A few months ago, Atlus announced that there will be a remake of Radiant Historia, a fantasy role playing Nintendo DS game in 2010 that was praised for its interesting storyline and gameplay. Seven years later, Radiant Historia will be back on 3DS as Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology—complete with renewed visuals, additional story and improved gameplay which will surely entice new and old fans alike.
It has been seven years since the original game was released. Will the remake—with its promise of additional content and features—manage to deliver?
Radiant Historia follows the story of Stocke, a 19-year old Special Intelligence Agent who was assigned to a routine escort mission that ends up in a disaster. Through the help of a mysterious book called the White Chronicle, Stocke discovers a way to go back in time and save the lives of his companions and the fate of the nations, and prevent the looming disaster that may befall the entire world.
Stocke goes back in time to change history.
Just like the original game, Perfect Chronology brings back all the things that people have enjoyed. Combining fantasy and sci-fi elements brings the possibility that the game might not be able to make the best out of these elements, but Perfect Chronology was able to make it work without making it seem forced.
The opening of the remake work Perfect Chronology by A-1 Pictures.
As Alistel and Ganorg wage war for the remaining fertile land, Stocke goes on a mission with his newly-appointed subordinates, Raynie and Marco. However, they ended up falling into the enemy’s trap—resulting in their death, with Stocke being the lone survivor.
Through Stocke’s decisions, it is possible for Raynie and Marco to be brought back to life.
Shocked and devastated, Stocke became desperate as he was chased by the enemy. He jumped off the bridge, only to end up in Historia, an unknown place where time and space are screwed. Upon encountering Teo and Lippti, he became the owner of the “White Chronicle”, an old book that gives him the ability to manipulate time and restore history to what it should have been.
Why does the world’s history need to be corrected? And why did Stocke become the owner of the White Chronicle? Answers to these will be answered as you go further into the game.
The guardians of the White Chronicle, Teo and Lippti.
In order to guide the flow of history into the right direction, you, the player, must select the correct choice among the several choices presented in the game. These choices decide the flow of history, so you better be careful on deciding which one to choose! And of course, choosing the wrong one will result to a bad ending, and history will advance in a dire way.
The player must travel back and forth between the two major timelines, the “Standard History” and the “Alternate History”, in order to advance the plot as both timelines are connected and affect each other. Upon choosing one of the choices, there are instances in which the player might attend the same scene multiple times, although you can skip the scenes you’ve already seen. Choose carefully and guide the world to the right history!
Some characters may lose their lives as a result of your choices. However, just like Raynie and Marco, you can also save them by correcting history. Saving a close friend from the brink of death gives you a certain sense of achievement, which can truly make you feel as if you’ve really changed history with your own hands.
The overall feel of the game is quite heavy, as there are many scenarios in the game that show a tragic development, and it also contains a lot of elements such as war and politics. However, combined with its attractive characters and intriguing plot then you’ll definitely have a solid game.
You can bring the characters who have died, such as Raynie and Marco, back to life depending on your choices.
Although its basic formula is a turn based system, the “grid” system of the game is definitely one of its interesting highlights. Enemies will appear in a 3x3 grid, and the damage of the attacks will greatly change depending on where players are located. The closer an enemy is to the player, the stronger their attacks will be but they will also take more damage. Attacking multiple enemies at once is also possible as long as they are inside the grid. Manipulating the placing of the enemies and the players for combo attacks is definitely a must in order to gain an advantage and defeat the enemy efficiently.
Fight your enemies more efficiently with the 3x3 grid system!
One feature that is unique to Perfect Chronology as compared to the original is the Support System, which greatly helps the player on defeating the enemies. Although, the number of players in the party is only up to three people, it is also possible for characters within a certain range to join the fray and assist you in battle. The probability of this occurrence increases as the player’s luck parameter increases, so make sure to make connections with characters that have high luck parameters in order to gain more help during battle!
In addition to the mentioned Support System, Perfect Chronology also adds new features such as new visuals, characters, scenarios and dungeons, as well as the addition of voice to the characters’ dialogues. Witness as you finally see your favorite characters talk throughout the game! With the characters’ dialogues now fully voiced, your favorite scenes will have more impact and become more memorable.
You can get support during battle from your friends if your luck parameters are high!
After you progress through a certain amount of time, Lippti will ask you to go to the “Vault of Time,” an extra dungeon in Perfect Chronology. Powerful enemies run rampant in this dungeon, and since you cannot use items, preserving your MP is the key to clearing this stage.
Stocke goes to the Vault of Time, a new dungeon in the remake.
A third scenario in the game, “Sub-History,” has also been added wherein you’ll meet the new character, Nemesia, who flew around different worlds in search of the “Artifacts.” These artifacts are the key in order to stop the continent’s desertification.
Sub-History will also have two episodes: The Saint Speaks and A Promise That Crosses Time. The first episode is about the assassination threat upon Alistel’s founding father and ruler, Noah—and for some reason, that assassination threat is related to the Artifacts that Nemesia has been searching for. On the other hand, A Promise That Crosses Time is an episode where Stocke and Nemesia visit Granorg in search of a certain pendant.
Sub-History, as seen in the game.
The original Radiant Historia game has received a lot of praises, so there’s no doubt that the remake will be enjoyed by people who are still new to the franchise. The additional content and features are also a good deal for old fans of the game, so be sure to check it out!
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology will be released on June 29th in Japan, while a Western release is expected sometime early 2018.
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