Board 8 > Ciel nosurge (in English) - A watchthrough topic *Spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

Long story short: I want to play Ar nosurge Plus, which is a sequel to Ciel nosurge, which never came out in English. Luckily, fans recently finished a full story translation and put the playthrough on Youtube. It's 59 hours long, spread across 252 videos!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhWtcwZ5Bzm10RI1TElB3Dnf7kj9UoARJ

I imagine there won't be many people here who care about this, but @xp1337 does since he started me on this in the first place. There's a chance he's going to watch through the 59 hours as well and we'll need a place to post comments, so I'm making this topic. It was either this or I bump my ranking topic for the next month and a half, and I didn't want to do that

---

Anyway, I watched more and just finished Chapter One. I'm still not entirely sure about all the background to this story, but I get that Ion is competing with Kanon and they have two opposing ideologies. Kanon certainly has it more together, and she is helping people, but she's being manipulative and self-serving about it. Ion is a lot less self-assured and doesn't present herself well, but she honestly and truly wants to help everyone. I like this dichotomy, where Kanon isn't exactly evil but I can still root for Ion with all my heart. The way she saved the town was so earnest, I like her a lot. I'm sad to leave Cas and the others behind now but I'm sure Ion is off to have more fun adventures with some new characters!

Video progress: 19/252
---

I also started watching these today (through video 23 so far), so I might post thoughts in here occasionally as well. I've read the old plot summary/played Ar nosurge before, so I'm already fully spoiled, but I'll try to keep any discussion of things that far in the future separate from what's in the earlier videos.

- The main story is good, but I'm not really feeling the Ion interaction segments so far... I guess it's partly because of Ion's initial characterization (I'm blanking on how to describe why it bugs me rn, but it does), and partly because for a literal self-insert character, I can't really relate to the protag much here (he's just so much more... blandly positive and nice/supporting than I would be lol).

- (early Ch. 2) For what's actually quite a serious story, things like Kanon's gratuitous jiggle physics and Ion's song magic at Manjusara being referred to as "Big Flowers" (spoken in English) kind of ruin the mood! >_> At least the intentional comedy isn't too bad about that...

- (Ar nosurge) "I'm sad to leave Cas and the others behind now"
so this is completely unspoiled on Ar huh? not knowing what characters are going to be important later is going to make for some interesting perspectives, I bet
---

More people commenting is always welcome!

I find myself connecting to Ion in those segments pretty well so far! I actually think it's really neat that the player is sort of a character in this even though I have no idea if they play a role beyond facilitating the memories yet
---

Tag~

I got through the first 11 videos last night. Hopefully I'll get some done tonight, but my sleep schedule got a bit jarred (unrelated to this) so "we'll see."

I'll... probably try to stay a bit hands off on plot commentary since I know it (and Ar nosurge) already and don't want to accidentally hint or such. Beyond repeating that Ion is indeed the best.
---

I'm not the kind of person who cares a great deal about spoilers, so as long as you guys tag anything direct like 'X character dies' it should be fine

Basically, don't limit what you say on my account! This is a rare opportunity to discuss Ciel nosurge with other people also watching through it at the same time, after all.

I'll watch more tonight
---

Never seen this before!

Tag
---

Powered through a lot actually. Finished Chapter 2 (34 videos total.)

It helped that I was looking at the titles of the later videos trying to see if I could guess where some key moments I remember from the old summary were that I absolutely am hyped to see (and see your reaction to) so that served as extra motivation to power through.
---

I didn't watch as much today (was focused on beating Dynasty Warriors 8) but I got far enough into Chapter Two to see the brewing conflict on this colony. I appreciate that it isn't immediately clear who the bad guy in this situation is. Maybe there isn't a bad guy!

Hopefully I'll watch a lot more during the weekend

Video progress: 22/252
---

Video progress: 34/252

Well, no easy fix this time around! I was expecting them to song-magic some way to reroute more energy to the colony so they could keep all their cielnotrons and stay afloat, but I guess not. Also it turns out there is a bad guy, Neptool is a tool. It kind of stretched how gullible Ion is at the end there with his BS excuses but oh well. He'll likely wind up paying some sort of horrible price for kidnapping Cas so I'm content to wait until that happens.

