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StarTopic 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim |ST| The time machine is inside your desk drawer

So like I experienced some of this out of context friend watching a friend stream. It looked really fun and good! I decided to get it myself finally on Switch. I was totally hoping for a Switch port, and glad to see it. They played on..PS4. Totally looks up my alley.
 
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I generally only look one thing up as far as spoilers go but since I’m getting the impression literally everything can be a spoiler and I don’t want to dig too deeply, I’ll just ask here:

Is there a golden/bad ending and what do I need to make sure I do or not do (in very general terms): to ensure I meet the requirements?
 
I generally only look one thing up as far as spoilers go but since I’m getting the impression literally everything can be a spoiler and I don’t want to dig too deeply, I’ll just ask here:

Is there a golden/bad ending and what do I need to make sure I do or not do (in very general terms): to ensure I meet the requirements?
Nope. There's only one ending that everyone will get. You're doing the right thing avoiding even searching for something like that. You could easily stumble into a spoiler in doing so.
 
Nope. There's only one ending that everyone will get. You're doing the right thing avoiding even searching for something like that. You could easily stumble into a spoiler in doing so.
Thank the stars for this... I totally am glad it has only one ending everybody will get.
 
i'm surprised how much i've been enjoying the destruction mode in this even if it is a bit on the easy side even on intense(although I also only have like 28% completion on it so it'll probably ramp up a bit in that regard), i'm someone that usually kinda resents the existence of gameplay elements in VNs and haven't really had that feeling at all yet here

it probably helps that it's a different "mode", ultimately you're still forced to do it but you don't really feel like you are in the same way as something like a 999
 
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I feel it's not fair to call the "Remembrance" section a "visual novel".

For one, while most of the narrative is dominated by dialogue, and while there are also some internal monologue segments thanks to the thought cloud, most of the story is carried out heavily from on-screen action. There are also sections where you use the thought cloud as a sort of inventory for showing things to the right person/thing which are more akin to point-and-click adventure games.

Might I also remark that the animation is sooo good? It's nice seeing each character have particular mannerisms in their idle animation.

One thing that surprises me about the localization is that they really don't want to mention H.G. Wells' name when Natsuno Minami mentions The War of the Worlds, despite saying his name in the Japanese audio. (Even the description simply states him as "that one famous author"). Is it some sort of stupid copyright issue, kind of like how Great Ace Attorney has "Helmlock Sholmes" despite the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work is now public domain?
 
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Made it through the tutorial, and can now Switch between destruction, remembrance, and analysis. Definitely intrigued, more so by the story than the battles. I’ll probably do the battles available first anyway.
 
Cosy <3

ELe03ZB.png


I think I'm about 90% in Destruction, so I'm keeping a good pace. Turns out sticking with 6 characters and levelling them up and resetting BO was a good decision, even though sometimes I get defeated a few rounds. I can really feel the Sentry Gun nerf though, they're not useless, but the heavy lifting this time is done with Takamiya and Gouto and their Leg Spikes.

Also 85% in Remembrance now and I just.. love these characters so much. For such a "plot-centric" game as 13 Sentinels, where most of the conversation is dominated by plot direction, events, themes, revelations, sick lore bombs and crazy twists, the game still manages to make the characters feel like a significant part of the story - in a lot of other plot-centric games, such as MGS, it feels like characters play second fiddle. Sure, the characters in 13 Sentinels might not be the most three-dimensional characters out there, and they don't have that much development, (they have fantastic arcs - but I think character arcs and character development are two different things) but they're very well-written characters nonetheless. I think Natsuno Minami is so wholesome, Miura and Hijiyama are endearing, Juro Kurabe is hard to not like, Shinonome is intriguing and compelling, Kisaragi has some really funny lines, and I can't stress enough how great I think the localisation is.
The game does a really excellent job of making the characters memorable and make you get attached to them and their quirks despite being heavily plot and event driven, as you said. I like literally all of the characters to some degree, with only a couple that aren't quite as high up there for me for various reasons.

