Torneko 28: Don't call it Groundhog Day.

Unfortunately all roads out of town lead directly to the Mystery Dungeon, so I ain't finding no marriage counselor anytime soon.

But on my way to the Dungeon I think: maybe I'm being too hard on my wife. Maybe I've been cursed, and Lance Town is the only place in the world I can stay where I'm not immediately sucked into a Mystery Dungeon. Maybe she's trying to make the town into a decent place to spend my exile?  I could forgive finding a little solace in a younger, fatter man under those conditions. Of course, making me collect all this money while I'm in there is a little insensitive, but since I'm there anyway we do have a kid to take care of... Oh well. No time for deep thoughts when you've got a deep dungeon to contend with.


Oh, this is going to be a winner of a trip: two slugs and a Slime in the first room of the first floor and I'm nearly beaten to death on the spot. On the other hand I find a replacement Power +3 ring and a +1 Dragon Killer sword too!

 And then on Floor 2 I'm killed by a Magician. Okay, going back.

Killed in a Floor 3 Monster House by a Lilliput Archer and Magician combo. Going back.

Killed on Floor 2, wearing a cursed sword and ring, by a Momonja and Ghost. AGH.

You'd think I'd be ready to make a Groundhog Day reference here. But no, this is more like the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect," which actually predates the release of Groundhog Day. See, the Enterprise crew keeps reliving the same day as well, but in this case the day always, always ends with the Enterprise crashing into another ship that came out of nowhere, and then exploding. (You can see why I'd identify with this.) They do this time and time again with the crew experiencing more and more deja vu, though nobody ever seems to relive the stark horror of being blown to bits in an antimatter-fueled explosion. (Personally I think that would be higher on my list of Things That Stick in My Mind than what order the android deals the damn cards in.) Finally, they find a way to send a message through the time loop, which allows them to break the pattern on the next repetition. They then find that they've been at this for weeks. Meanwhile Captain Frasier Crane of the starship USS Fussbudget finds out that he's been crashing into the Enterprise and exploding for like 70 YEARS.

Great episode! I'm just hoping I'm the Enterprise and not the Fussbudget.