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Resonance of Fate

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Resonance of Fate
European cover art
Developer(s)tri-Ace
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Takayuki Suguro[4]
Writer(s)Masaki Norimoto[4]
Composer(s)Motoi Sakuraba[4]
Kōhei Tanaka[4]
EngineASKA Engine (proprietary)[5]
Platform(s)PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)Role-playing game

Resonance of Fate, known in Japan as End of Eternity (エンド オブ エタニティ, Endo Obu Etaniti), is a console role-playing game developed by tri-Ace and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released on January 28, 2010 in Japan,[1] on March 16, 2010 in North America[2] and on March 26, 2010 in Europe.[3]

Plot

Setting

Resonance of Fate takes place in the distant future where Earth has undergone a drastic change in the environment. For reasons unknown, poisonous layers of gases permeated the land, causing cancer, which resulted in near extinction for mankind due to humanity's inability to adapt to the new changes. The remaining humans built a gigantic device called Basel, an environment purifier buried deep in the ground, which cleanses the air in the surrounding land; it was called the Zenith System. Civilization began to reform around Basel itself, building a city around the tower.[6] In order to overcome the cancer, human lives were tied to quartz and linked to the Zenith system, making them immune to disease and mutation, but requiring them to remain in the city, and giving them a set shelf-life.

Civilization gradually began to grow around Basel, with people eventually moving inside the machine itself and building up the core, raising it high above the planet’s surface. As centuries went on, people built levels around the core and established various towns, cities, and even theme parks and landmarks for the survivors to enjoy themselves. However, Basel has now existed so long that people have forgotten why they live there, or that there is even a world outside Basel.[7] The Cardinals, who are the political/religious leaders that foster a worship of Basel and its machinery, built their luxurious mansions in the uppermost layers of Basel, in the monster-free “Chandelier”, while the lower classes reside among the many districts built around the base and stem of the tower.

Story

Resonance of Fate begins countless years after the move to the tower of Basel. Prelate Frieda dreams of a world where people could live free of their quartz, and enjoy a life on their own terms. She pushed for the idea of a world where people would control their own destiny. Because of this preaching, she attracted the cardinals as followers, with Cardinal Rowen as her closest friend and follower. Her ideas were appealing to people, but also radical, and she was unfortunately killed.

The death of Prelate Frieda drove Cardinal Rowen into a state of despair. He wanted to bring her back, as he loved her dearly. He discovered the truth of Zenith, and its powers over life and death, and wanted to exploit them to bring her back. He commissioned Sullivan to find a way to do this, and the experiments began at Aetersyl. They found 20 children, and began using the quartz to experiment on their lifespans and see the effects it had, ultimately setting their quartz to cause them to expire on a certain birthday.

However, Juris, who was in charge of the experiment, took a liking to subject #20, Leanne, and began to feel guilty over what they had done to the children. Juris decided to help Leanne escape Aetersyl, but was confronted by Rowen, who eventually allowed Leanne to leave despite his initial objections. Before leaving, Leanne learned of her expiration date from Juris' notebook.

With the disease ravaging humanity, some people were left outside to die. Some of them developed mutations to allow them to not only beat off the disease, but become incredibly strong and able to survive in this environment. They became effectively immortal and they hated Basel and the Zenith system for abandoning them. Rebecca, a human who lives outside of Basel, attacked the city because of this fury, and slaughtered many of the people, until she got to Vashyron.

Vashyron was a "Knight of Zenith", a person blessed by the Zenith system. When she attacked him, Zenith struck out against her, breaking her mind as well as saving his life. In this state Sullivan found her, and saw an opportunity. Sullivan dreamed of living outside of Basel, and this test subject would be perfect for his research. If he could copy her traits, he could free people from the place once and for all.

Zephyr was a part of Sullivan's experiment to transfer Rebecca's traits onto the children of Crank Seminary. He became the only success of the experiment. However, his transformation caused him to become mentally unstable. He flew into a rage, killing everyone involved in the experiment and blowing up the Seminary. He expected to die for what he had done, but his immortality prevailed despite being shot twice in the head by Vashyron. He decided to live to try to figure out why he was spared, and worked for Vashyron.

One year later, Leanne was nearing the time of her appointed death after running away. She attempted to kill herself, wanting to die on her own terms, only to have Zephyr catch her in the air and save her life. At the moment Leanne quartz was programmed to fail, Zenith intervened, and the artificial expiration date on Leanne's quartz was nullified.

