Honkai Impact 3rd
| Honkai Impact 3rd | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | miHoYo |
| Series | Houkai Series |
| Platform(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing, hack and slash |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Honkai Impact 3rd is a 3D action game developed by miHoYo with anime art style for the mobile platform and first released in China in late 2016[1]. It is the third main title in the Houkai series. The game features full-3D rendering and action-based gameplay. The game attracted a fanbase in Asia, reaching 1 million downloads in Japan 11 days after local launch and 35 million downloads as of April 12, 2018, with further releases in Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.[2][3] The game was also released in multiple languages, including Simplified Chinese (original language), Traditional Chinese[4], English[5], Japanese[6], Korean[7], Vietnamese[8], Thai[9], French[10], and German.
Gameplay
Players assume the role of the Captain of the Hyperion, a flying battleship constructed by Schicksal. The Captain then leads a squad of Valkyries of the Far East Branch in a linear campaign and other branch missions. The Captain chooses the missions, stages, or adventures to take and deploys Valkyries from the roster. The Captain has to suit up the Valkyries with various types of weapons and stigmata (genetic memory implants) to help them survive in fights against the Honkai, a supernatural entity that seemed bent on destroying humanity.
Some in-game loot is acquired via a gacha game mechanic where Crystals are used to acquire supply crates that provide various types of consumables and equipment. Events that offer limited-edition gear may become available during real-world holidays or occasions.
Fights are largely PvE, but players may engage in indirect competition via game modes like the Memorial Arena or Infinity Abyss where their Valkyrie squads are pitted against increasingly difficult enemies. Players who could defeat enemies with great technical skill and in the shortest time possible will earn higher scores in the leaderboards.
Plot
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Chapters 1 and 2
The game starts in the year 2016. Kiana Kaslana, a young Valkyrie in training, has been dispatched on a mission to stop a runaway battleship the Selene from crashing into a city. Other young Valkyries, Mei Raiden and Bronya Zaychik, are then introduced and become available in the roster as the story progresses.
While trying to bring the Selene under control, Bronya Zaychik became infected and turned against her friends. Kiana and Mei managed to subdue her. The Valkyries successfully reined in the Selene and steered it to St. Freya High School (where the girls were being trained to become full-fledged Valkyries). Squad V Valkyrie instructor Himeko Murata and school Principal Theresa Apocalypse were introduced as the young Valkyries Kiana, Mei, and Bronya prepared for their final examination, with Kiana experiencing strange dreams during sleep where a mysterious voice told her about her father Siegfried Kaslana who went missing several years ago and mother Cecilia Schariac whom she never met. The final exam was further complicated with the sudden visit of Rita Rossweisse, an agent dispatched by Schicksal HQ. Kiana managed to beat the final challenge with her friends' help only to pass out after the grueling fight and encountering the mysterious voice again.
Chapters 3 and 4
The newly minted Valkyries Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were then dispatched to Schicksal Oceania Branch to recover one of the four Herrscher gems, the Gem of Desire. Just before their arrival, a Honkai eruption took place and wiped out the Oceania Branch, leaving a survivor named Wendy, an ex-Valkyrie whose body was used as the vessel for holding the unstable Gem. The Valkyries then found out that Wendy caused the Honkai eruption as a result of her hatred against Schicksal for rendering her a cripple unable to walk. While the Valkyries struggled to defeat Wendy in her Wind Herrscher form, Bronya was again controlled by Anti-Entropy enforcer Cocolia (and Bronya's adoptive mother in the orphanage). Bronya and Anti-Entropy Titan mechs subdued and captured Wendy and Mei while Kiana was left behind.
Valkyrie instructor Himeko Murata, Principal Theresa Apocalypse, and Kiana then went on a mission to rescue Mei. The Valkyries infiltrated ME Corp (forcibly acquired by Anti-Entropy) to find Bronya guarding Mei. Bronya chose to disobey her adoptive mother Cocolia by burning out her brain chip, allowing the Valkyries to escape with Mei and an unconscious Bronya.
