#neo npcs

[voicefromthecorner]

Kana the shopkeeper here said this to me and it reminded me at once of the system in the last game that literally functioned that way. While all the brands in both games are cool and very artistically put together, I do miss the shifting tides of public preference that we controlled. As a gameplay element, it was admittedly a bit so-so and to have it in this game would likely overcomplicate what’s already a very full game in a story that doesn’t touch on this stuff nearly as much, but I loved how that theme was so well-implemented in both the story and gameplay of the last game. It was such a cool feature.

A flipping shopkeeper got me nostalgic for the original TWEWY. That’s a smooth move on the sequel’s part.

[voicefromthecorner]

This is one of the saddest side quests in a while. We encountered this girl in an earlier quest and it would have been so easy to pass off the weird ghost moment with her as some weird Reaper soul powers or technology. But here she reappears to reveal that she’s literally a ghost that Shoka took pity on. A collection of feelings caused by the mass loss from Shinjuku’s inversion, focused on one little girl who doesn’t want to die.

Shoka’s power gets you to this quest, Shoka is the one to request we deal with the Noise that plague her. And Shoka’s clearly not as okay as she lets on with how things are for this poor girl. Given the girl’s name, I’m sure there’s no actual connection, but she does kinda look like Shoka too.

[voicefromthecorner]

Shout out to the NPC in a video game labelled “TiredGameDev” whose defining characteristic is being incredibly sleep deprived to the point that he sees monsters from a higher plane of existence.

[voicefromthecorner]

So this girl having an interest in EleStra and being connected to a person on Nagi’s chain in the social link interested me. I’ll be honest, I saw the detailed face that she has and the slight physical similarity and thought this might turn out to be Nagi’s sister or something. But then her name was revealed and I had to re-evaluate that.

But then when you go into her mind:

I realised where this was going right here and I was NOT disappointed.

I swear, Nagi thrives on the line between uniquely abnormal characteristics and 100% relatable moods. I’ve scarcely felt a fictional character’s pain as much as this and it wasn’t even a very specific spoiler. I know full well how even the most innocent of details can derail your experience if you’re not careful.

...N-Not-Not that I’m trying to s-say anything! You’re all a wonderful audience who totally get it too! Your patience with me can never be fully paid back! I am forever grateful for your boundless restraint! Heh heh...heh...

But for real, turning studies on ancient Athens into a dating sim? I need to see those notes...

[voicefromthecorner]

While darting around the earlier weeks, I missed reading the thoughts of random folk so I went back into it and I found I guy that I’m pretty sure I’ve overlooked until now.

This has got to be the saddest thought bubble I’ve read from an NPC. It’s up there, at least. Hang tough, pal.

[voicefromthecorner]

I haven’t been giving Keiichi here as much love as I did in the last game, mostly because his rhymes have been a bit more minimal this time around. But I’m not going to the final fight without checking in on him and acknowledging once again, possibly for the last time here, how much I love this man and his attempts at rapping.

[voicefromthecorner]

Stopped by Tower Records and it’s possible that this line of dialogue was present when I was last here and I just missed it, but I couldn’t ignore it. Sayoko says five words in three sentences without blushing or looking away and it’s wild that I know how big of a deal that is for her. I’ve gushed enough about the shopkeepers in this game, especially Sayoko, but it’s still just this awesome little corner of the game that I’m always so chuffed to return to!

As a bonus, I managed to snatch this pic of Sayoko in the middle of being consumed by the graffiti ink void. RIP in peace. Never forgetti, always regretti.

[voicefromthecorner]

That does it. Sakura is going on the Masterlist. Absolute queen of customer service and a fountain of lines that are just banger after banger! This isn’t even a slight against the writing in this game, which has been great overall, but I think no line of dialogue has topped “That’s not very justice of you” as my favourite. The burgers were very salty that day.