie: They'll help you walk through the fog…Well, I've been here for a long time. So you can rely on me! Uh… But I can only show you where the place is. You guys will have to defend yourselves.
Yousuke: What happened to relying on you!? Th-There better not be any monsters! You understand!? We brought weapons, but I mean… They're more for show! We just got here! If it's so dangerous, why don't you do something instead of relying on us!?
Teddie: Uh uh. No way. I've got no muscles. Oh! Oh! I'll give you guys moral support from a safe distance! How's that sound?

This is a total lie, as we will find out later.





Uhm. It's still a total lie! You'll see!

Yousuke: I-Is this thing for real!? Ugh, this is so lame… We swore to find the culprit, and this is all the backup we get…?
Teddie: …Oh yeah. Can I ask you something? Who's this Saki-senpai person? Someone you know?
Yousuke: ……
That doesn't matter right now… Anyways, at least now we know Senpai might have been thrown in here. Maybe we can find more information, too. Let's get moving, Pockets.

Forgetting something?

We pick up Teddie and go to where Saki Konichi was. It looks eerily familiar.



Yousuke: What's going on here!?
Teddie: Some weird places have appeared here recently. Things are getting so tangled, I dunno what to do…
Yousuke: Uh… by the way, why are you standing so far from us? …You better not be planning to high-tail it if something does come up.
Teddie: Of course not!



Teddie: I mean. Uh, I can't stand too close, you know. I'd get in your way…
Yousuke: Hrrrm… Man, they really went all out on this… But out of all the places in town, why'd they replicate this one?
Teddie:How should I know? This is reality for the one who's here.
Yousuke: *sigh * As usual, nothing you say makes any sense… But if this is our shopping district, we're not far from Saki-senpai's…

Saki Konichi was the daughter of the owner of the liquor store in the shopping district. In the TV-world liquor store, we again find a creepy red vortex.



Yousuke: Does this mean… Senpai disappeared here? What could've happened…?
Teddie: W-Wait a second. Th-They're here!
Yousuke: What?
Teddie …Shadows. I had a feeling they were going to attack…!

Something important is definitely going on! So important that it has its own cutscene. Text and picture version:



Teddie says that shadows are coming!



Some... things emerge from the vortex.



They're transforming into something. Floating spheres with tongue, to be precise!



Pockets start to hear voices again. It seems to be giving him a headache.



I am thou, and thou art I
The time has come
Open thine eyes and call forth what is within



Pockets opens his eyes, and suddenly there's a Tarot card in his hand.



It shines intensely, which somehow compels Pockets to say "Persona!"



Some great transformation happens!



And comes our very first Persona, Izanagi of the Fool Arcana!

Alright, Pockets. Let's see just how much awesome you got.

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

We're finally getting to some actions, at last!



This is basically a tutorial fight, where Teddie tells us the basis of shadow fighting. The first thing to learn in Shadow Fighting 101 is the importance of elemental strength/weakness.

There are 7 elements in Persona 4: Physical, Fire, Ice, Elec, Wind, Light and Dark. This is a simplification compared to Persona 3, where Physical was divided into several sub-types. Most enemies we encounter will have one or several elemental strengths and weaknesses.

Weakness: weakness is pretty simple to understand. If something is weak to an element, it will take more damage and become Down if hit by an attack of that element. Unlike in Persona 3, where being Down will cost an enemy (or an ally) a turn to recover, in Persona 4 no one loses any turn by being Down. In a manner of speaking, anyway. There are two important things to know about hitting an enemy with its weakness:

+ First, if Pockets or a party member just hit an enemy with its weakness, that person will gain an additional attack, called a "one more". Each party member can only get a single "one more" per enemy each turn, so there's no cheesing to get infinite attacks on the same enemy. This goes the same if an enemy hits a party member with an attack that they're weak to.

In Persona 3, you don't get a One More by knocking down an enemy with a multi-target attack. This, however, is not the case in Persona 4. What this means is that multi-target attacks screw our party over very frequently, as with 4 people in a party, we're weak to a good number of things.

+ Additionally, if at any point all of the enemies are Down, our party can perform an All-Out-Attack. All the characters rush in with a big messy cloud, and all enemies take a big amount of damage. This is only available if we have 2 or more in our party.

