History Fridge / FugaMelodiesOfSteel2

* The original Japanese version of the game refers to Jihl by the term of ''jinzōningen'' (人造人間), a term which has the literal translation of "artificial human" but is a generally vague term which can refer to any unnaturally-existing humanoid, and is often translated into other languages as "android" or "cyborg" (just ask ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fans how often they have discussions on this topic). While the French translation also refers to Jihl as a "synthetic being", the initial release of the game had the English version refer to him as a "cyborg" while the European Spanish version referred to him as an "android". Some ''Fuga'' fans actually discussed this with one of the localizers of the game, who then stated that "android" was closer to what they had intended as a descriptor for "hybrid"-- hence, the English translation was later patched to replace all mentions of "cyborg" with "android". I found this odd at first given how Jihl had previously shown aspects of an organic being that go beyond that of a MeatSackRobot[[note]]the end card for Chapter 9 portrays him eating, the Soul Cannon requires ''Bio''-Energy to power it, and Cayenne says that Jihl is assimilated into the Belenos' "bio-organic" makeup[[/note]] despite clearly having cybernetics integrated into him, but after a bit more thought I came to realize something-- "android" may instead be a reference to how Jihl was ''created'' as opposed to his actual physical ''makeup''.[[note]]I actually asked the same localizer about said makeup was, his response was [[NonAnswer "good question"]][[/note]] Unlike how your run-of-the-mill ArtificialHuman is usually [[UterineReplicator grown in a vat]] of some kind, Crusade's hybrids were probably cobbled together like a doll before being given life, like [[OrganicTechnology biomechanical]] {{golem}}s of sorts (think ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'') just like the Belenos itself.

* [[VideoGame/FugaMelodiesOfSteel The second-to-last Jeanne Archive]] had Jihl described as a "counterpart" to Jeanne, which led players to think of him as a LivingBattery for the Taranis after the first game came out, while in this game proper it's stated that he was merely exploited by Crusade as renewable Soul Cannon ammunition. However, this game also reveals that the Female Engineer was a major player in both Jeanne and Jihl's lives-- she created the former using herself as a physical template, and she acted as the primary caretaker and "Mama" to the latter. In a rather heartwarming turn of events, Jeanne calling Jihl her counterpart was less her alluding to their purposes as "components" of the Taranis, and more in her viewing him as a sort of "brother" to her. It's appropriate that she expressed hopefulness towards reuniting with him in the afterlife.

** It's heavily implied in the first ''Fuga'' game that Socks' research on the Taranis laid the foundation for Merveille developing the Dahak centuries later. However, the Dahak was also able to store the bio-data of Nero and Blanck following their deaths at the hand of a BrainwashedAndCrazy Red... which is something that the ''Belenos'' was designed to do to allow it to resurrect deceased organisms in the first place. Who's to say Merveille didn't take inspiration from ''both'' of Crusade's biggest projects?
** Per the "Ragdoll Elegy" novel and "Starlet" art book, Baion's original plan was to find the ''original'' Nero and Blanck and use their powers to summon Tartaros, which he never succeeded in due to them being lost to another plane of existence like Tartaros itself was. If Socks' notes on Jihl and Crusade's experiments with pseudo-hybrids survived, it's likely that Merveille and Baion used them as proof that ''they'' could successfully create their own pseudo-hybrids. The two likely also realized that proper Titano-Machina would probably be ''far'' harder machines to control compared to the Taranis or the Belenos-- and Jihl was never able to completely master the latter-- and so they developed [[SuperMode Trance]] so that their hybrids would gain enough power to avoid such issue. It seems that not all of humanity's scientific progress was lost to the Reset after all!

* Malt's last name is Marzipan. Marzipan is a confectionary made out of almond paste. After Hanna dies, Malt goes into a HeroicBSOD and also undergoes a degree of SanitySlippage. In other words, Malt starts to go a little ''[[{{Pun}} nutty]]''.

