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Serial Experiments Lain is an obscure Playstation game that shares a name with the anime it is based on.
This video is a compilation of all of the in game cutscenes. Files were ripped straight from the the disc in order to work around the (somewhat obtrusive) UI that is always on screen – yes, even during cutscenes.
Understanding this game can be quite difficult, especially considering these animated cutscenes only make up a portion of it’s overall story content. I’ve tried to gather as much relevant information as possible below.
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GENERAL INFO
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Serial Experiments Lain (シリアルエクスペリメンツレイン) is an avant-garde anime series directed by Ryutaro Nakamura, with character design by Yoshitoshi ABe, screenplay written by Chiaki J. Konaka, and produced by Yasuyuki Ueda for Triangle Staff. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo from July to September 1998. The series explores themes such as reality, identity, and communication by using philosophy, computer history, cyberpunk literature, and conspiracy theory.
A video game with the same name as the anime was released for the PlayStation in November of 1998. The project was directed by Konaka and Yasuyuki, and designed to play like a “network simulator” in which the player would navigate to explore Lain’s story. The creators themselves did not call it a game, but “Psycho-Stretch-Ware”, and it has been described as being a kind of graphic novel: gameplay is limited to unlocking and viewing pieces of information in a non-linear fashion.
The game was criticized for its limited gameplay, as well as it’s “clunky interface”, interminable dialogues, absence of music and long loading times. The inconsistent quality of animated sequences and incredibly poor sound quality have also been heavily criticized.
It is likely due to poor reception that the game was never released outside of Japan.
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PLOT
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The events of the game primarily follow Lain Iwakura and her interactions with psychiatrist Touko Yonera.
The plot is presented in a non-linear fashion. Text, images, voice recordings, and short video clips are unlocked in a seemingly random order, and it is left up to the player to interpret this information for themselves.
A summary of major plot points:
• The game begins with Lain (11) starting therapy with a woman named Touko. Touko claims that information from Lain’s therapy will be documented and eventually used for research.
• Lain enters junior high and is excited to tell Touko she’s made a friend named Misato.
• Around this time Lain begins to develop an interest in computers and networks.
• After Lain’s parents divorce, Lain loses contact with her father. This affects her deeply.
• Lain laments the loss of her father from her life and begins to program an AI to mimic him.
• Touko explains aspects of psychology to Lain. Lain gradually reveals various snippets of information about herself to Touko.
• After 3 years of counseling, Touko believes Lain has achieved stability and is on the way to no longer requiring therapy.
• However, Touko soon discovers that Lain’s friend Misato does not actually exist which quickly reverses her opinion.
• In a reversal of roles, Lain begins to diagnose Touko as unstable, citing a string of recent incidents in Touko’s personal life that she had hinted at with Lain over the course of their numerous sessions together as cause for concern. It is also implied that Lain may have hacked Touko’s computer and browsed through e-mails and other files after developing an obsession with her.
• Lain eventually runs away from home and begins to live on her own. She aims to begin building a robotic replacement of her father, which she plans to merge with the AI she has been developing.
• Lain decides that there is no need for a physical body and decides to destroy the robotic replacement of her father she has been building.
• Lain visits Touko and kills her in an effort to absorb her into the wired.
• Lain meets with her wired self and commits suicide with a pistol.
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TRANSLATION
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There have been several attempts to translate the game to English.
Check them out:
http://ain-and-lain.tumblr.com/tagged/lain-psx-translation
http://psx.lain.pl/
Special thanks go to the Serial Experiments Lain PSX Game Translation Project for adding English subtitles to this entire video.
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EXTRAS
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The link below contains three PDFs, each compiling translated snippets and visuals from the game. I’d highly recommend checking them out if you’re at all interested in this game or the series.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aJkMvnNhmtD8s1YIjuZHilXjg9BtG–X?usp=sharing
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