Hoy folks, Spartan here with another addition to the coveted Game Trade, Where Mr. Cosmia and I give each other games to play and then comment on. Last time I had to contend with one of the toughest games I have ever played, what do I have to do this time?

Oh, this’ll work.

AI Somnium files is a Spike Chunsoft game (same people who made the 13 Sentinels game that I reviewed a while back) that is the direct sequel to the first game, Somnium Files (Which I also played for the game trade before Mr. Cosmia and I started publishing these things). It takes place in a world where there is a special bureau of police that are capable of entering into a person’s dreams to learn information that they are either trying to hide or are unaware of themselves. To do this, they use A.I. Balls, small eyeball like robotic devices with a generated form that can serve as an avatar in a person’s dream. There’s a lot of raunchy humor, familiar VAs and a complicated story to this game, so let’s get into it.

Oh, and before I forget, all images are taken from Joseph Anderson’s playthrough of A.I. on YouTube, I’d provide a link to the channel, but I don’t know how to attach it to a word.

The Story

The game begins with a introduction of sorts, revolving around a gameshow where important details are explained through it, chief among them being whether you’ve played the first game. It’s actually pretty clever, as the game can function on it’s own narrative but having previous understanding on who everyone is and their relation really helps. They even have a response to the answer you provide if it’s “technically” correct.\

Once you get through the introduction, things get wierd, as all the blank humanoid figures start to split apart, causing Ryuki to freak the **** out.

After that bit of nightmare field, we cut to a stadium in the midst of a brief snow squall. Mizuki enters the field, looking drastically different than the first game. It isn’t long until Aiba chimes in and alerts her to a person hiding out in the stands, where the first bit of gameplay is demonstrated: quick time events.

Since the mysterious masked person is equipped with a sniper rifle, Mizuki must dodge or deflect the bullets alla The Matrix’s bullet-time lest you get a game over. Initially, the prompts are simple one button presses but as the game goes on they’ll demand more combinations. After firing a stun round from her evolver (basically a very advanced handgun), Mizuki is able to ward off her assailant and continue onwards. In the center of the stadium, Mizuki finds half a body of a man that she ID’s as Jin Furue, remembering events of the game show she was partaking in.

In any case, as the game show goes on, the lights turn off and all of a sudden, half of a dead body is dropped onto the ground. To everyone’s shock, it spontaneously combusts. This event traumatizes some and functions as the inciting incident in what would go on to be known as the “half body killings”, serial murders that focus around half of a body found (duh) with it being cleanly sliced in half straight down the middle. The severed half would be placed on the ground and leave no blood or entrails, implying that it was drained pre-emptively.

Back to the present, the half body in the stadium is now part of an official crime scene, with detectives around the body that can provide bits of information. One important detail that one of them shares is that Mizuki has taken Date’s surname now, forgoing the Okiura name. Honestly a great change for the better if you ask me, the Okiura’s were a bunch of pricks. I could go on, but I’ll just skip ahead to the point where Ryuki’s route ends, as a lot of important details happen there.

Kizuna goes missing, and everyone is searching for her. Ryuki eventually figures out after psynching with Iris that she’ll be executed “in the abyss of nine x’s” (which is really just the Naixatloz Japan branch basement. Without a moment to spare, Ryuki calls Date and tells him to head for the basement. When he arrives, Date is there as promised, but Gen, Lien and Mizuki are also present.

Eventually, Naix members come out of the woodwork and assault the on the fly posse, but are able to be overtaken in spite of the numbers advantage. Lien rushes to Kizzy’s side at the top of the steps, but everything grinds to a halt when Tearer shows up. He warns them to stay put and not move a muscle, otherwise…

After a brief dialogue between the heroes and villain, Tearer gives Ryuki an order: use the live rounds in his gun to kill Date, or he will detonate the thermite. He has until the count of 10 to shoot Date, which he ultimately can’t do, which leads Tearer to triggering the explosion. Chaos ensues as the cathedral collapses around them. Lien, Ryuki and Gen survive with nary a scratch, but Kizuna and Mizuki aren’t so lucky. The former was crushed beneath Gen and the falling rubble, and Mizuki’s left eye is bleeding internally. Date himself though, is worse for wear as the rubble has him pinned down with no means of escape. Without a second thought, he gives Ryuki Aiba’s A.I ball, telling Ryuki to run while he still can. More of the ceiling collapses, with a large chunk falling squarely onto Date. Ryuki screams in despair and the credits roll.

The Characters

Just like it’s predecessor, Nirvana makes a point to keep the characters consistent throughout, even with the new cast. While I won’t talk about all of them (we’ll be here for days at this point) I’ll only talk about a few that I think stand out, and leave the rest of critiques of ones not discussed in area rankings. First and foremost: Kuruto Ryuki

One of two main characters and the one that you primarily play as for the first half of the game. According to Mr. Cosmia, when he first played the game he saw a lot of similarities between myself and him, which I can kind of see. There’s a scene where Ryuki mentions that he hates the evil in the world, and wishes to purge it in all it’s forms. While I haven’t said anything like that, I do have a rather black and white view of the world at the time. What can I say? I’ve been a victim of circumstances dictated by those in a higher authority who very well could’ve gotten there through underhanded tactics, haven’t we all? Driven by the death of his little brother, he went on to become a detective and became a psyncer, gouging out his left eye and replacing it with an AI-Ball. He looks up to Kaname Date (the protagonist from the first game) and tries to be the straight man in the room even when there’s no one else around. But all the maturity in his head goes out the window when he blacks out at random points, speaking in intelligible speech and freaking out anyone unfortunate enough to be present.

After the timeskip, his behavior had gotten worse, constantly doubting himself and regretting letting the culprit slip away when in the underground facility. His paranoia and instability even led to him pulling a gun on a civilian dressed as a mascot at an amusement park, which I’m not sure if that’s more on him for not thinking clearly enough to realize how much of a bad idea that is, or ABIS for letting him walk around with a weapon while under that state. Probably both now that I think about it.

Though of course, Ryuki wouldn’t be able to get anything done without the aid of his A.I Tama, voiced by the elusive voice actress Anairis Quiñones

There was a throwaway line in the first game that the AI-Ball’s avatars are reflective of the person’s subconscious choosing (literally the form you’re most comfortable trope in full effect) and this is the form Ryuki subconsciously resonates with the most: A stern dominatrix. Some people praise her as the quote-on-quote “best girl” of the game, but I just don’t see it, and while those opinions are valid, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that they’re incorrect. Tama is there to ground Ryuki and get him to focus when his attention wavers, as well as providing him with telecommunication support (calling people, providing almost instant information at Ryuki’s request) and in certain points, driving him around places in his car. While similar to Aiba in the sense that they’re both highly advanced machines, they’re still different enough (for example, Aiba is a good singer, Tama is not) to the point she doesn’t feel like Aiba 2.0.

The other half of the story is focused around Mizuki Date (formerly Okiura), a supporting protagonist from the previous game given center stage after the timeskip.

