P3 plot review for capstone
The twenty-fifth hour lie between 12:00 and 12:01 AM. This “dark hour” turns the moon yellow, clouds green, and the guttural fluids to blood. Most people are transmogrified into coffins-literality dead to the world, but a few with the Potential walk the streets, seeing what no one else does. The high school, normally Gekkoukan High, turns into Tartarus, a massive ever-changing labyrinth, more than 150 stories tall. Uncontained bits of id (Shadows) roam the streets, consuming those who cannot master their subconscious. Those afflicted then suffer from Apathy Syndrome and are never functional again.
The Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or S.E.E.S (because they see what goes on during the dark hour) aims to destroy the Shadows that appear both within and without Tartarus. Shadows were discovered more than a decade prior by Mitsuru Kirijo’s grandfather. Grandfather Kirijo performed experiments on the Shadows, and collected them, hoping to exploit their time-manipulation powers. Yukari Takeba discovers that her father, a scientist at the Kirijo lab, thought the experiments were too dangerous and set off an explosive, exactly ten years ago, in an effort to stop the tests; thus begun the dark hour and Tartarus.
For several months, Ikutsuki, Gekkoukan’s superintendant, guides the S.E.E.S. team to destroying Shadows. A boy named Pharos appears at Minato’s bedside every so often, giving words of advice or warning. After the first few months, the team realizes that particularly powerful Shadows appear outside of Tartarus every full moon. They start training around such expeditions. One night, however, the team awakes to find themselves crucified (without nails) on the roof of Tartarus. Ikutsuki confesses that he has been trying to summon death, effectively hastening the end of the world. The team is crucified, and will be killed, as part of a sacrificial ceremony to finish conjuring death. Mitsuru’s father has a standoff with Ikutsuki, and ends up fatally shot. Ikutsuki asks Aegis, an antiShadow robot, to finish the job. Aegis has become too close to the team, however, to kill the boy her programming says to protect. Instead she fires at their locks, letting them fall safely to their feet. Koromaru, the dog, joins the group as they watch Ikutsuki take his final steps off the tower: “I was so close” (day).
The group is now lost: not only were they misguided, they now had no idea where to go or how to help. Killing the moon-time Shadows had only helped Ikutsuki, because they never destroyed the Shadows, only send them back to the heart of Tartarus. The group ultimately decides to keep fighting the Shadows, as it is the only way they know to try and help.
Meanwhile, a group called “Strega” becomes a problem. Strega builds a website where people can request revenge on someone, and the group fulfills such whims (usually by killing the offender.) Strega’s revenge scheme claims the life of Shinjiro, the punk of the group. Just prior, Ken reveals that the only reason he joined S.E.E.S. is to get revenge on Shinji and Akihiko for the death of his mother. Shinji takes drugs to suppress his persona, only after he had an accident that killed Ken’s mother many years ago. Ken then joined Shinji and Akihiko at their orphanage. Ken met Shinji in order to kill him. Takaya is the one to fire the gun, and Ken is left with a dying Shinji, who says, “this is how it should be” (day).
Minato, Yukari, and Junpei Iori’s class, shortly thereafter, gains a transfer student, Ryoji. Though charming, Ryoji eventually confesses to be an incarnate of Death, the evolved form of Pharos, whom was locked in Minato’s mind by Aegis ten years ago (shortly after the lab explosion.) Minato’s parents had already died in the fight, and the world would have ended had Aegis had not spotted the child Minato on the street. It is Ryoji who eventually recalls the story, the information having been erased from Aegis’ mind: “They said I was death, the thirteenth arcana who was never meant to be. I wasn’t in this world for long before parts of my body left, leaving me incomplete” (day). Ryoji sets an ultimatum: on December 31st if the team kills him, they will forget all events of the dark hour and the end of the world will stall for a few more months, as he will have to find the rest of himself. If the team lets him live, however, they will retain their memories, but the world will end about two months sooner.
If the player chooses to let Ryoji live, they get the “bum ending.” If the player kills Ryoji, then the story continues. Provided Minato killed Ryoji, the team meets at the local shrine the next day for luck. Each member makes their own promise, to pass the year, to enter college, to get a summer job; each member knowing that they will not live to see the promise fulfilled. Finally, they all agree to reunite on the roof of the school once the semester ends.
