The Caligula Effect: Overdose

## Caligula Overdose

***The Caligula Effect: Overdose*** (***Caligula Overdose*** in Japan) is a JRPG developed by Historia for the PlayStation 4. It is a remake of The Caligula Effect. In 2021 it received a sequel entitled Caligula 2.

## Development

*Caligula Overdose* was announced alongside the anime adaption of *The Caligula Effect* as a remake of said game. *Overdose* features drastically upgraded visuals and processing with the Unreal Engine 4 and PlayStation 4 compatibility, and a route about two times the volume of the original scenario.

## Plot

*Caligula Overdose* follows the same plot as *The Caligula Effect*. Unlike the original, *Overdose* features a brand new route, a "Forbidden Musician Route", which allows the player to become a double agent between the Go-Home Club and the Ostinato Musicians. The game also features multiple endings.

### Changes compared to The Caligula Effect

* Several new characters has been added to the PS4, Switch, and PC versions. Those characters are:
	+ The female protagonist.
	+ Ayana Amamoto, a member of the Go-Home Club.
	+ Eiji Biwasaka, a member of the Go-Home Club.
	+ Kuchinashi, a member of the Ostinato Musicians.
	+ Stork, a member of the Ostinato Musicians.
	+ Koki Tadokoro, a μ fanatic.
	+ Himari Minamide, the leader of the underground idol group Uzume Corps until her death.
* A "Forbidden Musician Route" and multiple endings has been added.

## Gameplay

*"I'm sorry. I haven't created anything past this point yet."*This article or section is a stub.
Core gameplay is unchanged in Overdose. It's still a dungeon-crawling RPG featuring turn-based combat, using the Imaginary Chain system to predict your combo results and the Causality Link to connect with over 500 students across Mobius to recruit for your party.

### Changes compared to The Caligula Effect

* *Overdose* features revamped UI and graphics.
* Game over requires a total party kill, where previously, the Protagonist alone falling was enough to cause one.
* Simplified Causality Link; Affinity with NPCs rises faster and you only need to do one sidequest rather than two.
* New special moves in the form of flashy Overdose Attacks
* Ability to re-fight boss battles, including Go-Home Club fights as Lucid
	+ Not available until postgame
* The development of the story and the reaction of the people will change depending on the protagonist's gender. If the player chooses to play as a girl, there will be places the female protagonist can go where a male protagonist cannot.
* The player can now form parties with the Ostinato Musicians.
	+ Mix-and-matching Go-Home Club members with Ostinato Musicians is not possible until postgame

## Music

*"I'm sorry. I haven't created anything past this point yet."*This article or section is a stub.
Like the original, Tsukasa Masuko returns as the composer for Overdose. With a brand new main theme: *Cradle*, performed by RePLiCA, now with the addition of Himika Akaneya. New theme songs are made for the new characters, such as Suicide Prototype for Lucid and Onboro for Kuchinashi

## Story

This page only contains the Overdose-exclusive additions, such as Ayana and Eiji's involvement, the Stork and Kuchinashi arcs, and the Musician Route plotline. Full details for the original eight arcs are on the page for The Caligula Effect.

*"Also... the Hidden? Couldn't that be something even you don't want to know?"***The following content contains spoilers.** Please proceed at your own risk.
#### Kagi-P arc

During Kagi-P's arc, the first meeting with Ayana Amamoto differs based on the protagonist's gender. Ayana runs down the hall, colliding with the protagonist. Shogo will then offer help. If the protagonist is male, Ayana will scream and push both of them away before running down another hall and out of sight. If the protagonist is female, Ayana will apologize to them; upon seeing Shogo, however, she will scream and push him into a wall before running away.

When searching for Kagi-P in the Year 3, Class 4's room, the protagonist, Shogo, Naruko, and Kotono will meet Eiji Biwasaka, who directs them to the Year 1 Class 1 room. Kotono mentions Shogo beating him out in a race, to which Eiji appears to hold a grudge about, and the group is asked about the Go-Home Club. Before Naruko can say anything revealing them, Shogo hurries them all out and into another corridor. He and Kotono talk briefly about letting Eiji join the group, then continue the search for Kagi-P.

#### Sweet-P arc

Ayana's second appearance is again different depending on protagonist gender: the male protagonist, Shogo and Kotaro will be pushed away, while the female protagonist will again be able to interact calmly with Ayana before Shogo and Kotaro show up.