I think the big reason for this is that:
While the lore bombs and crazy twists and everything are really important and the big focus, like you pointed out, SO MUCH of the story (and even a fair number of those big twists) and what happens are driven by the characters' emotions and desires, which makes them easy to latch onto. So much of the games' plot is driven by love, jealousy, desire, friendship, etc.

The characters just feel extremely HUMAN, which in a game this crazy is exactly the grounding it needed IMO.
 
What's the gameplay like? Is there any action or is it more akin to a visual novel?
There is action. There are two modes, with the third serving more as an unlockable appendicies/glossary using points which you obtain from the two other modes to better make sense of the story. The first mode acts more like a point-and-click adventure game where you get to move your character around, while the second is more like a tower defence pseudo-RTS game where you actually get to control your Sentinels while Kaiju try to attack a certain installation. Both segments uncover bits of the story piecemeal, and sometimes following each of these threads and concepts can be a bit confusing, which is why the third mode acts as a kind of timeline of sorts.

I would not peg it as a visual novel in any capacity: There are visual novel aspects, but it is certainly more proactive than something like Ace Attorney and certain segments can at times feel like it was ripped straight out of a Lucasarts adventure game. There are multiple outcomes in each story thread, with each one potentially answering questions (...or perhaps uncovering more mysteries?). As for the pseudo-RTS, it actually does run in realtime, but the game "pauses" the action when you issue commands to your Sentinels. Some of the actions they do can act effectively like interrupts.

In the end, it feels quite unique from any other game I've ever played. That in itself deserves a reason to give it a look.
 
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I know this might seem like a silly question, but how much 'fan-service' stuff is in the game? I'm really interested in playing it, what with the amazing art, the supposedly incredible story and the great Switch port, but I've got a slight concern - especially with some of the character designs and how they're presented on the box art - that it's gonna be sexualised in an uncomfortable way. Any help would be much appreciated!
 
I know this might seem like a silly question, but how much 'fan-service' stuff is in the game? I'm really interested in playing it, what with the amazing art, the supposedly incredible story and the great Switch port, but I've got a slight concern - especially with some of the character designs and how they're presented on the box art - that it's gonna be sexualised in an uncomfortable way. Any help would be much appreciated!

Not a silly question at all, and a highly legitimate concern. There’s two things often pointed out - one is a character in a super-tight catsuit, and the other one is the fact that the characters are naked in their mechs, they have a sort of dialogue box that shows pictures of them in their mechs. The last point has an in-universe explanation, but can still absolutely be scrutinized and criticized.

So yeah, there is a bit of that stuff in the game.
 
Not a silly question at all, and a highly legitimate concern. There’s two things often pointed out - one is a character in a super-tight catsuit, and the other one is the fact that the characters are naked in their mechs, they have a sort of dialogue box that shows pictures of them in their mechs. The last point has an in-universe explanation, but can still absolutely be scrutinized and criticized.

So yeah, there is a bit of that stuff in the game.
Hmmm. Well, I think I'll get the game on a sale. I'm already inundated with games as is so that's not an issue, but I also don't want to invest £50 into it just in case I can't overlook that stuff. Thanks for the answer! :)
 
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DONE!

With 100% Remembrance, 100% Destruction and 95% Analysis and a playtime of 24 hours. I bumped the difficulty down during the last few battles because I suck, but I still intend to go back for bonus objectives to get 100% Analysis, and try to S rank as much as possible. And I'm also going to skim through the events in Analysis chronologically to see if I can pick up on even more details.

Loved the game perhaps even more this time around, a playthrough that further solidifies it as a all-time favorite for me. Such a fantastic port.

Regarding the endgame I get GOOSEBUMPS when (Endgame spoiler)

the remix of Brat Overflow kicks in during the final battle.