Chapters 5 and 6
To find a cure for Bronya, Principal Theresa went to the secret archives beneath the St. Freya cathedral. Kiana secretly followed and dove into the virtual archives as well, only to find herself in a historical rendering of Siberia in the year 2000 during the 2nd Honkai War. She met her father Siegfried Kaslana, Theresa (a historical rendition that did not recognize Kiana), and even her mother Cecilia Schariac. Kiana fought alongside her mother Cecilia and defeated the 2nd Herrscher, Sirin, the cause of the 2nd Honkai Eruption. The true Principal Theresa suddenly appeared and questioned Kiana how she got into the archives. Fu Hua then entered the scene and revealed her true identity as a Schicksal agent with orders to subdue Kiana and bring her to Schicksal HQ, a floating island above the Mediterranean, which she did successfully.
Chapters 7 and 8
After her capture, Overseer Otto Apocalypse (the leader of Schicksal and one of the most powerful individual in the world) exposed Kiana to extremely high levels of Honkai energy to awaken the Gem of Serenity within her and bring back the 2nd Herrscher Sirin. It turned out that Otto never intended to fight the Honkai, but instead planned to use it for his own selfish ends. Theresa Apocalypse chose to rebel against Schicksal and allied her forces with Anti-Entropy scientists Einstein and Tesla to stop Otto. The assault on Schicksal HQ resulted in Tesla and Himeko being defeated and captured.
Chapter 9
Sirin (acting through her host body Kiana) wreaked havoc, defeating Mei and taking the Gem of Conquest from her. While the battle raged on, Fu Hua secretly freed Himeko and Tesla. The latter then ventured through the Helheim labs and located a prototype Godsbane battlesuit (Vermilion Knight: Eclipse) and an anti-Honkai serum. Himeko armed herself and arrived at the battle scene where she fought the 2nd Herrscher Sirin. In desperation, Einstein unleashed an underpowered blast of the anti-Honkai beam. Though appearing to be wounded, Sirin was able to seek refuge in Imaginary Space.
Benares, Sirin's dragon, then attacked the Hyperion. Himeko bested the beast, only to be dragged into Imaginary Space where the fully recovered Sirin fought her again. After a brutal fight, Himeko managed to deliver the anti-Honkai serum, freeing Kiana from Sirin's possession. Meanwhile, Theresa and Anti-Entropy forces were forced to flee Schicksal HQ when defeat seemed certain. Sirin's reawakening had initiated a global scale disaster that devastated the entire planet for four months. Only several large cities remained standing. The whereabouts of Himeko and Kiana, however, remained elusive.
Factions
The story of Honkai Impact 3rd takes place in a parallel universe.
Honkai
The Honkai is a supernatural phenomenon that manifests itself in many ways, including infectious diseases (and even digital viruses), infected humans (zombies), natural disasters, Honkai beasts, and Herrschers, possessed humans with superpowers that defy physical laws. The Honkai threat will be the primary adversary for the player (Captain of the battleship Hyperion). Interestingly, Honkai grows and evolves with human civilization and technological progress, and appears to be dedicated to its ultimate goal of destroying humanity. Ironically, energy is also extremely useful, and several human organizations have harnessed it to generate massive power.
Schicksal
Schicksal (German word for Fate) is a human organization established in Europe to fight against the Honkai. Three large families (Apocalypse, Schariac, and Kaslana) lead Schicksal. This organization eventually became one of the most powerful forces on Earth, with regional branches established throughout the world. Schicksal is ruled by an Overseer, who is also essentially one of the most powerful individual on the planet. The current ruling Overseer of Schicksal is Otto Apocalypse.
In addition to regional branches, Schicksal also has a number of military and research divisions. The Valkyries (or Valkyrja in Old Norse) were units of gifted female warriors who exhibited certain degrees of Honkai resistance. These warriors would eventually become the leading military arm of Schicksal and considered humanity's best defense for fighting the Honkai. Research labs and facilities such as Helheim and St.1504 to develop technologies that include advanced mechs and Honkai-powered weaponry.