Very similar to Mr. Cosmia’s half of the trade, the theme for this pairing is the passing of the torch to the next generation to solve the world’s problems and Mizuki does this for Date in Nirvana initiative. The daughter of Renju and Shoko Okiura, she is blessed with the wealth of them and herculean strength strong enough to shake the very ground she walks upon. After the cyclops killing in the first game, both of her parents were killed (honestly good riddance, both were @&*holes in different ways) and she was formally adopted by Date. At only twelve years old, she has lent her strength to her friends and proved to be a very adept combatant when the need arises.

Unfortunately, during an investigation into the half body serial killings, Date is taken out of the field, leaving behind Aiba who was damaged when the room collapsed. Six years later, Mizuki has joined ABIS as a special agent, with Aiba as her AI-Ball to assist in the investigation. And honestly? this is a decision I can get behind.

And speaking of, I can’t leave this section without talking about the AI-Ball that started it all: Aiba, voiced by the ever talented Erika Harlacher.

Throughout the HB case, Aiba separated herself from Date due to an argument they were having, and after his disappearance Mizuki took up the mantle and partnered with her. She’s the same Aiba as the first game: Still quick to chastise Date at any opportunity and goes into fanatics at the sight of any insect. Her rapport with Mizuki is also a drastic change, being more supportive of her than Date but still call her out. A good example is the many times where stealth is required for the mission, but Mizuki always ends up getting caught in those instances. She’s fun, no complaints here but if I had to choose someone as best girl, it’s not going to be the A.I that lives inside someone’s eye socket.

Another character I enjoyed was Moma Kumakura, the local yakuza head and honestly, one of the most hilarious characters in the series.

Moma’s whole schtick is that while he is a Yakuza head, he doesn’t act like one. Not that he doesn’t have an arsenal of weapons and followers (he does), but the way he goes about his business is quite contrary to what one typically imagines when picturing a Japanese mafia leader. He’s a legitimate buisnessman, treating the family more as a guys club than an organized syndicate predicated on illegal activities. Hell, he organizes trips to the aquarium and other field outings on their days off, that’s as anti-yakuza as one could get. Due to his connections and strength (he is a yakuza after all) he comes in handy whenever protagonists need dirt on influential individuals or get in a scrap. That and Kaiji Tang’s performance really nails the “gritty mob boss” persona to a tee, full marks across the board.

And then there’s a character that I’m on the fence about, that being Osamu Oishi, or Mama as she prefers to be called.

Now, I’m going to get this out of the way, I am not really the best person to talk about LGTBQ+ topics. I know OF them, and my general stance is this: So long as you don’t harm anyone/any living thing, your life choices are your own and I won’t stand in your way. That being said, while I don’t speak on their behalf I am cognizant of the way that people treat them and how media often portrays them. And when it comes to Japan’s take on these issues…..

Now this is where I know I might get some flak, especially from Mr. Cosmia but I’m going to say it: Japan gets away with too much. They have a tendency to depict those of other cultures according to stereotypes (good or bad) and more often than not those portrayals aren’t flattering to those they’re trying to represent. Japan as a whole characterizes Americans, for example as having blonde hair, long noses and constantly chugging soda (specifically, Coca Cola) and other unhealthy foods . Now while I don’t have blonde hair or drink soda, that doesn’t matter in this case. No, what matters is how Japanese media portrays those in the LGTBQ+ community, and the answer is….. good and… bad?

Japan’s society as a whole is very dependent on insular social conformity: that is, you’re expected to behave yourself in society and do so without making waves. If you don’t stand out and follow the strict public etiquitte, everything will be fine. But for those who choose to act different (even something as simple as dying your hair or getting a tattoo) is considered a nonconformist and in a society heavily built around blending in and having a nuclear family (husband, wife, two kids) that’s a major issue. Some games like game trade progenitor Persona 5 have LGBTQ representation that isn’t exactly positive (there’s a reoccurring gay couple that in the original drag Ryuji (a straight minor) away from the main character and do “things” with him). As for Mama in Somnium files?

She’s alright.

The cast treat her with kindness and respect, doubly so as she’s an information broker of sorts. Tons of disreputable characters frequent her bar and let slip some of their activities, which Date can use for his investigations when relayed by Mama. They do have her act like a fortune teller, perpetually rubbing two crystal balls and making the same joke over and over (It’s basically Mama asks a question, then does a fake voice to answer it, she then gets possessed and gives an actually useful response to the inquiry). I guess it isn’t bad representation, but is it good? whose to say?

Area Ranking

Now, due to the unique nature of the game being split down two routes, I’m going to this a bit differently with two lists, one for Ryuki’s somniums and another with Mizuki’s. The best of each is the last of each list, with the worst being the first one.

#6: Ryuki’s Worst Somnium: Naixzatloz’s Intentions

As far as Somnium’s go, this one is weird. It’s the dream world from Tokiko Shigure, a woman with a very… interesting worldview. The general gist is that you have to dive deeper and deeper into the somnium (quite literally as there are times where gravity is turned off and you dive downwards akin to being submerged in water). Due to the trial and error gameplay of somniums, you have to try various things to see if you can make progress. And this results in quite a lot of trial and error. There’s so many rooms filled with too many books and eyes and symbolism that it makes my head hurt.

It doesn’t help that the person who created this somnium is Tokiko Shigure, a character who as the story goes on, proves to be a very unstable piece on the metaphorical chess board. What she does for the sake of achieving Moksha is something to be feared, and given the lengths that her followers go through for her is outright cultish. If I ever replay this game, this will be one of the moments I’ll dread doing. The time limit is very unforgiving and three times I ran out the clock by interacting with the wrong things.

#5: Nefarious Institute:

The second worst for Ryuki is the first true somnium that he explores, and like Tokiko’s it’s very weird, but in a way that works in its favor. The whole gist of Chikara is that he’s obsessed with humanity’s evolution and wholeheartedly believes with every fiber of his being that his research can eliminate disease and death itself from the world, which as a scientist (does having a degree and working in a dinghy lab make you a scientist?) even I think that’s a load of hogwash. So to this end, his somnium revolves around a computer that allows you to fuse two halves of different individuals of vastly separate backgrounds together and infusing Tama with the attributes they both possess. For example, combining a fisherman’s ability to cast out a line mixed with a gambler’s luck guarantees that it will catch something.

As the game goes on though, Chikara like his somnium is revealed to be hiding some very dark secrets. What they are becomes clearer as the game goes on and I imagine replaying this somnium with them in mind would color it differently. But I went in blind and just encountered a very strange dream where a man obsessively tries to create optimal people.

#4: Nearly Interesting

Amame Doi was a minor character in the previous game, solely existing for Kaname Date to gawk over her clavicles (yes, really) and be fanservice for Ota as she’s dressed as a maid in the Sunfish Pocket (a maid café with an underwater theme and seafood menu), but the sequel not only gives her more to do, but gives her a somnium to explore. Having just met the killer who recently killed Minecraft Steve, she is understandably terrified and reluctant to talk about what she saw, but since this is a world where she doesn’t even have to say anything to confess, it’s somnium time!

