Scarlet Nexus is another combat-centric character-driven game by Bandai Namco Studios, with their most recognizable comparison being Code Vein that came out in 2019. Instead of Revenants and Blood Codes, in Scarlet Nexus, it's all about psychic abilities and supernatural creatures called “Others”. Apparently, Bandai Namco has a lot more faith in this one, considering the immediate anime adaptation that already has episodes out.
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Both playable characters work for the Other Suppression Force, aka the OSF, and obtain the ability to use their teammates’ psychic abilities through the SAS or "Struggle-Arms-System." So, to give you a better idea of who exactly each team member is, what their powers are, how they work in-game, and how to level them up in a way similar to Persona 5's Confidant system and dialogue choices, let's take a look at every single one.
The Two Main Characters – Psychokinesis
The motivations for each of the two playable protagonists will be explored below, but as far as their abilities are concerned, both Kasane and Yuito have probably the most stereotypical power people think of when they think of the term "psychic."
They've both got Psychokinesis, better known as the ability to manipulate and move objects around them with their mind. Quite frankly, the developers make Psychokinesis incredibly fun to use, but what does this mean for gameplay? Well:
- Both characters throw objects at enemies using Psychokinesis or attack enemies with objects in unique ways
- Kasane can double up on Psychokinesis by using Yuito's power (or vice versa) through the SAS in order to throw items without using any of the Psy Gauge, as well as an all-out attack that slams every object in the area into one enemy.
- Kasane uses her Psychokinesis to control her Arrowroot Leaf Knives almost like a squadron of sharp little drones, while Yuito mainly uses it to attack with his katana from afar.
Yuito Sumeragi
One of the two playable protagonists of Scarlet Nexus, Yuito Sumeragi is by far the more milquetoast option compared to Kasane. Whereas Kasane Randall is a lot more blunt and aggressive, Yuito is every bit the standard anime protagonist. And, as the game tells you over and over in the first couple of hours, Yuito joined the OSF as a volunteer in order to become like the soldier who saved him when he was very young.
Kasane Randall
As far as abilities are concerned, Kasane Randall has the exact same powers as Yuito, albeit she’s a bit more creative with hers. Sadly, Kasane's home life wasn't the best, which is why she's so strictly attached to her sister Naomi. And, unlike Yuito, Kasane was scouted by the OSF, meaning she didn't really have a choice in joining or not. But, for some reason, people seem to be deferring to Yuito's story first and saving Kasane's for after they've beaten the game at least once.
Hanabi Ichijo – Pyrokinesis
Once again, for anyone who likes to watch anime or picks up on all the stereotypical characters in them, Hanabi Ichijo is basically the cheery childhood friend of the MC you see in every other show, complete with her secret crush on him.
Pyrokinesis is Hanabi's ability, and it allows her to conjure, control, and manipulate flames with her mind. Basically, she’s like a firebender from Avatar: The Last Airbender. And, in-game this means:
- Hanabi is actually exclusive to Yuito’s story, meaning Kasane doesn’t get to use her destructive powers almost at all.
- But, with her power, if you hit an enemy enough times with your fiery weapons, they become “Burned”, which then constantly ticks away at their life.
- Also, Pyrokinesis slightly changes your combo enders as well, as Yuito now unleashes a big fiery tornado with the final swing of his standard combo.
- And, at Max Bond Level, the last air of your mid-air combo even gets this big fiery explosion added to it.
Shiden Ritter – Electrokinesis
Then there’s Shiden, the least likable character in the game and a real stick in the mud. He can create, control, and manipulate electricity with his mind. Shiden Ritter is the odd man out in the Seto squad, as he’s so insanely rude to everyone around him, though he does seem to hold respect for those who are strong; consequently, he meshes pretty well with Kasane.
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That said, in terms of how Shiden's Electrokinesis works in-game, it’s basically the same as Hanabi’s Pyrokinesis, except:
- Weapon attacks imbued with Electrokinesis create sparks in the air that make it easier to damage airborne enemies.
- Hitting an enemy with an electric weapon over and over applies the Shocked status effect rather than the Burned one, which stuns them in place briefly.
- His Electrokinesis also modifies your combos, though this happens at higher Bond Levels rather than by default.
- Bond Level 2 Unlocks the Electrification Circle attack, while Bond Level 6 unlocks the Electro Flux Discharge.
Kyoka Eden – Duplication
Next up is Kyoka Eden, a Major in the OSF and the leader of the squad Kasane is in. Kyoka is a kindhearted person, but she seems to get pretty ruthless against the Others (by the way, this game really loves to use that term). And, her beauty, brains, and combat prowess all easily explain how she was able to make it so high in the OSF at such a young age.
Plus, Kyoka has a very unique Psycho-Kinetic ability called Duplication, which allows her to create both copies of herself and any objects she wants. It's one of the more useful SAS abilities since it can do stuff like:
- Increases the number of objects thrown with Psychokinesis while active.
- At Bond Level 3, Kyoka also duplicates your playable character as well, doubling (or even tripling at Bond Level 5) the damage from each hit.
