Line #32 VisualNovel/SoulLink


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Soul_Link_4611.jpg]]
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3	It's October the 17th, 2044. Officer graduate Shuhei Aizawa is heading to the spaceport for his recent transfer to the space station Aries where he will spend the next couple of years on secondment, but he has another reason for requesting transfer there: the chance to be reunited with his childhood friend Nao and his brother Ryota. Before they can begin chatting about old times, however, the emergency alarms sound and reports start coming in that terrorists have boarded the station and are trying to take it over.
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5	As each section shuts down and the civilians are evacuated, a ragtag group of stragglers are holed up in the residential module, the "Sheraten". Realizing that they are the only thing standing in the way of the terrorists' complete takeover, Shuhei rallies the stragglers to beat them at their own game.
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7	The story is told in four acts. For the first two, Shuhei is the leader and protagonist but halfway through the game, the point of view switches to his brother Ryota. He is thrust into the spotlight and forced to make the hard and sober decisions that had come so easily to Shuhei in the interest of helping everyone still trapped on the Aries escape. Meanwhile, all is not well on the rest of the space station as the terrorists find themselves beset by an altogether more dangerous foe.
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9	Eschewing fancy gameplay mechanics and instead focusing on solid art and storytelling, '''''Soul Link''''' is a no-frills VisualNovel to the core. The game was followed by an anime in 2006 and has been translated into English by [=MangaGamer=].
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11	----
12	!!This game contains examples of:
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14	* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler: Shuhei has been transforming into a Scylla the whole time.]]
15	%%* AnotherSideAnotherStory
16	%%* ArtisticLicenseBiology
17	* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Shuhei is a genius, the only cadet to skip two years of officer training, and more than proves his tactical skills against Jararacas.
18	* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: At the end of Aki's route it turns out that she and Kazuhiko really did care about each other the whole time, under that vicious sibling rivalry.
19	* BadassNormal: Shuuhei is this. Karen hardly gets a scratch on him, and he's also able to resist [[spoiler: Cellaria's control]].
20	%%* BigBrotherMentor: Shuhei to Ryota.
21	* CrashIntoHello: Sayaka does this to Ryota while trying to catch her flight in episode 1.
22	%%* TheChainsOfCommanding: A major theme in Ryota's story arc.
23	* TheDragon: Initially, he's presented as the leader but Gale [[spoiler:really plays the unwitting Dragon to Cellaria.]]
24	* EnemyMine: The cadets and terrorists end up having to work together once they realize there's a bigger threat to both groups.
25	%%* GangstaStyle: Yu, [[spoiler:who really should know better.]]
26	* GratuitousEnglish: >It prays the different future is opened...
27	%%* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler:Nanami]].
28	%%* HealingFactor: Actually a major part of the plot.
29	* HeDidntMakeIt: When Karen asks about Gale after Aya is rescued, Aya just has a really sad look on her face.
30	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Gale and Karen both do this after Cellaria takes over the zombies.]]
31	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Gale does one of these to let Aya escape. Morimoto does so on Sayaka's route.]]
32	%%* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Cellaria's]] favorite method for tormenting captives.
33	* LastStand: Gale does one of these when he realizes he won't be able to escape with Aya.
34	%%* MoreDakka: At least in the anime, where there is Karen.
35	* PhlebotinumBreakdown: [[spoiler:What happens when Cellaria absorbs Nanami's hand, thus introducing foreign elements that caused her to break down.]]
36	* PrivateMilitaryContractors: [[spoiler:Jararacas. Yu is secretly a mercenary that was sent by one of the PMC's cells to observe the cell currently taking over the Aries.]]
37	%%* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Gale, and he doesn't go down pleasantly either.
38	* SexualKarma: The various couples who make love always do so [[IdealizedSex tenderly and enjoyably]]. Meanwhile, [[spoiler: Cellaria]], a {{sadist}} and rapist, is also a mess of sexual frustration and has more and more trouble enjoying it as the story goes on.
39	%%* SlipknotPonytail: Except instead of in the heat of battle, it gets undone in the heat of passion.
40	* TakingYouWithMe: After being mortally wounded, [[spoiler: Gale sets off a bomb to ensure Aya can escape unharmed.]]
41	%%* ThirdPersonPerson: Nanami, at first.
42	%%* TimeToStepUpCommander: The other major theme in Ryota's story arc.
43	%%* {{Tsundere}}: Yu
44	* UpdatedRerelease: In the form of Soul Link [=ULTIMATE=], with a release date of June 25th of 2010. It includes routes for Aya Sugimoto (Sayaka's friend) and Karen (that anime-original character), plus a whole new set of [=CG=]s.
45	* {{Unwinnable}}: All it takes is one small choice early on in Shuhei's story arc to get a Bad End just when you think you've won.
46	%%* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: Nao
47	%%* TheVirus: [[spoiler:Scylla cells.]]
48	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In the end Sayaka [[spoiler:was never able to save her friend Aya. Did she survive or did she just burn up in the atmosphere along with the space station? You only get an answer in Sayaka's ending to Act 2.]]
49	** The anime makes it pretty clear that [[spoiler: Aya survives and is rescued.]]
50	* YouAreInCommandNow: Ryota is voted in this position in episode 7 while Shuuhei is on his away mission.

Context VisualNovel / SoulLink