Fans of anime-inspired action games have had quite a few titles to sink their teeth into this year. Persona 5 Strikers, Nier Replicant, and Guilty Gear Strive have all been strong entries in their respective genres, but Scarlet Nexus was something of a surprise hit as it's a completely new IP by Bandai Namco. The game seemed to sell well and received generally positive reactions from critics and fans alike which is fortunate as fans are able to continue enjoying the game once they've finished by watching Scarlet Nexus' anime adaptation.
While Scarlet Nexus' story and gameplay succeed on many levels, one element of the game seems like it could be expanded upon better in the potential sequel that the game sets up: its dual narrative. The game seems to be interested in telling a complex story through the different lenses of protagonists Yuito and Kasane but unfortunately wasn't able to stick the landing in a way that made good on its potential. Despite this, it's gotten plenty of fans excited for where the story might go if a sequel is in the works. This article contains story spoilers for both Yuito and Kasane's campaigns in Scarlet Nexus.
Where Scarlet Nexus's Narrative Went Wrong
As far as quality narratives go, Scarlet Nexus is among the most solid narrative games to come out so far in 2021. The twists and turns of its story really give the player a lot to chew on, but unfortunately, there's not enough to be spread over the two 20 hour campaigns of the game's protagonists. With only a handful of exceptions in the earlier hours of each campaign, each story section usually starts with one group of characters following the other until something happens to the leading group. Then the following OSF group catches up and the two companies talk through what just happened. This means that all major plot elements are discussed across both campaigns as soon as they happen leaving very little mystery to be filled in when doing a second playthrough.
The two campaigns go in drastically different directions towards the start of the narrative, but both groups are brought up to speed as to what the other has been doing about halfway through the game. What's more, the third act of the story sees both Yuito and Kasane platoons meeting up and working together for the remainder of the game making the final hours of each campaign literally identical. While Scarlet Nexus' dual narrative seems to be ambitious, its story in practice doesn't seem to need to be told split into two discrete parts.
The Future of Scarlet Nexus' Dual Narrative
At the end of Scarlet Nexus, Yuito announces to the party that he's planning on leaving the OSF in favor of becoming a politician to undo the harm that the Sumeragi family has caused. Kasane on the other hand is headed to the Togetsu moon base to see what sort of answers she can find there regarding her origins and the nature of the Extinction Belt. The ending teases a sequel while also leaving things open to interpretation in case a subsequent game isn't meant to be, however, if another game does come that follows Yuito and Kasane again, their stories are set up to be drastically different. Because their paths forward are so different, a dual narrative might be appropriate as there are still ways that the two could inadvertently impact the other.
With Yuito on Earth and Kasane on the moon, their stories could still be linked, just not as directly as they were in Scarlet Nexus. That might make things much more interesting and make a second playthrough a necessity in order to catch the entire story that's being put on display. As it stands right now, Scarlet Nexus's dual narrative just isn't justified by its story, however, by putting Yuito and Kasane in drastically different settings and scenarios, the game could really do something special with its two leads.
Scarlet Nexus is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.