- You can put Electrokinesis or Pyrokinesis on your weapons then attack with Duplicates to immediately shock or burn enemies if you have the Concurrent SAS Activation skill that is.
- Frankly, it's the SAS power with the best compatibility for synergy with all the other powers.
Luka Travers – Teleportation
Luka Travers is the only “Septentrion” class of OSF member who joins your party. Now, compared to his older brother's "Brain Eater" ability, Teleportation might not seem like something worth promoting someone to Septentrion. But, Luka does a lot with it, so much so it sort of defies logic at certain points. But, in regards to how it changes your own gameplay:
- You can use Teleportation just like Luka does to blink short distances instead of dashing.
- Honestly, when borrowed through SAS, Teleportation is much more useful as an evasive or exploration ability than an offensive one, since you can use it to teleport through gates and grates to access new or secret areas (as long as you're keeping an eye on the map).
- And higher Bond Levels, you can use Teleportation in the air and it lasts longer. At Max Bond Level, you can even use a charge teleport attack that deals massive damage.
Arashi Spring – Hypervelocity
By far one of the most interesting characters in the game, Arashi Spring is sort of the “idol” of the OSF. She is a soldier who constantly shows up on camera and seems like a very earnest and hardworking woman.
But, once the cameras are off, Spring shows her true personality as someone who could only be described as lazy yet dependable. But, this lazy little officer has an incredible power called Hypervelocity. Here's how it works:
- While it's active, your character has an after-image effect follow them, and enemies that were previously moving very quickly almost look frozen in time.
- When Hypervelocity is active, enemies rarely get a chance to attack you, and if they do hit, this time-slow is immediately disabled.
- Out of all the SAS abilities, this one drains the meter the quickest, which actually sort of makes sense contextually. Thankfully, the higher your Bond Level, the longer it lasts, and at Max Bond, you can even recover some of the meter with Follow Up Attacks.
Gemma Garrison – Sclerokinesis
Gemma is at first someone who just appears to be Arashi Spring’s lackey. But, once the story starts to take off, Gemma Garrison becomes a pretty integral part of Yuito’s plotline.
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Now, that said, Gemma Garrison’s Sclerokinesis ability is almost exclusively meant for defense, which is a rarity when compared to powers like Pyrokinesis and so on that are all about offense. Essentially, he uses Psychic-type energy to coat his body in a sort of “armor” that completely renders enemy attacks ineffective.
There’s no mention in-game of this armor causing any extra damage to his opponents, so Gemma’s offense is almost entirely based on his own combat skills and physical abilities, while his defense is entirely unshakable. When borrowed through the SAS system:
- You are entirely immune to enemy attacks, they’ll hit you, but there’s no knockback or damage.
- But, every attack that does "hit" when this is active takes a chunk out of Gemma’s SAS meter, making you invulnerable for less time.
- At Bond Level 3, you are even immune to status effects as well
- And, at Bond Level 6, there’s an innate chance to automatically trigger Sclerokinesis briefly whenever you’re hit, and this chance increases if you keep Gemma in your 3-man party.
Kagero Donne – Invisibility
Kagero Donne is the other adult OSF member of the main cast and sort of the exact opposite of Gemma personality-wise. Where Gemma is stoic, steadfast, and by-the-book, Kagero is sarcastic, flirtatious, and doesn’t really seem to place importance on anything, well, anything other than his adorable friendship with Tsugumi.
Yet, the power to turn invisible seems almost like cruel fate for someone who loves the spotlight. This power works exactly like you would expect it to:
- The player character turns invisible, immediately losing aggro from enemies.
- While invisible, you can use any of your normal attacks, throw objects with Psychokinesis, or even use a charged backstab-like attack that all do additional damage.
- But, as soon as an attack successfully hits, the invisibility is turned off, at least until Bond Level 3.
- At higher Bond levels, the Invisibility stays around a bit after your first attack. At Max Bond Level, it even has a chance to automatically trigger at less than 30% health, giving you a chance to heal up.
Tsugumi Nazar – Clairvoyance
Lastly, out of all the powers on here, Tsugumi’s is sort of the most obtuse or vague. Basically, Ms. Nazar has the power of Clairvoyance. Now, this power translates to game mechanics pretty well, but as far as what her powers actually do, she sort of has otherworldly vision?
Tsugumi can project her vision outside of herself and take a look at things far in the distance, as well as see things that wouldn’t normally be visible to the naked eye. There’s more to it than that, but the game sort of elaborates more on Clairvoyance whenever they need it for plot reasons:
- You can activate Clairvoyance to lock on to enemies who are hiding in smoke/dust or turned invisible, which comes up more often than you would think.
- The secondary effect of Clairvoyance widens the window for Perfect Dodges, making it easier to avoid and counter enemy attacks.
- Once you raise Tsugumi's Bond Level, you can even capitalize on these Perfect Dodges while Clarboyance is active to unleash “Read Attacks” that knock enemies down, can deal massive damage, or even break their protective shells in one hit.
- Clairvoyance modifies your actual appearance while active, changing the color of both the whites of your eyes and the irises.
NEXT: Some Beginner Tips For Scarlet Nexus
