First Impression: Whelp, this is gonna be a bloody one.
After playing this route, it makes me sad that Finis wasn’t able to be saved in the main game. Of course for Finis and Cardia to actually get a chance to bond back then, a lot of things would need to be adjusted to enable them to undergo such development. So the playthrough was quite a bittersweet one.
But I have to say, Finis’ backstory was quite brutal. It’s a heartbreaker that gives us a much better picture of just how much he had suffered, and how he evolved into such a twisted character. It was because of Isaac who initially did love both him and Cardia, came to realize that no matter how many copies he made, they would never be the same as the originals who have already long passed. As result Isaac came to hate Finis, and perceive him as nothing more than a tool, while for Cardia, to prevent her from being suffering like he had, he instructed her not to know love. But his blatant favouritism to Cardia is why Finis was so jealous of her in the first place.
It was interesting to say the least how little by little, Cardia and the others (namely Delly, who was able to help him look at the bigger picture), and Finis started forming his own individuality. It was because of that, Isaac chose to discard him while attempting to get rid of Hansel (an apostle of Idea). While doing so, he cut Finis off from the main body, making it so the consciousness that resided him at the time, ultimately became his own. Miraculously he survived the fall and was nurtured back to health by Lupin and the gang.
And man, this route was quite… bloody to say the least. From the very start, since Finis was waiting for Cardia at the mansion in Wales, when the villagers and the stupid priest showed up, what did he do? He had Aleister and Twilight kill them all. And then we later see Idea taking down Twilight soldiers and Finis’ fodder bodies left and right, so it was quite a bloodbath so to speak. I have to say though, considering what happened to the villagers, I am really surprised to see Cardia and Finis actually return to the mansion in hopes to rebuild their lives there. I mean…. While I almost forgot what transcended in the first chapter, the moment I did remember I thought, “Uhhhhhh…..Okay then.” I mean, it’s not like several months or even a year passed. We’re talking about a serious short period of time, and Cardia actually wanted to go back there? Yeah. I’m not completely sold on that bit.
But if we’re going to be super real here: This story as a whole, though it started off really grim, was actually a really cheesy one. The ending especially, with Aleister and Nemo agreeing to help Finis fight against Isaac by taking down Nautilus. Nemo, I can get to the extent of how easily one can appeal to him by saying what he wants to hear, but Aleister? That creeped me out. It’s the “gentle” (which we know is bullshit through and through) we have seen him behave around Van until the truth comes out. (Which reminds me, the truth never came out in this one, which means Van ultimately let go of his revenge regardless still believing Finis is the one to blame.)
I suppose my favourite part was when we finally got to see Finis act upon his own will. I thought it was adorable with the way he was raising a fuss about giving Cardia an earful, and making sure she gets out alive. I also wished they had featured a CG of the scene where Finis was fired out of Impey’s Canon, because I am sure that could have been a hysterical one!
Speaking of the gang, we actually didn’t see a lot of them at all in this route. Saint-Germain and Lupin were the only two of the group to get into the headquarter, but both did so for different reasons at a different times. Saint-Germain appeared as part of Idea’s move to take Finis and Cardia out, and at the time, was prepared to assassinate them. It was only later when he came in with Leonhardt to deliver some inside information of how the group can reach Nautilus. Lupin on the other-hand, he appeared by going undercover as a Twilight Agent after having found the letter Isaac left for Cardia at the mansion. The difference this time, Cardia refused to leave with him since she wanted to save Finis. Ultimately, neither he or Saint-Germain boarded Nautilus after that. Instead it was about Finis being the one to save Cardia, with the help of an unlikely ally, an apostle of Idea: Hansel.
Hansel is a new character who made his appearance for the first time in this route. The first time we saw him, the first thing I thought was: “HE LOOKS LIKE ROBIN FROM FIRE EMBLEM AWAKENING!” the whole outfit, the hair, it matches, hahaha!
Initially, Hansel seriously freaked me out, mainly because of the way he spoked. But once we got his backstory, and learned about how he had a soft spot for Cardia and Finis’ misfortune, I came to love him. I was really happy to see him make his own decisions, and help Finis when he asked for it. He even gave Cardia advice on how to help Finis fight back against Isaac when he attempted to reclaim his body once more.
And the reason why Hansel has a soft spot for the two is because of his relationship with his own sister, Gretel. Unfortunately when he finally encountered Omnibus in the Forest of Fog, Gretel was already dead, and the only thing Omnibus could do to somewhat fulfill his wish was to bound his sister’s soul into his weapon, (a giant fork of all things, and Omnibus decided to take on the role as his “mother”). Having been abandoned by their mother, Hansel can relate to Cardia’s and Finis’ misfortune with their creator they call “father”.
Best of all, even after the incident, both Saint-Germain and Hansel drops by to visit the Cardia and Finis at their mansion. Although one reason for it is that they have to keep them under surveillance, they are also just happy to drop by haha.
Actually speaking of the post-story, there were quite a couple of changes in the paths characters had taken. Lupin returns to Paris, Victor opens a clinic is the lower town and has officially became responsible for Sisi. And Impey, apparently still in London, since it’s said he visits Nemo in prison (which I find a bit strange considering he is being held in the cells of the palace waiting to be sentenced, which we learned from Sholmes’ route is known for its infamous hellish environment).The only ones unchanged was Van and Delly, and Aleister who disappeared to fulfill is own evil plots.
Final Verdict: 4/5
Like Sholmes’ route, Finis’ story also featured the gameplay of choices to be made. For most part when it came to picking the right answers, it was pretty straight-forward, especially bearing in mind with everything we have learned from the main game.
Looking back to the main game, while I understood where Finis’ pain of being unloved came from, I didn’t particularly care about him too much. But through this route, I was able to witness him develop his own personality, and become character I really felt happy for when he and Cardia finally formed the bond between them as true siblings. I liked seeing this side of the story, and actually wished this could have been integrated as part of the main storyline as opposed to an alternative reality. One of the reasons for that, is because Cardia ultimately helped save her brother who was also being used as a disposable tool. I thought it was fitting for the two of them, together to defeat Isaac for once and for all. This was able them taking ahold of their fates with their own hands.
In all, I found myself surprisingly invested in this route with my heart feeling the pain and hardships of being unloved by his creator Isaac. However while I enjoyed the playthrough, this isn’t a route I see myself revisiting again in the future. One time is more than enough for me. I am looking forward to however seeing how Finis’ route plays out in Wintertide Miracles, and I hope we will be able to get the chance to see the siblings just have fun living life for themselves.
➛ Read Code: Realize ~ Wintertide Miracles: Finis Review
Read More Code:Realize ~Future Blessings~ Reviews
➛ Code:Realize ~Future Blessings~ Abraham Van Helsing Review
➛ Code:Realize ~Future Blessings~ Impey Barbicane Review
➛ Code: Realize ~Future Blessings~ Victor Frankenstein Review
➛ Code: Realize ~Future Blessings~ Saint-Germain Review
➛ Code: Realize ~Future Blessings~ Arsène Lupin Review
➛ Code: Realize ~Future Blessings~ Another Story: Lupin’s Gang
➛ Code: Realize ~Future Blessings~ Extra Story: Herlock Sholmes