I'm really starting to wonder why the Tenmon chose Ion as their princess given that she doesn't seem to have any Tenmon-specific motivations. Kanon has obviously been preparing for this for awhile, but Ion seems like they legitimately chose the shyest, least prepared girl they could find. My only theory is that the special ability they keep hinting at is the reason, but you'd still think they would've trained her a bit.
---

After Cas getting mentions from Chapter 1, no mention of #2 character Nay? =(

Also, I like a lot of the background music here. makes me more sad it was never localized.
---

Cas > Nay imho. They should offer Neptool a trade, giving him Nay and making Cas the one who follows Ion on her adventures

Nay was fun too though! Not sure if it was intended but I liked the Phoenix Wright reference she did.
---

Robazoid posted...

> Nay

You are tracking this character ranking
---

Got through Chapter 3. 49 videos down.

My vague memory of what happens when told me this was the weakest chapter, but upon watching it's really only the middle that's shaky, IMO. The beginning and end are solid.

Looking ahead I'm not sure I can power through Chapter 4 in a day, especially with the Super Bowl, but we'll see. Maybe I can~
---

xp1337 posted...

Got through Chapter 3. 49 videos down.

And there I was asking if I should slow down my pace for you! I definitely won't be able to keep up but it makes more sense for you to be ahead of me anyway,

I watched a tiny bit more. Nay is still second to Cas but she gained serious points by finally telling Ion to get her act together. I like her and all but Ion needed to hear that! Nay is a pretty good dancer, too.

I forgot to mention this earlier but I hope it's explained why Neptool tried to frame Ion. Trying to kill Kanon makes sense, she's the Chimon princess, but trying to bring the Tenmon princess down too seems like it'd go against his interests. He probably has some scheme, I suppose

I also want to say that I'm really enjoying how this story is being framed. Bouncing back to non-memory Ion (not sure how else to describe her. Future Ion? Past Ion?!?) allows them to analyze the plot as it unfolds. Fiction should examine itself directly more often, so having Ion offering her perspective is always a treat.

Video progress: 38/252
---

Robazoid posted...

And there I was asking if I should slow down my pace for you! I definitely won't be able to keep up but it makes more sense for you to be ahead of me anyway,

Haha, yeah. I wanted to try to get ahead of you, honestly. I want to know exactly when certain things happen so I can be suitably HYPE as you approach them.

And yeah, the framing device is very neat. Especially when they you and Ion start picking up on "weird" things that could usually be explained as just for storytelling, but actually are question raising here. Like how Ion has memories of scenes she wasn't present for.
---

Finished Chapter 4. 65 videos finished.

yessssssss now the real ciel nosurge has arrived

Chapters 1-3 almost feel like an intro to the characters, and Chapter 4 is where things start getting great. Back when I was scanning the video titles to locate some key events I remembered, this was basically the first one I was looking for, and the primary reason I put in the time and effort today to get through this today. So good. I know you're still in early/mid Chapter 3 and there's still some great stuff there, but hyped for you to arrive here.
---

I am hyped! Sadly, I didn't watch as much today because I was dedicated to finishing a few other games, but I did watch four more videos. Nay has no business calling Shirotaka a pervert if that skimpy thing is what she's going to make Ion wear for the dance (not that I don't appreciate it >_>).

Video progress: 42/50
---

I obviously meant 42/252 before. The time I was posting that was late even for me

Anyway, I finished Chapter Three! I'm glad Ion did well but after those cryptic words from Noel I'm mostly left with questions. I'm sure everything will be revealed in time.

Nay wasn't great for awhile there, people who push others like that bug me, but I suppose it was a necessary step for Ion's development and she came through in the end. Shirotaka was a fun character too, I liked how he tried to be a good guy but was also freaking out when she showed up wearing the dancing outfit.

Video progress: 49/252
---

I thought the Ion/Kanon scene towards the end was pretty great. Definitely Kanon's best scene so far.

As for me, I got through the extra scenario stuff yesterday/early this morning and am at 79 videos down. Those were all short videos, but looking at Chapter 5 there's some long ones in there so this might end my run of getting entire chapters down in a day. On the other hand, I also finished up Drakengard 3 yesterday so in theory that would free up time, but as always "we'll see."
---

The hilarious thing about this is that despite everyone's insistence that you need to know Ciel nosurge before you play Ar nosurge is Ar's main plot is basically unrelated to Ciel's. For various reasons. (in and out of universe) Basically, you need to know two things and the more important one is basically immediately covered in Ar. That said, those two things are massive spoilers for Ciel. Ciel is important to understanding the sideplots/character interactions though, and that does make up a decent portion of Ar.
---

xp1337 posted...

