Well well well we are back yet again with the path of depression and if you think in my last review The House in Fata Morgana is a painful, heartbreaking journey then the prequel, A Requiem for Innocence doubles all of those emotions that you experienced when playing the base game and it's very very worth it to play after you finish the base game.

A Requiem for Innocence primarily focuses on the backstory and relationship between Jacopo and Morgana, delved into much deeper detail of their relationship that the original game briefly explained in their earlier days before the tragedy we know too well befalls them. Basically retelling of what happened during the last door in the main game not including Michel’s meddling with Morgana’s memories, but things as they happened before Morgana turned into the witch that tormented those around her for around a thousand years.

The character growth and ultimate destruction of Jacopo is another highlight of A Requiem for Innocence. It’s also amazing to see how so many characters could have changed things massively for the better if only they’d taken the opportunity to do so. In many ways, this is an incredibly heartbreaking tale, and absolutely should not be missed. It’s so painful and heartbreaking to see Jacopo come so, so close to being a great man and to have that just thrown away, bit by bit, by a combination of short-sightedness, misunderstandings, and a sense of desperate self-preservation. However it does help the reader to understand his character a bit more although sympathy is less felt than disappointment in his actions. It really is like a snowball effect where all these little mistakes accumulate little by little and before he knows it, he’s on the path of no return.

When I see Jacopo and Morgana's story, I can't help but feel like this is the most interesting interpretation of the "Beauty and Beast" story. Jacopo stared off as a good person, but power corrupted him. However, his feelings for Morgana are genuine and sweet. Enough to make him lament his actions to the point of near self-destruction. After living through three lives, he earns the chance to fulfil the promise he made to Morgana all those years ago. Morgana, despite having been hurt so badly by Jacopo's actions, learned compassion from Michel which lead her to save Jacopo from his self-inflicted curse. Even though she never forgave him, she remembered who he was and could still be. In the last life, she still couldn't bring herself to forgive him, but she saw that he was no longer the man seeking fame and fortune anymore. He was the man she saw before. the man who was kind to her in his own way. Who cared for her despite her childish antics, who would followed her through hail and rain to stay by her side. Together, they overcame their own flaws and personal herdles, and came out as better people thanks to the efforts and effects of the other. And the best part, we as the reader see it as it happens slowly, no snapshot redemptions, no instant forgiveness. Just two people working their way through life.

On top all of that you get a bonus chapter called 'Fragment' which just breaks your soul ten times more and what i like from Fragment is that Jacopo is a lot more forward in his feelings for her and fucking hell it’s just so heartwrenching because it makes me think of what “could have been” had they sat down and expressed their feelings openly towards one another. And just like the base game, once you have completed the game the main title screen changed, it is just perfect down to the last minute detail.

To Jacopo and Morgana i'm wishing nothing but happiness in your next life.

The 25th Ward: The Silver Case is a game about the internet, viewed through the lens of an authoritarian government that monitors its citizens and wipes them out with impunity via their government-sanctioned murderers to maintain the illusion of peace.

It's a game about how even in a "perfect" society where the people up top maintain an iron-grip on every minuet detail of its citizens lives, the biggest threat is the power of the individual and the propagation of ideas.

It's a game about the dehumanizing effects of violence, how those charged with keeping the peace are volatile, reckless goons who kill without remorse and never receive any kind of punishment for it. How killing is innate to the human experience, and how the will to kill resides in all men's hearts.

It's a game about trans-humanism. People turned into biological supercomputers built to retain petabytes of information. People who gain identity on the net. AI's so sophisticated that they become indistinguishable from their creators. People who ascend beyond the biological to become ideals, the purest form of information, unlimited by the notions of life or death.

It's a game about games and the people who play them. The relationship between protagonist and player. The rejection of industry norms. The eschewing of any kind of notion of traditional understanding.

The 25th Ward is a game I have a hard time writing about. It juggles a lot of topics, and yet, it sticks the landing with each and every single one of them in a way that is hauntingly prophetic for what was originally a 2005 flip-phone text-adventure game. It's a bit of a cop-out answer, but after a day or two of writing and rewriting this review, I really do feel it's an experience beyond words. It's a game that resonates even more today in the modern internet age, and it's view of the internet via a fictional social experiment of a city where the line between net and reality is non-existent is an intensely interesting backdrop for the triad of storylines that each explore a facet of this society and how it parallels the modern age.

