The one year anniversary has come and gone, and I think now is a good time to start talking about what the sequel to Broken Minds is going to be like.

In Japanese, “Kokoro” has three meanings. One is “heart”, which is the most common meaning. One is “mind”, which is obviously what I went with for Broken Minds, and the last is “spirit”, as in who someone is “in spirit”, like their characteristics, in a way. That is the true meaning of “Broken Spirits”. However, there’s also, another, more playful meaning of the word “spirit”, which is “ghost”. And “ghosts” have something to do with “Broken Spirits” as well.

Here are ten fun facts about it!

1. Broken Spirits takes place after Broken Minds.

2. Noa is not the main character. It’s someone entirely new.

3. The “ghosts” are Japanese ghosts, aka yokai.

4. The main themes are “secrets” and “family”.

5. There will be two new detectives replacing two of the older ones.

6. The character sprites will be shaded and more polished in general.

7. The Logic Trains will not be returning. However, the concept of “arguing with the detectives gameplay” remains.

8. I’m planning on making this game in Unity instead of Ren’Py, with 3D character models.

9. The main inspirations for the game are Witch Hunter Robin, Monster, Ergo Proxy, and Persona 3.

10. Like Persona and Danganronpa, I’m working on a “social link” way of getting to know the characters better.

The approach to storytelling in Broken Spirits will be more conventional, but vastly improved. Eliminating multiple routes is part of that, and I’m going to do everything I can to ensure that the ending is as satisfying as possible, with very few loose ends.

Playing Broken Minds is not necessary in order to play Broken Spirits. One of the goals I have for this series is to make each entry pretty different from one another in tone and gameplay, with really the only consistency being the YPDA, and the element of a murder mystery. However, obviously there will be incidental clues and contrasts that will make it 10% more fun to have played Broken Minds first.

Because the game is in 3D, I will have more opportunities to let visual storytelling take over, through unique camera angles and cinematic moments that are more difficult to pull off (and a little awkward) with 2D cut scenes.

On a purely functional basis, expect more gameplay and less talking (though it is still a visual novel, so dialogue is sort of the bread and butter of the game).

I hope to have some screenshots available early next year, which be able to show off the character sprites and 3D models.

Until then, stay tuned!

— LockedOn.