Taking place on a gameshow that is underwater (or at least appears to be with reflecting light and bubbles everywhere) Ryuki and Tama have to solve questions and clues to get the prize they seek: the information Doi isn’t telling them about her run in with Tearer. The whole setup is simple, but it’s interesting to see that this is one of very few times in a somnium where characters directly address the A.I (in this case, Tama) if only because of obligation (as a quiz show, the contestants have to be asked questions to be considered participants). Without giving much away, the questions asked as bizarre as they might seem do serve a narrative purpose later on, so it’s a handy Chekov’s gun and not just the game being weird.

I also have to mention the fact that everyone in the somnium is a terrible actor. They speaks in a monotone voice and are unimpressed with everything and anything that is happening. It’s even more noticeable with the fact that it’s Andes Komeji, Mizuki and Iris, three characters with larger than life personalities boiled down to what can be best described as bored convenience store worker. And from a psychological standpoint, I find that interesting. Is it Amame’s subconscious telling her that everyone’s personality is an act? perhaps it’s a commentary on how game shows are rigged and heavily scripted to the point of being inauthentic to what really happens. The game never gives a concrete reason and I don’t think any of the characters even acknowledge it. It’s kept purposefully vague and I like that.

#3: Nested Insecurities

Shoma Enda is the son of Andes Komeji, a down on his luck comedian with whom he lives with in a very small house. He also shows some blatant signs of being on the autism spectrum (special interest to the point of hyperfixation, selectively ignoring questions, poor social skills) which I’ll admit isn’t something I enjoy seeing in games. My feelings towards the disorder are very complicated, as I too have it (a mild case, but that’s the thing with a spectrum disorder, it’s not clear cut) but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. in media it’s either done really well (like the stop motion film Mary and Max) or really poorly (Sia’s Music) and in this case it’s thankfully more the former than the latter. Shoma gets on my nerves not because of his disability, but more to the point of him deliberately making the investigation harder with his reluctance to say what he knows. But just like Doi, we don’t need a subpoena, we can just use the somnium!.

Taking place in the Enda household, the main problem that is focused on is getting to the root of Shoma’s issues with his parental figure. In school, kids would bully him for his father’s lameness and unfunny jokes, which led to him closing himself off to the world, despising it and making his own world that’s more suited to his tastes. And honestly, that part is very relatable to me. I choose to play video games in my free time as a form of escapism because let’s be real: life sucks. Even without factoring in politics and current events a person’s individual life can be very stressful, boring and needlessly difficult. I currently work a job that I hate, but stay at because I can’t do what I want to do right now due to the poor job market. So it’s very appealing to me to become someone with extraordinary powers, lead an army or meet otherworldly creatures as I am the one in control of that situation, no one else. It’s also because of that interest that I made friends with Mr. Cosmia, and am able to write this blog post, so even something that can distract from reality can do some good in a person’s life.

Anyways, Shoma’s somnium has numerous layers to it, beginning in the house with a grey filter to it. Everything looks dull and uninteresting, with muted colors everywhere save for a few things (Shoma’s robot model on the shelf and a 1/16th scale model of the house situated on the coffee table) that have their regular color schemes, which I believe is indicative of their importance to Shoma himself. Once the model is inspected, you’re transported to Shoma’s “world”, which is the same house but everything is more vibrant and colorful. his world is more vibrant because it’s his fantasy, and even though it’s the exact same as the real world it has more life because it’s his design. This all eventually accumulates in a Toy Story esque final section of the Somnium where the already small Tama is shrunken to minifigure size.

#2: Nemesis Identified

Iris Sagan is a returning character from the first game. She’s many things, an idol, a streamer, daughter of best girl from the original game, and the object of affection for many characters, most of whom are far too old to for her and if this were the U.S, they’d all be on a list. She was also the subject of many somniums due to her integral role in the mystery of the first game, but here she gets one somnium and it’s a real treat. Due to her career of streaming games, her somniums are parodies of popular games that were released a few years before the A.I game. Last time it was a Minecraft parody called Shovelforge, and now it’s a Pokemon Go parody called Kusemon! Back when the game released in 2016, it was insanely popular with fans new and old taking to the streets and attempting to catch them all. In A.I though, you’re not catching Pikachu or Kabuto, but rather characters from A.I. plus a few extras. The battle system is simplistic to the point of absurdity, as anything complex as type matchups, abilities and stats are boiled away to just four tiers of rarity: Common, Rare, Super Rare and Super Super Rare. HP varies from kusemon to kusemon but what matters most is effectiveness. Certain characters will do more damage to others often to the point of one shotting them, like Boss.

Using her special against any political figure will instantly win the match with her special skill “blackmail”. But none of that matters if you get the one kusemon that breaks the game: F

F is the most powerful Kusemon, being practically unkillable with 99 Hp and having only one move: Null. Null does NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE damage to the opponent, guaranteeing victory against anything you encounter. His power knows no bounds, and victory in the already absurdly easy somnium is assured. Honestly, it’s another amazing somnium that not only advances the story, but also references a pop culture phenomenon that hardly anyone alive hasn’t heard of. I approve. But it ultimately doesn’t hold a candle to…

#1: Need Info

Mr. Cosmia likely knew this was taking the top slot in the Ryuki route, for many reasons. Chief among them is that whilst we do these trades, we exchange messages about what we encounter as the game goes on. Some of it involves advice, but most of it are funny encounters that we come across. And before I even went into the somnium, I KNEW that it was going to be good before it even started, because of the events that preceeded it.

To set the scene, Tama and Ryuki set out for Horadori Institute to investigate it again, when they realize they’re not alone in the room, for behind what I can only assume is a giant column of piss is Minecraft Ste-I mean Andes Komeji.

You know, I could call Komeji by his name, but I think this review will be funnier if I commit to the bit of calling him Steve so I’m going to do that. Steve has taken a break from exploring the overworld and when questioned by moderators, doesn’t want to answer any question honestly as to why he’s in a sketchy lab near midnight all alone hiding behind a giant vial of urine.

Thermal imaging reveals that his blocky *** is lying, but it all comes to a head when it is revealed that this Steve is not playing vanilla Minecraft, he’s playing modded and he’s packing heat.

Even if this is a vanilla server where hacks aren’t allowed, moderator Ryuki is granted X-ray for the express purpose of catching cheaters. Not wanting to get banned from the server for hacking in a piece, Steve decides to ingest a potion of swiftness and dash away in what can only be described as the most hilarious chase sequence ever put in a video game. His exaggerated facial expressions and cartoonish gestures running away had me in stitches when I first saw it, I nearly asphyxiated from laughing too hard.