And one thing I'd like to say and would love some reply from someone who's beat the game. (Full game spoilers)

I really think one of the few downsides to the narrative is the fact that Shinonome of 20188 isn't quite properly developed. The big, looming question during the entire game is always "Why is the Kaiju invasion happening?" and the answer is.. Shinonome got sick of it all and derailed Okino's video game code that made up the simulation. And it's not even in her own arc, it's explained in a rather throwaway scene in Takamiya's arc, and without the proper context, it kind of flies under the radar a bit. When I saw that I was SO intrigued and was dying to get through Shinonome's arc, but instead her arc is somewhat underwhelming, with the only real question answered is the whole DD-426 ordeal, as well as Sekigahara being 426 becoming one big red herring. (Which I thought was kind of cool though, since it built well on Shinonome's character)

In my opinion, locking Gouto behind all other progress and make him the final character was a bit of a misstep. His arc contains some essential information and some sick drops, but in the end, was Chihiro being 2188 Morimura and her connecting to Inaba really worthy of the "final big piece of information" spot? I think the game would've been made even better if Shinonome's arc was the final one, and that it has in some way ended with the revelation that 2188 Shinonome derailed the entire project, and not have it revealed in Takamiya's arc.
 
Regarding the endgame I get GOOSEBUMPS when (Endgame spoiler)

Absolutely. It's my favorite track in the entire game, which is really saying something since it's a Top 10 All-Time soundtrack for me. In general the music and story context/stakes really elevate the otherwise visually minimalistic battles.

And one thing I'd like to say and would love some reply from someone who's beat the game. (Full game spoilers)

Yeah, that's a fair critique. The cutting room floor is full of scenes that would've fleshed out that particular character arc more, according to Kamitani. It would've been cool to have them added for this Switch release, but even so it's a small failing of an otherwise wildly ambitious and accomplished story for the medium.
 
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Absolutely. It's my favorite track in the entire game, which is really saying something since it's a Top 10 All-Time soundtrack for me. In general the music and story context/stakes really elevate the otherwise visually minimalistic battles.



Yeah, that's a fair critique. The cutting room floor is full of scenes that would've fleshed out that particular character arc more, according to Kamitani. It would've been cool to have them added for this Switch release, but even so it's a small failing of an otherwise wildly ambitious and accomplished story for the medium.

It’s so nuts to me that the game has such a wild and layered story and yet it’s roughly half of what was initially intended. I mean, you can sort of tell, since there are a few instances and aspects that could’ve used more screen time, (like the point I mentioned, as well as one of the romances) but still.
 
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DONE!

With 100% Remembrance, 100% Destruction and 95% Analysis and a playtime of 24 hours. I bumped the difficulty down during the last few battles because I suck, but I still intend to go back for bonus objectives to get 100% Analysis, and try to S rank as much as possible. And I'm also going to skim through the events in Analysis chronologically to see if I can pick up on even more details.

Loved the game perhaps even more this time around, a playthrough that further solidifies it as a all-time favorite for me. Such a fantastic port.

Regarding the endgame I get GOOSEBUMPS when (Endgame spoiler)

the remix of Brat Overflow kicks in during the final battle.



And one thing I'd like to say and would love some reply from someone who's beat the game. (Full game spoilers)

I really think one of the few downsides to the narrative is the fact that Shinonome of 20188 isn't quite properly developed. The big, looming question during the entire game is always "Why is the Kaiju invasion happening?" and the answer is.. Shinonome got sick of it all and derailed Okino's video game code that made up the simulation. And it's not even in her own arc, it's explained in a rather throwaway scene in Takamiya's arc, and without the proper context, it kind of flies under the radar a bit. When I saw that I was SO intrigued and was dying to get through Shinonome's arc, but instead her arc is somewhat underwhelming, with the only real question answered is the whole DD-426 ordeal, as well as Sekigahara being 426 becoming one big red herring. (Which I thought was kind of cool though, since it built well on Shinonome's character)

In my opinion, locking Gouto behind all other progress and make him the final character was a bit of a misstep. His arc contains some essential information and some sick drops, but in the end, was Chihiro being 2188 Morimura and her connecting to Inaba really worthy of the "final big piece of information" spot? I think the game would've been made even better if Shinonome's arc was the final one, and that it has in some way ended with the revelation that 2188 Shinonome derailed the entire project, and not have it revealed in Takamiya's arc.

It's been a while since I played the game, so I'm not too sure how well I remember things:

Shinonome is definitely the character that I remember the least, as I feel like she gets the least screentime/background/explanations out of basically everyone? Which, honestly, with 13+ characters to develop and get through it's amazing they did as good of a job as they did with all of them, but a few don't get as much development as others.

