History VideoGame / AITheSomniumFilesNirvanaInitiative

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The plot is positively ''drowning'' in subtle hints towards the game's central twists. There are many times where characters will go places, ask questions, and get no new information, giving the impression that the game is spinning its wheels, but these scenes invariably contain clues as to what's actually going on.
** In Ryuki's storyline, at one point he attempts to capture a suspect who may be the killer [[spoiler:in the underground cathedral beneath Naix headquarters]], but the suspect manages to escape. The very next scene, we are at ABIS where Boss is severely chewing Ryuki out for his mistake and saying that her superiors were seriously considering firing him and that she was able to talk them down to demotion to a beat cop. At first glance, this all seems rather excessive for letting a suspect get away, even a murder suspect. [[spoiler:But once the true timeline of events is revealed, you can see that the chewing out and demotion isn't for letting a suspect get away, it's for ''nearly murdering a civilian during a mental episode'' (an event we learn about during Mizuki's (Bibi's) segment), which he did upon seeing a theme park mascot putting up balloons after learning that the killer was leaving balloons with clues around town.]]
*** [[spoiler:As a bonus, if you inspect the balloons in Boss' office, Ryuki's first thoughts are "Tch..." clearly acting as a sour reminder of his failure.]]
** An ''extremely'' subtle one is given when speaking to Ryuki after his Somnium is completed. He's mostly sobered up, and claims that "instead of seeing three of you, now there are only two." [[spoiler:It sounds like he's still coming off his bender, but it's him casually talking about how there is a Mizuki Date, and a Mizuki Kuranushi.]]
** Komeji's initial claim to fame was his skill at quiz shows, even netting roles as a host in a few himself. Amame ''also'' has a talent for trivia. [[spoiler:Parents tend to pass their talents onto their children after all.]]
** During Mizuki's story arc, sometimes there's some sort of mark on her leg during scenes and sometimes there isn't. [[spoiler:That "mark" is the scar from when Mizuki got shot by Saito in the previous game. And it is relevant because whenever the scar isn't on Mizuki's leg, you are controlling ''another'' Mizuki, her older "sister" (more accurately, the younger Mizuki is a clone of the older Mizuki, made to iron out the heart defect that older Mizuki had while retaining the super strength.]]
** During a conversation Mizuki has with Shoma, she mentions that she has someone younger than her who is the most important thing to her in the world, even though no such person has been introduced to the player. [[spoiler:It turns out that the person that's really important to her is Mizuki, "our" Mizuki. And the Mizuki who said it is actually her older "sister", whom "our" Mizuki is a clone of. This also is a reveal that you are only playing as "our" Mizuki for half of the time, the other half is playing as the older Bibi.]]
** During both Ryuki and Mizuki's routes, Boss occasionally mentions that she has a daughter. On a seemingly unrelated note, [[spoiler:the Masked Woman's color scheme is Red and Black, just like Boss]]. In the end, [[spoiler:the Masked Woman is revealed to be Boss's (adoptive) daughter]].
** In the character profiles, both Aiba and Tama are noted to only be female due to their settings. Initially a rather innocuous but odd detail. [[spoiler:Near the end of the game, we are (sort of) introduced to a third Ai-ball named Marco, who was said to be male compared to Aiba and Tama, though Kotaro Uchikoshi confirmed in late July 2022 that [[https://twitter.com/Uchikoshi_Eng/status/1553174080232521728?s=20&t=QUVOg1OaiEgPlR2A7qLtJw they were non-binary]] and [[https://twitter.com/Uchikoshi_Eng/status/1553174273535397891?s=20&t=Bj-kMqSMAExBV1jpUXA6Mg was only referred to as male due to a localization decision]]. We don't actually hear or see them though since according to Bibi, they are extremely shy and introverted.]]
** Amame attempts to explain her current depressive episode as her having lost big in pachinko. At this point in the story, Amame should be under the legal gambling age and yet Ryuki, a police officer, doesn't question it. Tama as well cited a specific article in an earlier scene when pointing out that Amame's late night hours at Sunfish Pocket are illegal, and yet here she doesn't call attention to Amame's growing list of illegal activities either. [[spoiler:This scene is actually taking place after the timeskip, where Amame is 24 and thus the prospect of her gambling doesn't raise any eyebrows.]]
** The scene where [[spoiler:Shoma discovers Komeji's body]] offers plenty concerning [[spoiler:the connection between Amame and the Endas.]]
*** Shortly before [[spoiler:discovering Komeji's body]], Amame is standing next to Shoma instead of Iris and Kizuna. [[spoiler:He's her little brother after all.]]
*** Pay attention to Amame's expressions when Shoma approaches the bodybag. [[spoiler:She already knows what's inside, and is clearly contemplating whether to stop Shoma from opening it.]]
*** The girls each have different reactions to [[spoiler:Komeji's corpse.]] Iris is merely disheartened and Kizuna is terrified. Amame? She's too traumatized to even speak. [[spoiler:That's her father in the bodybag, after all.]]
*** The taxi driver that drove Iris's group to Studio Dvaita lets slip that when they got there, Amame rushed out of the car while Kizuna was still trying to pay the driver. [[spoiler:She knows exactly what Komeji is looking for, and is terrified that Tearer might already be after him.]]
