Case Study No. 1400: Staff of the Niihama National Archives

GITS:SAC, PSP, Chapter 1 - Crossing 1
9:11
The intro basically.
Tags: Sony Playstation Portable PSP Ghost in the Shell Cyberpunk Anime FPS Motoko Tachikoma
Added: 4 years ago
From: ErickDamon
Views: 5,775

Top Secret
National Police Agency Security Bureau Administrative Document
Classification code: Public Security Investigation H-88
Suspect: Takashi Michiba

The rights belong to neither me, nor you, and most certainly not to that man.
Needless to say, not to the state either.
Even assuming that the rights belong to somebody, those who were born, are living, and will be dying on that land should be the only ones.

Only those who are not influenced by ideologies or states, and rely on the land for not only their livelihood but their very survival, can possess the usage rights for that land.

["Chapter 1. Crossing" appears on screen]
["A.D. 2030 May" appears on screen, as the scene opens inside of a helicopter flying over the city of Niihama, where the members of Public Security Section 9 listen to a radio transmission outlining the hostage crisis taking place at the Niihama National Archives building]
RADIO VOICE 1: According to the workers who escaped, after the terrorists infiltrated the National Archives through the loading gate on Basement Level One and destroyed the automatic security system, they took all of the employees in the facility hostage. They've gained control of the first floor lobby, as well as the library floors One through Three.
RADIO VOICE 2: Have there been any statements or demands from the criminals?
RADIO VOICE 1: Not at the present time. However, they seem to be looking for the H-88 Report.
RADIO VOICE 2: The H-88 Report? The one that conducted an investigation of General Michiba, the mastermind of the failed Far North rebellion twenty years ago?
RADIO VOICE 1: Yes, sir. Its designation as a state secret has been lifted, and it was transported here to the National Archives from the National Police Agency to prepare it for public release.
[Chief Aramaki looks around at the members of his team]
ARAMAKI: Major!
[cut to a shot of Kusanagi (a female cyborg) standing next to Batou (her male second-in-command)]
KUSANAGI: Go ahead and have command authority for the investigation transferred to Section Nine. Everyone's been waiting for that document to be released, but for an armed terrorist group to attack, that makes me awfully suspicious.
BATOU: Maybe they're conspiracy theorists who want the truth about what happened twenty years ago.
KUSANAGI: They would risk their own lives for it? Not likely. If you consider the social impact that the H-88 Report will have, as well as the timing of the attack, it looks like the perp is running scared over the possibility of that document being released.
[cut to a closeup of the Tachikoma in the helicopter (a blue spider-like robot with a child-like voice)]
TACHIKOMA: Ummm ... What's this "H-88 Report?" Since we're gonna be involved with the investigation, we'd like to input accurate information!
[the camera pans over to Kusanagi, as she looks over at the robot]
KUSANAGI: I never said anything about you working the investigation ... Oh, never mind. "88" is short for "National Police Agency Security Bureau Administrative Document, classification code Public Security Investigation H-88."
[cut to a closeup of Kusanagi's face]
KUSANAGI: It's the report on the attempted rebellion in the Far North, that includes the testimony of General Michiba.
[cut to a closeup of Togusa (a former policeman)]
TOGUSA: An attempted rebellion in the Far North? You mean the armed uprising by the officers of the Fifth Army who tried to turn the Far North, which we'd just taken back, into an independent state?
[cut to a shot of Batou]
BATOU: That's right. The Public Security Bureau tried to bury the whole thing way back then, but certain leaks about the affair came out, and that brought the incident to the public's attention. Now that the politicians see which way public opinion is blowing, they've requested a public review of it.
[cut to another shot of the team]
BATOU: But the rebellion that Michiba and the others planned involved a lot of military secrets. So, because the report contained sensitive material, it was classified as a state secret, and that designation remained on it for twenty years.
[cut to a closeup of Saito (the team's sniper)]
SAITO: And tomorrow marks the twentieth anniversary, huh?
[cut to another shot of the team]
RADIO VOICE 1: We should be arriving above the National Archives in just a few moments.
RADIO VOICE 3: Chief.
[cut to a closeup of Aramaki]
ARAMAKI: All right. I'm going to begin the mission briefing now ...
