Let's Go! ...Maybe.

I finished it! I enjoyed how the back half of the SF route wrapped up all the other times we spotted Takumi and Hiruko in the other timelines, and cleared up the mystery of why Takumi was killed in that one branch of the slasher route! Poor SF Takumi haha.

They are really gunning for a DLC or some kind of continuation through external sources with all the little teasers, like the woman in the labcoat, the G'ie ship, the other Takumi + Hiruko, etc... On the one hand I would really rather not have story buried in a tie-in light novel or manga that will never be translated into English, but on the other hand, if the game actually does well enough to get DLC, it will be really cool that these threads were in the main game.

I never really got my Hiruko/Takumi romance, but it was interesting/melancholic that it seemed to have happened in an earlier timeline that we never got to see. Let's get some Hiruko perspective in the DLC please!

I was expecting the ending of the SF route to be a little more final, but I'm okay with it as it is. With this, the game is firmly an anthology, like I said before. It's kind of nice to get to pick and choose my favorite routes without some feeling less "real" than others. I don't think Takumi and Hiruko are out of the loop, unfortunately... they were able to get everyone from one timeline off-planet, true, but it wasn't done *in their home timeline.* And I'm intrigued by the old guy and how he knows so much. Was he telling the truth about the "legend of the time loop" being in the past? But the circumstances he describes apply so well to how the SDU members were created with stolen power from Futurum. Plus there's the matter of Futuran culture being so close to (Japanese) human culture...

Again I didn't like what was done with Eito in SF so that knocks it down a few pegs. I wish he could have chosen it for himself.

I might be crazy but I'm feeling the urge to replay some of my favorite routes already? Probably because I've been playing this game every day for over a month; it's become a habit. If there's a DLC I'll definitely replay parts of the main game again.

Well turns out the killer in serial killer was also Kako; I kind of should have seen it coming but again, I wasn't super well-versed in what happened on what day and didn't check for sure until I needed to actually choose.

Kind of fun how Takumi and Hiruko just stumble into Eito hiding in the basement lol.

I Do Not Trust the brainwashing on Eito but I want to trust it so bad haha. It feels pretty hollow if this is how we deal with Eito on this timeline--an Eito from another timeline tells us that he'd like his "glitch" removed and we just assume it also applies to SF Eito. I kind of wish we could have had a scene convincing him in SF to go through with it.

But he called Takumi beautiful and that was really cute

I don't remember the ending with them all dying on day 93--the day 93 ending on the flowchart is the kill the baby one and I'm pretty sure that one didn't end with a battle. But I could be mistaken. It also could be from an earlier ending that doesn't actually register as day 93 on the flowchart--maybe the confront Dah'lxia first ending? If it's not actually on the flowchart that would be a first, so the more likely option is that I'm forgetting. But it could be that the story is about to demonstrate that Takumi and Hiruko *can* actually change history.

When I wrote my last post I had already unlocked the first lock, but I decided to do everything else before going there. I had heard rumblings of the horrors of the comedy route and had a suspicion that the one area I hadn't cleared yet was it. And it turns out I was right!

The comedy route honestly wasn't too terrible. The fish route was the only part that I really disliked simply because nothing happened. So many free time days and the only """jokes""" were people arguing about mackerel vs. bonito. No wacky hijinks? Why?

The other three routes were decently funny, and had much better pacing with skipping days. Takumi's voicelines in all the routes were huge highlights. I am once again very grateful I went down the mystery/killing game route first! Though it does make it difficult to remember the particulars of what happened on what day in those routes, which may end up being important...

So yeah I've started along the lock 1 route! I just had to keep going to get all the explanation. 146 timelines huh, Hiruko? DLC when?? And I still have 10 endings to go???

During the Takumi reveal on the serial killer route I did assume that he was the one who killed Gaku on the other side of that branch. It's kind of funny to me that Hiruko was simply able to cure the G'ie data in one timeline and then all "subsequent" timelines are fine. The cure caused the brain damage that caused Takumi to pass out for multiple days in the mystery route, but that only had to happen once and then he was fine afterwards because his consciousness was cured through the brain damage. I was thinking that maybe the injection that Takumi gets in some of the timelines is also the cure? Or it can generally cure brain damage? Because the Takumi in the killing game route suddenly stops passing out, and I think I remember him getting an injection early on.

I've finished all the slasher endings now. It's G'ie galore! I'm happy there was a teeny amount of Kyoshika and Kurara bonding in the zombie side. And it was interesting that Nozomi and zombie Takumi got to make a decision!

And Hiruko romance is/will be real! It was a little tricky to follow the whole breakdown of events. Who is the "visitor?" Would that be the same person who returned in the route where Takumi dies?

Now that I'm back at the original branching point at day 16, I'm thinking maybe it's the G'ie-infected Kako? But then why would she be seemingly rescuing Hiruko from Takumi? So maybe it's Takumi/Hiruko from another timeline, but then why the murder after Takumi dies? Idk.

