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"Saints and Martyrs" is the final mission in Saints Row.[1] It consists of only a cutscene, named "Salting the Earth".

Yo, could you speed this shit up? I wanna go to Freckle Bitch's...
Playa, in reply to Alderman Richard Hughes' exposition.

Overview[]

Playa receives a phone call from Alderman Richard Hughes after the events of the previous mission.[2] With Marshall Winslow and Chief Monroe dead, Hughes would like to meet Playa aboard his yacht during a fundraiser later that day to set things straight; Hughes says he believes they can have a healthy relationship, and even promises that Julius Little will be there.[3]

That night, Playa finally meets the Alderman - Monroe's associate - but everything is not quite what it seems. Hughes begins by thanking Playa for handing him the election; Hughes knew that there was no way he could beat Marshall Winslow, which is why he asked Chief Monroe to strongarm the 3rd Street Saints into killing Winslow. Hughes further thanks Playa for killing Monroe shortly afterwards, thereby casting any negative attention off of Hughes and onto the 3rd Street Saints.

Hughes plans to use the events of Saints Row to his advantage: his Saint's Row urban renewal plan was originally criticized as displacing poor people, but is now being lauded as destroying a hotbed of gang activity. He describes the public as "fickle". Hughes believes there are only two types of people in the world: winners and losers. To be a winner, he believes he must level Saint's Row and "salt the earth", thus removing the last gang in Stilwater and gaining the support of the public as mayor of the city.

During his speech, a final montage is given on some of the residents of Stilwater: Johnny Gat is sleeping, with Aisha sitting on the side of the bed, Luz Avalos is musing standing on a bridge, Benjamin King is lost in thought leaning on a car, and Donnie is once more sitting on Lin's Voxel.

Hughes then threatens Playa; he knows the Saints second-in-command cannot be reasoned with or paid off, so Hughes decides to have Playa killed. As he says this, Julius Little, who was looking at the yacht from across the river, walks away, staring at his watch. Troy, alone, turns over a badge, revealing himself to be an undercover police officer in the gang. Finally, Hughes jokes about thanking Playa in his acceptance speech, but as he is about to leave for his party and leave Playa at the mercy of his bodyguards, the yacht suddenly explodes, ending the game.[4]

During the credits, Jack Armstrong and Jane Valderamma give one final newscast as the game ends, leaving the events to be continued in Saints Row 2, starting with "Jailbreak".

Story[]

The following text has been transcribed verbatim from the game files. Usually, these can be read in-game upon completion of a Mission or Stronghold by pausing the game at any time during gameplay, going to the 'INFO' tab, and selecting 'Story'. However, as the game returns to the main menu after completing the mission, this can only be seen via the game files.[5][6]


The call from Alderman Hughes regarding the recent death of Police Chief Monroe isn't sitting well. Being the only gang left in town, perhaps Hughes thinks he can buy your loyalty. Or perhaps he just wants to threaten the Saints into leaving. Regardless of his motives, you've fought hard to run this city and nobody will stand in your way...[6]

Gameplay[]

The final mission in Saints Row has no gameplay; however, there is a phone call from Alderman Richard Hughes before the mission marker is unlocked in Brighton, and there is a prompt to save the game on the way down the stairs to the yacht.[7]

As there is no gameplay portion, it is not possible to fail this mission.

After the cutscene, the credits play. After the credits, the game returns to the title screen. There is no "after the mission" gameplay in Saints Row, as Playa was caught in the yacht explosion. Free roaming is possible by loading the save. This mission marker remains on the map, but it is not required for 100% Completion.

Newscast[]

This newscast plays during the credits.

