Let's Play: Kagero: Deception II

In subsequent playthroughs, the endings you've gotten so far unlock new traps that are available immediately in the next playthrough. Unless Zithuan wants to keep playing beyond the end to show off the new traps and other endings (a lot of effort for not much more content), it doesn't matter.

There seemed to be a consensus towards letting the Red Blood find the grail, so this update will be pretty quick and uneventful.



A prelude of the lack of excitement to come, the mission starts with no dialogue, just PANTS staring at a door. I didn’t even know she had an idle pose!



My emulator only runs when it has priority, so I flipped through the D&D 4e Monster Manual while I waited for these guys to make it to the grail. Couldn’t the Red Blood have sent ninjas or something for this mission?



The translators at Tecmo evidently are using the definition of grail: “any greatly desired and sought-after objective; ultimate ideal or reward.” This “grail” appears to be a large stone slab with writing on it.



Bortos is a linguistics specialist? I would not have guessed.



This time, I pay a bit more attention to get a screenshot of where the other exit is.



And that’s it! The first two guys get in and out with copies of the writing, so no one else bothers to enter.



Only 6 minutes, 46 seconds? It sure felt longer than that, but it always does when you have to stand still and wait for other people.



Sigma: But you don’t believe in fighting.

Ramda: Yes, but…

Sigma: Are you sure you’ll be ok?

Ramda: I just don’t feel right about battling in a sacred place.

Sigma: I understand…



These guys didn’t get the memo about it being ok for PANTS to be here. I have to seriously question King Eclypse’s style of governance. He only places a single guard at important sites, and doesn’t tell any of his subjects? It’s almost like he wants a bloodbath…

I bought Heat Breath (not that I used it), and the only trap unlocked from that costs more than the 5153 Ark available. Therefore, I’ll go ahead and buy Buzz Saw since there’s no point in having Magnets equipped against Timenoid opponents.

Obviously this was a pathetically short update, so the next one, a “real” update, will be later tonight.

Next… “Chapter 18: Timenoid Shadows”

Another quiet start, Ramda shows up alone not far from PANTS’ starting position. Fortunately, the central room is a very defensible location.



PANTS takes position on the far side of the room from the Volt Wall, and prepares to launch the Buzz Saw. Like many NPCs, Ramda doesn’t say anything until he has an unblocked line of sight, but all PANTS hears is “Ark ark ark Arkark!”



Buzz Saw’s description doesn’t give any hint about the real beauty of the trap: it pushes the victim all the way to the opposing wall! So in this situation, the Buzz Saw pushed Ramda 12 squares into the Volt Wall and the Heat Breath waiting to finish the job. The downside to Buzz Saw is that many enemies are immune or resistant to projectile traps.



Heat Breath on the other hand sucks; it inflicts about 20 damage per second in 1 damage increments. It’s very good at killing things, but completely worthless for Ark. Since we’re on track to have bought all the traps before the game’s end, I may use it more in the later chapters.



Sigma shows up, and he’s brought a friend! I’m not entirely sure what the difference between a “Shadow” and an “Assassin” is, since they use the same character model. She doesn’t show up on the map right now, so my guess is that she is hiding in Sigma’s shadow, much like Hagane was hiding in Deadmoon’s shadow. I didn’t get a good screenshot then, so hopefully I can get one this time.



If you look carefully at Sigma’s feet after he’s been hit with the Lava Vase, Mist apparently crawls out of his feet and pretends to be his shadow now that he’s not floating. Freaky.



Mist frees herself from Sigma and teleports right next to PANTS just as the Chain Needle starts to unload into Sigma.



The Chain Needle hits Sigma several times and kills him before Mist has a chance to strike. It really is a shame that multi-hit traps aren’t really worth using in this game. Chain Needle was the prerequisite for Buzz Saw though, so I never completely skip it.



Sigma finishes his dying words, and Mist finally gets her hit a split second later. The most annoying thing about Mist is that we have to fight her in this room, or she’ll just teleport away and vow revenge in a later chapter. Yes, I learned that the hard way and had to restart.