Anti-Entropy
Anti-Entropy (AE) used to be the North America Branch of Schicksal until it declared its independence in 1955 after the New York incident where dissident scientists Tesla, Einstein, and a Herrscher named Welt Joyce fought off Otto's attempts to keep them under Schicksal leadership. Unlike Schicksal, AE preferred fighting the Honkai using heavy-duty mech units instead of Valkyries.
World Serpent
A secretive organization named after Jormungand (also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent). The World Serpent does not believe in fighting the Honkai, and believes that humanity can only survive by finding out how to co-exist with the Honkai.
Characters
Valkyries
Valkyries start off as girls with remarkable Honkai resistance. They are then recruited by Schicksal and given training to become super-human soldiers tasked with fighting the Honkai and defending humanity. The player starts the game as the Captain leading the Squad V Valkyries of the Far East Branch.
Kiana Kaslana キアナ・カスラナ
- Voiced by
- Tao Dian (Chinese) and Rie Kugimiya (Japanese);
Kiana Kaslana is a young, brash, and sometimes absent-minded Valkyrie and serves as the protagonist of the Honkai Impact 3rd story. She was a student of Chiba Academy in Nagazora City during the 2014 Nagazora Outbreak, and managed to subdue Mei Raiden who was going on a rampage after her Herrscher transformation. Kiana has a special love interest in Mei and has a special personal quest to look for her father (Siegfried Kaslana) who went missing when she turned 12. Theresa Apocalypse enrolled her into St. Freya High after the Nagazora Outbreak was contained.
Kiana typically fights with dual pistols using the special House Kaslana gun kata. Her in-game combat outfits include:
- White Comet (3rd generation battlesuit)
- Valkyrie Ranger (school uniform)
- Divine Prayer (formal habit)
- Knight Moonbeam (4th generation battlesuit)
- Herrscher of the Void (a mysterious and powerful battlesuit)
Mei Raiden 雷電芽衣
- Voiced by
- 工口小菊花 (Chinese) and Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese);
Mei was born to Ryoma Raiden, the CEO and director of ME Corp, and was once respected and idolized by her classmates in Chiba Academy. However, she quickly became ostracized and isolated when her father Ryoma became a criminal following accusations of fraud and economic crimes. Mei was then transformed into a Herrscher (named by Schicksal as the 3rd Herrscher) and initiated the 2014 Nagazora Outbreak that literally wiped out the entire city of its human inhabitants before being subdued by Kiana. Theresa also enrolled her as a student of St. Freya High to mold her into a Valkyrie.
Mei was trained, from an early age, in the kenjutsu of Hokushin-Itto-Ryu, and is considered a master in the blade arts. Her in-game combat outfits include:
- Crimson Impulse (3rd generation battlesuit)
- Valkyrie Bladestrike (school uniform)
- Shadow Dash (old school armor)
- Lightning Empress (elementalist battlesuit)
Bronya Zaychik ブローニャ・ザイチク
- Voiced by
- hanser (Chinese) and Kana Asumi (Japanese);
Bronya was born in Russian Siberia in 2000 but was orphaned during the 2nd Honkai Eruption in the same year. She was forced to fight as a child soldier and proved to be a lethal killer. In 2012, she was defeated by Cocolia (whom she was sent to assassinate) and admitted as an orphan in Cocolia's orphanage. It turned out that Cocolia was working with Anti-Entropy and running tests on the orphans. Bronya was subject to the test as well, resulting in the destruction of her limbic (emotive) centers and crippling of her legs. Nevertheless, Bronya returned to the real world with a strange robotic symbiont known as Project Bunny.
Bronya's Project Bunny allows her to wield vehicle-mounted heavy weaponry. Her in-game battlesuits include:
- Yamabuki Armor (3rd generation battlesuit)
- Valkyrie Chariot (school uniform)
- Wolf's Dawn (formal attire)
- Snowy Sniper (military garb)
- Dimension Breaker (customized game avatar)
- Black Nucleus (AE combat harness)
- Drive Kometa (augmented version of Yamabuki Armor developed by Dr. Tesla)
Himeko Murata
Theresa Apocalypse
Fu Hua
Rita Rossweisse
Development
Graphics and art
Honkai Impact 3rd features 3D animated characters with anime-style cel shading. In-game, the playable character (usually Valkyries) is shown from a third-person angle. Weapons are also depicted in 3D models and is actually displayed during fighting, with some weapons displaying special attack effects. The game also includes 2D illustrations of stigmata, many of which are historical characters who are depicted as young female versions of the original.
