Comedy and Tragedy

"One life for another"

- The Masked Men

Comedy and Tragedy, also refered to as The Masked Men are two supporting antagonists on the indie action-platformer game Katana Zero, who will often appear to warn Zero about a choice of life an death he is going to make in the future. Despite appearing as hallucinations on our character's withdrawals, we soon realize that they can interact with the real world for their egregious motives, remaining on what they truly are a complete mistery.

Background
Little to none is known about the masked men, wether who they truly are or where are they from.

Some people theorize that they are part of the government's NULL project, which utilized super soldiers powered by a drug named Chronos, which could give the user the ability to slow time and have precognition.

However, thanks to the Psychiatrist boss fight on the secret ending, it is revealed that also exists a drug who could give the user the ability to enter other one's psyche, giving some sort of psychokinesis, which these characters possess.

Events in the Game
The first time we could see the first of the masked men is very secretly on the Murdower Hotel.

When starting the mission, we can see a man sitting on a couch and reading a newspaper on the hotel lobby. After killing Josh Rose and ending the mission, the man is gone.

This event seems to have no importance until we realize tthat this man was in fact, Tragedy, spying on Zero on his dire mission.

Poisoned Slumber
"In three days, we're gonna meet again and you're gonna have to pick life or death. But remember - whichever one you choose, we're gonna take away the other!"

- Comedy The first time we have complete sight of them is after fighting V on the Studio 51 mission. After having a conversation with the Little Girl and drinking the daily herbal tea, both Comedy and Tragedy are going to appear in front of a paralized Zero, telling him that they drugged the tea. They warn Zero about a choice of 'Life and Death he is going to make in three days, but Comedy takes every moment to mock Zero and taking fun about his paternal feelings on the Little Girl, telling him that he didn't know the killer had a conscience. Having telling him, they dissappear and are not seen until the climax of the game.

Life or Death
"The golden moon casteth wide its brilliant smile upon the altar of thy ablution. Thy baptism of blood draws nigh."

- Tragedy At the end of Chinatown mission, Zero finds himself surrounded by the S.W.A.T team of New Mecca government. With no chance of escape, he is abrumptly saved by the Masked Men, who slowed his perception of time to draw upon him the final decision of life and death. After a brief talk with them, the player can wether choose the two options for two different endings.

If the players chooses death, Tragedy will tell him that he now bears the Golden Mask of Life who formerly was Comedie's. He wishes Zero to find peace in death, and returns his perception of time to normal. Zero is then shoot to death by th S.W.A.T team, ending the game.

If the player chooses life, Tragedy tells him that he now bears the Silver Mask of Death, and warns him that keeping him alive will only do harm to the people around him. After a moment of deep thought, Comedy laughs and shows excitement for what they're going to do, as they turn the perception of time to normal and kill the entire S.W.A.T with Psychokinetic powers, giving Zero a chance to escape.

The Vanishing
Merely at the end of the game, after killing the Psychiatrist and Headhunter, Zero returns to his appartment to find a police crime scene were the man next door was murdered, with his appartment and Zero's having break in. When he enters his appartment, he finds an strange note by an anonymous writter.

Zero asks about Tenant's daughter, The Little Girl that lived with him, but both the police and the owner of the place tells him that there were no kids living there, as she never existed.

After the credits scene, we see that The Little Girl was actually kidnapped by both Tragedy and Comedy, with his fate standing unknown.

Personality
Comedy and Tragedy have personalities so similar and yet so distinctive of each other.

Tragedy is excessively melodramatic, always talking in riddles with an old English dialect. He serves as the 'voice of reason' of the two, as he is the only one which can be barely reasoned with.

Comedy, on the other hand, is extremely vulgar and cruel. His dialect is more frank, but he seems to take joy on taunting his targets, frankly insulting them and taking every moment to mock on every single aspect of their lifes. He even gives Zero clear that the only reason why he personally is doing this to him is because he likes and enjoys it.

Wether by his ties to Chronos, the mass murders or simply because they like it, his actual motives for only targeting Zero remains unknown.