Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
North American box art
Developer(s)	Namco Bandai Games Tri-Crescendo
Publisher(s)	JP Namco Bandai Games NA Xseed Games PAL Rising Star Games
Director(s)	Kentarō Kawashima
Producer(s)	Kentarō Kawashima
Designer(s)	Kentarō Kawashima Tomoni Tagawa
Artist(s)	Keiko Harada
Writer(s)	Kentarō Kawashima Gingitsune
Composer(s)	Riei Saitō
Platform(s)	Wii
Release date(s)	JP January 22, 2009 NA March 16, 2010 PAL March 19, 2010
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ACB: PG CERO: A ESRB: T PEGI: 7

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (フラジール ～さよなら月の廃墟～, Furajīru: Sayonara Tsuki no Haikyo) is a role-playing video game for the Wii developed by Namco Bandai Games in co-operation with Tri-Crescendo. The game was released by Namco Bandai Games in Japan on January 22, 2009. It was later published by Xseed Games in North America on March 16, 2010, and in Europe by Rising Star Games on March 19, 2010.

Gameplay

The player character, Seto, wanders the world, searching for survivors and the answers behind the disappearance of everyone else, most of humanity itself. Seto also searches for a mysterious girl named "Ren." In his quest he must deal with ghosts that lurk within the ruins of the abandoned cities. Despite this, the producer of the game insists that Fragile Dreams is not a survival horror, rather it will focus on "human drama".

The world of Fragile Dreams will be filled with objects, sketches and short stories for the player to examine. Each artifact holds the memories of its former owner, and offers back story and hints to the player. A competition was held where readers of gaming magazines sent in their own sketches and short stories for inclusion in the game.

The Wii Remote is used as an aid in exploration. Seto has access to a flashlight, controlled by the Wii Remote, to illuminate his surroundings as well to solve puzzles and interact with the environment. The flashlight can also uncover hidden enemies which can be detected by pointing the flashlight in their direction and their sounds are picked up through the mini speaker.

Seto is moved with the Wii Nunchuck. Tilting slowly will make him creep around (this is normally used to avoid falling in heavily damaged floors). Pressing the C button on the nunchuck will make him crouch. Crouching helps him crawl into tight spaces and move across somewhat damaged floors.

Looking around, the player will need to press the B button sometimes to go into first person, while pressing A while doing so will zoom in on where the character is looking.

Some of the objects the player finds can be used as weapons.

Plot

Fragile Dreams is set in a post-apocalyptic near future Earth. Almost all the world's population has vanished, and the cities have been left abandoned. The game drops the player in the worn shoes of Seto, a young boy. In the game's opening, Seto narrates how his "grandfather," an old man that he lived with, died at the end of the summer. He buries his grandfather in a small hole in front of their house, and from that moment on he became truly alone. Seto decided to set out in search for other survivors in the ruins of Tokyo, marking the beginning of the game's events.

Story

The game starts with Seto, a 15 year old boy and main protagonist of the game, talking about how he lived with an old man and how he died at the end of summer. He talks about burying him in a shallow grave outside their house, and how even after all the years have past, he didn't know his name. As the game begins, The player is set in an old observatory at night and given basic tutorials about observing the environment and movement. He opens the dome to let in more moonlight and finds a flashlight. More instructions are given and Seto enters the study of the observatory. He finds a letter from the old man presumed to be his grandfather, along with a strange blue stone. After reading the letter, an unknown creature, assumed to be a ghost or demon, appears out of thin air and attempts to kill Seto. The player is now given instructions about combat. After defeating the creature, Seto sets out for a red tower to the east written in the old man's letter, claiming that there may be other survivors like him there.