Strega becomes a larger problem. They now have a cult following, whose members desire the world’s end. Flyers fill the streets among the victims of Apathy Syndrome. The economy is failing. Japan’s weather is fluctuating. People want an end to this madness, and Strega gives them the easiest answer: death. Several times the team confronts the Strega trio, Takaya, Jin, and Chidori. A lot plot eventually develops between Junpei and Chidori. Chidori has restorative powers, allowing her to survive her constant self mutilation. Eventually she is taken to the hospital, where Junpei presents her with a new sketchbook, drawing being the only thing she seems to take pleasure in. Eventually Strega and S.E.E.S. collide, and Chidori sacrifices herself to save Junpei.
After months of training, Nyx (death) appears. The eight S.E.E.S. members climb to the top of Tartarus to fight. The team has already killed Jin, and all that remains of Strega is a cult and Takaya. The team defeats Takaya, but does not kill him. He watches as the S.E.E.S team takes on death. Once Nyx is defeated, the moon turns into a sci-fi eye, and intends to land the finishing blow to the earth. Minato, however, stands and floats up to the moon. He is beamed into the eye of the storm for the final fight. Minato uses sacrifice, using all his hit points, to save the world. The Journey ends, several months later, with Minato falling asleep on Aegis’s lap in the sun on the roof. The rest of the S.E.E.S. team can be heard running up the steps to join them.
P3:FES, however, added an epilogue due to the ambiguous ending. The second part of the game, called The Answer, stars Aegis. In a voiceover, Aegis reveals that Minato entered a coma that day, and died about two weeks later. “The fact that a future exists, and being able to access it,” Aegis says, “are two different things. We did not understand such an obvious and natural principal yet” (day). The Answer sets the remaining S.E.E.S. members cleaning out the dorm. Another robot, Metis, appears, and attacks the group, sending everyone into a Groundhog Day scenario. The team must comes to terms with what has happened in order to proceed. They chase a shadow-y figure, who looks an awful lot like Minato, through a sand-scape that appeared in the basement. The figure leads each character to a door that, once opened, reveals important moments in each character’s history. Finally the team discovers that they need to forge a key to open the doors from their dorm. They can either proceed forward or return to the past. Each two team members want something different: Aegis and Metis want to proceed forward and find what life has to offer. Yukari and Mitsuru want to go to the immediate past, both being able to save someone they love. Akihiko and Ken want to go to the distant past, wishing to prevent Ken’s mother’s death. Each team must, then, fight each other for the key. Aegis and Metis win, and the others must consent to the past. The Answer, and P3:FES, end with the team stepping outside the dorm, and Yukari asking Aegis if she would room with her next semester.
The Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or S.E.E.S (because they see what goes on during the dark hour) aims to destroy the Shadows that appear both within and without Tartarus. Shadows were discovered more than a decade prior by Mitsuru Kirijo’s grandfather. Grandfather Kirijo performed experiments on the Shadows, and collected them, hoping to exploit their time-manipulation powers. Yukari Takeba discovers that her father, a scientist at the Kirijo lab, thought the experiments were too dangerous and set off an explosive, exactly ten years ago, in an effort to stop the tests; thus begun the dark hour and Tartarus.
For several months, Ikutsuki, Gekkoukan’s superintendant, guides the S.E.E.S. team to destroying Shadows. A boy named Pharos appears at Minato’s bedside every so often, giving words of advice or warning. After the first few months, the team realizes that particularly powerful Shadows appear outside of Tartarus every full moon. They start training around such expeditions. One night, however, the team awakes to find themselves crucified (without nails) on the roof of Tartarus. Ikutsuki confesses that he has been trying to summon death, effectively hastening the end of the world. The team is crucified, and will be killed, as part of a sacrificial ceremony to finish conjuring death. Mitsuru’s father has a standoff with Ikutsuki, and ends up fatally shot. Ikutsuki asks Aegis, an antiShadow robot, to finish the job. Aegis has become too close to the team, however, to kill the boy her programming says to protect. Instead she fires at their locks, letting them fall safely to their feet. Koromaru, the dog, joins the group as they watch Ikutsuki take his final steps off the tower: “I was so close” (day).
The group is now lost: not only were they misguided, they now had no idea where to go or how to help. Killing the moon-time Shadows had only helped Ikutsuki, because they never destroyed the Shadows, only send them back to the heart of Tartarus. The group ultimately decides to keep fighting the Shadows, as it is the only way they know to try and help.