When Mifue asks for the protagonist to join her in crashing the tea party, there is different dialogue from Rose regarding Sweet-P's acceptance of the protagonist tagging along depending on their gender. With the male protagonist, Rose exclaims that Mifue will score more cute points since it looks like she's a girl who is in love to where Mifue acts up the part, exclaiming that she would die if she was away from him for too long. Meanwhile, with the female protagonist, Rose shockingly exclaims that Mifue has stepped in the Forbidden Garden to acquire her love to which confuses Mifue until she realizes that the President is standing incredibly close to her. This causes Rose to tell Sweet-P what's going on and she gets the approval in order to see this love. Mifue blushes and demands an explanation from the female protagonist once they're done with the tea party.

After dealing with Sweet-P and learning about some sort of event that requires a ticket, the Go-Home Club splits up to investigate further. The protagonist returns to the stage where they first met μ and encounter Thorn, who offers them a chance to meet with her. She then shows them a door and states why they came to Mobius, mentioning one of the choices you chose as part of the protagonist's reason for entering Mobius (an example being if players chose to have the protagonist possess an inferiority complex, thus having them want unwavering confidence). Thorn says μ can grant that wish and says that they are being used by Shogo Satake. She also states that their actions are causing a rift that threatens Mobius' stability, and wants to make sure they understand what it is they are getting themselves into.

Thorn mentions again she knows why the protagonist entered Mobius, and also why Shogo entered it, and also why many people came to Mobius and want to stay in it. She tells them to enter the door if they want to learn the truth. Should the protagonist refuse, the game will follow the standard route of the Go-Home Club. If they accept, however, then they will follow the Forbidden Musician Route.

Upon entering the waiting room that μ created for the Musicians to bond, she mentions the protagonist's face looks pale, possibly referencing the trauma the protagonist suffered in the real world. She then grants them the form of their Ostinato Musician persona, dubbing them "Lucid." This is done so that the protagonist, as Lucid, can interact with people who can only thrive in Mobius and with the Musicians without them knowing they are the President of the Go-Home Club. In this form, μ will be their companion, instead of Aria.

After the encounter with Thorn, the protagonist will then meet Eiji again in the plaza nearby, and Kotono will join in. This will eventually lead to them discovering that the ticket leads to the location of a hot springs area. After this, the protagonist will be given the option of allowing Eiji to join the Go-Home Club. Eiji will be thankful if he is accepted into the club; he doesn't appear to take it harshly if he isn't, however, Kotono and him will have a negative reaction.

#### Stork arc

The Go-Home Club arrives at the hot springs, with everyone expressing wonder at the area around them. Kensuke and Shogo will have a brief conversation about Stork's music. After a few minutes of exploration, Kotaro will mention Stork's music again, drawing the ire of a few female fans. The protagonist can choose to either side with Kotaro or the fans; siding with Kotaro will bring more insults from the fans, while siding with the fans will diffuse the conflict somewhat until Kotaro is dragged away from them. The group will eventually track Sweet-P down, and after checking the mens' hot springs, they will conclude Sweet-P is in the girls' side of the hot springs.

What happens in the next cutscenes will change depending on the protagonist's gender. If the protagonist is male, they will be stuck waiting outside, somewhat exhausted by Kensuke's attempts to peek inside; they will also be trampled with Shogo and Kensuke by the escaping girls. If the protagonist is female, they will join the girls in searching the hot springs, and consequently gets caught up in the chaos when Stork is caught inside the area and Ayana awakens to her Catharsis Effect just to shoot him. Her Catharsis Effect takes the form of a Stun Gun. Either way, they will regroup with the others outside and participate in the information recap. They are also given a dialogue choice in accepting Ayana to the Go-Home Club, which only provokes different reactions from the girls or the boys depending on the choice.

From here the protagonist can talk to the other members of the Go-Home Club and gather their insights before going to hunt down Stork. As the protagonist constantly finds Stork, he will express outrage that his mimicry and hiding skills aren't fooling the group. After a few minor fights, the group corners him in the co-ed hot springs (really just the boss combat area) and fights him. Upon his defeat, Stork will mention Shounen-Doll's location at the library before fleeing the scene.

If Eiji is with the group at this time, this will trigger a cutscene in which he suggests the hunting of all the Digiheads to destroy Mobius instead of finding μ. The protagonist can choose to support Eiji's point or question his method. Eiji will express some distaste if the protagonist questions his method, but regardless of the choice, Shogo will bring up Aria and letting her talk to μ. The Go-Home Club will then agree that Eiji's method will be their last resort.

However, if the Musician route has been initiated, Shogo will bring up the idea of ambushing the Musicians by protecting the people who return to sanity. By protecting the laggards, the Go-Home Club aims to draw out the Musicians to gather more information and get more people to see the truth behind Mobius. Eiji posts that the Go-Home Club is hunting Digiheads at the school and the group returns to prepare for the Musicians.

If the Musician route isn't taken, the Club will go to the library immediately instead of using the ambush plan, and neither the ambush cutscene or the next arc will take place at all. This will also prevent the player from doing any of the Musician arcs as Lucid.