His attempt at escape failed, and he is thrown into hysterics, leading to Ryuki having to use the last tool at his disposal: The Psync machine. This results in psyching with him to reveal what he knows, leading to one last image that sent me over the edge.

…….

This journey that Mr. Cosmia and I have been on has been very long and fraught with many experiences. Some good, some bad with both of us having an underlying, unspoken agreement of understanding. But THIS was where I absolutely lost it. There is no way, there is NO WAY that dinky little VR headset is fitting on his face. In a game where sentient A.I is made small enough to reside in a person’s eye sockets, I draw the line at this image. Mr. Cosmia posits that it can be adjusted to fit the shape of a person’s head akin to headphones, but that doesn’t seem possible. In any case, Ryuki uses his moderator powers to view Steve’s inventory and find out what he’s hiding, and whether or not the man deserves to be permabanned for hacking (that’s the last minecraft joke, I swear).

Komeji’s somnium takes place on the rooftop amusement park that he frequently took Shoma, and Tama takes on the role of an assistant director with cue cards to tell the cube-shaped comedian what to do. Not only does this mark one of the few times an A.I. is directly addressed by the characters in the somnium (as one sided as the conversations are) each time it happens you’re given more backstory on Komeji. He quit his day job in pursuit of his dreams of being a comedian, though that has unfortunately not panned out well for him. He gets one show a month, and walks away with 5,000 yen (about 31 USD, give or take currency value) which is barely enough. And even when he has an audience, not a lot of people will pay attention to him. He ends up debt being a consignee on a loan that the stranger ran out on him (despite telling the man not to run out on him). After getting deeper in debt due to rising interest, the Chau Chau loan company comes to him and threatens that “they’ll get his family involved” if he can’t pay. This results in Komeji making one of two choices:

• A: Get the money by doing jobs for the local yakuza branch to pay off the money that he owes OR
• B: Protect Shouma from the seedy loan sharks

Either option results in going down a different path, which of course reveals more truths to the story that you wouldn’t see otherwise. One thing though that I do like about this somnium is the way it conveys Komeji’s inner psyche. Everything is painted in a saccarine, pastel color palette with endless balloons rising into the atmosphere like a children’s fantasy, but there’s a black circle around Tama as she walks that removes all color within it. Areas that once had color are monochrome, and the silhouette people that often populate the somniums disappear in it. While it isn’t acknowledged in game, I think this is a way of showing that Komeji himself doubts his capabilities to be a successful comedian. He’s a black hole of comedy, sucking the enjoyment and energy from his audience and surroundings and leaving dreary landscapes with every step he takes.

Onto Mizuki’s Somnium’s now, with:

#6: Mizuki’s Worst Somnium:

Mizuki’s worst is the game’s last somnium, if only for the fact that the rest of them I have a lot more positive things to say. After hunting down more clues, it’s come to the point in the game where Mizuki, Date and Ryuki combine their info and come to the realization that they know who killed Uru (the true identity of Tearer) and Tokiko Shigure, and that person is Amame Doi, friend of Gen, sister of Shouma and soon to be former employee of the Sunfish Pocket.

After a brief debate with Shouma and Gen who are delaying the gathering of vital information necessary to stop a terrorist (To cut a long story short, Tearer and his followers plan on detonating a dirty bomb filled with hallucinogenic gas on the populace of Tokyo to trigger Nirvana). And this part honestly frustrates me. These two are preventing Amame from going with the cops out of platonic love (Gen) and familial love (Shouma) in spite of the clear cut fact that she murdered people (two very evil people, but still murder) while there is a very strict time limit until the bomb goes off. Eventually, they relent (along with Shouma possibly facing a criminal charge for being in possession of thermite bombs that he was going to use to kill Tearer himself) and it’s time to perform the final psync with Amame.

Taking place inside of a submerged Sunfish Pocket with a prominent Snell’s window refracting light onto objects implying that the location is deep in the ocean, Mizuki and Aiba must question a mental representation of Amame by asking very specific questions to break through her mental barriers and uncover the truth. Amame of course doesn’t make this easy, as her defensive responses create an eerie red forcefield that slowly grows outward and encompasses the pocket. This unique mechanic, effective as it is only results in the mental Amame to freak out, forcing Aiba into a white void from which certain objects and people appear. And of these, one scene is apparent: The moment when Minecraft Steve informs his children that he’s getting a divorce from their mother, and that they’ll have to close down their private minecraft server.

I know I said no more minecraft jokes, but it’s just too easy folks you have to understand (Especially you, Mr. Cosmia). Anyways, Komeji asks his children to make a difficult choice: Stay with him, or live with their mother. And it’s at this point that M-Amame chimes in:

And then you’re given 5 seconds to make a choice, just like she did. Even if you pick the father, the true answer was mother as that’s what Amame chose. But looking back, Amame laments that decision and wonders if that was the correct choice. We’re then shown a scene with her congratulating Shouma on winning a robotics contest, but the mood sours when he admits it’ll be his last. The Enda household, as we’ve seen in previous sections is very small and Komeji doesn’t make a lot of of money, so big sis Amame decides to step up and get an afterschool job at the Sunfish Pocket.

Amame’s got some real cajones to say that in a job interview, I would never say something like that even if it were my dream job. But as the faceless interviewer (who is faceless I assume because his identity doesn’t matter to her, or Spike Chunsoft couldn’t make another generic face for this one somnium) states, she can’t work the night shift if she’s in high school due to child labor laws. So once again you’re given a choice:

Keen eyed players will notice that these are the same questions asked during Amame’s earlier somnium on Ryuki’s side, and I certainly picked up on it by now. My answer was to be truthful and poor, because even though in this situation it was for a good cause (supporting her brother’s interests and helping their father pay for things) it would only cause problems down the line. What if she slips up and mentions that she’s only 16? What if the Sunfish Pocket elects to go for a more… adult clientele than Ota, how will that look on the establishment? Choosing this results in a scene where Amame apologizes to Shouma that she didn’t get a job, they were all too low paying (Even though the money was still guaranteed, it’d just take longer to get) and that they’ll find another way to save by eating at home. Shouma points out that their father would be more pleased to see her more often than the money, and that’s corroborated by him arriving in the void a few seconds later, pleasantly surprised at her arrival. But as Amame states: that’s not what happened: She lied and worked illegally at Sunfish Pocket, and again wonders how different things would’ve been if she were home more often.

This should be sufficient enough to get the point across. Amame had options in her life that could have greatly impacted the course of the game, but she chose (in her eyes) incorrectly. As a firm believer of fate among other concepts, I believe that the road a person walks in life is dictated by the choices they make and where those roads take them isn’t entirely up to chance. And while I believe that I also believe in the butterfly effect, where a small action such as killing a butterfly in the past has massive ramifications in the future (like the Cubs winning the world series or something contrived). Some choices in life will haunt you, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t live a life of regrets. But some choices are for the better and as much as my life sucks at my job, there are some things I did on this path that can help me leave it for good.

