Radiant Historia

Radiant Historia
North American game cover
Developer(s)	Atlus
Publisher(s)	Atlus
Director(s)	Mitsuru Hirata
Designer(s)	Hiroshi Konishi (Character Designer) Satoshi Takayashiki (World Designer)
Composer(s)	Yoko Shimomura
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player

Radiant Historia (ラジアントヒストリア, Rajianto Hisutoria) is a role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus for the Nintendo DS. The game's development team mostly consists of Atlus staff who previously worked on Megami Tensei games like Persona 3, Strange Journey, Nocturne and the Etrian Odyssey series. The development team also includes other members who had previously worked on Radiata Stories. The game was released on November 3, 2010 in Japan, and in North America on February 22, 2011.

Gameplay

Time travel

The game gives a unique take on the concept of non-linear branching storylines, which it combines with the concepts of time travel and parallel universes, similar to the Chrono series. Radiant Historia takes it much further by giving players the freedom to travel backwards and forwards through a timeline to alter the course of history, with each of their choices and actions having a major impact on the timeline. The player can return to certain points in history and live through certain events again to make different choices and see different possible outcomes on the timeline.

The player will be using the ability to travel through time and space throughout the game. The player will be changing the past to create a “true” future, and the game has the player travel through time and space as the player switches between parallel worlds. The game has many possible parallel endings.

Combat

The enemies are visible on the fields before an engagement and the player may choose to fight or avoid them in open combat. A battle begins when the party comes into contact with the enemies, or if a story event initiates a confrontation.

The battle system makes use of a positioning system called the 'Grid System'. Enemies are placed on a 3 x 3 grid, with each enemy standing in a single slot, except for some large enemies spanning multiple slots. If the player attacks an enemy who is in a grid space near the attacking character, the enemy will incur greater damage. However, the player will also be open to greater damage.

Some attacks can move enemies around the grid, stacking them on the same slot until an enemy's turn comes and consecutive attacks on this group of enemies hit all of them. Despite being a turn-based combat system each member of the party can switch turns with the others and even with enemies, giving more freedom to the player to perform combos and deal further damage to enemies, but having its risks too, as a party member who switches turns become more vulnerable until becoming able to move again.

Plot

Setting

The game takes place on the Continent of Vainqueur, a land which had in the past been the seat of a great old empire. However, the old empire had misused the power of flux, creating weapons which drained life out of living things. After some great calamity, the center of the continent was turned into a desert and all the bastions of the old empire reduced to ruins. The last remaining members of the old empire fled North to what became the kingdom of Granorg, where they were able to slow and sometimes stop, the desertification of the rest of the continent. This was accomplished through a ritual only the royal family could perform, where one royal sacrificed another to temporarily stop the desert from advancing. Native to the continent are two races of Beastkind, the wiry Satyros, who have a greater connection to the power of flux than humans do. And the Guthrals, who despite being large and reminiscent of great apes, are intelligent and peaceful.

When the story starts, the continent is effectively governed by five powers, in the North, Granorg is at war with Alistel. Granorg has superior numbers, but cannot outright defeat Alistel because of the latter's use of Taumatech, which among other things, lets them field soldiers armed with suits of mechanical armor. Also on the Northern half of the continent is Celestia, the homeland of the Satyros, whose connection to flux allows them to use magic to defend themselves in a way humans cannot match. To the south is Cygnus, a human nation made of refugees of the desertification, whose primary defense is the desert itself, which the armies of Alistel and Granorg cannot cross in number. Finally, occupying the South-East, in the last wild jungles on the continent, is Forgia, homeland of the Guthrals.

Story

On the continent of Vainqueur, a land of man and beasts, the holy nation of the East, Alistel is in a state of war with Granorg, a massive country to the West that is ruled harshly by Queen Protea. Alistel's land is slowly turning to desert while a strange disease is turning its people into sand, known as the "Sand Plague". The ruler of Alistel, Noah, insists this worldwide disease is the result of Protea's evil government. The people of Alistel thus believe they are fighting a holy war against Granorg.

One day, Stocke, an agent with the intelligence agency of Alistel and his subordinates are sent into Granorg territory to rescue a secret agent who was captured by the government of Granorg. After saving the agent, the group find themselves surrounded by the Granorg army, and Stocke is severely wounded. He awakens in Historia, a world where time and space are warped. There, two mysterious children give him the ability to travel through time and space. He is told the world needs his power.

After using this new power to travel through time to avoid defeat, Stocke is given a choice: continue working under Heiss in the intelligence division, or join his friend Rosch's unit within the military. Each choice creates a timeline and each timeline has its own separate story, which nonetheless relates to the other one. Stocke is often forced to move between timelines to acquire skills and information he would not otherwise have access to, in order to avoid disasters, ambushes or simply to position himself properly to take advantage of his enemies or friends.