Retsnom route aaaaaa. I'm so happy there's a route focused on Darumi, and was half-expecting it since she is absent from a huge portion of the game. The ending is so interesting! If Takumi kills her, she ends up making the ruby tear and saving everyone except herself. Takumi supposes that she was playing up/making up the part about absorbing everyone to get him to kill her, but if he accepts her offer, it actually happens. Once again all roads lead back to the killing game route, because there she actually does lie and antagonize people because her death will benefit them. But here it's the truth that antagonizes Takumi!

So we have a situation where Darumi really has transformed into a "monster" whose death will benefit everyone, which is what she's felt like all along... and Takumi only truly accepts her once she's too far gone... aaaaaa

Well anyway that was great. I'm in what appears to be the romance route now, whoopee! Tsubasa gets a non-traumatic romance route, just like I wanted??? I'm talking about the killing game route again???? But seriously I was expecting a bit more romance in major routes. I didn't think it would be mostly quarantined to one route. Hope we get a Hiruko romance too!

And I was bang-on about the people in suits being from alternate timelines.

I saw that Kodaka was talking about wanting to do a DLC. That would be so cool! With how varied the routes are and how each has a different writer, I'm thinking of this game a lot like Steins;Gate Linear Bounded Phenogram, where there's a set scenario and characters and writers can go wild. And I really liked LBP! At this point I don't mind if there's no big wrap-up ending, since the ending to LDA 2nd Scenario was already great. I just want to see what can happen!

Side routes from 00 time!

I really liked the teeny bit of Eito POV we got! Pretty funny that his blindness is represented by MS Paint spray paint scribbles

Multiple Eitos was a trip! More shipping for Crystaahhl

Apparently the latest update (two days ago!) made the serial battles route more bearable. Thank goodness! Even just skipping all the battles was a chore; I'm so glad I didn't actually have to fight any of them except the last one, which was a pretty decent challenge. Wonder if I'll see this version of Takumi in another timeline? I'm starting to think that anyone who's in one of those black cryptoglobin-proof suits is from another timeline. Maybe in the killing game route, the two who help Takumi out are Takumi and Hiruko from another timeline?

Wow, that was a great ending. I teared up at the role reversal of Takumi and Nozomi! And the final battle was really sad. I somehow accidentally engineered it that Hiruko and Eito were the last to go. Main characters up to the very end. Again I really like how Takumi's feelings are described and I like him as a character.

So this is another end. I was kind of expecting the title screen to change again. Wonder what will happen when I get past the story locks? The only one I've encountered so far is story lock 3--no idea where the others are! This ending was very straightforward with none of the transporter/time travel shenanigans that I'm assuming will transpire to get... maybe a third end?

I've been going along the 00 route for the past few days, with a small detour to the Eva route--I couldn't bear to kill her knowing what she had on the outside! The romance was a little uncomfortable... I think she's supposed to be 19/20 or something like that. It just makes her actions toward Nozomi in route 15 even weirder...

But anyway I did really like Takumi's characterization in the Eva route. I like how we see him cope with his regret every time he makes a dubious choice.

It turns out I was right about the TRC memories being fabricated and them being not human! I was thinking that maybe Nozomi and Takumi had met in the hospital, but I didn't connect the dots that Nozomi could have had her memories removed before coming to Last Defense Academy.

How related are they exactly...? I'm just going to imagine it's on the level of first cousins lol. I guess that makes Nozomi the only real viable shipping candidate if you're a real stickler about being genetically related.

I was groaning inwardly when 9B was about boxes too, but this box route is way more interesting. It's really cool how the game hides big twists in the most random places. We get the reveal of the transporter and that Hiruko gets like vague memories of other timelines. So I'm pretty sure that the Eito from the killing game route came from here, since day 36 lines up with about when the second sponsor appeared. I was also thinking I have to be on the lookout for murderous Kakos on day 23/24, though I'm not super sure about that. The ghost boy said that the G'ie queens can't transfer out of their hosts until they're dead, so I thought that there were two queens, one in Kako and one in Nozomi. But then why would Kako try to kill Nozomi? Maybe the queen wasn't able to be transported, so a non-murderous Kako might show up in a different timeline?

The murderer in the murder mystery route could be either Kako or Eito then. But then who killed Gaku? He died really early on. Day 23/24 matches up with the appearance of the first sponsor, but I don't think a G'ie queen could come up with all of that. The sponsor controlling dead bodies does match up with the G'ie though so who knows!

Also how does Eito find out about the transport machine?

I had a little freak out when the UNRELEASED music from series 10 started playing when the Doctor introduced Poppy to UNIT. That's 12's music that was playing as he was dying >:(

Also I'm a little weirded out that Belinda is so accepting of the whole situation? Like this is so weird, no?

Bigger freak out when they're like "the child of a Time Lord is so special" oh no "we're sterile" OH NO

Oh okay they're not talking looms lmao, bullet dodged. this is a new development courtesy of the Master in series 12?