This somnium reminds me of when I was in junior high, about to graduate from an environment that I hated. It was a public school and I wasn’t exactly living up to my potential, so I was stuck in classes with disruptive troublemakers. I took a chance on going to a magnet school that was more in line with my interests than going to the public high school like everyone else, as I knew I wouldn’t survive there. Getting in was difficult, as I didn’t have the best grades and there were limited slots to get in. But by some miracle, I would learn that I got in one warm summer night after returning from my next door neighbor’s house. I acted cocky, like I knew that I was going to get in but I was secretly relieved that my life would improve for the better at this school. Following a freshman year where I initially struggled, I would go on to have an amazing time and gain invaluable experiences that bolstered my growth and self esteem. Some days I do wonder about what would’ve happened if I wasn’t granted that opportunity, if I fell short of the application process or failed the interview. Maybe an alternate reality exists where I did go down that road, who knows? But that’s not the world I live in, and I have to be grateful for it.

Mizuki somnium #5: Nonentity Incognito

Psynching with the main threat is a reoccurring trend in this series apparently, and this is no different. In this case, Mizuki has incapacitated Tearer, and has to find out who they are (Tearer wears a mask at all times and uses a voice changer to disguise themselves, preventing anyone from even knowing their gender) before they wake up and escape. The setting for this somnium is a dinghy hidden room located someplace underground. In the center of the room is a floating sphere that to me, looks like a jawbreaker. When Aiba interacts with it, two things are apparent

• 1: It is cool to the touch
• 2: There is someone inside (Voiced by Lara Jill Miller, and no, that’s not an exaggeration. I know that voice! I’ve played Kingdom Hearts and watched Juniper Lee) that is begging to be let out.

And with that information apparent, the way to progress is indicated by a nearby PC monitor turning on, with “R Enter” displayed on it. Complying with the request has Aiba teleported to a cramped room with lockers, sigils and a locked door. It’s made apparent that this specific somnium emulates escape rooms in the sense that you must solve the puzzles presented before you (Mizuki even lampshades this at the start) in order to get more details on Tearer’s identity. All the while you find diary entries from Tearer when he was a child, revealing his tragic backstory. As a kid he was used to harvest body parts from, with one detailing that they took one of his lungs one day, which made it difficult to breathe while asleep. Deprived of his mother’s love as she favored her other child named Jin, Tearer developed an intense loathing towards his situation and desired vengeance.

There’s more to this, but the only thing that changes are the puzzles and the sphere becoming even more clear as you progress and of course, more revelations.

Mizuki Somnium #4 Necessary Intervention

Gen Ishiyagane is an interesting character, as far as the world of AI goes. A tall, imposing figure perpetually wearing a mask over his face, you’d think he’d be some kind of criminal or an escaped convict. But no, he’s a very soft spoken man who lives with severe facial deformities and tries to live an uneventful life as the owner of a small restaurant. While we’re never shown his face directly, we can see his skull through use of the X-ray function on the A.I. Balls, and the appearance leaves an impression, to say the least.

Yet in spite of being subjected to bullying and many situations that would shatter a person’s self esteem to rock bottom levels, he tries to be a good person. Even if people beat him up and he has to respond with physical retaliation, he wishes it didn’t have to happen at all. The only character in the game to show him genuine, unflinching kindness in regards to his true appearance is Amame Doi, someone who he greatly treasures and will protect at all costs.

But if I’m talking about him in such detail in this section, that can only mean that he did something wrong or is the subject of his own mental level, which is the case for this. Earlier in the plot, Tearer placed three balloons with messages inside for the police to find around the city. Two are successfully located but the third remained elusive until Mizuki learns that it was spotted at the warehouse district, where Gen tends to spend a lot of time looking at the ocean.

Poking around at the Brahmin restaurant, Mizuki finds the remains of the balloon buried in the trash, and interrogates the colossal chef, demanding to know the contents of the balloon for the investigation. Gen’s not talking though, which leads to this exchange.

Immediately after, Mizuki is in the psync machine with Gen seemingly unconscious in the seat. It’s doubtful that he understands exactly what is happening to him in this moment, but it does go to show that whatever he’s hiding he’s willing to get arrested for it.

Gen’s somnium starts out inside of Brahmin, but eventually goes on to an arena of a cooking competition, where Aiba is drafted in as a contestant. Andes Komeji is the host, and the two judges are Ota and Amame. And of course, the opponent that Aiba must face is none other than Gen himself (or at least, a mental perception of him). Through three rounds of cooking, only one will be crowned the greatest chef. Seems simple enough, but there’s one problem: As an A.I, Aiba hasn’t ever cooked before, she doesn’t need to for any reason and couldn’t even if she had to. But Mizuki gets a brilliant idea: If everything within a Somnium can be done in reduced time with Timies, then Aiba can get all the training she needs to win the tournament.

Interesting detail that the amount of seconds required (31,536,000) is the exact length of a year. So using a timey that you picked up previously in Brahmin, you can get a year’s training done in 1 second. Through the next 3 rounds with increasingly overcomplicated and outrageous dishes made by Aiba, you successfully trounce Gen’s ambitions and win the competition, even if it was a bit lopsided.

This somnium gives Gen’s backstory, and the bleakness of it is what really sticks afterward. Tasting the dishes he made unlocks memories of his life, such as his origin story. At one point he met with Chikara, who told him (and us by proxy) that he was born from an egg with an edited genome for the sake of the eternal life experiment Chikara was planning for. Unfortunately, this resulted in physical birth defects like his severe deformities and skin condition, as Chikara explains below

So he’s a literal pachyderm man? Can’t really see how that’s a problem as it’s like a bulletproof vest that you can never take off. In this day and age that’s incredibly useful. Gen however, doesn’t think so and even when he tries to help people in need it backfires if they see his true face. So he feels disconnected from society and as such developed low self esteem as a result. Only Amame’s kindness was able to pierce through his doubts and depression and that remains one of (if not his only) motivating factor in life).

In the end, we’re treated to a scene where Gen prepares a dish of food for Aiba in Brahmin, one that’s suspiciously familiar….

After eating it, Aiba finds a card inside, the very same card that Gen discovered in the balloon that he found at the docks. As she leaves the fake restaurant, Gen thanks her and promises to not lose in their next competition, but Aiba simply retorts he can challenge Ota, she’s done training for cooking competitions. The fact that Gen directly addresses her puts it in one of the rare instances where a somnium directly addresses the A.I instead of sidlining them is what moves this so high on the list.

Mizuki Somnium #3 Lien’s Somnium

Throughout the game, we are treated to a lady and the tramp style subplot involving two people: Lien Twining (the “tramp”), a former thief and lockpicker who during Ryuki’s investigation was jobless and hopelessly in love with the “lady”, Kizuna Chieda, a girl from the very affluent Chieda family with a love of dancing and fairy tales. Both of them grew up on opposite sides of the class system, but to Lien, that doesn’t matter. He declared his love to her publicly in the Matsushida diner, to the confusion and bewilderment of the recipient. Throughout Ryuki’s route, he observes them slowly forming a bond (apt, as Lien is French for link, and Kizuna means bond in Japanese) and has them settle their feelings by writing how each other feels about the other in a time capsule. If their opinions towards each other change in six years, then they will either proceed with dating or go their separate ways.

