However, to be honest, up to this point, Hirozawa Furukawa was quite disappointed with Gen Urobuchi.
In terms of gameplay, action, impact, and the skill design of the bosses, this game is impeccable. Especially in this era, Furukawa can't think of any other game that can compare to it in these aspects. The game's visuals, character designs, and art style... can also be called perfect. That new cyberpunk style, formed by the fusion of humanity's declining technological civilization, the eeriness of the Blood Tribe, and the mechanical feel of humanity, is truly stunning.
The blend of Japanese and Western comic art styles is also handled quite cleverly. The entire game atmosphere is something Furukawa enjoys very much; the fusion of traces from the old era and the new era, and the conflict between technology and physical strength, are also textbook-level settings. The only thing that makes Furukawa dissatisfied is the plot. That's it? This is the script written by Gen Urobuchi? Of course, this doesn't mean the plot is bad. At the very least, the first half is excellent and extremely infectious. The portrayal of human nature is already quite spot-on.
Especially the pacing, from humanity living in a quiet corner to being pushed to the brink, and then launching a counterattack... the control over this rhythm deserves full marks. Moreover, by relying solely on character dialogue and battle atmosphere, the static visuals and text manage to weave everything together and stir the player's emotions... these are all things Old Xu excels at.
However, the only thing that puzzled Furukawa was the final ending. There was too little characterization and foreshadowing for Nyx, Queen of the Night, so in the end, her return to human form failed to resonate with Furukawa; it even felt a little awkward. As for the heroine, Mia, she left him completely baffled. Several of her behavioral choices made her seem genuinely schizophrenic. Forcing a "Happy Ending" actually felt a bit uncomfortable. It was too deliberate. The latter part simply didn't align with Furukawa's understanding of Gen Urobuchi. But, well... I suppose it's a case of the flaws not overshadowing the merits.
At the very least, this action game is outstanding in its overall gameplay, and it flows very naturally with the plot; for the most part, the player's battle mindset stays in sync with the characters' emotions. Achieving that is already quite an accomplishment. After all, this isn't a galgame; it's not a game where Old Xu's story takes the lead.
"It's all over." Mia said from the television. Then she walked over and stepped on Nyx's shriveled body, which made a sound like rotting wood breaking. "So, this guy Nyx chose this way in the end, did he?" She chuckled softly, then drew a short sword from behind her back, her expression suddenly changing. Her scarlet eyes became fierce and vicious, like a venomous snake. Swish!
The sword light flashed. It headed toward the male protagonist. Nani?! Furukawa Hirozawa's hand, holding the game controller, suddenly trembled. In the next frame, he saw Mia's short sword pierce a body, but it wasn't the male protagonist's—it was Caesar, who had thrown himself in front to protect Sisyphus. "Go!" Caesar hugged Mia's leg, using his very last breath. Boom!
General Paris burst in piloting a mech, scooped up the male protagonist, broke through the roof of the Moon Chamber, and flew toward the clouds. The heroine transformed into a bat and gave chase, but in the end, she fell just short. "Sisyphus!" Mia's expression was terrifying, her two scarlet eyes wide open, her arm stretched out, trying to grab the male protagonist. General Paris pulled the mech up, disappearing into the clouds. Then Mia fell from the clouds, able only to let out a roar! "Sisyphus!" *** "Heh heh... Mia... Well done." Furukawa Hirozawa let out two cold laughs. So that's where you were waiting for me.
"Hehe... Mia... well done." Furukawa Hirozawa let out two cold laughs. So, this is what she had planned.
Back when Mia's attitude toward the protagonist did a 180-degree turn, Furukawa had already felt something was off. Surely, she couldn't have developed Stockholm Syndrome? And just like that, she was kind enough to want to help humanity? Now, her personality has unified again. This is Mia's true character setting. After all, Mia had been controlled; deep down, she must harbor endless hatred for the protagonist. And the protagonist had also been turned into a vampire by her.
The relationship between these two was fundamentally like water and fire. The previous cooperation was nothing more than a stopgap measure for Mia to replace Nyx. To use, and then to betray... It perfectly fits Mia's manipulative, black-bellied persona. However... Furukawa felt a deep, gnawing hatred for Mia. She is probably the most charming, yet most hate-inspiring, heroine Old Xu has ever written.
