Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits. Also, this piece openly spoils AI: The Somnium Files, so I recommend playing the game before reading.
I like visual novels and adventure games, titles that feature compelling mysteries. One game under that umbrella is AI: The Somnium Files, one of the latest works by writer Kotaro Uchikoshi. I was introduced to him through his Zero Escape trilogy, and because of my fondness for it, I bought AI without hesitation upon its release. Then my copy sat neglected for two years, waiting while I chipped away at my sizable backlog (which even included Zero Escape simulacrums). But I finally beat AI last year, acquainting myself with its wisecracking gumshoe.
Kaname Date, seen in 2019’s AI: The Somnium Files (Image: Spike Chunsoft)
Since beating the first Zero Escape in 2010, I’ve kept an eye on Uchikoshi. Seeing him work on a Steins;Gate side game seems fitting, and nabbing World’s End Club, which he developed in collaboration with Danganronpa brainchild Kazutaka Kodaka, is absolutely on my to-do list. The Somnium Files is Uchikoshi’s biggest post-Escape undertaking, however, and for better and worse, its troubled protagonist perfectly embodies it…
Date’s History
While penning the game, Uchikoshi decided to give Kaname Date amnesia so his fund of information would match that of the players. In other words, we all start AI in the dark and learn new details concurrently. Designer Akira Okada, meanwhile, sought to create a game capable of testing one’s intuition. Though Uchikoshi admits AI isn’t as “hardcore” as the Zero Escape series, it does contain an equivalent to its predecessors’ room puzzles. Date is a professional “Psyncer” who investigates and explores witnesses’ dreams, their Somniums, a concept Uchikoshi accredits to producer Yasuhiro Iizuka. Character designer Yusuke Kozaki gave the detective an eyepatch in his earlier designs, though it was removed at Uchikoshi’s request (curiously, Date also bares some resemblance to Ignatius and Niles from Fire Emblem Fates, which Kozaki previously worked on).
Speaking to the game’s themes, AI means “love” in Japanese and is pronounced as “eye.” By the way, this jumping eyeball is the physical body of Aiba, Date’s computerized partner. (Image: Spike Chunsoft)
AI opens with Date, Aiba, and their boss, Shizue Kuranushi, investigating a corpse found at an abandoned amusement park. The victim is Shoko Nadami, one of Date’s friends. She’s also the biological mother of Mizuki, a girl who Date has taken in and is effectively raising. The exact path Date takes after this depends on the choices players make, with multiple endings (including a few gag ones) awaiting him. Every route is valuable, however, shedding more light on the crime and cast. Strangely, information Date gains in one timeline can even carry over into others (though this goes unexplained, it keeps our fund of knowledge consistent with Date’s and is a concept Zero Escape explores thoroughly).
Going through each route gradually reveals Date’s past. Six years ago, he was a detective named Hayato Yagyu and, under the codename Falco, an assassin on the Kumakura family’s payroll. One mission left him on the verge of death, however…only for a chance encounter with Hitomi Sagan to save him, physically and spiritually. The two secretly began a relationship, with the killer acting as a surrogate father to Iris, Hitomi’s adopted daughter. Wanting out of his dangerous secondary gig, Yagyu asked to resign. Though the mafia accepted, he was given one final job: kill the Sagan women. Horrified, Yagyu met with Shizue, confessing to his crimes while asking for help. Unfortunately, their plan fell apart. A mishap with a Psync Machine caused Yagyu to switch bodies with local psychopath Saito Sejima, both of whom lost their memories. Again, Shizue assisted her employee, providing him a new identity and life as Kaname Date.
Tarusuke Shingaki and Greg Chun are Date’s default Japanese and English voice actors, respectively. Meanwhile, D.C. Douglas voices Date’s original body in English. (Image: Spike Chunsoft)
Ultimately, AI’s true ending sees our protagonist regain his memories and original body before finally stopping Saito. It’s a bittersweet victory; Aiba sacrifices herself and Date, unable to go back to his old identity, keeps his current one. Finding that “unsatisfactory” as is, Uchikoshi added an epilogue set a few months later. Unsurprisingly, peace reigns over the city, we learn Date legally adopted Mizuki, and AI closes with him celebrating with his cohorts — including a revived Aiba.
Prior to AI’s release, it was promoted through the Lemniscate YouTube series. Date cameos in one episode and is referenced in two others. An upcoming, reasonably self-contained sequel, AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative, promotes an older Mizuki to the starring role, even giving her Aiba. Nevertheless, Date will return and play “an important role.”