I thought the Ion/Kanon scene towards the end was pretty great. Definitely Kanon's best scene so far.

Yeah, they're finally having real discussions (not that Ion has actual things to say >_>)

Phase posted...

The hilarious thing about this is that despite everyone's insistence that you need to know Ciel nosurge before you play Ar nosurge is Ar's main plot is basically unrelated to Ciel's. For various reasons. (in and out of universe) Basically, you need to know two things and the more important one is basically immediately covered in Ar. That said, those two things are massive spoilers for Ciel. Ciel is important to understanding the sideplots/character interactions though, and that does make up a decent portion of Ar.

That may be true, but I'm having fun with it! Plus if Ciel were available in English there's no question that I'd want to play it first. If this is the next best thing then I'm happy to do this
---

Got through like half of Chapter 5. 85/252 videos down. I am/was tempted to keep going because it's 3 videos + Nelico wrap-up to finish it, but the next two videos are over 40 minutes each so it would end up being about two hours soooo. I mean, I probably could do it, but I can afford to slow down I think.

Re: Ciel/Ar. I kind of disagree there. Even if you might get told some of the background stuff in Ar that you need to know... lacking the context and detail that Ciel provides I think it'd lose a ton of impact and meaning. Not to mention being pretty lost regarding character relationships and such. You could probably piece most of it together eventually, but again, I think it'd be a much lesser experience.
---

I didn't make a huge amount of progress today, but I did get far enough to see the brewing conflicts of Chapter Four. Nay is a secret traitor, Neptool is planning something, Tabou has infiltrated the colony on a Cas rescue mission... a lot is being set up and I'm afraid it's all going to end terribly for Ion.

Nay working for Neptool is what surprised me the most. She seemed to really be serious about helping her in Chapter Three. I suppose she could still have a change of heart and switch sides fully, but still!

Video Progress: 52/252
---

chapter four hype

Meanwhile, I wrapped up Chapter 5. 89/252. I always think of the game divided into 3 parts of 4 chapters each (I... think it was released this way too) and Part 2 is pretty hype IIRC. I think chapter 5 might be the weakest Part 2 chapter and it's still probably ahead of every chapter before it except 4.

Might try to get through some/half of Chapter 6 later tonight. I'd say "we'll see" but that always turns out to happen sooo...
---

Awww yes, more people experiencing best girl Ion.
---

Got about halfway through Chapter 6. 96/252.

yesss getting to the "**** gets real" parts of Ciel.

Also, the uh... I guess "world map" (Whatever you want to call that screen at the beginning where the location/scenes are selected) music for this chapter is amazing. At least the beginning parts that we can hear before the scenes start. Argh wish I could hear the full thing.
---

xp1337 posted...

I always think of the game divided into 3 parts of 4 chapters each (I... think it was released this way too)

Seems to be that way, with Chapter 4 being introduced as "Chronicles of the Trials - Final Chapter" in the first video of it, along with the "map" music changing afterwards.

Also I'm in the middle of Ch. 4 now (56/252); it is indeed hype, but Ion's blind trust of obvious scumbag Neptool is getting pretty annoying...! Of course, now that we're dealing with That Person Who's Totally Still Ion And Definitely Isn't Acting Strange™ instead, things might get a little different...
---

I am also at 56/252 now. Something happened to Ion and I'm legitimately worried. I keep reminding myself that she's only remembering all of this so she has to be fine in the past, but that isn't working because I can imagine a lot of ways things could still go wrong without necessarily killing her. Maybe the Ion remembering all of this has had her consciousness sealed or something, I dunno! Oh well, at least Cas is safe again.

Still, I think they went a bit overboard regarding how obviously evil Neptool is. Surely even Ion wouldn't ignore Greicoff and Nay outright telling her this was a bad idea. I suppose they needed to make it obvious for the audience but still, I've understood that he was evil for awhile now, they could've toned it down!