Unfortunately for the two of them, Riichi Chieda (Kizuna’s father) doesn’t approve of their love, and has Kizuna break up with Lien the day after they officially start dating, which happens to be Valentine’s day. Mizuki even gets a front row seat to the breakup.

Almost immediately after she leaves, this possibly racist caricature of a man appears and gives Lien a gift from Mr. Chieda: An envelope filled with money, presumably to pay him to stay away from Kizuna.

Naturally, Lien is pretty pissed about this, and throws the money in the air in frustration. And his frustration is to Mizuki’s detriment, as she needs his locktouch ability to open a locked door. But this thief isn’t going to be joining any army anytime soon, as he doesn’t want to be a criminal anymore. But when Mizuki wink psyncs with him and sees that he knows something about the HB case, she has to take him into custody.

We are never shown HOW she got him into the precinct, but judging by the pained look on his face compared to the often serene and peaceful faces of others that came before him, violence was most likely used. Insert police brutality joke here. After a light grilling from Boss on how cold blooded Mizuki is for bringing him into custody immediately after he was dumped, the somnium begins with Aiba crashing down towards Yoyagi park like a meteor, but she stops immediately before crashing into the fountain and floats.

Evidently, a person’s desires greatly impact how a somnium plays out, especially those with straightforward ambitions like Lien’s. So since his biggest dream was to be able to fly, the somnium reflects that by having Aiba fly freely alla Kingdom Hearts 1’s Neverland world. There’s even a giant keyhole in the sky complete with equally sized giant key!

The main way to navigate this somnium is to open various safes containing Lien’s memories. From when he was a thief, to looking for a job and landing a position at Horadori Institute as a janitor and then leading up to his unceremonious firing by Chikara, we see his story play out. This is also one of few somnium’s with a branching path, and going down one route sends you on a different path depending on the actions you take. Taking the right path will have Lien relive the trauma of almost losing Kizuna at the underground facility. When faced with self doubt and his failure to protect her, Aiba asks him an important question: “Do you want to give up?” to which the game makes the Kingdom Hearts reference even more apparent with a keyhole forming in the center of his chest.

With the keyhole in place, Aiba needs a keyblade to seal it. The somnium’s safes that were strewn about the floating void circle around him and transform into three keys, “Confidence”, “Kizuna” and “Future”. The colossal shadowy figure insults him, calling him a criminal, to which Aiba counters by using the future key, inspiring him to take a stance against his foe.

Once the other two keys are used (or in the case of the last one, not used in the way it was intended), Lien declares his love to Kizuna, professing that it doesn’t matter if she can’t walk or dance, he’ll be the wings that let her fly. And he’ll protect their bond, no matter what. This sentiment is truly touching, but there’s just one problem, Aiba and Mizuki didn’t get any info on Lien and now have to interrogate him in the waking world.

I don’t typically do this for these rankings, but I do have to acknowledge the ending to this little plot point. Mizuki arranges for Kizuna and Lien to meet up again even though they’re separated, and Lien reveals that he knows what her father said about him. He then claims it doesn’t matter as he loves her, he won’t do any more criminal activity, to which she retorts Mr. Chieda won’t take this lying down, and how he (a man with very little income and limited financial options) will stand against someone with a lot of influence and power. Lien says this:

And proclaims with him she’ll never be sad and he’ll do everything in his power to make her happy. And when she asks about his happiness, he retorts her being happy is his happiness. They decide to elope, but not before Lien does one last thing that clinches everything into place: He picks up Kizuna and they perform her song together, with Lien acting as her legs.

Perhaps it’s the jaded hopeless romantic in me, but this genuinely brought a smile to my face. It reminds me of the Jianjian of Chinese myth, which is a bird-like creature with ony one wing, and one eye. Helpless on its own, it is only able to survive through mating with another of it’s own species, their shared union allowing them flight. It’s seen as a symbol of strength in love and true partnership, overcoming any obstacle through a unified bond. Due to the incident 5 years ago, Kizuna was robbed of the use of her legs, a talented dancer forced to wait indefinitely in the wings. Lien, powerless to stop that from happening can give her mobility again, offering his strength to fulfill her wish.

This joy is short-lived however, as a small militia of armed gunman arrive to put an end to it, and I’m not kidding.

I could go on with more play-by-play, but the rest of this will be covered in the ending section, so stay tuned for that. We’ve got 2 more somniums to cover.

Mizuki Somnium #2:

One of the first somnium’s of the Mizuki route (If you count the initial somnium tutorial as one) involves Kizuna and what she was trying to uncover in Horadori institute. Before it begins though, Mizuki does some snooping of her own (really just trespassing) in the lab, but is caught by the employees shortly after entering.

She’s saved by the masked woman who effortlessly dispatch the masked scientists. Following the scuffle (which leads to the best comeback line in the series)

Eventually Kizuna comes out from behind the scenes (presumably one of the famous vials of piss that Horadori is famous for) and asks what’s going on. Shortly after a discussion with the masked woman which eventually reveals that Chikara Horadori and Tokiko Shigure had a kid, Mizuki inquires as to why Kizuna was snooping around in there. She solemnly responds to questions (rather out of character for someone who typically has so much life to her) but as is always the case, she remains tight lipped. So it’s somnium time!

Seems a bit cruel to put the girl who can’t use her legs in a chair and move aforementioned wheelchair away. I get why they likely can’t have it in the psync room, but they couldn’t just put it off to the side. After all, is she really going to run away when the sedatives wear off? Kizuna’s somnium takes place at Aioen Orphanage, draped in pastel colors and desolate. There is a colossal book that tells an abridged story of fairy tales that are injected with Kizuna’s backstory.

To quickly summarize it; Kizuna met her “big sis” after being chased by a wolf (likely a stray dog given that wolves are extinct in Japan) and they were inseparable. Mr. Chieda had buried himself in his work after his wife (Kizuna’s mother) died, and his absence led to Kizuna becoming very depressed. Longing for love and being enthralled by stories of Cinderella and love at first sight, her sister warned her to not fall in love with the first guy she meets, and get to know him first. Unfortunately, the big sister and Kizuna had to be taken apart from one another, causing immense grief to Kizuna.

A story to tear at a brother’s heart. Anyone with siblings (especially older ones) can relate to that story on a personal level and for some it stings the hardest. I may not have had the best relationship with my sibling at times, but there were good moments that I’d give anything to see again. Regardless, Kizuna’s story is honestly one of the more human and fleshed out side stories in the game and I’m honestly glad it’s there. But what on earth could top this somnium?