Under Heiss, Stocke is sent to Granorg to assassinate princess Eruca. He only manages to enter the city by pretending to be part of a group of traveling entertainers, most of whom are Satyros, one of the native beastmen races of the continent. Among them are Aht, a nine-year0old shaman who for better or worse, begins idolizing Stocke and using her abilities to protect him. Once he arrives in Granorg, he discovers that the princess knew he would be coming, and moreover, had not informed anyone else. Stocke learns that Eruca is the de-facto leader of the resistance against her step-mother's reign, and is therefore more an asset to Alistel's war on Granorg than an enemy. He refrains from carrying out the assassination, thus securing her support. Oddly enough, he is also aided in this regard by his appearance, which is similar to her late older brother, who was executed by her father for treason. Despite his best intentions, his failure to complete his mission brands him a traitor in Alistel, and general Hugo orders his execution.

In the other timeline, Stocke is assigned to Rosch's unit and deployed to protect Aistel's mines from enemy sabotage, as well as a cavern which is the only root connecting the two mountainous territories of Granorg and Alistel, other than a slim valley protected by the oft-traded Sand Fortress. After successfully defending the mines, Stocke and Rosch are rewarded by general Hugo by promotion, but he also assigns them to the Sand Fortress with a platoon of new recruits. Alistel's second in command, general Raul, assumes this is to remove any possible future political opponents from the city. While at the

Characters

• Stocke (ストック, Sutokku) is a 19-year-old agent who is the pride of the special intelligence agency of the nation of Alistel and the main protagonist of the game. Because of his outstanding talents, he is often entrusted with the most dangerous missions. Although he appears to be unsociable, stoic and often quiet, Stocke is actually very passionate and caring about his subordinates; he would avoid endangering them more than anything else. During his mission to rescue a fellow agent who was fleeing the Granorg military, Stocke's team was surrounded and severely wounded. He later awoke in Historia and was given, by a pair of mysterious children, the ability to travel through time and space.

• Raynie (レイニー, Reinī) is a 17-year-old female agent with the intelligence agency of the nation of Alistel, and Stocke's subordinate. Raynie was once a refugee from the desertification, she moved with her parents to Cygnus, but was nonetheless orphaned at a young age. Originally a member of a mercenary group with Marco, Raynie was recruited by Heiss after her group was destroyed. She felt indebted to Heiss, and upon his request became Stocke's subordinate. Raynie is a straightforward person with a strong sense of justice and can be quite honest at times. She excels in the art of spear-fighting and offensive magic.

• Marco (マルコ, Maruko) is a 17-year-old male agent with the intelligence agency of the nation of Alistel and Stocke's subordinate. He has known Raynie since their days as mercenaries, and the two make a rough combination. Along with Raynie, he was recruited into the intelligence agency by Heiss after their mercenary group was destroyed. Marco is very realistic and careful at whatever he does, traits that make him a good partner. He is also skilled with sword-fighting, and excels at defensive magic.

• Rosch (ロッシュ, Rosshu) is a 21-year-old military officer and the captain of Alistel's recruit corp. He is Stocke's best friend from the time that the two used to fight side by side before Stocke joined the special intelligence agency. Rosch always cares about Stocke and offers him advice. Rosch was severely injured in the past and has had to replace one of his arms with a mechanical prosthetic, called a 'Gauntlet', that makes use of Alistel's 'Thaumatech' technology and moves according to his thoughts. Rosch is openhearted and, although stubborn, he is very forgiving. Like Raynie, his weapon of choice is a spear.

• Eruca (エルーカ, Erūka) is the princess of Granorg and is the first heir to the throne, she is the late King Victor's (ヴィクトール, Vikutōru) daughter with his first wife. Eruca is regarded highly by the people of Granorg as opposed to her stepmother, Queen Protea. Eruca is saddened by her stepmother's tyranny. Her distinguishing trait is her beautiful blonde curls. Her weapon of choice is a pistol and she is an expert in holy magic.

• Aht (アト, Ato) is a 9-year-old Satyros. She traveled through many places as a member of a group of entertainers led by Vanoss. Although Aht is not fully aware of it herself, she is a "shaman" of the Satyros. A shaman's special powers are used to guide the souls of the dead. Aht is sometimes selfish like most children her age, and as she is very fond of Stocke, she tends to stubborningly refuse to leave his side. Her weapon of choice is a dagger and she is capable of laying magical traps and performing advanced healing magic.

• Gafka (ガフカ, Gafuka) is a powerful Gutral warrior from Forgia village. After being exiled from his tribe, Gafka lived in Celestia before joining Stocke's party. He fights with his fists, utilising the power of Chi.

Alistel

• Heiss (ハイス, Haisu) is the head of the special intelligence agency of the nation of Alistel. A smart and meticulous man who handles everything in a calm and collected manner, Heiss is cautious and calculating, and also appears to be cruel at times. As a newly created organisation, Heiss' intelligence agency is not formally recognized by Alistel's government, and is instead regarded merely as a facility. However the agency has supplied the government with much critically useful information. He was the one who gave Stocke the White Chronicle.