Strength: there are several ways of being strong with an element.

+ Resist: if someone is resistance to an element, they take less damage from that element.

+ Null: they take no damage from that element.

+ Reflect: they deal that amount of damage to the attacker. If both sides reflect this element, then we'll just see 2 blocks and that's it. No infinite reflect loop.

+ Absorb: they absorb the damage from this element as HP.

To help us with enemies and their elements, Teddie has very useful analysis, available to us by pressing L1.



Uhm... I mean, after we've already found out the information ourselves, that is. This is more a memory aid than anything else. Oh well. At least you learn the enemy's arcana.

The previously grayed out options in the combat menu, except for Escape, are also available to us. One of them is "Persona":



The Persona menu is used to switch between Personas. Currently we only have Izanagi, so we won't do any switching.

The "Items" menu shows, conveniently, only the combat relevant items. We don't have many at the moment --- only the medicines Yousuke gave us.



Anyway! For our first attack, we'll use Zio.



The little strip with the character's eyes sometimes show up when we're attacking an enemy with an element it's weak too.



And it's down! With our One More, we attack the other enemy.



So now both enemies are down.



This is the situation we want to achieve for most battles in this game. In this particular one, however, it is useless because we can't perform an AOA, and those Slipping Hableries still don't lose their next turn.

As we just another enemy with its weakness, we get another One More, which Pockets uses to swing his golf club at one Slipping Hablerie and destroys it.



The other Hablerie stands up, gets a turn, and attack us with a rather gross-looking tongue lick.



We quickly finishes it off, and also gain a level! Oh, and also some money and some medicines that I'm sure those shadows always carry around for some reason.





So, in this fight, by using attacks that the enemies were (conveniently) weak too, we took 3 attack actions and destroyed one of the enemies before any of them could get a turn to make their single attack. And that is why elemental weakness is very important in this game.

As the fight is over, Izanagi becomes a Tarot card that slowly descends upon Pockets.





Yousuke: I mean, what did you do!?
Hey, you think I can do it too…?

Teddie suddenly has a change of attitude toward Pockets.



Yousuke: S-Sensei…?
Teddie: Gosh almighty! You're amazing, Sensei! I am one impressed bear! I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the Shadows were scared of you! *gasp * Are you the one who's able to bring people into this world? Hah! That's what I thought! This is really something. Don't you think so,Yousuke?
Yousuke: Dude, you call him Sensei and then don't show me any respect!?
Teddie: Sorry…
Yousuke:W-Well, your support wasn't bad, though.I gotta give you some credit for that.

What? But he didn't do anything!

Teddie: Huh? R-Really…? Heehee.
Yousuke: All right, you two keep it up, and I think we'll be fine from here on out. Now, let's get back to the investigation! Man… I wonder what could have happened to Senpai here.


We are about to enter the vortex, when suddenly...



Unknown voice: It's all because of that store…
Yousuke: Wh-What the…?
Unknown voice: Oh, I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there. Oh my… How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is…? I heard their sales have gone downhill because of Junes.
Yousuke: S-Stop it…
Unknown voice: That poor father… to have his own daughter working for the enemy. What a troublesome child…



Yousuke: You said that this place is reality for those that are here, right!? So... does that mean this was Senpai's reality when she wandered in here…?
Teddie: I… only know about what's over here.
Yousuke: Fine… Whatever's going on here… We'll find out ourselves!

Inside the liquore store, it's dark and empty.



But it's certainly not quiet.



Middle-Aged Voice: Saki, how many times do I have to tell you!?
Yousuke: I-Is this… Senpai's dad…?
Middle-Aged Voice: You know what the neighbors say about you, right!? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!
Yousuke: I… I can't believe this… She seemed like she had fun at work… She never said anything like this to me… You're telling me THIS was how Senpai really saw things!?

Distressed, Yousuke looks around.



Yousuke: It's the photo we took the other day with the other part-timers at Junes…
Wh-Why's it cut up like this…?
> The scrap of photo shows Saki Konishi smiling…
> Yosuke is standing next to her…

Suddenly, comes a voice we don't expect to hear.



Yousuke: Is that… Senpai's voice!?
Saki: I always wanted to tell Hana-chan…
Yousuke: Huh…? Me…?