Characters

• Seto: A fifteen-year-old boy. After the old man he lives with passes away, Seto travels alone searching for survivors like himself somewhere in the world, with his only clue being in the letter the old man left him. In the English version, he is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch. In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Hoko Kuwashima.
• Ren: A silver-haired girl whom Seto first encounters sitting on a lurching steel frame, singing beneath the moonlight. Walking in the ruins, playfully drawing large, cryptic drawings, looking for treasure, meeting with cats, Ren dreams of meeting another human. In the English version, she is voiced by Danielle Judovits. In the Japanese version, she is voiced by Miku Yoshikawa.
• Sai: The bodiless consciousness of an young woman wandering the ruins. Despite her friendly acquaintanceship (and soon friendship) with Seto, she has a connection to what brought about humanity's demise. In the English version, she is voiced by Karen Strassman. In the Japanese version, she is voiced by Ryo Hirohashi.
• Crow: An amnesiac boy. He refuses to despair, remaining cheerful, mischievous and straightforward. In order to find his birthplace, he relys on only a single photo. Though he and Seto go on a rocky start, they soon become friends. He is voiced by Steve Staley in the English version and by Mie Sonozaki in the Japanese version.
• Personal Frame (P.F.): A portable computer that Seto carries on his back and helps guide him. Having been alone for a long time, waiting for someone to come, she was happy when Seto suddenly showed up. She loves having conversations more than anything else, and has a duty to serve Seto to her fullest. The English voice is provided by Heather Halley. in the Japanese audio, she is voiced by Umeka Shōji.
• Chiyo: The bodiless consciousness of a little girl. She resides in an old hotel where Seto encounters Sai and refuses them entry to pass. She sets Seto out on a pointless scavenger hunt only to prove Seto truly trusted her selfish demands. She is voiced by Laura Bailey in the English version and Chiwa Saitō in the Japanese version.
• The Merchant: A mysterious man who trades in various goods. Always merry, he collects lots of sparkling things to bring back to his sleeping princess. He is voiced by Dave Wittenberg in the English version and Tomohisa Asō in the Japanese version.
• Shin: The antagonist, he is the AI version of a "genius scientist" whose brilliance has earned him envy from his colleagues. He considers speech to be an inferior means of communication, and intends to wipe out the last remnants of humanity (Seto included) by means of a "project". He is voiced by Sam Riegel in the English version and Toshio Furukawa in the Japanese version.

Development

Fragile Dreams was developed by the team at Namco Bandai Games that was responsible for the PlayStation 2 titles Venus & Braves and Seven. Director and producer Kentarō Kawashima came up with the concept for the game in 2003, before the Wii console was revealed. When the Wii was unveiled, it became the obvious choice as the game's platform as the Wii remote could be used to control the flashlight. Kawashima wrote the main scenario for the title, with the rest of the events being handled by sub-scenario writer Gingitsune. Additionally, Fragile Dreams includes 22 short stories conceived by 19 different writers, some of which were fans of the game. The sound of the title was carefully designed to coincide with the game's environments. The game's music, composed by Riei Saitō, was built around the game's ruined atmosphere. The theme song and ending theme, "Hikari" (光, "light") and "Tsuki no Nukumori" (月のぬくもり, "the moon's warmth") respectively, were performed by Aoi Teshima.

In an interview with IGN concerning the English localization of the game, Xseed stated that they will attempt to give players a dual-language option in addition to new content for the North American release. Fragile Dreams did indeed contain both dubs. Actual game content will not be changed, as Xseed aims to "keep the original creator’s vision intact as much as possible."

Reception

Fragile Dreams sold 26,055 copies during its week of release in Japan, making it the 2nd best-selling game of the week.

On Metacritic the game currently has a score of 67%, based on 41 reviews. The substantial amount of criticism came from the game's gameplay, with many reviews stating the game had style over substance. Matt Casamassina from IGN awarded the game a score of 6.7 out of 10, stating "Fragile Dreams is a great example of a spectacular concept whose execution could have used a little more thought and time." Eurogamer echoed IGN's sentiments, noting "Fragile Dreams fails to match its ambition with its systems and imagination." Japanese Magazine Famitsu awarded the game a score of 31 out of 40.

GameZone's Michael Lafferty gave the game a much more positive write up, stating "While the story is intriguing, what really brings this game home are the beautiful graphics and amazing audio. The emotional elements – like a haunting loneliness that pervades the world, the despair resonating in the voices of the characters – are clearly in place and Fragile Dreams' development team, Tri-Crescendo, has found the right mix for a game that is truly a wonderful experience." Adding, "Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon is a game that goes beyond genre descriptions, creating an experience that is remarkable." Dylan Snyder of Gamer Limit agreed, awarding the game a score of 9 out of 10.

Bitmob writer Jasmine Rea called the game an "experience rather than a game" and cited that it had an emotional impact similar to that of Isao Takahata's adaptation of Akiyuki Nosaka's novel Grave of the Fireflies.

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Official website