Root Double (from the director of the Infinity series)

[GundamAce]

Here's the section on "Seven Wonders of Rokumei City".

Spoiler for Seven Wonders of Rokumei City:

There are seven mysterious rumors transmitted about Rokumei City.
They're absurd and without merit, but when Natsuhiko and his friends were kids, they seriously believed in the "Seven Wonders of Rokumei", and tried to solve them.
This is the listing of the rumors.
But perhaps there is a little truth slipped into them...


#1――
LABO is not an ordinary nuclear energy research institute. They are in fact doing all kinds of dangerous research for the government, like weapons production.

#2――
In the scorched ruins of the hospital of Old Rokumei City, there is the ghost of someone killed by the fire.

#3――
The surveillance cameras were not created to prevent crimes, but to observe the citizens.

#4――
There is an organization of justice dedicated to fighting evil Communicators who misuse BC.

#5――
If a Communicator who doesn't know the right way to use BC, then before long, that Communicator will become a monster whose mind is broken.

#6――
There is a supression unit in Rokumei City's security that captures these monsters, and confines them underground, below the city hall.

#7――
???
Natsuhiko has already forgotten the last rumor.
At any rate, they might have been made up, so even now he tends to forget them.

[GundamAce]

All right, here's the first part of the gameplay section, which is the general route system.

Spoiler for General Route System:

Just as the title "Root Double" suggests,
this game has two protagonists in "different point of view routes".

Watase and Natsuhiko──when you start the game, you can choose which of the protagonists to play as.



Usually, in different point of view routes, "it depicts a sequence of events going on at the same time (a parallel route system)".




But in Route Double, "it depicts a sequence of events going on at different times (a serial route system)".



With this organization, the story has the same starting point──"the accident", and their individual stories split up into two separate times.

Natsuhiko is the protagonist of Route B, which depicts the "past" up until the nine people got trapped in LABO when the "accident" happened.
Watase is the protagonist of Route A, which depicts the "future" where the nine people struggle to safely get out alive after the accident happens.

Because the two viewpoints don't "overlap", the cause and details of the incident, you won't get all the information from one route alone.
Once all the routes have been cleared, you'll be able to see the full picture of the story from the beginning.




But the meaning to this method of organization doesn't end there.
For example, depending on which of the scenarios you choose to play first, your view on each character may turn 180 degrees──that's the mechanism to it.
For argument's sake, let's say you start by playing Route A, and your friend starts by playing Route B, your values, impressions, and outlook will completely differ.
The meaning and reason behind this will become clear when you finish playing all the routes...

The other two parts concern Route A and Route B.

[GundamAce]

By the way, according to the route maps, this game has 12 bad endings so far (8 for Route A and 4 for Route B), though there may be more. Remember11 had 30 bad endings and I/O had 17 bad endings, so this is a small step down... unless my theory is correct and there's more routes than just A and B.

[ramengud]

I think 12 is a good number of bad endings. I really had a hard time trying to get all of R11's bad endings though. Hopefully their bad endings would leave clues, hints or foreshadows.

[GundamAce]

Okay, here's the Route A section. Sorry it took so long, I had a lot of schoolwork to do this week.

Spoiler for Route A:

Route A's story structure is fairly simple.

For some unknonw reason, an accident occurs at the nuclear energy research institute "LABO", causing a meltdown.
On top of that, the radiation leakage prevention system is running wild.
The one exit linking the underground to the surface has been sealed off by a barrier.
There are nine people still trapped underground, and with nine hours until the radiation leakage prevention system goes back online, they are confined in a locked down space of death.


Watase wakes up underground on September 16th at 9:16 A.M., and until the barrier is released at 6:16 P.M. on the same day, they have to survive in the radioactive fallout polluted LABO.

The only other way is "they must find another exit and get outside as quickly as possible."
──It depicts a despair-filled survival drama.

The mission imposed upon Watase and his rescue team is "to get all nine of us, including the rescuees, out alive."
The starting point of the route has Watase moving along with his fellow teammates, Kazami and Jun. In the large LABO, they have to locate the remaining six rescuees.

After they've found the rescuees, they need to make sure to preserve everyone's relationships so that they are as undisturbed as possible.
Under desperate situations, people's true character's are revealed. Can those who normally have gentle and intellectual personalities hold on to their sense of reason when cornered to their limits? ... That answer is something that will be learned in the story.