Oh no! Don't you think it's too late to have such a painful confession?



... well, I guess it's never too late to say THAT!

Saki: I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all… But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic… What a dip.
Yousuke: P-Pain in the ass...?
Saki: Who cares about Junes, anyway?
Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back… I wish everything would just disappear…
Yousuke: I-It's a lie… This can't be… Senpai's not like that…!

We have not reached our quota of mysterious voices for the day, however.



To our great surprise, there's another Yousuke standing in some sort of blue flame! His voice has some sort of distorting effects slapped on it, but it's possible to tell that it's based on Yousuke's voice.

Oh, and don't forget the epic music.



Teddie: H-Huh? Two Yosukes…?
Yousuke: Who are you!? I-I wouldn't think that…



He's obvious evil! Just look at his picture!

Other Yousuke: Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!
Yousuke: What're you saying…? That's not true, I-
Other Yousuke: You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone. The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation. And what's this about checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping…
Yousuke: S-Stop it!
Other Yousuke: Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe… I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that…? Because I AM you! You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do out in this shithole? A world inside the TV-now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you!?
Yousuke: That's not true… Stop… Stop it…
Other Yousuke: You're just trying to act like a big shot… If all went well, hey, maybe you could even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on?Her death was the perfect excuse!
Yousuke: That's not true! What are you!? Who are you!?
Other Yousuke: *chuckle * I already told ya.



Yousuke: Screw that! I don't know you! You can't be me, you son of a bitch!!

I gotta say, the combination of the music and the voice acting is awesome, and I feel like I'm not doing the scene any justice here.

But, onward to our next boss fight! Oh, before that, there's a cutscene.





The Other Yousuke does his practiced evil laugh thing.

Other Yousuke: That's right! Say it again!



Yousuke: You're not me. You're nothing like me!



Pockets and Teddie watch nervously. And Teddie was right, those glasses do look good!



Other Yousuke: Yeah, that's right. I am me now.



Other Yousuke: I'm not you anymore, see.



For some reason, being agreed with is more terrifying.



Other Yousuke evolved into Ugly Looking Boss!

Guys this in-game day is so long D:

Don't leave us hanging like this!

Get ready for... Shadow Yousuke! With the awesome boss battle theme.





This is our first boss fight of the game, though I'd still consider it a tutorial fight. He's predictable, as his tactics consist of doing a series of things over and over again. He starts with Wind of Oblivion.



Izanagi is weak to Wind, so this attack knocks Pockets down. With his One More, Shadow Yousuke uses Power Charge. This boosts the power of his next attack by 2.5 times. We can see how an enemy's attack, defense and hit rate is modified whenever we move our cursor onto it.



It is now Pockets's turn. We attack him with Zio, which he's weak against.



This gives us a One More! We will not get additional One Mores against him this turn, and because he's power charged and we don't want to take huge amount of damage, we will guard.

Shadow Yousuke attacks us with a power charged vanilla attack, after which we throw two Zios at him. On his turn after that, he guards.



In addition to damage reduction, guarding also prevents being knocked down --- which means that Pockets's Zio won't give him a One More this turn. So we also guard.

Shadow Yousuke, being predictable, follows this sequence of Wind of Oblivion, Power Charge, Attack, Guard for the whole fight. As a result, we keep doing what we did in the last 4 turns: guarding against Wind of Oblivion and Attack, and Zio everything else.



We win in no time, and Pockets and Izanagi also gain 2 levels! Izanagi gains 2 Strength, 1 Magic, 1 Endurance, 1 Agility, 1 Luck. He also learns Rakunda. Rakunda costs 12SP to cast and decreases a foe's defense for 3 turns.





The concept of levels in P4 may be confusing at first. Because Pockets will keep changing Personas for the whole game, it's necessary to differentiate Pockets's level and his Personas' levels. The two levels go up separately. Pockets's level determine which Personas he can fuse in the Velvet Room, whereas his Persona's level is what actually matters when attacking.

Yousuke seem to have calmed down.



Teddie: Yosuke, are you okay!?
Yousuke: Y-Yeah… What… happened…?

Shadow Yousuke is still here, in his original form that looks like a duplicate of Yousuke.



Yousuke: You… You're… not me…
Teddie: That thing came from you, Yosuke… You have to admit it… or it'll go berserk again…

Pockets is very encouraging.