And yes, her triggering the kaiju invasions IS a big reveal, but it's treated a bit offhandedly as you said; but I think that's on purpose due to how it happened. I also feel like while I can totally understand her feelings for doing so in the moment, that doesn't excuse her actions and she doesn't exactly come across very well overall. Not that any of the 13 are perfect or don't make mistakes or bad choices, but she comes off especially badly IMO.

I actually liked Gouto being the final bits of information, since it FINALLY explains what is up with Morimura and her entire situation, which is such a long-running mystery for the entire game. I think that if they had put the 'Shironome caused the kaiju invasion' reveal right at the end like that, it would have felt a bit deflating, because honestly the reason that it happened is much less monumental that it might have been built up to be in players' heads by that point.

Hard to say though! I totally get where you're coming from.
 
is there a suggested way to approach the two (three?) modes? like could I 100% destruction without touching remembrance, or do they block you off from segments if you haven't done stuff in the other modes?
 
is there a suggested way to approach the two (three?) modes? like could I 100% destruction without touching remembrance, or do they block you off from segments if you haven't done stuff in the other modes?
Each have points in them that block you off from the others, so you have to do them while alternating at least to some degree.
 
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okay cool, I was hoping for some kind of direction in that regard. thanks!
 
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Any tips on how to spend my Meta-Chips? I’m finally dipping into Destruction after getting as far as I could in Remembrance, and wanna make sure I’m spending my Meta-Chips wisely… I’m not as invested in the battle gameplay so I’m kinda overwhelmed with the customization options given. I mainly just want to make sure that I’m going to be able to reliably and consistently reach S-rank and meet the bonus objectives so that I won’t have to replay a bunch of battles later on…
 
Quoted by: SiG
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Endgame spoilers:

Getting close finishing up the game, very eager to see the conclusion. I will say the Gouto parts are a bit of a slow burn and they're dragging a little bit, I saved almost all of his rememberance till the end because he unlocks so late and I was more invested in the other characters at that point, maybe that was a bit of a mistake.
It doesn't help that his chapters are mostly big exposition dumps with little of the mystery and cross-character interactions the others had.

Not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the game though.
 
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There is action. There are two modes, with the third serving more as an unlockable appendicies/glossary using points which you obtain from the two other modes to better make sense of the story. The first mode acts more like a point-and-click adventure game where you get to move your character around, while the second is more like a tower defence pseudo-RTS game where you actually get to control your Sentinels while Kaiju try to attack a certain installation. Both segments uncover bits of the story piecemeal, and sometimes following each of these threads and concepts can be a bit confusing, which is why the third mode acts as a kind of timeline of sorts.

I would not peg it as a visual novel in any capacity: There are visual novel aspects, but it is certainly more proactive than something like Ace Attorney and certain segments can at times feel like it was ripped straight out of a Lucasarts adventure game. There are multiple outcomes in each story thread, with each one potentially answering questions (...or perhaps uncovering more mysteries?). As for the pseudo-RTS, it actually does run in realtime, but the game "pauses" the action when you issue commands to your Sentinels. Some of the actions they do can act effectively like interrupts.

In the end, it feels quite unique from any other game I've ever played. That in itself deserves a reason to give it a look.
Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation, it doesn't sound like it's my kind of game. I hope they bring other titles of their catalog to the Switch.
 
Any tips on how to spend my Meta-Chips? I’m finally dipping into Destruction after getting as far as I could in Remembrance, and wanna make sure I’m spending my Meta-Chips wisely… I’m not as invested in the battle gameplay so I’m kinda overwhelmed with the customization options given.
For me, getting and upgrading Long Range Ballistic Missiles capabilities have been the way to go. I try to take down as many enemies as they spawn into the field quickly, usually by spamming left or right on the +Control Pad (which makes you select the next available character). Also investing in Sentry turrents for characters that can equip them are a big boon.

Upgrading your Meta-System via Terminal Enhancement is vital in getting more access to new weapons and perks though. I believe this is where you want to eventually invest a fair amount of Meta-Chips in, especially for perks such as Score and Chip Multiplier. Make sure to scroll through you list of characters until you get to Terminal Enhancement in case you missed it! (In the Ready screen, press X then use L or R to scroll through the list of characters. The very last "character" is Terminal Enhancements.)