Sullivan took the research that had been conducted and went to make the ultimate tool, something to control Zenith. He took Cardinal Rowen's ring and bound the Zenith control system to it, providing Rowen with control over life and death in Basel. With his newfound power, Cardinal Rowen undergoes a crisis of faith, as he goes from following God to being God himself. If God could be controlled, then his faith is being shaken to the core. Meanwhile, Sullivan secretly studied Rebecca further to find a way for humans to live separately from Zenith. Their goals are both in line with Prelate Frieda to an extent, but different methods. Cardinal Rowen seeks to control Zenith, while Sullivan seeks to depart from it.

Cardinal Lagerfeld, who was in charge of the Crank Seminary when Zephyr destroyed it and killed everyone inside, goes to the heroes' base and openly challenges Zephyr to a duel to avenge the victims of Zephyr's massacre. Cardinal Lagerfeld is defeated. Following the fight, however, Cardinal Lagerfeld reveals that Zephyr had a sister among the children at the Crank Seminary and that Zephyr had unknowingly killed her. Filled with guilt and wanting to die, Zephyr allows himself to be knocked the ground by the faltering Cardinal Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld is about to impale Zephyr on his staff when he is shot and killed by Leanne. Despite knowing Zephyr's past, she consoles him and convinces him to continue living for her sake.

On Christmas, Leanne walks past Cardinal Rowen at the Basilica, and he realizes she is alive. This causes his internal issues to come to a head as, according to Juris' notes, she shouldn't be alive, and Zenith cannot be controlled as Sullivan had promised. He needed to believe that there truly is a God beyond Zenith, and sees her continued existence as proof of that possibility. Or perhaps Sullivan just lied to him about the experiments. He goes to find Sullivan for answers.

Cardinal Rowen overhears Sullivan telling the heroes that he has Leanne's quartz, and if he is killed, her quartz will be destroyed, and she will die. Cardinal Rowen shoots Sullivan, expecting Leanne to die shortly after due to this, and prove that there is no God, or live, and validate the existence of God. This sets Zephyr on a rampage of revenge, as his reason for existence has just been effectively doomed by Rowen in front of his eyes, and he swears to hunt Cardinal Rowen down and kill him.

Cardinal Rowen then gathers his forces into the Basilica, waits for the heroes to come kill him, and says that if God wants to stop it, he should step in and do so. He is attempting to force God's hand and validate his faith. The heroes fight their way to him, confront him, and ultimately defeat him, with Zephyr putting a bullet through his heart. The bullet passes through Rowen's heart into a portrait of Prelate Frieda, leaving a symbol. Vashyron recognizes the symbol as the mark of Zenith bestowing immortality, and has the party leave. Blossoms fall as the Cardinals are resurrected, symbolizing that Prelate Frieda, not Cardinal Rowen, is now in benevolent control of Zenith.

After the fight, Rebecca destroys the quartz she was given by Sullivan. Cardinal Rowen realizes that his faith was misplaced and leaves the ring behind on Prelate Frieda's final resting place. Sullivan, also resurrected by Prelate Frieda and Zenith, joins Rebecca in the outside world. The quartz that Rebecca destroyed was Sullivan's, proving his plan is a success, that humans are now successfully separated from Zenith and their quartz lifespans. The story ends with Leanne looking into the sky. It is shown that her quartz has actually been in her possession for some time, safely embedded within her hand. She stands outside of Basel in a grass field with Zephyr and Vashyron at her side, revealing that the world outside of Basel is no longer filled with hazardous gases.

In the bonus dungeon "Wonderland", the party explores a twisted, abandoned theme park filled with unreasonably high-tier enemies. At the final stage they accidentally find Sullivan, and battle him and Rebecca as the Secret Bosses. Even if the player defeats him, Sullivan claims that he is immortal, and that the "theories" of the world are now see-through to him. Zephyr claims he will keep killing Sullivan until he dies permanently, to which Sullivan says he looks forward to.

Gameplay

A battle in Resonance of Fate with the Bezel gauges system at the bottom.

Resonance of Fate uses what is known as the tri-Attack Battle system. The battle system is a mixture of real-time and turn-based controls. The game consists of battle elements such as command battles and action battles. Players start the battle by selecting one of the player's characters to control, following which the player takes direct control over the character. The player can then move the character around and attack targets, the character's move ends when the player's attack is over. Enemies are also able to move while the player's character is moving and will usually attack only the character being controlled by the player.[8] Players can restart any enemy encounter if they are defeated during battle. Players are also able to suspend and save the game at any time.[9]

