Digital Devil Saga: Manipura part one

So, Manipura. Cutscenes galore. The person with the long pink hair is actually a guy, by the way. You will learn to hate him.

Once the cutscenes are over, you'll be free to roam outside Manipura. There's a couple of Maribel to talk to, as well as Heat and Argilla.

Argilla: "We didn't come here to fight. We need to prove that to Jinana."
Heat: "She wants to see our skills? Great. I'll give her an up-close demonstration!"

When you're done roaming around outside, do not go in the closest entrance first. Instead, run all the way to the right and into a second entrance tucked away. In here you will find Revival Gem x 1. We will be revisiting this little area again in future.

Go back to the main entrance and run back left. There's nothing in the small room just before the big gates. Enter the Maribel's compound when you're ready.

To your left will be a door leading to a short corridor with a large karma terminal in it - the door at the other end of the corridor is locked. Back outside there's a Vendor and a small slope. Go up the slope and head on to the end. Take the second left and follow the corridor around. There's a locked door marked with 05 here; you can't do anything with it, but head around the corner to get Dis-Poison x 3. Head back up and take the first right (the left turn you skipped before).

Go straight on to the door at the very end. There's a yellow chest here that will give you Error Cell x 1. With all cells, wait until the solar noise is at Max before selling them - this will give you the highest sale price, and trust me, you're going to need it.

Go back outside and head up the stairs to your left. Go in the door at the end of the path and follow the corridor around to the exit.

When you leave the corridor, you will get a message saying that you hear voices whispering. You'll get this a lot during this base. It gets annoying.

Flick the switch for gate 01. When you go to enter it, the game will tell you that you can feel a presence beyond the door. (Demon senses sure are handy, huh?) However, when you go through the door, they scarper. Nowhere to go but on, so go down and around.

When you come to a choice between going up some stairs and continuing on, go up the stairs. (Unless you want to save and swing around on yourself, in which case stay downstairs and use the small karma terminal, then go back.) Once up the stairs, ignore the ladder to the right for now and continue on. Go in the furthest door and you will get a message saying a voice can be heard whispering - and what it whispers! Follow the corridor around to the left and you will be told that there's a presence outside. You'll be thrown into a fight with a Cockatrice, but it's just your standard Cockatrice so pound on it with ice spells. When the fight's over, open the yellow chest for Frigid Shot x 1. If you talk to the fat guy, he'll tell you that Jinana is waiting at gate #4. Go back inside and head left into a room with Brave Ration x 1.

Head back outside and into the other door before the ladder, and you'll see a blue wall. Destroy it and collect Wild Card x 1 and Quick Noise x 1 from the rooms here. There's also a yellow wall; ignore it.

When you're done, head outside and climb up the ladder. Follow the path around and climb down to collect Active Cell x 1 from the yellow chest. Then head back to the small karma terminal and head through gate 02. Make sure you're fully healed before you do so, though, because you'll be pounced on by four Preta and one Yaka.

Next: more Manipura.