Video progress: 56/252
---

Considering that I've owned this game for literally years without playing it on account of not owning a Vita, and now that I've bought a PSTV I probably never will, so it's reasonably time for me to bite the bullet and watch these videos too. I'm just at the end of Chapter 1, and noticed that the videos left the hymmn unsubtitled, so I decided to translate its lyrics because of course I did. It has a really cool rhythm with syllable counts that I tried to echo in English to... varying degrees of success. Anyways, here. (Also it spoils the heck out of chapter 1 obv)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz9TG3LECBw

I beseech thee to protect this town
Banishest the tribulation that assaulteth us
At my heart's behest, I do sing

First one hope / then one more, / then yet more
Weave them all / into song / pray grant what it asks
When I come to learn of / the fate of man, I simply
Find my heart and my soul / to be torn apart by ache

Oh high heavens full of grudge! / Oh great downpours full of blight!
The expanse of things / Sorrow-spelled: / one and all
We pray they be banished and purified!
Pray now banish and purify them
(All my power do I offer;
I beseechest thee to protect they whom I hold dear from calamity)

Bindeth our hearts, bindeth our thoughts
Oh flowers, / go skyward; / sprout up and bloom
Ever nobly, ever full-of-strength
Oh flowers / pray protect / all of those that here stand
Ever higher up, / ever farther out / verdantly blossom

Pray banish away / this maddeningly / cruel fate that we're in
For eternity / unwaveringly / blossom, flowers!

For they whom I love do I this song offer
For this land a-crumbling do I this song offer

There were dreams: / a few here, / a few there
With pure hearts / did we speak / of them in distant days
In shadows / of rubble / where a-swirling / are sandstorms
Do we seek / a vision / of all the ones / who are gone

Salvage from there / a fragment of / memory
Bring salvation / to the lives / that remain
Pray bestow unto them your aegis!

Bindeth our hearts, bindeth our thoughts
Oh flowers, / forever / sprout up and bloom
Forever, our hearts / connect here as one
Together, / cultivate / all the flowers / forevermore!

Go struggle against / ominosities / of this fleeting world
And let blossom forth / a flower garden / that shines beautif'lly
In morning mist's dew / In evening's twilight / eternally

Heavens and earth, / oh sun and moon, / pray rest; be at ease
Never enough / can we thank you / for your gifts to us
---

aww yeah now it's a party

Thanks for the translation~
---

Woo, more people joining in! I didn't want to make a topic because I was certain only xp and I would care about this but now I'm glad I did.

Thanks for the translation too, dowolf! It's a nice song regardless but knowing the words makes it even better
---

https://www.youtube.com/user/splodersplee/videos

YOU'RE WELCOME ZYX
---

dowolf posted...

I'm just at the end of Chapter 1, and noticed that the videos left the hymmn unsubtitled, so I decided to translate its lyrics because of course I did.

The episodes with hymns actually do have links to lyrics videos as annotations that show up when the song starts, e.g.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaBbM-AqRS8

They're the short versions that play in-game though, so it's still nice to have a translation for the full track!

(Relatedly, thanks again NFUN for getting those songs uploaded!)
---

When I tried the link to that lyric video at the end of Ch 1 it led to a video that no longer existed. I wonder what I did wrong
---

yeah. i assumed they'd just been taken down for some reason. *shrug*
---

Nah, they're there. I never tried the annotation links, but the channel has a separate playlist for the hymmns.

There's also a playlist marked for special events. I'm guessing those are just some bonus stuff not connected to the story, but I'm probably going to hold off checking until I'm finished with the story.

Speaking of, finished Chapter 6. 105/252 complete. Best chapter yet (6 > 4 > 5 >> 2 >= 3 >= 1 I think.) Also, I'm pretty sure we're in the "**** keeps getting realer and realer" portion of things. So hyped for more.

Specific Spoilers for Video 105: Ion's confession was adorable/touching too.
---

finished chapter 2.

Man, I really wish Ion weren't so... waifu-ish. I don't know how else to word it, but... Yeah >_>
---

dowolf posted...

finished chapter 2.

Man, I really wish Ion weren't so... waifu-ish. I don't know how else to word it, but... Yeah >_>

Yeah, this is what was bugging me about her earlier that I couldn't find the phrasing for.
---

Do you mean memory Ion of non-memory Ion?

Non-memory Ion has that whole 'I'm only remembering things because of you *blush*' thing going on, but I think that's just a necessary aspect to connect the player to her, even if it is a bit waifu-ish. Memory Ion doesn't have that problem, though!
---

Non-memory Ion definitely has it worse, but Memory Ion has it, too. I dunno. If I were good at explaining my thoughts I'd be a writer and not a translator >_>

I think this would bother me more if I were actually playing the game and were doing the life simulation stuff, but who knows.
---

Video progress: 65/252

I finished Chapter Four! I'm also going to start putting my progress at the start because I don't know if dowolf knows the plot to Ar nosurge like the rest of you and I don't want to risk spoiling him.

