Randomness Thing

I have been playing the hell out of Diablo 2 today. But I digress and move on to business. Also, I apologize for not having a post up yesterday. I just lost track of time.

Mystic Square is the last game on the Japanese PC-98 system. The games that follow interest many changes, but for now lets focus on this one. This game, being the last one on the PC-98 has gameplay most similar to the Windows games. It also features 4 selectable characters.

As is the norm with this series, something is amiss as demons pour out of a cave high within the mountains. Seeking to put an end to it, Reimu and co. move out to squelch the flow. However, they have to travel directly through Makai to get to it.

The game features four selectable characters. It keeps Reimu and Marisa from the previous games, and adds Yuka Kazami and Mima who were prior enemies. It also features the addition of another favorite character of mine, and one that makes several future appearances as well.

For no apparent reasons, demons and youkai begin to spew forth from Makai, the world of demons, and into Gensokyo. Frustrated at all the exterminations to be done, Reimu tracks the source of the invasion to “The Cave in Which the Door to Makai is Said to Be,” which lies in the mountains behind the Hakurei Shrine. Reimu decides that it is her duty as a shrine maiden to root out the cause of this mess. Unbeknownst to her, Marisa Kirisame has learned of her plans and decides to follow along with the hope of discovering some unique powers to steal within Makai. Elsewhere, Mima, the evil spirit of the Hakurei Shrine, and Yuka Kazami, the youkai, decide to travel to Makai as well.

Upon reaching the door to Makai, they are stopped by the gatekeeper, Sara. However, she is easily beat down by the heroine. After entering Makai our protagonist runs into another demon traveling in the opposite direction, named Luize, and takes her down as well.

The heroine then arrives in Makai above a massive dark city, where she is confronted by Alice Margatroid, who attacks her with the help of her living dolls. After defeating her, the heroine flies away from the city and toward a grim fortress that rises up in distance. Along the way the witches Yuki and Mai appear and attempt to impede her progress, ultimately to little effect.

Entering the fortress Pandæmonium, the heroine soars past fantastic crystal designs while battling through legions of enemies. At the top she is met by a strange individual named Shinki who politely informs her that the demon invasion is entirely the fault of a civilian travel agency that is arranging tours of Gensokyo and that it lies outside of her jurisdiction. Before the protagonist can inquire as to the meaning of this they are interrupted by Yumeko, who adamantly insists that Shinki retire so that she may dispose of their uninvited guest. After defeating the maid, the protagonist meets Shinki again, who now explains that she is actually the god and creator of Makai itself. She promises to look into the tourist issue, but only after severely punishing the heroine for disrupting her realm so. This final battle is extraordinarily violent and Shinki’s tremendous power leaves much of Makai in flames.

For the extra stage the heroine again encounters Alice Margatroid, this time in a strange wonderland. Alice now possesses a large grimoire that grants her great magical powers and challenges the heroine to a rematch. After a lengthy battle and her second defeat, Alice laments her inability to defeat the heroine before fleeing with the book.

I had to abuse the copy/paste thing again. Sorry, but it’s getting late for me and I’m pretty well wasted and want to sleep. Next time we start the games for the Windows platform. Exciting stuff is about to happen.