MARREND'S PROFILE

There were user-made ROMs made with GB Studio during the 1.44 Floppy Disk event, and I think all those submissions also included an emulator to run them. They were still were under the file-size limit, too!

That aside, user-made ROMs is probably the extent by which this site would support them. Even if a person did make a singular EXE that's effectively a PS1 emulator running RPG Maker for that console, I sincerely have doubts that such a thing would be an acceptable submission for RMN. Still, one can ask Liberty or Frogge for clarification.

Last time, Albedo's myriad cypher traps into MOMO's subconscious, as well as MOMO's own response to Jr and Albdeo fighting, allowed the white-haired URTV to release the Y-Data. The disk starts with Shion narrating the immediate fallout. Which has it's own disturbing parallel to the Black Room sequences from Disk 2 of Xenogears.

The detail that is first and foremost in this narration is the opening of the path to Old Miltia. The game specifically calls out the Immigrant Fleet and the Federation in advancing their fleets to the planet, with their objective being the original Zohar contained there. The Immigrant Fleet was more prepared, and was able to break through the Federation's perfectly legal blockade.

However, before I continue, let me point out one additional detail. Old Miltia wasn't just protected by it's node in the UMN column system to be deactivated, though, how that's even possible when the planet is very much still around is questionable at best. Then again, maybe it's because of the other detail concerning that area of space. Old Miltia is surrounded by not one, but two, count them, two black holes. Like, I don't pretend to have any knowledge of physics, but, I can't even comprehend how a fleet of space-fairing vessels would go about approaching a planet that is in visual proximity of one black hole, much less two. Is the gravitational forces at work somehow counteracting each other, making the planet more or less hold it's position?

Well, the game doesn't seem to care, so, maybe we shouldn't either. Let's cut to the cardinal-looking guy and Margulis. The cardinal notes that both Second Militia and the Subcommittee On Close Encounters (this can be shortened to just the Contact Subcommittee, which is both the committee Juli is a part of, and how this LP will refer to that group henceforth) have begun to take action. Perhaps a silent involvement from Vector. He then asks Margulis if he can handle them, and he's already got Inquisitors on the job. The cardinal wants Margulis to "show the strength of his devotion". He understands the implications behind this request.

Next up, it's Shion and Allen are boarding the Dämmerung, which has gotten onto the scene at Old Miltia. This is little more than a footnote for now, but, one gets the impression Shion will get at least a tongue-lashing for going against company protocol for what she pulled during the dive into MOMO's subconscious. Meanwhile, poor Helmer is working with the Federation government, and sending what forces from Second Miltia he can to support their efforts. He also headed a covert operation, secretly supported by both Vector, and the Contact Subcommittee, to acquire the original Zohar. The mission would be carried out by the Kukai Foundation. Or, if you want to be more specific, the crew of the Elsa, under the command of Jr. Canann and Jin are added to the crew to up the chances of success. However, loosing Shion, KOS-MOS, and Allen is a bit of a blow. Well, Allen's expertise lies chiefly in KOS-MOS, and various details of her development. Loosing him to deal with the fallout from Shion's actions, and looking after KOS-MOS, if possible, is arguably where he should be.

Next up is a scene with Juli and MOMO. So, given the situation at hand, a journey to Old Milita needs to happen sooner, rather than later. MOMO's top-tier navigational skills will allow travel to that area of space undetected. Still, it's a dangerous operation, and Juli seems unwilling to let MOMO go now, despite how much space she has heretofore placed between herself and the 100-series prototype. Of course, MOMO is ecstatic to hear such kindness from her mother, but, holds back on any physical manifestations of affection.

Cut back to the Dämmerung. Miyuki is trying to have a conversation with Shion, but, Shion's concern is more about the opening of Old Miltia, and how everything is on high alert on the ship. As it probably should be, as everybody and their brother's uncle wants their hands on the original Zohar that's on that planet. Miyuki reflects Shion's commentary, saying Shion has yet to submit her report regarding KOS-MOS's latest real-world data. At this point, everybody's favorite Elly-wannabe, Nephilim, drops by. She doesn't actually say anything, here, just makes an appearance with a sad face, then leaves. Shion cuts communications shortly thereafter, and wonders aloud if what she saw was just an illusion. If it was Nephilim, just what the hell is she up to this time?