Mist gets another hit before we are able to start running away, but Mist is very hard to get away from. When Mist stops to take a swipe is the only time we can really put some distance between them. In the course of fleeing, PANTS steps dangerously close to the Pit Fall…

And Mist falls in on her own! NPCs almost never accidentally walk into room traps, and that “almost” is solely due to this event right here! Mist is now much more manageable, but I resist the urge to use the Lava Vase for the death blow.



Why use a mere vase filled with lava when there’s a massive pool of lava right here? Lava doesn’t count as a “room device” so there’s no Initial Trap benefit for killing someone that way, but I could place traps in the lava if I was so inclined.



Keith: Timenoid never used to have endless life span.

Leopold: That means…

Keith: Uhuh.



dun dun DUN!!



“Ingested” by Fiery Lava?
Like I said before, multi-hit traps like Chain Needle and Heat Breath suck for Ark.



Keith: However, is what we’ve been taught by them true?

Keith: But is the peace we have here truly peace?

Keith: I lost my parents and sister when I was a boy… they vanished without a trace. Such events have been common here.

Keith: I’ve researched the disappearances that have taken place over the years.

Keith: In every instance the Timenoids were somehow involved.

Keith: I learned that much.

Keith: Against all reason I thought the disappearances were murders committed by the Timenoids against the humans.

Keith: You may wonder what motivation they would have. I wondered, too. Until I found the answer at their Sacred Place.

Keith: The Timenoids are not a unique species born with immortality. The Timenoids were born human just like us.

Keith: Then why don’t they share this knowledge with the humans?

Keith: Though they were mortals at one time, the Timenoids are now immortal.

Keith: The Timenoids don’t want to share this gift with the humans.

Keith: The Timenoids have been stalking and killing humans… and make it look as if they simply vanish.

Keith: These clues led me to discover one important fact.

Keith: The Timenoids need human souls in order to obtain immortality!



Priest Dusk: Yes, your majesty.

Priest Dusk: We are trying to suppress the rebellion, but even some of our own guards have been influenced by the address.

King Eclypse: Keith. A stupid man. Anyone could have predicted that the country would be in chaos if someone made such an address.

King Eclypse: Besides, if he thinks it’s true, why doesn’t he try to obtain immortality himself and become a Timenoid.

Priest Dusk: Keith is probably planning to exterminate the Timenoid.

King Eclypse: Then what will he do? Even if he obtains power, the country will revert to chaos when he dies. An immortal must lead.

Priest Dusk: Yes, your majesty.

King Eclypse: It’s no use… it’s PANTS’ fault that the grail was discovered by the humans. She may be plotting with Keith.

King Eclypse: We must have someone take care of her as soon as possible. Do you know of any human we can use?

Priest Dusk: All the trustworthy humans are out suppressing the rebellion at the moment.

Priest Dusk: However, I think that some of the prisoners may obey. They haven’t heard Keith’s address.



Bossgun: Understood.

Gordeau: Gina, you work with Bossgun, All right?

Gina: Got it.

Gordeau: Priest Dusk guarantees our freedom if we succeed with this mission. We must not fail.





So you guys caused a civil war by letting those guys go free! Having to transcribe all that text made me wish we had just killed them instead. Keith’s speech does contain a few interesting plot tidbits though… such as hinting at what happens in the slaughter everyone ending… And also the mention of his family…


3158 Ark isn’t enough to buy anything new, but we’ll definitely have everything before the end of the game. There are only 11 traps left (counting the 5 above) that haven’t been purchased.

Next… “Chapter 19: Final Gamble”

I love how Keith's earthshattering speech was delivered to maybe fifteen people.

Well, the camera pans around a bit during the scene, there's actually more like 25. :P

I only count like six: Lady in brown, lady in bonnet, lady in green, man in blue, balding man, and man in vest.

We haven't gone on nearly enough about how awesome the graphics in this game are. Only thing that could make this game more artisticly stunning would be voice acting.

That'd be sweet.

So are we on track for the slaughter everyone ending? I want PANTS to become a TMD.

PANTS let some people go way back in chapter four or something. And a few more times later, sadly.

But anyway, I sure do hope Keith gets to meet his long-lost sister! I wonder what she's like?

Not a bad plan, but in reality, PANTS could wait until they come to her. She’s not the one fighting for her freedom. I have no intention of seeing if the NPCs do change their mind after a few minutes like Ballantine did, however.



