The last time we talked about Atlus’s Radiant Historia, we touched only briefly upon the time-travel element to the RPG’s plot and how it affects main character Stok. Here’s a bit more of a concrete example, courtesy of this week’s Famitsu magazine.
Early on in Historia, government secret agent Stok is asked by his military friend Rosh if he’d like to join him in the army and become a vice officer in a newly-formed corps. In the “real” version of history, Stok turned down that offer and proceeded on to his next undercover assignment — one where he’s sent to investigate a resistance group that aims to hijack a supply of military explosives currently being delivered. He succeeds in dispatching the group’s leader, but his next job — which sends him behind enemy lines in the current war his country’s waging — quickly falls apart when his contact on the other side mysteriously disappears.
Let’s say that Stok feels that something went wrong around this point in his life. Thus, he decides to use his time-trippin’ powers to go back and accept Rosh’s offer after all, leading an army of new recruits as they clear out an abandoned mine of enemy soldiers. Unfortunately, the entrance to the mine’s been sealed off by a cave-in. This normally wouldn’t be a problem since the army’s got tons of explosives, but they’re out right now — apparently, the latest shipment has disappeared without a trace. Hmm.
