(Spoilers) Secret ending or plans for the future DLC?

[DEAD S.n.A.k.e.]

Why hello there to all other dudes who loves to suffer! I actually finished the game on the other platform a couple of days ago and finally decided to write about my little theory regarding this MiA game in good old Steam (mostly because, if someone will be interested to prove it, you will need a PC version for that I guess).
Just a little remark first - I totally *&^%$#@ hate it. I was... well, very displeased with all the problems you probably faced yourself, but the main problem I have with the game that made it 1/10 for me from something like 6/10 before and almost made me to buy this game on Steam too just to leave a bad review and immediately refund it - is the ending. And not the ending itself, but the fact, that the game ends at the same moment when the movie ends.
I never read the manga and only watched anime/movie and can't wait for the full release of the second season to watch it completely in one go, so I do not know what will happen after the Last Dive as for now.
And I want to know!
The main driving force for me to play this game and suffer through it was the idea that after I reach layer 5 I will be able to reach even deeper parts and finally see what's there (I even thought about the line I will use for the review of it when I just started playing - "The main question for me about this game was "Can I really reach the bottom of the Abyss?" - and the answer is..." - then I should have answered if you can do it or not so if you are like me who just wants to see what's out there, you will know what to expect and if the game worth it or not). I mean, at least from my point of view, my expectations that when you commit your Last Dive in game it's only like 60% of the game can be justified - in many japanese games I played before you achieve the moment when you think "That's probably it" to realize that it was just the beginning and there are a lot more for you to do (there is sometimes even ending with cast, etc. between those two parts of the game for more confusion). So when I was strolling through the same mostly hollow locations over and over again I thought that at the very least there will be a lot of those hollow locations and in the second part of the game (after Last Dive) it will be more interesting just because it will be something new for me and maybe even for the original story too (you know, developers could just show how they see it or even some whole another route compared to the original story especially because we are the main character of the original story). As you probably know - there is nothing like that in the game, there are only like what, ~50 pretty small locations with not that many ways through it and they ask AAA price for it?!
Okay, let's finally proceed to my theory. Let's remember some facts:
1. It is a japanese game, so secret endings are pretty common thing in it.
2. Sometimes conditions for getting it are very hard to achieve or in general it is not that clear what you need to do to get it.
Regarding those two points - this game is ridiculous in this aspect. Another point of my imaginary bad review was the fact that I totally skipped Nanachi's questline BECAUSE I NEVER *!@%#$^ DIED IN THIS VERY *^&*%% SPECIFIC PLACE (The goblets of Giants) IN A VERY ^%$#@% SPECIFIC WAY. So when I finished the game for the first time I was furious - they showed Nanachi for only a couple of seconds and I wasn't able to hear her "Nnnnaaaaa" even once!
UNFORGIVABLE!
Then I started to google it to find out that THERE IS Nanachi's questline and there are some stupid things you need to do to actually access it.
So here it the first question - why there can't be some other stupid things you need to do to achieve something else? I mean after each completion of the "game" showed the message that there will be some new story and quests availible even if I already completed all new side quests (Reg's one and battle against this collector dude).
Also don't you think that's pretty stupid (even for that game) that there is another battle with Ozen, but there is no another battle with Bondrewd? And also that fact that you can't access Prushka's room anymore after you clear the game once probably shows that something have changed in the game's world...
3. There are stars near your save file that shows how many times you "completed" the game - at least I think that it shows that. For now I have one star on one save (my first playthough) and two stars on all others (after I finished the game all other times it never added the third star). Don't you think that it is there for a reason?
4. Now to my main point (though it is, of course, just my speculation that still can be proved/disproved) - I think there is actual Lyza's 3D model though it never actually used as a 3D model (or maybe I am wrong, but can't remember it). It only appears in screenshots that shows past or something (with yellow filter), but you can clearly see that it's an actual 3D model just like any other character in the game and I don't believe that in the game with a such low budget developers will create another full-fledged 3D model just for two screenshots of it. So, if I did not forget the actual usage of it in some cutscene (or even skipped the event with her like I did with Nanachi, though I couldn't find anything on the internet about it) and it is actually in the game files, then there should be a pretty high chance that either there is a hidden quest with her or she will be used in a DLC or something. Btw, what about DLCs? I never actually follow the development of the game or read/watched any interviews with developers or something, so totally don't know if there are any plans for DLCs or second part of the game, etc.
So, if anyone is interested and skilled enough, this person can unpack game's files and check if there is a Lyza's 3D model among others. Well, I mean if someone could also open some quest-related scripts or dialogues text files and check if there are some quests with her as a character it would be even greater, but it will take much more time and effort than this game deserves and I doubt that someone will spend their time on something like it. But still, maybe there are some real heros out there?
So, let's imagine that there is a secret ending/quests - what kind of stupid requirments can it require? I read through other discussions and the most obvious one (complete every secondary and fetch quest and collect all the relics) probably won't do the job. Any ideas?
Edit: I just watched a full walkthrough of the game and found the moments I was talking about - it's during the cutscene after Ozen's second battle where she thinks of Jiruo and then Lyza - you can see that Jiruo used as an actual 3D model (his animations are playing) while Lyza is a static image, though this is definetely a render of her 3D model. The second one is during the Riko's quest when we meet "Reg" on a flower field and we can see the very same static image of Ryza's 3D model with more accent on a lower part (legs are much more visible). The third moment during main story cutscene where Jiruo talks about what kind of mentor Lyza was and why he still chose her - we now can see her in an actual location from the game - the pose in the first part of the cutscene is very same as on the other images, but when the second part hits we can see that there is also another pose, so it's not just a 2D sprite or something but a movable (rigged if you know what it means) 3D object. And yes, as I remembered, there wasn't any other actual using her as a normal 3D model in the walkthrough I watched. So, I guess, it is worth investigating.