** Loads of it in [[spoiler:Amame's first Somnium]]. Of particular note are the [[spoiler:heavy focus on Andes Komeji and the presence of multiple items belonging to Shoma]], the [[spoiler:wrench being replaced with a split body]] during the Spot the Difference game, and [[spoiler:the very obtuse questions and situations being posed at the end.]]
** When Kizuna's gone missing, Ota mentions being unable to get a hold of Amame, and went to Sunfish Pocket to try and find her only for her to not turn up there. Even when Iris eventually turns up later on, Amame is ''still'' nowhere to be seen. [[spoiler:[[RedHerring She's not doing anything suspicious though]], she's most likely just holed up at home grieving over her father's death.]]
** Some things are immediately off in [[spoiler:Gen's Somnium]]:
*** [[spoiler:Ota as his younger self]] appears which doesn't make much sense considering [[spoiler:Ota has a new look post-timeskip]]. That is, it wouldn't make much sense unless [[spoiler:the chapter is actually taking place 6 years ago]].
*** [[spoiler:Gen's feelings for Amame]] are first alluded to here, where Komeji introduces her as the ''beautiful'' [[spoiler:Amame Doi.]]
*** Komeji is the announcer for the contest, even though [[spoiler:he died six years ago.]] This is never commented on because [[spoiler:Komeji is actually still alive at this point in time.]]
** In Mizuki Chapter 2 when told that [[spoiler:Andes Komeji had been killed a few days prior to the date he was found]], Mizuki and Aiba brush it off, despite the fact [[spoiler:supposedly six years had passed since finding the two halves]]. That's because [[spoiler:it really had been a few days, and a different Mizuki found half of Komeji after Ryuki did]].
** Mizuki finds out in chapter 2 of her route that [[spoiler:Jin Furue has the left half of Uru Somezuki's face, with his own distinctive percent-shaped birthmark on his right side. In Mizuki Chapter 4 M2, however, she appears to have no idea who the half-body found in Gen's freezer is, despite the fact that she should know exactly who it is by the birthmark. This only makes sense if the Mizukis are two different people.]]
** In Mizuki Chapter 4 M1, "Visions", Mizuki has the option to give Shoma a piece of chocolate since it's Valentines Day. Mizuki Chapter 4 M2, on a side path that can only be accessed after playing Chapter 4 M1 [[spoiler:unless you already know the password in the Masked Woman's somnium]], also happens on Valentines Day, to which the option is again presented to give Shoma some chocolate. Doing so has Shoma question if Mizuki has offered him Valentines Day chocolate before, to which he then dismisses as Deja Vu. [[spoiler:Shoma isn't actually remembering some time that ''this'' Mizuki offered him chocolate, he's remembering the time "Bibi" offered it to him 6 years earlier.]]
** Also, in Mizuki Chapter 4 M1, both [[spoiler:Date and Tokiko]] end up showing up despite how players are led to believe that [[spoiler:they are both dead by that point. And yet, Mizuki doesn't even ask about how they are still alive (despite Mizuki asking Date about where he has been in the past six years in the Amame and Gen route). This is a major hint at the true timeline of the game.]]
** Mizuki Chapter 4 M1 also has [[spoiler:Kizuna getting kidnapped]], and yet, [[spoiler:Kizuna is perfectly fine in Mizuki Chapter 4 M2]]. There doesn't appear to be a [[spoiler:ForWantOfANail moment for why that happened]], and thus, [[spoiler:this gives another hint at the true timeline of the game.]]
** In Ryuki Chapter 2, Shoma becomes depressed at the mention of his dad and asks not to talk about him, and says he's all alone. It reads like just an oddly melancholy extension of their established tense relationship, but [[spoiler:this conversation is actually taking place six years after Komeji's been murdered]].
** In Mizuki Chapter 2, Mizuki and Aiba question whether Gen's unusual behavior is because it isn't actually Gen but someone wearing a Gen mask, although they promptly confirm his identity afterward. [[spoiler:Later in the game it's revealed that Date had been masquerading as Gen during the events that take place in the present, which was done in order to stay concealed from Tearer while he investigates, and also allows him to uncover a secret which becomes instrumental in solving the true nature of Jin Furue's death.]]
** In [[spoiler:the Masked Woman]]'s Somnium, someone she wants to protect is depicted by a blue, pink, and white bunny. [[spoiler:Much like Mizuki's frequent associations with Adorabbit]].
** In Mizuki Chapter Two, Aiba explains to Mizuki who Iris is, which is odd considering that Aiba knows Iris is one of Mizuki's closest friends, and wouldn't need an explanation. [[spoiler:Until you consider how ''this'' Mizuki never actually met Iris.]]
** Somewhat similar to the above, reading Boss’ profile in the “present” section tells the player that she is Mizuki’s adoptive mother, [[spoiler:which one would assume she did since Date was presumed dead when Mizuki was 13]]. However, Mizuki herself is shocked to hear that Boss has a daughter of her own, which is a weird thing for her to not be privy to until it turns out to be because [[spoiler:Boss didn’t adopt ''our '' Mizuki, but she did adopt ''a'' Mizuki.]]
** Mizuki giving two different responses to what the water at the shrine is used for is [[spoiler:also another hint towards there being two versions of Mizuki in this game.]]
** The running gag with Kagami is back from the first game, with Mizuki forgetting his name upon their second encounter. [[spoiler:Though if you pay attention, it's clear that this Mizuki legitimately hasn't met him yet.]]