In terms of priority:
Long-range capability of characters -> Meta-System Level -> Long-range capability upgrades/4th Skill Unlock
At least in my case.

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation, it doesn't sound like it's my kind of game. I hope they bring other titles of their catalog to the Switch.
That's a shame. I'm just surprised how really knee deep I am into this game, and this is despite having gotten Kirby and the Forgotten Land and most recently Doom Eternal. If you wish to bring more Vanillaware titles on Switch though, I suggest you should give it a try.
 
For me, getting and upgrading Long Range Ballistic Missiles capabilities have been the way to go. I try to take down as many enemies as they spawn into the field quickly, usually by spamming left or right on the +Control Pad (which makes you select the next available character). Also investing in Sentry turrents for characters that can equip them are a big boon.

Upgrading your Meta-System via Terminal Enhancement is vital in getting more access to new weapons and perks though. I believe this is where you want to eventually invest a fair amount of Meta-Chips in, especially for perks such as Score and Chip Multiplier. Make sure to scroll through you list of characters until you get to Terminal Enhancement in case you missed it! (In the Ready screen, press X then use L or R to scroll through the list of characters. The very last "character" is Terminal Enhancements.)

In terms of priority:
Long-range capability of characters -> Meta-System Level -> Long-range capability upgrades/4th Skill Unlock
At least in my case.


That's a shame. I'm surprised just how really knee deep I am into this game, and this is despite having gotten Kirby and the Forgotten Land and most recently Doom Eternal.
Thanks! Have you been able to reliably and consistently get S-ranks and meet the bonus objectives with this approach? That’s my main concern, ‘cause I don’t want to have to replay a bunch of battles later on.
 
Quoted by: SiG
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For me, getting and upgrading Long Range Ballistic Missiles capabilities have been the way to go. I try to take down as many enemies as they spawn into the field quickly, usually by spamming left or right on the +Control Pad (which makes you select the next available character). Also investing in Sentry turrents for characters that can equip them are a big boon.

Upgrading your Meta-System via Terminal Enhancement is vital in getting more access to new weapons and perks though. I believe this is where you want to eventually invest a fair amount of Meta-Chips in, especially for perks such as Score and Chip Multiplier. Make sure to scroll through you list of characters until you get to Terminal Enhancement in case you missed it! (In the Ready screen, press X then use L or R to scroll through the list of characters. The very last "character" is Terminal Enhancements.)

In terms of priority:
Long-range capability of characters -> Meta-System Level -> Long-range capability upgrades/4th Skill Unlock
At least in my case.


That's a shame. I'm just surprised how really knee deep I am into this game, and this is despite having gotten Kirby and the Forgotten Land and most recently Doom Eternal. If you wish to bring more Vanillaware titles on Switch though, I suggest you should give it a try.

Agreed with all of the above, and here's one more tip:

Upgrade Demolisher Blade on all of your Gen 1 Sentinels. If upgraded a few levels it can one-shot even the biggest, beefiest enemy units.

As far as getting S-ranks is concerned, the combat is easy enough that you'll likely get an S rank on nearly every battle without trying to. I wouldn't worry too much about suboptimal upgrade paths or anything.
 
Thanks! Have you been able to reliably and consistently get S-ranks and meet the bonus objectives with this approach? That’s my main concern, ‘cause I don’t want to have to replay a bunch of battles later on.
Actually...Yes! Some battles do have me on the edge of my seat since I'm sometimes forced to equip characters that I typically bench due to burnout, but at the end of the day at worst I've gotten 1% Damage on my Terminal.
 
It's been a while since I played the game, so I'm not too sure how well I remember things:

Shinonome is definitely the character that I remember the least, as I feel like she gets the least screentime/background/explanations out of basically everyone? Which, honestly, with 13+ characters to develop and get through it's amazing they did as good of a job as they did with all of them, but a few don't get as much development as others.