I suppose “Goddess” is preferable to “creature,” but these two are no less willing to kill PANTS despite that appellation. Spartus launches himself, trying to catch her with a flying tackle, and PANTS has to run around him on her way back out the door.



Gordeau is the faster of the two, and gets the classic, Lava-Vase-to-run-forward-into-a-movement-trap. But what is that strange device on the other side of the room?



It’s an Iron Maiden, though the game just calls it a “Casket.” I was hoping the Buzz Saw would push him back in to be impaled again, but it was not meant to be. Gordeau only has 6 hp left, but Spartus has an obscene 200 hp to chew through.



PANTS retreats to this tiny little room in the corner. You can see from the first screenshot that there is a large metal plate suspended by chains…



Spartus impatiently keeps trying to push past the slow-moving Gordeau, so they are both easily caught by the Smash Floor. The game developers apparently didn’t foresee a Double Hit for some traps, and for a moment, Gordeau and Spartus’ character models merge together into a four-armed monstrosity. The False Roof normally crushes everything in the room, but the Smash Floor throws the victims up into it, so the False Roof incorrectly thinks it has already done its job.



Before PANTS leaves the room, she sets off an Iron Ball that somehow manages to hit Spartus twice! I have no idea how this is possible, since the Iron Ball normally disappears after a single hit.



Gina and Bossgun show up far enough away from their fallen compatriots that PANTS will have to find a new room to fight in.



The entrance room has a raised dias in the middle that prevents ranged attackers from targeting PANTS from the doorway. Bossgun never really had a chance.



Well, Gee Wally, it sure looks like it!

Even though the exact same combination would work on Gina, I resist that temptation to do something a little different. The Vat-induced berserk state will prevent her from firing at PANTS, and she instead gives chase into a magnetic field. I’ll give you guys one guess where the Smash Floor is going to drop her.



If you didn’t guess the floor spikes, you must be new to this thread. Floor spikes deal lots of damage, give very good Ark, and can often combo with itself. Since that’s the only room device present, there aren’t too many options for interesting deaths.



I just imagine the afterlife of this world and the dead spirits comparing notes on how they died:
“You got impaled by a Floor Pike too? There’s a bunch of us that died that way, we’re going to go play soccer against the ‘Smashed by Iron Ball’ guys.”
“Hey, how’d you die, Gordeau?”
“I.. uh… got thrown by a Smash Floor.”
“Smash Floor? Like, not even into anything? Just the Smash Floor itself? That’s just sad…”



Vogues: How about using the Timenoid replica that I recently completed. Have it kill the girl.

King Eclypse: I’ll leave it in your hands.



Gadoha sure has a bunch of immunities. He’s probably also immune to Magnets like the other Timenoids are.

This time, we have 9808 Ark to start finishing off our trap collection. I wouldn’t count on getting much Ark next chapter; only two opponents, and Timenoids have a pretty good track record for spoiling the No Damage Clear bonus.

Next… “Chapter 20: Master’s Strings”

Vacuum Floor is tempting me, but I'd like to see what Flare Rock and Quake Bomb do first, to be honest.

The Flare Rock sounds pretty self-explanatory to me. But I'd like to see it happen.

There are robots in this muhfuggin game? For some reason I can handle blue-skinned immortals and guys named Goatbone, but robots cross the line with me.

Requesting a picture of the robot running around with a jar on its head.

Vogues: You don’t know anything, do you?

Vogues: You aren’t aware that what you’ve done is a sin.

Vogues: You blame others for the cause.

Vogues: All humans are the same. You too exonerate yourself for the human murders you’ve committed.

Vogues: Oh, well. It’s no use preaching to one so close to death.



Vogues looks like a Timenoid version of Goatbone, and so far seems to act like it too. He immediately turns to flee, leaving his TMDBot to fight PANTS. Gadoha is definitely a robot; when he walks, he sounds like Lux the Tetujin from 7th Saga.



Quake Bomb affects a very large area, and really only has a single use. That large rock suspended from the ceiling deals a lot of damage, but doesn’t have any other switch to set it off. This is a prime example of when to abuse the see-through-walls glitch, as Gadoha will move unpredictably and fire long range, damaging, homing attacks if he has line of sight to PANTS.



