The Hat Joke's Deeper Meaning (Spoilers)

[Soleil]

So after you travel into the future for the first time and talk to The Shopkeeper, The Shopkeeper comments on how totally cool your hat is. And the next time you visit him, he wears a straw hat identical to yours (but with a blue strip instead of a red strip).

Ninja complains that The Shopkeeper copied him, but The Shopkeeper insists that he had the cool hat first and that Ninja is the copycat. While this initially seems like a throwaway joke, I believe The Shopkeeper is actually speaking the truth.

It's given that The Shopkeeper is the first of the Blue Robes order, as The Prophet says during the end of the game. However, despite this 1 caveat, I believe that The Shopkeeper is Ninja's Western Hero. (He can be the first of the Blue Robes order and Ninja's Western Hero via time travel shenanigans.)

There are 4 statues in the Tower of Time, each one represents a (presumably living?) Messenger. All of the other Messengers died or were driven insane, so they don't get the privilege of owning their own super-big-plot-important statues.
https://imgur.com/a/3GRoEHn

- The Shopkeeper has an archer statue that greatly resembles the Western Hero[i.imgur.com]. "THE BOWMAN" is inscribed in it.
- Monk has a statue with "QUEEN OF QUILLS" inscribed in it.
- Phantom has a statue with "THE CREATOR" inscribed in it, since he is the one who created the scroll and started the chain of events that would lead to the Blue Robes order.
- An unknown Messenger has a buff statue with "IRON HOOD" inscribed in it.

There are repeats of 3 of the statues in the final room, but the Bowman statue is not in that room. Its only location is specifically at The Shopkeeper's shop.

So anyways, The Shopkeeper arrived to Ninja's village, in the form of the Western Hero wearing a cool hat. Ninja was starstruck by the Shopkeeper's cool hat, and so Ninja got his own hat.

Ninja is the copycat, clearly.

[Shadowspaz]

To add to that, your character is supposed to take the place of the shopkeeper and support your own Messenger after completing the quest.

So it makes since if that "original" Western Hero we see became the shopkeeper to support his Messenger (you) as well.

[Nermanater]

I'm pretty sure at one point they mention that the shopkeeper was the oldest sage in the order, so it doesn't make sense that he's the most recent (before ninja) Messenger. The cutscene said that the tower of time was a joint effort.

[Soleil]

Originally posted by Shadowspaz:

To add to that, your character is supposed to take the place of the shopkeeper and support your own Messenger after completing the quest.

So it makes since if that "original" Western Hero we see became the shopkeeper to support his Messenger (you) as well.

I was initially going to mention the cycle, but the Shopkeeper is the first of the Blue Robes Order, and yet he was part of the Ninja's cycle, which was one of the later cycles from our perspective. And we also have Monk who was actually sent backwards in time, so it's not an exact chronological order of cycles.

But thematically it makes sense that it's Shopkeeper -> Ninja -> Space Marine Guy.

Originally posted by Nermanater:

I'm pretty sure at one point they mention that the shopkeeper was the oldest sage in the order, so it doesn't make sense that he's the most recent (before ninja) Messenger. The cutscene said that the tower of time was a joint effort.

Yes, I mentioned that in my post and that it most likely works due to time travel. And again, we have certain Messengers like Monk who were actually sent backwards in time, so it can still work if Messengers are sent to very specific periods of time.

[Soleil]

OH, I think that the archer statue is called BOWMAN. Dang, that should have been super-obvious.

I'll update the alphabet and pictures sometime later today.

[Soleil]

Also something that is not clear is how the cycle deals with failed Messengers.

The Western Hero chooses the next Messenger, so that Messenger goes on a journey to climb the mountain and summons the Tower of Time with the scroll.

However, the Shopkeeper mentions that not all Messengers survive the journey or are even worthy. If this were to occur, then how would the next demon crisis be handled in the next invasion in 500 years?

There would be an imbalance: less Western Heroes but many would-be Messengers. But as far as we know, it should be 1:1, where every Messenger is sent on the journey by 1 Western Hero.

So is Space Marine Guy really the first guy who broke the entire cycle?

One way to solve this would for those already initiated into the Blue Robes order to act as the Western Hero again, which is hinted by this quote.

Shopkeeper: Look, all I'm saying is, he's been carrying the scroll for a long time already, and it could be dangerous.
Prophet: It is exactly as was foretold in the visions. A born again Messenger will master time itself to end the curse by fighting in two cycles simultaneously.
Shopkeeper: I don't know, warping once to go to the future was risky enough, you think he can sustain doing that constantly?
Prophet: Well, unless YOU want to carry the scroll again, I don't see what other choice we have.
Shopkeeper: ...

This means that the Shopkeeper would be forced to fulfill the role as the Western Hero once again, which he is, quite fairly, reluctant to do.

-------

Ninja: I'm sorry what?
Shopkeeper: Ah yes, the big reveal! Indeed, my dear adventurer, you had been teleporting into this very room all along.
Ninja: So, where are we?
Shopkeeper: In the Tower of Time!
Ninja: And where is that?
Shopkeeper: Surely you mean WHEN? To be honest I don't really know, the tower is a device that travels through time. It manifests to test Messengers who are deemed worthy, in order to relocate them as needed.
Ninja: Where will it take me?
Shopkeeper: WHEN! It will take you to the time most in need of a Messenger. That is, if the tower doesn't kill you, of course.
Ninja: ...

So even though the demon crisis occurs every 500 years, successful Messengers wouldn't necessarily be relocated to the next chronological cycle (even though in Ninja's case he was relocated exactly 500 years later).

[Berto]

Originally posted by Soleil:

This means that the Shopkeeper would be forced to fulfill the role as the Western Hero once again, which he is, quite fairly, reluctant to do.

Well, it seems the Monk was cursed during the time The Bowman showed up to pass on the message to The Ninja. Perhaps Shopkeeper HAD to carry the scroll as The Bowman as the current messenger was cursed?

[JeffMakesGames]

I have an important question.

Because we didn't know we HAD to sent Quarble to save our messenger...

WHERE did our messenger die then??? I mean, Blue Robes Guy had to go retrieve the scroll. How was that not dangerous for them to do???

No easter egg for us to find our missing/dead messenger?

[Berto]

It is known that each messenger has their own version of Quarble. So it is entirely poosible we never meet gun messenger's death fairy. And it is possible that he never got one, or was simply captured? I'm hoping these details were left out for another installment. :)