Let's Play: Kagero: Deception II

Zithuan · #91 07-01-2008, 11:26 AM

Chapter 9: Alternate Ending!

After Goatbone touches the statue, everything starts shaking violently, then it cuts to a shot of PANTS shaking her head.

In all of the chapters before this one, the player can always retreat to set up traps in the next room, find the healing stone, etc. Chapter 9 is the first chapter where there's a real danger of losing.

Elfir · #92 07-01-2008, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Goatbone: Woooo!

You said it, Goatbone! Party in the exploding castle!!!

Ample Vigour · #93 07-01-2008, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfir

You said it, Goatbone! Party in the exploding castle!!!

Goatbone is on SPRING BREAK motherfuckers!

Zithuan · #94 07-01-2008, 10:17 PM

The enemies start a long distance away, and you have to wonder why PANTS would ever stray too far from the bombs capable of obliterating the castle?

Matia and Helmut present a different problem from usual: they will wait for PANTS to come to them. Hopefully, they’ll be willing to give chase if PANTS steps into the room.

I don’t know what Helmut is trying to say here, but it sure looks like we got their attention. Run away!

Helmut?! Matia is faster… but she went back to hang out at the altar for some reason.
Where Press Wall slowly pushes an enemy, Attack Wall flings them 4 squares.

I believe this is the first time we’ve used Lava Vase without it killing a victim. Helmut tries to run into the wall (the last direction he was facing) while taking damage-over-time from Lava. Sharp-eyed readers will note that I switched the wall and floor traps…

That’s 3 different arrows in case that’s not clear.

It looks like the combo fell apart somewhere, I blame Triple Arrow for that. In the last frame, you can barely see the flattened Helmut as the Lift Floor drops back down.

I don’t know how Helmut healed himself while lying on the ground, but another Triple Arrow finishes him off.

So why didn’t you tell her before you’d been thoroughly ventilated? Don’t expect me to pass that message along for you, buddy.

I don’t really relish the idea of running around in that room, waiting for traps to charge, so hopefully PANTS can lure her out this time.

I don’t think Assassins are immune to gas, I think it’s more likely I was too slow activating the trap.

Zithuan · #95 07-01-2008, 10:18 PM

Matia gets a free hit, but the Attack Wall shoves her into the barrel of death (which I didn’t get a good shot of) and into another clipping error.

Now the real Deadmoon shows up.

Having learned from the earlier mistake, the Confuse Gas takes effect right as Layla steps through the door. Confuse Gas causes the victim to slowly amble forward, much like the original Vase trap.

As Layla has her last breaths crushed out of her, the door opens and Deadmoon immediately launches one of those annoying homing energy orbs. PANTS’ attempt to dodge is then interrupted by Layla’s final gurgle.

Looks like Deadmoon is literally a “shoot first, ask questions later” kind of guy.

This isn’t the best situation to be in, but fortunately…

Even the mighty Deadmoon is susceptible to a 600 Ark Gas trap. This gives us a free ticket to escape and regroup to a room that hasn’t seen much action yet.

It’s a good thing he can’t shoot through those archways, or over the railing. By the time he has a clean shot, so does PANTS.

Yes, this castle has a ceiling fan of death (Death Fan), enabling an impressive 7-hit “Master Combo!” Confuse Gas as the finisher so that Deadmoon will walk forward into the Smash Floor, to reset the combo.

Zithuan · #96 07-01-2008, 10:21 PM

It’s very important to wait a second or so between each hit to allow time for traps to charge. Now Confuse Gas is just to make him cough while the repositioned Lift Floor finishes charging.

That glow in the last frame means Deadmoon is regenerating, but the Triple Arrow is almost done charging…

I have no idea what “Draconia” refers to, whether it’s a place that isn’t referenced anywhere else in the game, or just a poorly translated epithet.

