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0:18 Using the fire pin, I can drag lines of fire with the stylus during battles. Burning frogs with fire -- what is this, "Beavis and Butthead"?

0:20 Using the stylus to both move and attack takes some getting used to. When I try to attack frogs near Mr. Loner, it moves him instead. Bleh.

0:21 Mr. Loner (his real name still unknown) is surprised at his fire-starting ability. Pact girl (again, no real name yet) says he's good at using "psychs" which are what the pins are called. They're safe from the Noise monsters now that they formed a pact, apparently. That was easy!

0:22 Her name is Shiki Masaki. Finally! "We've got a long week ahead of us!" she says. The Reapers' game takes seven days, you see. She asks his name but he runs off before she can get it. SO CLOSE!

0:23 More eavesdropping on thoughts. A girl is happy with her fries, but sorry she forgot her "can of salt" back home. "What are fries without an extra layer of white, salty death?" Good question. Another good question: Who travels around with a CAN OF SALT?

0:25 "Why do today what can wait 'til tomorrow? Why do tomorrow what I can deal with two days from now? My problem-free life rocks so hard." I'm loving the writing on these thought vignettes.

0:26 Apparently the people who disappeared before were "Erased," and if we don't get to 10-four (a.k.a. 104) before the timer on our hands runs out, the same will happen to us. He thinks she's crazy, but given his crazy day, he starts to give her the benefit of the doubt.

0:27 Mr. Loner has a name: Neku Sakuraba! Maybe the game's under-explaining has gone a little too far when it takes 27 minutes to get the main character's name!

0:30 I know I'm supposed to be rushing to 10-four or whatever, but I'm having too much fun snooping on people's thoughts. I'm glad I don't have this power in real life. I'd get nothing done!

0:31 The path to 10-four is blocked. Meanwhile, a creepy guy in a red hoodie is watching us. "Pact confirmed," he says to himself. Suddenly, the path opens up. "Weird," says Neku. I agree.

0:32 We make it to 10-four and the timers disappear. "Only an idiot would screw up on day one," says a passing Reaper, who sends more frogs our way. Really? More frogs? There are nine other plagues in the bible, y'know.

0:35 So, in addition to stylus-based attacks on the bottom screen, now I have to use the d-pad to control Shiki's attacks on the top screen. This is a lot to manage at once! Luckily, there's an auto-play feature for Shiki that seems to work well.

0:36 The battle tutorial finishes up with a fight against a man-sized wolf straight out of Altered Beast. I've mastered one attack combo for Shiki. It involves hitting "right" five times in a row, but it works! I like the way the power-boosting "puck" bounces between screens with combos -- makes it easier to split my attention effectively. "We've got six more days. Are we gonna make it? I... I don't want to be erased." Then why did you sign up for this stupid game in the first place, Shiki? Neku is just as question-filled and frustrated with Shiki as I am. "Chapter Closed!" I get "E" rankings all around. That's fair. I haven't mastered this yet.