Wall Market
-We make our way back here. On the way, I pick up “Sense” materia and give it to Barret.
-The Honey Bee Inn is wise to Cloud’s game, and won’t let him in.
-“It” came down from the sky, but an old guy who likes tanks took “it.” Ok.
-More “tank guy” rumors, that he can help us get to the top of the plate if we’re strong enough.
-I eat again at the restaurant, from “Today’s Special,” but nothing happens.
-A kickboxer says we could climb all the way to the top of the plate using a particular pipe.
-We buy some weapons upgrades, and “batteries” which a weapons vendor tells us we’ll need to climb to the top of the plate. A “we’ll know it when we reach the pipe” deal.
-We reach the pipe/wire.
Barret. Such an optimist. (Sometimes.)
LOL – Cloud: “Okay, Barret, that was a bad analogy, but I understand how you feel.”
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Climbing
-I love the scenery as we climb.
A few puzzles, and we see the wreckage of Sector 7.
-One of the puzzles here is a jumping thing where I have to time my jump just right to catch a swinging pole. After about seven trillion attempts, I make it.
-We reach the top…
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Shinra Building
-…and see a dramatic view of Shinra’s Evil Lair of Evil.
-Cloud’s never been to HQ before.
-Aeris is likely in the secure area above the 60th floor.
-I get the choice to sneak in or bust in. Busting in sounds fun, but for a company like Shinra, not very smart.
-As the three climb a side stairwell, Barret admits that he likes this side of Cloud, the side willing to fight for someone else. Yay! Friendship!
BARRET: “How much farther do these stairs go on?”
TIFA: “Why don’t you ask them?”
-HOLY CRAP IS THIS STAIRWAY ENDLESS? (I guess she did say it’s 60 floors at least, but yeesh.) At least it’s not filled with the monsters from the Cult of Kefka.
-Finally. Jeez. Awaiting us outside the stairs are some nasty Mighty Guards. They don’t hit too hard, but have a bunch of HP.
-Loving the music here.
-SUCH A COOL ELEVATOR! Time to head up to 60.
-Lots of guards here. There seems to be a stealth element I don’t quite understand.
I know, dude. Trust me. I know.
-FUCKING FUCK I KEEP GETTING CAUGHT
-They don’t even give me the chance to solve the puzzle just when I think I’m getting the hang of it. They basically say “Whatever, let’s just keep moving.” Grr. If you’re using a stealth mechanic, game, use it. Don’t let me practice and then take away the chance to get it right. Bad job, game.
[Later edit: I disagree with myself in hindsight. While I felt close to getting this, I imagine that if someone was just totally confused by the mechanic, they wouldn’t want to be stuck here forever. I had my chance and failed.]
-Someone on 61 thought we were a repair crew and gave me an elevator keycard to 62.
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62nd Floor
-A library here about city planning, weapons, biology, and space.
-Actually, there are four different libraries here touching on all manner of stuff.
-The mayor’s office here too. Mayor Domino recognizes us, but doesn’t freak out. He admits that he’s basically just here to watch over Shinra’s documents. They have the real power.
-We have to guess his password for the next keycard: BEST, KING, ORBS, BOMB, MAKO, or HOJO. All four letters, and there are four libraries. Hm.
-His deputy mayor offers to help us for 500 gil. Not yet. I have to imagine the answer is in front of me.
-Ok. Spent an hour looking for patterns. The only one I found is really sketchy.
I title this picture: “Fuck Mayor McCheese.”
I looked at the first letter in each book catalog, and BEST is the only one where all four letters are represented as first letters in the catalog. I’m 95% sure it’s wrong. I’ll test it, and if I’m wrong, I’ll buy the damn clue from the deputy.
-And I’m wrong. Fuck.
-YOUR HINT IS THAT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE FOUR LIBRARIES? FUCK OFF DUDE
-If this were emulated, I’d save the state and come back later, but haven’t seen a save point since outside the Shinra Building, and I’m NOT running up the stairs again.
-I don’t know what patterns to look for. No single word is in every library. (MAKO comes close, but it’s not in the name of any book in the Urban Development Research Library.) Numerical associations with each letter don’t form patterns.
-20 minutes later, I still can’t find anything. FJKLDSN FG HNUGSNVFS I’d ask for another hint, but it’ll cost me 1,000 gil. I only have 1,500, and given the quality of the first hint, this one will probably be “It has to do with letters!”
-Maybe it has to do with colors. Something about the colors of the bookshelves and the floors.
-Fuck this. I threw my mouse, so it’s time to buy another clue. Something about categories being mixed together.
Urban Development Research Library: #16, “Modern history of Midgar space program, vol. 1” should be in the Space Dev. Research Library.
Space Dev. Research Library: #10, “New plans for urban planning” should be in the Urban Development Research Library.
Public Order/Weapon Development Library: #2, “Mako energy and rise in life forms” should be in the Scientific Research Library.
Scientific Research Library: #4, “Ranks and extended use of Mako weaponry,” should be in the Public Order/Weapon Development Library.
The second hint says that the password has something to do with the numbers on these mis-sorted files.
#16 #10 #2 #4
I’m hesitant to say that these are related to letters in the English alphabet, since the game is Japanese, but maybe?
#16-P, #10-J, #2-B, #4-D. Nothing there.
Something about the nature of the misplaced files?
Space in city planning, and new city planning in space.
Mako energy in weapons, and Mako weapons in science.
They’re related to each other. Just don’t know what it means. Don’t see what they have to do with best, king, orbs, bomb, mako, or hojo.
You know what? I give up. I give up. Uncle. I’m guessing. A couple of random guesses later, “MAKO” is it. Don’t know why. I mean, I see that two of the misplaced ones have to do with Mako, but don’t see what Mako has to do with the modern history of Midgar’s space program or new city planning. Don’t get it. Whatever. Moving on.
-He gives me the Keycard to 65. What about 63 and 64? Not sure. But he knows who we are and is helping us as revenge on Shinra, which has been “torturing” him.
You’re still a jerkface.
---
Next time: I don’t throw things hopefully.
