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.[1][2][3] Second Opinion is a remake of Trauma Center: Under the Knife for the Nintendo DS.[4] Players take on the roles of original protagonist Derek Stiles and new character Naomi Kimishima. The two are surgeons with a mystical ability called the Healing Touch.[5] Each operation tasks players with curing the patient of their ailment within a time limit.[4] Missions can be played on different difficulty settings.[6]
Surgery takes place from a first-person view.[2] Operations range from treating surface wounds and extraction operations—carried over from the original—to new operations including organ transplants and repairing broken bones.[7] Different surgical tools are required for different operations and injuries; players may need to drain blood pools obstructing the operating area, use a surgical laser to treat small tumors or boils, forceps to close wounds, and sutures to sew up both wounds and incisions. The player must frequently apply antibiotic gel to treat minor injuries and prevent infection.[2][4] Actions during surgery are guided using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The Wii Remote is used for many actions including stitching up wounds and using the scalpel, filling the role of the stylus from the Nintendo DS original.[4][8] New operating tools are selected from a radial options menu using the Nunchuk's control stick.[8] Functions such as the forceps and defibrillator require using both controls in tandem.[7]
Players can activate each character's Healing Touch by drawing a star on-screen using the Wii Remote.[9] Using the Healing Touch during gameplay generates different effects depending on its user; Stiles can stop time, while Kimishima can replenish a patient's health with each successful action.[5] Some operations include environmental hazards, such as one level where an operation takes place on a plane, with vibration caused by turbulence.[10] Levels are cleared when the patient is saved, and lost if the patient's heart rate drops to zero or the time limit runs out.[4][7] At the end of each operation, the player is graded on time taken and the precision of movement.[2]