Not bad, though I could have tried harder to get a death blow with the Ceiling Fan…

King Eclypse: At any rate, there’s no more need to worry. We can go back to the castle now.

Priest Dusk: I’m afraid we should remain here a little longer.

King Eclypse: Why is that?

Priest Dusk: Well, sir, a bomb has been set at the castle’s altar. And it’s rumored that you’ve hidden a royal secret there.

King Eclypse: Hmm, that’s very interesting.

King Eclypse: Why don’t we wait and see how the humans are influenced by this rumor.

Priest Dusk: Yes, your majesty.

Blackword: What do you mean?

Jackal: There’s a royal secret hidden in the altar. I heard it’s the key to immortality.

Blackword: It can’t be. Do you really think the King would leave something that important behind?

Jackal: He must value his life over the secret. Besides, he didn’t leave it unguarded he’s put someone there to protect it.

Jackal: If there’s nothing valuable in the castle, he wouldn’t have needed to leave a guard, would he?

Blackword: Protecting the castle? Well, I see…

Blackword: Then why didn’t he simply use his army to surround the castle and keep it safe?

Jackal: I have no idea.

Jackal: There’s no easy explanation. Intuition tells me there’s something in the castle. I want you to go there with me.

So PANTS is a “creature” now?

As you might guess, old man Hebel can be spared if you all are so inclined. The others require more permanent deterrence. Seetha is our first Timenoid opponent... hmm.

HTML Code:

		Place	Damage	Charge	Cost
Spike Wall	Wall	35	5	2400
  Spiked Wall thrusts out, stabs and throws victims 3 blocks away.

Chain Needle	Wall	23	7	3800
  Five knifelike needles shoot from the mask on the wall.

Blast Bomb	Floor	50	7	2400
  Explosive flame spreads across 1 block & pushes victim 3 blocks.

Cold Claw	Floor	25	5	2000
  When Iron blades pin victim’s feet, cold air gushes up and freezes victim

Rising Floor	Floor	30	6	3600
  Floor thrusts up and injures victim against ceiling then floor.

Spark Rod	Floor	45	6	1900
  Rod zaps victim, electrifies water and other electric traps.

Magnet Floor	Floor	0	9	3400
  Floor becomes magnetic and pins victims within 1 block radius.

Evil Breath	Ceiling	0	4	1200
  Evil magic gas slows victim and lowers his defense

Vat		Ceiling	20	2	1200
  Vat drops on victim, enraging victim for hours.

We have 4031 Ark, and a few new choices after last chapter’s purchases.

Next… “Chapter 11: Prison of Time”

PapillonReel · #97 07-01-2008, 10:26 PM

I'm not sure... either Spike Thrust, Rising Floor or Magnet Floor. Oh, and spare the old man if you can - I'd like to see what happens to him if you do.

Edit: Actually, on second thought I'd like to see Magnet Floor, if you'd please.

SpoonyGundam · #98 07-01-2008, 10:34 PM

"Hey guys, Deadmoon himself just went to this castle and got his ass killed. Wanna explore it?"

People in this game are great. I don't really care what happens to the old guy, but I'm quite interested in Spark Rod.

Ample Vigour · #99 07-01-2008, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpoonyGundam

People in this game are great.

That's a fact, Jack. The imminence of their deaths makes their pitifully translated conversations even more precious.

Rising Floor, please!

jovewolf · #**100** 07-01-2008, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zithuan

I have no idea what “Draconia” refers to, whether it’s a place that isn’t referenced anywhere else in the game, or just a poorly translated epithet.

I think Draconia is only ever mentioned again in the "Genocide" ending, where he shows up.

Turns out it's Satan from Deception 1

Zithuan · #**101** 07-01-2008, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jovewolf

I think Draconia is only ever mentioned again in the "Genocide" ending, where he shows up.

That could be. It's been many, many years since I played through and got all the endings (over and over...) so I'm a bit fuzzy on some of the details.