#### Ostinato Musicians Kishimai High arc

At this point, if the protagonist is working with the Musicians, Thorn will send them a WIRE message asking them to come to the Musicians' waiting room. Once they arrive, Thorn will introduce them to Sweet-P and Stork; the former will remark on Lucid's gender and identity while the latter will note the usefulness of Lucid's invisible body. Thorn will then order the three of them to go to the school to re-brainwash the laggards. When the two of them express doubts, Thorn threatens them with a return to the real world, which they both refuse to do. Lucid will then gain Stork and Sweet-P as team members and returns to the school. Instead of fighting Digiheads as a Musician, the protagonist now fights Laggards, which will act the same but take the appearance of students with Catharsis Effect spikes. μ will also play Lucid's song, Suicide Prototype, which will replace Peter Pan Syndrome in the school and during combat. The cutscene will also show the Go-Home Club's reactions to learning of the Musicians arriving, as well as their reactions to Lucid's appearance.

Throughout the arc, Sweet-P and Stork attempt to interact with their fans; Sweet-P is rebuffed for the truth of her real identity while Stork gets busted in another peeping attempt. This attempt also results in Ayana and Mifue finding Stork and planning to capture him. Sweet-P will attempt to step in, but more mentions of her true identity leave her unable to react. Lucid will ultimately intercede on both their behalfs, to which Ayana will remark on their appearance and gender. Aria will then release both Mifue and Ayana's limits on their Catharsis Effects, and the Musicians will have to fight them.

Upon winning, the Go-Home Club members will retreat, while the Musicians, satisfied with their progress, will return back to the waiting room. μ and Thorn will remark positively on the results, with Thorn noting how popular Lucid's song is and the effect it will have on the number of Digiheads. The protagonist can then return back to the Go-Home Club, where both Kotaro and Shogo will chew them out for not showing up on time to help stop the Musicians. The Go-Home Club will react to the appearance of Lucid before proceeding with their plan and heading to the library.

#### Shonen-Doll arc

The arc remains largely unchanged except for two differences. First off, after Naruko is rescued, Ayana is the next to be found, saying that it's much better being alone than being with a boy, before remarking that Aria shouldn't have turned Kotaro back to normal. She insults Shonen-Doll after he chimes in again, and then the arc proceeds.

After Ayana is rescued, Eiji is found next. He is found reading some of Shonen-Doll's books, and says that he enjoys the tricks, but he won't fall for them. The rest of the club remarks on how wise and mature he is. Shonen-Doll freaks out that his book isn't working on Eiji, and Eiji responds by teasing and bragging about how flawless he is. The arc proceeds as normal after that.

At the end, though, instead of heading straight into Mirei's aquarium, they head to Kuchinashi's Sun Temple, and if the Musician Route has been activated, the Ostinato Miyabi Hot Springs arc happens first.

#### Ostinato Musicians Miyabi Hot Springs arc

After Lucid's initial introduction, subsequent story-based Musician outings will allow the player to choose the battle and area music. The choice for this time is between Lucid's Suicide Prototype, Sweet-P's Tokimeki\*Riverie, Stork's Love Scope, and Shonen-Doll's Originality Incident.

After the library arc, the Go-Home Club will come up with another ambush plan taking place in the hot springs. Lucid will be introduced to Shonen-Doll, and after Thorn gets μ to threaten the Musicians again, they will be sent to the hot springs. Shonen-Doll will express distaste and outrage at being grouped with Stork, Sweet-P and Lucid, thinking them perverts. He will also mention his want to meet up with Suzuna in the real world, which informs many of his actions within the hot springs. Stork will mention a shortcut within the hot springs that the party uses to get to the women's hot springs.

Once inside, Stork will suggest that they peep on Suzuna and Naruko, who are inside. Shonen-Doll will refuse to, which draws their attention, and the Musicians are exposed to the duo. Aria's appearance will result in a boss fight against the two with the same limit release as last time. When defeated, the two retreat, Suzuna in particular telling Shonen-Doll to stay safe. Afterwards, the Musicians will return to the waiting room.

When coming back from the waiting room, the protagonist will be questioned by Kensuke and Kotono as to where they have been. If they reply they got lost Kensuke will note this as suspicious, whereas if they reply that they were in the bath too long, they will be scolded in a more humorous way. Either way, they will be told that what's done is done, and the Club will set their sights on Sea Paraiso.