Cinematics
The game also includes several animated stills as well as fully-rendered cinematic cutscenes in key points of its plot. These in-game plotline cinematics include Will of the Herrscher[11] and Final Lesson[12]. Another video, Reburn[13] was released earlier than Will of the Herrscher and Final Lesson though it would appear that it takes place later in the plotline. miHoYo also released a number of MMD videos where game characters dance to Japanese pop music as part of their technical demo portfolio, including Kiana Kaslana dancing to Gokuraku Jodou (by GARNiDELiA)[14], Mei Raiden dancing to Kimiiro ni Somaru (by Nishizawasan-P)[15], and Yae Sakura dancing to Tougen Renka (by GARNiDELiA)[16].
Audio and Music
The music of Honkai Impact 3rd is written, composed, and played internally, featuring fast-paced techno beats as well as atmospheric melodies to match the fast-paced combat. Several feature songs for in-game cinematics were also written by miHoYo and sung by celebrity singers, including Befall[17] sung by Shang Wenjie and Nightglow[18] by Tanya Chua.
Lead characters also have voice acting available in Chinese and Japanese.
Manga
Honkai Impact 3rd also features an ongoing serialized manga of the same name in Chinese (original language)[19] and in English[20]. The manga narrates story arcs that supplement (instead of repeating) the in-game plot, and often include back stories of many characters such as Bronya Zaychik, Theresa Apocalypse, Yae Sakura, and Kallen Kaslana. Several in-game battlesuits worn by the Valkyries are also illustrated in the manga as well.
References
- ^ "《崩坏3》10月14日全平台公测 日本人气声优阵容公开！".
- ^ "Hack and slash: The making of MIHOYO's Honkai Impact 3rd".
- ^ "New mobile RPG Honkai Impact 3rd racks up 35 million downloads".
- ^ "3D 動作手機遊戲《崩壞 3rd》繁體中文版今日於雙平台開放下載".
- ^ "Honkai Impact 3rd Is Now Available Worldwide!".
- ^ "戦乙女たちの3Dアクション「崩壊3rd」が配信開始。"聖痕冬のお姫様"をもらえるリリース記念イベントは3月2日まで開催".
- ^ "[뉴스] 히페리온호 작전 개시! '붕괴 3rd' 국내 정식 출시".
- ^ "Honkai Impact 3 chính thức mở cửa tại ĐNÁ, hỗ trợ cả ngôn ngữ tiếng Việt".
- ^ "คอนเฟิร์ม! Honkai Impact 3 เตรียมเปิดให้บริการในโซน SEA".
- ^ "News jeu Honkai Impact 3rd : Le jeu événement débarque en France !".
- ^ "Will of the Herrscher - Honkai Impact Animations [Song: Befall]".
- ^ "Honkai Impact 3rd - Final Lesson".
- ^ "Honkai Impact 3rd Animation - Reburn".
- ^ "[MMD] Kiana Dancing GokuRakuJoudo/Honkai impact/崩坏3rd/极乐净土".
- ^ "Honkai Impact 3 (崩坏3rd) - 芽衣·染上你的颜色 [MMD/Unity]".
- ^ "Sakura Honkai Impact 3 MMD Unity - Houkai 3rd Sakura MMD - 桃源恋歌[Tougen Renka] -八重樱 桃源恋歌 4K by Scyrax".
- ^ "「Befall」—《崩坏3》印象曲（演唱者：尚雯婕）".
- ^ "「Nightglow」——《崩坏3》印象曲（演唱者：蔡健雅）".
- ^ "崩坏漫画".
- ^ "Honkai Impact 3rd manga".