A major chunk of my gaming history ranges and almost ends at first-person shooters, strategy, & MMO games circa 2002 - 2010 so my experience with modern games and their sub communities is far lacking with how quickly the medium is growing culturally.

I'm new to gacha culture which was why I was surprised to find myself playing Identity V since the almost-birth of its franchise (released 2018, joined at 2019). I'm not discriminate to gacha games but I'm not the typical audience for the symbiotic genres that usually bump hips with gacha-types like solo RPGs or card/tabletop games. Well okay I'll give the Civilization series a pass. You know what I do enjoy besides strategy games? Gothic horror, cosmic horror, and co-ops, all of which IDV is.

Identity V's costumes are designed by history buffs— say what you will about Netease. What I like is that these aren't weapons or paywalled characters, but actor costumes rooted in folklore or multi-cultural traditions these dolls and hunters wear to represent in-universe characters— exactly like movie actors. There's even a costume line that enhances this premise.

I'm generally not too interested in idol costumes or neither am I fond of isekai-saturated armor. I do like grounded, 1500s-style armor, but I'm not ready to wax poetic about my fantasy mmorpg grievances just yet. I'm also just not very good at power-fantasies because I always end up making my avatars an identical vessel of myself anyway; don't really need another mmorpg for that when I already do it on Toram.

You could say I'm more of a reader than my own narrator: when I see a piece of armor, I'd rather ask about the engravings on it than wear it for myself. The dolls of IDV are full of charm, and I'm always stoked to learn more alternate interpretations via these costumes. These dolls are worn out, dirty, losing seams, riddled with needles or holes, they have fluff sticking out of them...

That's what sets IDV's style apart from other games (besides its clear inspirations to certain movie.) I feel more connected to the idea that in a room full of broken-into dolls, at least one of them is probably mine to feel closest to.

Whether its the outdated fashion they wear or because you know owners of dolls eventually grow out of playing with them, being born in the 21st century naturally makes me wonder "what was so special about these relics that made other people care about them?" and clearly IDV's designers have stories to share.

The very nice & kind thing about IDV's gacha system is that you don't need to roll it to enjoy the game, and I'm not too big into games where a knobturn determines my rank in them. I guess hunters can technically exploit flashier costumes since they give off glowing particles even through the fog, but some kiter mains prefer costumes like those.

I decided I'd rather dress up and play with dolls if there's any takeaway. As of 05.31, the only characters I'm willing to go complete pity for are Luchino Diruse, Norton Campbell, and recently Efron Weisz. Some people complain about how unfair the guaranteed odds are, but for a functionally f2p-friendly online game atp its just consumer envy speaking.

I only buy rolls if I absolutely expect to bite the hard pity debts, but I generally won't roll at all if I'm not pursuing limited stuff or know I won't use the skins in-match. It's the only way I can budget for my other hobbies, lol.

When I saw Efron's announcement, I was excited that Identity V was attempting bolder survivor designs. (Can't say the same for the hunters. Especially the design that followed Efron's announcement. Sorry.)
I have a thing for horned, balding men, what do you expect from me, haha.

I was hesitant to roll because I've never considered a brand new character before investing in his lore completely, but after his playstyle showcase was released I knew he had a place in my collections.

He came home on 2025.05.30, in a very stubborn pull figure of 151 rolls. I was so excited, the footage is cut to be shorter because I spent 15 seconds marinating on that screen and 15 more on his survivor screen.

[entry in progress, can't write until i'm done with a convention]

I missed out on not just Reptilian's limited costume but also Professor's limited costume and I am a little devastated that I basically missed both chances for a complete factional collection. I embraced my losses, and kept playing since I fell for Luchino even without his cosmetics in the picture.

But then an Ashes Of Memory announcement was posted on the official networks; Hell broke loose with the Marquis of duality, Infernal Sin.

There's plenty stuff about Fool's Gold's default design I'd like to shave & chisel out, but I don't hate it. If there was one thing I wish they kept, it would be his helmet. It's admittedly surreal that one of the oldest survivors with the dopeiest ragdoll face was now Netease's ticket to sex appeal.

They had me at diaphanous robes.

Infernal Sin was released with a matching S-tier skin for prospector, though I didn't like it that much. They took away his lip mounds and big nose, the very thing that makes Norton... Norton. To be fair, Fool's Gold's very debut is probably the canary of a franchise-wide Norton bastardization, but I'll sit it out.

He wears silk robes adorned in gold ornaments and white jades styled in a Classical Latin fashion. His ponytail sculpts into a snake's tongue and a network of molten lava circulates through a his stone body. In this season, Fool's Gold is casted the role of the demon of reunion, "Marquis Aamon."

In most depictions Marquis Aamon retains the body of a wolf with a bird's head and dog's teeth. Something I like about this costume is despite having zero canine motifs and only snake or raven embellishments, Fool's Gold himself is a substitute for the wolf's teeth under Aamon's beak. Prospector was commonly paired with themes of birds and rodents in past, or generally small creatures. After Fool's Gold's debut, a couple of Norton's cosmetics have slowly introduced canines into the picture such as Dazzling Lone Wolf and Apex.

