I beat Persona 3 FES on PS2 several years ago and really liked the game, but the inability to directly control your teammates frustrated me. So when I heard this version allows you to do that, I started keeping an eye out for a copy locally, which I eventually did find a few years ago. It’s been sitting in my backlog up until now. Since I beat it on PS2, I’ve decided to go with the female character. I did play a few hours on Normal difficulty and got to the first boss, but I’ve decided to restart on Hard. Seeing as how the game is setup in a daily routine, I’m going to do this somewhat in a diary format. So, let’s begin.
April 6, 2009
The intro seems extremely pared down from what I remember of the PS2 intro. After arriving at the dorm and meeting the creepy boy, I sign the contract. Character name: Boudicca Boudicca. I then meet a couple of my dorm mates: Mitsuru Kirijo and Yukari Takeba, who was first seen unable to pull the trigger. Yukari shows me to my room and I’m stuck inside my room. Nothing important can be done, so I go to bed.
April 7
I head to school with Yukari and she gives me an extremely short tour of the school. I’m told multiple times to go to the Faculty Office. But first, I buy an Apple Strudel and a Cutlet Sandwich, just because. The bulletin board shows that I’m in Class F, along with Yukari. The game then funnels me toward the Faculty Office, not allowing me to choose any other path. Since I can’t go anywhere else, I enter the Faculty Office and meet Ms. Toriumi, who will be my homeroom teacher. After attending the Welcoming Ceremony, the school day flies by and I meet Junpei Iori. He mentions the school clubs before walking me back to the dorm. I can now save and check out the dormitory. I can’t leave as the back door is locked and Mitsuru won’t allow me to leave by the front door. After buying one each of Cielo Mist, SoBay, and Mad Bull (how long before these references get forgotten?) from one of the vending machines, I head to my room. Akihiko Sanada is introduced via a separate conversation with Mitsuru, and the day ends.
April 8
After students are overheard talking about someone who obviously got afflicted with the Apathy Syndrome, I help out Junpei with Ms. Toriumi’s question about her favorite author and my Charm gets a bump. The rest of the school day goes by on autopilot and I’m back at the dorm. I’m introduced to the Chairman of the School Board, Shuji Ikutsuki. While being monitored by Shuji, Mitsuru, and Yukari, the Dark Hour begins and I’m suddenly in the Velvet Room (which has one of my favorite pieces of music in the PS2 game) and meet Igor, who gives me the Velvet Key.
April 9
Back at school, I’m in Classic Literature class being taught by Mr. Ekoda. I don’t doze off and my Academics goes up. That wraps up another extremely short school day and Yukari walks back to the dorm with me, making a short stop at Paulownia Mall. Simply mentioning a few places in the mall, we’re back in the dorm. Nothing important is going on in the dorm, so I turn in for the night. While being monitored again, Shuji suggests recruiting me into their little group and then Akihiko buzzes in about being chased by something huge and he’s leading it here! Yukari then wakes me up and gives me a naginata. Oh, how sweet of her. After our escape out the back door is blocked, we’re forced up to the rooftop. The arm monster that was chasing Akihiko scales the dorm wall and traps us. Yukari again is unable to pull the trigger and is knocked back, losing her gun, which slides right next to me. Instinctively knowing to shoot myself in the head with it, Orpheus is summoned and he quickly wipes the walls with the shadow. The shadow wasn’t completely defeated and a small portion of it starts closing in on Yukari. Good thing I’m here to save her bacon, and I enter the first battle of the game. After easily defeating them, I lose consciousness and am back in the Velvet Room. Igor explains a few things and then several days pass.
April 19
Waking up in Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, Yukari is by my bedside. Oh, oh, a little screw up as she refers to me as “him.” The day quickly ends.
April 20
Back at school, I’m now in Mr. Ono’s history class. Guessing correctly on his question (does it matter which answer you give?), my Charm increases. Again, the rest of the day skips by and I’m back at the dorm. I’m properly introduced to Akihiko by Shuji, and then join SEES, receiving my very own Evoker. I pick up my first Social Link, the Fool. While sleeping, the creepy boy appears again speaking of “the end.”
April 21
After the school day auto-cycles, I’m now at the Iwatodai Strip Mall with Yukari. After some dialog, we’re back in the command room in the dorm. Junpei turns out to also have the potential and has joined the group, so he’s moving into the dorm. We then head off to our first foray into Tartarus. After our school transforms into Tartarus, we enter and I’m appointed leader by Akihiko since he's still recovering from his wounds. I then automatically enter the Velvet Room. Since Elizabeth was Igor’s assistant in the PS2 version, I went with the male assistant, Theodore. Doesn’t he look cute wearing his little fry cook hat. We’re not allowed to go past the first floor, but rather we’ll need to defeat all the enemies. Since they’re all weak to fire, I just keep casting Agi and we finish them off with all-out attacks. I picked up the personas Pixie and Apsaras via Shuffle Time. After being forced to split up, we find the access point and leave. Back in the lobby, the Fool SL increases to Rank 2. Back in the Velvet Room, Igor tells me there are around 170 personas inside me. I’m not high enough level to fuse anything, so we head back to the dorm.
April 22
At school Mitsuru gives her student council president acceptance speech. Staying awake in Ms. Toriumi’s class gives my Academics another bump. I can finally wander around after school. The kid right next to my desk mentions the volleyball and tennis teams will start recruiting new members on the 24th. Checking out what can be found in the school, the plant on the rooftop will be something to keep checking out. The Home Ec room needs Average Academics to enter. Besides observing the tennis and volleyball teams, and not being able to be treated in Nurse’s Office since I’m not tired or sick, every other room is simply inaccessible. A couple new bread items are for sale, but they’re both sold out. I accidentally find out that Yawn-B-Gone (I didn’t mean to click on it since it costs 1000 yen) is only available on Saturdays. As I leave school, I run into Junpei and Akihiko. Akihiko then tells us to meet him at the police station. Of course, I leave the police station for last and do some exploring. At the Iwatodai Strip Mall, the bookstore won’t be open until April 25. I buy a Nastea, BauerBar, and 1UP from the vending machine here, and a Dr. Salt, Moonkist, and Fountain Dew from the vending machine in Iwatodai Station. Junpei prevents me from entering any establishment, insisting we go to the police station, so I stop off at Port Island Station and buy a Starvicks, Cylon Tea, and Aguafeena from the vending machine there. Finally at Paulownia Mall, the antique store won’t be open until June 9. With nothing accessible, we enter the police station where Akihiko’s waiting. Ikutsuki gave us a whopping 5000 yen to spend here. Since I spent all that money in the vending machines, I only pick up a Camo Shirt for myself. Junpei takes off and I can finally enter shops. I don’t remember being able to work at the stores in the PS2 game. I can work at Be Blue V, so since I’m a bit low on funds, I take the job, getting a bump to my Academics and Charm, as well as getting paid 3500 yen. Now that I can, it’s time to start exploring Tartarus for real. Woohoo! I picked up a wooden hockey stick! Easily getting by the first boss, I keep going until we’re about exhausted of SP. I got a nice Shirt of Chivalry for Junpei from a rare chest. From Orpheus and Pixie leveling up, I get Agi and Dia cards -- that's new. At the 10th Floor, we’re pretty much out of SP, so we leave, and I become tired.
April 23
Schools skips by and Junpei takes me to Hagakure Ramen after school. After enjoying the special, I establish the Magician SL. Before turning in for the night, I head over to the mall and get a Courage boost from singing karaoke.
April 24
School again skips by. Since I’m tired, I head to the school nurse Mr. Edogawa and take his weird medicine. My condition doesn’t improve, but I do receive a bump to my Courage. As I’ve been reminded a few times, the athletic teams are recruiting today, so I join the tennis team. When I played on normal, I joined the volleyball team and I believe it’s the exact same sequence, just with a different background. This establishes the Chariot SL. Yukari is in great shape and Junpei is in good, so even though I’m tired, I head to Tartarus. I merge Pixie and Apsaras to get Nekomata, so I’ll start at the beginning to get them back. In addition to reacquiring the two personas, I also pick up Angel. Several rare chests nicely outfits the party. After a few failed attempts at the 10th floor boss, I’m thinking being tired is hamstringing me, so we leave. Upon leaving, surprisingly, I’m no longer tired.
April 25
Arriving at school, I’m reminded the bookstore in the strip mall is reopening today. Being Saturday, I can buy that Yawn-B-Gone, so I pony up the 1000 yen. I’m also able to buy some Crab Bread, Fried Bread, Yakisoba Bread, and Melon Bread. Before heading to the bookstore, I stop by the pharmacy at Pawlonia Mall to take advantage of the weekly sale and buy some Super Cat Food for no particular reason. Heading to the Naganaki Shrine, I encounter an added feature, giving up one of my two Dia cards to the Inari Sushi. I just have to remember to return on the 30th. Since everything else at the shrine makes time pass, I head to Iwatodi Strip Mall. While there, I buy some Weird Takoyaki. With everything else here making time pass, I stop in at Bookworms Used Books. After meeting the elderly couple that runs the place and being told about the persimmon tree at school, I head back to school and pick up a Persimmon Leaf from around the tree, then head back to Bookworms. That square button navigation really comes in handy here. Showing the old man the leaf, he introduces himself, Bunkichi, and his wife, Mitsuko. This gives me the Hierophant SL. Not feeling like going to Tartarus, I study before going to sleep, getting a bump to my Academics.
April 26
Woohoo! No school because it’s my one-day weekend! Sporting something other than my school uniform, I see what I can do to kill the day. The only SL I can do anything with is at the bookstore, so I spend the afternoon there and get a rank up. Yay! Since the other two are sick and tired, I head to the café in the mall to up my Charm.
April 27
After sitting through a speech from the principal, Mitsuru catches me at lunch at says she has some request for me after school. In Ms. Miyahara’s Math class, I answer correctly to get another bump to my Charm. The rest of the day skips by and Mitsuru is back and tells me she wants me to join the Student Council. I’ll just need to tell Ms. Toriumi that I’m interested in joining. Leaving the classroom, a girl just outside the door has an exclamation point above her head. Ah, this is Rio, the head of the tennis team. Since I have to go to the Faculty Office, I can’t attend practice today. Speaking to Ms. Toriumi, I sign up for Student Council. Heading back up to the Student Council room, Mitsuru introduces me and I get the Emperor SL. With introductions over, it’s back to the dorm. Since Yukari is still sick, I do some serious shopping at the police station and sing some karaoke for a Courage bump.
April 28
During lunch, Junpei suggest we go see a movie. After school, in talking to Mitsuru, it turns out I’ll need to be Genius level in Academics to hang out with her. Instead of going to the movies with Junpei, I head to Chagall Café with Yukari and establish the Lovers SL. Back at the dorm, we head back to Tartarus to see if we have better luck against the boss this time. Having a lot better weapons and being in good shape made a big difference and we make it past them. Moving along, we run into another boss on the 14th floor, this time just one enemy. It blocks all our physical attacks, but it can be panicked, so I cast Palinpa on it and while it’s unable to use magic, we pummel it with our own magic, only needing one other casting of Palinpa when it recovered to finish it off. Woohoo! I can now carry around 8 personas. Making it to the 16th Floor, the staircase is blocked by some magical shield. We pick up Old Document 01, which is like a diary where the author is wondering why “they” need so much electricity on the island. Not being able to go any higher, we leave, becoming tired.
April 29
We get the day off school since it’s Showa Day. Junpei calls, wanting to hang out. Accepting his offer, we head to Game Panic. That burns up the entire day, and we’re back in the dorm. Hmm, yesterday Mitsuru said the internet would be back up today, but since I apparently don’t have a computer to access it, that was a piece of useless information. Since I can work tonight at the Café, I do that to get another bump to charm and courage, as well as some cash.
April 30
After staying awake through Mr. Ono’s history class for a bump to my Academics, I get a call from Theodore of all people. How did he get my number? He tells me to meet him in the Velvet Room for something important. Since I’m tired, I stop by the nurse to get another bump to my courage. Oh, yeah, it’s the 30th. My card should be ready at the shrine. As promised, the fish gives me 2 Dia cards. Heading to the Velvet Room, Theodore tells me about his quests. Checking out the available requests, I already have what’s needed for a couple, so I accept and complete these. I get a bead chain for showing him the old document 01, an angora sweater for the muscle drink, and a maragi for the Juzumaru. Accepting the remaining ones other than the one where he wants to visit the Mall (right outside the door), I’ll need to remember to get the pine resin from, I’m guessing, Yukari on May 2. Junpei wanted to hang out, so I head back to school to take him up on his offer. We head to the theater and catch Double-Barreled Justice, then grab a bite to eat at Wild-duck Burger, receiving a rank up to the Magician SL. Since I want to get back to Tartarus, I go to bed early hoping to get back to good status.
May 1
Akihiko’s getting a checkup at the hospital and asked Junpei to bring him the 2-E class roster, so we all troop over there after school. Arriving in Akihiko’s room, a fellow decked out like it’s the middle of Winter is in Akihiko's room. After some dialog where Akihiko kind of tells us who that guy is, we’re back at the dorm, with Akihiko staying overnight for more tests. Since we can’t go any further in Tartarus, I do some studying for a bump to my Academics, then turn in for the night.
May 2
On my way into school, I overhear one of the students mention Tanaka’s Show that’s on Sunday afternoons. I guess I need to get some funds since I spent almost all of them on a bulletproof shirt for Yukari. Schools flies by and since I have no pressing matters, I show Theo around Pawlonia Mall and receive a small Cheongsam, which will allow the fusion of Hua Po. Nice! That didn’t advance time, so I can still go visit the old couple at the bookstore to work on that SL. Helping find Bunkichi’s wallet, the French foreign exchange student enters having found the wallet. He introduces himself as Bebe, mentions he can be found in the Home Ec room, then leaves. After all that, Hierophant ranks up to level 3 and Bunkichi rewards me with a medicine for helping find his wallet. Back at the dorm, being the 2nd of May, I talk to Yukari and she gives me some pine resin, for which I get a Siren’s Song from Theo. Too bad I already bought one of those for Yukari. That just leaves the Beetle Shell to get from Tartarus. So, off to Tartarus! After about five tries, the rare Wealth Hand finally sticks around long enough for us to kill it, netting us simply a wealth coin. Picking up about a dozen beetle shells, in addition to about 10k yen, Theo rewards me with 12k yen. Now I just need to get access to the Compendium… With that out of the way, we leave Tartarus. During the night, the creepy boy makes another appearance speaking of some “new ordeal” at the next full moon.
May 3
With Golden Week starting, we get a 3-day weekend. Akihiko mentions that red shadows, which we have yet to encounter, are very powerful. There’s finally something worth watching on TV, that being “Tanaka’s Amazing Commodities,” a home shopping program. I can get a Yawn-B-Gone and 2 Muscle Drinks for the low, low price of 1980 yen. I don’t care that I already have them. I’m buying! Since there’s only one available SL to do, I head to the bookstore and Bunkichi gives me a Cylon Tea. It seems the persimmon tree at the school is going to be cut down. After all that, my SL ranks up to level 4. With everyone being tired, I turn in early.
May 4
Another day off school. What?! Junpei and Yukari both got sick! Bookworms is closed, so there are no SL’s available. Just like Yukari yesterday, Junpei has gotten stood up at the movies by a friend. Oh, hey, I can work at the movie theater. Doing so, I get a bump to Academics and Courage, along with 5000 yen. Since everyone else is sick, I study for the upcoming exams before going to bed.
May 5
My order from the TV show arrives with not 1, but 3 Yawn-B-Gones, as well as the 2 Muscle Drinks. It’s the final day of our vacation. Junpei calls me, wanting to hang out. After grabbing a bite to eat with him, which takes the entire day, I’m back in the dorm. Since Mitsuru isn’t here, we can’t go to Tartarus, which doesn’t matter since they’re still sick. So, I study again.
May 6
On the way in to school, someone mentions an elementary school kid playing by herself at Naganaki Shrine. I’ll need to swing by there after school. Answering Ms. Ounishi’s soft water question correctly in what I’m guessing is Chemistry class, I get a bump to my Charm. At the shrine, I meet Maiko hanging out by the jungle gym. Before advancing the conversation, she says that she wants something. Talking to her to see if she gives me any clue as to what she wants, it turns out to be the Weird Takoyaki I just happened to have already bought. Good thing it doesn’t spoil, since I’ve been carrying it around for over a week and a half. After eating it (she didn’t even ask if she could have it), now she’s thirsty. Well, I’ve bought every drink I’ve come across. So, her favorite drink is Mad Bull. Oh, she’s having so much fun mooching off me without a single thank you. Ungrateful brat! And I don’t even get a SL established for that, as I’ll have to come back. I guess I might as well work on the old couple SL, so I head to the bookstore, stopping to restock my one weird takoyaki. Making a bad pun and reassuring them about the tree ranks it up to level 5. Bunkichi gives me a Crab Bread as I leave. Back at the dorm, I replace the Mad Bull, and then with everyone well again, we leave for Tartarus. Hmm… We still can’t go any further. Maybe I have to wait for the next full moon, and that’s what the “new ordeal” the creepy kid was talking about is. Well, I don’t want to waste time here, so I reload and work the evening at the café for a bump to charm and courage.
May 7
Fast forward to lunch and Junpei wants to hang out again. Before talking to him after school, I stop by the Shrine and Maiko isn’t there. Back at school, I take Junpei up on his offer and we head to Chagall Café. After some banter, the SL ranks up to level 3. Making a quick check of Tartarus, we still can’t go higher, so I reload. 2 days until the next full moon. Since I can’t work tonight, I study before going to bed.
May 8
During lunchtime, Ms. Toriumi wants me to join a school committee. I don’t remember this being in the PS2 version. I decide to join the library committee. I then automatically go to the library after school. Saori Hasegawa introduces herself and this establishes the Hermit SL. This fills out all of Mon through Fri for clubs after school. After a quick check at Tartarus yielding the same result, I decide to study and I go from Slacker to Average! Woohoo! Now I can enter the Home Ec room.
May 9
School skips by, and being a full moon, I’m forced back to the dorm. I’m not even able to do anything in the evening and it automatically becomes the Dark Hour. Mitsuru detects an extraordinarily large shadow outside of Tartarus and we’re called to battle! We’re then at Iwatodai Station and Mitsuru arrives on her motorcycle. I’m not sure why they’re surprised at her bike since it’s always been there inside Tartarus. It turns out we’ll be fighting inside a monorail train. Ooh, new music. Yeah, not a fan of it. After Junpei goes all gung ho and takes off after the bait shadow, Yukari and I one-shot the two that came in to trap us. A few more cut us off before we’re able to go after Junpei, but we quickly dispatch them, too. After making it though a few more empty cars, checking out every coffin along the way, we finally catch up to him and he’s fighting a few shadows. Again, we one-shot them all for an easy victory. The train starts moving and we need to get to the front car before it crashes into another train. And we get an eight-minute time limit. Arriving in the front car, the boss is splayed out in front of us. The only trick she has up her sleeve is summoning some minions that can heal, but being weak to ice, they’re nothing to worry about. We take her down with a couple minutes to spare. I run up and stop the train in the nick of time and I get a rank up to level 3 for the Fool SL. That unlocks a “double team attack”, whatever that is. After a scene back in the control room, we head back to the dorm.
May 10
First thing in the morning, Theo calls, telling me that the blocked path in Tartarus is now open. Being Sunday, I buy Garu and Zio cards for 2980 yen from Tanaka’s show. All around town, the people with apathy syndrome are gone. Office Kurosawa says several of them were cured, most likely due to our actions. Checking out the Velvet Room, I can now access the Compendium! Woohoo! Hmm, they forgot to translate a bit of dialog. I believe it says something along the lines of “Personas have become available!” He also has several new requests, a couple of which will require talking to someone on certain days (5/14 & 5/26). Aw, I can only take three requests. I register all of my personas, and take my leave, heading to the bookstore. Hmm… That was uneventful, having no dialog choices. But it says our bond became stronger. Since I’m tired, I go to bed early.
May 11
I stay awake during class, and then during lunch, Hidetoshi asks if I’ll be going to the student council meeting today. He says he’s impressed with the work I’ve done… even though I have yet to do anything with the student council. Unless another SL establishment becomes available, I plan on it. Aaand, Rio also asks if I’ll be attending practice. If only I could do both. Geez, the other two are sick again. Since I now have Average Academics, I can read the note on the Home Ec room. All it states is the meeting days for the Fashion Club. Stopping by the Velvet Room, Theo tells me that the owner of the now-closed Antiques Shop can perform weapon fusions. Maiko’s back at the shrine, so I play with her and establish the Hanged Man SL. After talking about her parents’ impending divorce, the day has gone by and I’m back at the dorm. Mitsuru asks me to check out the malfunctioning equipment in the control room. Yeah, like I would know how to fix it. Checking out the console in the control room, I’m treated to a surveillance recording from yesterday of Ikutsuki mentioning the monorail incident possibly being the beginning of “it”, as well as making a bunch of bad puns. Screw the exams next week, I’m working at the café for the Charm and Courage bumps, as well as some cash.
May 12
My cards arrived, with nothing extra this time. On the way to school, Yukari mentions that Mitsuru told Junpei that she’d give us something nice if we do well on our midterms. Oh, boy! Junpei and Yukari catch me during lunch, both wanting to hang out. Saori also tells me that today’s a committee meeting day. Hmm, which to do, which to do… I decide to go to the library committee, and the Hermit SL ranks up to Level 2. Back at the dorm, Yukari takes off to borrow notes, so I won’t be going to Tartarus tonight. I study before going to bed.
May 13
I answer Mr. Takenozuka’s question about the Earth’s rotation speed correctly for a bump to my Charm, which pushed it up from Plain to Ingenue. And Yukari is still Sick, so no Tartarus tonight. I head to the Home Ec room and Bebe is very happy that I came. Joining the Fashion Club, I establish the Temperance SL. Back at the dorm, I really don’t care if you want to go to Tartarus, Yukari. You’re sick, so we’re staying here. Checking out the news, settling with the hospital for leaving gauze inside your body during an operation for over 1 million yen seems a bit low, considering that’s only around $10,000, depending on how much over 1M yen it is. Again avoiding Tartarus, I study before going to bed.
May 14
During lunch, Saori tells me it’s another committee day. Being the 14th, I need to find that handheld game system. My best guess is the kid that hangs out outside the arcade. It wasn’t him, so maybe someone at night? Talking to Saori, she mentions that celebrities sometimes are seen at the Mall during the evenings. I guess I’ll do my duty with the library committee, and in doing so, the Hermit SL ranks up to level 3. Back at the dorm, talking to Junpei, he gives me his old system. I head to the Mall, and get a two-handed sword for showing Theo the portable game system. Since I can fuse a Jack Frost outside of Tartarus, I take the request that requires defeating a Wealth Hand in Tartarus. As Saori said, what looks like Tanaka from the shopping show is there. I guess that Charm level up made him appear, or at least talk to me. But he needs me to give him 20k yen to get my path to vast fortunes started. Since I’ve only got half, I head back to the dorm. Since everyone’s finally healthy, we start to tackle the next block of Tartarus. Or not, as Yukari is studying for the night. I decide to do the same.