So, what’re my thoughts on Date?
Much to Date’s dismay, Iris tags along during some of his investigations. They quickly develop a rapport and, though they don’t yet know why, find each others’ company comfortingly nostalgic. (Image: Spike Chunsoft)
AI sports many of Uchikoshi’s stylistic hallmarks. There’s a lot of dialogue and self-indulgent science mumbo jumbo. Many of the game’s bigger twists are foreshadowed well in advance by seemingly innocuous comments or details. Was Aiba’s brief mention of Date’s medication really just a throwaway line? When discussing “his” past, how come that convicted felon never explicitly takes credit for Falco’s murders? Of course, alternate routes, a compelling premise, and brainteasers are present (the latter admittedly could become a grating case of trial and error, but I still dig the idea of mining others’ dreams for clues). Then we discover our villain’s been body-snatching, jumping from host to host. This adds a profound layer of anxiety, keeping us on edge while recontextualizing earlier scenes — hey, that’s why Iris’ first Somnium was so disturbed, because it wasn’t actually hers.
And when he’s on-point, Date is a solid sleuth who’s more than capable of cracking this conspiracy (so long as we nudge him in the right direction, of course). The guy is compassionate, caring for others, especially Hitomi and Iris, underneath his aloof facade. Despite their bickering, Date also deeply cares for Aiba — something she fully reciprocates, and, together, they make an impeccable team. Should Date get distracted when roaming the streets, Aiba reliably reins him in. When they enter a Somnium, however, this dynamic flips. She doesn’t run at maximum efficiency while sorting through someone’s subconscious, forcing Date to step up and focus. Oh, and when Date fails, when someone close to him dies? He crumbles, lamenting his mistakes and the loss of those murdered over them.
I like Date’s design, particularly when he’s inhabiting Saito’s body. Date’s prosthetic eye and dirty blonde hair provide a pleasant, subdued contrast to his jacket’s purple trimmings. (Image: Spike Chunsoft)
AI is at its best when it’s highlighting Date’s bond with Mizuki, however. Raising a friend’s daughter for three years is a selfless gesture, upending the amnesiac’s already messy life. But AI isn’t a story of these strong-willed oddballs learning to love each other — they already do by the time we meet them, even if their relationship is strained. This is a story about them learning to express that love. In Mizuki’s route, she enters Date’s Somnium, where we see glimpses of their history together. It presents a wonderful range of emotions, showing the outwardly confident Date’s tenderness and insecurities. But it ends sweetly, with the two hugging. That, frankly, represents AI as a whole; this is a game about people coming together, becoming family (the villainous Saito, who grew up with a distracted father and without a mother, furthers this theme).
Unfortunately, Date has flaws. The biggest one doubles as my biggest issue with AI altogether: Date’s libido is obnoxious, regularly overshadowing his other traits (a quality a few other characters share, annoyingly). He’s rarely shy about making perverted comments. A running gag is how Date’s reflexes become significantly faster if he’s alerted to a nearby porno mag (Aiba frequently takes advantage of this to help them evade danger). If you inspect Hitomi’s shoe rack, he sniffs hers and Iris’ sneakers. Not only is this jarring and unfunny, it makes me feel gross playing as him. If Date were real, he’d be fired from any respectable establishment within a day, maybe two. And though his rapports with Mizuki and Iris can be sweet, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving this guy alone with anyone’s daughter. Worst of all, AI frames Date’s lust as a harmless quirk, so he never outgrows it or faces any meaningful repercussions.
Zero Escape’s protagonists — who, for the record, are college students, not grown adults with careers — are amorous. Unlike this twat, it isn’t a cornerstone of their personalities. (Image: Spike Chunsoft)
But I’m optimistic for Date’s future, largely because nirvanA Initiative is sidelining him. Seeing an older Mizuki take the stage is exciting, and I look forward to seeing her bond with Date evolve. Seeing him in a supporting role, meanwhile, is also interesting, letting us see the veteran work from an outside perspective. How will he guide and support his protégés? Will his shady past haunt him once again? Whatever happens, hopefully Date grows more mature while remaining Mizuki’s reliable guardian.
Congratulations, Date! You’re who they say is the best detective! …Although without Aiba, you’re ineffective!
Of course, I wonder why Date’s still in Saito’s body. Perhaps the sequel isn’t continuing from the original’s true ending, or is following a modified version of it? At least he’s finally rocking an eyepatch. (Image: Spike Chunsoft)
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