Gadoha would be immune to Buzz Saw if not for the Vase on his head. The Quake Bomb has to be set off fairly early (before he is even in Buzz Saw range) because of a delay before the ceiling rock falls. Once Gadoha is pushed into the Quake Bomb’s area of effect, it registers as another hit in the combo. That rock fills 4 squares, by the way; it’s pretty big.



In the time it takes Gadoha to struggle to his feet and start charging his ranged attack, Fire Ball has finished charging. Yet another nice thing about Fire Ball is that immunity to arrows doesn’t help. His creator, Vogues is male, so why is Gadoha saying, “mother”..?





Gordis has nearly identical stats to Gadoha, but is slightly faster, has more hp, and his ranged attack is a laser instead of energy ball. I have no particular intention of getting hit by that, you can just take my word for it.



Well that was easy. The sacred place has two nearly identical, U-shaped rooms that have pendulum blades lined up with the door. Spring Floor doesn’t throw a victim high enough for an Aerial Hit, but Smash Floor can.



Gordis is still on his way, and PANTS hasn’t tried out Flare Rock yet. Guess we’ll just wait here and use (mostly) the same trap setup.



This time, the timing of the Smash Floor isn’t synced up to the pendulum, but that’s a good thing in this case. Flaming death awaits!

Fire Ball is one of the few projectiles that can hit a prone victim, but it also stands them up. So the Flare Rock lands on Gordis’ head instead of his back. Either way, this robot is made of pretty tough stuff, and isn’t damaged enough to be slowed down. Time to run!



The noise of Gordis clanking down the hallway gets louder as he gets closer to the room, alerting PANTS to the best time to activate Flare Rock. Gordis starts charging up for his laser attack, but Flare Rock rolls down the stairs and makes a nice crunching sound as it barrels over him and into the hallway. Interesting, Gordis has red blood and his job class was “Puppet.” Checking my unused screenshots reveals Gadoha also had red blood…



Keith: I see. Then we must use this opportunity to overtake the castle.

Keith: We’ll kill the King.

Leopold: Yes. This will be an all-out war, right? I’ll tell the others.

Good thing PANTS won’t be at the castle, right?





Priest Dusk: We have only the bodyguard to rely on. We must retreat to the sacred place and prepare to destroy the Red Blood.

King Eclypse: I see. It would be less risky to fight PANTS than take on the entire Red Blood army.

Priest Dusk: Yes, your majesty. Our army is deployed throughout the country. I’ll order their return immediately.



Priest Dusk: However, she is not just a girl.

Priest Dusk: She’s killed dozens of humans!

Priest Dusk: She’s a homicidal maniac!!

Priest Dusk: She’ll use the traps set in the castle to attack you. She’s strong, and clever. You must be very careful.

Priest Dusk: If you succeed, we’ll arrange for you to become Timenoids.

Priest Dusk: Do your best, everyone!





I take it back, I’d rather be at the castle. Prior to this chapter, no enemy had a damage rating higher than 54, and here we’re up against two 90s!

We have enough for one new trap, and for those interested, Vacuum Floor is the only one that won’t unlock another new trap. In fact, I don’t know how much you know about Kagero (I’m an expert), so I’ll go ahead and give previews of what will be unlocked by the above choices:
Cold Arrow unlocks Laser Arrow, Catastrophe unlocks Hellfire, and Thunder Volt unlocks Volt Magnet.

Next… “Chapter 21: Road of Ruin”

If Vacuum Floor doesn't open anything up, all the more reason to clear it off the queue by picking it up.

Catastrophe sounds like fun.

Cold arrow sounds lame, but Laser arrow on the other hand sounds awesome.

Pew pew!

You know, three way tie just isn't enough.

PANTSACHU USE YOUR THUNDER VOLT ATTACK!!!

On second thought, go for Thunder Volt, then Volt Magnet. Yes, I like Magnets that much.

being an expert, I'm surprised you choice flare rock over volt rock. that must be the best trap in the game. not only does it deal 100 damage, its magnetic too!! but unlike the iron ball, itdoesnt go away until t stops moving, very useful for a magnet floor to roll it back and forth on a target.