And yes, her triggering the kaiju invasions IS a big reveal, but it's treated a bit offhandedly as you said; but I think that's on purpose due to how it happened. I also feel like while I can totally understand her feelings for doing so in the moment, that doesn't excuse her actions and she doesn't exactly come across very well overall. Not that any of the 13 are perfect or don't make mistakes or bad choices, but she comes off especially badly IMO.

I actually liked Gouto being the final bits of information, since it FINALLY explains what is up with Morimura and her entire situation, which is such a long-running mystery for the entire game. I think that if they had put the 'Shironome caused the kaiju invasion' reveal right at the end like that, it would have felt a bit deflating, because honestly the reason that it happened is much less monumental that it might have been built up to be in players' heads by that point.

Hard to say though! I totally get where you're coming from.
(Full game spoiler)

Shinonome is not very well regarded among the fanbase, and I can see why. She's real sketchy, and she's also, well, a murderer. But she's still my favorite character, I don't find her to be very likeable, and her storyline was pretty frustrating, but in spite of all that, I found her portrayal to be very striking and affecting.

The Morimura plotline confused the living hell out of me at first, since the game is basically "time travel that isn't actually time travel but it also has real time travel that isn't to be confused with the time travel that isn't actually time travel" and has 4 versions of her running around. The Gouto reveals were awesome, it was very satisfying to see how it all connected. I just personally think that it lacked some impact, and I could see other plot points make for a better final reveal.

Actually, I might as well ask. I never really caught the reason why Morimura is in the catsuit in some scenes and is Nurse Morimura in other scenes. Because she is the same Morimura, right? (The one from the previous loop)
 
Might I add that
Smug Okino is the best Okino.
(Spoilers for one of the key characters)
 
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(Full game spoiler)

Shinonome is not very well regarded among the fanbase, and I can see why. She's real sketchy, and she's also, well, a murderer. But she's still my favorite character, I don't find her to be very likeable, and her storyline was pretty frustrating, but in spite of all that, I found her portrayal to be very striking and affecting.

The Morimura plotline confused the living hell out of me at first, since the game is basically "time travel that isn't actually time travel but it also has real time travel that isn't to be confused with the time travel that isn't actually time travel" and has 4 versions of her running around. The Gouto reveals were awesome, it was very satisfying to see how it all connected. I just personally think that it lacked some impact, and I could see other plot points make for a better final reveal.

Actually, I might as well ask. I never really caught the reason why Morimura is in the catsuit in some scenes and is Nurse Morimura in other scenes. Because she is the same Morimura, right? (The one from the previous loop)
In reference to your spoiler-tagged question:

Both of those Chihiro's are technically the same person in that they are the consciousness of the Chihiro from two loops ago that was backed up into Sector 0.

At the end of two loops ago, Okino shifts both teen Juro Izumi and Chihiro Morimura out of the UFO before the sim is rebooted, backing up their consciousnesses to Sector 0 to live on in the next loop. The Chihiro in the black catsuit is Two Loops Ago Chihiro's consciousness/AI, and whenever you see her with that look it's something happening one loop ago. That's when she and adult Juro Izumi were going all covert-ops and trying to take down Shikishima, Juro kills some of the other characters, etc.

The Chihiro school nurse that you see in the game's current loop is that same backed up Chihiro consciousness from two loops ago now starting over again in the current loop. Her memories don't include what happened one loop ago because she wasn't able to make a new backup of herself into Sector 0 before the reboot happened. She did manage to shift out Tetsuya Ida into Sector 0 before he "died" in that previous loop, so he goes into the current loop with all of his memories from the previous two loops intact. That's when you see him appear on the Sumire bridge to confront a confused, teenaged Chihiro when he teleports in on the early-gen Sentinel that shifted out of the final battle of the previous loop.

So Ida in the current loop is backed up from one loop ago, while nurse Morimura has her memories from two loops ago but not from one loop ago. And the two of them are blipped into existence at the start of the current loop at their backed-up teen ages while their "real" selves (that have a physical counterpart in the pods) are just being born when the current loop begins.

tl;dr - All scenes of catsuit Morimura were from one loop ago. All scenes of nurse Morimura are from the current loop.