Jack Armstrong: "This just in to the newsroom, a deadly explosion has rocked the waterfront. Our Jane Valderamma is already at the scene."
Jane Valderamma: "Jack, waterfront residents and the press, who were setting up their cameras and microphones to cover the gala fund-raiser scheduled for mayoral candidate's Hughes' campaign, were treated to an amazing site a few moments ago as the yacht registered to the alderman exploded in a shower of brass and mahogany. We were a safe distance away so no one here was injured, as far as we can tell, but we have no word as to who - if anyone - was actually aboard. We don't know how this happened, why this happened, or even who was on the boat - if anyone - as no survivors have been located. I was inside the press tent when it happened, but witnesses outside say that the peaceful, serene evening was suddenly punctured by a viscous explosion that not only reduced the alderman's yacht to a pile of floating debris, but knocked out windows and swamped smaller boats throughout the marina. Jack."
Jack Armstrong: "Jane, while you were giving that report we attempted to contact Alderman Hughes' press secretary, and there was no answer. Do we know where the alderman is?"
Jane Valderamma: "No we do not, Jack. I've asked around and no one from the press cord noticed any official movement on the boat, as it's early in the evening and the event was not scheduled to begin for another couple of hours."
Jack Armstrong: "Do we know if this was an accident, or yet another attempt on the life of a public official?"
Jane Valderamma: "Jack, we don't have any definitive answers on that, and with almost no details emerging yet, we still do not know if this was something as silly as a galley or a fuel tank explosion... but in the light of recent events, we cannot rule out the possibility that this was more than just an accident. Reporting live from the waterfront, this is Jane Valderamma. Back to you, Jack."
Jack Armstrong: "Thank you, Jane, and stay dry. Stay tuned as we get more details on this unfolding event, we will bring them to you immediately. In the newsroom, I'm Jack Armstrong."

Trivia[]

  • Unlike Battlefield Promotion, Saints and Martyrs is structured as a mission, albeit a mission which contains only a cutscene, named "Salting the Earth".
  • As with all Missions in Saints Row, the titlecard when starting the mission is the name of the opening cutscene. "Salting the Earth" is the name of the cutscene, while the mission is called "Saints and Martyrs". The mission's name itself is not displayed in-game, and can only be discovered through viewing or modifying the game files.[1]
  • Salting the earth is an old ritual of spreading salt on conquered or destroyed cities to symbolize a curse on anyone who dared to rebuild it.
  • It is poetic justice that Alderman Hughes dies on the yacht immediately after telling Playa that the latter would die on there.
  • During the cutscene, Donnie is sitting in Lin's Voxel rather than his own Quasar - the same Voxel that was pushed into the sea by William Sharp whilst Playa and Lin were still inside, and thus the same Voxel that Lin died in.[8] In Saints Row 2, Donnie has a unique Voxel himself,[9] meaning it may be Lin's Voxel, simply resprayed.
  • The loading screen when starting a new game in Saints Row 2 shows Playa diving from the yacht explosion.[10]
  • This mission is particularly referenced in the penultimate mission of Saints Row 2, "Salting the Earth...Again", in which Playa decides to raid a yacht carrying Ultor executives. Pierce sarcastically quips about how his boss' "history with boats is pretty solid".
  • In Saints Row: The Third, Playa randomly says "Just salting the earth" when destroying things.[11]
  • This mission does not require Respect to play, along with "Canonized", "Back to Basics, "Stuffing the Ballot" and "Hail to the Chief".
  • This is Benjamin King's last appearance until the Saints Row IV mission, "The Saints Wing".
  • This mission is the only truly optional mission in the series, as it is not possible to save the game after completing it.
  • If a car is driven down the stairs, saving the game when prompted causes Playa to stand on top of the car, unable to move or drive, but the Enter Vehicle button still works.
  • The game files contain a decal with the name of the yacht as "Hughes' Mistake", but this decal is not used in-game.[12]
  • There is an invisible barrier all the way around the yacht, but the boat itself is a full structure which can be walked around normally if the barrier is bypassed.
  • The yacht is not present at the dock until after Battlefield Promotion.
  • Using the save prompt before the mission saves to a unique location outside the Saints Row Loft.[13] Saving the game manually uses the King Penthouse, as it is the closest Save Point.
  • The cutscene starts at 23:01.
  • The mission file calls the function "achievement_award()", which is not used anywhere else, but this mission does not award an achievement.
  • The mission file contains an unused command to display the mission complete screen.[14]
  • The mission file contains an unused warp command to return Playa to the dock after the mission.[15]
  • Editing the mission file to delay starting the cutscene shows the mission name as normal.[15]
  • Editing the mission file to remove the function to return to the main menu allows continuing to play with the mission completed. This results in Saints and Martyrs being added to Theaters as normal,[16] the Story summary being added to the Info tab of the pause menu,[17] and saving shows the save file at 101% Completion.[18]
    • If the unused warp command is not enabled when disabling the return to main menu function, Playa is teleported to the 0,0 coordinates, located near Raykins Hotel.