Yousuke: Brave... Dammit… It hurts to face yourself… I knew it wasn't lying... But I was so ashamed that I didn't want to admit it… You're me… and I'm you. When you get down to it, all of this is me.



Shadow Yousuke turns into a Persona, which then turns into a Tarot card, which then merges into Yousuke.





Yousuke: This... is my Persona.

Yousuke: When we heard Senpai's voice… I wonder if that was something Senpai had been keeping deep down inside… Haha… "He was a real pain in the ass," huh? What a way to find out… Geez, this is so embarrassing…
If you weren't here, I don't know what woulda happened… Thanks, Pockets.
Hey, Teddie… Could Senpai have been attacked by her other self here? Like how it just happened to me?
Teddie: I think so. The Shadows here were originally born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears. Then they all go berserk… And you saw what happens next. A strong-willed Shadow draws others to it. And the big mass of Shadows kills the host.



Teddie: Yosuke's pretty worn out… This world isn't made for humans. It's not comfortable for you here. I don't hear any more voices. I think we're done with this place. Let's go back.

We leave the shadow shopping district, and return to the studio where we came through.



Yousuke: So that shopping district, and the weird room we saw before… Did they exist because the ones who died entered this world, and it became their reality? I guess what I'm trying to ask is… Did those places form because of the people who entered this world?
Teddie: I don't know. It's never happened before…
But that's probably where they were when the Shadows attacked them.

The game gives us the option to ask obvious questions when listening to this plot dump.



Teddie: The fog does lift here sometimes. The Shadows get really violent then. I always get so scared. I have to hide when it happens… I sensed people here twice before. But both of them disappeared after the fog lifted…
Yousuke: So let's get this straight…
Senpai and that Yamano lady were thrown in here, and since they couldn't get out, they wandered around… After a while, that Shadow thing came out of them. The fog cleared, it went berserk, and it ended up killing them… Does that sound right? So if I'd been here until the fog cleared, I woulda been in much deeper trouble?
Teddie: Yeah. I'm pretty sure.
You were lucky. Sensei and me were here with you.



Teddie: Yosuke… They disappeared when the fog lifted. But they were safe before that. No Shadows attacked them. They attacked us, though… Maybe they've been keeping a close eye on us. They might see people who investigate this place as enemies… It'll be dangerous, but we might be able to fight them! We might be able to save people!
Yousuke: Are you saying, if anyone else gets thrown in here, we can save them before they disappear!?



This revelation is, alas, a bit too late, but better late than never.

Yousuke: Anyways… We need to catch the one who's throwing people in here and make him stop. Yeah… I'm finally starting to understand what's going on.
Teddie: U-Um… Hey, can I ask something too…?
If Shadows are born from humans, what was Teddie born from?

Uhm. Well, when a man and a woman... actually never mind.

Yousuke: You don't even know where you came from!? How should we know?
Teddie: I know some things. Mostly about this world…But I don't know anything about myself. To be honest, I never thought about it until now…
Yousuke: Are you serious…? No wonder we couldn't get a straight answer out of you…



Teddie: You'll… keep your word?
Yousuke: Well, you're the one who said you weren't letting us out unless we do.
Teddie: Oh! Th-That's right! Okay, I'll let you out. But there's one thing. I'll be waiting for you guys here.

Teddie seems overly cynical for someone who's been alone all his life.



Teddie: You could come in from somewhere else. But then you won't end up here. You might show up somewhere I couldn't get to Yousuke: you. Then you'd be doooomed… Got it!? Well, pretty much… Alright, can you show us the way out?
Teddie: Roger that! One exit comin' right up!



Yousuke: Cool… First we need to make sure there aren't any employees milling around out there…



Back outside, Chie has been waiting for us.



Chie: Y-You guys came baaack…!
Huh? Chie? Whoa, what's with that face?

Chie throws the rope at Yousuke. That gotta hurt!



Chie: The nerve of you guys! You are such morons! I can't believe this! You guys suck! The rope got cut off… and I had no idea what to do… I was so worried… I mean scared stiff, dammit! I hate you both!

After proclaiming her hatred for us, she storms off.