Zithuan · #**102** 07-04-2008, 01:51 AM

Sorry for the missed update yesterday. Real life, you know?

Can’t really fault his logic on this one. He’s the only one here right now, but at his speed he’ll take forever to get anywhere. As a precaution, it probably makes more sense to go set traps at the altar room before going to meet Hebel…

And this is why. Jackal shows up about 30 seconds after the mission starts, and pretty close to the altar, too.

Several updates ago, I hinted that Iron Ball has a unique property besides being magnetic. It also bounces (I don’t know how well the bouncing is conveyed by these screenshots). In this situation, the Attack Wall sends the Iron Ball bouncing back & forth quite a few times before Jackal gets to the door. He tries to jump to the side, but is stuck in the doorway with little room to maneuver.

In some ways, Spark Rod can be used like other holding traps like Heavy Claw. Jackal only convulses for about a second, but that can be plenty of time to set off other trap combinations (which I fail to do here).

Fun Fact: Jackal is (was) a Red Blood member, and we would have had to fight him in Chapter 5 had we not spared Gerald and Rain.

He starts in a room with water? And we just bought Spark Rod? Looks like Hebel still hasn’t gotten too far, he may even get to the foyer before PANTS does.

The Triple Arrow was just to deter Blackword, since I saw he might otherwise intrude in the middle of the conversation with Hebel. Sure enough, I had to fire off a few arrows that bounced off the door as Blackword ran away.

Phantoms (Blackword’s job class) are another type of enemy that will hide and cower like Thieves. Phantoms have a ranged attack that causes status ailments if you get too close, however.

I only wanted to get a better view for screenshotting, but Blackword backed into the corner to stand in the water. Guess I don’t need positioning traps, but I use the Iron Ball first so the death blow will be from electrocution. Notice he starts taking electricity damage before he splashes.

Zithuan · #**103** 07-04-2008, 01:55 AM

Well, at least the bonus for an exact kill isn’t too hard. Blackword’s corpse crackles with electricity a couple times before fading away.

Eventually, Hebel makes it back to the front door and leaves…

And finally Seetha shows up. Seetha isn’t here for the altar, he’s here to test us or something.

Activate Confuse Gas after the door opens… and there’s a glowing, very fast-moving, energy orb coming at PANTS too fast to sidestep! Holy crap, that flung her a distance! We’d have gone farther if not for the walls. I knew Timenoids were immune to Magnets, I did not know they were immune to gas traps.

Unfortunately, Seetha decides to turn around and PANTS needs to get his attention to lure him back…

Well, we got his attention alright. Missed the timing on Lava Vase though. This could certainly be going better, but at least he can’t see us standing behind the pillar.

This is a better example of using Spark Rod as a holding trap while the pillar falls to crush him. The pillar covers up his pool of blood, but as a backstory reminder, Timenoid blood is blue. Hence the anti-TMD organization, “Red Blood”.

Between taking damage, letting Hebel go free, and learning that electrified water sucks for Ark, this may be the worst chapter so far for income. That’s why I didn’t buy Cold Claw last time; I knew there’d be very little left to buy anything new with.

Cynthia: Of course I do!

Cynthia: But…

Gunter: Then just be quiet and wait here!

Cynthia: But, honey…

If we’d killed everyone up to this point, here’s where we really see if we have the stomach to continue the genocide. Gunter is determined and must be killed, but his wife and child may be spared.

A less weighty question is what trap(s?) to buy next:

HTML Code:

		Place	Damage	Charge	Cost
Spike Wall	Wall	35	5	2400
  Spiked Wall thrusts out, stabs and throws victims 3 blocks away.

Chain Needle	Wall	23	7	3800
  Five knifelike needles shoot from the mask on the wall.

Blast Bomb	Floor	50	7	2400
  Explosive flame spreads across 1 block & pushes victim 3 blocks.