Each character's turn is limited by action points, during which player's can keep moving and switching weapons until the action points runs out. However during each turn, players are only allowed to make a single attack, after which, even if action points remains, the character's turn ends. Attacking an enemy uses a charging system where the player selects a target. The attack charges up, and the attack is carried out when the charge meter is full. Players can also choose to charge up the attack multiple times, for a more powerful attack. The time needed to charge up is also dependent on the proximity of the enemy. The closer the enemy the shorter the time needed to charge up though it renders the player more vulnerable to attack. Enemy charge meters can be observed.[8] There are two damage types in the game. The first is "scratch" damage, which is only dealt by machine guns. Scratch damage accumulates quickly, but can't actually kill anything. Killing things requires that the scratch damage be converted to "direct damage", which can be done by pistols and grenades.[10]

Players are able to move about the battlefield freely, though they have the choice to create predefined paths for their character to follow. While moving along the predefined path, characters gain access to Hero action, which slow down time and speed up charge times. However the use of these Hero actions requires the use of an item known as Bezel, the item is an essential element in battle and is earned through a variety of methods such as destroying an enemy’s defensive barrier, or killing an enemy.[11] Characters can also attack while jumping in the air, they are then able to unleash a special attack which may result in certain stylish actions.[8] Weapons in the game can also be easily customized by using items earned by defeating enemies, or obtained through side quests, these items can be further developed into an enhancement item such as a scope or additional ammunition for the weapon.[12]

In addition to fueling the Hero actions, Bezels act as a safeguard to character defeat. Characters will not receive any direct damage as long as there is at least one full Bezel. If there are enough Bezels remaining, scratch HP causes the character to be whacked into the air, only to re-emerge with induced regeneration, while the containers for the Bezels, Bezel Shards, fly in different directions around the player. The number of Bezel Shards smashed depends on the enemy attack that whacked the character's HP to zero. If the player does not have any Bezels remaining, the characters go into critical mode. Critical mode causes the characters to become extremely scared, leaving them unable to shoot quickly and taking direct damage from every attack. Four Bezel Shards must be recollected by the characters in order to regain Bezels, and enemies can even pick up Bezel Shards to regenerate health and shields. Game Over occurs if any character is killed in Critical Mode (or if all playable characters are now frozen).

Characters

Protagonists

File:Resonance of Fate Characters.jpg
(From left to right) Vashyron, Leanne and Zephyr, the three main characters of the game

Zephyr (ゼファー, Zefā) - Brought up in a seminary from an early age. Several years ago he was involved in an incident, which resulted in him meeting Vashyron, who had been contracted to subdue him. He now makes a living as a member of Vashyron's squad. He is voiced by Hiro Shimono in the Japanese version[4] and Scott Menville in the English version.[13]

Vashyron (ヴァシュロン, Vashuron) - Makes a living as leader of a squad of Hunters taking on a variety of contract missions for reward money. He was the only survivor on the losing side of a large scale military assault under the command of a Cardinal. He is voiced by Ken Narita in the Japanese version[4] and Nolan North in the English version.[14][13]

Leanne (リーンベル, Rīnberu, Reanbell in the Japanese version) - A young lady that lives together with Zephyr and Vashyron. She met Zephyr when she tried to take her own life, and has since joined Vashyron's Hunter squad. She is voiced by Aya Endou in the Japanese version[4] and Jessica DiCicco in the English version.[13]

Cardinal

Rowen (ロエン, Roen) - Rowen is a man who has taken leadership reins of the Cardinal organization after the Prelate died. Rowen holds great worry and conflict over the future of Basel and prays for the prosperity and happiness of its people. He is voiced by Keiji Fujiwara in the Japanese version[4] and Jim Ward in the English version.[13]

Antourion (アントリオン, Antorion) - He is the oldest living Cardinal. He thirsts for knowledge, and is known to others as the "Enquirer of Knowledge". He investigates the bizarre phenomena occurring around Basel. He is voiced by Masaharu Satō in the Japanese version[4] and Tom Kane in the English version.[13]

Garigliano (ガリジャーノン, Garijānon) - A man who researches on beauty, and is responsible for fashion and the arts in Basel. He is voiced by Norio Wakamoto in the Japanese version[4] and Dave B. Mitchell in the English version.[13]

Theresa (テレサ, Teresa) - An aristocratic lady. She is voiced by Noriko Uemura in the Japanese version[4] and Barbara Goodson in the English version.[13]

Jean-Paulet (ジャンポール, Janpōru) - His narcissism sometimes get in the way when performing his duties. He is voiced by Takuma Terashima in the Japanese version[4] and Sam Riegel in the English version.[13]

Lagerfeld - An old man who takes care of a seminary. He is voiced by Yoshinori Sonobe in the Japanese version[4] and Charles Martinet in the English version.[13]