Yousuke: Maybe we did go a little too far…Let's apologize to her tomorrow. I'm completely wiped out… I'm gonna go home, soak in the shower for a while, and get some sleep. I think… I'm gonna sleep well tonight. Hehe… Well, see you in the morning!

It rains as Pockets walks back home. On the Samegawa river bank, he runs into another classmate. It's Yukiko in a kimono!



Pockets stops and chats.



Yukiko: Really..? But… It must be difficult, moving to a place you know nothing about. I've never been out of Inaba, so I wouldn't know what it's like to transfer to a new school…



Yukiko: I'm glad to hear that. Chie's very supportive, you know. It's always her who gives me the little extra push I need. We had homeroom together last year too, and I still remember how we'd cut class sometimes.
Oh… I should get going. I need to make tomorrow's arrangements with our head chef. Our inn can't function without me right now.



Back at home, it's just Pockets and Nanako again in the evening.



Announcer: Our next story is an update in our ongoing report on the bizarre murders occurring in Inaba. At around 7:00 A.M., local high school student Saki Konishi was found dead in Inaba's residential area. Since the body was positioned similarly to the last victim, and since Ms. Konishi was the one who discovered that body… Police are proceeding under the assumption that this may be a serial murder case related to the death of Mayumi Yamano. The coroner's report has established Ms. Konishi's time of death at around 1:00 A.M. last night. The body went unnoticed until this morning as a result of the heavy fog blanketing the area.
Nanako: Another incident… Dad won't be coming home tonight.



Nanako: …I'll be okay. Can you help me do some stuff around the house?

Does Dojima even do anything around the house? Surely little 6-year-old Nanako is not the only one doing all the housework. That's like child abuse!



Narrator: Vacationers are known to travel surprising distances in order to visit its open-air, radium-rich hot springs. After the incident with Ms. Yamano, the manager has stepped aside, leaving her daughter Yukiko to fill her shoes. In other words, she's a manager who's still in high school. Now that has a nice ring to it… Let's see if we can interview her. Excuse me!



Reporter: We've heard that you're the new manager. Is it true that you're still in high school?
Yukiko: Oh, well, I'm only filling in temporarily…
Reporter: Someday, though… That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors.
Yukiko: Huh? No, um…

Man, who hires all these reporters?

Nanako: …This is boring.
Oh, I need to do the dishes…

Pockets is nice and helps out with the housework.

Long day today for Pockets! But wait, it's raining tonight. Will something happen?

That reporter still stuns me every time I see that scene. He just goes on and on about the weirdest shit then he starts calling Yukiko hot and I wonder where the stuff about the murder went in his mind.

From this point on, we can press the triangle button to get access to a menu.



There are a few things we can do here.

Skill:



A list of skills our personas know. When we have more party members, we'll get access to their skills, too. The biggest purpose of this menu is for out-of-combat healing.

Items:



A list of our items, combat and non-combat alike. We don't have many right now.

Equip:



Equipment management for our party members. You can see that Pockets's equipment is very top-notch.



And Yousuke's, too.



Persona: A list of Personas Pockets currently have. Also our party members' personas.

In this menu, we can assign a persona as our starting persona for the fights, view persona status, or dismiss a persona (they will disappear from our persona list).



Currently, we only have Izanagi.



As you can see, Personas have 5 stats.

+ Strength: the higher strength is, the more physical damage the persona deals.

+ Magic: ]the higher magic is, the more elemental damage the persona deals.

+ Endurance: the higher endurance is, the less damage the person takes with each hit. Basically, it determines damage reduction.

+ Agility: the higher agility is, the higher the persona's evasion and hit rate. Agility also determines turn order during random encounters (but not during boss battles.

+ Luck: the high luck is, the more likely that the person will successfully deal status ailment, light and dark attacks, and critical hit. Additionally, a Persona with high luck also makes it more likely to avoid these things.

Let's also take a look at Yousuke's persona, Jiraiya.



Yousuke is our first part member! If there's anything to say about him, it's that he's FAST. He's usually the first to go in any battle, unless Pockets's equipped persona is also fast, in which case he will definitely go second. He's also the most versatile party member in the early game, as his skill set encompasses elemental attacks (only Wind attacks), physical attacks, healing, and buff. His stat increases are good enough for him to be good at those roles.

