All the best stories have well-meaning artificial intelligence characters still learning the ropes on how to behave in human society. All right, perhaps not all of them. But a good few. In the world of the Arcade Spirits series, which has continued on from the first game into a sequel called Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers, our charmingly chipper AI is named Iris.
Iris' dream is to understand humanity so well that she needn't rely on complex social media algorithms and other nerdy metrics in order to get a read on people. She wants her interactions to be genuine, and heartfelt, but she doesn't quite know what that means. She's trying. And, in The New Challengers, the protagonist (that's you) can influence Iris' growth in two directions: Orderly or Chaotic.
There are perks to each path, so settle in, and we'll go over how to influence Iris through all the murky moral grey matter so that she can fulfill her destiny as either a nice little societal benefactor or a hack-and-hack-some-more robot overlord.
Should You Make Iris Orderly or Chaotic?
The answer to that question is "yes."
There's a narrative reason to sample both sorts of playthroughs and a purely pragmatic one. We'll start with the latter because it's as straightforward as can be: you'll earn a separate achievement for each route. If you're hoping to complete every single thing The New Challengers has to offer, you'll be completing its entire achievement list along the way, so you'll need a minimum of two playthroughs to trigger both "The Zeroth Law" and "Our Robot Overlords," the Orderly and Chaotic rewards, respectively.
But let's take things a step further. You're playing a visual novel. Visual novels aren't exactly known for their fast-paced and kinetic gunplay, or their tight racing mechanics, or you know, anything remotely like that. They're choose-your-won-adventures, heavy on words and static scenery and low on everything else video games have ever brought to the table. People love visual novels because they're few-frills gateways into great storytelling in an interactive medium.
The writers behind Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers have two separate stories to tell with regard to the Iris arc, and you're only going to experience them both by shipping her down both ethical roads. Why not embrace it all and really get your money's worth?
How to Make Iris Either Orderly or Chaotic
When you first meet Iris, she'll ask you a series of questions that help dictate the flow of certain aspects of the game. Don't worry about influencing her here. She may phrase things similarly later, but you'll know when something arc-shaping is at hand because it revolves around whether she can assist you in particular endeavors (and chiefly, how you let her do so).
The fandom has charted several key interactions and counting. We've independently verified them and compiled them into a neat little table so that you can track each major Iris-related instance. Should additional scenes be discovered, we'll update this guide accordingly.
|
Scene |
Orderly Response Option |
Chaotic Response Option |
|---|---|---|
|
Team Play-to-Win has arrived at Good Clean Fun, causing trouble because they're jerks. During the time segment (you have three "turns" to check on three out of four groups) be sure to visit Jynx and Domino. When Jynx is being harassed, inform her that you can get her seat back. |
Iris has recorded the situation. Inform your P2W rival. Select "I actually did, 35 seconds ago." |
Select "Walk away, and I'll delete the recording." |
|
You'll know when this one's come up because Iris will (quite innocently) ask if she can do something which Seeker soon retorts is blackmail. Upon attempting to clarify her meaning, Iris is informed that "that is the literal definition of blackmail." |
Select "I'll consider it a possibility." |
Remain firmly against the notion. "No federal crimes, Iris." |
|
During the Expo stage, make sure to speak with Domino, who offers his thoughts on robots. Unsurprisingly, they're pessimistic. |
This time, you're not speaking directly to Iris, but rather to Domino. To reinforce the Orderly path, comfort Domino by knowing you're raising Iris well. |
Outright ignore/dismiss Domino's objections, which instills the notion in Iris that she's on the right track by ignoring human concerns. |
|
Iris will sweetly request that you allow her to hack your friends. That's a red flag... |
Let her. "Hack your friends' games." |
Select "Don't touch them." |
|
Iris would like to help you cheat. She's a darling, don't you see? |
"Tinker with the firmware." |
"Don't touch it." |
|
When you're at the amusement park and bump into Hamza, Iris will have a monologue about her near-future prospects. |
Select "Get out there and really make a name for yourself." This enables Iris to do some rather, well, chaotic things in the next scene. |
"Subservience is not traditionally how civil rights are won, Iris." The counterpoint compels your friendly AI gal to reassess her plans. |