START AGAIN: a prologue

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START AGAIN: a prologue
Developer	insertdisc5
Composer	Thumpy Puppy
Release Date	February 27th, 2021 (Itch.io), August 18th, 2021 (Steam)
Engine	RPG Maker MV
Platforms	PC (Steam, Itch.io)
Languages	English Japanese
Official Links	Official Site

START AGAIN START AGAIN START AGAIN: A PROLOGUE (also known simply as START AGAIN: a prologue) is a story-driven fantasy RPG Maker game, developed by insertdisc5.
The game was self-published on Itch.io on February 27th, 2021, and on Steam on August 18th, 2021.

While it contains the same characters (and ostensibly, has the same premise) as In Stars and Time, it's much shorter, and has its own self-contained story which does not take place within the same continuity. As a result, playing one of them is not required to understand the other.

Summary

START AGAIN START AGAIN START AGAIN: A PROLOGUE (or: START AGAIN: a prologue) is a story driven turn-based RPG where you, Siffrin, are stuck in a time loop for no reason you can find. The country is frozen in time, and together with your allies you fought your way through the castle and fought the King to put an end to this curse… And you died and found yourself right back at the entrance. Again. And again. And again. But you’re the only one who remembers it; your allies are none the wiser. And there’s no end in sight.

You're fine though! Hiding your knowledge from your friends is easy! Fighting the same enemies is easy! Dying to the same final boss over and over again is easy! Explore the castle, make your way to the king, and try to break the loop. Maybe this time, it’ll be different. Because if you fail, if you die, you’ll find yourself right back where you started.

You have to make sure your friends don't find out about the super fun time travel times you're having though.

They can't know.

They can't.

[START AGAIN's Steam description]

Story

(You listen to them say knowledge you already know with a smile on your face.)

The section below contains spoilers for START AGAIN: a prologue.
Proceed with caution!