** At points, Mizuki tries (unsuccessfully) to get Boss to raise her salary so she can buy more stuff like clothes. This is a bit odd, as she is the lone heir to both of her deceased and well-off parents, and even inherited the position of president at Lemniscate and owner of Sunfish Pocket, among other ventures Renju controlled. She's clearly working for ABIS because she wants to, not because she needs any amount of money from it. [[spoiler:This is yet another hint towards there being two different Mizuki's, as it is only Mizuki Kuranushi that does this. In addition, because Boss is her adoptive mother, this isn't too far off from her asking for a higher allowance; Boss mentions that "her daughter" has been doing just that at other points.]]
** Possibly taking the cake for the most subtle of all is hidden in the answer to the mystery of how the culprit managed to place Jin Furue's left half in the center of the stadium without leaving any prints behind. [[spoiler:The monowheel robot that Shoma made carried the body while riding along the line splitting the field in half, making the tire track nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, especially if you weren't looking for it.]] One can easily draw a parallel between this and the answer to many of the mysteries regarding Jin Furue's two halves: [[spoiler:Jin and Uru also had a "line" perfectly bisecting their left and right halves, and splitting them along that line made it next to impossible to tell that the two halves recovered by ABIS so far weren't from the same person.]]
** Gen seems a bit inconsistent regarding his opinion of Ota. Whether it's just a few months after Ota took over his family's diner or after he's had years of experience, Gen flip-flops over whether Ota is an amateur serving half-assed food or a serious rival that poses a threat to his business. [[spoiler:In the true timeline, Gen consistently regards Ota as unworthy during the initial investigation and as a good cook six years later.]]
** The very first scene with Amame is when Ryuki goes to Sekiba High to talk with Iris. There, she mentions that she and Iris are graduating soon and can only wear their school uniforms for a little while longer, implying that they want to wear them as much as they can until then, even when they don't have to. Yet when Ryuki runs into her over the next several days, she is sometimes wearing casual clothes. [[spoiler:All the times she is doing so are happening almost six years after she graduated.]]
** Kizuna invites Lien to a party to watch online videos on Valentine's Day mere days after they first met and he made a very bad, even creepy, first impression. He was even disappointed that other people were invited and it wasn't a one-on-one date, making him come across even worse. [[spoiler:This is actually happening after he and Kizuna have been together for six years.]]
** When the Masked Woman shows up at Lemniscate on February 13, Ryuki seems surprised and acts as though he's never seen her before - strange, considering he'd met and spoke with her at the warehouse district only the previous day. [[spoiler:Not only was the encounter at Lemniscate indeed the very first time Ryuki had seen the Masked Woman, this was the chronological first appearance of the Masked Woman persona, as Mizuki Kuranushi had only acquired the voice modulator used to disguise her voice from Moma the previous day.]]
** The Masked Woman sometimes seems indifferent towards Ryuki, but is very annoyed and aggressive towards him at other times. [[spoiler:All the times she is angry with him take place after he shot her with a stun bullet, making her heart condition worse.]]
** When Mizuki goes to get a horribly drunk Ryuki from Brahman at the start of the game, she refers to the left half of Jin's corpse she just found as "the one we couldn't find years ago". Strange, considering that he was only one of several corpses whose left halves were never recovered. [[spoiler:Chikara and Komeji's left halves were actually found only the very next morning after their right halves and Tokiko wasn't even dead yet, so Jin's left half really was the only one they'd never found.]]
** A few characters such as Mama and Gen make offhand comments to Ryuki on February 14 about a rocket launch causing a stir in Shinjuku, with no additional context. [[spoiler:They are referring to the "rehearsal" rocket launch witnessed by Mizuki, the Masked Woman and Ryuki on the roof of Misetan, which took place the previous night and not six years in the future.]]
** When in the underground cathedral following the discovery of [[spoiler:Tokiko's right half]], Tama mentions to Ryuki that she won't be able to make data backups due to being so far underground. While true, it's a little weird for her to say this, as the network was down at the time and she wouldn't have been able to make backups anyway. [[spoiler:This is actually happening six years after the network's issues were fixed.]]
** When examining [[spoiler:Tearer's]] Somnium, neither Mizuki nor Aiba remark on the fact that it is taking place [[spoiler:within the living space underneath Horadori Institute]] that they had examined two nights previous. [[spoiler:This was the first time Mizuki or Aiba had seen this place - not only would the Somnium's real-world inspiration not be discovered for another six years, it wouldn't even be the same Mizuki that does so.]]
** Two for one regarding Tokiko's figurine. After declaring that she can resurrect herself to Ryuki, Tokiko takes the figurine off her desk and smashes it to make a point that her own life is little more than a bargaining chip to her. [[spoiler:Later that night, Ryuki finds Tokiko's right half on her desk with the broken figurine clearly visible on the floor.]] A later scene has Ryuki visit this office again and this figurine is intact. [[spoiler:This scene is set six years before Tokiko smashed it.]]

