Nicholas A. Ferrell
738447d76a
Changed references from Chiho's second ending being "Chiho 3" to "Chiho 2" and changed references to the first Chiho ending being "Chiho 2" to "Chiho 1." The errors came from the fact that the best order is Ayako -> Chiho 1 -> Chiho 2 -> End 4, so I was thinking about the Chiho endings in the overall scheme of the novel.
3.1 KiB
Midsummer Haze Ending Guide
Midsummer Haze is a very short visual novel in theory. One can read to both of the two immediately accessable endings in about 10 minutes. However, there is a third and fourth ending. These endings are a bit strange.
In this case I recommend reading my guide before playing Midsummer Haze so that you have a better idea of what you are getting into. You may want to reach the first two endings first. My guide focues on the third ending and the hidden fourth ending. Note that I am only discussing how to reach the endings. This guide contains no story spoilers whatsoever.
The First Two Endings
The immediately accessable endings are:
- Ayako End
- Chiho End 1
There is a choice mid-way through a run from the beginning of Midsummer Haze. Choosing the General Store leads to the Ayako end. Choosing the bookstore leads to the first Chiho End.
The Third Ending (Roulette time!)
After reaching the Ayako and first Chiho Ends, you must turn to chance. Every subsequent time you select the bookstore choice, there is a chance that you will trigger the second Chiho ending instead of the first. However, whatever the chance is, it appears to be very small. I tested it four times and it took me the following number of attempts to trigger Chiho End 2:
- 43 (first run)
- 19 (after having already unlocked the Chiho end)
- 30
- 28
One reader on Visual Novel Database reported slightly more than 12 attempts. The odds of triggering Chiho end 2 seem to be very low.
I confirmed on my fourth test that you can reach the second Chiho ending my loading a save file at the choice scene wherein you choose between the general store and the bookstore. That is, this is not a case where a seed is planted at the start of the run. My guess is that the Chiho end version is determined when you choose to go to the bookstore. When starting from the choice, the fastest way to power through is:
- Choose bookstore
- Immediately hit skip on the top menu bar
- Click at the end of the credits to return to the title
You can cycle through all the Chiho 1 endings in about 10-15 seconds if you are doing nothing but restarting to try to trigger Chiho 2.
Fourth Ending
The fourth ending is hidden but much less annoying than Chiho 2. After triggering Chiho 3, an Extras menu will be added to the title page. The Extras menu has an afterword (which seems to apply to endings 1-3 in a general sense) and statements from the creator and translator. None of this is relevant to the secret fourth ending, which only becomes visible in the Endings menu after triggering Chiho 3.
Return to the choice scene. Now in theory, you must choose between the general store and the bookstore. However, after triggering Chiho 2, there is a third choice. Do nothing to trigger the final ending (I will not spoil its contents here). I recall it took about 10-15 seconds of doing nothing for the scene to transition to ending 4.