Root Double: Before Crime * After Days, stylized as ROOT√DOUBLE, is a visual novel video game developed in a collaboration between Regista and Yeti, and released by Yeti for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows in 2012. An updated version with a new ending, titled Root Double: Before Crime * After Days: Xtend Edition, was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in 2013 and 2014, and was released in English by Sekai Project for Microsoft Windows in 2016; the PlayStation Vita version was released in North America in 2018 and is planned to be released at a later date in Europe. It was also ported to Nintendo Switch in 2020.
The game is set in 2030 in a combined city and research hub whose residents are unable to interact with the outside world without permission from the local government. After an accident at an institute in the city, one of the game's two protagonists, Watase Kasasagi, is sent in as part of a rescue team; the other, a high school student named Natsuhiko Tenkawa, happens to be in the institute as well at the time of the accident.
Gameplay
Root Double is a visual novel where much of the gameplay involves reading the story's narrative through text and imagery.
At the start of the game, there are two story scenarios for the player to choose from: Route After and Route Before (denoted in game as √After and √Before, respectively; A and B for short). Each scenario occurs from the perspective of a different character whom the player assumes the role of; After has the player take on the role of Watase Kasasagi and Before has the player take on the role of Natsuhiko Tenkawa. Upon completion of both scenarios, Route Current (√Current; C for short) becomes available and upon completion of Current, Route Double (√Double; D for short) is unlocked.
An essential component in the game is the "Senses Sympathy System" ("SSS"). Throughout the game, the player is given a chance to adjust their impressions ("Senses") of the characters (including the characters that they are taking the role of) using sliders. The SSS is based on the Enneagram of Personality, with each of the main characters of the story representing one of the nine different types. At scenes where the player is allowed to give their input - referred to as "branches" - the enneagram figure will show up on the screen; however, only characters that are relevant to the scene can have their Senses be adjusted. How the player interacts with the SSS at the branches directly influence the progress of the story. When the enneagram figure shows up, the color surrounding the outline of the graph signifies the importance of the player's input. There are three different colors: blue, yellow, and red. Blue are branches that can influence a character's overall favor but are generally not important to the story; however, skipping too many blue branches can be detrimental later on. Yellow are branches that affect a character's actions and change how the story advances. Finally, red are branches in which deciding incorrectly will lead to an undesirable outcome, making the inputs at these branches critical.
Each story scenario has multiple endings based on the results of the SSS up to certain points in the game. In the cases that the player gets a "bad ending", a hint is given which would give tips on how to avoid it; should the player not want the hints, they can be turned off in the options menu.
Synopsis Setting Root Double takes place at a fictional location in Japan named Rokumei City, a combined city and research hub with 180,000 residents. In the world of Root Double, humans who have extrasensory perception abilities has become commonplace. From its initial discovery, researchers named these abilities "Beyond Communication" ("BC") and the people who have BC "Communicators". Due to the lack of knowledge and fear about BC, Communicators are discriminated against by ordinary people; as a result, the Japanese government enacted laws to help protect Communicators, turning certain cities - including Rokumei - into Communicator-friendly territories where Communicators could live together and be given guidance. The residents of the city cannot interact with the outside world unless given permission by the government; in exchange for this, and for giving up their privacy, they receive many benefits such as exemption from taxes and access to high-quality medical facilities.
Rokumei City is home to over 300 research facilities; the largest one is named the 6th Laboratory of Atomic and Biological Organization ("LABO") and conducts nuclear research. The story begins on September 16, 2030 at 6:19AM when an explosion occurs at LABO. Watase, the captain of the rescue squad of Rokumei City, is dispatched to LABO along with his teammates after the incident occurs. Around the same time Natsuhiko, a high school student and resident of Rokumei City, is inside the LABO facility and trying to escape with his friends. During the rescue operation, LABO's nuclear reactor suffers a meltdown, sending the facility to lockdown and trapping the rescue squad and survivors of the explosion inside LABO for nine hours. Due to the meltdown, lethal radiation has leaked and contaminated the facility, putting the two groups in danger of radiation exposure. There exists anti-radiation medication (called "AD") that can temporarily lower the effects of radiation exposure but there is not enough of the medication offered until the lockdown lifts.
Main characters Depending on the story route being played, the player takes on the role of one of two protagonists. Nine central characters appear over the course of the two routes.