May 15
Knowing “pan” is “bread” in Japanese, I answer Mrs. Terauchi’s question correctly for a bump to my Charm. Since all the school clubs’ rooms are locked due to the upcoming exams, the only available SL is at the bookstore. Heading there, the rumor of the persimmon tree being cut down turns out to be true. Reassuring them, the Hierophant SL ranks up to 6. As I leave, Bunkichi gives me a Fried Bread. Yukari is again studying, so I’m not going to go to Tartarus with just Junpei and me. I again study, since it’s free.
May 16
Akihiko catches up to me on my way to school and says he should be healthy enough to fight after exams. I stay awake through Ms. Miyahara’s class, then head to the Shrine to play with Maiko. I take her to Wild-duck Burger and the Hanged Man SL ranks up to 2. Now everyone’s studying, so going to Tartarus isn’t even an option, so I join them in studying.
May 17
It’s Sunday again. This time, I buy an all-purpose katana and 2 cadenzas for 4980 yen. Again, the bookstore is the only SL available. After a couple short dialog boxes with no choices, our bond become stronger, and I’m back at the dorm. One more night of studying, and it’s midterms.
May 18
It automatically says I had trouble with the last question.
May 19
I get the bread question again.
May 20
I get the Earth rotation question.
May 21
I get the hard water question.
May 22
I get a question about the Kitora Tomb’s location.
May 23
My order arrives. At school, it just says everything looks familiar and that I thought I did well on the exams. I then head to the shrine to play with Maiko. While we’re playing, a somewhat pale guy in a striped shirt shows up. He doesn’t introduce himself before taking off. Maiko says I can find him here on Sundays. We then get some takoyaki. Assuring her that her dad will be there for her birthday, the Hanged Man SL ranks up to level 3. Back at the dorm, Akihiko’s fully healed and he mentions there’s another persona user, Fuuka Yamagishi, who also just happens to go to our school, but she always seems to be sick, so she’s quickly ruled out of joining our little club. Everyone’s healthy and finally available to go to Tartarus, so to celebrate the end of midterms, we head there. And with Akihiko now healthy, we’re a 4-person party. Woohoo!!
Our first task is to try to kill a rare Wealth Hand. Oh, hey, I picked up a couple new personas on the first block, Alp and Ara Mitama. Heh, I like Akihiko’s response when you talk to him when he’s wearing a Shirt of Chivalry. Woohoo! On my second attempt at the Wealth Hand, it sticks around so I can kill it for a Lead Metal, receiving a Toy Bow from Theo for it. That opens up the request to get a Steel Medal from the Treasure Hand in the 2nd block. I like the change in wall design. After a few failed attempts, especially by running into the Steel Gigas, I encounter the rare Treasure Hand, and it stuck around for us to kill it. Returning to Theo with the Steel Medal, we get a spiked bat. Since I can’t access the 3rd block, I leave the next request in that progression and leave the remaining requests in order to keep a free space. After making some good progress, I return and save, then give the 3 Old Lanterns I got from Phantom Mage drops to Theo in exchange for 2 Umugi Waters, which are moderate healing items. Making it to the boss on the 25th floor, I fail my first couple tries. I then have Nekomata, who is strong against fire, learn Bufu with one of my cards, then take care of the tables that like casting fire spells and are weak against ice. I can get a Jack Frost from fusing Angel and Ara Mitama, so I do that to fulfill that request. I’ll just need to use one of my Dia cards. Oh, sweet! I’ll eventually get a special piece of equipment! Can’t wait! For my trouble, Theo rewards me with a slick pair of Battle Panties. That also opened up another fusion request. Along the way, I picked up Forneus and Omoikane. Heading out to save, I merge Pixie, Apsaras, and Orpheus to get Inugami. Now I need to find another Ara Mitama, since I don’t want to spend money to get it back. Heading back in, I don’t get Ara Mitama, but I do pick up Yomotsu Shikome and Chimera. Not wanting to push my luck too far, we make it to the 33rd floor, then leave.
May 24
First things first, and I buy an all-purpose apron and two Umugi Waters from the shopping show for 4980 yen. Since I picked up about 50k yen in that foray into Tartarus, this is no problem. Being Sunday, I head to the shrine and the guy in the striped shirt is there, just like Maiko said. But, my Academics aren’t high enough to continue talking to him, as I need to be Smart. Well, the only SL available is at the bookstore, and I have a Hierophant persona this time. Again there are no choices and our bond simply becomes stronger. Since studying while tired does nothing, I spend the evening at Chagall Café for a bump to Charm.
May 25
Exam results are posted, so during lunch, I automatically head there to find out I made the top ten, which gives my Charm a large boost, but not enough to level it up. After staying awake through Ms. Toriumi’s class for a bump to Academics, I look for Mitsuru to see what she gives me. Before that, I’m tired, so I stop by the nurse for my Courage bump. Finding Akihiko and agreeing to walk home with him, apparently something happens if my charm is at Queen Bee level regarding all the other girls staring at us. Ah, I need that to continue with him. Hmm, Mitsuru isn’t around. Since I’ve completely neglected the tennis team, I actually attend a practice for once. Not jumping ship with the rest of the team, the Chariot SL ranks up to 2. After catching a bite to eat with Rio, I head back to the dorm, and Mitsuru isn’t there, either, so no Tartarus tonight. Tanaka’s not at the Mall, either, so I guess I’ll work tonight at the Café for my Charm and Courage increases. That got my Courage up to Ordinary!
May 26
Even though I didn’t go to bed early, I’m no longer tired. My purchase arrived. During lunch, Saori mentions it’s committee day and Bebe wants me to go to Fashion Club. The first thing I need to do is hunt down that triangular sword. Yukari and Junpei also want to hang out. Geez… Mitsuru is at school today, so I talk to her and after congratulating me on my score, she gives me a Page Card Set, which are four items that increase two stats on a persona by 1 each. Since I don’t know Yukari’s set schedule of when she wants to hang out with me, I go home with her. We catch a movie, then stop by the nearby florist. Mentioning sunflowers are my favorite, the Lovers SL ranks up to 2. After buying a small bouquet of flowers, we head back to the dorm. Speaking to Mitsuru, she gives me a fencing epee for the triangular sword. Junpei’s out for the evening, so I won’t be going to Tartarus. With Yukari being sick, I wouldn’t have gone anyway. Fuuka keeps being mentioned, so it looks like she’ll be joining us at some point. Heading to the mall and showing Theo the epee, he gives me a bulletproof vest, which is a nice improvement. Tanaka’s back, so I pony up the 20k yen and he merely says he’ll be in touch. Hmm… Wanting to get that SL with the emo kid at the shrine, I do some studying.
May 27
During lunch, Rio stops by, reminding me about practice. After school, I attend practice, unlike most of the team. Yuko gets introduced and she asks me to keep an eye on Rio. After the remaining members of the team bolt, I stick around and the Chariot SL ranks up to 3. Since Tenaka isn’t at the Mall and everyone’s in good shape, we head back to Tartarus. Making it to the boss on the 36th floor, I have a few failed attempts trying to figure out what works against it along with the all party wind spell it liked using that does some serious damage to everyone. I ended up getting past it by debuffing it, and what felt like the RNG being in my favor as it went the buff and poison all route instead of the damage route, as well as our getting a few critical hits. Luckily I had a large enough store of Dis-Poison to last through the battle, so I’ll have to restock when I leave. At the 40th floor, we run into another blocked staircase, as well as Old Document 02, which mentions Kirijo’s plans to build a laboratory on the island. Theo gives me a Recarm for bringing the document. Since we can’t go any further, we leave Tartarus.
May 28
I stay awake through Mr. Edogawa’s lecture on magic for my Academics bump. Speaking of Mr. Edogawa, I stop by his office since I’m tired to get my Courage bump. Seeing what’s around town, people with apathy syndrome are starting to appear again. Junpei wants to hang out after school, so I walk home with him. After running into a drunk, we get some ramen. After listening to Junpei talk about his drunkard father, the Magician SL ranks up to 4. Mitsuru says the equipment in the control room is acting up again, but no new recordings are available. Tanaka’s back at the mall, and things aren’t going well with my initial investment, so he asks for another 10k. What the heck, I’m flush with money. This still doesn’t establish the link, so I guess I’ll spend the evening at the café for my Charm increase.
May 29
Oh, no! My cold got worse. Again staying awake through Mr. Edogawa’s lecture on magic, I take my Academics bump. Rio stops me during lunch, reminding me of practice. Being now sick, I again stop by Mr. Edogawa for my Courage boost. Since she asked, I talk to Rio after school and she mentions something about a monk at the club. After that, I head to practice with her. After her longtime friend Kenji comes by asking for her to do his homework, the Chariot SL ranks up to 4. As promised, there’s a monk at Club Escapade, but my Courage isn’t high enough to talk to the lush. I’ll need to be Tough to do that. Since I’m sick, I turn in early.
May 30
A rumor about a girl from 2-E being found unconscious at the school gates is flying around the school. I’m assuming this is Fuuka. Heading to the shrine, I play with Maiko. No choices are given this time. Back at the dorm, even though her status says she’s good, Yukari says she’s not feeling well and can’t go to Tartarus tonight. Mitsuru is busy training, so going there isn’t even an option. Tanaka’s back at the mall, and he needs another 10k. Sure! After a second, he reveals he’s been misleading me and that I’m way too naïve. I’m out 40k yen, but I’ve established the Devil SL. He then decides to take me under his wing.
May 31
It’s shopping show time! But first, Junpei calls my cell wanting to hang out. Sorry, but I gotta spend some money. And it’s more battle panties and 2 diet food for 3980 yen. Of course I’ll buy! Since I haven’t become Smart, I head to Bookworms. I lie and tell them I called all their old classmates to petition the tree not be cut down, and the Hierophant SL ranks up to 7. Bunkichi gives me a Cielo Mist on my way out. Speaking to Yukari back at the dorm, the unconscious girl isn’t Fuuka, but one of the bullies. I guess I’ll study tonight.
June 1
Skipping to lunch, Rio again reminds me about practice. Again during our two-person practice, Kenji stops by. After a bit, the Chariot SL ranks up to 5. Back at the dorm, Junpei tells a ghost story regarding the girl that collapsed. Yukari then says we should investigate it for a week to prove it’s just a big fish story. So, it doesn’t look like we’ll be going back to Tartarus anytime soon with her wrapped up in that. In that case, I’ll work at the café for some Charm and Courage. Oh, cool, I got a raise for working here so much! Hmm, rather than moving to the next day, it’s the Dark Hour. The creepy boy makes another appearance, talking about the next ordeal at the next full moon.
June 2
Yay! My panties arrived! Yukari reminds me about our week-long investigation on our way into school. I stay awake through Mr. Ekoda’s class, then go around talking to everyone I can for the investigation. I grill the wilting flowers on the roof to no avail. With a few options after school, I decide to pick the lowest SL rank and go to the Fashion Club with Bebe. I make a Japanese Strap, which it says could be used on a date. We then head to the Sweet Shop in the strip mall and after feeding into his Japanophile attitude, the Temperance SL ranks up to 2. Since Junpei wants to go to Tartarus, and is feeling great, I guess we’ll do some training there. While there, I leveled up to 20, which allows me to have 10 personas. Woohoo! I finally found another Ara Mitama, and also picked up a Pyro Jack, which gives me the Jack pair for that special attack. I finally got an upgraded weapon for Akihiko thanks to getting a floor with nothing but Treasure Hands, as well as a bunch of exp from a floor teeming with Steel Gigas (it also helped that they were worth about twice the experience they give on normal floors). Taking a break, we leave Tartarus.
June 3
During lunch, Bebe asks me to come to Fashion Club after school. Being tired, I get my courage bump from the nurse. Since he asked, I head to Fashion Club and we make a Knit Rabbit, another gift for a date. After suggesting he make a kimono, the Temperance SL ranks up to 3. Since everyone’s tired, I pull another shift at the café for my charm and courage bumps. Well, that’s 2 for 2 on becoming sick when working at the café while tired.
June 4
School flies by. After getting my courage bump from the nurse, since no one hit me up during lunch, I have a few choices of SLs. I decide to go to the library committee with Saori. While there, Saori gets asked out on a karaoke date, and the Hermit SL ranks up to 4. Since Tanaka’s at the mall, I get some stellar advice from him and the Devil SL ranks up to 2.
June 5
During lunch, Bebe again hits me up as he has something important to tell me at the Fashion Club. Since I’m still sick, I get another courage bump from the nurse. Going to Fashion Club with Bebe, he tells me his aunt passed away. I lend a shoulder for him and the Temperance SL ranks up to 4. Back at the dorm, Yukari shares what she learned about the rumor. Since there were three girls that collapsed, Yukari decides we need to do some “field research” at the outskirts of Port Island Station tomorrow night. Heading to the Velvet Room, I fuse Yomotsu Shikome and Forneus to get Valkyrie, and then give it Tarukaja thanks to a card, receiving a Torn Black Cloth from Theo. This allows the fusion of Pale Rider. I spend the evening at the café, getting a bump to charm, which increases it to Unique. This also cures my cold.
June 6
Nothing happens during the school day. Heading to the shrine, I play with Maiko. Telling her that her parents love her, the Hanged Man SL ranks up to 4. Back at the dorm, Yukari, Junpei, and I leave for the Tatsumi Port Island back alley. After Junpei starts getting roughed up, the guy from Akihiko’s hospital room shows up and lays one of the thugs down. The guy knows about the ghost story and tells us Fuuka hasn’t been home in a while and might be dead, and the rumor is the ghost is her spirit. Um, I don’t think he ever said his name, but it changed to Shinjiro in the dialog box. He takes off, and so do we. Tanaka’s at the mall again, so I listen to him talk about his company’s stock and the Devil SL ranks up to 3.
June 7
Bebe and Rio call me in the morning, but I have shopping to do, so can’t be bothered with friends. An Auto-Tarukaja card and 5 Sappy Jellies are up for sale for 2980 yen. Buy! Buy! Buy! Heading out for the day, the shrine is actually busy. Yukari introduces me to the boy Ken Amada. I spend the rest of the day working at the theater for a bump to Academics and Courage. Since nothing is really available, and I don’t feel like going to Tartarus and becoming tired leading into the next full moon, I go to my room and study.
June 8
During lunch, I head to the faculty office to ask the 3-E homeroom teacher about Fuuka’s disappearance, only to find Yukari and Mitsuru already there inquiring about her. After a bit of dialog, Mitsuru decides we’ll be rescuing Fuuka tonight. Since she was locked in the gym by the bullies, we’ll enter Tartarus the same way tonight. Sneaking into the school at night, we split up to try and find the key to the gym. I head to the faculty office with Akihiko, and we eventually find the key. Regrouping, one of us will stay back with Mitsuru, and this eventually is Yukari. After some more dialogue, and a short scene with one of Fuuka’s bullies, I wake up in Tartarus alone. The creepy kid appears, telling me there is more than one ordeal tonight. I first need to find Akihiko and Junpei, and it seems that all the shadows I fight are single enemies. Well, that was a bunch of crap. I killed the shadow, and I got attacked by another one instantly. So, to be safe, after every battle, you need to be tapping the attack button just in case another shadow is waiting. After making it up a few floors, I come across the boys. And behind them, the source of the voice that had been heard reveals itself, and it’s Fuuka. With what I’m guessing is the first of the ordeals taken care of, a couple large shadows have suddenly appeared where Mitsuru and Yukari are. Natsuki, one of Fuuka’s bullies, then stumbles in. Fuuka then instinctively knows to shoot herself with the Evoker Akihiko gave her. Having the same ability as Mitsuru, but stronger, she can detect these shadows’ weaknesses. So, off to battle a couple bosses. After one failed attempt while trying to figure out the Empress’ weakness, I have to redo the end of June 7 and the sequence back to the bosses. But knowing that the Emperor is weak against magic and the Empress is weak against physical attacks, I defeat them before they even get an attack. Wow, that’s some nice experience. After a bit of dialog with Natsuke, one of the bullies, we head back.
June 9
During lunch, Yukari and Bebe catch up with me. Since I’m tired, I get my courage bump from the nurse, which moves it up to Determined. The antique store is now open, so I head there. To get me started along the path of weapon fusing, the owner gives me a Void Naginata. She also has items she’ll trade for the jewels that monsters drop. Going back to the school, I head home with Yukari, since her SL is the lowest. Stopping by Pawlonia Mall, I find out a little about her mother and the Lovers SL ranks up to 3. Mitsuru and Akihiko are visiting Fuuka at the hospital, so we can’t go to Tartarus tonight. Wanting to get healed up, I work at the café for my charm and courage bumps. Dang it, that didn’t heal me.
June 10
My purchase shows up and it’s off to school. I stay awake through Mr. Ono’s lecture for an academics bump. Since I’m still tired, I get another bump to courage from the nurse. Ooh, Theo has new requests. Taking his request to see Iwatodai Station, I knock this one out quickly since it doesn’t advance time and receive a Blue Scale, which allow the fusion of Empusa. Time to finally attend student council… What? No one’s here today? But it’s meeting day. I guess I’ll go to tennis practice since I have a Chariot persona. Nothing happens, and I’m back at the dorm. Yukari and Akihiko are at the hospital again, so no Tartarus tonight, either. Wanting to get healed, I turn in early.
June 11
School skips by and I get a text from Akihiko stating Fuuka is being released from the hospital today. Heading back to the Velvet Room, I take the Goggle-eyed idol request since the antique store has it up for trade and I have the required jewels. This nets me a W. Outfit Mitsuru. This opens up the request to bring him some strong medicine from the school nurse. Accepting it, I head back to Mr. Edogawa, but he doesn’t give me the medicine. Hmm, maybe I have to be tired or sick. Having taken the request to bring a shell of a man, the Laboratory is suddenly unlocked. Entering, Ms. Ounishi gives me the anatomical model she was going to throw out. Theo rewards me with a Beam Naginata for it, a very nice upgrade for my weapon. No other request can be completed, so I head back to the dorm with Junpei, grabbing a burger on the way. Back at the dorm, Ikutsuki and Fuuka are in the Control Room, and Fuuka ends up being very eager to join us. No Tartarus again since Mitsuru and Akihiko are walking Fuuka home. Tanaka’s at the Mall tonight, so I find out about the peeping glasses his company is selling and the Devil SL ranks up to 4.
June 12
After some dialog about Mr. Ekoda being is serious trouble and Natsuke exhibiting her 180 towards Fuuka, nothing else happens during school. Spending a few grand at the crane game, I win the 3 needed Jack Frost Dolls for Theo’s request, receiving some Jack’s Gloves for Akihiko. I’m still waiting for the girl in the white dress to appear at Port Island Station. I’ve only been hearing about her for a week or two. Ok, there are people in the student council room today, so I finally get to get that SL ranking up. Agreeing with Hidetoshi about the dress code gets makes the Emperor SL rank up to 2. Yukari and Mitsuru are preparing Fuuka’s room, so we can’t go to Tartarus tonight, either. Since I can’t work tonight, I study, which increases my Academics to Above Average. Rather than moving to the next day, I enter the Dark Hour. During this time, the creepy boy appears talking about the end of it all, then wants to become my friend since he’s curious about me. He then tells me his name: Pharos. This establishes the Death SL.
June 13
On the way into school, Mitsuru tells me that since Fuuka will be joining, she will be able to fight along with us. Nothing happens during the school day. One of the unnamed girls at the school mentions the Cooking Club will be recruiting again on the 17th, and that Fuuka is a member. Checking out the Velvet Room, Theo has a few more requests for items from Tartarus. I have two options for SL, and I have personas for both, so I head to the shrine since Maiko’s SL is lower. Maiko tells me her father hit her for asking why they are getting a divorce. Comforting her gets the Hanged Man to rank up to 5. Arriving back at the dorm, Theo calls me to tell me that the blocked path in Tartarus is open. Fuuka has also taken up residence in the dorm. Since everyone’s here finally, we head to Tartarus. Now that we have more than four that can enter battle, I have to choose my three teammates. Taking the two requests for monster drops, I get fortunate to have a level with just Lustful Snakes. Neat! I can change the music while exploring in the order menu. Returning with 5 bronze figurines, he gives me a Sigma Drive, and for the 3 snake scales, I get 46k yen. While I’m in here, I merge Ara Mitama with Nekomata to get Lilim. I seem to recall in the P3FES that when someone said they’re tired, if you returned to the lobby, they wouldn’t be able to go back in. Without that, it makes it a lot easier to make serious progress in each trip. We make it to the 47th floor and run into a trio of beetle bosses. Unfortunately, Fuuka can’t detect their weakness, but after trying everyone’s magic, it turns out they’re weak against electricity. I just happen to have Akihiko in my party, so they go down really easily on my first try. With the open spot in my persona roster, I pick up Berith. Ignoring Fuuka’s multiple requests that we really should leave, we make it to the 59th floor boss, and then finally pack it in.
June 14
Ignoring Saori and Junpei when they call, Tanaka’s show is offering Beast Leggings and 3 Emeralds for 4980 yen. I think I’ll pass on those and reload. I decide to spend the day with Saori, grabbing a burger and listening to her reminisce. I then give her the Goggle-eyed idol as a present, which she seems to really like. I tried out the Junpei option and it looks like I’m going to need some presents to give people, so I get one of each from the antique store. I spend the evening at the café for my charm bump.
June 15
Hidetoshi stops by during lunch, asking if I’ll be attending student council. I answer Ms. Toriumi’s conjunction question correctly for a charm boost. Do the flowers on the roof ever change? I’ve been checking them every day after school. Since I’m tired, I’m guessing Mr. Edogawa will give me the strong medicine, unlike when I was feeling well. Picking up the quest first, I head to his office and after drinking the medicine he normally gives me, I get nothing. Hmm… Maybe I’m not supposed to drink the medicine. Reloading and declining, he gives me the Powerful Drug. Ah, so that’s what the kid that’s usually outside his office is referring to. It’s actually usable, so let’s see what it does after saving. Nice. It reduces your HP to 1. Returning to Theo, after drinking and enjoying it, he gives me a Balm of Life for it. This opens up a request to buy him a platinum watch. The only place that sells items is the police station, so I go there, and Officer Kurosawa conveniently got some in stock. Plus he’s giving me a discount today! As a reward, Theo gives me an S. Outfit Mitsuru. Completing the chain, he now wants a Homunculus. I’ve already found a few in rare chests in Tartarus, so I take the request and get a W. Outfit Junpei for it. Back at school, talking to Fuuka in the hall, she wants me to taste something she cooked. After trying out her awful concoction, she tells me she’s starting a cooking club. I join her one-person club and the Priestess SL is established. I then make some dog food from the remaining ingredients in the lunch box she gave me. Wanting to go back to Tartarus, I turn in early and hopefully everyone will be feeling well tomorrow.