Mizuki’s best somnium:

The masked stranger’s somnium is the best out of all of them on Mizuki’s route, for both presentation and symbolism. Hell, it gets top spot for the leadup to it in the first place. But I’m getting ahead of myself. At Ikume Shrine, Mizuki encounters armed Naix members and seemingly has things under control. However, she is vastly outnumbered and just when things look grim the masked woman appears again to bail her out. After the Naix grunts realize this is a waste of time and that they’ve got more important things to do, they start to run. Mizuki attempts to go after them, but the masked woman collapses, clutching at her chest. In the case of the friend vs. idol situation, Mizuki chooses the friend and tends to the masked woman.

At Aioen, the masked woman gives some bits of her backstory. She was a “designer baby” made through DNA sequencing and artificial insemination, but was born blind in one eye and with a heart condition. She doesn’t know her true parents and was at the Aioen orphanage for the longest time. At the age of nine though, she was adopted and raised by a loving family for six years (what she attributes as the best times of her life). Though every so often she would be taken to Horadori institute for research. After divulging that information, the woman begins to clam up again on Mizuki, much to the latters chagrin. But as fate would have it, the masked woman starts to clutch at her chest, as one of the wounds sustained in the earlier scuffle is causing her pain. So much pain that she just kinda… slumps off the bench and passes out on the ground.

Aiba sees this as a perfect opportunity to psync with this woman to learn what she knows, much to Mizuki’s protest. But Aiba corrects her using the age old lie that parents tell young children when their pets pass away: She’s not dead, only passed out. Which, has to be simultaneously one of the funniest and darkest ways to move the plot along in this game. It’s funny out of context because it really is just a girl watching a masked woman pass out from her injuries and her talking eyeball tells her to mind**** her. But it’s also dark in the sense that any passed out person can be mind probed with a psync machine without their consent. What’s really stopping a crazed rogue employee from knocking out a random passerby and psyncing with them besides the intricacies of the program needed to psync in the first place? It’d be a dark existence for any and all citizens of Japan, a country well known for the fact you can pass out in the middle of the street and no one will mug you.

So of course, you psync with her. She’s still wearing her mask of course (as it is affixed with a very strong adhesive that would take her face off with it if forcefully removed) but if Minecraft Steve’s blocky head can go through, why not this woman’s?

The masked woman’s somnium takes place in a lab, more specifically a room deep in the bowels of Horadori Institute. It is here that Aiba must take the place of her during the horrific experiments inflicted on her by Chikara, who has her strapped down to a table with her left arm trapped in a vise (which, I actually didn’t know that this was the correct spelling of the tool until researching for this post, I always said vice but that’s for a bad habit, the more you know!) and you need to break free of it under a strict time limit, for if you don’t Chikara comes in to finish you off.

And I’ve got to give this somnium credit, Chikara definitely is a lot more intimidating in this form. Him shambling around with green skin speaking like a deranged scientist definitely ups the creep factor. This somnium is also different in the sense that most of the time you’re evading Chikara in different ways. First you’ll have to hide behind a few barrels so that he doesn’t find you. It works, but he’ll come back with a flashlight which means you can’t hide there again, forcing you to find another hiding spot. With enough luck, Chikara gets bored and then elects to experiment on another child, represented by generic rabbit plush #12.

GRP #12 says nothing, does nothing and wants nothing, but the Masked Woman wants to protect it above all else. There’s more to this somnium, and what is there is honestly some of the most graphic stuff this series has produced, and that’s saying something. A man in a polar bear costume killed people with a buzzsaw for crying out loud! But that’s honestly what makes it great, it’s out of left field but does what a somnium should do: tell a story of a character without directly spelling everything out.

THE FINALE

After a few dead ends on the branching paths, everything has coalesced into the endgame, where a lot of questions have been answered. But of course, I’m not going to go in depth for the sake of time, so it’s time for a patented Spartan bulletpoint list! A few things of note are:

• Date is alive, he was masquerading as Gen to keep on the downlow for six years.
• The identity of Tearer is revealed to be Uru Somezuki, an orphan (and illegitimate son of So Sejima, former suspect of the cyclops killings in the first game) that was used as an organ bank for the son of Chikara and Tokiko. He was taught Naix’s philosophy and became a fervent believer in the nirvana initiative.
• Tearer is also dead by the end of the game, killed at the hands of Amame Doi to avenge her father. His death doesn’t stop the impending disaster though, as he becomes a martyr.
• Naix are planning on launching a rocket from the stadium to blow up and induce hallucinations in the general populace to prove that they’re right or something.

Another important detail worth going over is the identity of the masked woman. During the scuffle with the gunmen after Kizuna and Lien elope, her mask cracks, revealing a face not too dissimilar to Mizuki’s. After dealing with the grunts, they take a breather and it is revealed that this is Mizuki Kuranushi, boss’s adopted daughter and original source of Mizuki’s DNA.

Yeah that’s right, Mizuki Date is a clone of this one, explaining why they’re identical in terms of appearance and have similar personalities. It’s also revealed that at parts of the game, you actually were playing as the Kuranushi Mizuki (Bibi from here on out, that’s what the younger Mizuki called her) during select points in the timeline. I actually fell for this trick, but if you pay attention to context clues it makes a lot of sense. At times, Aiba would reign Mizuki in by threatening to dock her pay, something most people would be worried about. But Mizuki Date wouldn’t need to stress over that, as she’s very wealthy due to her deceased adopted parents being very affluent, owning a talent agency and popular maid cafe.

And actually, that’s something I do take issue with, on how it handwaved the actual connection that Renju and Shoko (her adoptive parents for those not in the know) had with her. The prequel game didn’t exactly show that they were a happy family by any means, and if anything both of them were ***holes. Renju only married Shoko as a pretense to maintain the façade that he was a straight buisnessman (which, is its own can of worms) and dumped his daughter on his best friend who was not only enjoying his bachelorhood, but also doesn’t have a lot of money to begin with. And Shoko was physically abusive towards Mizuki and even committed fraud in the past, barely showing any interest in her even more than Renju did. So now that we know both weren’t her actual parents (with Bibi being her “parent” in a sense) it kind of makes most of her motivations in the previous game moot. I know I wouldn’t have gone out of my way for them if I knew I wasn’t blood related to em.

Anyways, one other detail about Bibi is her notable clear blue left eye, which is an A.I ball. His name is Marco, and according to her, he doesn’t talk much (and that’s code for the developers either running out of time or couldn’t hire another voice actor to voice him) but still helps just as well as Aiba and Tama. What he actually looks like in “human” form isn’t shown, but I guess if the game gets a sequel we’ll see what he looks like. I’m rambling at this point, Let’s focus back on the story at hand.

Following up on loose ends, the three psynchers (Mizuki, Bibi and Date) go back to the underground Naix cathedral and find Ryuki sitting amongst the ruins, looking forlorn. Tama explains that Ryuki has been severely depressed over the events in the cathedral six years ago, taking the blame for the irreversible damage done to Date, Kizuna and Mizuki following the climactic fight. He became an alcoholic, exasperating the issues he already had and went on a downward spiral. But a pep talk from Date and a (reluctant) promise to forgive him from Bibi is all it takes to get him out of his slump.