[cut to the mission map, where the player customizes his Tachikoma and weaponry before selecting "Start Mission"]
[cut to Kusanagi and the Tachikoma inside one of the empty floors of the Niihama National Archives]
TACHIKOMA: All of the country's official documents are sleeping right beneath our feet, stored in electronic form! I can't wait to get this incident resolved, because the sooner it's behind us, the sooner I'll be able to hook up to their database!
KUSANAGI: Tachikoma, don't run off on your own ...
[she sneaks up to one of the corners with her gun drawn, as the robot lumbers up behind her]
TACHIKOMA: That's why I'm requesting appropriate orders!
KUSANAGI: In that case, we'll decide on a signal for when I want to give you an order. Is that all right with you?
[cut to the controller menu (including which buttons make Tachikoma move free or follow the player)]
[cut back to the Niihama National Archives]
TACHIKOMA: Understood! Don't worry about a thing! You can put your mind at ease, because you're in good hands with me!
KUSANAGI: I'll hold you to that.
ARAMAKI: [over radio] What are you doing?! Hurry up and get in there!
KUSANAGI: Roger. Let's go, Tachikoma!
["Wipe out terrorists, head for lower lvl" appears on screen, as the player makes his way through the building, shooting terrorists before reaching a locked door on the lower level]
TACHIKOMA: I've disengaged the lock on the gateway that leads underground!
KUSANAGI: You've done a good job so far, but the hard part is up ahead. So stick close, and whatever you do, don't fall behind.
[the player enters the door, as "National Archives, B1" appears on screen]
["Wipe out terrorists, head for next lvl" appears on screen, as the player continues killing terrorists before reaching another locked door]
[cut to a shot of the Tachikoma unlocking the door, as the player enters]
["Wipe out terrorists, head for next lvl" appears on screen, as the player makes his way through rows of movable shelving units (while killing more terrorists) before reaching another locked door]
[cut to a shot of the Tachikoma unlocking the door, as the player enters]
["Wipe out terrorists, rescue hostages" appears on screen, as the player makes his way past more movable shelving units (killing more terrorists) before reaching a room with two armed terrorists (one wearing a ski mask), as well as a male archivist (black hair, suit and tie) and a female archivist (short brown hair, green sweater, white blouse, black skirt) being held hostage]
[cut back to the player's first-person POV, as he shoots and kills the two terrorists (while making sure to avoid the hostages)]
[cut to the rest of the team joining Kusanagi in the room, as they inspect some papers strewn across the floor, when the Tachikoma re-enters the room]
TACHIKOMA: I've finished bringing out every one of the hostages!
ARAMAKI: [over radio] Did you learn anything?
[cut to a shot of Kusanagi reading from one of the pamphlets on the floor]
KUSANAGI: Looks as though they were digging through papers all throughout the archives.
ARAMAKI: [over radio] To throw the investigation into chaos?
KUSANAGI: I won't say that's not a possibility, but the all-important H-88 Report was left lying there, looking like they read through it in a hurry.
ARAMAKI: [over radio] If the enemy isn't after the report, what are they after?
[cut to a closeup of Batou kneeling down next to one of the dead terrorists]
BATOU: Either way, our only option right now is to dig through this guy's brain.
RADIO VOICE 1: Chief, I finally got an ID on the terrorists. These guys are ex-military. They're still running around with their unit ID codes left in their cyberbrains. However, I came across traces of evidence indicating that their memories had been overwritten just prior to the assault.
[cut back to a shot of Kusanagi]
KUSANAGI: So, someone cast a spell over them, huh?
ARAMAKI: [over radio] If they're merely puppets, that means someone has to be hiding behind the curtain pulling the strings. Now we need to give those strings a tug. At any rate, get back here, people
[the camera pans over to show the Tachikoma standing behind Kusanagi]
KUSANAGI: Roger.
TACHIKOMA: Ummm ... Do you think it would be all right if I hooked up to the National Archives' database now?
[Kusanagi says nothing, so the Tachikoma turns toward the computer monitors set up against the adjacent wall]
TACHIKOMA: Ahh!
[Kusanagi turns at the sound of the robot's gasp, then the camera zooms in on a bomb set up underneath the computer's keyboard]
[the screen fades to white (as the sound of an explosion can be heard), then "Mission Completed" appears on screen]