Endings

show/hide spoilers

Name	Description
Blood ending	In blood and stars. [Ending 1] Memory of Blood One of the two endings which can be gotten from the Neutral Route: to obtain it, Siffrin must act normal enough that the party does not get weirded out, but not too normal as to get the Perfect route. Upon fighting the King, halfway through the battle, he will use his special attack to kill the party in one hit: leading into a cutscene of them being defeated. Siffrin wonders whether he'd rather die swiftly, or be frozen and granted some rest. Regardless of choice, from there, there is a 50% chance the King will kill the party, and give this ending (with the other possibility being that it will give the Time ending instead).
Time ending	In tears and time. [Ending 2] Memory of Time The other ending which can be gotten from the Neutral Route: to obtain it, Siffrin must act normal enough that the party does not get weirded out, but not too normal as to get the Perfect route. Upon fighting the King, halfway through the battle, he will use his special attack to kill the party in one hit: leading into a cutscene of them being defeated. Siffrin wonders whether he'd rather die swiftly, or be frozen and granted some rest. Regardless of choice, from there, there is a 50% chance the King will freeze the party in time, and give this ending (with the other possibility being that it will give the Blood ending instead).
Perfect ending	You now remember why you stopped acting like you did your first time. [Ending 3] Memory of Perfection The Perfect ending is obtained by having Siffrin act exactly as normal: this means not skipping any dialogue, investigating puzzles and rooms before finding required items, and not doing anything which the party may find weird (such as saying weird things or acting in a weird way). Upon getting to the room before the King and proceeding, if this ending was obtained correctly, the Fighter will remark to Siffrin that he is glad they feel better now; when questioned about it, he says it's because, much closer to the House's entrance, they were acting in a strange way — not listening to them, "smiling the way you do when you're actually not happy...", and almost appearing as though he knew where they were going. This prompts the Kid (followed by the rest of the party) to state that, of course they're doing okay, Siffrin would never be worried about anything — and that if they were, it'd surely mean everything would go wrong. Siffrin appears confused by the conversation, questioning whether he really is acting "normal". Regardless, the party proceeds to fight the King: however as the battle starts, he immediately attacks, killing and freezing them all in one shot. The ending concludes with a black screen, with Siffrin saying that acting this perfectly normal was a mistake: because the very first time they fought the King ended exactly like this — with everyone dead or frozen, and the King throwing the Housemaiden's body on the floor. They conclude by saying that they hope their body will die soon.
True ending	You hadn't eaten in so long... [...] Memory of Food The True ending is the fourth and, as its name implies, true ending of the game: to obtain it, Siffrin must act as weird as possible, and do everything to set the party off. This includes solving puzzles before having encountered them, using the "(Just Attack.)" Craft skill, choosing weird options when interacting with the party or overworld (e.g. skipping dialogue), or otherwise simply speaking or acting in a weird way: causing the party to become increasingly worried about Siffrin. Depending on the specific weird actions performed (and whether it was already achieved before or not), this ending can have a lot of different dialogue. If it was obtained correctly, in the corridor prior to the room before fighting the King, a cutscene will play showing the Kid walking up to Siffrin: they say that they look to be doing really bad, before giving them a candy. The Fighter jokes about it, to which they reply by giving him an unimpressive rock. Siffrin eats the candy, which satisfies the Kid, and the party looks on happily at them — causing him to wonder whether this has happened before. Upon entering the room itself, the Housemaiden and the Fighter will be whispering to each other, before being surprised by Siffrin. They approach him, with the Fighter starting to say that they've noticed he's acting weird, before the Housemaiden interrupts and asks Siffrin to tell them what's wrong: they keep forgetting things, know too much, are too strong, and "look sad and tired every time you think we're not looking". The Researcher and the Kid approach as well, with the latter saying that his behavior is bumming them out, the Housemaiden saying that they can talk to them if something's on their mind, and the Researcher saying that, if they keep being down, it'll affect their fight against the King. They state that they want to help him, and that they love him. Being confronted causes Siffrin to panic, not knowing what to answer — as this had never happened before: with one dialogue option dodging the question, and the other saying that there's nothing wrong. Regardless of choice, the party will doubt him, but everyone will remain silent. After a bit, the Researcher says to just say one thing — it doesn't have to be the thing — that's bothering them now; unable to bring themself to say anything too close to the truth, Siffrin simply says that he's hungry, which causes the Kid to gasp and exclaim that their time has come. They dig around their pockets for snacks, and present them with three options: a potato samoussa, a palmier, and a whole salmon fish head — which Siffrin hates (but finds to at least be "different"), loves, and gives a tidbit about respectively. Regardless of choice, they'll eat it, reminiscing that they haven't eaten in a long time, and wondering how long it's been since something new happened — since they became trapped. The Housemaiden takes Siffrin's hands, as the rest of the party stand around them; the calluses on her hands prompting them to remember about the battles they've all been in. She says that they can move on to fight the King whenever he's ready. From there, it's possible to chat with each individual party member, with each of them comforting them further in some way: the Housemaiden holding their face, reminiscing about the time they met and when he lost his eye protecting one of them; the Fighter holding their hands as well and becoming flustered about his sweaty hands, causing them to laugh; the Researcher asking for another thing with worries them — to which he can reply that they're either forgetting things (causing her to say that this — their quest, and defeating the King — is a very stressful situation, and that it'll all come back to him eventually), or that they feel overwhelmed (causing her to note that they've been spacing out and wonder whether they should all talk less, before noticing them panicking and saying that they should try and focus on what's around them for the time being); and the Kid being upset about not having noticed he was sad, prompting him to tell them either that he's sorry too, or not to worry, before asking if they have any more snacks as a distraction — which they answer by giving them a lot. Moving on to the fight against the King, everyone is determined to defeat him and protect Vaugarde — receiving a stats buff; but as the fight goes on, Siffrin realizes that he can't remember his friends's names anymore, which causes him to have a mental breakdown. He wonders whether it's because he is cursed, is under the effect of Craft, or because he simply refused to remember them. As the King begins to cry, the Kid yells at him that he really doesn't have the right to, having caused so much hurt to everyone; that everything he froze in time — their village, their family, and their sister — may not ever move again. Siffrin admonishes himself for not remembering the party's names, saying that although they've known them for months, years at this point, and that they surely introduced themselves to them, he is incapable of recalling any of them — calling themself a "terrible friend" for it. He remembers everything else — the torch in the infirmary, and the key in the book, for instance — but that, as though it wasn't worth remembering; asking if it was because it was simply easier to forget, as to not have to feel pain from being trapped in a time loop with them, and having to hear them repeat the same things over and over again. As the King charges his final attack, they freeze, panicking and unable to do anything: not wanting to lose what they've achieved so far, but resigned as to their death and not wanting to fight anymore, they close their eyes. The Fighter intervenes in time however, and protects them from the attack: Siffrin remembers his name as being Isabeau. The party rallies around them: with Odile — the Researcher — telling him that the King was weakened, and Bonnie — the Kid — giving them a Sour Tonic. Mirabelle — the Housemaiden — calls out to him, saying that together they can defeat him, and that this is their chance to save everyone. Motivated by their friends, Siffrin does so, finally defeating the King. The ending concludes with everyone, in a now lit-up House, celebrating their victory, as Siffrin reminisces about each of them. Isabeau exclaims to him that they won, to which he starts crying, either staying silent, or asking whether they truly did; to which Isabeau replies excitedly, saying that everything will be okay. Mirabelle comforts him once more as well, saying that they prevailed, and that they'll all be able to go home: as everyone rejoices about the idea, however, Siffrin feels his heart being tugged at. Suddenly, time rewinds once again — but this time, all the way back to before they all came to the House. As Siffrin lies down in a meadow, seemingly having been abruptly woken up, Mirabelle calls out to him. She at first appears shocked that he is taking a nap, before relaxing and saying that maybe she should follow their lead on this one, and get some rest while they can: as, tomorrow, they'll have to fight against the King.