#### Kuchinashi arc

Instead of heading straight to the aquarium, the Go-Home Club will stop by a theme park called the Sun Temple first. The theme of the park is used for a live escape event; entrants play the role of the Children of Mu planning to escape to Mobius where they can meet "Ra μ" and attend her live concert. The crowd of people outside state various things, μ is performing live and Kuchinashi being the producer being the most important takeaways. The Go-Home Club enter, being stamped with a blacklight stamp resembling a squid. The announcer, who calls herself Gardenia, gives the entrants instructions and to climb up the temple to meet μ.

There are riddles that block the way up each floor of the tower, and choosing an incorrect one will send the player to an area in the floor below. An incorrect choice will also result in various Go-Home Club members expressing their annoyance with the player. After correctly solving the first riddle without Kotaro's input, the Club will be surrounded by Digiheads and Eiji will awaken to his Catharsis Effect with some maniacal laughter. His Catharsis Effect takes the form of a whip, and it seems to give him control over fire. The final riddle's solution doesn't seem to have an influence on the cutscene that happens afterwards, as either answer will result in the Club being trapped by a cage that rises from the ground. It may possibly affect later parts of the game, but this is unconfirmed and may just be another way for the player to develop their protagonist. This will also result in the Club missing μ's live performance, and Eiji will begin to panic. The player has the choice of leaving him or feeling pity for him, but this choice isn't important in the long run.

After μ's performance ends, the protagonist and the rest of the Go-Home Club will meet Kuchinashi and μ, the former intent on not letting Eiji escape and the latter defending her when Eiji loses his temper. After he makes a deal with μ to lower the cage, he will attempt to attack Kuchinashi, resulting in the Club fighting against the Musician. After she is defeated, Eiji will beat her up and then get into a fight with Ayana. The protagonist will stop the fight by firing a gun into the air; the player has the option of stopping either Ayana, Eiji, or simply saying that it's not the time for them to be fighting one another.

After this, the Club will proceed into the aquarium arc as usual.

#### Mirei arc

No major changes, see The Caligula Effect.

#### Ostinato Musicians City Library arc

The City Library arc is the next Ostinato Musicians arc. The set party for this arc is Mirei, Kuchinashi, and Shonen-Doll, and therefore the songs you can choose are Suicide Prototype, Onboro, Originality Incident, and Sadistic Queen.

The arc is pretty simple, after Thorn scolds Mirei and Kuchinashi for losing, they are sent to the city library to hunt laggards after Naruko makes a tweet calling Shonen-Doll a pervert. Shonen-Doll quickly runs off to shut himself back in and Lucid, Kuchinashi, and Mirei have to track him down. Once he rejoins the party, they head through the library.

They run into Eiji and Kotono, the former researching something in old newspapers. Kuchinashi and Eiji share some harsh words, Aria overdoses the two of them once they're found, and the fight begins.

Once it's done with, Kotono and Eiji run off with Aria, and they escape. Mirei, Shonen-Doll, and Kuchinashi return to the Musicians' room and are congratulated by Thorn, and Lucid returns to President form and goes to the clubroom.

The protagonist is questioned, and gets scolded again for running off, and the game proceeds to the Ike-P arc.

#### Ike-P arc

No major changes, see The Caligula Effect.

#### Forbidden Musician Ending

During the final act of the game, as the party prepares to face off against Thorn, the protagonist has the option of returning to reality or staying in Mobius. Choosing the latter option will result in the protagonist revealing themselves as Lucid to the Go-Home Club. Outraged by this betrayal and unwilling to fall back now, Aria administrates the Catharsis Effect Overdose to its full potential, though Thorn muses if they will be able to recover from the massive strain. If you completed their Character Episodes, the Go-Home Club will react to this betrayal very harshly, either demanding answers from them or wanting to kill them for betraying their trust.

After defeating the Go-Home Club, Lucid and Thorn enter the Metaverse-Es and subdue Aria, thus allowing μ to fulfill Thorn's wish of destroying reality. The Go-Home Club, sometime afterwards, are all returned to their former states as denizens of Mobius. In the background, reports of the Astral Syndrome rapidly growing can be heard while the protagonist is giving a speech at an assembly, referencing the beginning events of the game. The reports are cut short and everyone in the assembly hall is gone. When μ notices that everyone is gone, she asks where everyone went and demands answers from the protagonist, who is fading away. She screams, asking the protagonist whether or not she made everyone happy. The protagonist has the option to say yes or no, and the screen abruptly turns black afterwards no matter what choice is selected, and the credits roll.

## Videos

The Caligula Effect Overdose - Announcement Trailer (Switch, PS4, Steam)【Caligula Overdose カリギュラ オーバードーズ】ティザートレーラーAnnouncement trailer【Caligula Overdose カリギュラ オーバードーズ】プロモーションムービーFull-length trailer
## External links

* Official website (JP)
	+ Twitter
	+ Blog
* Official website (EN)

## References

1. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FBK1FVT/