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From wikipedia.org:

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, released in Japan as Kokaku Kidotai: Stand Alone Complex: Domain of the Hunters, is a video game based on the cyberpunk anime of the same name. It is a first-person shooter game, released for the PlayStation Portable. It is a sequel to the first Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex game of the same name.

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From hardcoregaming101.net:

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - PSP (2005)

Developed by obscure company G-Artists (whose biggest claim to fame seems to be PS1 shmup Philosoma and the Kurushi puzzle games), and assisted by Production IG, GitS: SAC for PSP came out less than a year after the system's Japan launch. Its European release came out just a couple of months after the PSP in that region. In a surprise move it is radically different to both the PS1 and PS2 games which came before, styling itself more as a first-person shooter than a third-person action platformer. In Japan it was subtitled Hunter's Territory to differentiate it from its PS2 predecessor. Ironically, if Mobygames is to be believed, Kurushi also saw the involvement of second-party developer Sugar & Rockets, which apparently was formed from Exact, the company behind the original GitS on PS1. Implying... no real connection at all, but is fun trivia nonetheless.

The game's reception was mixed, depending on who you speak to, with most critics hating it, and an eclectic list of responses from players. To be honest, it's really not bad at all. In fact, SAC for the PSP stands as a great example of how unreliable professional reviewers can be, with no consensus at all even for basic things. Some claim the story is the best part, while for others it's the worst. Gamespy hilariously condemns it for not having a map, despite the map being prominent, accessible via the Select button, extremely useful, and essential when ordering your Tachikoma around. It's almost as if some reviewers booted the UMD, played the first level for five minutes and then used PR supplied screenshots to knock out a review without any real knowledge of it. The game isn't without its flaws, and there are legitimate reasons why some could consider it the weakest of the GitS trilogy, but in several ways it's also better than its two predecessors. For the author of this expansive article, SAC is a damn fine game, perhaps surpassed on the PSP by newer action titles but still an excellent contender.

Although by a different developer and on different hardware, SAC on the PSP is pitched as a direct follow-up to SAC on the PS2. It's also intended to integrate directly into the anime series. What starts off as a routine interception of terrorists breaking into the national archives quickly escalates into a complex conspiracy, with several twists, again involving the Far North's fight for independence, which was touched upon in the previous game. There's also a sub-plot detailing the creation of the Tachikoma units. As explained by Masao Tsuda, assistant producer at SCEJ, in an interview with IGN: "The script was written by Production IG, who was involved in SAC [the anime series]. Based on the series, the story and the investigation of incidents are very important components of the game. The incident in Niihama, Berutarube, where the current story takes place, also appears in the original Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow. It is also a geographical location that appears in [the second film] Innocence. The storyline follows an incident that occurs in Niihama that ultimately spreads into the city of Berutarube. The city turns into a battle ground involving the government and terrorists."

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From gamefaqs.com:

CHAPTER 1 – CROSSING – AD2030 MAY

LOCATION: Niihama
TYPE: Event Mission
OBJECTIVE: Rescue the hostages, stop the documents from being stolen, and determine the ringleaders objectives.

WEAPONS AVAILABLE: M-3 GP, P-27 GP, P-7 GP, SR50-BA

TACHIKOMA PARTS: None

Without wanting to go into too much depth this level is a very simple introduction to the game. The level layout is intuitive and the objective is to kill all the patrolling enemies in a section to release the doors and move on.

The openable doors leading between sections are always marked by a green indicator light next to or above the door. Those marked with red indicators are not accessible.

When you reach the end of the level make sure you target the terrorist wearing the balaclava and avoid hitting the hostages. Once he is dead the level is complete.

I would recommend picking up some new weapons during this level.