June 16
Saori stops by during lunch, reminding me that it’s library committee day. Dang it! Yukari and Junpei are both sick. Today’s supposed to be the day I can get the protein for Theo, but no one I talk to has it. I’m guessing it’ll be Akihiko back at the dorm. Since she hit me up during lunch, I go to library committee with Saori. After talking about starting up a newsletter, Saori gets confronted about supposedly moving in on someone’s boyfriend. She then mentions she does have someone she has eyes for, and the Hermit SL ranks up to 5. Back at the dorm, as I guessed, Akihiko gives me some leftover Amateur Protein from his early days. Showing Theo the protein gets me a Bladefist for Akihiko, which is a downgrade from the stylish Jack’s Gloves. I then equip Lilim and talk to Tanaka. After offering me a modeling job, the Devil SL ranks up to 5.
June 17
After listening to a lengthy lecture from Mr. Edogawa on magic, I get his Shamanism question right for a bump to Charm. Since no one caught me during lunch, I have my choice of a few SLs. Since I ditched on Hidetoshi on Monday, I attend student council. It was discovered that someone was smoking in the boys’ bathroom, and the student council will need to find out whom. This ranks the Emperor SL up to 3. Geez, Yukari is still sick. Because of that, we won’t be going to Tartarus, so I work at the café for charm and courage bumps.
June 18
Before heading to school, I get a call from Theo. He says he has some business to discuss with me. Fuuka runs into me during lunch, asking me to go to cooking club. After school, I’m automatically sent to the Velvet Room to speak with Theo. He tells me there’s someone in Tartarus somewhere on floors 44-47. Apparently this will happen periodically and I have until the next full moon to rescue them. Well, that’s a new aspect. So that’s the point of the bulletin board by the police station. Ooh! I’ll get rewarded for this. Everyone’s feeling good, so I’ll be able to knock this out tonight. Back at the school, I go to cooking club with Fuuka and we make chocolate truffles, which turns out to be another possible gift. This ranks the Priestess SL up to 2. Time to rescue Ayako Yoshimoto. Well, that’s handy that Theo always tells you what floors the lost person is on. With the Emperor SL at rank 3, I’m able to fuse Oberon from Alp and Chimera, and instantly level him up to 17 to satisfy Theo’s request and get a W. Outfit Akihiko. Theo now wants me to fuse Vetala. I can’t do that with my current roster, but I do free up another slot by fusing Ghoul from Lilim and Yomotsu Shikome. That actually gave me a possibility to get Vetala via a triangle fusion. That also put me at 10% completion on the compendium. I grab Junpei, Mitsuru, and Akihiko and head in. Lovely, the closest I can enter to hit all four floors is the 36th. I refill my persona roster with Rakshasa and Unicorn. Finding the lost person, Fuuka is able to immediately teleport us out. Where was that ability before? It sure would have been nice a couple times earlier. With that taken care of, I head straight for the 59th floor boss. After a quick defeat by it casting a high-level all-enemy wind spell, I equip Ghoul since it nullifies wind magic. And it’s just AMAZING that the boss decided to start off the battle by casting the spell that removes my wind resistance. It’s almost like it automatically knew what my strengths and weaknesses are. I happened to get a couple critical hits on it, it failed with a Hama against Mitsuru, and I was able to win on my second attempt. Maybe because I swapped out Junpei for Yukari, it didn’t cast the wind spell, since it no longer had Junpei to exploit his weakness that it somehow knew. We make it to the end of the line at the 64th floor, picking up the 3rd old document, which contains someone’s bad feelings about being asked to join the researchers on the island. Theo gives me 50k yen for bringing the document. Fusing Inugami and Omoikane, I get Tam Lin. Needing to fill the hole in my roster before leaving, I head back in and get Ares, which is good since I didn’t have a Chariot persona. Deciding we’ve spent enough time training, as Akihiko puts it, we leave.
June 19
Skipping straight to lunch, Hidetoshi asks about our smoker investigation. I grab my courage bump from the nurse, and then head to the police station for my reward, which is a Recarm card. Heading back to school, I go to student council and end up finding Hidetoshi grilling someone and watching him get punched. After some dialog, the Emperor SL ranks up to 4. Finding Junpei at the mall, I find out that he’s searching for the LEGENDARY SWORD, then spend the evening at the café since I’m tired and don’t want to waste time in Tartarus.
June 20
The day flies by, and Mitsuru stops by after school to tell me we’re having a meeting with Ikutsuki this evening. I’m forced back to the dorm, and find Yuuka playing with a dog outside. The dog, whose name is Koromaru, was the pet of a priest that got hit by a car and died. Now at the meeting, Ikutsuki says there are 12 of the special shadows, of which we’ve defeated four. Speaking to Ikutsuki after the meeting, he gives me some Glasses Wipe for my quest. Showing this to Theo gets me an amigo poncho. Since I have no plans to go back to Tartarus for a while, I spend some time with Tanaka. After listening to him talk about his class reunion, the Devil SL ranks up to 6.
June 21
Checking out Tanaka’s show, he’s offering an Auto-Rakukaja card and 2 Muscle Drinks for 4980 yen. Yeah, I’ll pass and reload. Fuuka calls me wanting to hang out. Accepting her offer, we head to the sweet shop at the strip mall and I give her the truffles I made quite a while back, which she really enjoys. Back at the dorm, Mitsuru and Akihiko are out, so even if I wanted to go to Tartarus, we couldn’t. There’s finally a new recording in the control room, so I watch an episode in Junpei’s messy room from a week ago. Wanting to get well again, I turn in early.
June 22
Hidetoshi stops by at lunch asking about the investigation. Fuuka also wants to hang out after school. Guessing correctly on Mrs. Terauchi’s question about devilfish, I get a bump to charm. Hmm, no more mention of the girl at Port Island Station. Is she one of the SLs replaced for the female path? Back at school, I go with the lower SL and go to cooking club with Fuuka. We make some Sweet Fries (more date items) and the Priestess SL ranks up to 3. Back at the dorm, Fuuka mentions that she learned there was an unexplained explosion near our school 10 years ago. Since there’s no point in going to Tartarus, I work at the café for charm and courage boosts. Instead of proceeding to the next day, a scene at the Tatsumi Port Island back alley plays out where a trio carries out a hit on some random high school boy.
June 23
Nothing happens during school. Being a new moon, people with apathy syndrome are starting to show up around town again. Since no one caught me during lunch, I head home with Yukari since her SL is the lowest. We stop by the café and our bond strengthens. A scene with Akihiko and Shinjiro at the ramen restaurant then plays out where Akihiko tries to get Shinjiro to rejoin SEES. Because of that meeting, Akihiko’s running late and can’t go to Tartarus. Wanting to get my stats up, I ignore Tanaka and work at the café again.
June 24
Nothing happens during the school day. Again going with the lowest SL, I attend student council. Hidetoshi is accusing the female vice president of leaving the cigarette butt in the boys’ bathroom, and everyone eventually storms out, leaving just him and me. After stroking his ego, the Emperor SL ranks up to 5. Working again at the café, my Charm increases to Queen Bee. Yay! I can now establish Akihiko’s SL!
June 25
Fuuka stops by during lunch, seeming a bit off. Getting Mr. Edogawa’s question about dowsing correct, I get a bump to Charm. Seeing what’s bothering Fuuka, I go to cooking club with her. After trying to boost her confidence, I make some sugar cookies, another item for a date. After helping Fuuka make actually edible cookies, the Priestess SL ranks up to 4. Wanting a change of pace, we head to Tartarus. Triangle fusing Unicorn, Pyro Jack, and Ghoul gets me Vetala for Theo’s request. And I don’t have to use the Maragi card to complete it. This gets me a Sugar Key, which allows the fusion of King Frost. Starting at a lower level, I pick up the Slime persona.
June 26
Theo calls before school to tell me that there are a couple people lost in Tartarus. I guess I should have put off that training for another day. Hidetoshi and Yukari catch me during lunch. Being tired, I get my courage bump from the nurse. Visiting the Velvet Room, Theo says the missing people are between floors 48 and 52, then hedges and says they’re on other floors, too. Since Yukari’s SL is lower than Hidetoshi’s, I walk home with her. While shopping at Pawlonia Mall, Yukari gets a call from her mother saying she wants to get remarried. After Yukari goes on for a while, the Lovers SL ranks up to 4. As I get back to the dorm, Akihiko takes off for the night, so that rescue operation won’t happen tonight. I don’t want that to linger, so I turn in early.
June 27
I’m fine, but Yukari, Akihiko, and Mitsuru are all under the weather. Nothing happens during school. I have a Hierophant persona, so I head to the bookstore for the first time in a while. Our bond becomes stronger and I leave. Someone is supposed to give me a Christmas Star today, and that someone is Fuuka. She just happens to have a poinsettia in her room and gives me one. Theo gives me some Cyber Shoes for showing him it. I then listen to Tenaka talk about the importance of appearances and the Devil SL ranks up to 7.
June 28
Champion Gloves and 3 Mega Proteins are up for sale for 3980 yen. I think I’ll take these over hanging out with either Fuuka or Junpei. Geez, Akihiko and Mitsuru are still sick. Wanting to get my academics up, I work the day at the theater. I also get a bump to courage, as well as a raise for having worked here enough. Back at the dorm, Mitsuru and Akihiko aren’t around, so no rescue operation. I still am not courageous enough to talk to the monk at the club, so I spend the evening studying.
June 29
Correctly answering Mr. Takenozuka’s question about water draining, I get a bump to charm. Since I can now establish the link, I head home with Akihiko. We stop by Hagakure Ramen, and after eating an extra large special, the Star SL is established. Before getting back to the dorm, a scene plays with Yukari asking Fuuka whether she knows anything about the incident at the school a decade ago. Yukari also has heard that shadows have appeared before. Yukari is also growing more and more suspicious of Mitsuru. Everyone’s available and feeling well, so we head to Tartarus to rescue the pair. I should have ignored Theo’s second-guessing as I find the first one on the 51st floor after starting well before the 48th floor. Ah, now Theo says the other person is between floors 56 and 61. So his second-guessing meant a higher floor for one of them. Sweet! I leveled up to 30 and can now carry 12 personas. Filling out my newly expanded roster, I pick up Titan and High Pixie. I fuse Berith and Jack Frost for Naga. We finally find the woman on the 61st floor. Heading back in for the sole purpose of picking up a 12th persona, I get Zouchouten. We then leave Tartarus.
June 30
My order arrived. Skipping to lunch, Yukari stops by. I stop by the nurse for my courage bump, and then head to the police station to get my rewards of 40k yen and a Shirt of Chivalry. Well, at least the money might come in handy. Back at school, I head home with Yukari. We head to the strip mall, and she seems to have misplaced her wallet and thinks she dropped it at the station. After she runs off to check there, I follow and she’s run into some thugs. After the cops are called, the Lovers SL ranks up to 5. I’m guessing she found her wallet. Wanting to get my courage up, I ignore Tanaka and work at the café. And it goes up to Tough! Now I can talk to the monk. Pharos makes another appearance in my room during the Dark Hour, reminding me that the next full moon is in a week, then disappears.
July 1
After yet another reminder about the full moon from Mitsuru on the way to school, nothing happens throughout the day. Still being tired, I grab my courage bump from the nurse. Ah, shoot, the Champion Gloves are a downgrade for Akihiko. Maiko seems to be down in the dumps about something, so I spend the afternoon with her. She tells me that she’s decided to run away from home, and the Hanged Man SL ranks up to 6. I hadn’t been paying that close of attention and was hoping the monk would be there tonight, but he isn’t, so I work at the café. Well, this time it cured my tiredness.
July 2
During lunch, Fuuka stops by. Nothing else happens during the day, so I go to cooking club with Fuuka. We make some banana cupcakes and the Priestess SL ranks up to 5. The monk is at the club tonight, but he won’t talk to me if I don’t have some booze. Talking to the bartender, since it’s for the monk, he’ll take some to him if I play waitress. Getting the four orders right, he brings the monk some brandy. The monk talks at me for a bit and the Tower SL is established.
July 3
Answering Mr. Ekoda’s question regarding the Global Heritage Plaza correctly gets me a charm bump. Akihiko catches up to me during lunch. Since he stopped by, I head home with him after school. We run to the shrine and after some banter and having him show off, the Star SL ranks up to 2. Ignoring the monk’s advice to stay away from the club, I head there. Finding out his Buddhist name is Mutatsu, the Tower SL ranks up to 2.
July 4
The school day flies by. Since I’m flush with money, I stock up on Revival Beads during the weekly sale at the pharmacy, just in case. I have two SL options, Maiko and Fuuka, and decide to go to the cooking club with Fuuka. This time, we each make something different. I go with Chocolate Truffles since I no longer have any in inventory, while Fuuka makes some actually delicious flavored rice balls, and the Priestess SL ranks up to 6. In the evening, I go to the Mall and talk to Tanaka. After being worried about being jailed by a budding prosecutor, the Devil SL ranks up to 8.
July 5
Nothing good is offered this week on Tanaka’s show, so I reload. Rio calls me in the morning and I decide to spend the day with her. We share some cake at the café. After agreeing with her, I give her the Japanese strap, which she ends up really liking. Wanting to get my academics up, I spend the evening studying.
July 6
Rio stops by during lunch reminding me of practice, so I head there after school. She thinks that Kenji, whom she has eyes for, has the hots for the teacher, Ms. Kanou. Comforting her gets the Chariot SL to rank up to 6. Since the full moon is tomorrow, I study before going to sleep.
July 7
Nothing happens at school and I’m automatically sent back to the dorm for a meeting, where it immediately shifts to the Dark Hour. This time, we’ll be heading to where the love hotels are. Since Yukari insists on being part of our team this time, I decide to take Junpei and Mitsuru. After defeating a few weak enemies on our way to the 3rd floor, we find the boss in the Hierophant’s Chamber. After trying our magic and finding out it reflects Electricity, simply attacking it physically is the best way to go as we got a couple critical hits off (and got to see some decent slowdown). A Me Patra Gem took care of its one casting of a panic all spell. Hmm… It seems we can’t leave the room. Fuuka detects another shadow, so I start investigating the room again. The mirror is a bit strange and suddenly I’m alone in a bit of a daze. After answering a series of prompts with the obvious answers, my mind clears, and it’s just Junpei and I needing to find the other two. We also will need to find a way to break the seal at the Hierophant’s Chamber to fight the other shadow. After finding the others at the top of the first flight of stairs, Fuuka chimes in that we’ll need to break the mirrors. It’s time for some good old destruction of private property! Breaking the one in the room I woke up in restarted the sequence and we’re separated again. Fuuka mentioned there should be something different about the one we need to break. For some reason, I’m thinking my reflection won’t be seen it the target mirror. Room 205’s mirror does just that, and breaking it weakened the seal. So, there are multiple mirrors to break. Room 304 has the other mirror, and I break the seal. Again, physical attacks are the way to go. Surviving a single charm, thanks to having a Dis-Charm, it goes down rather easily. We’re then outside the hotel and the Fool SL ranks up to 4. The trio that carried out the non-lethal hit a little while ago makes another appearance. It seems they’ve been watching us for some time.
July 8
Oh, joy. Exams start next week. Answering Ms. Toriumi’s comma splice question correctly gets me a charm bump. After school, I get my courage bump from the nurse. Theo has new requests, several of which involve drops from the next block with a time limit, so that should be opening up soon. That Super Cat Food I bought way back at the beginning of the game finally has a use as I can now feed it to the weak cat in the Port Island Station Outskirts. Feeding it once isn’t enough to complete Theo’s request, though, and you can’t feed it multiple times in a single day. Now I need to find the funky school music. Power Records doesn’t sell it, like I was expecting. The kid at the theater that was talking about a theme song for Gekkoukan High being in the works doesn’t have it. It’s not in the Music Room at school. Hmm… My last guess is at the club during the evening. Leaving the SLs alone today, I work at Be Blue V for the afternoon for bumps to academics and charm. Mitsuru stepped out and Yukari and Fuuka are discussing some matter, so we can’t go to Tartarus tonight. The club doesn’t have the music. Wanting to get well so I can study for exams, I turn in early.
July 9
Answering Mr. Ono’s question correctly that the Konden Einen Shizaihou was the foundation of the development of feudalism, I get a bump to charm. Ah, the PA Room has the music Theo wants. They give me a CD with “Gekkoukan Boogie” on it and I take it to Theo. He starts reading the lyrics, which are a take off of “Kung Fu Fighting”, and gives me an Orange Cutsew, which is the HP boosting armor for the MC. I then go feed the cat and it gets a little healthier, but not healthy enough for Theo. I was going to study at the library, but being committee day, I’m not given the option. I really want to up my academics, so I work at Be Blue V again. They also give me a raise. I think I’ve only worked here 3 times. Arriving back at the dorm, Theo calls to tell me the path in Tartarus has opened. Since I’ve gotten a rank up every time so far, I talk to Tanaka at the Mall. He tells me about an Ebenezer Scrooge moment and then talks about finding a replacement for his position since he has too much money and not enough time to spend it. This ranks the Devil SL up to 9. One rank away from max!
July 10
I answer Mr. Edogawa’s question about the Kabbalah correctly for a charm bump. Akihiko swings by during lunch, so after feeding the cat, I walk home with him. He takes me to the Beef Bowl Shop on the way home and he’s accosted by some girls from school. Pushing our way past them, and after asking about what type of girl he likes, the Star SL ranks up to 3. Arriving back at the dorm, Junpei of all people takes off to study. Fuuka doesn’t offer the option to go to Tartarus. I’m guessing we won’t be able to go until after exams. I’m a bit surprised all the clubs at school haven’t locked their doors again like during midterms. I guess I’ll study tonight.
July 11
I answer another of Mr. Ono’s questions correctly. Akihiko texts me after school to tell me that we’ll be meeting with Ikutsuki tonight. Speak of the devil. All the clubs’ rooms are locked. Feeding the cat, it’s fully healthy and is now a Contented Cat, so I collect my reward of an S. Outfit Yukari from Theo. I head to the library to do some much needed studying. During the meeting with Ikutsuki, Yukari accuses Mitsuru of knowing more about the Dark Hour than she’s been telling us. Mitsuru then tells of how her grandfather was basically responsible for creating the Dark Hour and Tartarus. Ikutsuki then tells us that he strongly believes that if the 12 shadows are defeated, the Dark Hour and Tartarus will come to an end. As suspected, we can’t go to Tartarus, so I spend the evening studying. Dang, academics didn’t level up.
July 12
The day starts with a series of “Meanwhile, at…” segments. We find out that Akihiko and Shinjiro grew up at the same orphanage while he’s telling him we know how to end the Dark Hour. Fuuka then gets asked by Mitsuru to dig up what she can about the incident 10 years ago by giving Fuuka her access information to the Kirijo Group’s database. Junpei is getting pissed off with himself near the movie theater. Finally, Yukari reads over a letter from her father from 10 years ago, well, 9 years ago, regarding his being appointed Head Researcher with the Kirijo Group. For the first time in a while, no one calls in the morning. Turning on Tanaka’s show, I buy a pair of Max Safety Shoes and 2 Tricksters for 5980 yen. Since I still can’t speak with the emo kid at the shrine, I spend the afternoon studying, getting two bumps to my academics. Rather than moving to the evening, it jumps to the Dark Hour, and Pharos appears in my room again. He tells me that the coming of the end is due to an occurrence 10 years ago, as well as mentioning that my parents died 10 years ago. He then vows to stick with me since we’re friends, and the Death SL ranks up to 3.
July 13
I stay awake through Mrs. Terauchi’s class for an academics bump. Getting in some last minute studying, I go to the library. Back at the dorm, Ikutsuki has some great news, as we’ll be going to the beach, where Mitsuru’s father is on business, after exams. Mitsuru then mentions to Yukari that her father was a witness to the incident 10 years ago. I do one last bit of studying before exams.
July 14
My order arrives, then it’s off to begin finals. I get the dowsing question.
July 15
I get the octopus devilfish question.
July 16
I get a question about Minamoto No Yoritomo establishing the Kamakura shogunate
July 17
A comma splice question.
July 18
It says I feel like I did well. After some dialog about our upcoming trip to Yakushima, Ikutsuki introduces Ken, whom I met at the shrine a few weeks ago, as being a possible SEES member, and he’ll be moving into our dorm. Time to see if I can max out a rank by spending the evening with Tanaka at the Mall. He’s decided to make a 10M yen donation to help out children, then gives me the Thank-you Letter he received. This maxes out the Devil SL and I can create Beelzebub.
July 19
Woohoo! It’s the beginning of the Post-exam Break! No one called, so I’m free to do some shopping, buying a Shirt of Chivalry and 2 Mega Proteins for 6980 yen. Since all the weapons and armor up for sale at the police station are pretty good upgrades, I pick up the best for each of us. I head to the bookstore, and after Bunkichi tells me about a petition to save the persimmon tree and agreeing to go see the tree, the Hierophant SL ranks up to 8. Mitsuru and Akihiko are out for the evening, so we can’t go to Tartarus. Since I have plenty of opportunities to rank up the monk SL, I spend the evening studying.
July 20
We take off for Yakushima, and after a short scene on the ferry, we are in a mansion of the Kirijo family. Hm, I wonder how many people playing this now (or maybe even when it was released) picked up Junpei’s reference to the old Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous TV show. It had been off the air for quite some time. After an extremely brief appearance of Mitsuru’s father, we head to the beach. There’s an access point to the Forest, but I can’t go there. With nothing to do here but talk to the other five, I head back to the mansion. We’re then all in a meeting with Mitsuru’s father where he explains more about the accident 10 years ago. He says that his father was trying to create essentially a time machine using the shadows’ power. He then shows us a video of the accident, filmed by Yukari’s father, who turns out to be the cause of the Dark Hour.
July 21
While looking for the Jyomon-Cedar Tree in the forest with the girls, Mitsuru gets a call from Ikutsuki regarding an anti-shadow weapon at the lab that just up and left on its own. It then switches to a scene at the beach with the guys trying unsuccessfully to pick up chicks, during which an obviously important character is first shown. The “mysterious girl” then senses something and runs into the forest, only to latch onto me. After everyone regroups, Ikutsuki reveals that the girl’s name is Aigis. We head back to the mansion and Ikutsuki tells us that she is the weapon that had left the lab. Aigis is also now a member of SEES.