* The reasoning behind why Crusade chose Jihl to be a reusable energy source for the Soul Cannon can be clarified by a small detail mentioned in the ''[[VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter Solatorobo]]'' art books.[[note]]for context, it was used to explain why Red could survive the Rite of Forfeit[[/note]] This detail states that hybrids that are strong enough to activate and control machines like Titano-Machina do so through transferring their own bio-energy to them. Jihl was the only test pilot of the Belenos that didn't die of strain in his attempts to control it, and the Soul Cannon also works through extracting the bio-energy of its chosen sacrifice, hence why Crusade surmised that Jihl could survive being used to power it. Of course, the Soul Cannon still needs to extract a ''lot'' of bio-energy for it to work, for more than what would be used to control the Taranis or the Belenos, so it doesn't change the fact that Jihl had to experience the pain ''of death'' over and over again.

** Per Jeanne's archives in the first ''Fuga'', the Taranis and the Belenos were originally designed to have interfaces akin to Titano-Machina that Crusade's pseudo-hybrids would have used to pilot these tanks. This is consistent with what was shown in ''VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter'', where Nero and Blanck used the interfaces on their respective mechas to reawaken and control Lares and Lemures. However, as revealed in this game, Crusade's hybrids constantly perished from the strain of their attempts to pilot the Belenos, and complications arose in the production of hybrids in general. As a result, the Belenos Project was frozen, and the Taranis was redesigned to use Jeanne and whatever energy source was fueling her as a control system that didn't need a hybrid pilot-- but the original interface meant for the hybrids was evidently never completely removed.

* The Belenos has the same weapon types as the Taranis: a cannon (the Cunomaglus, which blasts once red-colored energy), a machine gun (the Atepomarus, which fires three times with blue-colored energy), and two grenade launchers (the Vindonnus and Moritagus, which each shoot once with yellow-colored energy)

* It's ''very'' likely that Socks took notes about Crusade and their creations, which carries a ''lot'' of implications regarding [[VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter Merveille and Baion's]] experiments:
** First of all, Socks having explicit knowledge of the "Old World" means that Merveille likely would have known about it before meeting Baion as well. Hence, her decision to work with Baion wasn't just one of [[ForScience pure morbid curiosity]], but because she felt it would give her the chance to finally solve mysteries that had driven her family line for centuries. It also gives an explanation as to why Baion took an interest in Merveille: he needed ''her'' knowledge of Old World technology as opposed to ''just'' her skills as a good engineer or sidekick. He'd likely already spent ''centuries'' trying and failing to realize his plans to summon Tartaros and execute CODA without any outside help.
** It's heavily implied in the first ''Fuga'' game that Socks' research on the Taranis laid the foundation for Merveille developing the Dahak centuries later. However, the Dahak was also able to store the bio-data of Nero and Blanck following their deaths at the hand of a BrainwashedAndCrazy Red... which is something that the ''Belenos'' was designed to do to allow it to resurrect deceased organisms in the first place. Who's to say Merveille didn't take inspiration from ''both'' of Crusade's biggest projects?
** Per the "Ragdoll Elegy" novel and "Starlet" art book, Baion's original plan was to find the ''original'' Nero and Blanck and use their powers to summon Tartaros, which he never succeeded in due to them being lost to another plane of existence like Tartaros itself was. If Socks' notes on Jihl and Crusade's experiments with pseudo-hybrids survived, it's likely that Merveille and Baion used them as proof that ''they'' could successfully create their own pseudo-hybrids. The two likely also realized that proper Titano-Machina would probably be ''far'' harder machines to control compared to the Taranis or the Belenos-- and Jihl was never able to completely master the latter-- and so they developed [[SuperMode Trance]] so that their hybrids would gain enough power to avoid such issue. It seems that not all of humanity's scientific progress was lost to the Reset after all!

