Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
Years ago, I was skimming the Nintendo 3DS eShop when I stumbled upon Parascientific Escape Cruise in the Distant Seas. A 2014 visual novel by INTENSE in the Zero Escape mold, Cruise spawned two sequels. Gear Detective was the first, following a year later. It was a significantly more confident affair, improving upon its tepid predecessor. However, Gear still ultimately fell short of delivering an experience on par with the series’ contemporaries. In 2017, INTENSE concluded their sci-fi saga with Parascientific Escape – Crossing at the Farthest Horizon. With two visual novels under their metaphorical belt, did the indie studio maintain their momentum and deliver an epic finale?
Crossing is the conclusion to a trilogy, an adventure so grandiose it’s uniting both Parascientific protagonists. (Image: INTENSE/CIRCLE Entertainment)
Gear sought to evolve the series by incorporating genre hallmarks like alternate endings. Conversely, Crossing is complacent, neglecting to bring any new mechanical innovations. Just as in the previous outing, you’ll inspect objects and solve puzzles while you’re trapped in locked rooms. Conversing with other characters, which comprises the majority of your playtime, works identically as well, retaining Gear’s dialogue choice and ranking systems. You may be awarded a gold or pink star for each of the five chapters, tying into the game’s endings; which and how many stars you accrue determines the ending you procure. And as expected, the touch screen controls, user interface, hint system, and soundtrack are inherited from Cruise unaltered. In the latter case, that’s a disappointment. Parascientific’s OST achieves the level of background noise, but this is its third and final entry. A few new tracks for the occasion would have been welcome.
Instead, INTENSE’s hook for Farthest Horizon revolves around the series’ ongoing narrative and characters. This is problematic because Parascientific’s ensemble wasn’t well-fleshed out in the prior games, nor does Crossing’s handling of them do enough to compensate. 17-year-old “double psychic” Hitomi Akeneno and detective Kyosuke Ayana both return, with players automatically rotating between them and, on occasion, other characters. Crossing’s prologue is an optional (though appreciated) summary of the previous Escapes, bringing latecomers up to speed while briefing veterans on the leads’ current whereabouts. The pacing is particularly erratic here; you can’t get comfortable or in the moment with one protagonist before you’re ripped back to the other, though INTENSE later strikes a nice balance. However, while Hitomi and Kyosuke share the spotlight, Crossing ultimately favors the latter. All the key players in his supporting cast – affluent friend Yukiya Ousaka, eccentric assistant Mari Sasamine, and guilt-ridden Tsukiko Nagise – are present, while Hitomi’s friends are lucky to score off-screen cameos. Moreover, only the sleuth is playable during investigation segments, meaning players only have access to his PSI power, chronokinesis.
Consequently, Hitomi’s PSI abilities are relegated to cinematics. (Image: INTENSE/CIRCLE Entertainment)
Witsarock, a once war-torn European country the prior games (especially Gear) referenced, is the primary setting for this episode. Both of our heroes fly there for their own agendas; Hitomi’s still pursuing the Ghost of W, while Kyosuke is hunting down Ritsu Kamiji, the mastermind behind his last case. Ritsu is billed as “the world’s strongest psychic” whose power could even spiral first-world countries into ruin. She’s also – in a surprise to Hitomi, though not to an observant audience member – the Ghost and her long lost older sister. Our white-haired powerhouse had planned to assume control of the territory and repurpose it into a new nation, a safe haven for psychics. Channeling X-Men, people endowed with psychic powers in the Parascientific universe face discrimination or worse. Years ago, Ritsu and Tsukiko endured inhumane, torturous experiments together, scarring both and inspiring the former’s Magneto-esque machinations. However, Crossing throws a curveball: there’s a greater threat behind Ritsu. The true chess master is Iori, a psychotic United States senator and the adoptive mother of Ritsu and Tsukiko.
Following the Parascientific protocol, the foundation for a compelling story is established and subsequently wasted. Reiterating a complaint made in my Gear critique, life-altering revelations happen far too swiftly in this universe, something Tsukiko suffers from in particular. On paper, she’s a tragic figure whose tale is arguably more interesting than Hitomi’s or Kyosuke’s. All the weight her struggles should carry is undermined. Iori was an abusive parent, which we learn about when Tsukiko confronts and threatens her. However, Iori sees through her daughter’s bluff and chides her, spurring Tsukiko to spend time alone pondering her place in the world. Had INTENSE properly introduced Iori (she only appeared briefly prior to this) and given us time to ruminate on their relationship, this could have been a powerful scene. And that scene – and Crossing as a whole – are further marred by how the game’s localization was weaker than Gear’s. Crossing preserves its predecessor’s superior characterization, but it’s littered with typos and wooden sentences, reminiscent of (though not as bad as) Cruise’s script.
Parascientific’s poor pacing was ultimately more damaging to Tsukiko’s character than any of the abuse she survived. (Image: INTENSE/CIRCLE Entertainment)
However, there were brights spots to savor. Hitomi now had the benefit of building rapports with charismatic people, helping elevate her into a more engaging character herself. And the good endings, imperfect though they may be, were as strong of a sendoff to Parascientific Escape as one could hope for, housing its most (and only) emotional moment. Hitomi’s an altruistic, Ash-esque positive influence on those around her, a strength present across all three games. Similarly, the trilogy gradually unveiled Ritsu’s unbridled anger towards humanity and the mistreatment that birthed it. In a franchise that so readily forgoes build up, the sisters’ awaited meeting felt cathartic and earned.
Crossing’s conclusion dealt with moving on from the past, a message fittingly delivered by the man whose powers manipulated the past. And just as everyone within Parascientific Escape‘s purview healed and resumed their lives, I’m ready to continue mine having completed INTENSE’s low-budget rigmarole. Crossing at the Farthest Horizon, a rocky start notwithstanding, became my favorite installment in its series, an achievement showing continual growth on INTENSE’s part. But like with Cruise and Gear, it’s only worth looking into if you’re desperate for more Zero Escape action and can accept something a fraction of its quality.
By the time I finished Crossing, I finally grew to like one of Parascientific’s characters: Hitomi. (Image: INTENSE/CIRCLE Entertainment)
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