Cold Claw	Floor	25	5	2000
  When Iron blades pin victim’s feet, cold air gushes up and freezes victim

Rising Floor	Floor	30	6	3600
  Floor thrusts up and injures victim against ceiling then floor.

Thunder Volt	Floor	65	7	4100
  Lightning strikes rod, electrifies water and other electric traps.
Magnet Floor	Floor	0	9	3400
  Floor becomes magnetic and pins victims within 1 block radius.

Evil Breath	Ceiling	0	4	1200
  Evil magic gas slows victim and lowers his defense

Vat		Ceiling	20	2	1200
  Vat drops on victim, enraging victim for hours.

We have 4426 Ark, not a lot, but enough to give PANTS a new toy to keep her happy.

Next… “Chapter 12: Fading Souls”

I don’t know when the next update will be, possibly not until Sunday. I should be back on track after that, though.

Pajaro Pete · #**104** 07-04-2008, 02:21 AM

Abusive father and husband
A weak-willed, mentally broken wife and mother
A terminally ill child wearing way too short shorts.

Put them out of their collective misery.

Let's get the Cold Claw too.

PapillonReel · #**105** 07-04-2008, 02:27 AM

I vote Magnet Floor, but spare the woman and child. We may be killers, but we're not monsters, damn it!

Thinaran · #**106** 07-04-2008, 04:00 AM

Cold claw! And I still want to see the Vat.

Kill the wife and child! Perfect genocide! The kid is going to die anyway. Probably.

Elfir · #**107** 07-04-2008, 08:33 AM

If possible, kill the child and let the woman go. Free from burdens, she will be able to live a better life.

Zithuan · #**108** 07-06-2008, 02:09 AM

True words indeed, Gunter. It annoys me that NPCs keep calling it the “Secret,” basically admitting they have no clue what it really is, when it’s actually only wishful thinking.

Somehow, I’m not sure Yocal would be that sympathetic. Heck, if we kill Cynthia and spare Thoma, Yocal might go recruit him.

… oh my. He just caught and threw the Iron Ball at PANTS while holding a giant maul in one hand. That’s impressive.

Guess he didn’t realize it would bounce back and hit him anyway.

This guy is too damn strong.

I set off the Attack Wall too soon to see him encased in ice because I wasn’t sure if he could break out quickly or something.

Dear God, why aren’t you dead yet?!... oh, nevermind. Some enemies in the game stand back up after getting dropped to 0 hp, just so they can fall back down while giving their dying words.

Don’t worry, you won’t have to wait long to see him again…

Zithuan · #**109** 07-06-2008, 02:11 AM

Sure thing! Has your dad taught you to how to catch? No? Looks like you’re more of a “tag” kid, I guess?

Freeze Tag?
Thoma, in addition to having a unique character model, also has a unique ‘getting-hit’ scream and ‘death’ scream. I hope you sickos are happy.

Strangely, Cynthia never says anything. Not when she appears at the door and first sees PANTS, or when her child charges headlong to his death right before her eyes.

That’s two entire families we’ve slaughtered now. We have lots of Ark to ease our conscience though.

Emilia: …noooo…

Mebius: Your mother must be worried about you by now.

Emilia: My… mother hasn’t come back.

Mebius: What? She hasn’t returned?

Emilia: Neither has my father…. Or my brother….

Well, it looks like we missed one of the family, so we have a second chance to finish the job. Bizarrely enough, I don’t think any in this batch of intruders will try to flee!

HTML Code:

		Place	Damage	Charge	Cost
Spike Wall	Wall	35	5	2400
  Spiked Wall thrusts out, stabs and throws victims 3 blocks away.

Chain Needle	Wall	23	7	3800
  Five knifelike needles shoot from the mask on the wall.

Cold Arrow	Wall	32	4	4000
  Cold air shoots from mask, freezing victim.*

Blast Bomb	Floor	50	7	2400
  Explosive flame spreads across 1 block & pushes victim 3 blocks.