* The first two [[FissionMailed scripted losses]] aren't just meant to introduce the Managarm and the Soul Cannon as gameplay functions, but to also show the negative consequences of Malt (and by extension, the player) relying too much on either Empathy or Resolution:
** When Malt and his friends first catch up to the rogue Taranis, Malt refuses to retaliate against it due to worrying that their captured comrades inside will be hurt as a result, and thus everyone on the Tarascus is thus [[ControllableHelplessness unable to do anything aside from defending]]. As a result of having ''no'' resolution and ''too much'' empathy in the heat of the moment, Malt is unable to act decisively until it's too late. Said empathy ends up completely going to waste-- Mei loses her life to the Soul Cannon, Malt and the children on the Tarascus are obliterated, and the other children on the rogue Taranis are still trapped.
** When Malt and his friends first catch up to the Belenos following its initial escape, Malt instead insists upon retaliating against it due to his concern that Jihl will escape justice for his crimes, despite how a powerful Berman Geist will end up destroying an innocent town if they choose to ignore it and continue their pursuit. As a result of having ''no'' empathy and ''too much'' resolution in the heat of the moment, Malt is unable to consider the viewpoints of his teammates until it's too late. Said resolution similarly ends up going to waste-- Malt squanders so much time arguing with his friends that the Belenos is able to escape anyways, and Hax tosses Malt into the Soul Cannon to ensure the rest of the crew's survival against the aforementioned Berman Geist.

* Possibly unintentional on the part of the writers, but Baum and Stollen are [[EdibleThemeNaming named for desserts]] just like most of the children are.

* This isn't [[VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter the first time]] we've seen a Titano-Machina [[TheAssimilator assimilate]] someone. It ''is'' the first time that a Titano-Machina's core determined to create an AI from their victim's data, however.

* [[VideoGame/FugaMelodiesOfSteel The second-to-last Jeanne Archive]] had Jihl described as a "counterpart" to Jeanne, which led players to think of him as a LivingBattery for the Taranis after the first game came out, while in this game proper it's stated that he was merely exploited by Crusade as renewable Soul Cannon ammunition. However, this game also reveals that the Female Engineer was a major player in both Jeanne and Jihl's lives-- she created the former using herself as a physical template, and she acted as the primary caretaker and "Mama" to the latter. In a rather heartwarming turn of events, Jeanne calling Jihl her counterpart was less her alluding to their purposes as "components" of the Taranis, and more in her viewing him as a sort of "brother" to her. It's appropriate that she expressed hopefulness towards reuniting with him in the afterlife.

* The Belenos' hidden programming to assimilate its hybrid pilot into its organic makeup seems like an out-of-left-field reveal at first, but it's probable that it was intended to be a GodzillaThreshold for the machine. There's a number of details indicating that the Belenos was never tested with all its auxiliary generators integrated at once-- just ''one'' is enough for Jihl to experience aches and pains on the level of the experimentation he was subjected to in the past, and getting more results in Jihl starting to undergo SanitySlippage. The narration states outright that the production of ''hybrids'' began experiencing issues during the Belenos' testing as opposed to just the weapon itself, meaning that Crusade was left with [[WickedWastefulness too few resources]] to continue their full testing. If the last survivor Jihl were to die from using a more completed Belenos, that would be it for ''any'' testing. It can be inferred that Crusade aimed for the Belenos to successfully resurrect the dead using as few auxiliary generators as possible, but it's also possible that they added the hidden assimilation program in the event that even all four generators weren't enough, so that they could make use of the hybrid subject as a "fifth generator" of sorts.

* While it's an easy read to say that Jihl is this game's [[{{Expy}} equivalent]] to [[VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter Nero and Blanck]] given his appearance and personality, he may actually have the most in common with ''Red himself'' as a character:
** Both were more successful than most other hybrids created from the operations that birthed them, but still ultimately failed in their initial purposes (Jihl came closest to controlling the Belenos but was unable to use its resurrection powers properly, Red was neck-and-neck with Nero and Blanck but failed to activate a Titano-Machina).
** Both are indicated to be capable of adapting and growing (the Female Engineer describes Jihl as having "limitless potential", Merveille designed Red to be able to [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming grow beyond expected parameters]] unlike the tailor-made Nero and Black).
** Both desire personal freedom and to rebel against their original purposes (Jihl's anger towards the experiments he endured leads him to want to take the Belenos for himself and go on a rampage, Red tries hard to fight off his original programming as a force of destruction).
** Both are extremely prideful and typically refuse to show any emotional vulnerability (Jihl's confident streak is heavily implied to be a coping facade, Red is apprehensive towards confronting any feelings of grief or sadness).
** Both were created to use their bio-energy to operate a machine (Jihl was meant to pilot the Belenos, Red was meant to control Lares or Lemures) with this also allowing them to be used as a living battery for something via an extremely painful process that would kill anyone else (Jihl was used as a constant energy source for the Soul Cannon, Red's life energy was used to awaken Lares via the Rite of Forfeit).
** Both had a mother figure who wished to atone in an attempt to keep them safe (the Female Engineer sealed Jihl away and took his place as a sacrifice for the Soul Cannon, Merveille entrusted Red with the Dahak and later joined the Kurvaz in her aims to destroy Lares).
** Unfortunately, Jihl may also be a showcase of how Red's power to [[{{Determinator}} "see things through to the end"]] can horribly backfire, as while Red uses this power to save the day, [[DetrimentalDetermination Jihl's stubborn inability to let go of things constantly bites him in the ass]].

