LogFAQs > #972342876

You're on the wrong train, Nenji Ogata.

Nenji Ogata
Well, I did not expect this prologue. Time shenanigans are BACK! Nenji is stuck in a repeating loop of the train scene with Tomi that we saw from her eyes, only now it leads directly to the apocalypse. And when that apocalypse comes, we are suddenly away in space listening to a mysterious voice (that sounds a lot like Okino) asking us to find the D-key. And then we're back again!

I'd been wondering the point of Ogata, he's not exactly the most immediately appealing of characters, but this setup is fantastic. I am very fond of good time-loop stories, and right from the word go we're dropped into a lot of potential. I've not felt this in the dark about a story for some time now, very glad the game is still pulling surprises on me.

Back in we go, and this time we go right and find Iori talking to Okino. Following her into the train, we meet baby Chihiro (!), who... turns into regular Iori. And then again into catsuit Morimura. Who claims we have always had the key and then shoots us, prompting a flashback where a peak stranger danger League of Darkness Morimura says some real creepy shit to child Nenji and then shoots him to trigger the sentinel process or something. I can't overstate how cool this all is! My original theory was that the timeloops here are actually the different full loops, but I am now wondering if this isn't a timeloop at all but merely some kind of simulation.

Next go around, it's Ryoko's turn. Her and Ei collapse, and we see IDA! I guess he still has a role to play. He drops some really interesting tidbits, though claims he's a man of the past now (is he an AI Ida brought back for whatever this experiment is?). He says that fifteen (!) teenagers are the commanders of the D-forces (!!), and that the real enemy is the Deimos creators: the cancer that is mankind. Well, yeah, that had to be how this goes. He does have a dramatic flair with his words! Really leaning into that villain role.

Ogata catches a glimpse of Okino, and following him into a train results in us waking tied up in his lab in the real world. Ah, that's what this is. I feel like Natsuno did discovering there were no aliens in her story. Still, cool! The train station and all those inside it are a mixed up mess of Ogata's memories, so this has become a character piece. Aw, he really does care for Tomi. He also has memories of some surprising characters like Ida and baby Chihiro, but maybe other data is mixed in here? Regardless, Okino and Hijiyama explain things a bit (they could've done this from the start tbh) and Tsukasa forcefully insists that we go back in without an escape option. Once again we are told that fifteen children's lives were manipulated so that they'd destroy the world. I suddenly remember Izumi a long time ago saying how the nanomachines called the kaiju in the first place, now it seems like the nanomachines somehow create them too? But we know the Deimos are just Shikishima bots that were maybe manipulated by 2188 Ryoko, I don't yet understand how these pieces match up...

Regarding the number fifteen, it's worth a think. 13 of these kids, presumably, are our protagonists, but who are the other two? My first guess is Okino himself- he's in the battle scenes so could be compatible- and as for the other, the only person I can think of is Tamao Kurabe. She's involved in the creation of the Ark project much like most (all?) of the kids are, and in 1945 she talked about having dreams resembling those that Juro, Iori, and Shu have. She's also maybe the only major character left who isn't already cloned into being one of the leads >_> Those are my predictions at this stage. Heck, maybe there's another player yet to be brought in.

Back into the simulation, Juro Kurabe is sounding mighty shady and yep, it's the one and only Izumi. Clearly not a dream manifestation but the actual 426 who snuck in here somehow, to protect the secrets of the key. The key passed from Ogata to Natsuno Minami two months ago, so she is now the unwitting commander of the D-forces. But Izumi doesn't want Okino to learn this, and asks Ogata to keep it a secret. Hmm, there's some very interesting dialogue here.

On the face of it, Izumi seems an obvious villain. From the way he speaks (which is very badass tbh), telling Nenji to hide the truth, manipulating his caring nature to ensure he gets what he wants, it's all pointing a certain way. And I don't think Okino is gonna be the bad guy. But for some reason, I kinda want to believe Izumi. For one, the whole story gets much more interesting if he's telling the truth and this game doesn't tend to go for obvious answers. But also, I'm having trouble deciding what it is he'd gain from destroying the operation. Going from the flashbacks, he is devastated to learn the kids brought the Deimos in the first place and goes so far as to kill his friends over it. And he's an AI, not the original Izumi, so I don't think a full loop reset would keep him alive. Then there's BJ!Miura's mention of Morimura's plan being flawed, and a clearly deep history between Morimura and Izumi that is likely driving both of their actions... I dunno, maybe I'm overthinking it and he's simply in a 'burn it all down' revenge plan.

In any case, Ogata decides to hide the truth from Okino and I don't blame him for it. Megumi shows up and 'casts a spell' to help us out, her being brought here by her cat friend who I guess must be Izumi. Okino is gone and Hijiyama incapacitated, so Ogata escapes and heads to the final battle. We cut to some time during the final battle, where Nenji is finally able to act the hero of his dreams, professing his love to Tomi (in a pretty cool manner I must say) before beating back some kaiju. The end! I did not have high expectations for Ogata and he still isn't my favourite character, but his story was a great one through and through. Well done, Nenji!

Cleared:
Shu Amiguchi
Ryoko Shinonome
Tomi Kisaragi
Yuki Takamiya
Natsuno Minami
Nenji Ogata- CLEARED

Uncleared:
Keitaro Miura- 87%
Juro Kurabe- 55%
Ei Sekigahara- 28%
Iori Fuyusaka- prologue done
Takatoshi Hijiyama- prologue done
Megumi Yakushiji- prologue done
Renya Gouto- prologue done

I like that the event logs display the sector number as well as the year now.

NEXT: It's between Hijiyama and Megumi. I assume Hijiyama's story is basically Okino's story as well, which does interest me, but I'm bursting with questions about Izumi so I think I'll head to Megumi. If he is the cat as it appears he is, why is he manipulating Megumi to trigger people's sentinels and mess with those wanting to help the world? The more I think of it the more blatantly villainous he seems, so I'm excited to discover the next inevitable twist in the tail.