"Don't depend on the net. Depend on the net. God lives in the net. The net will guide you to all answers and wisdom. Doubt the net. Save the net. Kill the net."

It's been a year since i finished The House in Fata Morgana and still to this day i regarded it as one of the greatest story ever written. From story development and unique characters and settings that are set in 3 time periods, with interconnected characters and stories to using modern Japanese with a little 'flavor' of language from ancient times, which makes The House in Fata Morgana adapted to the current era. All of that provides a tense, sad atmosphere and at the same time a bit of comedy. However, the story in Fata Morgana is available in 7 Bad Endings and 1 True Ending, where the true ending of this visual novel gave me a cool breeze for my heart which has been holding back emotions since the story began.

The House in Fata Morgana has 8 different stories to tell throughout the entire story or what they call them "door". The story is set in one main setting, an old mansion which has a dark history starting from the persecution of a girl known as a 'witch' to the story of the protagonist 'you' and the maid welcomes you, sees your condition, and offers to give you a tour, which she hopes will help you jog your memory. Each room leads to you viewing various memories of past events that have taken place there. These memories are quite memorable, and set the stage for future revelations, even if it’s quite subtle in how it does it.

The first story tells the story of a brother and sister who live peacefully and freely with their family, until a mysterious white-haired and red-eyed girl comes to become a servant for the family.

The second story is probably the darkest part in this story for me, it tells of a 'monster' known as a sadistic murderer who lives in the big old house and a girl who is the same as the first story but in a different form enters the mysterious house. This story is extremely gruesome and graphic. Is it not for the faint of heart and I felt a little sick reading it at times.

The third story tells a wealthy businessman and his estranged relationship with his wife and the story behind that estranged relationship. It’s an incredibly moving story that shows how even the very best and self-sacrificing people have limits, and everyone will eventually break.

And from the fourth door to the last door or the eighth door becomes the main story which will discuss the past of the 'witch' who haunt the mansion, the servant girl, and the main character 'you', as well as their relationship with the three stories in the initial opening.

All of these stories have incredibly tragic ends, that could have been avoided with some other decision be it better communication, honesty, or repentance. But they serve to introduce characters that have a long-lasting effect on the overarching narrative, as well as establish the relevance of the mansion and its curse. Describing even a word past chapter three or door three leads too far down spoiler territory to say any more so i won't go deep into that.

There is quite a bit of foreshadowing as you expect from mystery genre like other titles, in even the simplest of events, and the story takes the time it needs to expound on each character, story, and theme. And that what makes The House in Fata Morgana's storytelling excellent.

Then you add another fantastic element on top of the writing which is the music because holy macaroonis they ain't lying when they said you have to experience it with headphone in the loading screen. Each character, scene, and mood is properly represented with a theme, that is sometimes really eerie with noises and sound effects, other times a moody piano, and often with simply incredible female vocals like the soundtracks 'Giselle' and 'Cicio'. The words are all in an ancient dialect of Portuguese, and sound very Latin and mysterious. Some of the songs will make your hair stand up, while others sound nearly reverent.

What i learn from The House in Fata Morgana is that wherever and whenever a person are there are people who will love and care for them until they wait for us to return and be by their side, revenge is not a good thing but you have to let go of it and move forward in a better direction. Life is a difficult thing where sometimes we encounter bad things and even tragedy, but behind it all there is a beautiful story.

All in all, The House in Fata Morgana is one of those tales that is incredibly well written, mature, dark, and bloody that explore the deepest, darkest depths of depravity in the human soul. Even though at first I was not used to the realist images of this visual novel, in the end I realized that the realist images and the choice not to use voice actors for each character were so that players could enjoy the story, and for me personally this visual novel has parts that can answer questions in life. An unrushed story with the characters each having their own reasons and backstories that portrayed what is sacrificial love looks like.

The story has good ideas, especially near the end, and I'm glad that the MC isn't a 100% silent one. But even though I am probably the millionth person to say this, the gameplay is absolutely unenjoyable, probably my least favourite turn-based battle system that I've ever played. The game in general is underwhelming and episodic in the first half, with most of the thematic and interesting story moments coming later.

At least the music and visual style are very good, especially for a PSP game. Sadly, I was really only playing this for CCC, which was apparently Nasu's favourite project he worked on.