Rising Floor	Floor	30	6	3600
  Floor thrusts up and injures victim against ceiling then floor.

Thunder Volt	Floor	65	7	4100
  Lightning strikes rod, electrifies water and other electric traps.

Magnet Floor	Floor	0	9	3400
  Floor becomes magnetic and pins victims within 1 block radius.

Evil Breath	Ceiling	0	4	1200
  Evil magic gas slows victim and lowers his defense

PapillonReel has been asking for Magnet Floor, so I’ll probably get that unless a compelling case is made for what else to do with our 5328 Ark.

* This description makes it sound like a wall-mounted gas trap, but I am reasonably certain it is an arrow like any other (that also freezes).

Next… “Chapter 13: Sympathy’s Price”

Mazian · #**110** 07-06-2008, 02:18 AM

I'm not sure what to think of a game that gives you bonuses for "PERFECT GENOCIDE".

Merus · #**111** 07-06-2008, 02:56 AM

By this point, I'm finding it hard to have sympathy for these people any more. The first few times, okay. But now there's been, what, two dozen people go into this mansion and never come out? Why do increasing numbers of people keep wandering in? Do they think we're holding a secret party?

PapillonReel · #**112** 07-06-2008, 02:58 AM

Man, who cares about that? Now we've got ourselves a Magnet Floor.

Unless Zithuan buys something else instead, but he would never be that cruel... would he?

Elfir · #**113** 07-06-2008, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merus

By this point, I'm finding it hard to have sympathy for these people any more. The first few times, okay. But now there's been, what, two dozen people go into this mansion and never come out? Why do increasing numbers of people keep wandering in? Do they think we're holding a secret party?

There will be cake.

Pajaro Pete · #**114** 07-06-2008, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merus

By this point, I'm finding it hard to have sympathy for these people any more. The first few times, okay. But now there's been, what, two dozen people go into this mansion and never come out? Why do increasing numbers of people keep wandering in? Do they think we're holding a secret party?

For future reference: There is absolutely no one in the Deception series who is smart enough to live. Natural selection should have wiped out the entire population a long, long time ago.

PANTS is a mime, so she has the right to kill the rest of the idiots. The heroines from Deception 3 and Trapt, however, are just as stupid (if not moreso) than their victims.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zithuan, Page One

But, at what age does an individual develop a self-preservation instinct?

Apparently never.

Zithuan · #**115** 07-06-2008, 11:55 PM

Grand’Or: Of course, Saki. Be careful.

While I appreciate their discussion of plans as if there were no 3rd person omniscient observer, it isn’t that useful to know they are entering through the front door 5 seconds before they do so.

The Magnet Floor affects 3x3 squares, so you won’t see PANTS standing too close to get better screenshots. A shame this room is so dark, I think a torture chamber could benefit from better lighting.

That’s one down, now how close is Mebius? Crap.
(PANTS was too busy admiring her handiwork and I happened to pause a split second before getting hit.)

Kagero is, in some ways, a puzzle game, and part of the challenge is in lining up your opponents for what you have planned. Sometimes it’s easy if you have a welcoming barrage after a door opens, but many times you have to run around until a trap charges and the enemy is where you want them. Here I’m only using the Magnet Floor to hold Mebius still while PANTS gets in position. Once Mebius is free and walks forward, the Lava Vase will forcibly continue her path…

All of this effort just because I realized I’d never gotten a death blow with a Lumber Saw since I’d mentioned wanting to do so back in Chapter 4.

To be honest, we don’t know why Gustave is here. Therefore, we should assume the worst: that he’s after the “Secret” and will blow up the whole castle if allowed.

This is weird. While being held by the Magnet Floor, Triple Arrow hits briefly show “5 Dmg” but then show “0 Dmg” immediately after. Soldiers are normally immune to arrows, but they shouldn’t be immune while held in a Magnet. I don’t know if it’s a glitch due to that, or whether the Magnet Floor is recapturing Grand’Or right after each hit, and that’s what’s showing the 0 damage. You can see from his life bar that he is taking damage in any case.