I probably didn't do the best job explaining that, but since you've already beaten the game twice you probably can get what I'm saying. God I love talking about this game!
 
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So…what’s the point of putting characters on Defense? I’m confused about that. I know the ones I put on Attack are the ones I use in battle, but what does the Defense squad do? Does it even matter? Surely it just affect something, right? Maybe the game explained it but I missed it, I dunno.
 
So…what’s the point of putting characters on Defense? I’m confused about that. I know the ones I put on Attack are the ones I use in battle, but what does the Defense squad do? Does it even matter? Surely it just affect something, right? Maybe the game explained it but I missed it, I dunno.
Defence just means the characters that you keep benched. Sometimes they have Passive attacks like launch missiles or do limited amounts of short range attacks on enemies that might slip closer to the Terminal, but by no means should you count on these to take down a huge swarm of enemies; that's what your Attacking Sentinels are for.

In the long run you might even want to upgrade or level-up Sentinels you don't frequently use in battles, if only to somehow increase your passive defences as well. Luckily it seems you can just repeat battles in the Destruction chapter to grind for more Meta-Chips and experience.
 
So…what’s the point of putting characters on Defense? I’m confused about that. I know the ones I put on Attack are the ones I use in battle, but what does the Defense squad do? Does it even matter? Surely it just affect something, right? Maybe the game explained it but I missed it, I dunno.

When a character is on defense they perform defensive actions passively as enemy units get near the terminal. When you move a character into the Defense Squad you'll see that their list of abilities at the bottom change to different ones.

The point is just taking them off of the attack squad to let them rest for one fight to avoid brain fatigue. This is basically just there to incentivize players to mix up their squad composition to keep that score multiplier going, because resetting everyone's brain fatigue with Y also resets the score multiplier back to 100%.
 
Alright, a few hours in and current theories

For reference, I’ve done the first chunk of Juro, Iori, and Megumi’s stories.

Iori is being set up to be the younger Morimura but this will somehow not be true, either by her just being some kind of time travel duplicate of the same person, or a red herring altogether.

Fluffy and Shiba are the same entity (Fluffy just mentioned he can shapeshift and now they’ve both fucked with Juro’s memory). Given that I’m also getting all the bad vibes from both of them, they’re probably some kind of enemy alien spy that is also time traveling.
 
Alright, a few hours in and current theories

For reference, I’ve done the first chunk of Juro, Iori, and Megumi’s stories.

Iori is being set up to be the younger Morimura but this will somehow not be true, either by her just being some kind of time travel duplicate of the same person, or a red herring altogether.

Fluffy and Shiba are the same entity (Fluffy just mentioned he can shapeshift and now they’ve both fucked with Juro’s memory). Given that I’m also getting all the bad vibes from both of them, they’re probably some kind of enemy alien spy that is also time traveling.

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In reference to your spoiler-tagged question:

Both of those Chihiro's are technically the same person in that they are the consciousness of the Chihiro from two loops ago that was backed up into Sector 0.

At the end of two loops ago, Okino shifts both teen Juro Izumi and Chihiro Morimura out of the UFO before the sim is rebooted, backing up their consciousnesses to Sector 0 to live on in the next loop. The Chihiro in the black catsuit is Two Loops Ago Chihiro's consciousness/AI, and whenever you see her with that look it's something happening one loop ago. That's when she and adult Juro Izumi were going all covert-ops and trying to take down Shikishima, Juro kills some of the other characters, etc.

The Chihiro school nurse that you see in the game's current loop is that same backed up Chihiro consciousness from two loops ago now starting over again in the current loop. Her memories don't include what happened one loop ago because she wasn't able to make a new backup of herself into Sector 0 before the reboot happened. She did manage to shift out Tetsuya Ida into Sector 0 before he "died" in that previous loop, so he goes into the current loop with all of his memories from the previous two loops intact. That's when you see him appear on the Sumire bridge to confront a confused, teenaged Chihiro when he teleports in on the early-gen Sentinel that shifted out of the final battle of the previous loop.

