Dec 18, 2025
Author's Commentary #657:
Time to talk about Chapter 657: Anything but Giuoco.
This one's a treat as it's essentially a volume-exclusive game getting ported over to the original. Technically, it will be considered to have appeared here first before the chapter containing the game appears in Volume 3, not to mention, the context of the games will be completely different.
Here, it's pretty much a random insert, while as in Volume 3, the game takes place during the London arc. That being said, the dialogue is about 99% similar to it's Volume 3 equivalent.
Speaking of the game, I think this might be the first to feature an Evans Gambit. I could be wrong, but to be fair, it's hard to remember over 368 games across 657 chapters. I was going to consider trying to play the bots for a shorter game, but this one really stood out to me, so I toughed it out and wrote for it. And I gotta say, I'm really glad I did.
I've always wanted to showcase Vittoria when she plays at her best, and this game certainly gives us some good thrills. Dare I say it's one of my favorite Mimoko games, though that might just be spur of the moment recency bias speaking. That doesn't diminish the game's value though as it's action-packed from start to finish, with Vittoria getting outplayed by Mimoko. It's ironic she hates playing well against those she deems significantly weaker than her, as those are the ones that would most likely fall for her daring gambits.
One final thing to note is that since this is essentially a bonus chapter for this version of the story, Vittoria probably won't be popping up anymore in this Season. Of course, I could always change my mind and have her play a central role here.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