* The reasoning behind why Crusade chose Jihl to be a reusable energy source for the Soul Cannon can be explained by a small detail mentioned in the ''[[VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter Solatorobo]]'' art books (that was used to explain why Red could survive the Rite of Forfeit): hybrids that are strong enough to activate and control machines like Titano-Machina do so through transferring their own bio-energy to them. Jihl was the only pilot of the Belenos that didn't die of strain in his attempts to control it, and the Soul Cannon also works through extracting the bio-energy of its chosen sacrifice, hence why Crusade surmised that Jihl could survive being used to power it. Of course, the Soul Cannon still needs to extract a ''lot'' of bio-energy for it to work, for more than what would be used to control the Taranis or the Belenos, so it doesn't change the fact that Jihl had to experience the pain ''of death'' over and over again.

** From the Taranis' redesign up until the first game, the Taranis was powered by the "life force" that allowed Jeanne to function as an AI for thousands of years. Similarly, the Tarascus used the excavated heart of the Vanargand as its own power source. At the end of the game, the Taranis' energy source was used up in order to fuel the Soul Cannon and defeat Hax. As a result, Jeanne went offline permanently and the Taranis was no longer able to move or function by itself.
** With Jeanne effectively being dead by the start of the second game, Jihl instead activates and controls the Taranis by using the hybrid-specific interfaces that are still in place, essentially acting as a "pulley" or "generator" moving it forward, as opposed to how the Tarascus still has a "battery" in the form of its core (which has assimilated the original Hax and produced an AI version of him as its control mechanism). Following the boss fight at the Crusade Temple, it's shown that the Taranis has stopped moving after hastily slamming into the Tarascus, to signify that Jihl has escaped and jumped ship to the Belenos. Jihl begins piloting the Belenos using the same interfaces that he did the Taranis, while the Taranis and the Tarascus' remains fuse into the Exo-Taranis, again powered by the Vanargand's former heart. At the end of this game, the Exo-Taranis' core is used up to fuel the Soul Cannon against Cayenne, which terminates AI Hax's existence just like Jeanne before him, and results in the Taranis reverting to its original state with no power source once again.

** It's all but stated in the first ''Fuga'' game that Socks' research on the Taranis laid the foundation for Merveille developing the Dahak centuries later. However, the Dahak was also able to store the bio-data of Nero and Blanck following their deaths at the hand of a BrainwashedAndCrazy Red... which is something that the ''Belenos'' was designed to do to allow it to resurrect deceased organisms in the first place. Who's to say Merveille didn't take inspiration from ''both'' of Crusade's biggest projects?
** Per the "Ragdoll Elegy" novel and "Starlet" art book, Baion's original plan was to find the ''original'' Nero and Blanck and use their powers to summon Tartaros, which he never succeeded in due to them being lost to another plane of existence like Tartaros itself was. If Socks' notes on Jihl and Crusade's experiments with pseudo-hybrids survived, it's likely that Merveille and Baion used them as proof that ''they'' could successfully create their own pseudo-hybrids. The two likely also realized that proper Titano-Machina would probably be ''far'' harder machines to control compared to the Taranis or the Belenos-- and Jihl was never able to completely pilot the latter-- and so they developed [[SuperMode Trance]] so that their hybrids would gain enough power to avoid such issue. It seems that not all of humanity's scientific progress was lost to the Reset after all!

