» Killer8 Mode

Killer8 is the hardest mode in the game and is unlocked once either normal or hard mode has been cleared. Another character is also unlocked - a younger Harman Smith, who proves to be quite handy in taking down large numbers of Heaven Smiles with his machine gun. :D

» Differences

These are the main differences I've noticed in Killer8 thus far:

• You unlock and can now use young Harman Smith - a Killer8 exclusive.
  
• All of the Smith personalities except young Harman Smith die in one hit.
  
• Depending on the persona's maximum vitality level, it usually takes all 5 vials of thin blood to fully heal a personality.
  
• Enemies have higher vitality. Even the common kind of Heaven Smile takes about 8 shots to kill at the start of the game. (so, at Lv 0)
  
• You can only carry a maximum of 5 vials of thin blood.
  
• Critical spots no longer show up on Heaven Smiles - so this makes it tougher to get thick blood. However, you can still get a bit by shooting off their limbs and head, or aim for the places where critical spots would usually be - head/neck, arm, leg.
  
• Bosses become harder to beat as their attack rates increase and they're faster. Luckily the damage they deal won't kill a persona in one hit, though still, they deal quite a bit of damage.
  
• Puzzles are presented differently, though the solutions remain the same.
  
• No icons show up on the map at all. This includes: hints for what abilities and rings to use, carrier pigeon locations, save spots and Harman's room locations.
  
• Duplicator and Mother Smiles, who usually have yellow cores are now ALL replaced with RED ones. Dan's collateral shot is the only attack that can effectively destroy them.
  
• Whenever you talk to Hyun Yoon, the mask he holds will automatically absorb some of your (precious) thick blood. So be careful not to go in his direction if you don't need to get info from him.

» A new personality will awaken

Age: 30
Nationality: American
Weapon: Tommy gun/machine gun
Magazine rounds: 50
Special attack: n/a
Special ability: n/a
Vitality: Highest
Critical kill catchphrase: Touché
Voice Actor: Dwight Schultz

Like old Harman Smith and Garcian, young Harman can't be leveled up (so he stays at Level 0), and also has no special attacks and abilities. He makes up for this though, as he has the highest vitality, a fast firing rate and 50 rounds of ammo, so he can take down a horde of Heaven Smiles with ease. His reload and running speeds aren't the fastest, but this won't leave you at a disadvantage (in my opinion).

Young Harman is added to the list of Smith personalities, so the list of selectable Smith personalities increases to 7, and he can also be used right from the start. He proves to be quite essential in Killer8, especially at the start, largely due to his fast firing rate, magazine capacity and high vitality. He's good to use against a few of the bosses, too.

 » More young Harman pics can be found in the Killer7 gallery.

» Gameplay

Here's some gameplay I recorded to demonstrate what young Harman Smith is like in action:

640x480 - 10.8MB
320x240 - 7.74MB

I've recorded all of Target 00: Angel to show what the difficulty in Killer8 is like at the start. This is played without saving and with all personalities at Level 0. I'm not a pro at this game, and these gameplay vids are to serve as a guide for the most part :)

Part One - 26.3 MB (320x240/small)
Part Two - 27.7 MB
Part Three - 29 MB
Part Four (final) - 19.1 MB

Some notes:

- Like I mention in the boss strategy section, Kaede is the best (in my opinion) for this boss fight. Though, it might be a good idea to up her waver level a notch, for as you can see in the vid, her waver at Lv 0 is pretty wonky, making it tricky to get a steady aim at the masks on the Angel's back.
- I miss a room in the area where the dial to unlock the door is (it's the section where there's writing on the wall in blood). All that's in that room is a Flower Smile, that holds a decent amount of thick blood. Travis is also in that room.
- Lastly, please ignore my missing Kun Lan's hand...orz

Alternatively, these vids can be found on my Youtube channel.