My 絶体絶命都市3 adventures - Out of the frying pan into the fire
In the first part of this new feature I summed up the first moments of the game, namely the introduction and the uniting of the two main characters. Apparently some people thought it was interesting enough so I decided to continue the feature and unveil a new part of the game.
So far Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3 has been nothing but a pleasant surprise, including new elements that add a little zing to the experience. However, the key to the game remains the same: the quest for survival in a place best described as a desolate town. So far my expectations for this game have been met: more than that, I feel grateful to IREM for placing so much faith in this team, making another episode possible.
After learning that the size of the incident was no longer circumscribed to the the tunnel, Saki and Naoki must cross the avenue (on the picture, Saki is initially afraid to cross using the metal bar).
The car radio can be heard, with the station alert advising the survivors to move east - in this case the large street up ahead with the inclined buildings.
Without warning, cars start to fall from the top floors of the garage building, which literally means the characters need to run as fast as they can to avoid getting hit. Not the first narrow escape of the day, though.
Detail with the animation of the character going over the rail. When not running or engaging in dialogues, the main objective is to hunt for items. Some great finds in this street include the “referee showing the yellow card” compass, a black suit with shirt and tie, as well as the always fashionable Japanese businessman sunglasses - Yamauchi style, by the way.
I’ve always been amused by the fact that the characters in the series have such a great willingness to make a fool out of themselves, wearing ridiculous clothing and accessories.
A curious event: while walking through the street, Saki starts to hum a little tune (this is the theme song of the game performed by an invited artist). Naoki stops and asks her what she was singing - she says she was doing so inadvertedly. From what I could understand, Saki reveals to Naoki that she wants to become a singer. The team at IREM even made a ficticious blog for the artist Saki which you’re invited to check out here.
This crater on the road is quite familiar if you’ve visited the official site of the game, since it served as the front page image for a while. Descending slowly to the bottom we find a Fire Truck with the ladder extended to the far side of the street. Climbing on top of the red car will reaching it.
Shortly after climbing, a few gun shots can be heard coming from the nearest building. Saki seems worried, so she rushes through the ladder running. Naoki is left behind and when trying to cross it, the structure begins to tremble because of an explosion triggered on the pit behind. Apart from running away from the growing flames and the collapsing structure, Naoki has a very small time window to make the jump towards the street on the right where Saki is.
It’s a wonderful detail, really, when the character gets near a thick cloud of smoke he starts to cough and raises his hand to his mouth. Animators seldom think about such details when they create portable console games but, nevertheless, here it is.
Pure chance: notice how the first picture of the group evokes Shenmue - backpack, jeans, camera angle. Inside the building is a mean looking man with a gun in his hands, just beside the body of a dead man. This will seem very familiar to those who played the first episodes: office room, suspicious man holding a gun, leaving dead people behind. I couldn’t tell what was said here for sure, but the man in the blue suit just walked away and Saki confirmed that the person on the floor was dead. Is there a conspiracy here too?
Returning to the street, there seems to be something eerie: all of a sudden, the sky is covered with strange clouds with an unusual color.
Right behind them is a large tornado that’s leaving a trail of destruction behind (notice the cars and debris flying around it). Strangely, it seems to be moving balls of fire around since these are starting to fall to the ground, scattering flames all over the runway.
Watching the shadows caused by the descending fireballs will allow a good calculation of where they’ll hit next so Naoki needs to move between these and evade fire at all costs - seems easier in theory, I assure you.
To the right is a precious fire extinguisher that isn’t beyond reach.
Selecting the item from the menu screen, Naoki can extinguish these walls of fire blocking the passage.
The last stretch to evade the danger is a street where these deadly flames come blasting from the buildings on the side. The threat is over, for now, with both characters needing a rest.
At night, the two find way into an abandoned building, using the radio to try and hear the news. From what I could understand the voice instructions refered to a new location where people might head to for extraction, so it is up to Naoki to answer correctly by sounding excited to move on, triggering an equally enthusiastic reaction from her new friend.
Before going to sleep, Naoki mentions the music being sung earlier by Saki - picking the right option will make him sing the song himself, comforting her. After this warm and friendly scene, Saki and I say “oyasumi nasai”.
