is a

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

developed by

Imageepoch was a video game developer based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was filed for bankruptcy in 2015, due to its declining sales and increasing debt. History The company was founded in June 2005 by Ryoei Mikage. Their first release was the tactica ...

for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

. It was released in Japan on October 4, 2012.

Gameplay

The game is a

turn based Timekeeping is relevant to many types of games, including video games, tabletop role-playing games, board games, and sports. The passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. In many games, this is done u ...

RPG. It features gameplay mechanics such as "Sol System", where the players can activate characters' "Sol Power" to activate special moves that become stronger the more they are used. "Sol Power" can also be traded away in order to revive teammates in battle as well, similar to the game '' Soul Sacrifice''. Additional skills can be learned by equipping new weapons.

Story

The game is set in a distant future, based around the fictional city "Kaiserhald". In the game's world, "Sol" has the power to create miracles, but is hoarded by Kaiserhald and its "Machine Church". The "Sol Trigger" is a group of people who oppose their corrupt use of the "Sol", and they fight to stop them.

Development

A Japanese trademark for the name ''Sol Trigger'' was first registered in November 2011, and the game was first announced in May 2012, in an issue of ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

''. It was revealed to be the company's most expensive, high-budget game ever attempted, and their last game for the

system. Staff include Shuji Sogabe as character designer, who previously worked on the ''

Persona 4 is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in Ju ...

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicat ...

, and

Kazushige Nojima is a Japanese video game writer. He is best known for writing several installments of Square Enix's ''Final Fantasy'' franchise—namely ''Final Fantasy VII'' and its spin-offs '' Advent Children'' and '' Crisis Core'', ''Final Fantasy VIII'', ...

as the game scenario writer, who previously wrote parts of ''

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation. The seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was released in Japan by Square and internationally by Sony Computer Entertainment, becoming the first ...

'' and ''

Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square) and owned by The Walt Disney Company. A collaboration between the two companies, it was conceptualized by Square employees, Japanese gam ...

''.

Anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

video scenes were created by

J.C.Staff is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata, who previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release was '' Yōtōden'' in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as '' Aria ...

. Originally scheduled to be released on August 30, 2012, it was later delayed to October 4, upon request of retailers, who claimed that there were already too many games releasing on that date in Japan. A demo of the game was released for download on the Japanese

PlayStation Store PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital distribution service for users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content both ...

in July 2012. To promote the game's release, a mini

web browser A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...

game, ''Sol Trigger Training School'', was released. The game was a one-on-one fighting game, played by clicking a mouse as fast as possible. Password could be received to unlock bonus features in ''Sol Trigger''.

Localization

While the game was not announced in any other regions, some journalists speculated an English release could happen due to developer Imageepoch's past efforts to work with American publishers, such as

Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, Arcade game, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona (series), Persona'' ...

(''

Luminous Arc ''Luminous Arc'' is a series of Tactical role-playing game, tactical role-playing video games originally developed by Imageepoch, prior to the company's bankruptcy. The series began with the 2007 release of ''Luminous Arc (video game), Luminous Arc ...

'' and ''

Luminous Arc 2 ''Luminous Arc 2'' is a tactical role-playing game developed by Imageepoch for the Nintendo DS, and published by Marvelous Entertainment in Japan on May 15, 2008, and by Atlus USA and Rising Star Games in North America and the PAL region respec ...

''),

Aksys Games Aksys Games Localization, Inc. is a video game publisher that specializes in translating and localizing Japanese video games for English-speaking markets. It was founded by Akibo Shieh in 2006. Some of its clients include Bandai Namco Games, Xs ...

(''

Fate/Extra ''Fate/Extra'' (stylized as ''Fate/EXTRA'') is a dungeon crawler role-playing game developed by Type-Moon and Imageepoch and published by Marvelous Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable. The game takes place in a parallel universe to ...

''), and

NIS America is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games, most notably the ''Disgaea'' and '' Marl Kingdom'' series. Its mascot is the penguin-like ''Disgaea'' charact ...

('' Black Rock Shooter: The Game''). However, sources such as

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

feared it may not be released into other regions due to the

no longer being an active video game platform in

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an regions by 2012. Siliconera felt there may be hope for localization due to Imageepoch registering the Japanese trademark for the game's title in Japanese and English. As of 2018, the game has not been released in any other region.

Sales and legacy

As of mid-October, the game had sold 52,234 copies in Japan. Ryoei Mikage, founder and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Imageepoch, said he is interested in the possibility of making a sequel to the game. "Cyril", a character from the game, was made available as a playable character in another Imageepoch game, ''Chevalier Saga Tactics'', when playing a special ''Sol Trigger'' themed mission.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Official site
2012 video games Image Epoch games J.C.Staff Japan-exclusive video games Role-playing video games PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Portable-only games Video games developed in Japan Single-player video games