Isolde Itou
Isolde "Isa" Itou is one of the main characters in SIGNALIS. She is referred to as "Isa" throughout the game.
Isa's General Information[edit]
Isa is a Gestalt from the planet of Vineta who interacts with Elster throughout the game. She, much like Elster, is looking for someone; in her case, her sister, Erika Itou.
She was once one of the many Gestalts that lived on Rotfront. In Rotfront Sektor C, she was employed as an assistant in her parent's book store.
Events throughout the Game[edit]
The very first time we see Isa is during the Intro cutscene, where we see her slicing her hand above a ritual of sorts, but only for a few frames.
We first meet Isa at the start of the game. Upon reaching the Sierpinski Facility's library to discover the safe code, Elster will find her. After finishing one of the corrupted Replikas[2] in the installation with a knife, she will have a short conversation with Elster:
"Oh Hello"
"You don’t belong here either, do you?"
"I'm Isa, Isa Itou"
"You should be careful. There is something wrong with this place."
"I don’t know what happened, but it is probably dangerous to go any further"
Elster "…"
"That's okay. I understand."
"I have something I need to do too."
"Take care."
"I hope you find who you're looking for."
Searching in the room, we can find Isa's note to Erika which states:
"Erika, if you find this note, despite everything that's happened. I've come to look for you"[3]
Elster can encounter Isa again if she takes the elevator to up to Floor 1 at the end of Personell. Speaking with her she says the following:
"Ah, It's you again! I'm glad you're still okay. Have you found what you're looking for? I'm looking for someone too. My sister… If you see her, could you tell her I'm looking for her? Don’t worry, you'll recognize her when you see her"
"Have you ever wondered if you're speaking to someone for the last time without knowing? I wish I could go back, so I could say something else"
"This place… is very strange, isn't it? I wonder what happened here, but it doesn’t really matter."
"You don't need to worry about me, I can take care of myself now. I cant keep relying on others. That's why she left me after all, I'm sure of that now"
As Elster continues she will eventually be pushed down an Elevator by Adler. Following this, a memory of Isa's is displayed, showing her earlier years in school with her sister. She wakes after class and heads to inspect the library to find her sister, only to catch a glimpse of Ariane being bullied by the other Gestalt students. During this we get many pieces of dialogue from her perspective:
" I must have fallen asleep while waiting for Erika."
"Did she already go home without me?"
"We wanted to get some books from the library together."
"I should check if she's still there."
Upon examining the Chalkboard:
"It's empty. The Eule always wipes it before I can get down all my notes, so I have to copy Erika's." "I'm glad we are in the same class, even if it confuses the teachers."
Later on, after descending down a hole into the Lower Star Dorm, the player will be able to watch a cutscene where Isa meets Adler. In this cutscene, she states the following:
Isa: "Hello?"
Isa: "Is anyone here? I'm looking for my sister!"
Adler: "I'm afraid the Commander wont receive any visitors at the moment"
Adler: "but perhaps I can be of assistance instead"
Isa: "Who are you?"
Adler: "I'm the administrator of this facility."
Adler: "Please, there is no reason to be afraid."
Adler: "I'm just here to help."
Following the cutscene, she runs away, and we do not see her until a later cutscene that plays at the start of the Mines. This cutscene shows Isa being hunted by Adler with a rifle. She hides behind one of the mine's support beams while Adler speaks, saying that he has done this several times and that Isa does not belong there, only to be ambushed by Isa from behind, stabbing him in the eye before pushing him into a hole.
We see her again in the 'Nowhere' section. After jumping into the pulsating grotesque hole of flesh, the player can find Isa being nearly killed by a large creature with several limbs. The creature shifts its focus to Elster instead, giving Isa time to reload the rifle she carries and shoot it down. She falls unconscious due to the recoil.
If Elster finds the small bottle, she can use it to wake up Isa. Upon waking up, she will thank Elster and give her the rifle:
"Ugh… Ah, It's you... Elster... right? Thank you for your help. Did you find who you were looking for yet?"
