Dies irae: Amantes amentes

Dies irae: Amantes amentes is a Japanese visual novel that follows a dark and atmospheric narrative set in modern-day Japan. The story revolves around a group of characters with twisted personalities who become entangled in a supernatural conflict involving a secret order known as the Longinus Dreizehn Orden. Players experience a first-person perspective through poetic and sophisticated dialogue, making choices that lead them through different heroine scenarios, each requiring separate DLC purchases. The game is known for its rich, dark atmosphere and heart-pounding thriller elements.

Dies irae: Amantes amentes: A Requiem for the Damned

In the pantheon of Japanese visual novels, few titles carry the weight, controversy, and cult adoration of Dies irae: Amantes amentes. It is a work of staggering ambition, a symphony of esoteric philosophy, operatic violence, and gothic romance that has, for over a decade, divided critics and enthralled a dedicated fanbase. To review it is not merely to assess a game; it is to dissect a cultural artifact that embodies both the zenith and the nadir of its genre’s potential. It is a flawed masterpiece, a work of genius mired in its own self-indulgence, and an essential, if exhausting, chapter in the history of narrative-driven games.

Development History & Context

The Studio and The Vision

Developed by Light, a studio now synonymous with dense, thematically heavy narratives, Dies irae was the brainchild of writer Masada Takashi. Originally released as a freeware doujin soft title in 2004, it was completely remade and commercially released for Windows in 2007. The version under review, Amantes amentes (Latin for “Lovers are insane”), is the definitive 2012 port for the PlayStation Portable, which later saw iterations on Vita, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

The early 2010s were a fascinating time for visual novels on portable consoles. The PSP, in its twilight years, became a haven for niche Japanese titles seeking a dedicated audience. Light’s vision was to create a “hyper-cool” narrative experience that fused historical revisionism, Norse and Christian mythology, and the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche into a modern urban fantasy. The technological constraints of the PSP—its UMD format and screen resolution—meant the experience was inherently intimate, designed to be consumed in bursts, yet its narrative scope was anything but small. It was a bold gambit: to deliver a PC-level narrative experience on a handheld platform, banking on an audience hungry for deep, complex stories.

The Gaming Landscape

Upon its 2012 release, the gaming landscape was dominated by the rise of mobile gaming and the impending next generation of consoles. In this environment, Dies irae was an anachronism and a statement. It defiantly belonged to a subgenre of visual novels focused on intense, action-packed narratives with minimal traditional gameplay, a style popularized by titles like Fate/stay night. Its release was a testament to the enduring market for hardcore, text-heavy experiences, a niche that platforms like the PSP and later the Vita successfully cultivated.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

The Plot: A Tapestry of Madness and Divinity

The narrative begins deceptively simply. Ren Fujii, a high school student in Suwahara City, Japan, is recovering from a brutal fight that ended his friendship with Shirou Yusa. He desires nothing more than a return to a peaceful daily life. This mundane wish is obliterated when his city is besieged by supernatural horrors, drawing him into a conflict with the Longinus Dreizehn Orden, a cabal of Nazi occultists who performed a ritual in the dying days of World War II to transcend humanity and become gods.

The plot is a Russian nesting doll of mysteries, revelations, and alternate routes. The common route establishes the core conflict, but the true meat of the story is locked behind the heroines’ routes—Kasumi, Marie, Kei, and Rea—each requiring separate DLC purchases. This structure is both a strength and a weakness. It allows for a deep exploration of the story’s central themes from different perspectives, but it also fractures the narrative and can lead to a sense of incompletion without the additional content.

Characters: Gods, Monsters, and Broken Lovers

The cast is where Dies irae truly shines and occasionally stumbles. Ren Fujii is a standard-issue protagonist whose primary trait is a guttural roar of determination (“UUUUUOOOORRRRRRRRRRGGHGHHHHHH”), but his philosophical wrestling with the nature of power, the value of a peaceful life, and the ethics of resurrecting the dead gives him surprising depth.

The villains are the main attraction. Reinhard Heydrich, the “Red Dragon” and leader of the Order, is a charismatic and terrifying antagonist whose desire for an eternal, glorious battlefield is rooted in a twisted Nietzschean will to power. His lieutenant, Mercurius, speaks in such dense, poetic monologues that he borders on self-parody, representing the game’s tendency toward verbose indulgence.

Among the heroines, Kei Sakurai stands out, as noted in user reviews. A member of the Order filled with animosity towards her comrades, her backstory and motivations are richly developed across multiple routes, making her romance with Ren the most compelling. In contrast, other romances, particularly Marie’s, feel rushed and underdeveloped, existing more as plot devices than genuine relationships.

Themes: The Weight of Heaven

The game is steeped in profound thematic weight. It is an exploration of:
* The Übermensch and Divine Ambition: The Nazis’ quest for godhood is a literalization of Nietzsche’s philosophy, asking what it truly means to surpass humanity and what is lost in the process.
* The Nature of Reality and Causality: The characters manipulate a power known as the “Law,” which allows them to rewrite reality based on their deepest desires, leading to complex discussions about fate, causality, and the observer’s effect on the world.
* Love and Insanity: The title itself signals the core theme—that love is a form of madness. Every character is driven by a powerful, often destructive, love for someone or something, be it a person