** In Ryuki's storyline, at one point he attempts to capture a suspect who may be the killer [[spoiler:in the underground cathedral beneath Naix headquarters]], but the suspect manages to escape. The very next scene, we are at ABIS where Boss is severely chewing Ryuki out for his mistake and saying that her superiors were seriously considering firing him and that she was able to talk them down to demotion to a beat cop. At first glance, this all seems rather excessive for letting a suspect get away, even a murder suspect. [[spoiler:But once the true timeline of events is revealed, you can see that the chewing out and demotion isn't for letting a suspect get away, it's for ''nearly murdering a civilian during a mental episode'' (an event we learn about during Mizuki's segment), which he did upon seeing a theme park mascot putting up balloons after learning that the killer was leaving balloons with clues around town.]]

* DancePartyEnding: The true ending of the game ends with one in the stadium, celebrating the defeat of the evil plan.

** Generally speaking, you have to get out of your way to fill out all the Trivia and Appendix entries, as some are entirely optional findings.

* GuideDangIt: The only way to beat [[spoiler:Gen's]] Somnium with time to spare is seemingly waste time on giving a joke answer to a question you're supposed to be looking for the answer to, and once you have met the requirements to give the proper answer the joke option disappears.

*** Pewter [[spoiler:is out of prison and working at ABIS again because Boss wanted him and his skills back. She of course, got him out through lots and lots of blackmail]].

* ChekhovMIA: During the investigation of Aioen Orphanage, it is mentioned that years ago a kid from there, Uru Somezuki, has been kidnapped years ago. [[spoiler:Uru later turns out to be Tearer, the Half Body serial killer, kidnapped from Aioen by Tokiko and Chikara to use his organs as replacements for their son, Jin's, cancer-ridden organs.]]

** After declaring that she can resurrect herself to Ryuki, Tokiko takes a figurine off her desk and smashes it to make a point that her own life is little more than a bargaining chip to her. A later scene has Ryuki visit this office again and this figurine is intact. [[spoiler:This scene is set six years before Tokiko smashed it.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Fittingly for an Uchikoshi mystery, there are many clues leading up to major reveals.