I don't know how much you know about Let's Plays (I'm an expert), but Zithuan's been letting the audience decide what traps to buy with his hard-earned arc. This... "volt rock" hasn't shown up yet, as far as I can tell.

Besides, it takes a real expert to rock the house with a suboptimal setup. And I guess it'd get boring or something if every kill was magnet + volt rock.

Priest Dusk: I agree, your majesty.

King Eclypse: By the way, what are you doing here?

King Eclypse: You should go and fight along with the guards.

Priest Dusk: Me? You can’t be serious, your majesty.

King Eclypse: I’m very serious!

King Eclypse: Now get going! Get out of here!

Looks like there will be a 7th opponent in this chapter, and there’s no hint what Priest Dusk’s stats are until he shows up.



Bloodhorn: Yes.

Galdrake: Hmm. I don’t know… but regardless, we have to destroy her.

This is a good starting position, all things considered, but I doubt later enemies will continue to spawn at the front entrance.



Bloodhorn is first through the door, but Galdrake is very close behind. Galdrake’s triple fireball attack isn’t too hard to dodge as long as there’s room to do so. Bloodhorn, does not share his companion’s fire resistance, and receives a Lava Vase + Fire Ball gift set of his own, courtesy of PANTS.



Smash Floor into the trigger zone for the Guillotine, and the first opponent is down. He didn’t live very long at all, I'd estimate less than a second looking at the charge time for Fire Ball.



Galdrake gets a hit in while PANTS is trying to retreat, and it looks like she’s going to be pincered in that central room. I expect Loongear to show up first, but the traps are set up for the other door. *sigh*



The Flare rock hasn’t finished charging by the time Loongear enters the fray, but the Attack Wall does its job, and launches him into position. Thunder Volt creates a line of electricity to other electrical traps in the room, in this case, the Volt Wall. I’m not sure I ever tried, but I believe a Volt Magnet and Thunder Volt in this room would create a “V” connecting the three.



The Flare Rock barrels over, but fails to kill Loongear, and PANTS begins another strategic withdrawal. It looks like the NPCs try to regroup before attacking, so Loongear is still walking in a straight line between the Thunder Volt and the Volt Wall…



The lightning line * ELECTROCUTES * Loongear! Loongear is dead!!
Vermilion also spawns in a flanking position, I hope they don’t all do that.

Thunder Volt barely finishes charging in time to shock Galdrake and stun him for the Flare Rock’s crushing assault. The Fire Ball flies way overhead, but I didn’t have many better options for the wall trap. The game wouldn’t let me place a wall trap on top of the Volt Wall already in place.



Ack!! Vermilion got here a lot faster than I was expecting!



Lava Vase’s 3 second charge time is crucial here, though he’d already changed course and the Attack Wall doesn’t put him where I was expecting. I’m not complaining though, as the pitfall does very respectable damage considering his armor.



Charge faster Power Magnet! Charge Faster!!
Damn. You’d think full plate would conduct electricity a little better than that, but that’s why I have an Iron Ball nearby, too.



Yes, I have both Flare Rock and Iron Ball equipped this chapter. Flare Rock does more damage and looks better, but isn’t magnetic.



Priest Dusk shows up just as the door behind PANTS opens, but fortunately Galdrake doesn’t have line of sight to attack before PANTS can get away.



Galdrake is limping from prior injuries, so the Power Magnet and Thunder Volt easily finish him off.



Finally a little breathing room and both enemies coming from the same direction!

Not like I haven’t used this exact combination before.



That blue-white glow means he’s regenerating, but he’s also still burning. I’m not sure which would win out in the end, but Fire Ball has finished charging.



The Fireball almost looks like it ricochets off the fireplace, but it’s probably just exploding on impact. Gilardes still hasn’t shown up, but Zodiac is already at the door…



It may be hard to tell from the first two screenshots, but Zodiac didn’t step all the way into the room and the Lava Vase missed. Instead, he’s charging up for his nasty homing lightning bolt that doesn’t require line of sight.



Zodiac can’t see PANTS with the several intervening elevation charges, so he gets the same treatment as Loongear. Unfortunately, he seems to be immune to electricity. Figures, really.



PANTS has barely started to run out of the room and Zodiac already has already healed a big chunk of the damage he just took. That sucks.



