Playing "A Requiem for Innocence" without having started the first "The House in Fata Morgana"

[RinascimentoIT]

I've just started this visual novel and I find it simply WONDERFUL! I have recently discovered, however, that it is a sort of second chapter or spin-off ... do you think it is better if I interrupt this "A Requiem for Innocence" and start the first Morgana? I run the risk of losing references or ruin the plot twists?

I really do not want to interrupt this Requiem, I like it so much!

[Missilepom]

How far in Requiem are you?

[RinascimentoIT]

I'm right at the beginning of the second chapter, but I tried to start "The house in Fata Morgana" and ... hell, what an absolute masterpiece! I can not stop reading it!

I think I'll finish the first title at this point. At this rate, It should not take much time... :3

[Mr. Nobody]

If you aren't too far in I would recommend stopping and playing the main game first, but it won't completely ruin the story if you played Requiem for Innocence first. I would stay away from the bonus stories, however, since most of them take place after the events of the main game.

Yes, some relatively major plot points would be spoiled but not even close to all of them. The main story in Requiem for Innocence is basically a more detailed and in depth retelling of a couple characters past storylines from the main game. Technically if you play the main game first it spoils 95% of what happens in Requiem of Innocence, so in some regards playing it first might be beneficial.

[Missilepom]

Yeah like Mr. Nobody said, finish the main episode of Requiem and jump straight into the main game. Leave the side episodes of Requiem for after you finish the main game. If I understand you correctly, you're already in part 2 where Jacopo becomes the lord, right? If you're that far in, you might as well finish it

[GreiSSon]

Drop it now. Read the first novel. Or you will ruin all emotions which you can found while reading The House in Fata Morgana.

[Neve Valkoinen]

stop reading Requiem, yes. You have already spoiled yourself few big twist that will be presented in the main Fata Morgana, but at least if you leave it now, you can save the second part for the future :\

[Missilepom]

So I recently came across someone online who accidentally played Requiem's main episode before the main game like the OP, and they shared their experience with me. It was very interesting. I've pasted what they said below.

tl;dr They think that playing the main episode of Requiem before the main game works just fine. It doesn't really spoil the main game that much and in some ways makes the experience even better.

Spoilers for the whole series below:
"Yeah, uh
I uh
I played Requiem for Innocence first. But I really really don't regret it. To make things clear, I've only played the core part of it, because I remember trying to read one of the side stories and was so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ lost like literal minutes in, so I looked into it, and well the Fata Morgana that I downloaded was the prequel. Wooo. Anyways, I felt so strongly about Requiem like ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, I get emotional on vns all the time but that was like heart wrenching depression.

Going into the main Fat Morgan afterwards, I remember starting it off with a meh feel. There was no sign of Jacopo or Morgana and I felt a bit disinterested. Of course, as I slowly progressed, I was seeing more and more characters I recognized, so that was what urged me on. I got emotionally connected quite a few times as well as genuine amazement for story telling. So it wasn't completely Requiem's influence that drove me, but I can't say that it wasn't a big part of it. As much as I loved Michel's side of things, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ did Morgana's focus really get me going again. It was obviously due to my strong emotional connection to Requiem, and seeing it all in complete full context just made it that much better.

All in all, what I'm saying is, honestly, if I started with the main entry before reading Requiem for Innocence, I believe that I wouldn't get as affected as I did going in blindly. It all makes narrative sense in Fata Morgana's perspective, but when reading in Requiem's perspective it feels more.. hands on? You're literally along with them for the ride after all. If I read that Morgana arc by staying in the sidelines, I probably wouldn't have connected as much. Being able to feel the plot twists yourself and all in that perspective was what drove me to getting so emotionally affected. For example, Jacopo's transformation is just much more believable when witnessing it all yourself being as gradual as it was, not to mention how unpredictable it was.
Fata Morgana's overall plot as a whole is tragic as hell, but the fact that the most tragic arc of all was made into a prequel like that made it the perfect standalone for me. It also only spoiled like the literal later half of the main entry, so I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to read it first.
Okay, I'm practically repeating myself a lot here, but what I'm getting at is that, due to my experience, I find it even safe to recommend Requiem before plain Fata Morgana. I think just like reading the main entry before Requiem, it could enhance your experience just the same if you did it the other way around."

Were you able to figure out some of the twists (like the WHG's identity) in advance because of the prequel?

"I uh, don't remember WHG having much of an obvious relevance in Requiem? So yeah, I was along with the twist ride when it came to her, and most others really.
I also think I wouldn't have enjoyed Morgana's role as much if not reading the prequel first, actually. Say I read the main entry first, I can imagine seeing her as more of that "evil antagonist all along, who turned out to have a dark past that made her that way" trope. In a sense, it would've been more generic I guess. So the whole "bringing out the good in you" thing was more reasonable with Requiem's context. It was fun piecing together her motives from what I knew from the prequel.
In fact, I think that's a big reason I enjoyed that order of reading Fata Morgana. Requiem gave such a meaningful story on it's own, and the main entry just had so much more expand on that. It was fun piecing together everything from all I knew about Requiem, as it's role has at least some relevance just about everywhere in every chapter.
There's really very little it spoils in the grand scheme of things, and the only twist I can really think of that I was completely out of the loop for was the "real Barnier"/"The slave's role" thing. Which again, with context, felt significant.

I know it's an ignorant way of thinking, as they're obviously linked, but- I can really see it as the main game spoils the experience for Requiem quite a bit, especially compared to the impact the Requiem has for spoiling the main entry. I can really see Requiem as a standalone in a way, as for whatever reason, it still was one of the more emotionally impactful vns I've read. I don't know why but Morgana's whole story arc is just the perfect tragedy, and I witnessed it all first time in the more detailed experience. That, I don't regret."

[John_Doe]

interesting indeed. personally i prefer to witness characters action and then learn the reasons later, not the other way around. though in the end both ways can give the same excitement i guess.