"Ah, that rifle... I don’t think I want to use it again. You can have it"
"I'm so exhausted, I feel sick"
"Its hard to breath. The air in this place feels thick, like you could bite it."
"It's like there's a fog in my head. I need a moment to rest."
Advancing to chapter 3, before reaching Rotfront, a brief cutscene will display Isa's state, shocked and afraid of her hand as she looks herself in the mirror. She's suffered more wounds and possibly lost her eye, her fingers corrupting quickly. Entering the Itous' family store will reveal one last cutscene. Isa is simply seen hopeless, her arms rusted and spreading through her body as she apologizes to Elster, explaining that 'She couldn't find her' and that 'She is not here anymore', referring to her sister. She reaches out to Elster before melting into the floor:
"I couldn't find her…"
"I've looked everywhere"
"but she's not here anymore"
"I can't go on"
"I'm sorry…"
Trivia[edit]
- Once Isa succumbs to the sickness, the player can find a shrine with Isa's and Erika's pictures on it. It implies that not only Erika was dead before Isa even began searching for her, but that Isa has been dead since before Ariane left on the Penrose mission.
- Isa's clothing and wounds gradually change, from being near pristine and with barely any scars, to several cuts, her clothing ragged, her eye missing and blood all over her body and clothing.
Theory[edit]
The King in Yellow and the Ritual[edit]
The first time we see Isa is her doing the Ritual. This, combined with theories and knowledge regarding the King in Yellow, conveys that she at least played a part in the corruption of the facility in order to find her sister.
The King in Yellow also plays a part in that there are several parts of the game where Elster acquires Isa's memories. This blending can be seen as indicative of the King's abilities to cause people to assume roles of characters, with Isa's role being similar to Elster's, thus their slow merging over the events of the game.
If these are to be believed, then Isa's death at the end of the game would likely have weakened the Ritual, or, at the very least, made it easier to influence, as one of it's users no longer lived.
Circular Fate[edit]
The fate of Isa is something that is rather confusing to many, as she dies before our eyes yet it is implied she has long been dead. A possible answer is that her death is circular. Much like the acquisition of Armor for Elster, there are some events in Signalis that don't seem to follow the normal flow of time. If this is to be believed, then Isa doing the ritual caused her to disappear from normal reality, and thus be assumed dead, but by completing her time within the Ritual she learns she is dead on the outside and thus dies within.
Essentially her true death is the one we see, but that death is the one that they are mourning long before it happens due to the time distortion associated with the King and the Ritual.
A similar story can be seen within Chamber's King in Yellow, where a character's return to normal time is interpreted as his death. [4]
Tarot[edit]
Isa's Journey can be seen as reflective of the first six cards of the Tarot:
- 1st-Magician-When we meet her “You are unique and have special skills” or a beginning of a journey (this can really apply to anyone so easy match)
- 2nd-High Priestess-Listen to your inner voice, inner awareness. Isa’s memory cutscene. “When it arrives stop looking for answers outside and look inside” the fact that no one in S-23 has answers and only by accepting Erika is gone can she actually find peace.
- 3rd-Empress-3rd time we see Isa she is trying to speak to Falke
- 4th-Emperor-4th time she is running from Adler
- 5th-Hierophant-is about finding answers from “Spirtual” means or perhaps means from outside normal reality. Which easily points to the Chimera and nowhere
- 6th-Lovers-Lovers isn’t just about Romantic Love but also Sisterly love, Isas story ends with her succumbing to her corruption upon learning of her sisters fate. She loved her sister so much that the news was too much for her to handle and she decayed.
Gallery[edit]
Isa Itou profile picture from JP SIGNALIS Switch pre-order wearing her in-game clothes.
Isolde Itou photo, from game files.
Isa on the library.
Part of the cutscene of the mine section with Adler.
Isa before melting.
Shrine on the Itou store.
Part of the Itou Store cutscene.
Part of the Itou Store cutscene.
Concept Art.