• Sonja (ソニア, Sonia) is a doctor of the nation of Alistel, and is the central figure in its medical sector. Sonja has been studying "Mana" for a long time and is also very knowledgeable about Thaumatechnology. Sonja is friends with Stocke and Rosch. Although she did not have to, Sonia has always been on the front line with Stocke and Roche, secretly looking after the two as they went on dangerous missions. Sonja has a mature and strong personality.

• Kiel (キール, Kīru) is a non-commissioned officer of Rosch's recruit corp. Rosch often tells Kiel how much he respected Stocke as a great fencer, which eventually leads Kiel to respect Stocke also. Kiel is very honest and has a positive nature, but often gets ahead of himself. Although good at ceremonial sword dancing, Kiel himself is not combat oriented.

• Hugo (ヒューゴ, Hyugo) is Alistel's commander in chief, he is known for passing the words of Alistel's supreme leader, Prophet Noah, to the people, after he stopped appearing to the public in person, years before. A man known for being very aggressive in politics, always scheming against those who can pose as a threat to his position.

• Raul (ラウル, Rauru) is a Lt. General in Alistel's military and Rosch's superior. A man known as a brilliant strategist, but likes to keep himself from the public because of Hugo's political schemes.

• Viola (ビオラ, Viora) is Field Marshal of Alistel's military, known as "The Valkyrie". Seen as a heroine by the people, she was relocated by Hugo to the border outpost of Sand Fortress in order to keep her out of the capital in fear of her popularity.

• Fennel (フェンネル, Fenneru) is Alistel's lead Thaumatech developer, and the brains behind the country's technological superiority.

Granorg

• Protea (プロテア, Purotea) is the queen of the massive nation of Granorg who is known for her selfishness and tyranny throughout the land. She was originally a commoner until the late King Victor married her. After King Victor's assassination, Protea succeeded the throne to become queen. She is accused by Alistel's General Hugo to be what the Prophet Noah sees as the cause of the world's desertification and the mysterious "Sand Plague." She is Princess Eruca's stepmother.

• Selvan (セルバン, Seruban) is the leader of the Granorg Assembly, and essentially Prime Minister of Granorg. While ostensibly working for the Queen, he is, in actuality, the de facto ruler of the country.

• Dias (ディアス, Diasu) is the Court Knight of Granorg, General of its armies and Selvan's close friend. He is a brilliant battlefield commander and a devious opponent.

Historia

• Teo (ティオ, Tio) & Lippti (リプティ, Riputi) are the mysterious twins Stocke encounters in Historia. They give him the ability to travel through time and space and tell him the world is in need of his power. Although they appear to be young, Teo and Lippti's wisdom suggests otherwise.

Development

A Japanese trademark for the game's name was known to have existed as far back as March 2010. At that point, nothing was known about the game except its name. It was not until July 2010 that an issue of Famitsu revealed it to be a role-playing game for the Nintendo DS that involved time-travel. It was later revealed to involve many staff members who have worked on the Shin Megami Tensei series, and members of tri-Ace, makers of the similarly named Radiata Stories.

Audio

The music of Radiant Historia is composed by Yoko Shimomura, who is best known for her works for Super Mario RPG, Legend of Mana and the Kingdom Hearts series. The ending theme "-HISTORIA-" is sung by Haruka Shimotsuki.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	85.43%
Metacritic	86 of 100
GameStats	9.0 of 10

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	B+
Eurogamer	9 of 10
Famitsu	34 of 40
G4	4 of 5
Game Informer	8.75 of 10
GameSpot	8 of 10
IGN	8.5 of 10
Nintendo World Report	9 of 10
AV Club	A-
Game Vortex	95%
Gaming Nexus	A
RPGFan	91%
Snackbar-Games	5 of 5
Wired
ZTGameDomain	9.3 of 10

Radiant Historia has received mostly positive critical reception. 1UP's Jeremy Parish gave the game a B+ score, describing it is "easily the most original of this month's slate of RPGs" and an "engaging role-playing game that deserves a chance", while praising the game's protagonist Stocke, saying "while he does indeed come off as a stock character at first impression...he quickly develops into something much more interesting." Shiva Stella of GameSpot praised the game's time travel aspect, calling it "exciting" and "inventive"; she then concludes Radiant Historia is "an innovative adventure that is sure to stand the test of time."

IGN has given the game 8.5 out of 10, praising the game's graphics, time travel aspect, innovative gameplay and involving story and music which they called "beautiful". Neal Chandran of RPGFan gave the game a score of 91%, describing it as "one of the best Japanese RPGs I've played in years." Jason Schreier of Wired gave the game a score of 9 stars out of 10, concluding "Atlus has created the perfect blend of innovation and tradition." Matt Peckham of PC World praised the game's nonlinear multidimensional concept which allows the game to be played differently by travelling to a decision point and choosing another path, in contrast to "BioWare-style head pats, where whatever you choose, the game plays out more or less as it would have anyway." The non-linear time travel system of Radiant Historia has been compared to later RPGs such as the PlayStation Portable version of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and more recently Final Fantasy XIII-2.

External links

• Official website Template:Ja icon
• Official website Template:En icon