[Ula]

Tbf I don't have high hopes for upcoming dlcs. I think it's more likely to have a sequel.
Maybe they just made a 3d model of Lyza because it was more convenient? I also doubt there's a secret ending, because what game has a secret ending without a success to it?

[Azerate]

Anime/manga based games don't let you proceed further than the actual plot of the source material. Furthermore, the games don't usually go beyond the anime adaption as well. When this game was developed, the newest adapted material was layer 5, and the newest original material (manga) was up to the city arc in layer 6.

So no, there is no secret ending, there is no secret "missing half of the game" that lets you reach the bottom, because the bottom is not even shown in the manga as the manga is just beginning the 2nd arc of the 6th layer. Also, if there was significant content hidden behind a requirement, it wouldn't be hidden so well that no one would find it yet. Games do not hide half their content between obscure secrets that take programmers to uncover because most people will just not reach it and thus it will be a waste of dev time. You brought up secret endings in Japanese games - sure, but these endings are usually telegraphed fairly clearly for people who want to find them, and in this day and age you can see them in the tropy/achievement list.

Nanachi's questline is just a series of fetch quests, and it's existence is also made very clear with the achievement you get for finishing it.

Beyond the main story there are a couple optional quests and like 150 hours of useless guild contracts/side quests to do. There is absolutely no sign of there being anything further beyond that and it's silly to expect it.

As for DLC...I loved this game and spent 70+ hours on it, but it's quite clear by now that this was a flop. Even if it weren't, I'd doubt in an existence of DLC, but considering the low player interest and mixed reviews there will undoubtedly not be any.

Maybe in a couple of years we'll get another Made in Abyss game, but I somehow doubt it will be in anyway connected or resembling of this one.

[DEAD S.n.A.k.e.]

Originally posted by Azerate:

a lot of things I am too tired to quote and answer

Well, I just unpacked the game's files myself and found out that there IS Lyza's 3D model. As well as some other interesting things... But it seems that noone cares, so, yeah, I won't post about this here anymore.
Generally, by "secret ending" I just meant that there is could be another cutscene when you do a Last Dive, nothing more. It's just your wrong specualtion based on what I wrote above that I am expecting another layer or something - I understand that 5th layer is the last layer.
I will stop here.

[Silaf]

A continuation for the game will probably be considered when the manga will reach the 10^ layer.
We can conveniently use the city on the 6^ as a new Orth and repeat the experience.
Game was good it only needed less bugs, no infinite respawn and a better aesthetic attention for the world.

[Soap 漬物]

Well, if you join the modding discord server that is made for the game, we are actually working on adding back all the cut-content that is shown in the screenshots for the game on the store page. We are working slowly but surely.

As for bonus content and DLC's, as said by the developers on Twitter, they will more than unlikely to happen

[Comuse]

Originally posted by Soap 漬物:

Well, if you join the modding discord server that is made for the game, we are actually working on adding back all the cut-content that is shown in the screenshots for the game on the store page. We are working slowly but surely.

man, this community is straight up awesome.

[PB]

layer 5, where you can't go
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2870339549

[-=EDF=- Kouta Seto]

" Games do not hide half their content between obscure secrets that take programmers to uncover because most people will just not reach it and thus it will be a waste of dev time"

Dude, there are games existing that did, so dont tell people otherwise... There are ENTIRE ENDINGS that only few will ever get to see OR where sadly patched into "not doable anymore" teritory (thats also why certain speedruner run on older versions, not the highest, of certain games). So i wouldnt bet on "no secret ending as no game does that" at all. There are even those games that, when you do things NO ONE would do, alter text in it OR give you other cutscenes (Would have loved Grandia 2 to having that kind of interaction. Its posible to beat Millenia in the first battle (it takes long AF btw.), yet game threats you the same regardless(would have loved her to be pissy and then still fall in love with ryudou as he was the ONLY one able to 1v1 her and win and then casualy procede to threat her as a human being, not as valmar)

[skippi99r]

Originally posted by PB:

layer 5, where you can't go
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2870339549

is this something removed from the game modded back in?

[Hentaika]

There is also one in water crystals 2 directly bottom of this one.

Maybe they cut 1 location out located between eternal garden and water crystals 2 but forgot to remove the exits, considering those 2 are located close to each other and in a way that they could be part of one area easily.