I would feel so much better about Belinda's attachment to Poppy if in the other episodes of the season she had expressed any sort of desire to be a mother... Obviously the Doctor would be happy but for her it just kind of goes against what I thought she wanted?

I love Anita, best hotelier

The Ruby/Conrad confrontation is genuinely compelling? Like, it's interesting sussing out just how much Ruby is lying to pacify him and how much she still feels betrayed. Cool

omg Omega ate her

And now Belinda doesn't want to stay on Earth and wants to travel with the Doctor and Poppy??? What the hell???? I guess Belinda was supposed to have warmed to the idea of traveling over the course of the season, so I can accept that she herself would be excited to continue, but I was so confused that she wouldn't want to stay for Poppy to have some familial support...

Not the music again aaaargh but it is genuinely sad this time so I guess it's okay. I liked that forgetting sequence.

Can we turn down the Murray Gold please lol

Man how did I miss 13 lol... Not being filmed super close up does wonders for her

"Does it really need to be bigger in a room defined by its bigness" A line from 13 that's actually so good???? She's like Fugitive now getting her single scene to make her shine??????

Man 13 is me begging 15 not to regenerate lmao

So it's really happening??? Who's it going to be??? Or will it be a freaking cliffhanger??????

Retconning wanting to go home so bad... makes sense??? Curse you RTD

Like in my head right now it's like the two realities were so close together and it could have split off either way. And the Poppy Belinda sort of blended into the other Belinda for a bit? And at the end when she was forgetting her, the other Belinda was reasserting herself with nothing to tie her to Earth, and that's why the whole first half of the episode felt so weird with her so readily accepting Poppy. Idk it somehow makes a bit of sense. DW always has bs but what matters is if the characters and emotion of the story are written well, the bs isn't as important.

Oof and the Doctor being disappointed she's no longer his daughter...

OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD

The end, I'm somehow grinning and on the verge of tears. They ACTUALLY kept it secret (unless it actually was leaked--if it was it turns out that I managed to learn everything (The Well as a Midnight sequel, the Rani returning, and Gatwa regenerating) except who would be 16. David Tennant's gonna get dragged back in again I just know it

I'm floored. The episode made great use of its extended runtime and it was such a wild ride. 15's era ended on a high note for me! I desperately hope we get a Christmas special this year but it's pretty unlikely. Maybe next year...

Oh wait and the (Flood) Rani is still out there, neat! And the Master and the mysterious hotel manager!

Pretty miffed that Susan didn't show up >:(

Edit: General sentiment online is negative, which I honestly did expect. That big paragraph in the middle is me wrestling with the idea that it makes no sense but I still liked it. Whereas for other people the makes no sense part won out. I expected Omega to be nothing after Sutekh so I also don't have that angle of disappointment that others seem to have!

Those boxes sure are something huh? I haven't finished everything on this route yet, but I got the ending where the boxes are opened and Darumi and Kyoshika come back to life. Pretty cool! I was thinking "it's gotta be prime numbers or odd numbers" and then they just presented me with that choice haha. It would have been cooler if I had to pick the boxes myself. I also liked the line by Eito that by choosing to look for the truth of the boxes, Takumi strayed from another truth. So mysterious!

So that was the only ending so far where *everyone* survives. Though they still don't show day 100, so who knows what happens. I still like the killing game route the best because it got into characterization more, and what the characters' hopes and plans for the future were. And it showed day 100! The "good" endings in the Eito lives half of the chart seem to have this nebulous "we can do anything as long as we're together" vibe and no specifics about what they actually want to do.

Also Eva's curse never showed up again. I assume we'll get into the spooky stuff in the route where Takumi chooses to look for the ghost instead of Kako.

In this half they are going hard on the idea that the "invaders" are aliens, not humans, like I originally thought. The planet is suspiciously called "Futurum" though, so in my mind it still could be a far-future Earth. Either way, the power of cryptoglobin is the Futurans' power, so the defense force are either kidnapped Futurans or engineered hybrids. Dal'xia mentioned a "cursed destiny" so I'm leaning towards hybrids.

I'm also thinking about how it makes no sense for "invaders" to attack the TRC if it's in space. So now I think that all the memories of the TRC were a simulation to give them all something to fight for, which tracks with what Sirei said in the harem route. I don't know how Nozomi fits into this though, since she eventually remembers being Karua but wouldn't have been part of the simulation, since her mother was separate from the team who created everyone else.

Crystaahhl is playing the game too (I stopped watching after she finished the common route) and is very fixated on a toxic ship of Eito/Takumi... well she's going to get her wish lol. The harem route was Not Okay and both endings were so fucked up

I felt so bad choosing Tsubasa to sacrifice herself, but my reasoning was that without Kyoshika, Kurara and Nozomi won't make up. It was interesting that Tsubasa failed and we got an atypical situation. Though I didn't really believe the strength of V'exness' (spelled so wrong) bond with Takumi, it was nice to see a bit more about how she ticks and that Eva is her sister (!).