We now take control of Shion, as she attempt to hunt down Allen for some sedatives. Girl's gotta get her beauty sleep. There's no save point in Shion's room proper (which might be slightly larger than the one she had on the Woglinde), but, there is one just outside her room. Which feels a little weird, but, whatever. At any rate, we can listen to...


...this ditty as we putz around. Well, I say "putz around", but, since the game still feels rather railroady, I'm inclined to find Allen sooner rather than later. He's not hard to find, and the exchange between them is a little weird? Like, Allen responds as if Shion asked him for a sedative, but then goes to say she should rest up in her room. Now, I don't dare to claim to have any knowledge of medicine, but, wouldn't a sedative help with that exact task? Welp, back to Shion's room in any case! Doing so prompts a comment from Shion about the sedative working, but, I wasn't of the impression Allen actually gave her one, so, maybe I was just reading things wrong.

Shion dreams of the Zohar, and Febronia. Febronia's penchant for being cryptic is almost as bad as Nephilim, but, to keep the LP moving, she states that the room they are in represent the cage her sisters, Cecily and Cathe, are held captive, and once again pleads with Shion to free said sisters from that cage. Naturally, she says nothing about where said cage is, only that Shion will be there soon.

Shion wakes up, and takes a brief moment to attempt to figure things out before realizing she still hasn't submitted the data for KOS-MOS yet. Which means going back to the room where we found Allen before, and triggering the next cutscene. Shion's tapping away at the console until she hears the tell-tale bell, sounding the arrival of Nephilim. Shion gets up from the chair, turns, and sure enough, there she is. Nephilim is as cryptic as always, and it takes Shion some amount of doing to figure out that the Elly-wannabe is telling her that Cecily and Cathe are on Old Miltia. Well, that's certainly useful information, but, it also complicates things. It's not like she can just go to the Militan surface with all the activity directed in that location.

With the arrival of Allen, Nephilim takes her cue to leave. While I get the impression Allen wanted to ask Shion out, he naturally gets caught up with whatever Shion's up to. The exchange goes something like this:

Allen: Ah, Chief! You're not busy are you? If it's okay with you, I...
Shion: I'm sorry, I have to go somewhere now. Talk to me later, okay?
Allen: What? Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?
Shion: Old Milta.
Allen: Ah, I see. It's very romantic this time of... wait, Miltia!? Whoa, whoa, whoa! Chief, are you out of your mind? Do you understand what's going on out there? We're on high-security alert! There's a war about to start! Besides, what are you going to do about transportation? There's now way the Administrations Bureau's gonna authorize a transfer in a state of emergency!
Shion: It's all right. I've got an idea. There's a transport here on the Dämmerung that Kevin was developing concurrently with KOS-MOS. If I use it, I could travel through hyperspace without going near the UMN.
Allen: Well, that makes sen... wait, what are you saying!? That's a AA rank secret, even within Vector! You can't just go and...

Allen's body slacks, knowing exactly what Shion is going to say next. Which is, of course...

Shion: I'm going. I've already made up my mind.

...this. With Allen to soon follow, because of course he does. This cues up the Dämmerung, itself, as the next dungeon. The entrance to the dungeon portion was guarded by a realian earlier, and while he's still there, he lets Shion past without any complications. I just felt that was a little off. The dungeon, itself, sadly, is nothing to write home about. There's a bit of a puzzle with destroying blocks, and a cannon that you can use to obtain an item to unlock a skill. The encounters aren't set up to allow players to exploit that Shion is the only active party member, but, they also aren't terribly hard. Like, all Shion needs to do is get up to full stock, then go. One enemy provides warnings of the use of lethal force if Shion doesn't surrender, but, I've never seen that enemy actually use said force. Perhaps if the player doesn't use Stock, they might do something, but, I'm not inclined to experiment with this theory.

There's a short cutscene of Shion in front of a console, as she brings up a live feed of the location of the ship she's planning to, let's say temporarily borrow. Her plan is to use brute force to get there, which puts Allen on his nerves, but, he continues to trudge along. There's another puzzle ahead involving a conveyor belt, and dropping down into the room containing the stairs down. You could access that floor before, but, of course, the room that contains the stairwell we want is locked from that side. Finding the right drop-point allows us to pass by the ship that's our destination, but, we've still a bit to go before getting there. Such as another puzzle involving a glass floor held up by blocks, and removing certain ones, tipping it over to reach a platform on the other side. The room after that is a wind tunnel, which is annoying in it's own right, as progress gets slower and harder as you approach the fan.