* This isn't [[VideoGame/SolatoroboRedTheHunter the first time]] we've seen a Titano-Machina core [[TheAssimilator assimilate]] someone, but it ''is'' the first time that said core determined to create an AI from their victim's data.

** Both were used as a living battery for something via an extremely painful process that would kill anyone else (Jihl was used as a constant energy source for the Soul Cannon, Red's life energy was used to awaken Lares via the Rite of Forfeit).

** Both were more successful than most other hybrids created from the procedures that birthed them, but still ultimately failed in their initial purposes (Jihl came closest to controlling the Belenos but was unable to use its resurrection powers properly, Red was neck-and-neck with Nero and Blanck but failed to activate a Titano-Machina).

** Both desire personal freedom and rebel against their original purposes (Jihl's anger towards the experiments he endured leads him to want to take the Belenos for himself and go on a rampage, Red's tries hard to fight off his original programming as a force of destruction).

** Both were used as a living battery for something via an extremely painful process that would kill anyone else (Jihl was constantly sacrificed to the Soul Cannon, Red's life energy was used to awaken Lares via the Rite of Forfeit).

* The Belenos' hidden programming to assimilate its hybrid pilot into its organic makeup seems like an odd reveal at first glance, but it's probable that it was intended to be a GodzillaThreshold for the machine. Character dialogue from Jihl and details stated in the Crusade Archives indicate that the Belenos was never tested with all its auxiliary generators integrated at once. The narration states outright that the production of ''hybrids'' began experiencing issues during the Belenos' testing as opposed to just the weapon itself, meaning that Crusade was left with [[WickedWastefulness too few resources]] to continue their full testing. If the last survivor Jihl were to die from using a more completed Belenos, that would be it for ''any'' testing. It can be inferred that Crusade aimed for the Belenos to successfully resurrect the dead using as few auxiliary generators as possible, but it's also possible that they added the hidden assimilation program in the event that even all four generators weren't enough, so that they could make use of the hybrid subject as a "fifth generator" of sorts.

* The original Japanese version of the game refers to Jihl by the term of ''jinzōningen'' (人造人間), a term which has the literal translation of "artificial human" but is a generally vague term which can refer to any unnaturally-existing humanoid, and is often translated into other languages as "android" or "cyborg" (just ask ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fans how often they have discussions on this topic). While the French translation also refers to Jihl as a "synthetic being", the initial release of the game had the English version refer to him as a "cyborg" while the European Spanish version referred to him as an "android". Some ''Fuga'' fans actually discussed this with one of the localizers of the game, who stated that "android" was closer to what they had intended as a descriptor for "hybrid"-- hence, the English translation was later patched to replace all mentions of "cyborg" with "android". I found this odd at first given how Jihl had previously shown aspects of an organic being that go beyond that of a MeatSackRobot[[note]]the end card for Chapter 9 portrays him eating, the Soul Cannon requires ''Bio''-Energy to power it, Jihl is ''psychologically'' portrayed as having more human irrationality and true free will than [[ArtificialIntelligence Jeanne]] ever did, and Cayenne says that Jihl is assimilated into the Belenos' "bio-organic" makeup[[/note]] despite clearly having cybernetics integrated into him, but after a bit more thought I came to realize something-- "android" may instead be a reference to how Jihl was ''created'' as opposed to his actual physical ''makeup''.[[note]]I actually asked the same localizer about said makeup was, his response was [[NonAnswer "good question"]][[/note]] Unlike how your run-of-the-mill ArtificialHuman is usually [[UterineReplicator grown in a vat]] of some kind, Crusade's hybrids were probably cobbled together like a doll before being given life, like [[OrganicTechnology biomechanical]] {{golem}}s of sorts (think ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'') just like the Belenos itself.