Characters

(You listen to them say knowledge you already know with a smile on your face.)

The section below contains spoilers for START AGAIN: a prologue.
Proceed with caution!

	The Traveler, aka Siffrin	The main protagonist of the game. Their primary Craft type is Scissors, and as the fastest party member, their skills focus on speed and Scissors attacks. They have a Craft skill that lets them pass their turn to another ally. Their special skill is "(Just Attack.)": obtained as the Prologue progresses, it inflicts strong Scissors damage to all enemies.
	The Housemaiden, aka Mirabelle	Mirabelle is a nervous and caring Housemaiden. She has both Scissors and Paper Craft types. Blessed by the Change God, she is the only party member who cannot be Frozen in time; she specializes in healing skills, such as one that can bring back defeated allies, or heal everyone, although she also possesses one skill of each Paper and Scissors types. Her special skill is "Lovely Moving Cure": obtained with story progression, it is capable of unfreezing allies, being the only thing (skills and items combined) that can do so in the game.
	The Fighter, aka Isabeau	Isabeau is a Defender with a heart of gold, who cares deeply for his people and friends. His primary Craft type is Rock; his skills focus on buffing his allies' Defense, and strong Rock attacks — although similarly to Siffrin, he also has a skill that lets him pass his turn to another ally, buffing them up. His special skill is "I'LL PROTECT YOU!!!": obtained through levelling up, it buffs his stats for a couple of turns.
	The Researcher, aka Odile	Odile is a mature but nonsensical Researcher studying... something. Her primary Craft type is Paper, and she possesses a unique skill that lets her analyze an enemy without using a turn: which prompts extra dialogue from everyone. She also has Craft skills of every type; and, possibly because she is the slowest of the group, one to slow down enemies momentarily. Her special skill is "Paper α V": obtained through levelling up, it inflicts strong Paper damage to one enemy.
	The Kid, aka Bonnie	Bonnie is a kid, and the only party member that does not participate in fights. They have no Craft type, attacks or skills; but while they don't fight directly, they do help the group by distributing items.
	The King	The King is the main antagonist of the game: a very self-centered man, he wishes to freeze the world in time, starting with Vaugarde. He has taken residence in the House, where the party have arrived in order to defeat him. He possesses the ability to freeze both things and people in time — a skill which can only be countered by Mirabelle — and, by defeating them, turn people into Sadnesses.

Development

START AGAIN: a prologue started development in July 2020. It is based off of a series of comics made by insertdisc5 between 2017 and 2020.

Alongside the game, the soundtrack was released on Bandcamp, on February 27th, 2021; and alongside its Steam release on August 18th, 2021, an artbook for the game was made available.

References

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Gallery

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START AGAIN: a prologue.

In Stars and Time Wiki Navigation

Story ACT 1 • ACT 2 • ACT 3 • ACT 4 • ACT 5 • ACT 6 • Scripts • Optional Content Characters Siffrin • Bonnie • Isabeau • Mirabelle • Odile • Loop • Head Housemaiden • The King • Minor Characters • Enemies Items Equipment • Memories • Pockets • Souvenirs Mechanics Achievements • Craft • Friendquests • Looping • Skills • Quests Locations Vaugarde (Bambouche • Jouvente) • Dormont (Favor Tree • House of Change) • Ka Bue • Poteria • Mwudu • Forgotten Island Lore Change • The Cursing of Château Castle Games In Stars and Time • In Stars and Time DEMO • START AGAIN: a prologue Other Media Comics • Merchandise • Music • START AGAIN: a prologue (an artbook) Social Media In Stars and Time Spoiler Q&A • Reddit AMA • Siffrin and friends Q&A Staff Armor Games Studios • insertdisc5 • Thumpy Puppy