* FourLinesAllWaiting: The game notably has a heap of subplots.
* FourthWallObserver: [[spoiler:Tokiko is aware on some level she is a character in a video game, and that a player after OneHundredPercentCompletion will exhaust every option to solve a puzzle. In the epilogue, [[BatmanGambit she gives Mizuki the "nil number", which the player can tell her during Ryuki's first meeting with her]] - since she knows Ryuki cannot know it, it proves to her there is a player, or as she calls it a Frayer, a person who exists outside the world of the game and thus can [[AGlitchInTheMatrix expose seams in reality]], and she uses said ability to break through in a MindScrew of a GoldenEnding - she successfully ascends beyond the digital reality, but not before helping Ryuki solve the case so early that everyone sympathetic survives and is a good spot at the end of the game.]]

Three months have passed after the New Cyclops Serial Killings. Jin Furue, the 29 year old CEO of Music Food Inc. was found dead in the middle of a quiz show, bisected from top to bottom, with only the right half of his body left at the crime scene alongside a sign with a QR code linking to a strange video, before bursting into flames. Six years later, the left half of Jin's body suddenly appears with no signs of decay in the middle of a sports stadium. Now it's up to Mizuki Okiura and Date's former partner Aiba to solve the bizarre Half Body Serial Killings. Meanwhile, an unknown conspiracy known as the "Nirvana Initiative" starts to emerge...

The game is set between two different scenarios: "Side Mizuki", where you play as the returning Mizuki, now a 18 year old girl working at ABIS with Aiba, where they work together to solve the Half Body Serial Killings six years in the future and "Side Ryuki", where players takes control of Kuruto Ryuki, a newly recruited special agent and his new AI partner Tama, set during the three months after the events of the first game.

* InterfaceScrew: Parts of Ryuki's somnium turns the screen upside down as well as mirrors it. This includes the HUD and the controls.

''AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative'' is the sequel to ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'', developed by Creator/SpikeChunsoft and written by Creator/KotaroUchikoshi under the newly formed development team "Team Zero Escape". It was released on June 24, 2022 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and PC via Steam.

* DubInducedPlotHole: A minor one, but as part of the attempt to avoid a LateArrivalSpoiler for the first game, [[spoiler:Date having Saito's face is explained away as him wearing a mask.]] What is not explained is why [[spoiler:he still has Saito's voice by Greg Chun instead of DC Douglass.]] This was never a problem in the original Japanese, as [[spoiler:both Falco and Saito Sojima shared the same voice actor.]] [[note]]A later cutscene has a character demonstrate a voice changing necktie that mimics somebody else's voice, but it's never explicitly stated if Date is using something similar.[[/note]]

*** Whenever Lien is shown fighting his WeaponOfChoice is a giant key. He even holds the key over his shoulder and fights with it two-handed much like Sora himself.

** [[spoiler:Iris's Somnium]] takes the form of a game of [[VideoGame/PokemonGo Kusemon Go]]. At the end of it [[spoiler:Tearer]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII quite literally]] goes OneWingedAngel. Not to mention, they do [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Jonathan Joestar's]] iconic pose before you battle them.

** In her first appearance, Amame claims that Ryuki's name is Mr. [[Anime/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Rerorerorerotaro]].

* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: [[spoiler:Posthumously, Tearer has tapes that not only taunt the heroes when they arrive and anticipated his plan occurring in the stadium, but he can also predict that they would shoot his mooks with stun bullets. Played with at the end though, as the Tearer has one final message about humanity finally being free...moments after the rocket containing the PERGE virus is destroyed. However, Tokiko shows up in the video to say "Plan... success..." leading you to assume that this is a subversion... [[DoubleSubversion except]] she planned for the Nirvana Initiative to fail so she could give the Frayer (you) the Nil number to help her achieve Moksha. In that respect, ''her'' plan ''was'' as success.]]

** Shortly before [[spoiler:discovering Komeji's body]], Amame is standing next to Shoma instead of Iris and Kizuna. [[spoiler:He's her little brother after all.]] Moreover, pay attention to her expressions when Shoma approaches the bodybag. [[spoiler:She already knows what's inside, and is clearly contemplating whether to stop Shoma from opening it.]]

** Shortly before [[spoiler:discovering Komeji's body]], Amame is standing next to Shoma instead of Iris and Kizuna. [[spoiler:He's her little brother after all, and she knows what he's going to see when Ryuki opens that bodybag.]]

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