July 22
After a lengthy sequence at the beach, the Fool SL ranks up to 5. This also activates the team’s mortal blow ability. And that’s the end of our vacation.
July 23
A scene at the Tatsumi Port Island back alley plays where Shinjiro is shown getting some sort of pills from the weird trio. Along the way, the ringleader mentions the Tower of Demise. Back at the dorm, I’m finally back in control. Since I left the beach on the 20th, all I was doing was advancing text. Speaking to Aigis, it says I need to get her to understand ordinary feelings and conversation to establish her SL. Fuuka says we should rest up after our trip, so we can’t go to Tartarus. I spend the evening studying.
July 24
Aigis wakes me up, having unlocked my door and let herself in. After rebuffing her request to stay in my room, Yukari sets her up with her own room. My order from before our vacation arrives. School is back in session for just a couple days before Summer Vacation. Exam results are posted, so I go to check them out during lunch and I’m in the top ten again, which gives me a big charm boost. Like with midterms, Mitsuru has a reward for placing high, even though I don’t recall that being mentioned for finals. She’s not around today. Since no one stopped by during lunch, I walk home with Akihiko since his SL is the lowest. We arrive at the dorm and he asks me if the rumor that I’m going out with Junpei is true. As if. After the Star SL ranks up to 4, we grab a bite to eat and then return to the dorm. A new recording is in the control room, so I get to watch Fuuka trying out an ab slimming belt she bought from Tanaka’s show. We can finally go to Tartarus tonight and start exploring the next block, so after stopping by the police station to upgrade Aigis’ equipment (as he magically now has equipment that she can use), we head there.
Before entering, I grab Theo’s requests that involve monster drops. Returning with 5 Relic Fragments, Theo give me a Land Badge, which restores HP during battle. That’ll be useful. We make it rather easily to the 72th floor bosses, which are a few Furious Gigas. My guess is they’re weak against electricity, just like the Steel Gigas. Nope, they seem to actually be strong against it. Trying the opposite, they are weak against wind. Using that, I just need cast one Recarm on Akihiko in the midst of having no other real trouble with them. What?!? Only 196 exp?!?!? Even though we’re all apparently tired, we continue on, picking up the needed 3 Greasy Gears from the red shadows that are Wild Drives. Theo gives me 2 King of Wands for them. I fuse Slime and Valkyrie to get Take-Minakata, and it will produce an item. I then buy back Pyro Jack to continue leveling it up to unlock all its spells.
Heading back in, we make it to the 85th floor boss. So, even though Fuuka can’t analyze it, her Third Eye skill is able to determine what’s ineffective against it. Since it reflects all magic, it’s another physical attack only fight. Since it casts electricity spells, I leave Yukari and Aigis behind and equip Oberon as he nullifies electricity. Surviving a barrage of Poison Mists thanks to a few dozen Dis-Poisons we’ve picked up in Tartarus, it goes down. Surprisingly, it waited until almost the end of the battle to cast Elec Break to remove Oberon’s null electricity. Continuing on, we get to the dead end on the 89th floor and pick up Old Document 04, in which the author says his life had been saved by the team leader. Unfortunately, we only ran into one Supreme Hand, which ran away, and never found an Onimaru Kunitsuna, so I still have those two quests. I did leave a spot open, so I grab the request for the document and get a Fast Retreat for showing it to Theo. I think we’ve spent enough time in here, so we leave.
July 25
Staying awake through Mr. Edogawa’s lecture on alchemy, my academics gets a bump. After school, Ms. Kanou from the tennis club stops me to discuss a fellowship with another school. It seems we’ll be heading off to play against that school after practicing for a week. Hmm, I guess that’ll be a decent chunk of Summer Break eaten up. Mitsuru is hanging around after school today, so I get my reward of a Knight Card Set. I then get my courage bump from Mr. Edogawa. I go to cooking club with Fuuka and our bond becomes stronger. I still get to choose something to make, so we make some sugar cookies. A scene at the back alley plays out where the leader of the trio tells Shinjiro that they’re going to be intervening in our plans. Ken greets me at the dorm as he’s moved in. He’s not a part of SEES yet, though. Looking at the calendar, I’m surprised the Ending Ceremony wasn’t shown. I’m guessing the nurse won’t be accessible during break for the courage bumps, so I turn in early.
July 26
Woohoo! Summer vacation! A bead chain and 3 amethysts are up for sale for 5980 yen. I have a few bead chains and haven’t needed to use any yet, and I have almost 70 amethysts from monster drops, so I pass and reload. I turn down Bebe and hang out with Saori for the day. We head to the arcade at the mall. After promising to try out the fortune-telling machine with her the next time, I give her a teddy bear, which she really loves. I trade a couple amethysts for a replacement teddy bear at the antique shop before spending the evening with Mutatsu at the club. He mentions his wife and kid left him, and then goes on about friends. The Tower SL then ranks up to 3.
July 27
Tennis practice starts today and I’m automatically sent there. After an uneventful practice, I’m back at the dorm in the evening. With not many options as to what to do, I study.
July 28
Another uneventful day of practice and back to the dorm for another night of studying.
July 29
Another day, another day of practice and studying. Mitsuru and Akihiko are out for the evening, so we couldn’t go to Tartarus if we wanted. Fuuka wakes me up during the Dark Hour. She’s detected a shadow outside of Tartarus at the Shrine, and the whole group has assembled in the Control Room. Akihiko was in the vicinity and went to check it out rather than returning, and by the time he arrived on the scene, the shadow had already been defeated. It turns out that the dog from earlier killed the shadow. Aigis demonstrates that she can understand Koromaru.
July 30
Practice again. Mitsuru had taken Koromaru to the vet after last night and is recovering there. Still trying to get my Academics up to Smart, I ignore Mutatsu at the club and study. Pharos makes another appearance in my room, reminding me that the next full moon is a week away.
July 31
It’s finally the last day of practice. And another night of studying.
August 1
The tennis club takes the train to Yasoinaba High School for the 2-day fellowship. After defeating the other school in a match, we head to the nearby Asagi Inn. After a lengthy bit of dialog, we all turn in for the night.
August 2
After a second day of joint practice, we head back home. Fuuka thinks I look tired after the trip, so we can’t go to Tartarus. I study again.
August 3
Theo calls me in the morning to tell me there are a couple people lost in Tartarus. Yukari then calls and I decide to spend the day with her. We go to the record store at the mall. I give her the knit rabbit, which she seems to really like, and then head back to the dorm. With a reason to go back to Tartarus, we head there. Before heading in, I fuse Zouchouten and Pyro Jack to get Mokoi. Heading in, I fill the open spot with Take-Mikazuchi. We find the first person on the 69th floor, along with an Onimaru Kunitsuna in a rare chest to complete that request of Theo’s. The 69th floor also gives us a Supreme Hand that doesn’t run away and it drops a Bronze Medal. Completing my two quests, Theo gives me a Lacross Stick for the Bronze Medal and 3 opals for the Onimaru Kunitsuna. The next rare monster drop request is open, but I pass since it’s for the next block. Going back in, we rescue the other person on the 83rd floor. I triangle fuse Take-Minakata, Rakshasa, and Oberon to get Orthrus with Dodge Slash to satisfy a request from Theo. He gives me a W. Outfit Yukari for doing so. Now with a couple openings in my roster, we go back in and get Sarasvati and Sati. With everything I wanted to accomplish in here done, we leave Tartarus.
August 4
Fuuka calls me in the morning, so I spend the day with her. We spend the day at the mall. Talking her out of using the dried pit viper in a recipe, and then giving her some sugar cookies, our bond becomes stronger. I go to the police station to collect my reward of 6 emeralds and a Divine Grace card. I then turn in early.
August 5
Junpei calls, so I spend the day with him. We go to the beef bowl shop. I give him some of the sweet fries I made, which he really likes. I spend the evening studying. Yay!! I’m finally Smart!!!
August 6
Since today’s a full moon, it doesn’t let me do anything during the day, and it automatically moves to the Dark Hour. This month’s battle will be in an old underground military facility. When we arrive, we’re confronted by the two males of the trio that’s been supplying Shinjiro with his pills. The leader introduces himself as Takaya, and his partner Jin, and then tells us that they’re known as Strega and that they’re going to put an end to our pursuit. Apparently that exchange happened just inside the facility and they’re able to leave just before the door closes, trapping us inside. Taking Junpei, Aigis, and Akihiko, we go after the shadow. Oh, my! All the weapons here were designed to kill!!! That’s shocking, Fuuka. Heading down the corridor, we relatively quickly arrive at the boss, which is a mini-tank with wings. After a few rounds, it separates into its two arcana types. Other than its annoying tendency to cast poison mist, it was pretty easy. It definitely helped when Aigis countered one of its attacks. It merging and separating also wasted multiple turns. After the battle, Mitsuru calls Ikutsuki back at the control room to let him know about our little friends that showed up.
August 7
I brush off Bebe in the morning. Theo has new requests, so I accept a couple seemingly easy ones. I take Theo on a date to Naganaki Shrine, and after the standard awkward dialog, he gives me the Book of Ancients, which allows the fusing of Thoth. I then work the afternoon at the movie theater for academics and courage bumps. I turn in early to heal up. Pharos appears again, and after warning me that someone in our group is apparently going to betray us, the Death SL ranks up to 5.
August 8
Theo calls to tell me the blocked path is open. Mitsuru then stops by to tell me there will be a meeting in the control room tonight. Now that I have Theo’s request for a drink bearing his sister’s name, Que Sera Sera at the Port Island Station outskirts is accessible. It turns out to be a bar, but I can’t enter until my charm is high enough. I then spend the afternoon with Maiko at the shrine, who’s skipping cram school. Our bond becomes stronger and I return to the dorm for our meeting. Koromaru is in attendance and he’ll be joining our team, with Cerberus fittingly as his persona. Mitsuru has also arranged a summer school to make up for our lost studies while performing our SEES activities. I spend the evening with Mutatsu. After speaking briefly about charm, our bond grows.
August 9
No one calls in the morning, so I do some shopping, buying a Spirit Drain card and 4 health supplements for 4980 yen. Being Sunday, and now Smart, I know what I’m doing this afternoon. I go to Naganaki Shrine and talk to the thin guy. It turns out his fountain pen is missing, so I can’t quite establish the link. He thinks maybe that white goth girl that has been mentioned for the last couple months has it. Great. She’s nowhere to be found. I’m guessing she’ll now show up in Port Island Station later this week. Which means another week lost for his SL. In that case, I spend the day at the bookstore. Bunkichi is writing a letter to save the persimmon tree, and after I show a lot of interest in it, the Hierophant SL ranks up to 9. Arriving back at the dorm, Mitsuru tells me that I can take Koromaru for walks in the evening. It turns out that Koromaru had the pen, not the girl, as I find it under his paw when I talk to him. Either way, I still lost a week for that SL. A short tutorial states that walking him can raise multiple SLs if someone else goes with us. Might as well start this one, so I take him for a walk. We head to the shrine, and Aigis ended up tagging along. Aigis mentions a festival is held here, and then we head back to the dorm.
August 10
Oh, boy, summer school starts. At least I got a large bump to my academics. Well, that’s uneventful.
August 11
Sitting through Mr. Edogawa’s lecture on tarot cards, I get another large bump to academics.
August 12
Another bump to academics.
August 13
Same as yesterday.
August 14
Now Mr. Edogawa is lecturing on the Kabbalah, and then mentions he’ll be giving lectures on tarot cards in his office during the 2nd term. Again, I get a large bump to academics.
August 15
My order arrives, then off to the last day of summer school and another academics boost. Woohoo! I can actually do something other than pressing X! Back at the dorm, Junpei mentions the Summer Festival is tomorrow at the shrine. I hope the emo kid is there. Akihiko and Mitsuru are out for the evening, so we can’t go to Tartarus. Oh, so I can feed Koromaru the dog food we made in cooking club way back when. Do so establishes the Strength SL. I wasn’t expecting that.
August 16
The Summer Festival is today, so I really wasn’t expecting anyone to call. Junpei, Akihiko, Yukari, and Mitsuru call, all wanting to go to the festival with me. It turns out that I can’t decline Mitsuru’s invitation since Aigis is going to be going and we’ll need to keep an eye on her. Well, that’s just great. It’s skips straight to the evening, so I can’t establish the emo kid SL. Attending the festival, I win a Jack Frost Doll from one of the booths.
August 17
Oh, hey, Tanaka’s show is running on Monday this week, probably because it wasn’t accessible on Sunday. Not missing the opportunity, I buy a Homunculus and 3 Onyxes for 12,800 yen. The only SL available today is Maiko, so I spend the day with her. Our bond grows and then I head back to the dorm. It’s time to work on my new SL, so I spend the evening with Koromaru. After brushing his fur, the Strength SL ranks up to 2.
August 18
My order arrives, and then Rio calls, so I spend the day with her. We catch a horror movie marathon at the theater, which greatly increases my courage. Hmm, no gift giving this time. A new recording is available, this one showing Akihiko reading a magazine on tips for picking up girls. Neither the monk nor Koromaru are available to build on, so we finally head back into Tartarus. I accept the two monster drop requests from Theo, then head in. Along our way to the 98th floor boss, we pick up the requisite 4 Knight’s Reins and bring them back to Theo and receive a pair of Greaves of Dawn. Heading back in to face the boss, I find out they’re weak against fire, so this makes for a quick battle as we have two fire casters in the party and I just have to withstand a single Mabufulu casting to defeat the boss trio in a single round. Exiting to save, while I’m out here, I fuse Naga and Ares to get Mithra. This puts me at 20% completion of the compendium.
Heading back in, I quickly fill the open spot with Legion. Collecting the 5 Tiara’s Hairs, I bring them to Theo for 2 Precious Eggs. The monsters in this area are annoying in that many can cast Hamaon and Mamudo. Nevertheless, we make our way to the 110th floor boss. It loves casting a strong all-enemy wind spell, so I fuse Mokoi and Mithra to get Pale Rider, who is strong against wind. After falling victim to an all-enemy charm spell that no one recovered from on my second attempt, I take it down on my third attempt. Fuuka’s persona picked up the Healing Wave skill, which heals everyone slightly whenever we ascend a level. That should make things in here even easier than they already are. Finishing off this section, I pick up the persona Power and on the 114th floor, find Old Document 05, which has the author stating that experimenting on the shadows is a mistake. I then accept Theo’s request to bring him the document and get 120k yen. Having hit the dead end, we leave.
August 19
Theo calls in the morning to tell me there’s another person lost in Tartarus. Saori then calls, so I hang out with her for the day. We catch a nature documentary marathon at the theater and a get a large bump to my charm, which increases it to Angelic. I wonder if I can get that drink now. I work the evening at the café.
August 20
No one calls and a scene at the florist plays where Junpei sees the girl from the trio drawing something. Heading back to Que Sera Sera, my charm is high enough and after trying the non-alcoholic drink, the bartender gives me a bottle of Queen Elizabeth. I bring it to Theo and he rewards me with an S. Outfit Junpei. I spend the afternoon at the healing shop to get back to feeling good. I take Kormaru for a walk to the shrine again. While there, he finds a Trafuri Gem. Good boy!
August 21
Theo calls in the morning wanting me to take him to a film festival that’s going on. I decide to go with him and I get a large bump to Charm. I then spend the evening at the club with Mutatsu. Amusing him with wanting to go the bald route, the Tower SL ranks up to 4.
August 22
Bebe calls up and wants to go to the film festival since they’re showing French films today. Since these have been giving large attribute bumps, I go with him and today’s attribute is academics. Since Mitsuru is unavailable to go to Tartarus, I take Koromaru for another walk. Akihiko also came along, talking about how this will be his last Summer vacation.
August 23
No one calls, instead suggesting I choose someone to go to the film festival, so I do some shopping, buying some Dragon Boots and 2 Opals for 9980 yen. Since the festival is a one-time deal, I put off establishing the boy at the shrine SL and go to the theater with Ikutsuki. Today’s marathon is on the origin of modernism. Academics is again the attribute of the day. Since everyone’s healthy and available, we head to Tartarus to rescue someone. Seeing how much Fuuka’s Healing Wave heals, Aigis recovered 63 HP. Yeah, that will make this a lot easier. We find and rescue the missing person on floor 95. Before I get tired, we leave since there’s nothing else to do here.
August 24
Again, I get to invite someone to the film festival. But before that, a scene at the strip mall plays where Akihiko is really pressing Shinjiro to rejoin SEES. Some serious drama between Ken and Shinjiro is also now brewing. I try to take Koromaru to the movies, but he’s not interested. So, I go with option two and go with Yukari. It’s willpower day, which also increases my academics. I was thinking courage would go up. I go to the police station to collect my reward of a Matarukaja card. Officer Kurusawa is also giving me a discount today, so I upgrade a bunch of equipment. I then play fetch with Koromaru in the dorm for the evening and the Strength SL ranks up to 3. During that exchange, Fuuka calls Koromaru a her, and then calls Koro a him.
August 25
My order arrived. The Dragon Boots were an upgrade until the Jet Boots became available at the police station. Again, I get to invite someone to the film festival. Akihiko’s the only one who’s not busy, so I go with him. The chop-socky marathon boosts my academics, again not what I was expecting. Well, I do need to get it up to Genius to establish Mitsuru’s link. Since neither Koro nor Mutatsu are available tonight, I work at the café. I got another raise!
August 26
Rio calls up, but since the festival is still going, I turn her down. I take Koromaru to the “True Battles of Real Men” movie marathon. We get kicked out of the theater for trying to bring a dog in, but that increased my courage, which brought it up to Fearless. I take Koro for a walk to the shrine in the evening. Mr. Ono happens by and wants to borrow Koro to find a USB stick he lost. After digging around the playground, instead of finding the USB stick, he finds a katana. That’s an odd thing to be buried there. After telling me the Sengoku period will be on the next test, the Strength SL ranks up to 4.
August 27
Since the festival is still going on, I turn down Bebe’s request. It’s Junpei’s turn, so we catch the American action movie marathon, which increases my charm. Junpei and I take Koromaru for a walk to the shrine. We talk about the movies we watched, and then head back.
August 28
No one calls today, but Mitsuru lets me know there will be a meeting with Ikutsuka tonight. As suggested yesterday, I can go to the movies with Aigis. We watch a ninja movie marathon and my academics go up again. Back at the dorm, I’m automatically at the meeting, which is announcement that Ken is joining the team. I spend the evening with Mutatsu and our bond becomes stronger.
August 29
Theo calls in the morning to tell me yet another person got lost in Tartarus. Another scene at the florist plays where Junpei again sees the girl drawing. It’s Fuuka’s turn today to go to the movies. We watch a hard sci-fi marathon and my charm increases. Really? Charm? Everyone’s available and feeling well, so we head out on another rescue operation in Tartarus. We find the person on the 101th floor. Not wanting to get tired out, we leave. Pharos appears in my room to remind me of the upcoming full moon.
August 30
It’s Sunday, so I buy a Soma and 3 Best Friends items for 10k yen. Since the festival is still going on, I go with Mitsuru and catch a romance film marathon, which again boosts my academics. Really would have expected charm to get the boost. The calendar shows 30 Sundays left, so I should be able to max out the SL of the emo kid at the shrine. Heading to the police station, my reward is 20 Malachites. Oh, boy, just what I needed. Returning to the dorm, Mitsuru and I take Koro for a walk to the shrine. Mitsuru talks a little bit about the movies we watched, and then we return.
August 31
It’s the last day of the film festival and the only one I haven’t gone with is Ken. But before that, another scene with Junpei and the girl, whose name is Chidori, from the trio plays. It seems a cut on her wrist doesn’t bother her one bit. But she’s almost done with her drawing. Ken and I catch a superhero movie marathon, which increases my courage. I take Koro for another walk. The woman who told us about Koro earlier happens by and suggests I find something Koro’s former master used to wear, for Koro’s sake. The Strength SL then ranks up to 5.
September 1
My order arrives, then it’s off to the start of the 2nd semester of school, which sports new music. I answer Mr. Takenozuka’s superconductivity question correctly. Saori then catches me during lunch. The nurse now has lessons on tarot readings. Sitting through the lengthy segment does nothing. I then head to library committee with Saori. The library has been dead lately, and it seems everyone’s avoiding Saori for some reason. Ms. Ounishi then comes in and wants us to make up some letters for a section of the newsletter about advice on love. The Hermit SL then ranks up to 6. Back at the dorm, it turns out that Aigis will be attending school with Chairman Ikutsuki’s approval. Ken’s now available to establish a SL, but it requires my courage to be Badass in order to force him to go grab a bite to eat with me. With no SLs available, I work the evening at the café.
September 2
Aigis gets introduced in homeroom and is assigned the seat next to mine. During lunch, Akihiko texts me about something important he needs to talk about after school. I’m automatically sent to meet with him after school, and we head to Hagakure Ramen to force Shinjiro to rejoin. Ken having joined is what finally impels Shinjiro to rejoin. I take Koro for another walk, and while at the shrine, he digs up a Balm of Life.
September 3
Theo calls in the morning to let me know another person is lost in Tartarus. Fuuka stops by during lunch, eager to go to cooking club. I skip through another long tarot lesson from Edogawa. At cooking club, after I make some banana cupcakes, I find Fuuka’s messed up the rice balls she’s been making, turning them into porridge. The Priestess SL ranks up to 7 and we clean up and head back to the dorm. We head back to Tartarus for another rescue mission. Before heading in, I fuse Hua Po from Tam Lin and High Pixie. Shortly after entering, I refill my persona roster with Virtue. A rare chest yields a very nice Mage’s Mark, which recovers SP every round. Ok, Shinjiro’s battle dialog is extremely annoying. We find the lost person on the 108th floor. Before leaving, I fuse Shiisaa from Power and Hua Po. Why did I become tired? Fuuka never said I was during that trip.
September 4
Skipping to lunch, Yukari, Rio, and Akihiko catch me. After school, another scene with Junpei and Chidori plays out. Ah, so Edogawa’s lessons are only available if you’re feeling well. Since I’m not, I get my courage bump. Stopping at the police station, I collect my reward of a Mediarama card. Since I don’t have any persona that would benefit any of the three that stopped by, I head home with Yukari. We grab a burger and she recalls the wallet incident to talk about that way she is. The Lovers SL ranks up to 6 and we grab some anmitsu from the Sweet Shop before heading back to the dorm. Wondering what will happen if I go into the full moon tired, I spend the evening with Mutatsu. After talking about money, the Tower SL ranks up to 5.
