>>13813828
>Is there anything particular interesting about it?
For starters it's from the guy who wrote Persona 2 so it's bedrock isn't set in the SoL sim that latter Persona games (and after their success, other JRPGs like Tokyo Xanadu, etc.) go for.
The world is fake and those who wake up to this realization can't go back to blissful ignorance but either overcome their trauma or become a drone because of it - and everyone has trauma. Everyone has a broken or sordid past, ranging from suicide to whoredom, bullying, child abuse and more. It is for this reason that these pathetic and wicked people were sucked into Mobius, the spiritual matrix the story takes place in.
However, it's revealed that the longer people are in Mobius the less connection they have with the real world, leaving their bodies to remain catatonic. People have already starved to death or gotten into accidents (and its mentioned that parents who are stuck in here may have allowed their babies to starve to death), leaving them as souls without bodies forever trapped in this daylight dream.
Because the world is fake, people in it have fake appearances which have been altered slightly or drastically by the overlord of this spiritual matrix, a pop idol who says she just wants to make everyone happy.
To say more is really giving it away, but I like to suggest it's a bit like a blend of dot hack and Persona 2.
It's also been said that the chief writer really wanted to challenge severe taboos and that's why there's so many grim elements to the story and themes. At one point the folks in charge supposedly even went so far as to suggest to him,
>Hey this is getting a bit much, maybe we can tone it down
to which he responded by going harder, apparently to enough success to earn an anime and full-on remake with additions like Overdose.
Course that's just hearsay.
At its core Caligula Effect is about abandoning the desperate escapism we put on ourselves to flee from facing our trauma. It's a mystery plot with the central theme of overcoming our wounds and growing up.
That's the reason I enjoy this game so much.
…Well that and I like juggling enemies for extra damage, but the framerate isn't very consistent in the combat and can sometimes be a pain in the ass with slowdown depending on how many opponents there are.