"1108mSv/h"──That is the radiation volume inside LABO at the starting point of Route A. It's a world where you'd normally be dead in one minute.
In that hell, the only thing that can keep Watase and the others alive is the constant adminstration of the supply of the anti-radiation medicine called AD.
AD can protect the human body from radiation up to 4000mSv, but its efficiancy lasts only a mere 60 minutes. It's necessary to readminister the medicine within the hour, but the number of AD cartridges is limited.
In order for everyone to survive, they need to search all over LABO to find as many cartridges of AD as possible.
Many threats swoop down upon the groop within LABO. There are fires that they don't know if they will die down. There are intermittent explosions that mysteriously occur.
Bit by bit, the radiation volume is climbing.。There are dangerous obstacles standing in the way of the group and of the partially destroyed LABO's fallout shelter.
But that is not the only danger that could befall on Watase and the group's bodies. While searching around the facility, they discovery mysteriously murdered bodies... some of the rescuees are also running away from the rescue team...
In the first place, why has Watase lost his memories?
Gradually, people's relationships are torn apart as they begin to see everything as suspicious.
The group won't make it out alive. At this rate, they'll be annihilated──.

As the situation cruelly changes, it'll be up to you to pass down the "right judgement".
If you make the wrong judgement, you will have set off one of the route's many traps, leading to a "Bad Route".
A Bad Route──a route leading to death. In LABO, various types of death will swoop down on Watase one by one.。
An upmost thrilling route where a moment of negligance will not be forgiven.

──Despair.
In those several hours, Watase will become acquainted with all kinds of despair.
The many different despairs that poured forth from Pandora's Box.

Before long, after avoiding all the Bad Routes, and when the time comes for Watase to stand before the exit──
Will what he see be the last remaining hope?
Or will it be............

[GundamAce]

Route B section.

Spoiler for Route B:

Route B's structure is very strange.

At the time of the "accident", Natsuhiko is trapped in LABO with his friends.
With the radiation leakage prevention system running wild, they are sealed in that underground space of death.


With Natsuhiko and his friends trapped in the LABO complex on September 16th at 6:19 A.M. due to the accident, they run around LABO, seeking an exit so that they can get out alive.
In the middle of that, Natsuhiko goes through a strange experience. He starts having strong, clear flashbacks appearing in his mind of six days ago──the days leading up to the accident.
As Natsuhiko tries to escape LABO, he is racked with this strange phenomenon of vivid flashbacks more and more frequently.
The hours after the accident, and the six days leading up to it. While he advances through these two time axises, Natsuhiko aims to get out of LABO alive while trying to recognize the cause of the accident──this depicts a mysterious drama.

Himself and his friends... like Routa A, they are trying to escape from LABO, but on top of that, are also trying to discover the truth──finding out the connection to the accident behind the scenes.
Natsuhiko is a reasonable Communicator, but apart from that, is not different from an ordinary high school student.
He spent his life completely unrelated to the nuclear research institute LABO. He just entered without reason, and with no jurisdiction.
Natsuhiko's friends──Yuuri, Mashiro, and Salou are the same. Why is it that they've been caught up in this accident?　
For what reason were they there? How did they trespass so deeply underground? What kind of connection do the girls acting alongside Natsuhiko have with him? What is their goal?　

If they've been completely shut out from the outside world, how do they plan to escape?
At the beginning of the route, these are all unknown.
In order to answer these many answers, you must advance through the story.
The think that will clarify these mysteries and join them together are the "flashbacks" Natsuhiko is experiencing.
In real-time, Natsuhiko has these "flashbacks" about once every 10 minutes.
These "flashbacks" are recollections of events from days in the past.
(From now on, for convenience sake, scenes occuring in reality will be know as "real time", while flashback scenes will be referred to as "flashback time".)

It's as if Natsuhiko is reexperiencing the past one more time through flashback time.
They start six days ago, on September 10th... and time slowly moves towards just before the accident on September 16th, at 6:19 A.M...
And in real time, these transitions makes him feel like he's plunging into something, from ten minutes to another ten minutes...
When the flashback time ends, what wil Natsuhiko see? What will he know?

This poses a question.
For some reason, you can create branches in the route even during flashback time.
Even though you shouldn't be able to change the past, why is it causing fluctuations?
Is the flashback time just various fabricated scenes different from reality?
Or could it be... that the real time trapped in LABO is an illusion?

The branches in flashback time──before long, they will influence the fate of real time.
You hold the key to your trusting relationships with your friends.
During the peaceful days up until the accident, in order to amass appropriate relationships with the girls around you, you must continue to make "the right choices".
If you make the wrong judgement, you will fall into a "Bad Route" in real time.
A Bad Route──to experience death itself.
If you take your own fate lightly, and fill your peaceful days with debauchery, then Natsuhiko's journey will end there, with him being hidden in a true illusion.
That inexplicable phenomenon... will slowly be explained bit by bit... then you will begin to see the other side of the story...
Natsuhiko's memories, experiences, and revelations──they will influence the fate of Watase's group in Route A.
The conclusion of this mysterious route will defy all expectations.

──BC. Beyond Communication。
A transcended communication ability that is a new way for humans to understand eachother.
The power to link minds.
This is one more key required to understand Route B.
What does this have to do with it all?