His snake and raven motifs are divided across his costume rather than designed in unity, a testament to Marquis Aamon's duality; All the snake related details are on his back while his raven decorations sit proudly on the front.

Making Fool's Gold a demon is a standard choice for an introduction, but it's a great choice to make the first official alternate Fool's Gold's interpretation a direct display of Marquis Aamon.

This demon hones the skill to bend relationships at the will of the magician who works with him. He can create discourse just as well as he can bring together lovers. Most importantly its because of his utility to the human race and duality that he embodies Norton perfectly.

Marquis Aamon is versatile in his field and often regarded as the demon of knowledge. Those who conjure his name ask for readings of the future, but are often underprepared for these truths. Marquis Aamon is furthest from malevolent in the Lesser Key, but because of his versatility his "kindness" can equally bleed.

Due to the mining industry's exploitation along with the proceeding cave explosion of his lore, Norton's been jaded into apathy and doesn't expect anything past "equal exchange" with every person he encounters. In some parallel, he sort of aligns with my interpretation of the demonic: neither good or evil in nature— created in innocence with the bloodmerge of human and angel, capable of natures twice.

He is the hammer forged in pressure and fire who can build walls and just as easily break knuckles in the wrong hand. In AOM's case, Orpheus's hand.

You could interpret Fool's Gold as a "rebirthed, self-made" Norton, but I think he's an effigy of Norton's moral idleness/apathy slowly builtup from his backstory in the mines. He presently gijinka'd into AOM as Norton would've only ended up in the manor due his demon, "Fool's Gold."

He often toes the border of the coin, answering equally to the side that offers prospecting and harmless gigs, and the side that offers sum for murder. He may not be a friend or an enemy, but as long as he's compensated and nobody incites him he doesn't give a shit what side the coin lands on.

Say what you will about red and gold palettes. This costume is one of my favorites.

I'm not in love with this costume because of any sort of historical relevance. This metal-capped glove & boot pair are just too iconic to not include. If Highway Cavalier Norton had prize money to burn, he'd throw it all on a pair of Kadoya gloves for sure.

His car that shows up in the showroom idle along with its license plate are dead giveaways for the Baby Austin, a UK car from the 1920's. Since steel-toed leather boots were popularized towards the 30's, that's when the character cast for Call Of The Abyss 4 (COA4) are dated around.

On the topic of dressy hardware, it seems he repurposed a hose into a belt to hold his keys... I should take notes.

His helmet features a plated metal shield on the back and a visor that wouldn't be functional at all because of the brim. The back of his jacket is also embroidered with the silhouette of a knight and his steed.

At first I didn't like how his helmet looked, but the makeshift look and chivalrous references are faithful to Don Quixote, whom this costume derives from. Besides Norton is tacky and that's what we love about him.

I don't really care about this essence and probably won't ever to keep it a buck with you. Chess motifs are fine (foreshadowing to the costume after this) but I just really enjoy the coordination in this costume.

Not pictured are her pompom reskins based on the Abrahamic ophanim.

Just look at the oversize fit of that tunic. The delicate laces on her cuffs. The heel soles. The only thing I'd change is to make her chunk highlights and tights the same color black, but otherwise it's a very cute costume.

I mentioned earlier in this post about when I joined in 2019, but not that I returned to the game after having been on a hiatus (and losing my account to the sands of time.) I rejoined Season 27 to collect Kokichi Ouma's skin for the 3rd rerun of the Danganronpa crossovers, and I fell back into love with the game. Relearned the meta and been playing since.

The one thing I regret is not also rolling enough for prospector's "Hajime Hinata" costume since it's not only unlikely Danganronpa will be returning for awhile, but prospector is my main survivor. Still, Kokichi is a pretty good A-tier costume to play with.

Saving best for last, I have to include Norton's default costume because it speaks so explicitly Victorian even if you didn't know what IDV was. He was one of my first cosplays from this franchise. In order to achieve historical accuracy, I attempted id'ing a couple tool selections and clothes.

• Helmet: A common misconception most fans have is that his helmet is made of metal, but it's more likely to be coated canvas or leather. I have a personal headcanon that it looks metallic due to dust getting packed into a coat of zinc and lead.

  In his first appearance in Ashes Of Memory his helmet appears on the table of the manor's dining hall with leather stitching rather than weld seams like I initially thought they were. At least it's more comfortable than metal, though I like metal helmet Norton just as fine.

• Compass: Though never stated, I think the closest model is a Verner's 1918's Prismatic Marching Compass. These compasses are made of brass and used for mapping routes, typically used on a tripod. This was kind of a satisfying find while I was modeling his compass for print.

• The piece of metal in his nose is a irremovable fragment of shrapnel (usually confused for a piercing).