* The original Japanese version of the game refers to Jihl by the term of ''jinzōningen'' (人造人間), a term which has the literal translation of "artificial human" but is a generally vague term which can refer to any unnaturally-existing humanoid, and is often translated into other languages as "android" or "cyborg" (just ask ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fans how often they have discussions on this topic). While the French translation also refers to Jihl as a "synthetic being", the initial release of the game had the English version refer to him as a "cyborg" while the European Spanish version referred to him as an "android". Some ''Fuga'' fans actually discussed this with one of the localizers of the game, who stated that "android" was closer to what they had intended as a descriptor for "hybrid"— hence, the English translation was later patched to replace all mentions of "cyborg" with "android". I found this odd at first given how Jihl had previously shown aspects of an organic being that go beyond that of a MeatSackRobot[[note]]the end card for Chapter 9 portrays him eating, the Soul Cannon requires ''Bio''-Energy to power it, Jihl is ''psychologically'' portrayed as having more human irrationality and true free will than [[ArtificialIntelligence Jeanne]] ever did, and Cayenne says that Jihl is assimilated into the Belenos' "bio-organic" makeup[[/note]] despite clearly having cybernetics integrated into him, but after a bit more thought I came to realize something— "android" may instead be a reference to how Jihl was ''created'' as opposed to his actual physical ''makeup''.[[note]]I actually asked the same localizer about said makeup was, his response was [[ShrugOfGod "good question"]][[/note]] Unlike how your run-of-the-mill ArtificialHuman is usually [[UterineReplicator grown in a vat]] of some kind, Crusade's hybrids were probably cobbled together like a doll before being given life, like [[OrganicTechnology biomechanical]] {{golem}}s of sorts (think ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'') just like the Belenos itself.

** The Crusade Archives for this game note that the Female Engineer didn't know every single thing Crusade was doing-- for instance, while she was a major player in the creation of their pseudo-hybrids, it was ''them'' who told ''her'' that Jihl could survive the Soul Cannon, and she only joined the Belenos' development team after it started killing its pilots again. Her records also showed that she wished that the Belenos would be "the wings on which [Jihl] flew" as a way for him to finally see the outside world… and yet, when the Belenos is completed in the game, it assimilates Jihl into becoming a mindless node of it. It's dead obvious that the Female Engineer wouldn't have approved of this, implying that she either disabled it during testing of the Belenos, or that Crusade ''deliberately hid knowledge of it from her'' so that she wouldn't try and stop it if it were to happen.

* The original Japanese version of the game refers to Jihl by the term of ''jinzōningen'' (人造人間), a term which has the literal translation of "artificial human" but is a generally vague term which can refer to any unnaturally-existing humanoid, and is often translated into other languages as "android" or "cyborg" (just ask ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fans how often they have discussions on this topic). While the French translation also refers to Jihl as a "synthetic being", the initial release of the game had the English version refer to him as a "cyborg" while the European Spanish version referred to him as an "android". Some ''Fuga'' fans actually discussed this with one of the localizers of the game, who stated that "android" was closer to what they had intended— hence, the English translation was later patched to replace all mentions of "cyborg" with "android". I found this odd at first given how Jihl had previously shown aspects of an organic being that go beyond that of a MeatSackRobot[[note]]the end card for Chapter 9 portrays him eating, the Soul Cannon requires ''Bio''-Energy to power it, Jihl himself acts with more human irrationality and open free will than [[ArtificialIntelligence Jeanne]] ever did, Cayenne says that Jihl is assimilated into the Belenos' "bio-organic" makeup[[/note]] despite clearly having cybernetics integrated into him, but after a bit more thought I came to realize something— "android" may instead be a reference to how Jihl was ''created'' as opposed to his actual physical ''makeup''.[[note]]I actually asked the same localizer about said makeup was, his response was [[ShrugOfGod "good question"]][[/note]] Unlike how your run-of-the-mill ArtificialHuman is usually [[UterineReplicator grown in a vat]] of some kind, Crusade's hybrids were probably cobbled together like a doll before being given life, like a [[OrganicTechnology biomechanical]] {{golem}} of sorts akin to the Belenos itself. Being ''constructed'' rather than born would certainly explain why their initial batch would be [[EmptyShell emotionally unresponsive]] before their redesign, as well as explain Jihl's one line about whether [[DoAndroidsDream he has the capability to have dreams]].