"I think, outside of pre-arranged cutscenes and stuff like that, we're probably free to talk as we like...though not<em>totally</em>free."  They still had to use the names of their characters rather than their own names.  "Like right now.  The game is technically paused because we have to make a selection; if we follow the video game structure, we can figure out when those auto-advance and auto-dialogue options will appear."  That led into the next question.  "If this were the arcade variant, I would be worried.  But...I don't think we have to be.  I'm pretty sure this is the home console version.  Remember, Carlos expected us to take a few days to finish it.  That means we have to have a save function in here somewhere."  Why it hadn't appeared yet, Aika hadn't a clue, but maybe that was just because they had only started the game.<br/><br/>"Best guess? If we Game Over, then we'll have to go back to whatever our last save file is.  So we'll lose progress, but that's it.  Winning?  I don't know.  But I know we have to win; otherwise, we can't go home."  There was the chance, however remote, that winning would not send them home, but Aika couldn't openly admit that now.  It might undermine any effort to try and beat the game.  "We have 30 days before we Game Over.  That one text scroll said we can beat up to three stages at a time with a single time block.  Memory serves, there's an in-game achievement for beating the game in under a week's time - speedrunning the game, basically.  That means, statistically, they can't have more than...fifty, maybe sixty stages?  Probably closer to fifty, since they want players to have a buffer.  And there's five areas.  Worst case scenario, there's about ten stages per area, which means we can beat an area in just over a day."<br/><br/>There was a lot to consider.  "The American localization team gave an interview to<strong>E-Pulse</strong>- you know, the YouTube guys? - about a few key details.  Yuyu's dad...yeah, we have to find a name for him at some point; calling him this is just going to be weird.  Anyways, he  - and<strong>E-Pulse</strong>- mentioned that certain areas are locked off to us."  Aika raised her hand, pointing at the big map in front of them.  "We can't get to Inayama Island, not until we clear the Business District, and we can't get<em>there</em>until we beat either of the Districts closest to us."  Those being the Residential and Shopping.  "They're softballing us to go to the Residential; that's where those Azure Rider guys we fought hang out.  At the same time...all the best item shops will be over in the Shopping District.  The<strong>E-Pulse</strong>interview revealed that the game team set in a lock on the Districts.  Once we pick one, we have to beat it."  So there would be no beating some stages in one District and then switching to another.<br/><br/>Aika realized she needed to stop just saying words and give an actual recommendation.  "We have 30 days.  The game designers are probably expecting console players to take the first week to figure out the mechanics of the game that don't involve putting a fist into other people's faces.  And we've got 3 time slots.  My suggestion?  We've got 3 things we can do.  We do each of them today."  It would lock them into a District, but they wouldn't lose any flexibility other than that.  "That means we just have to decide where to start."