Man, that was a tense chapter. All the characters were great in it, too. Nay finally revealed a few secrets (though not all of them), Greicoff is a hero, and even Neptool finally gave his reasoning for his evil deeds. I'd already assumed it was to save Sarly since Ion was certain he wasn't lying about that, but it was still nice to hear. Sad moments with Cas and Ion too, but I'm just glad they're both okay. My only problem is that I don't understand how Reon created zombies, why she didn't just turn everyone in the room into zombies if she had that power, and why the zombies didn't do anything after entering the room. You can't just have zombies show up and not use them!

One thing I really liked was how non-memory Ion reacted right after Reon took over. She was frightened... but mostly about whether or not the others were okay. She's so self-sacrificing, and it built well into what she did near the end.

Now I'm really curious about where the story is going to go from here! I could see it going a few different directions. I just hope there are more fun adventures with Ion and friends!
---

wow all this negativity about ion. petition for topic bans tbqh.

Seriously though, it's a little hard for me to judge since I'm working with the full knowledge of Ciel and Ar so Ion is massively boosted by that for me. That said, I will admit that Ion's naivety/optimism can feel a bit repetitive at times. I'd probably say that if I tried to lock off all my future/complete knowledge of Ion and judged solely by the first 4 chapters, she's behind Nay in a character ranking, and Greicoff would have a fair case on her too.

With everything put together though, Ion and Nay are basically leagues behind everyone else as the Top 2, and that's not putting down the others, they're just that good.

I think I'm taking the opposite stance of dowolf here though in that I think non-memory Ion is hurt by the lack of life sim stuff. We only really experience non-memory Ion from her reactions from the memories. I feel like it'd be to her benefit as a character to have other conversations with her.

Robazoid posted...

My only problem is that I don't understand how Reon created zombies, why she didn't just turn everyone in the room into zombies if she had that power, and why the zombies didn't do anything after entering the room. You can't just have zombies show up and not use them!

This actually bugged me too. My working theory at the time, and I think it's still the best explanation given my knowledge of the setting, is that she could exert influence through their Cielnotrons. Kinda like what she was doing with Ion, but on a lesser scale. If anything though, I feel like if they were actually dead it falls apart because it'd break their chain to the Cielnotron so she couldn't get to them... I think. >_>

so maybe zombie was just a misleading term/meant they were acting like zombies but not really undead i don't know

~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, I both got further than planned and yet exactly where I had planned. I wanted to get through all of Chapter 7 but then as I was actually doing that it felt like it was longer than I thought it was from when I did a quick mental tally of the video times yesterday. So then I was thinking of cutting it off somewhere, but kept going "one more video" until I hit a point where THERE AIN'T NO GETTIN' OFFA THIS TRAIN WE'RE ON. Ciel nosurge Part 2 too good.

Chapter 7 complete. 127/252 videos. We're past the halfway mark on videos~! Chapter 8 looks to be the longest so far in runtime if my quick tally is right (and as I just explained it wasn't before apparently!) so I think I'll have to break it up. I'd say even into 3 sessions but... but... I think it contains the plot point I most want to see. And even if it doesn't too much hype anyway from what's been going down anyway.

Chapter Rankings: 7 >= 6 > 4 > 5 >> 2 >= 3 >= 1

***Post-Chapter 7 videos-but-not-Chapter-8-yet Spoilers***

Ion getting so depressed and broken at the end of the chapter that she refuses to talk with the player or even visit the Dream World is also a pretty amazing way to reinforce the framing device of the game as you interacting with a "real" other world and person who is experience and suffering their own issues. Also really hard to watch too.
---

Chapter 3 beat.

This chapter was probably my favorite so far, even if it didn't have much of anything happening, if only because Ion character development and Nay being awesome and yay. Also plot twist DUM DUM DUM is always fun. And I definitely agree Ion is better in Ar Nosurge (though Sally is actual best girl deal with it). Having more conversations with non-memory Ion would probably help her out, though I don't know if that would help the baby-chick-seeing-its-mother-like speed with which she seems to get close to the player.