Pater - An eccentric man who dreams of himself as a Superhero. He is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama in the Japanese version[4] and Jason Marsden in the English version.[13]

Barbarella (バーバレラ, Bābarera) - A voluptuous woman who enjoys the high life of the elite. She is voiced by Ai Orikasa in the Japanese version[4] and April Stewart in the English version.[13]

Researchers

Sullivan (サリヴァン, Sarivan) - After Prelate Frieda dies, this mysterious man appears to Rowen and claims to help him bring his ideals to fruition. With Rowen's permission, Sullivan begins a project at a research facility called Aetersyl that is linked to the future of Basel. He is voiced by Takehito Koyasu in the Japanese version[4] and Chris Edgerly in the English version.[13]

Juris (ユリス, Yurisu) - A researcher working in the Aetersyl facility in Basel, who had a special relationship with Leanne. He gave her her quartz. He is voiced by Hidenobu Kiuchi in the Japanese version[4] and Kirk Thornton in the English version.[13]

Others

Rebecca - A mysterious young girl who lives with Sullivan. She is voiced by Yukana in the Japanese version[4] and Cat Taber in the English version.[13]

Veronique (ヴェロニク, Veroniku) - A woman who is the right-hand man of Rowen. She provides support for her leader and is entirely trusted by him. She is voiced by Wakana Yamazaki in the Japanese version[4] and April Stewart in the English version.[13]

Cochet - Zephyr's little sister, who was unknowningly killed by him during his massacre at the seminary. She is voiced by Kari Wahlgren in the English version.

Victor - Vashyron's best friend, who was killed in the past, and had a connection with Sullivan and Antourion. He is voiced by James Arnold Taylor in the English version.

Development

Promotion for Resonance of Fate began on April 1, 2009, when tri-Ace unveiled a teaser website with a countdown timer leading to the next week, with the game slated to consoles PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 under the title of a new "RPG Project". Before the timer ended however, leaked scans of Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu revealed the game to be named End of Eternity.[15] The game's Japanese title is a reference to Isaac Asimov's novel of the same name. The project is a first-time collaboration between tri-Ace and Sega.[16]

Directing was handled by Takayuki Suguro, who has previously worked on tri-Ace game Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, and planner for Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story. Resonance of Fate uses tri-Ace's own ASKA game engine,[5] which was previously used in Infinite Undiscovery, and Star Ocean: The Last Hope, modified specifically for the game.[6] The music tracks were composed by Motoi Sakuraba who has worked on many tri-Ace games, and Kōhei Tanaka who is known for his work in Sakura Taisen.[6]

The developers set the game in a steampunk environment. Suguro explained this choice over a sci-fi look, "I don't feel that Sci-Fi look really allows for a sense of reality and imminence of the world around the characters", "so in going for the gears and rustic metal setting, we managed to add a uniqueness to the visuals that I hope will make it stand out."[17]

In an interview, Suguro talked about the choice of firearms as weapons in Resonance of Fate : "We have opted to go with a battle system where guns are the main weapons. One of the reasons for this is that we felt swords and magic, which are something you find frequently in Japanese RPGs, have lost their novelty. One of the others reasons was that we wanted to create impressive cinematic-battle scenes."[6]

A playable trial version called End of Eternity t.A.B. Demo was released on the Japanese PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace on December 22, 2009 in Japan.[18] On October, 10, 2009, Sega announced that End of Eternity would be released on January 28 in Japan.[19] On February 13, 2010, tri-Ace announced that Resonance of Fate would be released on March 16 in North America and March 26 for the European version.[20]

Reception

Resonance of Fate was met with an overall positive reception.

The story received mixed reviews. Gamespot wrote that "the story in Resonance of Fate is told in a drawn-out, stilted way that only reveals its agenda dozens of hours into your quest."[27] Destructoid noted that "Resonance of Fate builds its world mostly through inference and implication rather than exposition" and added "the main plot being somewhat threadbare, it never really ascends to the kind of epic scale one would expect from the genre."[10]

Critics also gave mixed reviews about the game's graphics. Destructoid stated that "while detailed, most environments alternate between concrete gray and brick red."[10] Gamespot also noted the "lack of visual variety."[27] IGN added that "the world map and dungeons are crying for more detail."[28] But some critics added that "the colorful clothing helps offset the game's otherwise limited palette."[10]

