Triggered to Thinking

I Am Setsuna is a fascinating turn-based role-playing game (RPG) that any fan of the genre should play. The story is set in a world that is perpetually covered in snow. I was first intrigued by the game because the director stated that the battle system was inspired by Chrono Trigger. Any player familiar with Chrono Trigger will recognize the double techs that certain party members can use.

Endir, the protagonist of the story, is a mercenary from the Kir tribe. At the start of the game, he is given a mission by a man named Cornelius to kill a young girl who is about to turn eighteen. Setsuna was chosen to be “the sacrifice” and give her life in a place called the Last Lands. In this respect, the story is similar to Yuna’s sacrificial journey to defeat the malevolent force known as Sin in Final Fantasy X. Endir is defeated by Setsuna’s friend Aeterna, put to sleep, and brought back to the village of Nive. Setsuna later vouches for Endir’s life to be spared after he attempted to kill her, and she urges him to become one of her guards on the sacrificial journey due to his strength.

Toward the end of the game, Aeterna explains the origin of the evil beast responsible for the wave of monsters plaguing the world. This creature is called the Dark Saṃsāra, and according to Aeterna, “the energy and life force given by the sacrifices is what helps contain the creature. This has continued for a thousand years . . . but we are reaching the limits of what can be done. The evil magical energy seeping through the barrier is already causing the monsters to change” (Id, n.d.). As the party ventures further into the Last Lands, they meet a mysterious woman who reveals Aeterna to be a clone of herself. The woman reveals herself as the Time Judge, and she no longer recalls her human name (Id, n.d.).

This mysterious figure has been watching over the land and the recurring sacrifices from time immemorial. Because she is unable to leave her post, she created Aeterna. The party is given a choice: sacrifice their life force and energy to maintain the system or destroy the Dark Saṃsāra completely. The Time Judge reveals that the party has undertaken this journey before, but each time they chose to avoid direct confrontation. Aeterna joined the party during those previous journeys; however, because the group avoided combat, the Time Judge rewound time, leaving the party with no recollection of the journey except for Aeterna. Aeterna explains that this journey is different due to the appearance of Endir, the changing monsters, and the emergence of the strange enemy known as the Reaper. She also explains that each character was slightly different during previous journeys.

Does this story of repeated journeys, combined with the final boss’s name, the Dark Saṃsāra, suggest that I Am Setsuna reflects the concept of saṃsāra found in Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain thought? The constant cycle of death and rebirth in these traditions is known as saṃsāra (Kingsland, 2016). In Jainism, jinas are teachers who, through their own efforts, master the necessary disciplines to escape the cycle of rebirth (Donaldson & Bajželj, 2021). Jainism is divided into two main sects: the Śvetāmbaras and the Digambaras. Digambaras maintain that women cannot attain liberation from saṃsāra, also referred to as mokṣa.

Setsuna and the party members follow a similar cyclical pattern, repeatedly making decisions that cause the Time Judge to rewind time. However, with the appearance of Endir, the group may finally achieve a form of liberation. In this sense, the world itself receives liberation from the peril caused by the Dark Saṃsāra. The sacrificial system in the game is well known, much like the process of rebirth in saṃsāra. Liberation for the monsters in I Am Setsuna ultimately comes from breaking free from the sacrificial process and confronting the source of suffering directly. While the parallels between Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist thought and I Am Setsuna are not exact, the symbolic similarities demonstrate a shared thematic concern with cycles, suffering, and liberation.

References

Donaldson, B., & Bajželj, A. (2021). Insistent life: Principles for bioethics in the Jain tradition. University of California Press.

Id, D. (n.d.). I am Setsuna Part #52 – Episode XLI: Aeterna explains it all. Let’s Play Archive. https://lparchive.org/I-am-Setsuna/Update%2052/

Kingsland, J. (2016). Siddhartha’s brain: The science of meditation, mindfulness and enlightenment. Hachette UK.