KOTOWARI CHOOSING:

Learn how Kotowari points and flags determine your ending in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster. Understand choices, events, and alignment impacts.

Each of these philosophies vie for supremacy, but really only come into conflict with one another indirectly. Which Kotowari, if any, will be the one that shapes the world is entirely dependent upon the player. As none of the Kotowari are diametrically opposed to one another, there is no "tug of war" effect like in previous SMT games. Instead, the player accrues "Kotowari points," and the final Kotowari decided upon at the end of the game is picked via a combination of how many points you have and flags.

Kotowari points are accrued via the various decisions that the Hero makes throughout the game, and how he answers certain questions. You start with 0 points in each Kotowari, and when you give answers to questions in line with one of the Kotowari, you will gain points toward that Kotowari. You can never actually LOSE Kotowari points, and 32 Kotowari points appears to be the number you need to pass to become really affiliated with an alignment.

Each Kotowari has a flag associated with it which affirms that the Hero is officially aligned with it. These flags can be turned on during "Kotowari Events," where the hero will be asked to assist advocates of each Kotowari. Agreeing to assist in these choices will activate the "Kotowari Event." Note that the Hero can align himself with one, two, or even all three of the Kotowari. Before you enter the last Dungeon, the game looks among all alignments with Kotowari flags activated and picks whichever one you have the most Kotowari points toward--this will be the ending you get.

For example, say you got all three Kotowari events, and agreed to assist for the Musubi and Shijima events, but not the Yosuga event. In this case, the Musubi and Shijima flags would both be on by the time you reached the final dungeon. If you had more Musubi points at this point, you'd get the Musubi ending, and if you had more Shijima points, you'd get the Shijima ending. Even if you had more Yosuga points than either of the other two Kotowari (which would be extremely difficult, but not impossible) you still wouldn't get the Yosuga ending, since you chose not to assist in the Yosuga event, and did not turn on the Yosuga Kotowari flag. If the values were tied...well, I don't know what would happen. Maybe they'd pick at random, maybe one alignment takes precedence over another.

If you reach the last dungeon and have NO Kotowari flags activated, then there are two possible endings you can get, a "Neutral" ending and a "Demon" ending. There are two questions in the game that set independent, Neutral flags up when you answer them "right." If you have no Kotowari flags activated, then the game checks these Neutral flags. If both of these flags are on, then you will get the "Neutral" ending. Otherwise you will get the "Demon" ending.

Also, If you're playing Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniacs, there's a new, sixth ending avaiable to you. This ending, dubbed by many players as the "True Demon" ending, can be seen by completing the Amara Deep Zone in its entirety, (and watching requisite cutscene) BEFORE entering the last dungeon at the end of the game. If you do this, the "True Demon" ending will override any of the other 5 "normal" endings. Also, to get the "True Demon" ending you will have to face an additional, much tougher boss after the final boss.

It gets more complicated, though. In order for a Kotowari Event to take place, you either have to have 32 points toward that Kotowari or have what I call a "Kotowari Event Flag Event" turned on by the time you reach that point in the story. There are a couple of choices in-game that will automatically turn on the "Kotowari Event Flag Events" to ensure you will see that Kotowari's Event. (Actually, I'm pretty sure these events just work by boosting the related alignment by 32 points) Also, note that of the three main Kotowari, Shijima is a real anomaly--no matter what you do, the Shijima Event will take place. However, if you don't have 32 points toward Shijima or the Shijima Event Flag Event turned on by that point, the event won't "count"--in other words, the final Shijima flag will not be turned on (but will still nullify your chances for the Neutral Ending if you try anyway!).

Also, it should be noted that getting 32 points toward an alignment (without activating that alignment's Kotowari Event Flag) by the time a Kotowari Event takes place is EXTREMELY difficult. If you answer every single other alignment-influencing event right by the time the Kotowari Event appears, you'll JUST have 32 alignment points. (The sole exception is Yosuga, in which you can have as many as 44 alignment points, so you have a little leeway there.)