Meanwhile, a group called “Strega” becomes a problem. Strega builds a website where people can request revenge on someone, and the group fulfills such whims (usually by killing the offender.) Strega’s revenge scheme claims the life of Shinjiro, the punk of the group. Just prior, Ken reveals that the only reason he joined S.E.E.S. is to get revenge on Shinji and Akihiko for the death of his mother. Shinji takes drugs to suppress his persona, only after he had an accident that killed Ken’s mother many years ago. Ken then joined Shinji and Akihiko at their orphanage. Ken met Shinji in order to kill him. Takaya is the one to fire the gun, and Ken is left with a dying Shinji, who says, “this is how it should be” (day).
Minato, Yukari, and Junpei Iori’s class, shortly thereafter, gains a transfer student, Ryoji. Though charming, Ryoji eventually confesses to be an incarnate of Death, the evolved form of Pharos, whom was locked in Minato’s mind by Aegis ten years ago (shortly after the lab explosion.) Minato’s parents had already died in the fight, and the world would have ended had Aegis had not spotted the child Minato on the street. It is Ryoji who eventually recalls the story, the information having been erased from Aegis’ mind: “They said I was death, the thirteenth arcana who was never meant to be. I wasn’t in this world for long before parts of my body left, leaving me incomplete” (day). Ryoji sets an ultimatum: on December 31st if the team kills him, they will forget all events of the dark hour and the end of the world will stall for a few more months, as he will have to find the rest of himself. If the team lets him live, however, they will retain their memories, but the world will end about two months sooner.
If the player chooses to let Ryoji live, they get the “bum ending.” If the player kills Ryoji, then the story continues. Provided Minato killed Ryoji, the team meets at the local shrine the next day for luck. Each member makes their own promise, to pass the year, to enter college, to get a summer job; each member knowing that they will not live to see the promise fulfilled. Finally, they all agree to reunite on the roof of the school once the semester ends.
Strega becomes a larger problem. They now have a cult following, whose members desire the world’s end. Flyers fill the streets among the victims of Apathy Syndrome. The economy is failing. Japan’s weather is fluctuating. People want an end to this madness, and Strega gives them the easiest answer: death. Several times the team confronts the Strega trio, Takaya, Jin, and Chidori. A lot plot eventually develops between Junpei and Chidori. Chidori has restorative powers, allowing her to survive her constant self mutilation. Eventually she is taken to the hospital, where Junpei presents her with a new sketchbook, drawing being the only thing she seems to take pleasure in. Eventually Strega and S.E.E.S. collide, and Chidori sacrifices herself to save Junpei.
After months of training, Nyx (death) appears. The eight S.E.E.S. members climb to the top of Tartarus to fight. The team has already killed Jin, and all that remains of Strega is a cult and Takaya. The team defeats Takaya, but does not kill him. He watches as the S.E.E.S team takes on death. Once Nyx is defeated, the moon turns into a sci-fi eye, and intends to land the finishing blow to the earth. Minato, however, stands and floats up to the moon. He is beamed into the eye of the storm for the final fight. Minato uses sacrifice, using all his hit points, to save the world. The Journey ends, several months later, with Minato falling asleep on Aegis’s lap in the sun on the roof. The rest of the S.E.E.S. team can be heard running up the steps to join them.
P3:FES, however, added an epilogue due to the ambiguous ending. The second part of the game, called The Answer, stars Aegis. In a voiceover, Aegis reveals that Minato entered a coma that day, and died about two weeks later. “The fact that a future exists, and being able to access it,” Aegis says, “are two different things. We did not understand such an obvious and natural principal yet” (day). The Answer sets the remaining S.E.E.S. members cleaning out the dorm. Another robot, Metis, appears, and attacks the group, sending everyone into a Groundhog Day scenario. The team must comes to terms with what has happened in order to proceed. They chase a shadow-y figure, who looks an awful lot like Minato, through a sand-scape that appeared in the basement. The figure leads each character to a door that, once opened, reveals important moments in each character’s history. Finally the team discovers that they need to forge a key to open the doors from their dorm. They can either proceed forward or return to the past. Each two team members want something different: Aegis and Metis want to proceed forward and find what life has to offer. Yukari and Mitsuru want to go to the immediate past, both being able to save someone they love. Akihiko and Ken want to go to the distant past, wishing to prevent Ken’s mother’s death. Each team must, then, fight each other for the key. Aegis and Metis win, and the others must consent to the past. The Answer, and P3:FES, end with the team stepping outside the dorm, and Yukari asking Aegis if she would room with her next semester.