PANTS hides behind the corner to lure Zodiac just far enough into the room to Smash Floor him across the room. HE CAN HEAL HIMSELF WHILE PRONE!? ARRGH!!!



The Lava Vase makes him walk into the floor spikes.., but… he floats off the spike square and now he can see me! RUN!!!



I hate him so much. Damn he hits hard!

Another Smash Floor at the door while PANTS hides behind a corner, but it’s almost the only way to fight this guy. I was not expecting him to get caught and sliced up by the ceiling fan, but I’ll take whatever death I can get on this guy. I’m just glad he ran out of heals, or whatever.



Finally, Gilardes shows up, but PANTS seriously needs healing. The closest Healing Loon is in the front entrance room, but PANTS can probably get there before Gilardes.



Now at full health, PANTS is ready for mighty Gilardes. First: Power Magnet into a Smash Floor into a Lava Vase. Although that Lava Vase did a disconcertingly low amount of damage…



The Lava Vase was to get him to run forward into an Attack Wall that would turn him around. I’m not sure what that bright light after the Rising Floor hits is about; he’s glowing, but he isn’t healing…



1 damage from Lava Vase!? 1 damage from Floor Spikes!? Oh god, that glow must be some temporary invulnerability or something. RUN AWAY!!



The last time we needed to take out a really tough opponent (Spartus) the small room with the false roof was invaluable for dealing the massive damage needed. I had a Power Magnet in there just in case PANTS needed to trigger the false roof again to kill him.



Whew, finally…

Oh dear god…
He can inflict a LOT of freaking damage. Ok, well if the game gives 8 spots for intruders you know there has to be at least 1 chapter that needs all 8. Time to take a deep breath and finish this.



Sure, blame PANTS. Didn’t Yocal warn you about neglecting her education or something? Oh well, now that I know Smash Floor will send him to the ceiling fan, I do so.



PANTS isn’t going to stick around any longer than she has to, the King isn’t dead, so he’s still dangerous.



Oh course he regenerates! How do you like your new crown, your majesty?



How else to execute a king than by Guillotine?



12 minutes might not seem that long, but the way I do an LP is to take screenshots and write it up as I go. So this entry especially felt like it took forever.



Leopold: Where did he escape to?

Keith: If he has left permanently it’s going to be very difficult to find him.

Keith: However, he probably plans to reemerge after he reestablishes his army.

Leopold: Yes, sir.

Angela: Captain Keith.

Keith: Angela?

Angela: Yes, sir.

Angela: The search party has just reported that the King, the priest and 8 bodyguards have escaped to the ruins.

Keith: The ruins.

Keith: They’re trying to buy time.

Keith: Angela, you go ahead and wait there with the search party.

Angela: Yes.

Keith: Leopold, we’re heading for the ruins, too.



Lombard: I see.

Lombard: Angela.

Lombard: I’m sorry, but can you pretend that I didn’t hear the captain’s order?

Angela: What?

Lombard: I can’t let Captain Keith kill the King.

Lombard: If the Capt. kills the King, they’ll think this was merely his quest for power. Someone else must kill the King.

Lombard: Captain Keith will play an important role in unifying the country after the King’s death.

Angela: Lombard. You’re volunteering to get your hands dirty with this?

Angela: Understood. I never said a word to you about the captain’s order.

Angela: I, too, will dirty my hands in killing the King.



Ah, a nice, relaxing chapter with only 3 opponents. And no shenanigans with extra enemies showing up later! These guys came in looking for a fight, so there’ll be no sparing them.

We have 9857 Ark, so we can pick up any two of the above traps. It’s not a huge list anymore, but there’s also only 5 chapters left in the game. Since Volt Rock was brought up, I’ll share the final prerequisite list:

• Volt Magnet unlocks Judgement (a more powerful Thunder Volt) which then unlocks Volt Rock

• Cold Arrow unlocks Laser Arrow

• Catastrophe unlocks Hellfire (a more powerful Blast Bomb)

• Vacuum Floor unlocks nothing

Personally, my pick for best trap in the game is Evil Kick, which is the reward for beating the game with the “bad” ending. Evil Kick is like a cross between Buzz Saw and Attack Wall with the disadvantages of neither.

Next… “Chapter 22: Bloody Hands”