Image via Spike Chunsoft
AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative is a visual novel that features some unusual puzzles, most of them accessed via the Psync machine. Figuring out how to complete Chikara’s Psync is one of the first big challenges in the game and introduces the strange dream logic that many of the puzzles rely upon. If you’re struggling to adjust to this unusual mechanic, here is everything you need to know to complete Chikara’s Psync in AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative.
AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative: How to complete Chikara’s Psync
Screenshot by Gamepur
As soon as the Psync begins, Toma will explain some of the new mechanics at play in this Psync. It seems that Chikara has some memories he doesn’t want anyone to spot, so he’s put up some substantial mental defenses. Getting around them is going to be the real challenge for Toma and Ryuki here.
The first thing you need to do is attempt to access the console that Chikara used in the cutscene. It is unhelpfully without power, so you’ll need to head into the blue door to restore power to the console. Inside that door is half a stone statue. Interacting with it will activate it and restore power to the console in the first room. That completes the first section of the Psync and unveils a new objective: Activate the Right Front Temporal Lobe statue.
Screenshot by Gamepur
The next statue is far out of reach, so you need to return to the console and use it to give yourself a new set of skills by combining the skills of two seemingly random titles. The first options include Maasai Warrior and Fisherman, for example. Choose the Maasai Warrior from the Left Brain Function options and Astronaut from the Right Brain Function list. This might not make immediate sense, but it will in a moment.
Screenshot by Gamepur
By combining the Maasai Warrior’s jumping ability with the Astronaut’s ability to go up into space, it allows you to access the next section of Chikara’s Psync. Activate the next stone statue, which will open up the path back to the first room. Go into the green door and walk back to the console.
The next path requires Toma to drive a race car through a track filled with traps. Naturally, you want to choose Racer for the Left Brain Function. For the Right Brain Function, pick Archaeologist. Apparently, their experience with Archaeology is limited to Indiana Jones movies, because this is intended to give Toma the split-second decision-making ability she’ll need to complete Chikara’s Psync in AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative.
Screenshot by Gamepur
Head back into the green door and walk up to the race car. Interact with it and watch the action-packed cutscene for a moment. When Toma finishes driving to the next area, interact with the statue in the new room. This will unlock the second mental lock and give you the next objective for the Psync.
Head back to the main room. Walk toward the console and Chikara himself will show up to stop you. He’ll give himself new powers with the console and remove half the room, cutting you off from your objective. Walk back to the console and select Fisherman for the Left Brain Function and the newly available Gambler for the Right Brain Function. This will give Toma superhuman luck, apparently, along with the ability to cast a line a great distance. Using this, you can bring the rest of the room back to you, complete with Chikara in tow.
There is a new statue to activate; this one simply has Chikara’s face taped to the top. Interact with it to activate it. This will unlock the third Mental Lock, leaving just Uncovering Chikara’s Secret to complete the Psync.
Screenshot by Gamepur
Walk back to the console. You are tasked with finding a way to create an “undying and ageless warrior” so select Maasai Warrior for the Left Brain Function and Chikara for the Right Brain Function. Remember that this is all in Chikara’s subconscious so it makes sense that he would have a high opinion of himself.
Walk to the Instant Death statue that has been blocking your path to Chikara’s memories. A brief cutscene will ensue which will show off Toma’s sweet new combat skills. Afterward, head into the room behind it. Activate the statue inside. The results are rather cryptic for now, but the next step will explain how it all fits together.
To finally complete Chikara’s Psync in AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative, head back to the main room and interact with the console one more time. Select NA for the Left Brain Function and IX for the Right Brain Function. This time, instead of bestowing new powers onto Toma, it will summon someone in a hoodie that says Naixatloz on the back. This will complete the final Mental Lock. With that, you’ll finally be finished with Chikara’s Psync in AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative.
There are plenty of other puzzles to complete throughout the game that can prove a challenge to new and returning fans of the AI: The Somnium Files series, including finding the keypad code in Tokiko’s office a little later in the game.