Introduction
It is rather amusing to reflect on my initial reaction to A Requiem for Innocence. When I first started The House in Fata Morgana, there were zero expectations – yet I came out pleasantly surprised. The emotional attachment formed towards central characters, how effective the themes of love and hope was done even in a world shrouded with darkness and mystery, and how conclusive and satisfying the ending was.
So learning that a spinoff featuring the past of Jacopo and Morgana existed – my initial reaction was simply just, “why should I read this?”. Both characters seemed to be decently fleshed out in the base game. What was the point of a literal retelling in their perspective?
Well… I can confidently say that Requiem turned out to be my favourite installment in the Fata Morgana series. Just remembering how emotionally moving the epilogue of the series as it truly gave us multiple layers of genuine closure to the entire series always has me tearing up. I love this visual novel with all my heart and having finished it recently, it felt worthwhile to write a review on it.
Production
Developed by Novectacle, The House of Fata Morgana: A Requiem for Innocence is a spin-off game to the visual novel The House of Fata Morgana. It was released in 2018 – six years after the original’s release in 2012. The scenario was written by Hanada Keika, with English translation scripting done by yukino. For art and sprites, they are done by artist Moyataro.
Narrative
Requiem’s narrative follows a linear storytelling structure that focuses on a singular tale and cast of characters, giving an look into the psyches of its two protagonists. Jacopo: an arrogant but kind-hearted peasant with a burning desire to climb the social hierarchy, and Morgana: a cold, self proclaimed ‘saint’ with scars on both her skin and heart. Their brief companionship together is explored as they gradually understand each other, coming to share a mutual connection despite their drastic differences.
It is a stark contrast to its predecessor – The House in Fata Morgana – which, for the majority of its run, focused on an overarching mystery revealed across the course of several different tales from the viewpoint of an external observer. This is dropped in Requiem for a more traditional approach that puts the audience in the direct viewpoint of the lead characters at all times, where every thought and action unfolds in “real-time” from their perspective.
However, Requiem is still a tragedy at its very core shaped by a high quantity of dramatic irony. With readers of Fata Morgana already privy to the dreadful and bleak fates that await both Jacopo and Morgana, Requiem’s deeper themes explores how the desire for power can corrupt even the noblest of hearts. The social divide between commoners and nobility is focused upon, delivering a clear message that happiness can never be derived from status or wealth, but is rather found in the smaller and simpler things in life.

Requiem’s differing approach in narrative structure was something I personally came to enjoy, as previously mentioned — it allowed for the story to unfold in real time as it flipped back and forth between the perspectives of the two protagonists. How Jacopo and Morgana both perceived the world in their own unique ways was intriguing in almost every aspect. Their internal monologue, the way they interacted, their dynamics with others, how they saw and complimented their strengths and flaws – everything was so full of soul and heart. It felt like a deliberate juxtaposition to the original Fata Morgana that was deliberately written to be more dissociative and cold in its tone for the majority of its run.
The novel’s length is around 10 hours — which not only makes it a relatively digestible read for the average player, but it also serves to greatly benefit the narrative pacing. While the second half of the story could have been fleshed out a slight bit more, Requiem’s story is executed in a way that feels short, sweet, and satisfying. Themes and messages are conveyed to the audience in an effective way that doesn’t feel like a drag, and pay off nicely when the story reaches its emotional highs. Nothing feels unnecessarily padded out – an aspect that is greatly appreciated during an active read, and even more so in retrospect.
Art
The beautifully crafted, visually realistic art that the original Fata Morgana had by artist Moyataro makesca return in the spinoff – albeit with significant touch-ups and improvements. A vast majority of Requiem’s CGs are set in broad daylight, with hues of yellow and orange being prominent through key moments that give a sense of vibrancy through colour that continues the trend of contrasting the original’s more monochrome and unsettling palette.

Quite literally any CG in Requiem could be used as a wallpaper – there’s just something about Moyataro’s art that truly sets it apart from many visual novels in the medium. For those who appreciate unique visuals to go along with their story, Requiem really delivers in this aspect, continuously delivering on its emotional highs and lows through stellar visual storytelling.
Music
Much like the art, the music in Requiem is phenomenal. Unlike all the previously mentioned aspects, the Novectacle sound team does not deliberately try to create a contrast between Requiem and the original Fata Morgana. Rather, the musical cues of its predecessor are retained, creating a sense of familiarity for readers. The prominence of vocalists in its soundtrack is one such aspect that is retained — it is what makes the Fata Morgana series iconic, and its return creates a link between Requiem and the original Fata Morgana to establish the fact that despite tonal differences, the story still indeed takes place in the same universe. “Serie de Fragmento”, a piano track in Fata Morgana used to highlight Jacopo and Morgana’s relationship, is reprised into Requiem’s main theme, updated with lyrics that invoke senses of both idyllicism and tragedy – two things that ultimately encapsulates what the game is about, a beautiful yet tragic tale of two doomed lovers.
Conclusion
Yes, if you’re a fan of the original Fata Morgana, Requiem is mandatory reading. Not only does it deliver some of the strongest storytelling that dare I say surpasses the original, but it genuinely gives some much needed context that further deepens appreciation towards the original Fata Morgana. As mentioned in the introduction, I never expected a 10 hour spinoff to leave me in tears by the time it was finished. There’s just something so beautiful about it that can’t simply be put into words (despite writing an entire essay about it).

Hopefully, this relatively short review was enjoyable, and please read A Requiem for Innocence if you haven’t already.
Interested in the series? Get the first game in the series, The House in Fata Morgana, here. After which you can get A Requiem for Innocence here.