The Iron Ball swings towards the center of the magnetic field as it falls, and knocks Grand’Or into the electric chair for the death blow.

Grand’Or and Saki are more Red Blood members that we could have encountered back in Chapter 5 had Gerald and Rain not been spared. Instead, Mebius would have recruited Hunna and Ash for this chapter’s mission.

Zithuan · #**116** 07-06-2008, 11:57 PM

I still don’t know why Gustave came here. He doesn’t say anything, and he just cowers at the mere sight of PANTS. With a little maneuvering, he’s convinced to run away to a more interesting room.

Those that cower before me deserve nothing less than a quick, Ark-heavy death!

Otto: I’ll go find your mother and father.

Otto runs away when he sees PANTS, but keeps coming back to the door to see if anything changed in the previous 5 seconds.

PANTS goes and hides in the hall to lure Otto into the room. When the map shows he’s within range of the Magnet Floor, PANTS jumps back into the room, shouting “Boo!”

Magnet Floor and Iron Ball work together almost like a loophole to the “no ceiling traps directly over floor traps” rule. I think Otto has to be a candidate for the best dying words.

Emilia is weird; she just stands there frozen, not even cowering. Enemies that do cower typically attack if you get this close to them, but Emilia doesn’t do that, either.

That’s disturbing.

Zithuan · #**117** 07-06-2008, 11:58 PM

Yocal: It seems as though you have no concern for the humans.

Yocal: I have no more question of your loyalty, now that you’ve killed even an innocent little girl.

Yocal: There’s a bomb at the altar. Humans think the TMD secret is hidden there. Be sure they don’t accidentally set it off.

Gee, thanks for telling me now. Not like I haven’t had about a dozen people try to set it off already!

Hot Damn! Shopping spree, anyone?

Gostero: Don’t try to fight, ok? Just bait her. …and be careful.

We’ll encounter several new classes of enemy next chapter, and Void is another of the same class that Deadmoon was. Curiously, we can allow Void to live if you all are so inclined.

HTML Code:

		Place	Damage	Charge	Cost
Spike Wall	Wall	35	5	2400
  Spiked Wall thrusts out, stabs and throws victims 3 blocks away.

Chain Needle	Wall	23	7	3800
  Five knifelike needles shoot from the mask on the wall.

Cold Arrow	Wall	32	4	4000
  Cold air shoots from mask, freezing victim.

Blast Bomb	Floor	50	7	2400
  Explosive flame spreads across 1 block & pushes victim 3 blocks.

Rising Floor	Floor	30	6	3600
  Floor thrusts up and injures victim against ceiling then floor.

Thunder Volt	Floor	65	7	4100
  Lightning strikes rod, electrifies water and other electric traps.

Vacuum Floor	Floor	0	12	4300
  Floor becomes super magnet; pins victims within 2 block radius.

Evil Breath	Ceiling	0	4	1200
  Evil magic gas slows victim and lowers his defense

8201 Ark is quite a bit of buying power, even with the increasing prices. We can buy nearly any combination of 2 traps, so what should be added to PANTS’ arsenal?

Next… “Chapter 14: Small Sacrifice”

SpoonyGundam · #**118** 07-07-2008, 12:42 AM

I'm going to say some combination of Evil Breath, Blast Bomb, and Spike Wall. Just to clear the weaker traps off the list and see what unlocks with that.

Elfir · #**119** 07-07-2008, 12:49 AM

Thunder Volt sounds fun to me.

Wipe them out. All of them.

PapillonReel · #**120** 07-07-2008, 01:09 AM

I'm with Spoony Gundam on this one. Let's play catch-up with some of the stuff we've been neglecting.

But afterwards, go for Vacuum Floor right away.