September 5
It doesn’t say I’m still tired. Hmm… As with the prior full moons, the school day skips by and I’m forced back to the dorm. Before I get back, Junpei is seen in front of the dorm being bummed that Chidori wasn’t at the station today. Chidori eventually arrives at the dorm, and it sounds like she sacks him… literally. Fuuka detects this month’s shadow at Pawlonia Mall. Ken had been out searching for Junpei, but comes back unsuccessful. I guess we’ll be without Junpei for this one. After arriving at the mall and finding out the shadow has possessed the underground cables, Chidori drops Junpei off on our dorm’s roof, telling him to have us call off the mission. Back at the mall, we think we’ve pinpointed where the shadow is and head into Club Escapade. As soon as we enter, the boss is waiting. Having it just sit there for 4 rounds while it charges up for its Giga Spark attack made this a very easy battle. Arriving back at the dorm, we’re able to get Chidori’s evoker just before she uses it. We ship her off to the hospital and call it a night.
September 6
Mitsuru is questioning Chidori about herself and Strega at the hospital. Chidori is completely silent, with not even Junpei able to get a response from her. Only mentioning her evoker gets her to say anything, although nothing important. Anyway, it’s Sunday, so I buy a Megido card and 4 Mind Supplements for 6980 yen. Theo has new requests. Now that I’ve accepted Theo’s request to find a beautiful tile, I can access the Mahjong Club in the Port Island Station Outskirts. Entering, I defeat one of the men leaving in a game of Rock Paper Scissors and he gives me a Mahjong Tile. Returning with it to Theo, he gives me an S. Outfit Akihiko. With fountain pen in hand, I head to the shrine. Upon returning it to him, he introduces himself as Akinari Kamiki and talks about how he’s dying from a genetic disease with no known cure. This establishes the Sun SL. Heading to the club, one of the guys on the floor just randomly gives me a pair of Quick Pumps, which is actually an upgrade. Ken and I take Koro for a walk to the shrine where nothing important happens.
September 7
School flies by. Since I’m still tired, I get my courage bump from the nurse. No one stopped by during lunch, so I attend student council. Everyone except Hidetoshi left early and he talks about sincerity and wanting to start a corporation where “everyone’s treated fairly.” The Emperor SL then ranks up to 6. With Mitsuru and Akihiko at the hospital trying to get answers out of Chidori, we can’t go to Tartarus. Shinjiro is now available to establish a SL, so I grab a bite to eat with him. He takes me to the Hagakure ramen shop and the Moon SL is formed. That also cures my tiredness.
September 8
My order arrives before heading to school. Yukari catches me during lunch, wanting to hang out after school. The scene then switches to Chidori’s hospital room where only Junpei can get her to say anything. I skip through Edogawa’s lecture #3 on tarot readings. Still nothing happens. I head home with Yukari and we stop by the strip mall. She’s suddenly concerned that every place has stuff that’s too fattening. While mindlessly talking about a weight loss DVD, she wanders into the street and it sounds like she gets hit by a car, which then speeds off. I guess she didn’t get hit. The Lovers SL then ranks up to 7. Since Chidori’s still tight-lipped, it doesn’t look like we’ll be going to Tartarus anytime soon, so I turn in early to get to Great condition.
September 9
Nothing happens during the school day. So, the tarot reading lectures serve no real purpose as now I can just read through any of the three lectures. Since no one hit me up during lunch, I go see Maiko at the shrine. She bids me farewell as she’s decided to run away from home. Shortly afterward, her parents appear, searching for her. Suggesting Maiko’s at the takoyaki stand, we find her there. Finding out that her parents do care about her, the Hanged Man SL ranks up to 7. Since I have a Strength persona, I take Koro to the shrine. Preventing a couple people from breaking into the shrine, the Strength SL ranks up to 6. I lose my Great condition. Dang. Well, that was a waste.
September 10
I answer Mrs. Terauchi’s question about meal etiquette correctly. Another after school scene plays at the hospital. Shinjiro shows up this time, and it’s a good thing since Chidori can’t control her persona and he force-feeds her the suppressants he’s been getting from Strega. Let’s see if I can max another SL at the bookstore. Nope. Upon arriving back at the dorm, Theo calls to let me know the blocked path is open. Coincidentally, everyone’s back at the dorm tonight and we can go to Tartarus. Might as well knock out the next section, so we head to Tartarus. On our way to the 122th floor boss, I pick up Jikokuten to fill out my persona roster. It’s nice that the slowdown during the all-out attacks in the third block seems to be gone. Once I discovered that the tank boss trio is weak against ice, thanks to Mitsuru, the battle became a piece of cake, winning on my first try. Returning to save and bringing a Silver Medal dropped by an Opulent Hand to Theo, I get a Bone for Koro. While the Bone is a slight downgrade in attack power, I’ll take its high critical rate. Having finally unlocked all their abilities and cards, I fuse Legion and Take-Mikazuchi to get Oumitsunu for another of Theo’s requests. The Chariot SL is high enough to get it to Theo’s required level 33 and I receive a Machine Core, which allows the fusion of Nata Taishi.
Going after some lower level personas I’m missing, I head back to the 2nd block and pick up Archangel, and then quickly unlock all its skills in the 4th block. I’m finally able to put Ghoul to use again, fusing it with Archangel to get Gurr. Again returning to lower levels, I pick up Fortuna. Unlocking everything for Fortuna, I fuse her and Vetala to get Yamatano-orochi, who has a hidden item. Back in the 2nd block, I pick up Principality. Thanks to Growth 1, Gurr unlocked everything while sitting on the bench, so I fuse it with Pale Rider to get Setanta. After picking up Narcissus, we collect the necessary 3 Gold Handguards from the extremely annoying Hakarou Mushas and I bring them to Theo for a Bus Stop Sign for Shinjiro. It took a while, but I finally collected the 5 Empress’s Mirrors for Theo. I get a pair of Quick Pumps for my trouble. Clearing out some space in my roster, I fuse Yamatano-orochi and Setanta to get Loa, and Sarasvati and Principality to get Queen Mab. That put me at the 30% completion mark for the compendium. On our way to the 135th floor boss, I pick up Lamia and Flauros. After one failed attempt against the boss where it cast a powerful all-enemy Almighty (I think) spell, I replaced Aigis with Akihiko and went the debuff route, defeating it on my second attempt with help from a few critical hits. We continue to the dead end at floor 139 and find the Old Document 06, which starts to say something about what happens when the shadows are collected before trailing off. Theo rewards me with 5 Beads for bringing the document. With nothing left to do here, we leave.
September 11
I get Edogawa’s question about the Hermetica correct for a charm bump. I then get my courage bump from him after school. No one came by during lunch, so I head home with Yukari. We stop at the café and our bond grows. I then go to Wakatsu Restaurant with Shinjiro in the evening. We talk about how well we’re fighting and the Moon SL ranks up to 2.
September 12
Theo calls in the morning to let me know another human got lost in Tartarus, and it’s someone I know. Oh, oh! I stay awake through Mr. Ono’s lecture for an academics bump. Another scene at the hospital plays. Chidori shows that she can channel her healing powers into other things, making the wilting flowers in her room bloom. Maybe she can help out those flowers on the school’s roof! Chidori is also warming up to Junpei. I get my courage bump from the nurse. Looking at the bulletin board, Bunkichi from the bookstore is the person I need to rescue. Hmm, I wonder what happens at the bookstore. It just says it’s quiet inside and I can’t enter. Again, no one stopped me at lunch, so since I have a Hanged Man persona, I spend the afternoon with Maiko. Our bond grows, and then I head back to the dorm. Wanting to rescue Bunkichi soon, I go to bed early. Pharos appears in my room again during the Dark Hour. After talking about an uncertain future, the Death SL ranks up to 6.
September 13
I turn down both Yukari and Fuuka, and buy an Omega Spear and 3 Garnets for 12800 yen from Tanaka’s show. A new recoding is available in the control room, so I watch Shinjiro secretly watching a cooking show with Koromaru. I then head to the shrine and spend the afternoon with Akinari. After talking about how he doesn’t need anyone’s pity, and is happy I don’t look down on him like his family does, the Sun SL ranks up to 2. Everyone’s feeling good, so we head to Tartarus to rescue Bunkichi. We find him on the 120th floor. Not wanting to get tired, we leave.
September 14
Answering Mr. Takenozuka’s question about Japan’s nuclear weapons restrictions correctly, I get a bump to charm. After school, I go to the police station for my reward of 10 Homunculi. Officer Kurosawa is also giving me a discount today, so I upgrade everyone’s weapons. I then spend the afternoon with Maiko. Grabbing a burger, Maiko tells me her parents talked to her about why they’re getting a divorce. Suggesting she stay with her father after the divorce, the Hanged Man SL ranks up to 8. Eating out with Shinjiro at Wakatsu again, he’s concerned about the others’ eating habits and wants me to tell them to eat better. The Moon SL then ranks up to 3.
September 15
My order arrives in the morning. Nothing important happens during school. I’ve neglected Bebe for quite a while, so I go to fashion club with him. I make a felt bag, and then we go to Wakatsu Restaurant. He tells me his uncle was against the idea of him going to Japan. After telling him he should stay in Japan rather than returning home, the Temperance SL ranks up to 5. Shinjiro and I take Koromaru for a walk to the shrine. Shinjiro says something about the incoming typhoon that several people have mentioned and we head back home.
September 16
Bebe stops by during lunch, as something important has happened to him. Going to fashion club with Bebe, I make a knit rabbit. He then decides to make a scarf but can’t get his sewing machine to work. To clear his mind, we go to the Sweet Shop and he tells me of his plan to convince his uncle to let him return to Japan after returning home. I give him my support in his plan and the Temperance SL ranks up to 6. I take Koro on a walk to the shrine again, and he digs up a Homunculus.
September 17
Other than talk about the typhoon possibly canceling the upcoming culture festival, it was an uneventful day at school. I try again to max out the Hierophant SL and head to the bookstore. No luck again, but it does say I feel it will grow stronger soon. Back at the dorm, I ask Shinjiro for a fruit knife. Giving me one, I head to the Velvet Room and show it to Theo. He reads the engraving on it, and it turns out to be a graduation gift from the orphanage Shinjiro and Akihiko grew up in. Because of its importance to Shinjiro, Theo doesn’t take it, but still rewards me with a Guillotine Axe for Shinjiro. Taking Koro for a walk, we’re interrupted by Fuuka who is worried since he didn’t eat the meat she bought for him. We then head out for the walk with Koro carrying the meat in his mouth. At the shrine, Koro brings the meat to a lost puppy. We take the puppy to the police station and after some phone calls, Officer Kurosawa is able to locate the owner. The Strength SL then ranks up to 7.
September 18
It turns out there’s another film festival coming up. Nothing happens during school. With the sky looking ominous due to the typhoon, I’m immediately sent back to the dorm. The typhoon has given us an unscheduled break as everything is canceled. According to Aigis, we’ll be getting five days off of school. Woohoo! But I can’t leave the dorm at all. Boo! I guess I’ll study for the night. Or not, as when I enter my room, I fall asleep and wake up in the Velvet Room during the Dark Hour. Igor grants the ability to fuse 4 or more personas. I then sleep through a few days.
September 21
The typhoon blew over while I was asleep. A new recording is available. I get to watch Aigis break into my room last night during my long sleep to check on my condition. Since we should have the next couple days of school off, meaning no SLs at school during that time, I spend the day with Maiko, planning to try again at the bookstore on Tues. We get some takoyaki and she tells me she’ll live with her mom and she’ll be moving soon. After saying we’ll be sisters forever, the Hanged Man ranks up to 9. I take Koromaru for another evening walk to the shrine where he digs up a Traesto Gem.
September 22
It’s a national holiday, so no school today. Theo calls in the morning to tell me two people are lost in Tartarus. Rio then calls and I decide to spend the afternoon with her. We grab a bite to eat and she doesn’t seem to be looking all that well. I give her one of the banana cupcakes I made, which she really likes. Hmm, do they always like the present in this version, regardless of what it is? No SL is available in the evening, so we go to Tartarus to rescue the people. Checking out the new fusion types, that’s convenient that it lists all the possible end results and what’s needed, so it’s not a complete guess. We find the first person on the 131st floor. While we’re in the lobby, I fuse King Frost from Sati and Narcissus. Heading back in, we quickly find the 2nd person on the 137th floor. We then leave before we get tired.
September 23
Instead of school, there’s another film festival today. Coincidentally, there’s a new party member to take to it. Too bad Saori, I’ve got some movies to watch with Shinjiro. Watching the movies about pets gets me a big courage increase, maxing it out at Badass. I can now force Ken to eat out. Stopping at the police station, I get my rewards of a Slash Repeller and 100k yen. I take Koro for another walk and he digs up another Traesto Gem.
September 24
School has resumed. I stay awake through Ms. Ounishi’s class. Ms. Toriumi then assigns cleanup crews rather than having afternoon classes. After a lengthy bit of dialog while cleaning up the Science Room, the school day is finally over. Choosing the lowest ranked SL, I go to library committee with Saori. Our bond becomes stronger. I force Ken to grab a bite to eat at Wakatsu Restaurant. After talking about how his mom was a good cook, the Justice SL is established.
September 25
Bebe catches me during lunch, so I go to fashion club with him after school. Agreeing that showing a kimono to his uncle will impress him enough to let Bebe stay in Japan, the Temperance SL ranks up to 7. Just before taking off with Shinjiro for the evening, he smells the beef stroganoff that Fuuka’s burning. He then gives her a cooking lesson and we enjoy some delicious beef stroganoff for dinner. The Moon SL then ranks up to 4.
September 26
I get Mr. Edogawa’s Tetractys question correct for a charm bump. Since no one stopped me at lunch, I head to the bookstore. Bunkichi tells me that he wrote a letter to the school to cut the persimmon tree down. It turns out that the school needs to do so in order to build an addition. He then gives me the first fruit that the tree bore and the Hierophant SL ranks up to max. I can now fuse Kohryu. Shinjiro and I take Koromaru for a walk in the evening. Shinjiro tells me not to neglect my health and we head back.
September 27
I turn down Bebe since I only have one shot per week at Akinari’s SL. I buy a Growth 2 card and 4 Veggie Supplements from Tanaka’s show for 18,800 yen. Another new recording is available in the control room, this one showing Mitsuru reading a fashion magazine. Surprisingly, the bookstore is still available to spend time at. Oh, no! The taxi driver at Iwatodai Station has come down with Apathy Syndrome! I head to the shrine, and Akinari’s affliction seems to be acting up today. After some depressing talk, the Sun SL ranks up to 3. Akihiko comes along on Koro’s walk and talks about finding a lost puppy when he was at the orphanage. Pharos makes another appearance, talking about the upcoming full moon.
September 28
I stay awake through Ms. Miyahara’s math class. I head home with Akihiko, stopping at the Sweet Shop where we have some cake. The Star SL then ranks up to 5. I spend the evening brushing Koromaru and the Strength SL ranks up to 8.
September 29
It doesn’t even go through the morning segment and automatically it’s at the end of the school day. I head home with Yukari, stopping at the café, and our bond grows. This is the first night in quite a while where no SLs are available, so I study.
September 30
My order arrives. Bebe stops by during lunch, so I go to fashion club with him. We both work on our projects, him on his kimono and me on my scarf. Again agreeing with him that the kimono will do the trick, the Temperance SL ranks up to 8. Shinjiro wants to go to Pawlonia Mall tonight, so we head there. He takes me to the café and after having a coffee with him, he buys some to cook with. The Moon SL then ranks up to 5.
October 1
I stay awake through Mr. Ono’s lecture. Saori reminds me that it’s library committee day during lunch, so I attend it after school. We’re then called to the faculty office where Mr. Ekoda has a magazine with an article detailing some rather unsavory goings on that Saori is a part of. She’s then suspended for what’s in the article. As we leave, she tells me she was paid 4000 yen to be photographed and the article is a lie. After a bit more dialog, the Hermit SL ranks up to 7. As I was expecting, Aigis has the oil needed for Theo’s request, specifically Machine Oil. Bringing it to him, he rewards me with a Railgun for Aigis. It’s time to start ranking up Ken’s SL, so we grab a bite to eat at Wakatsu. After talking about TV shows, the Justice SL ranks up to 2.
October 2
Yukari wants to hang out after school, so I head home with her. We do some shopping at the mall. Her mom calls to apologize and doesn’t want to get remarried until Yukari forgives her. The Lovers SL ranks up to 8. I haven’t seen the monk in a while, so I head to the club. Our bond becomes stronger and I return to the dorm.
October 3
I stay awake through Ms. Toriumi’s class, which increases my academics to Intelligent. No one stopped by during lunch, so I’ll try to max out another SL and head to the shrine to play with Maiko. Unsurprisingly, our bond simply grows. I head back to the club and meet with Mutatsu. It seems he’d forgotten about a memorial service he was supposed to give, and that he’ll have to do it while hung over. After talking about living alone, the Tower SL ranks up to 6.
October 4
Unfortunately, it’s Sunday and a full moon, so the Akinari SL isn’t available to do, as I’m forced to stay home and do nothing, not even watch Tanaka's show. Automatically skipping to the Dark Hour, this month’s battle will take place at the Iwatodai Station plaza. As we arrive, the two shadows are there waiting for us. This pair has a nifty trick up its collective sleeve as it rolls out a “roulette wheel”, or more accurately a kind of wheel of fortune, that does various effects, either positive or negative. It took two tries to get by it, which was a bit annoying since I had to redo the Mutatsu sequence. Ken and Shinjiro never showed up, and Akihiko mentions it’s Oct. 4 and heads out to look for them instead of returning to the dorm with us. A scene then plays at the back alley with Ken and Shinjiro. Ken accuses Shinjiro of murdering his mother two years ago today and vows to get his revenge by killing Shinjiro. Oh, oh! I better not have wasted those nights building up Shinji’s SL. Back at the dorm, Mitsuru confirms that Shinjiro did kill Ken’s mother as a result of losing control of his persona. After Shinjiro pulls out the old, “if you kill me, you’ll become just like me” line, Takaya of Strega shows up, planning to kill them both. Shinjiro takes two gunshots in the chest protecting Ken from Takaya. As we arrive, Takaya takes off and Shinjiro ultimately perishes.
October 5
School starts with a memorial service for Shinjiro. After school, Akihiko pays his respects alone and awakens a new persona, with Polydeuces turning into Caesar. Back at the dorm, we have a meeting about how to deal with Ken, but he’s disappeared. So, for some unknown amount of time, we’ll be down a couple members. But, hey, Ken still shows up in the roster. Heading to the mall… Hey, shouldn’t those Lost have been cured? Anyway, Theo has new requests. No SLs are available, so since I’m tired from the mission (even though no one else is), I turn in early.
October 6
Nothing happens during school. All the club rooms are locked in anticipation of the upcoming exams. With all the clubs shut down, it looks like a week of studying at the library. When I get back to the dorm, Theo calls to let me know the path has opened. It then switches to the back alley where Ken has been hiding out. Akihiko shows up, and after some talking to about standing on his own two feet, Ken decides to stop running and unlocks a new persona, with Nemesis becoming Kala-Nemi. Ken returns to the dorm, ready to fight again. There aren’t any SLs available and Fuuka won’t let us go to Tartarus, so I study again. Pharos appears again, talking about the changing seasons and then about the end. The Death SL then ranks up to 8, skipping over rank 7. Looking at the calendar in my room, Ranks 2 and 4 were also skipped.
October 7
I correctly answer Ms. Ounishi’s question about why bullfighters’ capes are red. I study again at the library. Accepting Theo’s request to try sushi, I head to the shrine to nab an inari, but can’t figure out how. An old lady sees me and gives me some inari sushi. For bringing him the sushi, Theo rewards me with a Scrub Brush, which is a weapon for Ken. Now to find the Sengoku era helm, which likely involves finding Mr. Odo. The likely place would be the faculty office, and lo and behold, he just happens to be in there. After listening to his story of how he got the helm that he always wears, he won’t let me have it, but does promise something else if I see him again. Listening to his story did give my academics a bump. I’m then prompted to keep returning to the faculty office every day until I get the helm. Rather than visiting Maiko, the only available SL, I study at the library. Tartarus is open again, so we head there to knock out the next section.
Before heading in, I fuse Incubus from Orthrus and Loa, instantly unlocking everything thanks to the maxed out Devil SL. After unlocking everything King Frost has, I drop about 95k yen to buy back Pyro Jack and Jack Frost. This allows me to Cross Spread fuse Black Frost from those three plus Queen Mab, fulfilling Theo’s request, receiving a Baseball Jersey for my effort. I then drop another 60k yen or so to buy back Lilim and Nekomata to fuse Nigi Mitama, filling a hole in the compendium. Back inside, I pick up Narasimha simply for fusing purposes. Quickly unlocking everything on Nigi Mitama, I step out and merge it with Narasimha to get Dionysus. I buy back Apsaras and Gurr for about 85k to fuse Neko Shogun to get the weakest of the Star arcana for my compendium. Back inside, I pick up Lachesis to complete my roster. Making it to the 146th floor boss, we exit to the lobby to save. While here, Theo rewards me with some Spirit Bracers for the 2 Red Armor Plates I received as monster drops. A triangle fusion of Neko Shogun, Shiisaa, and Incubus gets me my first Tower persona, Eligor. Trying out the boss, a couple unsuccessful attempts where they had a penchant for casting Mazionga, I put Akihiko in my party for his nullifying electric spells. I play the debuff game and win on my next attempt.
Time to hopefully get some low level personas I’m missing from the lower blocks. I did get one of the ones I was missing, picking up Kusi Mitama. I wanted to find Empusa, but I think I’ll buy back and fuse it. Back at the highest floors, I pick up Clotho, which is another hole I wanted to fill, since I have yet to establish the Fortune SL. Completing Theo’s request for 3 Gold Rings, he gives me 340k yen. While I’m here, I fuse Genbu from Oumitsunu and Lamia. After the first battle, I pick up Titania. We continue to the 160th floor boss. Mainly being able to take some big hits is the key to this and on my second attempt, I get by the boss. I then fuse Saki Mitama from Kusi Mitama and Genbu. Back into the tower, we make it to the 164th floor, which appears to be the top of the tower as there’s no staircase leading up, and pick up Old Document 07, in which the author speaks about the plan being evil and hinting at people controlling their inner shadows. This obviously can’t be the top since Theo has a request for a monster drop in the next block. Having the document, I accept Theo’s request for it and get a Megidolaon Gem. Since I haven’t found the two items that I believe come from rare chests, we head back in to do a complete sweep of the 4th block. Completing my persona roster, I pick up Leanan Sidhe. Mission accomplished! With both swords found, there’s nothing left to do here, so we head back to the dorm. One of the quests gives me a bunch of malachite, so since I’ve got the max, I’ll trade some in at the antique store before seeing Theo.
