Trauma Center: Second Opinion

2006 video game

Trauma Center: Second Opinion is a simulation video game developed by Atlus for the Wii. The second entry in the Trauma Center series, Second Opinion is a remake of the Nintendo DS title Trauma Center: Under the Knife (2005). The game was released in North America and Japan in 2006 by Atlus as a console launch title, and in other regions in 2007 by Nintendo. Set in a near future where medical science can cure previously incurable diseases, the story follows young surgeon Derek Stiles as he uses his mystical "Healing Touch" to treat a new disease dubbed GUILT. Second Opinion expands on the original narrative through the perspective of Naomi Kimishima, another doctor with the Healing Touch. Gameplay combines surgical simulation with a story told as a visual novel, with operations and control options reworked for the Wii hardware. The game began development in early 2006. Production was stressful due to a small team and tight development period. The character Naomi was added to help set the game apart from the Nintendo DS original. The localization was done by Atlus USA, who focused on tightening the original script and merging it with the new narrative. The game was positively reviewed by journalists, who praised its implementation of the Wii control scheme. It was also a commercial success, selling over 400,000 units overseas.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion is a video game that combines surgical simulation gameplay with storytelling using non interactive visual novel segments using static scenes, character portraits, text boxes, and rare voice clips during gameplay segments. Second Opinion is a remake of Trauma Center: Under the Knife for the Nintendo DS. Missions can be played on different difficulty settings. New operating tools are selected from a radial options menu using the Nunchuk's control stick. Players can activate each character's Healing Touch by drawing a star on screen using the Wii Remote. Stiles eventually confronts the core members of Delphi, including Angie's father, Kenneth Blackwell, who was coerced into assisting the group with their research. With Blackwell's aid, Caduceus launches a raid on Delphi's headquarters and discovers its founder, Adam. Adam is in a vegetative state, hosting all the GUILT strains, and the body is impounded by Caduceus Europe. The new narrative of Second Opinion first follows Naomi Kimishima, living under the alias "Nozomi Weaver," a surgeon ostracized due to her Healing Touch. During her missions, it is revealed that she was working for Delphi, who knew of her ability and was using it for their own purposes. Kimishima remains mostly unaware of the circumstances of Delphi until just before the Caduceus raid, and also places their operation in danger at one point by insisting on operating on a reporter wounded after chasing down a car in which Kimishima and a Delphi operative were passengers. Just before their headquarters are discovered by Caduceus, Kimishima escapes with a GUILT sample which she plans to use as a bargaining chip for immunity against all potential charges against her. In the new sixth chapter, Stiles is summoned to Caduceus Europe, where Kimishima now works under her real name alongside another doctor called Owen. It is revealed that Caduceus Europe have created a new regenerative culture dubbed "Z Cells". Following a GUILT operation, Stiles is infected and Kimishima operates on him. Later a demonstration of the Z Cell culture goes awry when the Z Cells mutate into an airborne GUILT strain. Owen is revealed to be a Delphi member, and the Z Cells derived from a serum extracted from Adam's body. Using their combined abilities, Stiles and Kimishima stop the GUILT outbreak and save the leader of Caduceus, Robert Hoffman. Caduceus Europe is forced to face charges for their actions, Kimishima stays in Europe to pursue her medical career and to compensate for her crimes while working under Delphi, and Stiles spearheads a new drive to eradicate the GUILT pandemic.

Second Opinion is the second game in the Trauma Center series and the first produced for the Wii. This group was known as "CaduceTeam", and was made up of what director Daisuke Kanada described as Atlus's most enthusiastic gamers. Kanada had previously been a designer for multiple Megami Tensei titles, had worked with Hashino since Maken X (1999), and made his debut as a director with Second Opinion. Hashino co directed with Hiroshi Kato. Planning for Second Opinion began in January 2006. The game was rebuilt from the ground up, using none of the original source code. The character artwork was redrawn by Masayuki Doi. The character designs were altered to appear "mature" without losing their anime aesthetic, and the operation segments were made "cooler" in appearance. Another composer on the project was Shingo Yasumoto, who had worked on Persona 3 for Atlus and multiple games for Grasshopper Manufacture. The game was produced in a very short time, putting a great deal of stress on the small team of developers. While voice acting was still restricted to shout outs from characters, there were ten times the number compared to the Nintendo DS original, and Stiles was given a voice for the first time. In Japan, it was originally known under the tentative title Caduceus Neo. For the localization, Atlus USA went through the original script and tightened the dialogue. New elements were added to the original script so it flowed smoothly into the new narrative. The need to produce the Western version alongside the Japanese version put extra pressure on the development team. The game released in North America on November 19, 2006, releasing concurrently with the Wii console in the region. In Japan, the game released on December 2 of that year alongside the Wii's launch in the region. A guidebook for the title was published by Enterbrain in January 2007. The game was published in Europe by Nintendo on August 10, 2007, nine months after the game's North American release. In Australia, Second Opinion released on August 28, 2008.

During November 2007, Second Opinion was among the better selling Wii titles for the period, selling around 200,000 units in North America. In January the following year, it was still in the top ten best selling Wii games of the region. The game met with slow sales in Japan, reaching just over 23,400 units by the end of 2006. Kanada stated in October 2007 that sales for Japan were quite low, although feedback from players was enthusiastic. Index Corporation, owner of Atlus at the time, announced in October 2008 that the game had sold around 400,000 copies in North America and Europe. Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu enjoyed the gameplay, but noted an emotional disconnect from patients due to the game's graphical style and minimal interaction. 1UP. coms Andrew Fitch called Second Opinion a "surprisingly decent transition" from the original despite several faults with the presentation. Computer and Video Games called it "One of the tightest, and best, games available on Wii." Keza MacDonald, writing for Eurogamer, was highly positive; she said that Second Opinion would help dispel scepticism regarding the Wii's motion control functions. Eric Bratcher of GamesRadar regarded the game as the second essential game for Wii owners after The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Greg Kasavin of GameSpot called Second Opinion "about as unorthodox of a launch title for a new game system as they come", generally praising the game in several areas. GameSpys Bryn Williams felt that, despite an occasional lack of polish, the game was an essential purchase for Wii owners. Mark Bozon of IGN felt that the game was doing for the Wii what the original did for the Nintendo DS in terms of control innovation. Nintendo World Reports Jonathan Metts was also very positive, praising how the game fixed balancing issues present in the Nintendo DS original while adding new and enjoyable content. Tom East of Official Nintendo Magazine liked the implementation of the Wii's controls, saying that the game played to the console's strengths. General opinion was positive about the implementation of the Wii motion controls, and how this improved on the control scheme and difficulty of the Nintendo DS original. A contrasting opinion was Metts, who found the controls unreliable for some functions such as activating the Healing Touch. The story was seen as either good or serviceable, with many noting its melodramatic tone and simplistic delivery. The presentation was also praised despite its simplistic style. A lack of widescreen support was a recurring criticism from Western reviewers. Difficulty spikes were also criticised by multiple outlets.