After the air tunnel is a set encounter that happens to use a boss fight music...


...but, I'd hardly call it a boss fight. The next room over is the ship, so, cutscene away! Allen got on board to do some pre-flight checks, and Shion's on the outside, asking how things are looking, even as she climbs on a rope to board herself. Everything checks out, but, a troop of three armed realians appear on the scene, making Shion think maybe things won't go so smoothly after all. However, Allen, of all people, fires a few warning shots, scattering the troops by exploding a nearby container, thus allowing Shion the opportunity she needs to board in relative safety.

Her theft temporary borrowing of this device doesn't go unnoticed, as the vessel happens to pass by Wilhelm's office as she makes her escape. The man barely reacts to this development, so this was totally part of whatever he's planning. A short exchange ensues between Wilhelm, and the red-cloaked guy. They speak of roles, and of Man's tendency to divide between "good" and "evil". There's no question that Shion sees herself as "good", but, does she perceive Albedo as "evil"? If there is to be a "knight" in this tale, must there not, must, therefore be a "villain"? Jank like that.

Next cutscene is Shion's approach to Old Mitita. Or, it would be, if she wasn't assailed by U-TIC craft, lead by an ES unit. The drones aren't the problem. The craft seems maneuverable enough. The ES unit, well, not so much. It pulls off some maneuvering that, at least according to Allen, are not possible for the human body. The ship is inevitably hit hard enough for it's shields to be depleted, and at this point, the ES unit unfolds itself in front of them in a rather menacing manner. Shion screams, and the camera cuts over to Second Miltia, right smack dab in front of KOS-MOS' maintenance pod.

Naturally, this is the cue for KOS-MOS to wake up automatically, despite how that feature should have been disabled. Allow me to remind the reader that Shion, waaaaaaay back in the beginning of Episode 1, mentioned how that feature should have been disabled as of two years prior to the events of that game, and here KOS-MOS is firing up automatically again-again. How it's possible this time, despite how her reactor isn't even installed, is a point that's never revisited. What's even more flabbergasting is that an apparent frame revamp...


...isn't complete either. Despite all that, she yet stands on her own two feet. Her pod responds to an unspoken command, and transforms into a bike/craft/thingy, and she takes off to save Shion. I can't help but to smile at the irony on display here. The point of "launching" a product before it's done, perhaps? I dunno if this is a reference to what could have been with Xenogears, if it was fully fleshed out, or even what could have been in regards to this series. Maybe I'm reading waaaaaay to much into this.

Either way, cut back to Allen and Shion in trouble. Allen has long shed any sense of bravery, or will to fight, as the craft whirls about. Shion snaps at him, telling him to quit whining and shoot something. Shion does what maneuvering she can, but, they are quite outnumbered, and the ES isn't letting up either. Just then, as Shion wonders if this is the end, some drones are taken out of commission. Well, okay, KOS-MOS is doing a lot of work out there. The area of space is littered with drones blowing up due to KOS-MOS, and even as she's doing that, KOS-MOS states over the comms that she's switching the craft to control B mode, and to prepare for docking. Now, call me crazy, but, the sequence that happens when KOS-MOS' vechile combines with Shion's craft is somewhat reminiscent of a magical girl transformation sequence? The combined craft shoot a massive beam that pretty much decimates the remaining enemy craft, with the ES unit warping out just in time. The associated cutscene...


...should make things a bit clearer, and is pretty awesome regardless. Shortly afterwards, a transmission from our very own friendly neighborhood scrap collectors space recyclers. We then board the Elsa...


...for the first time this game. The interior has certainly gotten a revamp from last game, even if the exterior has remained pretty much the same. We're still very much locked in plot, at least for now. How much longer will that remain true? Find out next time, on the Xenosaga Episode 2 LP!

Castlevania - Lords of Shadow - Started!
I technically started this sometime last week. However, it's something of an annual tradition to play this game, or at least some kind of horror-adjacent game in October. I didn't participate in the gaming diary last year, but, I think I tried playing Darksiders 2 again, despite cancelling it in 2020. 2021's game was, apparently, Castlevania - Symphony of the Night.

Kenton, eh?

I never thought I'd actually see another stat thread.

Thank you kentona!