Well well well we are back yet again with the path of depression and if you think in my last review The House in Fata Morgana is a painful, heartbreaking journey then the prequel, A Requiem for Innocence doubles all of those emotions that you experienced when playing the base game and it's very very worth it to play after you finish the base game.

A Requiem for Innocence primarily focuses on the backstory and relationship between Jacopo and Morgana, delved into much deeper detail of their relationship that the original game briefly explained in their earlier days before the tragedy we know too well befalls them. Basically retelling of what happened during the last door in the main game not including Michel’s meddling with Morgana’s memories, but things as they happened before Morgana turned into the witch that tormented those around her for around a thousand years.

The character growth and ultimate destruction of Jacopo is another highlight of A Requiem for Innocence. It’s also amazing to see how so many characters could have changed things massively for the better if only they’d taken the opportunity to do so. In many ways, this is an incredibly heartbreaking tale, and absolutely should not be missed. It’s so painful and heartbreaking to see Jacopo come so, so close to being a great man and to have that just thrown away, bit by bit, by a combination of short-sightedness, misunderstandings, and a sense of desperate self-preservation. However it does help the reader to understand his character a bit more although sympathy is less felt than disappointment in his actions. It really is like a snowball effect where all these little mistakes accumulate little by little and before he knows it, he’s on the path of no return.

When I see Jacopo and Morgana's story, I can't help but feel like this is the most interesting interpretation of the "Beauty and Beast" story. Jacopo stared off as a good person, but power corrupted him. However, his feelings for Morgana are genuine and sweet. Enough to make him lament his actions to the point of near self-destruction. After living through three lives, he earns the chance to fulfil the promise he made to Morgana all those years ago. Morgana, despite having been hurt so badly by Jacopo's actions, learned compassion from Michel which lead her to save Jacopo from his self-inflicted curse. Even though she never forgave him, she remembered who he was and could still be. In the last life, she still couldn't bring herself to forgive him, but she saw that he was no longer the man seeking fame and fortune anymore. He was the man she saw before. the man who was kind to her in his own way. Who cared for her despite her childish antics, who would followed her through hail and rain to stay by her side. Together, they overcame their own flaws and personal herdles, and came out as better people thanks to the efforts and effects of the other. And the best part, we as the reader see it as it happens slowly, no snapshot redemptions, no instant forgiveness. Just two people working their way through life.

On top all of that you get a bonus chapter called 'Fragment' which just breaks your soul ten times more and what i like from Fragment is that Jacopo is a lot more forward in his feelings for her and fucking hell it’s just so heartwrenching because it makes me think of what “could have been” had they sat down and expressed their feelings openly towards one another. And just like the base game, once you have completed the game the main title screen changed, it is just perfect down to the last minute detail.

To Jacopo and Morgana i'm wishing nothing but happiness in your next life.