As the game progresses, Yousuke's physical and healing skill progression will fail to keep up, and his role will be more defined as a wind caster and buffer. He's also the only early party member (if not the only party member at all, I don't remember off-hand) to learn Dekaja very soon at level 10, which will prove to be extremely useful in some boss fights.

Status: Your free time in this game isn't spent on social links only. Life isn't that simple! Pockets has to increase his status.



There are 5 status:

+ Courage: required for a lot of Chie's dialog options, for some reason. May also be required for one of the social links. Courage may be increased by eating at the Rainy Day challenge and working at the hospital.

+ Diligence: required for fishing and for accepting certain jobs. May be increased making envelopes or playing sport.

+ Understanding: required for certain dialog options and for accepting certain jobs. May be increased by folding cranes and petting some cats.

+ Expression: required for advancing Nanako's and Dojima's social link past a certain point. Maybe increased by going to the culture club.

+ Knowledge: required for a bunch of things, such as two social links and doing well on exams. Maybe increased by studying at the library or at home, or my answering quiz questions correctly.

In addition, they can all be increased by reading the right book.

At the moment, Pockets is ranked 1 in all of them. What has he been doing with his life?

System: The only thing we really care about in System is the quest list. (Why would the quest list be in system, next to Options and stuff? I have no idea!)



We currently have no side quest.

Nanako is happy that Pockets helped her with the housework.



It's late, so Pockets returns to his room and watches the Midnight Channel. It's raining outside.





Weather Announcer: The region has seen an abnormal amount of fog over the past few years, and the cause of the climate change is unknown. Whatever the reason, residents of the Inaba area should be extra careful. Our broadcast tonight was extended to bring you up-to-date news on the incident in Inaba. The time is now midnight.

Pockets switches off the TV, and...





> It seems to be a woman. It looks like she's wearing a kimono…
> ……
> The image is so out of focus that you can't tell who it is…
> What would happen if you touched the image on the Midnight Channel…?
> Would you be able to touch the person on screen…?

Following the voice in his head, Pockets touchces the TV again.



But the image disappears.

Pockets decides that he will tell Yousuke and Chie tomorrow, and goes to bed for the night.

...

When he opens his eyes, he's somewhere else.



Igor: Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world… I have summoned you within your dreams. And so we meet again.
Margaret: This is a space that only those who have, in one way or another, entered into a contract may enter… In your daily life, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice... thereby enacting your glorious awakening to your power.
Igor: Hold on to this…



Igor: From this night forth, you are our guest in this velvet room. Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help. There is but one price for this assistance… You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you may make.



Igor: Very well. The Persona you have acquired… It is a side of yourself that shows itself when you face the world around you. Perhaps you can think of it as… a fa�ade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life. You Persona ability, however, is that of the wild card… Compared to that of others, it is very special. It is like the number zero… empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself.



Igor: The Persona ability is the power to control one's own heart… And the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities.

If only Igor can just stop speaking so cryptically, and then we won't be forced to ask those silly questions!

Margaret: Social Links are necessary for more than strengthening your Persona. At times, they will help light the way to the truth you are searching for.
Igor: Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you…? I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together… *chuckle * 'Til we meet again…

And that's it for today, folks!

Hefty update! If you're planning on keeping up this update schedule, you should build up some backlog.

Am...am I the only person who thinks that Teddie looks more like an egg than a bear.

Quite an update though. G'luck keeping up with a schedule like this, it must be keeping you busy.

I was thinking more an ungodly abomination that must be killed with fire...

Sensei! I know Teddie's too eggsellent for you to bear, but you shouldn't spread those rumors or you'll end up with egg on your face!

It's actually just today. This is probably one of the longest days in the game. I don't have to post this much on a regular basis

Why would you think such un-bear-able thoughts? Teddie has a bear-y bear-like head!

(Though if we think about it hard enough... Teddie's been in the TV world all his life and probably has never seen a real bear, so it's unclear where he gets the idea that he's a bear. )

...it's a Kodiak moment.

The next morning, Pockets run into Yousuke on the way to school.



Yousuke: You saw what was on last night, right? I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown on TV, we can't ignore it. Let's go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something. If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this. Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims… If someone's using that world as a weapon, that's unforgivable. We need to find the culprit… no matter what it takes!