October 8
It jumps straight to after school. Since I’ve maxed out my courage, I won’t need to see the nurse anymore. Trading in a bunch of jewels at the antique store for items, I get my rewards from Theo, 15 Malachite for the Mikazuki Munechika and 3 Rubies for the Outenta Mitsuyo. Continuing on the helm quest, I go to the faculty office. Mr. Ono isn’t there, but I listen to Ms. Miyahara ramble on about math and my academics increases. So that quest will take at least another day. With no SLs available, I work the afternoon at Be Blue V for academics and charm bumps. I turn in early to cure my tiredness.
October 9
I stay awake through Mr. Takenozuka’s lecture. Mr. Ono isn’t at the office today, either, but Ms. Ounishi is and she gives me a Mind Supplement and I get a bump to academics for learning what DHA stands for. Again, no SLs are available, so I study at the library. Wanting to get my academics up to genius, I study for the night.
October 10
I stay awake through Mr. Ono’s lecture. Mr. Ono’s not at the office again. Mr. Ekoda is, though, and I get an academics bump for listening to him talk about the proper way to speak Japanese. I study again at the library, then head home. Ken and I take Koro for a walk to the shrine. Ken apologizes and we head back.
October 11
Today’s items for sale are a pair of R/C Geta and 5 Instant Ramen for 24k yen. I have almost 2M yen, so sure! I then head to the shrine to see Akinari. After saying I love reading books, he goes on about how he gets lost in them and the Sun SL ranks up to 4. Fuuka and I take Koromaru for a walk to the shrine. Rio happens by on her jog and both of their bonds get stronger.
October 12
It’s a holiday, so there’s no school today. Officer Kurosawa is giving me a discount today, so I upgrade everyone’s armor and footwear. Crossing my fingers that I’m right on the edge of academics upgrading, I donate at the offertory box at the shrine. And… I still have more work to do for that. Oh, hey, I can go in Shinjiro’s old room. Entering, I pick up everything he was equipped with, as well as a Blade of Fury card. Heading into exams, I study for the night.
October 13
I get a question about the #1 source of stress for women.
October 14
A question about the founder of numerology.
October 15
A question about superconductivity.
October 16
A question about what triggered the Sengoku Era.
October 17
My order arrives in the morning. Finishing up exams, it says the questions are too easy. Hm, the lady at school has Aigis’s Winter Uniform for sale. Might as well buy it. Mr. Ono still isn’t in the faculty office. Ms. Toriumi is, though, and she gives me the lecture she was supposed to give the class for a nice academics bump. Maiko’s the only available SL, so I spend the afternoon with her. After playing for a bit, she tells me she’s leaving today. She gives me a Bead Ring to remember her by and the Hanged Man SL hits max, allowing me to fuse Attis. Junpei and I take Koro for a walk. Hmm, it’s been a while since Junpei was even available to rank his SL up.
October 18
I turn down Bebe. Up for sale is a Pearl and 3 Topazes for 45k yen. Pretty expensive, but I’m rich. A new recording is available, so I watch a scene in Yukari’s room where she’s wearing the maid uniform she got for the canceled Culture Festival. I then head to the shrine for another day with Akinari. He talks about how his illness causes him to have many sleepless nights, last night being one of them. He came out here in the hopes of seeing me again. The Sun SL then ranks up to 5. I then head to the club to spend the evening with Mutatsu. Our bond grows.
October 19
Exam results are posted and I got the top score in my class, which gives me a large boost to my charm, maxing it out at Bewitching. Mitsuru is supposed to give me something for getting the top score. I correctly answer Ms. Miyahara’s question about calendars. Another no-show for Mr. Ono, but Mr. Takenozuka is in the office. He goes on about how good the design of Mr. Ono’s helmet is and my academics get another bump. Filling out some missing arcana in my roster for SL building purposes, I fuse Ganga from Flauros and Titan, as well as Naga Raja from Virtue and Leanan Sidhe. That’s odd. I can’t access the faculty office today. I attend student council after school and the bond grows. I spend the evening playing with Koromaru. Fuuka wonders if Koro thinks we’re good replacements for the priest, and after some dialogue, the Strength SL ranks up to 9.
October 20
My order arrives in the morning, which includes two Pearls, not one. The scene shift’s to Fuuka’s homeroom, and we find out Natsuki is transferring, which makes Fuuka pretty shaken up. This eventually causes her persona, Lucia, to change into Juno. Collecting my reward by being at the top of my class, Mitsuru gives me a Queen Card Set as well as a Bufudyne card. I can enter the faculty office again, and again Mr. Odo isn’t there. Mrs. Terauchi tells me some technical terms of mahjong and my academics gets a bump. Junpei is actually available, so I head home with him. We stop at Hagakure Ramen and after treating me to a meal, tells me that there are photos of me floating around. The Magician SL then ranks up to 5. Ken’s available for the first time in a while, so we go to the back alley where it all went down. After reassuring him, we head back.
October 21
Theo calls in the morning to tell me that two more people have wandered into Tartarus, and one of them is an acquaintance of mine. Yay! A reason to break up the SL building. Hidetoshi stops me during lunch, telling me he has an announcement to make at student council about the smoker investigation that’s been ongoing for seemingly half a year. Woohoo! Mr. Ono is finally back in the faculty office, and he gives me the Kanetsugu’s Helm that he’s always wearing. It turns out that he has several of them, having given one of them to Bebe. Again listening to his ramblings boosts my academics. Thankfully, that quest is over, but I will miss the academics bumps. With helm finally in hand, I head to the mall. Checking out the bulletin board, one of the missing people is Maiko. Considering she supposedly left to be with her mother far, far away, it’s pretty impressive that she wandered into Tartarus. Bringing the helm to Theo, he rewards me with a Knee-High Maid, which is an upgrade to my armor. Attending student council, Hidetoshi announces that the teachers want whoever the smoker is to be expelled. Agreeing with him that it’s a strict punishment, the Emperor SL ranks up to 7. No SLs are available this evening, so we head to Tartarus to rescue a couple people. It seems Fuuka picked up a new ability, so I try out Oracle, and it fully heals the party this time. Well, unless there are some negative possibilities, this seems like a ridiculously over-powered ability. It does seem to cost me 47 SP to have her use it, though. Filling the holes in my roster, I pick up Narasimha and Taraka. Maiko is found on the 149th floor and the other person on the 152nd floor. Not wanting to get tired, we leave.
October 22
I correctly answer Mrs. Terauchi’s question about natto. Fuuka and Saori stop by during lunch. Stopping by the police station, I receive my rewards of a Felt Doll and a High Counter card. Let’s see what Saori has to say after being suspended. She mentions that she might be getting transferred to another school and the Hermit SL ranks up to 8. Ken’s available again, so I spend the evening with him. Grabbing a bite to eat at Wakatsu again, he’s complaining about the rice and then talks about a manga he’s reading. The Justice SL then ranks up to 3.
October 23
I blow through Mr. Edogawas lecture on magic and guess right on his question about who founded Theosophy. Hidetoshi runs into me at lunch saying he has another announcement to make at student council. Going to the meeting, no one’s there except Chihiro, who was briefly introduced at the first meeting I attended and, I believe, hasn’t been seen since, as Hidetoshi was called to the faculty office. Before I can enter the office, I can hear a teacher trying to get him to add me to a list of students accused of bad behavior, but he’s refusing. The Emperor SL then ranks up to 8 and he’s got my back if anything else happens. I go to the club and spend the evening with Mutatsu. He talks about stress and how the club is like a refuge for him, then speaks briefly of his son. The Tower SL then ranks up to 7.
October 24
A scene in the student council room shows Yukari asking Mitsuru why she fights and then talks about why she does. Nothing else happens during the school day. Fuuka is the only available SL, so I go to cooking club with her. She watches me make some sugar cookies, taking notes. After some dialog with not a single decision point, the Priestess SL ranks up to 8. I spend another evening at the club with Mutatsu. He’s really drunk tonight and he mistakes me for his kid (I thought he only had a son…) and the Tower SL ranks up to 8. He mentions he was a businessman before becoming a monk before we head home.
October 25
It’s a busy brush-off morning, as I decline Akihiko, Fuuka, and Yukari. I buy a Berserker’s Seal and 3 Mega Proteins for 29,800 yen before heading to the shrine to meet with Akinari. He talks about a story he’s writing about a pink alligator and the Sun SL ranks up to 6. Aigis and I take Koro for a walk in the evening. She talks about the change in Fuuka before we head home.
October 26
I get Ms. Toriumi’s question about wristwatches correct. No one hit me up during lunch, so I head home with Akihiko, being the lowest ranked SL available. We stop at Hagakure Ramen and chat. With no SLs available and only my academics that isn’t maxed out, I study for the night.
October 27
Saori stops by during lunch. Junpei suddenly is available multiple times a week now, but Saori hit me up at lunch, so I go to library committee with her. Everyone’s avoiding her because of the article. After threatening to punch the students talking about her, I suggest using the school PA system to clear her name. She plucks up the courage to make the announcement and the Hermit SL ranks up to 9. I catch a bite to eat at Wakatsu with Ken, but he doesn’t have much of an appetite. After being ashamed of his small stature, the Justice SL ranks up to 4. Pharos then makes his standard appearance one week ahead of the full moon, this time promising to see me after the final battle.
October 28
My order arrives in the morning. Nothing happens during the school day, so I choose the lowest SL available, which is Rio. Ms. Kanou finally makes another appearance, dragging the rest of the tennis club members with her. Rio announces that she has fallen for Kenji and the Chariot SL ranks up to 7. I take Koro for a walk to the shrine and he digs up a Balm of Life.
October 29
Saori stops by at lunch, as she has something to tell me. I correctly answer Ms. Ounishi’s lactase question. Heading to library committee with Saori, she walks me to the school gate and bids me farewell as she’s transferring to a private school. She’s learned that she needs to decide things on her own and gives me a recording of the PA announcement. The Hermit SL maxes out and I’m able to fuse Arahabaki. Koromaru drags me to the shrine. When we arrives, he brings me a dirty collar as a sign that he’ll follow me wherever I go. This maxes out the Strength SL and I can fuse Siegfried. Pretty good, two SL maxes in one day!
October 30
Theo calls in the morning, as there’s another human lost in Tartarus. I stay awake through whatever Mr. Edogawa is lecturing on (I’m so glad for the triangle button skip function) for a needed academics bump. Rio stops me during lunch, so I go to tennis practice after school. Rio seems to be out of it today because Kenji’s on her mind. She runs off to confront Kenji to ask him if he has feelings for her. The rest of the club and I eavesdrop on their conversation. He compares his feelings for her to ramen, his favorite thing in the world. Rio thanks me for providing the final push to ask him and the Chariot SL ranks up to 8. Everyone’s available and feeling good, so we head to Tartarus for another rescue mission. We find the lost person on the 158th floor. Before we leave, I fuse Vasuki from Black Frost and Jikokuten.
October 31
Nothing happens during the school day. I stop by the police station for my reward of an Endure card. Fuuka is the only SL available today, so I go with her to cooking club. I make some Sweet Fries and our bond becomes stronger. Back at the dorm, Mitsuru and Akihiko are convinced we’ll be fighting Strega during the upcoming full moon mission. Ken and I take Koro on his evening walk. Ken speaks briefly about the upcoming “final” battle and we head home.
November 1
Yay! No one called for me to turn down. I buy a Raven Claw and 2 Balms of Life for 49,800 yen, then head to the shrine. Akinari talks more about the story he’s writing. He then says that he’s also been writing his will rather than keeping a diary and the Sun SL ranks up to 7. Yukari comes along on Koro’s walk and talks about her anxiety over the upcoming battle.
November 2
My order arrives, then it’s off to school. Rio stops me at lunch. Just in case we’re under-equipped, I sell off a bunch of duplicate items to fully upgrade everyone. Returning to the school, I attend tennis club with Rio. The other team members have done a virtual about face and are thinking of inviting Rio on a group date. The Chariot SL then ranks up to 9. Back at the dorm, we’re having a meeting. After talking about our time together and Mitsuru about how she was the first to get the power, the Fool SL ranks up to 6. Yeah, this is far from over. With nothing else to do, I study.
November 3
It’s the day of the final battle, so I’m forced to stay home the entire day, with it skipping straight to the Dark Hour. We’ll be doing battle at the Moonlight Bridge this month. In addition to the shadow, Fuuka also senses the two Strega members. So, Mitsuru and Akihiko’s hunch was accurate. Since I have pretty much all the types of attack magic available among my personas, I take Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Yukari with me. Our first order of business is dispatching the two guys from Strega. Having Saki Mitama helped out a bit with it being strong against all the elemental attacks they had. Other than Jin’s fire attacks knocking Mitsuru down a few times, it was a very easy battle, especially when Mitsuru started dodging the fire attacks. Becoming so attached to their powers that they think will go away when we’ve accomplished our goal, they jump off the bridge to their assumed deaths. Unfortunately, there’s no save point here and we’ll have to immediately fight the shadow. We did regain all our HP and SP, though. Might as well stick with the same group since I have three very capable healers in it. The battle starts with the shadow hovering above three statues, and therefore out of range. The statues are extremely weak, and fall in the first round since wind works pretty well against all of them. Taking them out causes it to fall, giving us an all out attack. It then spends two turns summoning weak monsters that die in a couple hits until it re-summons the three statues to repeat the beginning sequence. The only danger is it has a couple powerful physical attack abilities, especially Akashi Arts. All in all, a pretty easy battle. With the world saved, it’s time to celebrate!
November 4
Pharos shows up… in the morning? He’s remembered what his role is, and is here to say goodbye. This maxes out the Death SL, skipping over rank 9, and I can fuse Thanatos. The day skips right to the evening and the sushi party. Mitsuru’s father arrives to congratulate and thank us. After a commemorative photo shortly before midnight, the Fool SL ranks up to 7. Given that the Fool SL hasn’t maxed out (and there’s still that request from Theo for an item found in the next block), it’s not surprising that the Dark Hour hasn’t gone away. A bell is heard in the distance, and Mitsuru pinpoints it to be coming from Tartarus. So, it’s back to Tartarus for more battling. Ikutsuki and Aigis are there, and it turns out that he knew that that wasn’t going to be the end. It also turns out that Ikutsuki is the evil mastermind, or whatever, and the world’s salvation lies in it’s destruction. Yeah, yeah, yeah, *yawn* haven’t heard this plot line before. After Ikutsuki sics Aigis on us… Oh, hey, it’s the observatory that kid at school was talking about. All of us are suddenly hanging from crosses. After Aigis is unable to follow Ikutsuki’s order to kill Mitsuru’s father, Ikutsuki decides to do it himself, only to have Mitsuru’s father draw a gun on him, and both shoot each other. Again, Aigis in unable to follow Ikutsuki’s order, this time to wipe us all out, instead shooting the chains that restrained us. Ikutsuki and Mitsuru’s father then both expire from their wounds and we head back to the dorm.
November 5
The school day skips by and I receive a text from Akihiko needing to talk to everyone. I’m automatically sent back to the dorm and the meeting. Um, am I going to be able to save anytime soon? Mitsuru will be taking care of family matters for the next week. As the meeting adjourns, Fuuka gives Yukari a DVD with some video footage she found in the Kirijo systems. Yukari then watches it, which is the video before Ikutsuki edited it. It’s of her father talking about how he stopped the experiment. He then warns that the shadows that escaped shouldn’t be killed. He finishes with a personal message for Yukari. She realizes she was right to believe in her father and her new resolve causes her persona Io to turn into Isis. After about an hour and a half, I can finally save again! I’m guessing that whole episode will allow me to finally establish Aigis’s SL. Aaaand the Lost are still at the mall. Theo has more requests, one of which is to bring the last old document. Needing to get as much out of studying as possible, I turn in early since that last battle made me tired. During the Dark Hour, I’m sent to the Velvet Room in a dream. Igor shows me the contract I signed at the beginning of this ordeal. Igor mentions some choice I’ll have to make and the segment ends.
November 6
At Chidori’s hospital room, Chidori’s taken a serious turn for the worse and tells Junpei to stop coming. Nothing happens at school. I then show Theo around the school to receive a Red Muffler, which allows the fusing of Hell Biker. I then accept his request to try Oden Juice, which should be easy to get from the girl by the persimmon tree. But it turns out that it’s a rare drink that I think I remember from my P3FES playthrough where to get it from, but it’s not available to me right now. Let’s try out the scrub the bathroom request. Going to Port Island Station, I’m able to access the restrooms and help out the cleaning lady. Getting it spic and span, I return to Theo for my reward of a Maid Outfit for Yukari. I then accept another seemingly easy request to water the flowers at school. I go to the roof and water them (I actually thought I was going to have to get water from the shrine first) and return to Theo. He thanks me with a Maid Outfit for Mitsuru. There aren’t any other simple requests that can be done now, so I go back to school and attend tennis club with Rio. We have a normal practice and I head back to the dorm. Theo calls saying the blocked path in Tartarus is open. The guy at the club that gave me the pumps now gives me a Battle Leotard. How nice of him! Wanting to wait for Mitsuru to get back before going back to Tartarus, I study for the evening.
November 7
I correctly translate “Fuyu wa tsutomete” for Mr. Ekoda. No SLs are available, so I spend the afternoon at the library studying. Yukari and I take Koro for his evening walk.
November 8
I brush off Bebe and Rio, then buy a Ruby and 2 Sapphires for 19,800 yen before heading to the shrine. Akinari tells me he’s stopped taking his medicine. He’s also finding himself unable to finish his story since he hasn’t found the meaning of life yet. The Sun SL then ranks up to 8. I study before going to sleep.
November 9
We have another transfer student, Ryoji Mochizuki. I wonder it he replaces Shinjiro in the SLs. Aigis senses something amiss with him. I then stay awake through Ms. Toriumi’s lecture. Junpei personally introduces Ryoji to me and that’s all it takes to establish the Fortune SL. No one stopped me during lunch, so I head home with Akihiko. Stopping at Hagakure Ramen, our bond grows stronger. With no SLs available, I spend the evening studying.
November 10
My order arrives. Other than Yukari mentioning on the way to school that Mitsuru is returning, nothing happens during the day. Bebe is the only SL available, so I go to fashion club with him. As expected, since he called on Sunday, our bond simply grows. Mitsuru’s back, but she’s too exhausted, so going to Tartarus is pushed off at least one more night. Back at Wakatsu with Ken, he mentions he threw out all his manga. After some dialog, the Justice SL ranks up to 5.
November 11
Bebe stops me during lunch, so I attend fashion club with him. He’s finishing the kimono he’s been working on and says I’m his best friend. The Temperance SL then ranks up to 9. I also finish off the hand-knit scarf I’d been working on. Back at the dorm, Mitsuru is still in no shape to go to Tartarus. Without a full team to go to Tartarus, I study.
November 12
On the monorail to school, Ryoji happens to be on it. After some banter about destiny, the Fortune SL ranks up to 2. I then zoom through Edogawa’s lecture, guessing correctly on his question. Fuuka’s the only SL available, so I go to cooking club with her. Our bond grows stronger and I make some chocolate truffles. As expected, Koro has the gourmet dog food Theo is looking for. Bringing it to him, he gives me a Cross Dog Suit for Koro, which I’d already bought heading into the last mission. Back a Wakatsu with Ken, he talks about an assignment from school. He then goes on about how everyone’s so nice to him and the Justice SL ranks up to 6.
November 13
Nothing happens during the school day. Quite a few SLs are available, so I choose the lowest ranked one and hang out with Ryoji. After charming his way out of the swarm of girls that surrounded him as we left school, he talks about how he somehow remembers Aigis, and the Fortune SL ranks up to 3. Trying to get to Genius, I study for the night.
November 14
I stay awake through another of Edokawa’s ridiculously long lectures. Fuuka’s the only SL available, so I go to cooking club with her. I make some sweet fries while Fuuka makes some triangular rice balls. Trying one of her rice balls, it’s actually really good. After some more dialog, the Priestess SL ranks up to 9. Mitsuru’s finally up to going to Tartarus, so we head there to knock out the next block. Before heading in, I fuse Hanuman from Ganga and Vasuki. Back at what was the top floor, there’s now a staircase leading up. Ooh, I like the (‘70s disco?) motif of this block. I pick up Yaksini and Laksmi to complete my roster. This block is starting out extremely annoying as anytime I run into a Kaiden Musha, I just run away since they’re virtually untouchable with physical attacks. We do eventually make it to the 171st floor boss and after an unsuccessful attempt, thanks to them having all-enemy electricity spells, I replace Yukari with Akihiko and win on my next attempt.
Continuing on to the 180th floor bosses, they’re definitely the toughest so far, nullifying all physical attacks, as well as being strong against fire and wind. It took me 5 tries thanks to a couple attempts figuring out what does and does not work against it, and then a couple with some really convenient strings of critical hits from them. Yay! No more Musha enemies or enemies that all seem to have Mudo skills. Stepping out to get Akihiko in my party for the enemies weak to strike attacks, I fuse Nandi from Saki Mitama and Eligor. I pick up Loki after the first battle. Unlocking everything in Taraka, I have no use for her, so I fuse Kingu from her and Clotho. Back inside, I pick up Ose, who I wasn’t expecting to find this high up. Fully unlocking a couple more personas, I fuse Parvati from Nandi and Hanuman. On our way to the 190th floor boss, I pick up Throne. This battle ended up being extremely easy as it missed with its one Hamaon casting and only cast Megidolaon once, opting instead to instill fear in us, defeating it on my first attempt.
Taking the 6 Pink Feathers we found to Theo, he gives me a Berserker’s Seal. Heading back in to hunt red shadows, we get the needed 3 Moon Tablets for Theo’s request. He rewards me with a Space Badge, which restores a good amount of HP every turn during battle. We continue on to the 201st floor bosses. Thanks to their annoying use of mostly charm and poison spells, as well as some pretty powerful physical attack abilities, it took me a few tries as I spent most of the battles dispelling charm and poison. Virus Breath connected almost every time, which made the battle much easier with it shaving off 25% of all enemies’ HP. I stop by the Velvet Room and fuse Koumokuten from Ose and Naga Raja. I’ve completed 50% of the compendium.