In order to survive, as long as he's alive, Natsuhiko will continue to struggle, and in the fragments of his memories, finally see the "truth".
That is when the coldhearted dream ends, and when the cruel reality begins...

[GundamAce]

New information appeared on the site today, regarding "Enneagrams". I'll get to translating them.

[GundamAce]

Spoiler for Enneagrams:

Enneagrams
Symbols propogated by George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (1866-1944), a composer, dancer, and occasional occultish, who discovered them on a trip at the beginning of the 20th century.
It's seen as a circle with nine points, all nine points connected by straight lines.
"Ennea" comes from Greek, where it means "9", and "gram" means "drawing" in the same language.
Therefore, "enneagram" is the synthesis of these two words.。
However, there are some unconfirmed theories that Gurdjieff discovered these symbols roots were from Ancient Greece and Ancient China, but as said, theses theories are unconfirmed.
Ever since 1960, human's true natures have been divided into nine separate points, with the general idea in personality theory being that every person is born possessing an enneagram.

These nine enneagrams are:
(TN: If I include two names, the one in parentheses is the Japanese name of the enneagram)
　 Type 1: The Reformer (The Critic)
　 Type 2: The Helper
　 Type 3: The Achiever
　 Type 4: The Individualist (The Artist)
　 Type 5: The Investigator (The Observer)
　 Type 6: The Loyalist
　 Type 7: The Enthusiast
　 Type 8: The Challenger
　 Type 9: The Peacemaker

[GundamAce]

Incidentally, here's each character's enneagram, according to their bios:

Watase: The Investigator
Kazami: The Loyalist
Jun: The Challenger
Ena: The Achiever
Natsuhiko: The Enthusiast
Yuuri: The Peacemaker
Mashiro: The Helper
Louise: The Individualist
Keiji: The Reformer

[rogerpepitone]

Weren't all the characters in 999 all based off one of the enneagrams?

[GundamAce]

Originally Posted by rogerpepitone

Weren't all the characters in 999 all based off one of the enneagrams?

Yeah. Not sure if Nakazawa read that interview or not, though, though given that the two of them still seem to be at least acquaintances, he could have gotten the idea from there. Still, I don't really know, as it's a common theme for Nakazawa's characters to be based off of a set of personality indicators (for Remember11, he used Jungian archetypes, for I/O, he used tarot card suits, and for here, it's enneagrams). So I don't know if it's a coincidence or not.

[VDZ]

Originally Posted by rogerpepitone

Weren't all the characters in 999 all based off one of the enneagrams?

Correct.

Originally Posted by Uchikoshi

First off, it has nothing to do with their numbers. The order is totally different in the Japanese translated enneagram... So I based each character off of my own interpretation and rearranged things a bit. It's not so much that this character fits this enneagram, at least to my mind. Still, they fit together about like this:
Achiever: Ace
Investigator: Snake
Enthusiast: Santa
Loyalist: Clover
Challenger: Junpei
Peacemaker: June
Helper: Seven
Individualist: Lotus
Reformer: The 9th Man

Originally Posted by GundamAce

The conclusion of this mysterious route will defy all expectations.

But this is a Takumi Nakazawa VN, how can it defy all expectations when we have absolutely no idea what to expect?

[GundamAce]

Originally Posted by VDZ

But this is a Takumi Nakazawa VN, how can it defy all expectations when we have absolutely no idea what to expect?

To be fair, I wasn't 100% sure on my translation of that line. It might not have exactly been that, in fact (wasn't sure if it was "in conclusion" or "the conclusion", for example).

Either way, given what the 9th Man did and that line in the 10th CG scene, I'm getting even more suspicious of Keiji... seems like Reformers have a bad name to them.

[GundamAce]

Oh, hey, one more thing I have to mention. They also added Root Double Twitter Icons and Twitter wallpapers to the website, located here:

http://www.yetigame.jp/w/banner.html

One of them is my new computer wallpaper.

[GundamAce]

Another twitter post from Nakazawa:

Apparently, the recording is about 3/4 complete, and it's been going on for about two months now. He says "despite the fact that there's a lot of lines still left to record, I've been impressed by the good acting from the seiyuus". He also mentions in another post that he should be listing the seiyuus soon (though that was a respond post to a fan's question of "when will the seiyuus be listed?", so I'd take that with a grain of salt for now).

[4as]

So much information is given out. By the time its out we will already know how it ends ;p

[VDZ]

Originally Posted by 4as

So much information is given out. By the time its out we will already know how it ends ;p

No, that's the great thing about Nakazawa games. I could spoil half of Remember11 for you and you'd still be completely clueless about the other half.

[4as]

Well I already played R11 so that's a bad example, but I know what you mean. ;p
It is just that I rather know less than more before I play a game

[GundamAce]

Another Twitter note:

The next update will be soon, and will contain the main cast.

[GundamAce]

The cast is actually going to be announced by Dengeki Online in 2 hours. Stay tuned, people!