Yousuke: Yeah... I agree. You know, I tried sticking my head inside the TV last night, the way you did, and it actually worked. I think I can do that now because I have the same power… Persona, wasn't it? Could be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve this case. Then again, you managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first…
I feel like, as long as you're with me, I can find the culprit and crack this case.
…Well, let's do our best!
> Even with so much mystery swirling around, Yosuke is trying his hardest to move on…
> You sense a faint stirring of friendship between you and Yosuke…



> As you form a bond with Yosuke, you feel the power in your heart strengthening…
> …You recall Igor's words.



Igor: As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities.
> Social Links… Is this bond with Yosuke what Igor was talking about…?
> ……



Our very first social link! Social links are one of the cores of the game. Each social link Pockets have corresponds to an Arcana in the Major Arcana, and the social link's Arcana is the same as that of the person that link represents. Our first one, Yousuke Hanamura, is of the Magician Arcana.



"Hello there new acquaintance. I will die for you!"

There are many benefits to ranking up our social links. All social links benefit Persona fusion, which we will get to later. Ranking up our party member's social link, in particular, also unlock useful benefits, such as the one we've just seen. Should Pockets be about to take a fatal hit in combat, any party member with at least rank 1 will take this hit for him.

This is extremely useful, because if Pockets loses all his HP in combat, the game will end and we have to start at the last save point. On the other hand, the game does not end if any of the other party members loses all their HP, and they can be revived pretty much on the spot with the relevant skills or items. I guess the takeaway from this is that Pockets's party members are too dumb to revive him without his instructions.

One caveat of this ability is that Pockets's ally can't take a mortal blow for him if they're also the target of a hit; a.k.a they will not do that when the party is attacked with a multi-target skill. If Pockets gets a fatal hit from a multi-target skill, he just dies.

Back to the story, Chie runs into class today panicking.



Yousuke takes the opportunity to apologize.

Yousuke: Um… About yesterday… We're sorry we worried you…
Chie: Oh-never mind that. Is Yukiko still not here?
Yousuke: Huh? Y-Yukiko-san? Uh… no…? At least, I haven't seen her today.
Chie: Oh man… What should I do…? Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real? You know… All that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world.
Yousuke: Oh, we were just talking about that. We're thinking of checking it out later-

Chie interrupts him.



Chie: That kimono looks like the one she wears at the inn, a-and she wore it during the interview a few days ago too. I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded… I called her earlier in the evening, though, and she said she'd be at school today… I-I…
Yousuke: Calm down. We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?
Chie: No…
> You summed up the information you gained in that other world for Chie.
Chie: What's that supposed to mean…? Wait, are you saying… Yukiko was thrown in there!?
Yousuke: We don't know yet for sure. We should check to see if she's safe first. Give her another call.
Chie: No good… Her voicemail picked up… She's not answering…
Yousuke: Are you serious…? Then is Yukiko-san inside that place…?
Chie: Jus-S-Stop it! Something must've come up, like an errand or something… Oh, or she might be helping at the inn… She wouldn't be able to answer her cell if that's it…
Yousuke: Yeah, but would she skip school for that?
Chie: W-Well, I'll give the inn a call… Umm… I've got the number here somewhere… C'mon, Yukiko… Pick up…



Chie: Uh-huh… Uh-huh, I see… Hm? Oh. Nah, it was nothing. I'll email you again later… *sigh * She was over at the inn. She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out. Yeah… Now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year. She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too.
Oh, for crying out loud, Yosuke! You got me worried over nothing! She was totally fine! And you were all "Is Yukiko-san inside that place…?" Hmph…
Yousuke: S-Sorry… But there is a reason we thought that.
Chie: Oh yeah…? What?
Yousuke:Well... we thought people show up on the midnight channel because they're already in that world. I mean, it makes sense, right? People show up on the TV because they're inside the TV… But Yukiko-san's still here, in our world. We might want to see what this is about. Alright, let's meet up at Junes after school.

A little bit later, at Junes.



Yousuke: O-Okay, I think that's more than enough about my sorry escapades.
Chie: If I hadn't seen the place first hand… I'd never have believed a story like that.
Yousuke: Yeah, no kidding. Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside-
Chie: Wh-How? By talking to that Teddie guy?
Yousuke: Yeah. Too bad there's so many customers around… I forgot there's a sale in the electronics department today... I got it! C'mere a sec. Try sticking your hand in and calling him over. I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance anyway.