So Ida in the current loop is backed up from one loop ago, while nurse Morimura has her memories from two loops ago but not from one loop ago. And the two of them are blipped into existence at the start of the current loop at their backed-up teen ages while their "real" selves (that have a physical counterpart in the pods) are just being born when the current loop begins.

tl;dr - All scenes of catsuit Morimura were from one loop ago. All scenes of nurse Morimura are from the current loop.

I probably didn't do the best job explaining that, but since you've already beaten the game twice you probably can get what I'm saying. God I love talking about this game!
Full game spoilers

Wait, now I’m falling behind.

There are tons of scenes of her (catsuit) in the current loop, right? Like, when Sekigahara takes Fuyusaka to Ayame Park, and has her tell them about looping, and just a few scenes previously, she’s Nurse Morimura in school.
 
I want Muramasa ported to modern consoles first!
The Muramasa DLC is legit amazing. I can't emphasise how sad it is so many people didn't get to experience that. Some of the best DLC I've ever played (might be the best, tbh). New music, new characters and mechanics, new bosses, them all combined is basically Muramasa 2 anyway.
 
Full game spoilers

Wait, now I’m falling behind.

There are tons of scenes of her (catsuit) in the current loop, right? Like, when Sekigahara takes Fuyusaka to Ayame Park, and has her tell them about looping, and just a few scenes previously, she’s Nurse Morimura in school.

You might be right. I'm going off of memory of when I completed the game two years ago, so it might just be a matter of Morimura wearing that catsuit whenever she's not pretending to be the school nurse.

I'd have to boot up my PS4 version to check my completed Analysis section to check that. I look forward to having it completed on my Switch version because it'll be awesome having essentially the game's official encyclopedia available for quick reference on a handheld.
 
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The Muramasa DLC is legit amazing. I can't emphasise how sad it is so many people didn't get to experience that. Some of the best DLC I've ever played (might be the best, tbh). New music, new characters and mechanics, new bosses, them all combined is basically Muramasa 2 anyway.

Hehe it's almost as if you already knew I only played the Wii version from my post but you are right.
Hopefully soon enough we will see that beauty in HD.
 
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Made it through the tutorial, and can now Switch between destruction, remembrance, and analysis. Definitely intrigued, more so by the story than the battles. I’ll probably do the battles available first anyway.
I honestly think the story is gonna be what I like more than the battles.
 
Just got to my first "holy shit" moment, when its revealed Iori is the teenage version of Ms Morimura, which puts a dark and poignant spin on her interactions with the Ei, such as her having a crush on the man who will eventually kill her future self, or him meeting the younger version of the woman he just killed shortly after the event, both without either of them knowing.

This game is freaking amazing so far. I'm still getting into the swing of the Remembrance sections as I'm normally not into this kind of game at all, but the superb storytelling and art do go a long way towards making up for it still feeling a little outside my gaming comfort zone.

The Destruction sections however have well and truly clicked with me, despite me normally not being into strategy games. It manages to make the genre feel very accessible, dynamic, and fun.
 
I'm so bad at remembering Japanese names :(

I'm gonna have to spend some time memorizing to fully enjoy the experience - I'm only at about 6? character introductions so far and I'm already lost in the web of names.
 
Got to the part where

I can freely choose some characters and select the difficulty. Kinda weird/unique to bring up that at this point in the game but I like it.
 
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Just got to my first "holy shit" moment, when its revealed Iori is the teenage version of Ms Morimura, which puts a dark and poignant spin on her interactions with the Ei, such as her having a crush on the man who will eventually kill her future self, or him meeting the younger version of the woman he just killed shortly after the event, both without either of them knowing.

This game is freaking amazing so far. I'm still getting into the swing of the Remembrance sections as I'm normally not into this kind of game at all, but the superb storytelling and art do go a long way towards making up for it still feeling a little outside my gaming comfort zone.

The Destruction sections however have well and truly clicked with me, despite me normally not being into strategy games. It manages to make the genre feel very accessible, dynamic, and fun.

The first of many "Wait... WHAT?!" moments to come, I can assure you. It gets to a point where it feels like the game is hitting you with revelations one after another for hours on end, each one upending something you thought you understood previously. It's the best.

Keep your impressions/reactions coming as you make more progress. I love reading them.
 


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