"The Demon Hunter" is truly subversive, especially in its design of the heroine. Things like falling in love, letting go of hatred, creating a beautiful future... They don't exist here. But perhaps this kind of water-and-fire relationship is what truly fits Furukawa's vision of a demon hunter. At this point, the frustration and dissatisfaction in his heart were swept away. These things had actually been foreshadowed early on; the clues finally all came together.
The story only truly enters its final chapter at this point.
Chapter 20: [The Key to the World]
General Paris looked at the endless night sky in the distance, lost in thought. He turned his head to look at the male protagonist, who was sitting in the corner with a vacant expression. "Now, the keys to both worlds—the Blood Tribe and humanity—are in your hands. What happens next is your choice."
Yes, the key to the world was in Sisyphus's hands. He could transform the Blood Tribe into humans. Or he could choose to kill Mia, making the Blood Tribe cease to exist. Perhaps... Hirozawa Furukawa thought, maybe there's a plot twist, and in the end, he chooses to forgive Mia, truly bringing about the coexistence of humans and the Blood Tribe. Of course, from an emotional standpoint, things had already gone too far for coexistence to be a likely option.
Hearing General Paris's words, the male protagonist's eyes suddenly changed. "Even if the Blood Tribe was created by humans in the first place, this race no longer belongs to humanity." "Humans will never submit." "Of course, I must destroy all of this with my own hands." "Mia became like this because of me, so I should be the one to end it."
Hirozawa Furukawa's lips curled slightly upward, his heart filling with excitement. All he could say was, well done! The final battle was the destined showdown between the male and female leads.
Returning once again to the Blood Tribe's Royal City, the scene here had changed significantly from their last battle; because of the war, the royal city had become a ruin. In the game, many paths that were previously accessible were now blocked, and players had to worry about buildings that might collapse at any moment.
(To create this segment, Pokeni had simply made two different maps, though they used similar assets. The Ruined Royal City was a modification based on the intact Royal City, so the workload wasn't too heavy.)
The new queen of the Blood Tribe had used anti-gravity devices to stack a towering spire amidst the ruined city. It was like a sword thrust diagonally into the ground, roaring at the sky. The massive Blood Moon above dyed the ground and the tower in a beautiful crimson hue. The entire game interface had turned the color of twilight. Or to be more precise, the color of the Blood Moon. The atmosphere was at MAX. Mia, the new queen of the Blood Tribe, waited on her throne at the top of the tower for her destined rival, Sisyphus. ***
The final fated confrontation was incredibly satisfying for Hirozawa Furukawa.
In the story, Mia and Sisyphus were truly destined enemies; whether there had been any romantic feelings between them before didn't really matter now. Hirozawa loved this kind of "love-hate" dynamic, a decisive, no-nonsense showdown.
Mia's skills were essentially an upgraded version of the combos from the beginning, and Hirozawa was already quite familiar with them. After all, he had used Mia as his character for combat in the first two chapters of the game.
But... it wasn't like that at all when they were actually fighting.
The combos, which looked so familiar, always managed to hit Hirozawa, and once he got caught in one, it was followed by a barrage of critical hits. If he got hit more than twice and couldn't recover his health in time, it was game over.
"Nani? Are these my skills?"
What the hell... How come they weren't this powerful when I used them? How come you're so OP now that you're a boss? And when they were in my hands, I was getting tossed around by all kinds of monsters?
After much effort, he successfully defeated the boss. The greatsword pierced directly through Mia's chest, and even with the Blood Tribe's powerful regenerative abilities, there was no saving her.
The silver greatsword rapidly corroded Mia's body, spreading from the wound like ash across her skin. There was no saving her now. "Damn it... just one step away!" Mia glared fiercely at the protagonist, her face contorted. "Why? Sisyphus! It's all your fault! You shouldn't exist in this world. I should have killed you sooner!" She had kept Sisyphus alive only to watch him suffer, to make him feel the pain she had once endured.
Yet, she never expected that in the end, it would be this very guy who thwarted her. "I hate humans!" "I hate all of you!" "I will never forgive you!" "Never!" Laughing wildly, Mia yanked the greatsword from her chest and jumped from the top of the tower. This final scene was rendered exquisitely; the vampire girl, with her silver hair, looked like a beautiful butterfly against the backdrop of the blood moon. Before even hitting the ground, she burned into ashes. Then, they scattered like stardust, dissolving into the night.
The protagonist glanced sorrowfully before turning away. Silence reigned over the entire tower. Only the cold throne remained, standing alone, much like the blood moon in the sky.
