Iris Mysteria - The new generation. Anastigal, Nadja, Arin and Fricka.
To complete this series of posts about Iris Mysteria, today we will discuss the new generation of characters introduced later in the game's lifecycle. As you know, this gacha game does not rely on adding new characters every few weeks; instead, it features a fixed cast of Iris heroines who receive new costumes every so often.
Over the years, it naturally becomes more difficult to create innovative stories when the cast is limited to a small number of heroines. Consequently, it was natural to add extra flavor by first introducing new characters into the main story and then transitioning them into the Iris category through plot developments.
These new heroines became some of the most memorable characters in the series for me because of the significant impact they had on the storyline, which justified their addition as playable units. Let's discuss them all before wrapping up this series of articles.
Lydia was the first character added to the playable cast. I mentioned her in the first post, but she was a recurring enemy in the early phases as an underling of the evil angel. She showed clear hints of becoming playable from the very beginning, highlighting her reasons for following the angel and their unbalanced relationship. Her redemption arc was the moment Iris Mysteria truly managed to grab my attention.
Then we had Nadja and Anastigal, who marked the first shift toward adding adult characters. Until then, all the heroines except Beatrice fell into the teenager to young adult age bracket. The addition of Nadja and Anastigal provided more variety in the types of heroines available for interaction.
Nadja is Ladis's magic teacher. Although she looks like a small child because she is a Dwalin, she acts as a mature mentor. She is temporarily controlled during one of the chapters and becomes an enemy, but after being subdued, she goes through the typical redemption arc and becomes a playable Iris and a teacher at the academy for the other girls.
Anastigal is Cécile's mother and was introduced as an NPC very early in the story. I remember my first reaction was, "Whoa, hot mom", and I was disappointed when she initially disappeared from the plot. It turns out I was not the only one who felt that way; she eventually becomes an Iris and a teacher at the academy, with a specific story arc focused on the elf forest.
Then we have Fricka, the childhood friend of the protagonist and one of the Celestial Beings discussed in the previous article. Her story arc is heavily involved in the battle against Zero-nos because her real body was held in time stasis in the heavens. Ultimately, she receives a new body and joins the Iris in a very emotional moment when all hope seemed lost for her.
Finally, we come to Olivie, another character who was hinted at earlier in the series but only appeared later. She is the Pope of the church and an extremely serious person who tries her best to fulfill her obligations. In her heart, however, she longs for a life more like other girls her age, as she is supposed to be in her early twenties.
The last character introduced was Arin, Porin's younger sister and an expert golem creator. Porin is extremely protective of her and wants to keep her away from danger. On the other hand, Arin wants to be helpful to Porin, which creates a clash between the two. On a more humorous note, Arin has a very mature figure, which makes Porin feel resentful and is often used as a recurring joke.
I wrote these articles to reminisce about the time I spent playing Iris Mysteria, and I hope the content and images sparked something in you as well. I truly hope there are plans to release the game as a standalone visual novel in the future, rebalanced for single-player play, as I would absolutely purchase it. It would be a shame if it simply disappeared into the void once the service ends.