We also got the debut of REON 4213 (or whatever the numbers are I forget) language, which is the coolest language ever because it's literally a query language like SQL and it's just omg I mean look at one of the phrases from the song:

QuelI -> {
Cls(wei f ih) {
EX[lop] -> {falar};
}
flip {
Cls(ih) {
EX[put] <- {fil iz f ihis};
}
}


Translating from the official Japanese translation, we get "My path continues endlessly; however, every person I meet grants me strength." Or, if we stick with a code-esque translation, we get...

(note: if you're not a coder, I'm using the convention of this being a reference to the executing class. Feel free to replace it with "me"/"I"/"self" in your head)

Query-> {
CLASS(way FROM this) {
EXECUTE[loop] -> {Endless};
}
FLIP TO {
CLASS(this) {
EXECUTE[put] <- {FILL ALL FROM people.encountered};
}
}


which is just such a cool and elegant idea for a language and I love it and *squee*

i mean

umm

Anywho, on a completely different note, one of the things that repeatedly comes up in Ion's songs is a lot of Buddhist imagery. Interestingly, there's absolutely none of that here. It also reminds me a lot of Hartes Ciel, Melenas Walashey (or however that's spelled) from AT2 in that both songs are basically "I'm having a bad time. That's dumb. Let's sing about how we can all come together and have an awesome time instead."
---

dowolf posted...

t also reminds me a lot of Hartes Ciel, Melenas Walashey (or however that's spelled) from AT2

It's "Hartes ciel, melenas walasye." You got 3/4 of the words right, at least!

how sad is it that I knew that without having to look it up
---

Hopefully someday I understand more about what you guys are talking about!

I'm working through these extra scenes after Chapter Four right now. The one with Kanon literally should've been the second video in the playlist, it answers every question I had about the succession trials. Also, I think the world would be a better place if people wanting to be President had to give up all wealth and status and live among the people for three years leading up to the election >_>

Not giving a video progress meter just yet because I'm hoping to watch more later if I have time.
---

Video progress: 79/252

I'm through the extra episodes after Chapter Four. Those were all really good. I especially liked that it expanded the characters of Coolin/Pari, who both felt a little one-dimension before now. I wonder why these aren't just inserted into the playlist at the appropriate spots. I didn't see anything that would spoil future events in there and they expand the world a lot.
---

Robazoid posted...

Hopefully someday I understand more about what you guys are talking about!

tl;dr: When it isn't using Japanese, the songs use constructed languages that can be translated. IIRC, there's two in-use in Ciel/Ar. There's the REON language dowolf posted which is written very much like code intentionally, and there's... Emotional Song Pact... I think, off the top of my head... which you actually see occasionally spoken by the characters in scenes, usually when they chain or use song magic.

That's another feature of the EXA_PICO games, there's a bunch of constructed languages created for the games that are used fairly prominently, especially in the hymns. Ar tonelico has a bunch.

unless you meant other stuff

Robazoid posted...

I wonder why these aren't just inserted into the playlist at the appropriate spots. I didn't see anything that would spoil future events in there and they expand the world a lot.

I wondered that too. Assuming I understand the system message you see after a Chapter is cleared it seems like theoretically they unlock after each chapter, so even if they weren't inserted where they take place, it seems a bit weird to me to bunch them up like that. I assume there's a reason, I just don't know it.

As opposed to the occasional chapter numbering jumps you see, which I know are absolutely intentional.

Haven't gotten to watching anything yet but I think I'll try soon because I don't want to take a day off~
---

xp1337 posted...

Emotional Song Pact... I think, off the top of my head... which you actually see occasionally spoken by the characters in scenes, usually when they chain or use song magic.

Yep! Emotional Song Pact is probably the least interesting of the four Exa Pico languages to me, personally. Probably because it's really complicated; I dunno. It is written using a Hangul (i.e. Korean)-inspired system, though, which is pretty cool.

Anyways, I've just finished Chapter 4. Things have gotten hype! My order so far is definitely 4 > 3 > 2 > 1 -- things just keep getting better!
---

Chapter 5 complete. That... was needlessly long. There's a bunch of cool setup stuff, sure, but not nearly enough payoff or character development. Also I don't like this move to 40 minute segments but oh well.

4 > 3 > 2 > 5 > 1.
---

I'm the furthest behind once again, it seems. I had a family get-together keeping me busy for most of today so I only barely started Chapter Five. Not sure what to make of all this questioning or Ion's old friend yet but I hope everyone makes it through okay. I will say that this portion of the story being called 'the chronicle of the collapse' or whatever is making me worry!

Progress: 81/252
---