Eurogamer praised its innovative gameplay mechanics and calling it "one of the most inspired approaches to the JRPG seen in a decade."[21] IGN stated that "the battle system in Resonance of Fate is strong enough to hold everything together" and added "the unique combat system steps up to be the star of the show."[28] Gamespot noted that "the cinematography used during hero actions is so over-the-top and exciting to watch that it makes battles a joy to take part in."[27] But some critics noted that "the flow of combat in Resonance of Fate is initially confusing, especially if you don't take the optional tutorial."[28]

Outside of the battle system, Gamespot stated about the world map that "the sparsely detailed overhead view gives the impression of a board game, and you need to employ a puzzle-game mind-set to effectively use your limited pieces to clear the appropriate number of tiles. It's an interesting way to open up new places to explore, and it even ties in to the combat". Critics also praised the weapon customization system, "the weapon upgrade system puts a unique spin on traditional standards. Although you do earn the occasional new gun, you spend more time enhancing your current firearm."[27]

Some critics disliked the fact that "large difficulty spikes are interjected every now and then" and "Resonance of Fate is built for those that enjoy the grind."[28] While other critics liked this aspect of the game, "You need to use every trick you have learned, and a few you may not have even realized yet, to tackle these treacherous monsters, but there is nothing quite as sweet as toppling something that has tormented you for so long."[27]

Legacy

An artbook named End of Eternity Design Works was released on June 11, 2010 in Japan.[30] Published by Enterbrain, Inc.[31], this 176 pages artbook is divided in four chapters : Character, Enemy, World view and Benefits.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b "Japanese Release Date Update". RPGFan.com. October 21, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Sinclair, Brendan (February 12, 2010). "Resonance of Fate dated".
  3. ^ a b "Resonance of Fate gets dated for Europe". RPGsite.net. February 10, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Resonance of Fate Tech Info". Gamespot. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Tri-Ace working on unannounced game using Aska Engine". Scrawlfx.com. April 2, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d "Resonance of Fate – Developer Interview". SEGA Europe Blog. April 1, 2010.
  7. ^ "Resonance of Fate Official US Website". Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c Tanaka, John (May 20, 2009). "Resonance of Fate Battle System Detailed". IGN.
  9. ^ Spencer (November 5, 2009). "Resonance of Fate Supports SDTVs And Busy Adult Schedules". Siliconera.com.
  10. ^ a b c d Tolentino, Josh (April 20, 2010). "Review: Resonance of Fate - Destructoid". Destructoid.com.
  11. ^ "Resonance of Fate Battle Guide". SEGA Europe Blog. April 7, 2010.
  12. ^ Shea, Cam (October 13, 2009). "Resonance of Fate Interview". IGN.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Resonance of Fate – voice cast uncovered". SEGA Europe Blog. March 15, 2010.
  14. ^ "SEGA Announces Nolan North in Resonance of Fate". RPGFan.com. March 2, 2010.
  15. ^ Des Barres, Nick (April 8, 2009). "End Of Eternity: Sega / tri-Ace Collaboration On PS3 & 360 Revealed". 1up.com.
  16. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (April 7, 2009). "This Is The New Multi-Platform tri-Ace RPG - Famitsu". Kotaku.
  17. ^ Svend, Joscelyne (January 26, 2010). "Interviews - Resonance of Fate: Producer Takayuki Suguro". Spong.com.
  18. ^ "End of Eternity Free Playable Demo" (in Japanese). SEGA Japan. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  19. ^ Teague, Cameron (October 24, 2009). "Resonance of Fate Gets Japanese Release Date". PlayStation LifeStyle.
  20. ^ Vintage (February 13, 2010). "Resonance of Fate Release Dates Announced". PS3RPGs.com.
  21. ^ a b Parkin, Simon (March 16, 2010). "Resonance of Fate". Eurogamer.
  22. ^ "Resonance of Fate". Gametrailers. March 18, 2010.
  23. ^ "Resonance of Fate PS3 Reviews". Game Rankings. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  24. ^ "Resonance of Fate Xbox360 Reviews". Game Rankings. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  25. ^ "Resonance of Fate PS3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  26. ^ "Resonance of Fate Xbox360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  27. ^ a b c d e f Mc Shea, Tom (March 30, 2010). "Resonance of Fate Review for XBOX360". Game Spot.
  28. ^ a b c d e Brudvig, Erik (March 23, 2010). "Resonance of Fate". IGN.
  29. ^ Darryl (March 29, 2010). "Resonance of Fate Review". Gaming Union.
  30. ^ "Cels will be released June 11" (in Japanese). SEGA Japan. May 27, 2010.
  31. ^ "Cels released date" (in Japanese). SEGA Japan. May 17, 2010.
  32. ^ "Cover Design Public" (in Japanese). SEGA Japan. May 31, 2010.
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