Part 114: Interview One - Pig...?

Now that the game has been beaten proper, a side menu opens up from the main screen. We're going to be seeing what's behind the first part of that side menu in this update...

[BGM: Weak Pig]


Woah, what's going on! I was hacking a computer, and... I... I'm back at my home?

Wait, who are you? You–

...My head... it hurts... What's going on??



…

The dialogue sprites aren't changing as far as the LP goes because it's only for this update, but just pretend the strange shift is active until a screenshot shows otherwise.

Okay, okay cool. Looks like it worked.

Hey there, glad I was able to make it. I imagine you might have some questions, yeah?

Yeah, that's fair. Okay, what do you want to ask?

This update is the first of a series of “interviews” that can be unlocked by accomplishing different things over the course of the game. This first one simply unlocks for getting the “true” ending, so I figured it'd be the best place to start. That said, there's probably a question we should get out of the way immediately, and that would be...

What's going on here?



Well, Pig here is in purgatory, as are a number of characters who are either dead or near-death. But... I'm not Pig. I'm the creator of the story you just experienced.

That's right, we're actually interviewing Themis in this update.

And I also wanted to answer some questions about everything. Only problem is... I don't exactly have a body to inhabit for the interview. So, well, Pig was just sort of sitting here... and it's not like she really had a lot of deep revelations to reveal.

You could say that this is a bit too meta, and to that, I'd ask you how else you'd handle this.

You could also say that this is just stupid, and to that I'd just sort of shrug. I mean, fair. But we're already here, so...

What inspired all of this?



If the disjointed nature of all the routes didn't give it away, there was a lot of different inspirations at play. In a sense, all the media I've consumed up until this point had a hand in creating this.

But if I had to narrow it down to a few... I mean, I'd be remiss to not start off by mentioning the inspiration I took from a certain trilogy of death games. Honestly, a lot of the DNA of various visual novels is incorporated into this game, but that's the most direct inspiration.

There was this one show, which I don't think was even that amazing, but it was a battle royale based on the Chinese zodiac animals. I was already interested in them, but that series definitely brought them back to mind.

They're talking about Juni Taisen here, which was originally a novel written by Nisio Isin that got a solidly “fine” anime adaptation.

Also, the film 12 Angry Men was a big inspiration. I know that sounds weird, but a big thing is that this Zodiac Trial is actually the second version of this story I've done.

Originally, it was a short, regular novel... and it was a lot different from this story. It had a different setting, different game mechanics, a different backing plot, different twists, and mostly different characters. But it had a similar premise, and I thought it was a strong one.

When it came to creating a visual novel – a visual novel with a limited number of people and locations – well, I knew adapting that first version of the story could work. And... so I did.

The original version was a little more streamlined. I think it incorporated all the elements into one story a bit smoother... but that was a short novel, and this was a big, sprawling visual novel. Overall... I far prefer this version.

What happens next?



I assume you're asking what comes next in the story, right? Well... the thing is...

There's no way I'm going to tell you that!

I mean, if I did that, there'd be no way to tease for a sequel, huh?

And besides that, I don't think you ever really want to hear everything that happens in a character's life after the story ends. Really? I don't want to answer this question at all.

But I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some thoughts on the matter.

Like Ox mentioned, Rooster recovered. He's definitely going to jail, definitely going to try and repent. But he's still alive.

Mouse is definitely going to keep in touch with some of the members of the Zodiac Race. I mean, how could you not?

But it's not like after everything is said and done, Hightower is fixed or anything. It's a broken city, and these events were the start of change, not the end of it. There are definitely a few loose ends in the story as is.

And I think it'd be wishful thinking to assume Mouse's troubles are over, regardless of what she did with that flashdrive. ...But I think that's all I'll say on the matter.

What should I take from all of this?



I dunno, whatever you want to take from it. Death of the author and what have you.

I'm a little unclear about what that question even means. Are you asking me to try and spell out the moral of this story? Because... I don't really want to do that.

I don't even think this story has a moral, at least, not an explicit one. And whatever is there, I want people to take it their own way.

You know, in the original Zodiac Trial, I made a big point to give all the characters a case against them, and a defense. I explicitly wanted to leave it open to the reader's opinion who was worse than who, who was more culpable than who.

Even the Mastermind could be argued in favor of.

Now, in this version of the story, I'm a little less inclined to treat all characters equally. If you think Mouse, Bunny, and Monkey all have equal levels of culpability, well... that's certainly not what I was going for.

But I still think there's a lot of room for interpretation in this story... about a lot of things. Ultimately? Take what you want from all of this.

If you wanted a fun story with puzzles and mystery cases, I hope you enjoyed the tricks and riddles spread throughout the game. If you were looking for an interesting character study, I hope everyone's backstories and interactions gave you enough.

If you were looking for a serious tale with themes of free will or justice, I hope there was enough content of that nature for you to chew on.

If nothing else... I hope you found something worthwhile in all of this.

So... how do I unlock the other interviews?



The other interviews, huh? Let's see...

Well, Dog's always been a sucker for games, but also puzzles. If you get all the puzzles found in this tale correct, he's sure to talk.

In other words, to unlock his interview, you would have to actually enter the correct solution in every puzzle – that's why the game doesn't directly tell you the answer if you get it wrong.

Beneath everything, Rooster does really care. If you give everyone a happy ending – or, at least, give a happy ending to everyone who can get one – he's sure to appear.

In other words, to unlock his interview, you have to make sure to pick the “correct” answer when talking to everyone during the second game, which is why that's important.

Then... there's Monkey. She's partial to those who imitate her in some way. If you run through all the possibilities, just like her... collect a full deck... She's bound to have something to say.

...In other words, to unlock her interview, you have to see every single ending card in the game.

If you talk to those three, there's one more person who you should probably speak with. They're the final unlock.

The final interview unlocks after you go through both this one and the ones listed above.

Oh, but actually, between you and me... If you talk to everyone, there's a chance you can listen in on... someone else. Someone not really a part of this story.

But... that's only possible to those who haven't received help. It's possible that that option's already gone for good. And if that's right, don't feel too bad. ...That one's really not someone you need to be listening to.

I wonder what the deal with that one is?

No more questions.

See you around!