I don't think a two person wall would work very well!

Pockets comes over and sticks his hand into the TV anyway. And...



Yousuke: Wh-What's wrong!?
Chie: Shhh! Not so loud, you idiot!



Chie: That's good… Sheesh, that stupid bear must've done it… Hey, you! We know you're in there!



Yousuke: No, it's not a game! Can you sense anyone inside there right now?
Teddie: Who's "anyone"? I'm a lonely little bear like always. This land feels so bear-ren…
Chie: Shut it! So there's no one inside…? You're sure?
Teddie: I-I'm not lying! My nose is running as good as ever!
Chie: …… I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyway. Since she'll be busy this weekend helping out at the inn, I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still…
Yousuke: Yeah… You'll walk with her to school on Monday, right?
Chie: Sure, I'll go pick her up at her house.
Yousuke: Maybe we'll find out more on tonight's Midnight Channel. Cross your fingers that this is all just a misunderstanding…

Yousuke asks Pockets for his number.



Yousuke: Alright, don't forget to watch tonight.

Meanwhile, elsewhere...



Young Detective: And we've still got nothing that points directly to a suspect…



Young Detective: Well, what else could it be? There's no way a body could end up like that by accident!
Dojima: …I know. We haven't found the cause of death for the first vic, and now we've got a second one just like it… If this is a murder case, there's no doubt we're dealing with a single perp. But if that's true… what the hell is going on?



Dojima: And remember, the only reason the scandal went public was because Hiiragi herself broke it to the media. No one would put themselves under suspicion that way if they had murder on their mind.
Young Detective: Got a point here.
Dojima: Same with Taro Namatame, her husband. No matter how much we shake him down, nothing links him to the murders. He's been working in the city for the past six months. Seems he was here recently because of the scandal, but he was swamped with work back home at the time of the incident. There are eyewitnesses and other evidence placing him at his office the night that Mayumi Yamano died. And we can't find anything that shows Yamano making contact with Namatame before of after her disappearance…
Young Detective: You hear Namatame's career has also been killed stone dead? He's been fired from his position as secretary.
He's practically as much of a victim as the Yamano girl.
Dojima: Yeah, I agree…



Dojima: She was killed well after she reported the body, and the culprit didn't hide her. It's like they were meant to be found. The only other connection is that she attended the same school as the daughter of the inn where Yamano was holed up. But that hardly points to a motive. Coincidences like that are common in a town as small as ours.
Young Detective: Yeah… I heard about that angle on the news, too.
Dojima: What!? Is the story about the inn out already?
Young Detective: Okay, I got it! How's this? Maybe there was something about the corpse that only Saki Konishi knew! And our perp killed her to keep whatever it was from leaking out!
Dojima: …… Either way, all we can do now is keep investigating anyone involved with the victims…

Get ready to hear a great deduction!



Back home at Dojima's house, Nanako is alone again.



She occupies herself with random gameshows.



And we don't have much to do but watch the midnight channel.





There is indeed something on the midnight channel! Here's a cutscene. And here's the text version.

The clock is ticking...



"Good evening!"



"Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise."



"I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud!"



"Welcome to Not a Dream, Not a Hoax!"



"Princess Yukiko hunts for her Prince Charming."



"And I came prepared!"



"I have my lacy unmentionables on,..."



"... stacked from top to bottom."



"I'm out to catch the whole harem; and the best of the lot is gonna be all mine!"



"Well, here I go!"

Whoa, that was definitely Yukiko on the Midnight Channel. But wasn't she a bit strange?

Yousuke gave us a call.

Yousuke: H-Hey, did you see that? That was Yukiko-san for sure! It looked like her, and I mean, she even said her name! But didn't the stuff she was saying sound weird!? And she looked like she was on some low-budget TV show… Was it like this before, too? What's going on…?



Yousuke: Y-Yeah, I know. Uhhh… Crap, I don't know her number… Oh yeah, I can just call Chie! Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!

And with that, Pockets go to bed. No classes tomorrow, but he's meeting up with Yousuke and Chie at Junes.