[New Era 1024] [The Fall of the Blood Tribe] [The New Era of Humanity Begins] [Under the leadership of Sisyphus, humanity, as the supreme rulers of Earth, began a new era of rebuilding their home and civilization.]
With this, "The Witcher" truly came to an end. As the BGM started to play, the staff credits appeared on the screen: [Producer: Shinji Mikami] [Script: Gen Urobuchi]
he protagonist cast a sorrowful glance, then turned his head back. Silence reigned over the entire tower. Only the cold throne hung alone, like the blood moon in the sky. Furukawa Hirozawa put down the controller, feeling a sense of emptiness after achieving success, mixed with the satisfaction of completing the game. "Eh? Does this count as emotional trauma or not?"
Hirozawa Furukawa put down his controller, feeling a sense of wistful emptiness after accomplishing his goal, mixed with the exhilaration of having cleared the game. "Eh? Does this count as 'dishing out blades' or not?" Hirozawa Furukawa was completely stunned. Could you say he didn't "dish out blades"?
But the heroine died, and everyone in the Demon Hunter team except the protagonist perished, even Caesar. Even now, whenever he closed his eyes, the scene of Caesar sacrificing his life to save others would surface in his mind. But could you say Old Xu did "dish out blades"? The final ending went in the direction Furukawa had hoped for. The hateful Blood Tribe was ended, and humanity returned to the top of the food chain. The male protagonist successfully ascended the throne, and the future looked bright. A new day, a new dawn. Everything was full of vitality. So... what exactly was this? ***
"Disappointed, so disappointed. This isn't the Old Xu I know."
A week later, at Furukawa's strong recommendation, the colleagues at the company had all gotten hooked on "The Witcher," and they gathered on the rooftop again to discuss it. Kinoshita said, "The game is good, almost missed it, but it's a pity the script written by Old Xu wasn't as good as I imagined." "It's alright, isn't it?"
Furukawa Hirozawa laughed, rubbing his nose. "Do you really need everyone to die and be devastated by tragic twists to be satisfied? Anyway, I quite liked the final fateful duel between the hero and heroine. I even felt a strange sense of satisfaction when Mia died." "Eh? Mia died? Didn't they start a new era together, with vampires and humans coexisting?" Hayamigawa asked, confused. "What do you mean 'died'?" Kinoshita said. "Didn't all the vampires turn into humans?" "Eh?" The few of them looked at each other in confusion. "Nani? So it's a multiple-ending game after all?"
After some exploration and gathering, plus the walkthrough provided by Gorotsu, they finally discovered— It turns out there are a total of four endings in "The Witcher".
Ending 1: The normal playthrough. If Mia's affection level is not high enough, you can only trigger the "Destroy the Vampires" or the "Destroy the Blood Clan" endings, which is the ending Hirozawa Furukawa played.
Ending 2: If affection is high enough, humans and the Blood Tribe coexist. Many people choose this ending, mainly because of preconceived notions—since everyone first experiences the game from the heroine's perspective, they hope for a happy ending out of emotional attachment. However, the process of grinding for affection is very convoluted. If you find the key item, [Mia's Bracelet], in advance, you can trigger the [Mia's Mystery] side quest.
Then, by learning about Mia's various experiences, the male protagonist develops sympathy for her tragic past, helping her complete various tasks. In the process, their attitudes toward each other change, and the affection level can be maxed out. In short, the emotional transition is natural.
Ending 3: Serum Return, the "Vampires Return to Humanity" ending.
The male protagonist used his own blood to create an antibody, liberating the Blood Tribe and turning them back into humans, thus ushering in a [wonderful] new era.
Ending 4: Hidden Ending: The male protagonist finds the Blood Tribe transformation equipment from a thousand years ago in the labyrinth beneath the Blood Clan Royal City, triggering a new cycle.
However, this time there are two branches.
One is to destroy the equipment, with the male protagonist becoming the founder of a new human order and ushering in a new era. This ending is the same as the "Destroy the Blood Tribe" ending, except for a final static image of the male protagonist sitting on the Throne of Night.
To some extent, it feels more like a cycle of human history.
The second is to turn all humans into the Blood Tribe, essentially granting humanity eternal life.
In this world, apart from the male protagonist, no humans remain. The final image shows the male protagonist aging like Sisyphus, then leaving alone.
Technically, there should be 5 endings.
But in any of the endings, Caesar is fated to die.
"Not gonna lie, it kind of feels like this guy is the one who got the heroine's script."
"Is Caesar actually the heroine?"