White Knight Chronicles

''White Knight Chronicles'' is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by Level-5 and Japan Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is Level-5's first project for the system. As of August 8, 2009 it has sold 350,000 copies in Japan. A sequel titled ''White Knight Chronicles II'' was released in Japan in 2010. A related game for the PlayStation Portable, titled '' White Knight Chronicles: Origins'' was released in Japan, Europe and, Australia in 2011.

Gameplay

''White Knight Chronicles'' is a role-playing video game presented in a third-person perspective. The player can freely choose which character to control. The characters gain experience points and level up, becoming stronger over the course of the game. Level-5 conceived ''White Knight Chronicles'' to have 100 hours of gameplay, a length Akihiro Hino considers to be a full length role-playing game, going against the pressure to make ''White Knight Chronicles'' a launch title and cutting the story short.

The player can select locations on a world map that the player has already visited to go to instantly, along with a preview of that area. Each area also has a quest list that shows quests the player has yet to complete. The player can choose a quest to embark upon before going to the desired area.

The battle system used in ''White Knight Chronicles'' is a real-time system where the battle mode can be initiated when enemies are present. Before a battle the player optionally goes into the "Battle Preparation" menu (accessible at any time) and chooses up to three sets of seven commands for each character in the party. This set of twenty one commands is called a "Command Setup" and several of these setups can be saved for switching between classes. Commands can also be linked in order to create combos. These can then be used in battle. The player controls one of the characters while the others are controlled by the AI. Players can freely change the character they are controlling. The main character can transform into the White Knight using action chips which are acquired by defeating enemies. "Boss battles" also take place in a similar fashion except that they may include cut-scenes (videos) for in-battle events. Some enemies are extremely large in size.

Enemies can be attacked with various kinds of elemental attack magic, while the player can heal the party by resorting to divine magic. Magic is an essential part of the ''White Knight Chronicles'' battle system, but it comes with one pitfall—Magic skills do not improve a character's physical strength. This means magic users have to avoid enemy attacks. Among the featured weapons are swords, two handed longswords, two handed axes, spears, bows and staffs.

After defeating an enemy, players will obtain materials. Materials are used for crafting and upgrading armor, weapons, accessories and item, as well build Georama parts.

Georama

The ''Georama'' system is an online mode that lets the player create their own town. It can function as a lobby and allows the player to set up shops and harvest spots. People can enter this virtual town and also take a look around. The editing mode functions as a system that can be placed from a list of objects ranging from houses and other garden accessories to anything customizable for the town. Towns can be placed in the middle of plains, deserts, or wilderness with six different field types. Other items can also help to shape the hub including elevated platforms, embankments, trees, and other items. The georama system was also in Level-5's '' Dark Cloud'' series. Non-player characters (NPCs) can be recruited to towns from locations around the world map. This makes the player's Georama change depending on whoever is living in it. NPCs have jobs and specific skill levels which will affect the kind of materials and items available to use in Georama. Each Geonet has up to 20 rooms for players to join. A maximum of 12 people can visit a room at one time, and up to 4 can take on a quest together.

Plot

''White Knight Chronicles'' begins in the kingdom of Balandor, where Princess Cisna is having a coming-of-age banquet. Leonard, the main protagonist; his childhood friend, Yulie; and the Avatar (a new employee at Rapacci Wines, where the three work), are tasked with delivering wine for the party. Once the delivery is completed, they decide to stay for the party, which is soon raided by an evil organization called the Magi. In the ensuing commotion, King Valtos, Cisna's father, is killed by a man in dark armor, causing a shocked Cisna to regain her voice (which was "lost" when her mother, Queen Floraine, was assassinated). Leonard grabs the distraught Cisna's hand and leads her to safety in the castle's lower levels. There, they find a giant suit of armor, an "Incorruptus"; and a strange gauntlet called the "Ark". Using the Ark to merge with the armor, Leonard becomes the White Knight, which can the combat the Magi. After eliminating a large monster from the castle, Cisna is kidnapped by the Magi. Sarvain, the royal advisor, tasks Leonard to rescue the Princess with the White Knight; Yulie, the Avatar, and a "humble traveler" named Eldore join him.

The motive behind the kidnapping is Cisna's ability to unlock sealed Knights, of which she is unaware of at first. The leader of Magi is a general called Dregias, the man who killed Valtos. All that is known about him is that he is capable of transforming into the winged Black Knight, Ebonwings.

Soundtrack

The official ''White Knight Chronicles'' soundtrack was released on 2 dics on July 1, 2009 by Aniplex. The music was composed by Takeshi Inoue, Yumiko Hashizume, and Noriyasu Agematsu. Orchestration was done by Hideo Inai, lyrics by Akihiro Hino, and vocals by Kazco Hamano who sung the main theme song, Travelers and ending theme, Shards of Time.

The North America release of the game removed the original Japanese voices for Travelers and Shards of Time, replacing them with English-dubbing.

Manga

A web exclusive prequel manga called ''Shirokishi Monogatari: Episode 0 Dogma Senki'' (''White Knight Chronicles Episode 0: Dogma War Chronicleis'') was released in 2008. Takashi Ikeda oversaw the story for this prequel with Yūko Satō illustrating the actual manga in collaboration with Media Factory's Comic Alive editorial department. The story takes place 10,000 years before the main game's story in an era embroiled by war and chaos. It follows the story of another White Knight who predates the White Knight hero character of the game.

Reception

''White Knight Chronicles'' received mixed reviews, with an aggregated score of 64/100 on Metacritic. ''Famitsu'' gave the game a 29/40, with the reviewers highlighting the online mode as being the source of their main gripes. Despite the lukewarm reviews the game sold well; around 130,000 copies on its first day and around 207,000 in its first week in Japan. ''Eurogamer'' gave the game an 8/10, criticizing the multiplayer, with the caveat that "disappointing multiplayer doesn't take away from how enjoyable the game is, or how well-thought-through and impressively integrated its gameplay systems are". The game has received 3/5 stars from ''X-Play'', a 6/10 rating from ''GameSpot'', and a 5.1/10 rating from '' IGN''.

Sequels

A sequel titled ''White Knight Chronicles II'' was released in 2010. A prequel titled '' White Knight Chronicles: Origins'' was released in 2011.

References

External links

Official website (SCEI)

{{PlayStation Studios

2008 video games
Cooperative video games
Fantasy video games
Fictional knights in video games
Japanese role-playing video games
Level-5 (company) games
PlayStation 3 games
PlayStation 3-only games
Role-playing video games
Sony Interactive Entertainment franchises
Sony Interactive Entertainment games
Video games about spirit possession
Video games developed in Japan
Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender
Video games set in castles
Video games with customizable avatars
War video games
White Knight Chronicles (video game series)