Transcript[]

Gameplay[]

Hello young man, this is Alderman Hughes. That was quite a message you sent at Winslow's funeral...and trust me, I heard it loud and clear. Now I'd like to set one thing straight...it was Monroe's plan to strong arm the Saints; personally I've always thought you and I could have a much healthier relationship. Now, we've had a rocky start, yes but why don't we fix that. Come over to my fundraiser tonight, Julius will be there and between the three of us I'm sure we can work something out.
— Richard Hughes, in a phone call after completing the previous mission, Hail to the Chief

"Salting the Earth" cutscene[]

Bodyguard: "Your guest is here, Mr. Hughes."
Richard Hughes: "Thanks Steven, if you don't mind could you wait outside?"
Richard Hughes: "I'm Richard Hughes, it's a pleasure to meet the man who handed me the election."
Richard Hughes: "No need to be modest, I'm serious. There's no way I could have beaten Marshall Winslow, God rest his soul, but you made the impossible happen, and for that I can't thank you enough."
Richard Hughes: "I mean, had Winslow been the only person killed, attention would have definitely been cast on me, but after that fireworks display you pulled at his funeral, it's become abundantly clear these horrible crimes were perpetrated by the 3rd Street Saints."
Richard Hughes: "While before, people criticized my Saint's Row urban renewal plan, it is now being lauded. See, until you came along, I was displacing poor people. Now I'm destroying a hotbed of gang activity. What can I say, the public is fickle... champagne?"
Richard Hughes: "As you get older you quickly learn that there are only two types of people in this world... race, money, gender, none of this matters. At the end of the day you're either a winner or a loser. Now, the sad truth about our situation is that in order for me to be a winner I have to level your neighborhood and salt the earth."
Richard Hughes: "Hold on for a moment, Steven, could you come in here?"
Richard Hughes: "Where was I? Oh yes, salting the earth."
Richard Hughes: "I suppose I could try to pay you off, but really what's the point? You'd just say no, or in your case, stand there looking intimidating, and we'd be right back where we started. So I figured I'd cut the middle man and get right to the point."
Playa: "Yo, could you speed this shit up? I wanna go to Freckle Bitch's..."
Richard Hughes: "You're going to die here son, make no mistake about that... but if it makes it any easier on you, I'll be sure to thank you in my acceptance speech. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a party to attend."
Hughes looks around as a bomb beeps before detonating
— "Salting the Earth" cutscene

Audio[]

Playa's line (Caucasian and Asian)
Playa's line (African American)
Playa's line (Hispanic)

Gallery[]

Richard Hughes Yacht

Richard Hughes Yacht

Hughes' Mistake decal

Hughes' Mistake decal

Salting the Earth Alderman Richard Hughes

Alderman Richard Hughes

Salting the Earth Julius Little

Julius Little

Salting the Earth Troy

Troy Bradshaw

Salting the Earth Yacht explosion close

The yacht explodes

Salting the Earth - Yacht after explosion

The destroyed yacht

Salting the Earth credits

The credits begin to roll and the story of Saints Row comes to an end

Jailbreak loading screen

The loading screen after starting a new game in Saints Row 2 shows Playa diving from the yacht explosion

Saints and Martyrs - save location after prompt

Saints and Martyrs - save location after prompt

Saints and Martyrs - modded game to show mission completed screen

Modded game to show mission completed screen

Saints and Martyrs - modded game to show mission name and post-mission teleport location

Modded game to show mission name and post-mission teleport location

Saints and Martyrs - modded game to show save file

Modded game to show save file

Saints and Martyrs - modded game to show Story

Modded game to show Story

Saints and Martyrs - modded game to show mission at Theater

Modded game to show mission at Theatre


References[]


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