Heading back in, I fill the last slot with Hariti. Finally defeating some Luxury Hands, I return to Theo with the required 2 Gold Medals for a Rocket Punch for Aigis. This opens up another rare monster hunt. And I thought this was going to be the last block since the last old document request is available. While outside, I fuse Kumbhanda from Koumokuten and Kingu, as well as Ubelluris from Dionysus and Narasimha. Figuring out exactly how to get the persona I want from a normal fusion (use the fusion chart in the manual and then take the average of the two personas' base levels and “round up” to the next higher base level target persona), I drop about 180k yen to buy back Naga and Take-Minakata so I can get Empusa. Unlocking everything on Empusa, I drop another 200k on Ganga to fuse Orobas. Back inside, I pick up Hecatoncheires to complete my roster. We make it to the 211th floor boss. It’s big weapon is Megadolaon, which having Sukunda and Masukukaja both active works wonders at having it miss everyone. With only its reflect one physical attack spell to worry about, it goes down on our first attempt. Making it to the dead end on the 214th floor, we find the 8th old document, which reveals that the lady that owns the antique store is the author. She ended up quitting the research team, but couldn’t get “him” to also leave. Hmm, I guess Theo doesn’t care about this one. Ah, reading the description, this is the last one. Accepting the request and immediately completing it, he gives me 650k yen. Having hit the dead end, we leave the place.
November 15
I get decline Ryoji’s invitation and buy an Auto-Mataru card and 8 Mega Proteins for 59,800 yen. Since I have over 4.25M yen, this is pocket change. There’s a new recording in the control room, so I watch Ken practicing his battle moves. Dangit! It never dawned on me to use Yawn-B-Gone to cure my tiredness (plus, I’d forgotten about the item’s existence). So, I missed several opportunities to study. Grrr!!! I spend the afternoon with Akinari at the shrine. He’s given up all hope and has refused any more medications. The Sun SL then ranks up to 9. I spend the night studying.
November 16
That was fast! My order already arrived, probably because the school trip starts tomorrow, which obviously would make the postal service super-efficient. I believe the trip is where I’ll be able to get that Oden Juice. I stay awake through Mr. Ekoda’s lecture. Akihiko stops me during lunch, so I head home with him. Grabbing a burger, a little brat is acting up. After trying to get the kid to shut up, Akihiko starts talking about how he and his sister grew up in an orphanage and his sister also passed away. This ranks the Star SL up to 6. I study in the evening.
November 17
It’s time for the field trip to Kyoto. Arriving at the hotel, I buy one of everything from the store in the lobby, including the namayatsuhashi Ken was asking for. I buy one of everything from the vending machines here. They don’t have Oden Juice, so maybe I’ll trade the girl by the persimmon tree something I bought for it. Nothing of note happens.
November 18
We visit some historical sites, taking pictures. A scene by a river plays where Mitsuru reiterates that she’s given up all hope. Yukari slaps some sense into her, and after some more dialog, Mitsuru’s awakened her new persona, as Penthesilea becomes Artemisia. None of the items for sale changed, so I turn in for the night.
November 19
We take a tour of Kyoto, taking more pictures. Yukari and Mitsuru are now like BFFs. Again, nothing for sale has changed, so I head to the stereotypical hot springs segment with the girls. If you pick the right sequence, you get to catch Junpei, Akihiko, and Ryoji peeping. If not, you get to listen to them obviously hinting that they were the Peeping Toms the next day before leaving.
November 20
Somewhere along the way, Mitsuru doled out the punishment to the boys. Ken is very appreciative of the namayatsuhashi I brought back for him. Ken and I take Koro for an evening walk. He talks about how it was so quiet in the dorm with just him and Koro.
November 21
There’s talk at school of the upcoming Career Week. I stay awake through Ms. Toriumi’s class. My hunch was correct, as one of the drinks I bought is something the girl by the tree really wants. But she won’t just give me the Oden Juice. It’ll cost me 5000 yen. Geez! Around $50 for a drink?!? Oh, well, I’m flush with cash, so I buy it. I just needed to show her the drink I bough in Kyoto, since I still have them all in my inventory. Taking it to Theo, he rewards me with a Maid Outfit for Aigis. Fuuka’s the only available SL, so I go to cooking club with her. I make some chocolate truffles and our bond becomes stronger. As I expected, Ken has the Featherman Figure that Theo wants. Theo rewards me with a Ningen Mukotsu for Ken, which I’d already acquired multiple of. I head back to the dorm for another night of studying. It turns out that the guys from Strega didn’t jump to their deaths as a scene at Chidori’s hospital room shows them breaking into her room. They have another Evoker that they give her, and the trio leave the hospital.
November 22
No one calls, so I’m free to do some shopping, buying an Auto-Maraku card and 8 Super Diet Foods for 44,800 yen. With that done, I head to the shrine. Akinari finally finished his story and tells me it. He then gives me his worn notebook containing the story and the Sun SL hits max, allowing the fusion of Asura. I never once had a Sun persona and yet, maxed it out in the minimum 10 meetings. I spend the evening at the club with Mutatsu. He talks about how being a monk is like what he thought it would be and is pondering retiring and bringing his whole family back together. The Tower SL then ranks up to 9. During the Dark Hour, Fuuka calls everyone together, having detected Strega. Chidori shows another skill, channeling through Fuuka to try to get us to come to her. Junpei takes off and it looks like we’ve got another fight against Strega on our hands. Taking Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Yukari, we arrive at the entrance to Tartarus just as Junpei almost gets hacked to pieces by Chidori and her axe. I think Chidori has broken up with him. We then do battle with her. With her not being strong against any element but fire, and only needing to withstand her charm all spell once, she goes down easily on our first attempt. The guys from Strega appear from Tartarus, and after some talk, Takaya whips out his trusty revolver and shoots Junpei in the stomach. Oh, no! Rather than perishing, the scene switches to a hospital room where Chidori has had another change of heart, realizing that Junpei has given her a reason to live and wants to be with him forever, but can’t. She ended up using up her lifeforce to save Junpei. This episode awakens the new persona in Junpei, with Chidori’s persona, Medea, fusing with Hermes to create Trismegistos
November 23
It’s another holiday, Labor Thanksgiving Day, so there’s no school. I stop at Wakatsu for a Prodigy Platter, which still isn’t enough to max my Academics out. I spend the evening studying.
November 24-27
Career Experience runs for four days, and I’ve been assigned to Wild-Duck Burger. At the end of it, my academics gets a large boost, which FINALLY gets me to Genius. Since I don’t need to study anymore, I spend the evening at the club with Mutatsu. Our bond becomes stronger and I head back to the dorm.
November 28
Theo calls in the morning to tell me three people have wandered into Tartarus. Nothing happens during the school day. Mitsuru’s available, and now that I’m a genius, she has something to tell me. We head to the Hagakure ramen shop, and it turns out that she’s never had ramen before. After really enjoying it, the Empress SL is established. Back at the dorm, everyone’s been trying to cheer Junpei up. Mitsuru gives him Chidori’s sketchbook, which was among her belongings at the hospital. We flip look through it and it’s filled with portraits of Junpei. This finally snaps him out of his funk. It also makes the Fool SL rank up to 9, skipping right past 8. His recovery conveniently coincides with the lost people in Tartarus, but he will still need one more day before going to Tartarus. Since I don’t want to go without the entire team, I head to the club. Again, our bond simply becomes stronger.
November 29
The post was slow, as it took an entire week for my order to arrive. I turn down Rio and Bebe and instead buy some Shoes of Bane and 2 Last Judges for 79,800 yen. With no SLs available and having maxed out all my attributes, I use the Fortune Box at the shrine. Since I turned down Rio in the morning, and tomorrow’s a practice day, I imagine her. I also find 1000 yen. Before heading to Tartarus, I upgrade everyone’s weapons and shoes. In Tartarus, we find the lost people on floors 168, 175, and 185. With nothing else to do here, we leave.
November 30
I get Mr. Ekoda’s question correct for an unneeded charm bump. Rio stops me during lunch, so I attend tennis practice after school. Before doing so, I swing by the police station for my rewards of a Phys Boost card, Tetrakarn card, and 2 Luxury Coins. After tennis practice, Rio gives me her annotated guide to tennis and the Chariot SL maxes out, allowing the fusion of Thor. Nothing is available tonight, so I go to bed early.
December 1
My order arrives in the morning. Yukari, Mitsuru, and Bebe stop me during lunch. Going with the lowest SL, I head home with Mitsuru. Stopping to get a burger, it’s another place she’s never been to. She thanks me for what I’ve done so far and the Empress SL ranks up to 2. Ken’s available tonight, so instead of going out, I make him an omelette and some fried rice, which he really enjoys. There are no decision points and the Justice SL ranks up to 7. After finishing the meal, the correct sequence of answers does show him crushing on me.
December 2
Nothing happens during the school day. Oh, hey, it’s a full moon and I’m not automatically forced back to the dorm. Since Bebe stopped by at lunch yesterday, I’m hoping to be able to max his SL today. Heading to fashion club with him, he finally finishes his kimono. As thanks for all my support and friendship, he gives me a money pouch and the Temperance SL maxes out, allowing the fusion of Yurlungur. Now he’s off to convince his uncle to let him stay in Japan. Aigis seems to be getting more obsessed with Ryoji. With nothing available, I take Koro for a walk and he finds a Trafuri Gem. During the Dark Hour, a scene at the Rainbow Bridge plays where Aigis has hunted down Ryoji. Aigis has finally remembered why she knows him. He’s actually Death, whom she sealed away a decade ago. And where did she seal him away? Why, inside of me, of course. She tries to defeat him, and he easily knocks her aside. Fuuka has finally located Aigis, and we all head to her. Shortly after arriving, Aigis ceases functioning. Ryoji then tells us what exactly he is and what his purpose is. Pharos is then revealed to be Ryoji, in case you hadn’t figured that out. We take both Ryoji and Aigis back to the dorm.
December 3
Mitsuru comes by during school saying we need to have a meeting. I’m forced back to the dorm for the meeting. Ryoji tells us that Nyx is the name of the maternal being he talked about last night. He says that when she’s awakened, all humans will become The Lost, and that it will happen by next Spring. He says she cannot be defeated, and then gives us a choice. Kill him and we can live in peace until she awakens, which would wipe our memories of the Dark Hour and what’s happened, or don’t and be aware of our impending doom. He gives us until New Year’s Eve to make our decision. He then disappears, vowing to return on that day. After he disappears like Pharos did, I head to the club. The detective Mutatsu hired found his wife and son. He thanks me for being the impetus for him being able to see his family again. This maxes out the Tower SL and I’m able to fuse Chi You thanks to the reserve tag he gives me.
December 4
Nothing happens during the school day. Grr, it’s Friday, and no one’s at student council. In that case, I head to the Fortune Box and hope for a bump to his SL. I get it along with another 1k yen. Theo has new requests, so I accept the one to show him my room after school. Nothing is available to do, so I turn in early, which I think is going to be what I do for most nights from here on out.
December 5
Another uneventful day at school. I take Theo on a date to my room. As thanks, he gives me a Rainbow Feather, which allows the fusion of Kartikeya. As with student council yesterday, Fuuka isn’t available today, so back to the Fortune Box, this time imagining Junpei and getting another 1k yen. Nothing available again at night, so I go to sleep.
December 6
No one calls, so I buy a Growth 3 card and 2 Rubies for 59,800 yen from Tanaka’s show. Today’s fortune is for Yukari and 500 yen. At least I’m making money each time. Another early night. Boy, this stretch of doing basically nothing day after day is sooooo much fun.
December 7
I get Ms. Ounishi’s question about ozone correct. Again, student council isn’t available when it should be. Arrrgh! Back to the fortune box, this time for Akihiko and I lose 1000 yen. Another early night.
December 8
My order arrives. Back to the fortune box for Fuuka, a Lucky Charm and 10k yen, and then yet another early night.
December 9
I stay awake through Mr. Takenozuka’s lecture. No one’s at student council AGAIN. Going down the list, the fortune is for Ken and I get 500 yen. Another early night.
December 10
Nothing at school. Fortune is for Mitsuru. What? Something’s actually happening? Back at the dorm, we all talk about whether we’ve made a decision yet. We can finally go to Tartarus, but Aigis is still in the shop. I turn in early again.
December 11
I get Ms. Toriumi’s question about cacti correct for Junpei. Now all the club rooms are locked in anticipation for exams. Fortune is for Hidetoshi. Early to bed.
December 12
I stay awake through Mr. Ono’s lecture. Fortune is for Junpei. Early to bed.
December 13
Buy Soma and 4 Umugi Waters for 99,800 yen. Fortune is for Yukari. Early to bed.
December 14
A full week of final exams starts. Question about the Battle of Dan-no-ura.
December 15
Question about ozone.
December 16
Question about Lorentz Force.
December 17
Translation of Fuyu wa tsutomete.
December 18
Question about the plural form of Cactus.
December 19
My order arrives. It says the exam questions are too easy. Whoa! I can actually do some SL building! I head home with Mitsuru, stopping for some takoyaki at Octopia, another thing she’s never had before. Enjoying another new food, the Empress SL ranks up to 3. Koro finds a Mad Bull on our evening walk.
December 20
A scene plays in Yukari’s room where she tells Mitsuru that she’s decided to keep fighting until the end. Mitsuru has come to the same conclusion. I buy a Mediarahan card and 4 Chewing Souls for a whopping 200k yen. Fortune is for Akihiko. Since there are some requests for items in Tartarus from floors we’ve been to, we head there, even though Aigis is still in the shop for repairs. Plus, if the items on Tanaka’s show get more expensive, I won’t be able to afford them. Bringing 3 Sands of Time to Theo, I get an Atlus Stick. While I’m here, I fuse Succubus from Ubelluris and Orobas. Heading back in to try to find some red shadows this time, I pick up Decarabia to complete my roster. Returning with 3 Rainbow Hairs, Theo gives me an Omega Drive. Having accomplished what I came in here to do, we leave.
December 21
Everyone rushes to see the exams results and I took the top spot in my class again. I skip through Edokawa’s lecture again and guess correctly on his question. I head home with Akihiko, stopping at Hagakure Ramen. Akihiko’s concerned that I have to be fighting, and the Star SL ranks up to 7. I take a Yawn-B-Gone, and then Ken and I take Koro for his walk. Ken says he won’t run anymore, and we head back.
December 22
My order arrives. Theo then calls to tell me a human got lost in Tartarus. I skip through another long lecture of Edokawa’s and answer his question about euphoria correctly. Junpei and Mitsuru stop me during lunch. Mitsuru is the lower SL, so after collecting my King Card Set and Mediarahan card from her, I head home with her. Before that, she needs to do some research, so we stop at the school library. She talks about her role in the Kirijo Group and what she thinks marriage means. The Empress SL then ranks up to 4. Ken’s available, so we head out to grab a bite to eat with Ken offering to pay. As we leave, one of Ken’s classmates happens by, which embarrasses Ken since he’s with me. I reassure him that we’re special friends, and the Justice SL ranks up to 8.
December 23
It’s the Emperor’s Birthday, so no school today. A scene plays showing Ken and Akihiko both arriving at their decision. With nothing to do, I head back to the fortune box, this time for Fuuka. Akihiko and I take Koro for his walk. He talks about how he doesn’t have many good memories of Christmas and we head home.
December 24
I stay awake through Mrs. Terauchi’s class. Yukari texts me during lunch about having a girls-only party with her a Fuuka. I accept and we check out the Christmas lights at the mall then have a small party in Yukari’s room. We promise to do this every Christmas Eve.
December 25
Nobody stopped me during lunch, so I head home with Yukari. We stop at Chagall Café and she talks about looking for a boyfriend. The Lovers SL ranks up to 9 and we head home. Ken’s not available and Koro doesn’t want to go for a walk, so we head to Tartarus for a rescue mission. Before heading in, I fuse Kikuri-Hime from Titania and Decarabia, as well as Raphael from Yaksini and Parvati. I pick up Gabriel and Atropos on our way to the lost person on floor 203. With the goal accomplished, we leave.
December 26
I stay awake through Ms. Toriumi’s lecture. With the school day over, the semester is done and Winter Vacation starts. I swing by the police station for my reward of 8 Diamonds. I then head home with Mitsuru. We catch a movie and she enjoys some popcorn. I guess she didn’t have any during the film festival. After talking about riding motorcycles, the Empress SL ranks up to 5. I take Koro for his walk and he seems to be more resolved than ever.
December 27
A scene at Port Island Station plays with Fuuka and Junpei, at the end of which they’ve both made their decision and will fight. I buy a Diamond and 5 Pearls for 178k yen. Back to the fortune box for Ken. Junpei and I take Koro for a walk. He tells me he’s made his decision.
December 28
Today’s fortune is for Mitsuru. Koro finds a Lucky Charm on our walk.
December 29
My order arrives. Today’s fortune is for Hidetoshi. Ken is actually available, so we head to the shrine. He talks about not being able to think of any dreams for the future for an assignment he had. The Justice SL then ranks up to 9.
December 30
Yukari comes into my room in the morning to tell me that Aigis will be back tonight. Today’s fortune is for Junpei. Back at the dorm, Aigis has returned. While at the lab, Mitsuru filled her in on what happened. Aigis wants me to kill Ryoji. She then displays a serious defeatist attitude. Everyone then gives her something of a pep talk and she suddenly does a 180 and discovers she does have a purpose. This awakens her new persona, with Palladion becoming Athena. Talking to Mitsuru after the scene, she says that Aigis now has feelings and has become more human. Which means that I should finally be able to establish her SL soon. Koro finds a Mad Bull on his walk.
December 31
Since today’s the day of the decision, I create a new save file just in case. Today’s fortune is for Yukari. Back at the dorm, Ryoji has returned as promised. He heads up to my room to await our decision. Picking the obvious bad choice, I go against everyone else in the team and kill him.
January 1 - March 3
The days fly by in peace. I talk with Junpei and Yukari before school and we’ve forgotten everything, including knowing Aigis, Akihiko, and Mitsuru, who live in our dorm.
March 4-5
Mitsuru, who is valedictorian, gives a speech at the school’s closing ceremony. After talking about our future plans, Yukari, Junpei, and I head to karaoke and the credits roll.
Reload…
December 31
Again, fortune is for Yukari. Allowing him to live, he transforms into his shadow form. He tries to convince me to kill him, to no avail. Returning to the lounge, Ryoji tells us that we can find Nyx at the top of Tartarus and that we will need to go there in exactly one month. The Fool SL then maxes out and I can fuse Susano-o. This also establishes the Judgement [sic] SL and SEES has been renamed the Nyx Annihilation Team.
January 1, 2010
Yukari again enters my room to invite me to go to the shrine with the girls. After spending the day at the shrine, Theo calls when we get back to the dorm to tell me the dead end has opened in Tartarus. He also mentions something about his sister wanting to test me. Nice. The dorm music has been replaced. As has the “overworld” music. Theo has a new request to defeat The Reaper, which I’m guessing is Death. There’s nothing to do tonight, so we head to Tartarus.
Checking out the new door in the lobby, a woman named Margaret is there. Unless Theo has multiple sisters, her name should be Elizabeth. Anyway, inside this place are 12 doors where I can fight the 12 shadows again to claim prizes. I only am allowed to go in the Priestess door and must take Junpei and Yukari. It’s certainly a beefed up version of the shadow we fought on the train. With help from a few critical hits, it goes down on my first attempt. I get an Absorb Slash card for winning. Margaret then allows us to enter any door. Hmm… I’ll leave this for later.
Entering the tower, simply going up to the next floor ranks the Judgement [sic] SL up to 2. Fuuka mentions that there are only 5 left. We make it to the 220th floor bosses. Since they’re strong against everything, I play the buff and debuff game, with a few Mediarahan castings, and we defeat them on our first attempt. One guardian down, four to go. That victory causes the Judgement [sic] SL to rank up to 3.
Getting to the 224th floor, Fuuka senses the next guardian and the Judgement [sic] SL ranks up to 4. We continue to the 228th floor bosses. As with the previous set, I just buffed everyone and stayed healed up to win in my first attempt. The Judgement [sic] SL then ranks up to 5. Picking up the 3 Platinum Medals, I bring them to Theo for a Berserker’s Seal. While here, I fuse Rangda from Lachesis and Kikuri-Hime. Continuing to the 236th floor boss, the Judgement [sic] SL did not rank up this time when Fuuka sensed what floor it’s on. Making it to the single boss, after one try of seeing what worked and what it had, I put Akihiko, Koro, and Yukari in my party for debuffing and nullifying some magic, it turned into just keeping it debuffed, upping our evasion, and then hitting it with strong magic while staying healed. After winning, the Judgement [sic] SL ranked up to 6.
Back in the lobby, I merge Hokuto Seikun from Rangda and Throne. I have a ton of money and nothing to spend it on right now, so I drop about 285k and buy back Orthrus and Take-Mikazuchi to make Mothman. I then spend about 95k to buy back Hua Po to merge with Succubus to get Seiryuu. I then buy back Sati for about 143k to merge with Seiryuu, who unlocked everything through SL Max, to get Samael. Arriving on the 240th floor, Fuuka has located the next guardian and the Judgement [sic] SL ranks up to 7. Unlocking everything in Mothman, I leave to the lobby and buy back Flauros for about 190k to fuse Nata Taishi. Dropping another 180k or so to buy back Yamatano-orochi, I merge it with Hokuto Seikun to get Oukuninushi. Another 390k yen buys back Dionysus and I merge him with Samael to get Kaiwan. Heading back in, we make it to the 244th floor bosses. It’s another debuff battle. Thanks to all three bosses sacrificing themselves with Last Resort, we win on our first attempt. The Judgement [sic] SL ranks up to 8.
Back in the Velvet Room, I buy back Narcissus for 100k to fuse with Kaiwan for Thoth. Another 170k for Jikokuten, and I fuse Dominion from it and Nata Taishi. Heading back in, surprisingly I pick up a persona I don’t have, getting Mother Harlot. We have no issues making it to the fifth and final guardian on the 252nd floor. With it absorbing all magic, as well as strike and slash attacks, it’s yet another battle where I have Akihiko constantly debuffing it, but with the added use of Ice Break so I can do damage the MC and Mitsuru (Yukari can damage it with her pierce attack). Only having to really withstand its Megidolaon spell, we win on our first attempt, which ranks the Judgement [sic] SL up to 9. Leaving to save, I fuse my first Sun persona, getting Jatayu from Atropos, Oukuninushi, and Thoth. As a bonus, it’s holding an item. Hmm, the leveling up via SL unlocked everything, but I didn’t get the item. Making it to the dead end on the 254th floor, Fuuka gives another pep talk and the Judgement [sic] SL maxes out, allowing the fusion of Messiah. With that accomplished, we leave Tartarus.
January 2
*Looks at the calendar* Heh. Annihilation Team founded on Dec. 31, Annihilation Team SL Max on Jan. 1. Other than listening to pretty much everyone around town talking about The Fall and the cult that’s sprung up around it, the only thing to do, again, is the Fortune Box. So today is for Akihiko. Koro finds a Balm of Life on our walk.
January 3
I’m unable to buy 4 Salvation Badges and 5 Disaster-Proof Backpacks from the opportunistic Tanaka’s show as they sold out too fast. Again, nothing to do, so the fortune is for Fuuka. No walk, so early to bed. I have a feeling this is going to be my daily routine for the entire winter break.
