First off, big fan of the game! It has an awesome setup, and is much better than a number of other 'MC suddenly gets rich' genre games. The story has many interesting intersections between fairly unique and intriguing characters. It’s always a priority download for me when a new version is released.
I just want to say that the level of storytelling really elevates the scenes between the MC and the women in this VN.
*Spoilers ahead if you’ve not played 0.4 yet *
I was giving some thought to how things with Nicki would progress going forward in the Domination path. Choosing to visit her after the date with Ashe shows that Nicki has left the Apartment you gave her. This was a really well done emotional beat. As someone who dislikes running a bunch of different ‘path’ saves, this literally made me jump back in to have a serious ‘bastard’ route as I had been doing, and a less extreme ‘extortion’ route to keep from potentially losing Nicki. Well done, Dev!
Now, I suspect she’s going to run afoul of the people who she (and Brent) owes money to, regardless of the path she’s on with the MC. And we may end up bailing her out again even if she’s left us behind. But I was thinking of how the MC would convince her to return after all the (admittedly) shitty things we have done to her in the Domination route?
So, looking back at the Prologue, the setup has an aspect I hadn’t considered. While the sex for money setup is clearly the meta purpose of the scene, we see that regardless of how the MC handles that scene he’s very strongly affected by it. He had tons of money at his disposal, but he indicates he wasn’t doing anything new with it. Just doing the same old same old with more money to burn. By the time the story proper kicks in, he’s running an Organization that funds or helps others. Now, if you play the ‘nice’ path, he’s a fairly well adjusted person who is taking advantage of the opportunities provided by his money. The more exploitive or bastard routes show a person who is fun to watch (in this kind of VN) but objectively broken as a person.
While I’d never suggest that if Nicki were a real person she would deserve any of the crap that’s happened to her, I think the Dev could be setting up an awesome reveal. Everything that happens to and for the MC after the prologue is tied to that night, of course. Nicki and Brent were aware that the MC had come in to money. He left his job, and he didn’t try to maintain his friendship with Nicki due to his romantic feelings for her, due to respect for her relationship with Brent. Brent tried to duplicate the success of the MC, but failed horribly. Either Nicki or Brent realized that the MC had a crush on Nicki previously, and after he liked her bikini pic, that it was an opportunity. Nicki reaches out, they hang out, and have sex. Nicki always questions the path that brought her here, and the MC always pays up.
Which leads me to a reveal I think is coming… Nicki may not have realized it fully, but no matter how it got to that point, she used the MC’s love for her to get that payout. And she then made it clear to him that she’s doing this for Brent, to try and ensure that her relationship with Brent could continue. The MC wasn’t just heartbroken by her actions. He learned that his money is the only aspect of himself worthy of love. And when she comes back into the story, she’s doing the exact same thing again. She’s out of options and Brent is now exposed for his own evil choices. And again, she’s trying to lean on his former friendship/love for him to save herself. I don’t think it’s hard to make the connection that he’s treating her like a whore (in non-Romance paths) because he’s trying to protect himself from seeing her as anything else. Because it’s her fault that he’s so broken. I think she’ll realize this later, and take a more active role in trying to help him. If we choose that the MC reforms, it’ll be with her help. If we choose that the MC continues down a dark path, she’ll accept her role in creating the monster the MC has become.
Ok, that’s a wall of text, but I was inspired to share my thoughts. What do you guys think?