Following up on some leads (involving getting Amame Doi arrested for killing Tearer, because you know, she still killed a man) the group realize that the bomb carrying the TC-PERGE chemical (a strong hallucinogen designed to invoke Moksha, according to Naix) is going to be detonated at the stadium. Rushing over there, Date, Bibi and Mizuki are met by Naix members and engage in another bout, which they handily subdue whilst Aiba leaves Mizuki to help Date in combat. Just when they think they have the upper hand, the rocket comes up from the center of the stadium. It is then that Tearer projects himself on the screen (or rather, a recording of him) and announces that the rocket will go off without a hitch, as there is a electromagnetic barrier to repel any metal object. He also brings forth an army to thwart the heroes, comprised of the various grunts that have stood in Mizuki and Ryuki’s way throughout the game

Things get worse for the heroes when the grunts trigger optical camoflague, blending in with the surroundings. For Bibi and Date, that’s no problem with thermal mode, but Mizuki will have a rough time. Just when it seems she’s about to be taken out for good, a few lasers dispatch the goons, courtesy of the timely arrival of Ryuki. He isn’t alone, bringing along allies (specifically, Gen, Shoma, Shoma’s robot (carrying the thermite he was planning on detonating), Iris, Ota, Moma, Kizzy and Lien) that help level the playing field. It comes down to Bibi driving her scooter carrying the thermite to the bomb and detonating it in midair, neutralizing the gas before it can infect the populace.

Following the climactic finale, in classic A.I fashion you’re treated to a victory lap of sorts where you visit all the places in your investigation, checking in with everyone after the half body killing’s conclusion. Riichi Chieda has accepted Kizuna’s choice in a partner (through the implied blackmail by Boss), Date is relaxing at Hitomi (former best girl of the original game, I will hear no other opinions on this) and Iris’s place, much to Aiba and Mizuki’s disgust. Genny reopened Brahman and on the topic of Amame’s detainment, he had this to say:

Longtime readers of the Cosmia blog are already well aware of my longstanding animus towards evaders of justice. I touched on this back in Disco Elysium but overcomplicating things like murder and obstructing investigators really pisses me off. I can go on a tirade but back to the epilogue. Shouma is still riding the Ferris wheel at the park that his father loved taking him to. All of this cumulates to the surprise Boss had for the two Mizukis, Ryuki showing up at the stadium. Cue the rest of the cast showing up for a dance number (this time being Kizuna’s Song) and credits!

Or is it?

THE NIL NUMBER

During Mizuki and Bibi’s victory lap, they can go to Naixatloz headquarters, now abandoned with Tokiko long dead and the followers either dead or in jail. A projection of Tokiko appears and tells the pair a number, “318409”, which means nothing to them, but to Ryuki….

Earlier in his journey Tokiko asked if he was a frayer, and demanded proof by asking the nil number. At the time both Ryuki and the player have no answer to this, but going back on the timeline causes quite a few things to happen:

Ryuki begins speaking in what I believe to be garbled Japanese phrases, Tokiko’s right half on the desk and her bodyguard/secretary missing his face. Ryuki understandably starts freaking out and asks for Tama, only to recieve no response; the A.I function of the A.I. Ball is deactivated, meaning she can’t speak with him. He tries to run, but finds out that he has no collision, and can walk out of bounds of the map.

He then meets Tokiko outside the void who breaks the fourth wall to pieces by stating that reality is fake, and she’s right to a degree. What would be perceived as weird ramblings of a crazy person are actual, legitimate truths as their reality (the game) is fake to us. Following the conversation, Ryuki comes to and explains what happened to Tama, who writes it off as one of his episodes. The game then flashes forward to six years later and a lot has changed in this timeline, the main thing being that Ryuki solved the half body case six years ago by finding Uru Somezuki in Horadori institute’s basement. Of course, this has a ripple effect on the world, such as:

• Tearer (Uru Somezuki) was arrested, and according to Date, curses Ryuki’s name every day for that. While not officially charged, the overwhelming evidence against him will inevitably lead to a harsh sentence. Jin Furue and Chikara though are still dead
• Tokiko Shigure went missing six years ago, her whereabouts unknown.
• Solving the HB case led to Ryuki getting a promotion, he is second in command at ABIS.
• Minecraft Steve was given a temporary ban for his concealed weapon and concealing a dead body, but was released back onto A.I’s server. He no longer tries to hack in modded items.
• Shouma (who I didn’t mention, was experimented on at Horadori and given a youthful appearance) has begun to grow a bit, but playfully assumes he’ll still have an abnormally long life.
• Ryuki covered up what Gen was attempting to do with Jin’s left half. As such neither he or Amame had to serve time.
• Most importantly, because Komeji is still alive, Amame doesn’t have motive to kill Tearer. As such she avoids any prison time.
• Because Ryuki didn’t have to raid the cathedral to save Kizuna, she didn’t end up paralyzed from the waist down. She is also able to have a relationship with Lien now.
• Also, because the cathedral didn’t end up destroyed, Mizuki doesn’t lose her eye that way. She voluntarily removes it at ABIS instead and still partners with Aiba.

This is framed by Mizuki as the ultimate happy ending, but I’m not so sure about that. One of the earlier games in the game trade before Mr. Cosmia and I posted these things publicly was when I played Persona 5 Royal, which has a similar setup if you play your cards right for the exclusive content. Without giving too much away, an alternate reality is made where a lot of bad things that happened to the protagonists never happened, creating yet another “ultimate happy ending”. It’s nice, but the only way to see the true ending is to reject that, and all the illusions associated with it fade. The only way people grow is to experience life in both its joys and hardships. I have grown as a person through the connections I make in this life, and from losing them along the way. To wipe all of that away would be invalidating the path that I made to get to this point, as whether it was pleasant or not it gave me an important perspective.

A.I’s story is a lot to take in, but to disregard all the major points feels hollow in a way I can’t quite articulate. I guess the moral of the story is that it’s better to live in an imperfect world than to live in a fantasy? I guess?

FINAL VERDICT

A.I Nirvana Initiative is a game that expands upon the preexisting story in a lot of ways that are both good and bad. While it is less frustrating than the first game in a lot of ways with a few QoL features, the story itself is held back by a lot of character decisions that to me, make this world seem like an absolute hell to live in. And I know, I’m nitpicking, because if everyone were as open as a library book then we’d have no reason to explore the somniums. But if this town is going to be this obstructive to police matters and perpetually youthful teenagers can make thermite bombs with little to no efforts, I expect A.I. III to involve a lot more violence than either of its predecessors. And considering the subject matter on display here, that’s saying something.

8.8 out of 10, wouldn’t want to play again for a while.

And so concludes this half of the game trade. Mr. Cosmia, readers at home, I apologize for the long delay.