January 4
Mitsuru calls in the morning and I accept. We head to Power Records in the mall and she’s impressed with their selection. I give her one of the chocolate truffles I made, which she really enjoys. Wow, those keep for a long time. Remembering the guy in the club that’s been giving me gifts, he’s again generous, giving me some Sexy Heels. Koro finds a Traesto Gem on our walk.
January 5
Akihiko calls and I accept. We grab a burger and he talks about the planned pool that's going to be built, as well as exercising. I give him one of the sweet fries I made, which of course he really likes. Ken’s available, so we head to Wakatsu for a meal. Our bond grows and we head back.
January 6
Today’s caller is Ken. We head to Chagall Café, he talks about people getting teased at school, and I give him a sugar cookie. Surprise, surprise, he loves the present. Koro finds a Mad Bull.
January 7
It’s the last day of winter vacation. Thank goodness. Today’s date is with Yukari. We go to Book On at the strip mall, she talks about how she used to collect shoujo manga, I give her a banana cupcake, she loves it, we head back. Aigis and I take Koro for his walk. She says she’d like to walk home with me after school tomorrow.
January 8
Yay! School is starting again! I get Ms. Toriumi’s its/it’s/its’ question correct. Junpei stops me after school wanting to talk to me. Up on the roof, he opens up to me about how he trusts me with his life. Since she asked last evening, I head home with Aigis. We stop by the shrine on the way home and she talks about how she regularly visits. This establishes the Aeon SL. Early to bed.
January 9
Nothing happens during school. Aigis is available, so I head home with her. We stop at the school rooftop first so she can see the view of the entire town. The Aeon SL then ranks up to 2. Koro finds a Trafuri Gem.
January 10
The exact same sequence as last week plays for Tanaka’s show. The fortune is for Hidetoshi. Early to bed.
January 11
It’s another holiday, this time Coming of Age Day, so no school. Junpei calls in the morning, so I hang out with him for the day. At Book On, since they didn’t have the manga he was looking for, he started reading through some shoujo. I give him a chocolate truffle, which he loves. Koro finds a Trafuri Gem.
January 12
Mitsuru stops me during lunch. I stay awake through Ms. Ounishi’s lecture. I head home with Mitsuru. She needs to do more research, so we head to the library first. She tells me the company has arranged a fiancé for her. The Empress SL then ranks up to 6. Back at the dorm, everyone’s left for Hagakure Ramen, leaving Junpei behind to wait for me. While there, Aigis spots a magazine with a disturbing article regarding the cult. The magazine also has a picture of the cult’s savior, and the picture is of Takaya from Strega. Let’s see if I can max out Ken’s link tonight. He takes me to the back alley and how he wants to become an adult quickly. He gives me a Silver Key, which is the key to his old house that he’s been keeping. He also tells me that he rewrote the paper about his hopes and the Justice SL maxes out, allowing the fusion of Melchizedek.
January 13
Hidetoshi and Aigis stop me during lunch. Since I don’t know her schedule, I head home with Aigis. We head to Iwatodai Station, and are surrounded by some stray dogs shortly after arriving. Since she can understand dog speak, she finds out that they’re Koro’s old friends and they think we’ve been mistreating him. She regrets that she’s a machine with feelings, and the Aeon SL ranks up to 3. Since I have the room, and would like a bonus for leveling up Aigis’ SL (even though I don’t think I’ll need it), I spend about 100k to buy back Orpheus and Neko Shogun, and surprisingly they can fuse to get Uriel. Koro finds a Homunculus.
January 14
Fuuka and Mitsuru stop me during lunch. Unfortunately, Junpei is also available, but since he didn’t ask, and Fuuka has more opportunities, I head home with Mitsuru. We grab a burger and the Empress SL ranks up to 7. Only skipping a walk with Koro, I try out Margaret’s challenges again. Entering the Empress & Emperor door, after several tries of getting one-hit by Vorpal Blade or all succumbing to Sexy Dance, as well as Fuuka not being able to determine their weaknesses fast enough to where it’s always a complete guess as to what can hit them after Paradigm Shifts, they do nothing but a Megidolaon, which took away about half everyone’s HP, and a Power Charge, and we defeat them in three rounds thanks to guessing right on the Emperor still being weak against fire. This battle seems to be designed around knocking them both down and only allowing them to stand up and then knocking them down again, which this version’s change to being able to attack in the same turn as standing up completely goes against the battle’s design. I get 20 Garnets for winning.
Trying out the Power Door, this turns out to be one extremely tedious battle as the three gigas keep changing their strengths. Magic never works unless you break their immunity, and then it just comes right back when they do their shift. Strike is the only attack they’re ever weak against, so Shinjiro (yeah, you get him back for this) is the only one that ever gets to knock them down. Thankfully, they do get dizzy on a hit when down, so you get two free hits on the ones that do get knocked down. You also get a set persona roster, of which most are completely useless thanks to them nullifying all spells. You also get a set inventory of items, so I finally used a Precious Egg. So many rounds ended up having everyone either defend or heal while Fuuka could identify their weaknesses, which only ends up allowing you to see what attacks won’t work. And even then, it sometimes wouldn’t show that they would absorb attacks, so that’s a wonderful surprise when you heal them unexpectedly. If you can somehow manage to knock them all down, the battle would be over pretty quick, since when we got down to one enemy, Shinjiro was able to knock it down and our all out attack did over 4000 damage, while normal attacks were doing around 100 damage. For my trouble, I get a Power Charge card. Oh, boy, that’s just sooo worth it. The battle also nets us a whopping 0 experience.
Moving left to right, the next door is Hierophant. After my first attempt finding out it loves casting Mazionga, and since I’m required to have Yukari in my party, I outfit her with Holy Shoes and an Eye of Thunder to offset her electricity weakness. I start out with Kumbhanda for its Auto-Masuku to up everyone’s evasion, then spend the rest of the battle with Jatayu since it nulls Electricity. Simply keeping it debuffed, using up a good amount of Me Patra Gems to avoid the two round auto-kill combo it has, and staying healed after its Megidolaon casting makes it a relatively easy battle. I get an Absorb Pierce card for winning.
Continuing to the right, I enter the Magic Door. Ok, this has got to be the most idiotic battle I’ve ever encountered in any game. Basically, you have to hope they never cast Megidolaon, and all three can cast it, because it’s impossible to protect against it and it does 9999 damage to everyone. There’s no way to prepare for this battle since you have a set party with set stats. It might as well just say “You Lose” when you open the door. I’ve tried about 10 times and am not going to waste my time anymore. There’s nothing difficult about this, it’s complete luck. I guess the only chance you have is to hope to keep reflecting Hamaon, as Mitsuru somehow did it once, and it killed the black caped one. I need a break from this place, so I leave Tartarus.
January 15
Theo calls in the morning to tell me that 2 more humans got lost in Tartarus. Yukari, Aigis, and Akihiko all stop by during lunch. I stay awake through Mr. Ono’s lecture. I head home with Aigis. We head to Pawlonia Mall and help an old lady try to find her cat. Even though we’re unsuccessful, the Aeon SL ranks up to 4. Koro doesn’t want to go for a walk, so we head back to Tartarus for what I’m guessing will be the last rescue mission. Well, except for rescuing the world.
Before heading in, I try the Magic Door again with the reflect strategy, since if it works, it'll be a very fast battle, and it works as I just cast Makarakarn every round and for some reason, even after an all-party spell is cast, a follow-up Hamaon got reflected every time with the counterstrike shield animation. I get another useless Mind Charge card for winning.
Shortly after beginning our search, Jatayu levels up and produces a very nice Wind nullifying Storm Ring. Stepping out for a minute, I fuse Barong from Jatayu and Dominion. With Barong unlocking everything via SL, I buy back Orthrus for 160k and fuse them to get Kurama Tengu. Back inside, I pick up Kali. We find the first person on the 224th floor. While in the lobby, I buy back Incubus for 217k to merge with Kurama Tengu to get Mot. Nice range of floors for the second person to be on. 225-253? Really? Taking stairs as soon as we find them, we get to the second person on the 250th floor. Since I’m tired of the drawn out battles in Margaret’s room, I ignore them and we leave.
January 16
Nothing happens during school. I stop by the police station for my rewards of a Soma and a Salvation card. Fuuka and Aigis are the only SLs available, so I choose Aigis. We head to Port Island Station and find the old lady’s lost cat. Returning it to the old lady, Aigis learns about lonliness and the Aeon SL ranks up to 5. Mitsuru and I take Koro for a walk, during which she is constantly tearing down the cult’s posters. She thanks me for this break from her entrance exams and we head home.
January 17
Checking out the shopping show, again it’s the exact same sequence, so I reload and hang out with Fuuka’s for the day. We stop at the café and she tells me she’s heard that I’ve been cheating on someone. Our relationship’s in a rut, so I give her a chocolate truffle. Back at the dorm, Aigis has troubleshot the control room console. Checking it out, there’s a new recording, so I watch Aigis spot the secret camera in the hall. Yukari and Fuuka walk by and after realizing there might be a chance Junpei is peeping on them in their rooms, Yukari decides to ask Mitsuru to remove the surveillance system. There’s nothing to do, so I go to bed.
January 18
I skip through another long lecture from Edokawa and guess correctly on his question. Aigis stops me during lunch, so we head to the Iwatodai strip mall after school. After some dialog between Aigis and the old woman’s grandson, the Aeon SL ranks up to 6. Early to bed.
January 19
Mitsuru stops me during lunch, so we head to the theater after school. She talks about the movie and asks me if I’d ever want to go to a faraway place. The Empress SL ranks up to 8. Her arranged fiancé then happens by. After displaying some serious arrogance, he insults me, which is a direct affront to Mitsuru and she breaks off the engagement that she’d reluctantly given into up to this point. Early to bed.
January 20
Aigis stops me again during lunch, so we go to Pawlonia Mall. The old lady’s cat is lost again, and she believes it’s gone to find a place to die. After some contemplative dialogue from Aigis, the Aeon SL ranks up to 7. Early to bed.
January 21
After school, Mitusu needs to talk to me in private. In the student council room, she tells me that Chidori has been transmogrified ever since her supposed death, and she may wake up soon, and wants my ideas on how to break the news to Junpei. She then gets a call from the hospital, and she’s told that indeed Chidori has awoken. Junpei was eavesdropping and runs off to the hospital. Following him, we find Chidori awake, but she’s forgotten about Junpei and the rest of us. The doctor tells us that she lost all her memories from the time her persona awakened in her. Koro finds a Homunculus.
January 22
Aigis stops me yet again during lunch. I stay awake through Ms. Miyahara’s lecture on the probability of the world coming to an end. Since Aigis seems to be available just about every day, I brush her off and head home with Yukari instead. Back in her room at the dorm, we share our love of Jpop and she gives me her cell phone strap her father bought her that’s been a keepsake of hers for years. The Lovers SL maxes out and I can fuse Cybele. Early to bed.
January 23
No one stopped by during lunch, so I head home with Mitsuru. We go to the school rooftop and she talks about how I’ve changed how she views people. She then tells me that she was correct in choosing me to be the leader of SEES and the Empress SL ranks up to 9. As I arrive back at the dorm, Akihiko tells me that once we enter Tartarus in one week for the final battle, we can’t leave and then basically tells me to grind in the meantime. Koro finds a Traesto Gem.
January 24
And again, the exact same sequence plays for Tanaka’s show, so I reload to spend the day with Mitsuru. She talks about her weakness and I give her some of the now-ancient sweet fries I made. Early to bed.
January 25
I stay awake through Mrs. Terauchi’s class. Since I’m pretty sure I can’t max out Akihiko, I go to cooking club with Fuuka. We make a cake with help of her copious notes. We take it back to her room at the dorm to eat it. She gives me some headphones and the Priestess SL maxes out, allowing the fusion of Scathach. Koro finds a Mad Bull.
January 26
Mitsuru stops me during lunch. Trying to max out the most SLs, I head home with Mitsuru. In her room, she gives me her motorcycle key and the Empress SL maxes out, allowing the fusion of Alilat. Early to bed.
January 27
Nothing happens during school. Crossing my fingers that I can max out Hidetoshi’s SL (if I could have done SOMEthing during the beginning of December, this probably would have been maxed out), I go to student council. After the meeting, he talks to me in private on the roof. They’ve dropped the cigarette case (gee, it’s only been going on for about a year). He thanks me for reigning in his aspirations and the Emperor SL ranks up to 9. I’ve got a countdown every time I return to the dorm. Koro finds a Homunculus. All these Homunculi may come in handy during the final battle.
January 28
I stay awake through Ms. Toriumi’s class. Being at level 5, there’s no way I can max out Junpei’s SL, so I head home with Aigis, since I have a slim chance of maxing hers out, depending on what happens with Hidetoshi. Back on the rooftop, she talks about how she thinks I’m spending too much time with her. She continues talking about how she’ll never be human and the Aeon SL ranks up to 8. Koro finds a Balm of Life.
January 29
Hidetoshi and Aigis stop by during lunch. So, I get to choose which to max out, having only 2 days left to level up 3 times. I think I’ll go with Hidetoshi. After the meeting, he talks about winning back the other members’ trust. He then gives me the cheap lighter of the smoker, who ended up confessing to him. This maxes out the Emperor SL and allows the fusion of Odin. We all take Koro on his walk. Everyone just has fun playing on the jungle gym and slide… Um… Yeah.
January 30
Nothing happens during school. I head home with Aigis. Back on the roof, she again ruminates about life. She then tells me that she always wants to be with me and the Aeon SL ranks up to 9. Since tomorrow is the final battle, I’ll save to my second file, just in case I need to grind and can’t tomorrow night. Early to bed.
January 31
What?!? I didn’t improve to Great? What a bunch of crap. Again, Tanaka’s show is the same. So, he doesn’t end the show in this version. Aww, today was supposed to be the last episode of Featherman. This day is starting out awfully, indeed. No one was in the dorm, so I try to find them around town. The lady at the flower shop said the exact same thing every single day for the entire game. The others aren’t anywhere to be found, so I head back to the dorm. We have one last meeting before heading out to save the world. Yukari brings up a point that if we win, we might lose all our memories. But even though we might lose all our memories of each other, she’ll always remember us… As will everyone else! We all then agree to meet again on Graduation Day on the school’s roof. Oh, hey, you can leave the dorm just in case you need to buy some supplies. Since I already bought the best equipment, it’s off to Tartarus!
The entire tower is available, so saving on the night before wasn’t necessary for last minute grinding needs. Taking Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Yukari, that gives me a party that can all heal, and all available elemental magic attacks. Unexpectedly, we have more floors to go before Nyx. Somehow Strega was able to get by the dead end and are waiting for us on the 258th floor. Arriving on the 258th floor, we first get to deal with Jin. After the somewhat standard, “We’re going to die soon, so we want to see everyone else die, too” speech, we enter battle. Mitsuru is able to survive his fire attacks and then he started casting ice. Without anything really hard-hitting, he goes down easily on our first attack with the standard buff and debuff strategy. After his defeat, he fills us in about how the Kirijo group used 100 kids to experiment on by giving them personas in order to investigate Tartarus, and Strega are the only three that survived. As shadows close in on us, we leave him behind. It’s implied that rather than letting himself get devoured by the shadows, he blows them, and himself, to smithereens with one of his grenades.
Oh, we’re fully healed. Our next stop is floor 262, and most likely Takaya. Since I have no use for Mot, I drop 363k on Titania to fuse Pazuzu. Back to the 262nd floor, climbing the stairs, we’ve finally reached the top floor, even though there is another staircase here. As expected, Takaya is here. Woohoo! We’re going to win because of the power of friendship!! Time to put down Takaya. Gotta love that. Takaya: “Death is unavoidable” and then Akihiko promptly avoids his gunshot. His big attack is a charged up Megidolaon, so the standard buff and debuff strategy is good enough for us to survive. Yukari’s Mediarahan takes care of any damage and he goes down on our first attempt. And again, we’re fully healed.
On to the final battle with Nyx… after saving, of course. We finally reach the peak of Tartarus. Nyx Avatar descends to meet her, his? its? death. And if it’s anything like P3FES, it’s time to settle in for one long, boring fight.
Stage 1 goes down with it doing nothing but smiling arrogantly.
On to Arcana 2 and fire spells. Mitsuru survives and…
It’s on to Arcana 3 and ice spells. How nice of it to cast Bufudyne on Mitsuru without Ice Breaking her.
On to Arcana 4 and wind spells. At least it was smart this time and cast Wind Break on Yukari right out of the gate. No matter.
On to Arcana 5 and electricity spells. Ok, so it knocked out Yukari, thanks to an Almighty Attack. That’s ok, I have over 20 Balms of Life. I just let her sit out until it changes to…
Arcana 6, which is all about slash attack skills. Ok, that one was annoying with all the Almighty Attacks coupled with several misses. Akihiko also kept getting hit critically.
On to Arcana 7 and physical and status attacks. Luckily, I happened to start with Raphael, who nulls charm, as its first attack was a charm attack on me.
Well, that was nice. One Almighty Attack on a fully healed panicked MC is game over. Gotta love that idiotic convention of a game over if the MC gets knocked out when the other characters can revive you.
Attempt #2, and I switch out Mitsuru for Koro to get his evasion increase spell.
On to Arcana 8, which nulls all physical and this time does strike attacks. Using an Attack Mirror helps out.
On to Arcana 9 and Hama magic. Other than it getting a critical with Almighty Attack on Akihiko and using it twice more, knocking him out, it’s an easy stage, thanks to all the Homunculi we’ve collected.
On to Arcana 10 and Mudo magic. The only thing to worry about is it casting Tetrakarn and Makarakarn.
On to Arcana 11, which nulls all magic. It has a wide selection of elemental magic to use, but nothing too tough.
On to Arcana 12 and another that nullifies all physical attacks and uses slash attacks. Another Attack Mirror comes in handy against Deathbound and our elemental spells take it down.
On to Arcana 13 and more Mudo. Another Homunculus goes down and we just have to withstand a few Megido castings.
On to Arcana 14 and a well-rounded form with higher defense. It’s nice that Fuuka took a couple turns before telling us we should hold our attacks when Nyx put up the Moonless Gown. Good thing I remembered the PS2 version and automatically went into defense mode. What sucks is that debuffs only last 2 rounds, since its second action counts as an entire round, so Akihiko is constantly casting lower defense and hit/evasion. What helps is that Nyx starts to cast Dekunda and Dekaja a lot, using up its turns. Yukari is almost always healing us after its Almighty Attacks, which basically leaves Koro, when he’s not increasing our hit and evasion, and me to attack for the vast majority of the rounds. Once it got down to about a quarter health, it basically started casting Night Queen every round and following it up with an Almighty Attack, which made it impossible. Gee, that was a fun 2+ hours.
Attempt #3 ends in form 7 thanks to Nyx repeatedly getting critical hits with Almighty Attack.
Attempt #4 ends the same way as Attempt #2, except this time in the first round of its final stage. Nyx cast Night Queen followed by Almighty Attack, and even though I had both evade buff & debuffs active, the MC got hit by both and was knocked out. I guess I’ll just have to grind up to max level so I simply have enough HP to survive.
Attempt #5: Rather than max everyone, I try again, this time using all the Megido items I have on hand once Nyx gets into its last phase of its last form. I also didn’t bother trying to keep it debuffed, which only caused a few extra misses on our part. The Megido items do some really good damage, but I took a chance going for the kill instead of healing and the MC got knocked out with a Night Queen followed by Almighty Attack.
Attempt #6: Since I have an open slot, I spend a little over 400k to buy back Kikuri-Hime for Marakukaja, hoping that the defense buff will be enough to have Yukari survive two Almighty Attacks, as she’s our main weak point. I also leveled her up once, as well as unlocking Samarecarm on Hariti. Hah, “If you get into trouble, RUN.” I’m pretty sure that’s not possible, Fuuka. Ok, it helped out a lot that Nyx went back into Moonless Gown during the final phase. Throwing all the Megidolaon Gems and Last Judge items we have, it just takes one last Megidola Gem to defeat Nyx. Woohoo!!!
Nyx then tractor beams up into the Dark Hour moon, all the transmogrified people awaken, and everyone thinks it’s the end of the world. After a bit, I’m in the Velvet Room and the power of all the friends I made SLs with coalesces into Igor’s hands and they create the Universe tarot card, which will allow me to truly defeat Nyx. I then float up to the moon to finish off Nyx by myself. After withstanding attacks that do 9999 damage and dealing 3 damage of my own to Nyx, the words of my fellow teammates float to me, slowly recovering my HP. After a couple rounds, I block the damage, gain a new power of friendship and with a dramatic sweep around to where my character’s face is finally clearly seen, I apparently defeat Nyx. The Dark Hour has come to an end for good.
February 1 - March 3
Time flies by and everyone’s forgotten about everything that happened, just like if you kill Ryoji. After school, all the people (and Koro) that I maxed out their SL are available to talk to to wrap up their stories. In doing so, it seems that only anything directly related to the shadows is forgotten. Back at the dorm, I can only go to bed.
March 4
Absolutely nothing happens. I guess this day is here just in case you missed any of your maxed SLs.
March 5
It’s graduation day. Aigis enters my room in the morning to tell me that she remembers everything. She reminds me of the promise we made and we head to where we agreed to meet. In the meantime, Mitsuru starts giving her graduation speech, during which she and the others remember everything. She cuts short her speech, and the group leaves the ceremony to join us on the school’s roof. The scene fades to white and the credits roll.
Final Stats:
Play time: 187h 20m
MC level: 83, everyone else was between 72 & 75, except for Fuuka (81) whose level doesn’t really matter (why exactly does she have stats?)
SL’s maxed: Everything but Junpei (5), Ryoji (3), Akihiko (7), Shijiro (5), Aigis (9)
Persona Compendium completion: 65%
Requests completed (assuming 80 available): 72/80
Final thoughts:
I really liked P3FES and was really looking forward to the change where you directly control all party members. That was a definite plus, even though it made it much easier. Unfortunately, I found every other gameplay change to be a negative. The biggest negative being becoming tired in Tartarus does nothing. This really ruined the flow of the game since there's no reason to go as far as possible, leaving long stretches of doing nothing but building SLs, which I find rather boring, since there's no reason (other than the added rescue missions) to head back into Tartarus until the next section opens up.
I really like the progression of collecting, fusing, and powering up your personas, as well as exploring Tartarus, which is why I liked The Answer better than The Journey in P3FES. If I'm ever going to replay this game, it will definitely be on P3FES and not this.
Overall: 4/10 -- I gave P3FES a 7/10, but there are just too many things that they made worse in my mind to give this version a positive rating.