Captain Watase Kasasagi: Protagonist of √A. The captain of the rescue squad dispatched to the incident at "LABO" on request of the city. ...Or so he's heard, as he's lost his memories due to encountering some sort of trouble. It appears he had a composed and logical (to put it in a bad way, dry) personality before his amnesia, but naturally, he doesn't remember that. The story of √A begins with him waking up in LABO. With him and his companions trapped ina desperate crisis without an escape route, he could not have awoken in any worse circumstances. Prepared to do or die, he tries to search for survivors and find a way out of LABO, but the situation just gets worse by the moment... Can he carve a path through this extreme situation? And what of his memories...? Kazami Tachibana: Lieutenant of the rescue squad team. She is a capable officer who has helped out her captain up until now. With Captain Kasasagi having lost his memories due to unforeseen trouble, she takes up the role of captain in his place. She is a superb squad member, and the first female rescue worker in Rokumei City history. So far, female rescue workers have been very rare due to stamina issues, but with her special skills such as her knowledge/handling of equipment, Kazami rose out above all the other candidates and was appointed as the first female rescue squad worker. Even in an extreme situation like that of √A, she never loses her composure and remains a woman with an iron core. Jun Moribe: A rookie rescue worker. She's still a greenhorn, but no one can surpass her when it comes to passion. She admires heroes of justice who defeated the strong and protected the weak, so she wants to become one. Having becoming an elite firefighter and rescue worker at her young age shows that she has outstanding talent much like Kazami. She is incredibly dexterous. Her nimble fingers allow her to free people trapped in machinery and untangle any mess of rope or cable during a mission when seconds count. Though it clashes with her image, she's taken up knitting as a hobby to improve her dexterity skills. Ena Tsubakiyama: A teacher at Natsuhiko's school. She is an egoistic and quirky woman. She's quick-witted, an eloquent speaker, and a model when it comes to taking proactive action, so she's highly trusted by her peers. She's still inexperienced as a teacher, but her passion attracts the students and draws out their motivation. However, she's too aggressive, and has a flaw of occasionally being willing to do anything to achieve her goals... She somehow gets trapped in LABO on September 16. She doesn't appear very compatible with rescue squad, as she's not all that cooperative with them and clashes with their opinions many times. Natsuhiko Tenkawa: Protagonist of √B. A high schooler living in Rokumei City. A quiet boy who hates standing out in any way. He is by no means emotionless, but he rarely shows any passionate emotions. He is the one who is there in body, but not in spirit, as he always seems to be gazing somewhere far off. He tends to simply stick to his daily routine. He is very sensitive and quite perceptive of others' emotions. He gets very tired of being a part of groups, and is often alone. His mother (Miyoko Tenkawa) is a scientist who is so busy at work that she rarely comes home. Therefore, Natsuhiko essentially lives alone. It seems that as a child, he was rather cheerful and mischievous, the opposite of his current self... He somehow gets trapped in LABO on September 16. Yuuri Kotono: Natsuhiko's childhood friend. In √B, she lives at Natsuhiko's house for some reason. She's bad at household chores, so she's no help on that front. In all truth... she is quiet and of few words, so she almost never talks to anyone. She eats dinner with Natsuhiko, and listens to what he has to say without talking back, and she's always on his side. But her presence is very comforting to Natsuhiko, and is precious to him. She somehow gets trapped in LABO on September 16. In √A, she is rescued shortly after the start of the game. She keeps her silence and barely speaks to anyone, so no one can tell what she's thinking. On top of that, she has bad reflexes and no stamina, so she's mostly a burden. Mashiro Toba: Natsuhiko's childhood friend and neighbor. In √B, she is like Natsuhiko's own personal wife (albeit not actually married) in how she constantly takes care of him. Cooking is her specialty (though it's rough). She's not just kind and gentle to Natsuhiko, but to others as well, and so is relied on by many others. On the other hand, she's bad at relying on others, and as such, has a bad habit of not telling her worries to others. She's very active in contrast to Natsuhiko and tries to take him around to all sorts of places, but that's because she's hoping it'll make Natsuhiko to go back to his old self. Salyu (Real name: Louise Yui Sannomiya): Half-Japanese, half-French. A young yet bright genius who skipped two grades. "Yui" is her middle name, while "Louise" is her first name. "Salyu" is her nickname. A girl with a difficult to approach air about her that contains a mystique far removed from normal people. She is of very few words, and her expression rarely changes. She's not oppressive, but nor does she attempt to make any friends of her own. Despite that, she appears actively conscious of Natsuhiko. She constantly carries a ferret mascot-type robot called "Alice". She transfers into Natsuhiko and Mashiro's high school early on in √B. It appears she's a distant relative of Natsuhiko's, as she moves into Natsuhiko's house right after she transfers... She somehow gets trapped in LABO on September 16. Furthermore, she runs away from the rescue squad after they find her and try to save her. A mysterious girl indeed. Keiji Ukita: Natsuhiko's neighbor who works as a researcher (his position is something along the lines of an assistant manager) at the research institute. He seems like an inflexible old man, but he's brimming with a sense of justice, an honest man who can be depended upon as long as injustice is not at play. He got trapped in LABO after the explosion on September 16 when he failed to evacuate in time. It seems he feels a sense of responsibility for the incident as a member of the facility's staff.