White Cat Project
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is a
free-to-play "Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...
developed and published by Colopl for Android and
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
. It was initially released in Japan on July 14, 2014. An English version was released internationally under the title ''Colopl Rune Story'' and operated from July 23, 2015, to October 7, 2016. A spinoff title, was released on both iOS and Android on July 31, 2016, while the upcoming sequel ''Shironeko New Project'' will be released on the
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
at a later date. An
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 ...
adaptation of the game's third anniversary event produced by
Project No.9 , is a Japanese animation studio established on February 9, 2009. Works Television series ONAs OVAs References External linksOfficial website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Project No.9 Project No.9, Japanese animation studios Mass media c ...
aired from April 6 to June 22, 2020.


Plot

A long time ago, there is an ancient legend revolving around two figures, the White Maiden of the Sky; represented by the White Cat, and the Black Prince of Darkness; represented by the Black Cat. At the same time, a war between the demons and the guardians of light took place, with the demons led by the Black King of Darkness attacking the lands in the sky. The Black Prince however, despite the wishes of the Black King, defied his orders and falls in love with the White Maiden, in hopes that their union would end the war. Both were not meant to meet and love each other as the war ravaged the world around the land and the skies. Several millennia after the war, in a world consisting of numerous isles, a young hero from the Astora Isle encounters the adventurer Kyle and follows him on an expedition on the isle. They meet a mysterious girl named Iris and a talking white cat named Catra, and together they make their way to the isle's ruins, where they find a flying island. Kyle becomes consumed by darkness there, and the party resolves to travel to the ends of the world on the flying island in order to find the seven "Great Runes", following Kyle's words before he disappeared. Upon their adventures towards finding the Runes, both the hero and Iris start to fill the pieces, meeting friends and enemies and discovering their true identities.


Gameplay

''White Cat Project'' is an
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...
with
touchscreen A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...
controls, where the player controls the character by dragging the finger across the screen (a mechanic Colopl calls "Punicon") and tapping to attack. Special abilities can be activated by holding the finger on the character, which opens up a selection menu of abilities. All of these actions can be done using one finger only, which facilitates one-handed gaming. The characters also have their own classes corresponding to weapon types, for example swords, bows, and mage staffs. In general, most characters are gained via a "Summon" tab which works on a gacha system. Runes are spent on randomized characters, with some characters being common and other characters being rare. Some characters can be gained for free by completing in-game missions. While the game is fully playable as a
single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the gameplay. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in add ...
experience, it also supports up to four-player co-operative
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
. There is also a town-building mode where players can build and upgrade structures that generate in-game currencies and provide combat bonuses to their characters. Unlike many free-to-play games, ''White Cat Project'' has no stamina system.


Media


Video games

''White Cat Project'' was released in Japan on July 14, 2014 on iOS and Android platforms. The theme song for the game is titled "Stand Up!", performed by
Yui Horie is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with VIMS and Starchild. She has been affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans. She debuted as a voice actress in 1997, releasing her debut single "''My best friend''" on . Since then, s ...
. An international English version operated from July 23, 2015 until its closure on October 7, 2016. In January 2015, Colopl released a VR version of ''White Cat Project'' for the
Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets, virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a virtual reality company founded by Palmer Luckey that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality indust ...
. Named ''Shironeko VR Project'', the game can be controlled with a gamepad, keyboard and mouse, or on a smartphone. A spinoff tennis game featuring characters from ''White Cat Project'' was released in July 2016 under the name ''White Cat Tennis''. The "Punicon" controls from ''White Cat Project'' are used here as well. A new action RPG tentatively named ''Shironeko New Project'' is announced for the
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
, originally slated for release in 2020 in Japan. In January 2018, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Colopl over five
patent infringement A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
s found in ''White Cat Project''. These include "the special technology used to operate a joystick over a touch panel", first patented by Nintendo for its
Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
wrist strap that Nintendo claims Colopl had used for its "Punicon" controls. Nintendo later added a sixth patent infringement to the proceedings, and seeks 4.4 billion yen in damages plus late fees, in addition to an injunction on the operation of the ''White Cat Project'' smartphone app. Colopl changed the game's control mechanics in February 2020 in response to the lawsuit. Colopl eventually paid Nintendo the equivalent of $30 million US dollars in a settlement.


Anime

An anime adaptation of the game, titled , which adapts the in-game "Zero Chronicle – The first sin" prologue event, was announced during the Colopl 10th Anniversary event and aired from April 6 to June 22, 2020. It was animated by
Project No.9 , is a Japanese animation studio established on February 9, 2009. Works Television series ONAs OVAs References External linksOfficial website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Project No.9 Project No.9, Japanese animation studios Mass media c ...
, with
Masato Jinbo is a Japanese anime director and screenwriter. Since 2014, he has directed multiple series, including the adaptations of ''Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya'' and '' Chaos;Child''. Biography Jinbo was born in Tokyo and graduated from . He worked at ...
directing and writing the series, Yousuke Okuda designing the characters, and
Taku Iwasaki is a Japanese composer and arranger. His hometown is Tokyo, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japa ...
composing the music.
Takanori Nishikawa is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, voice actor, radio personality, and businessman. He performs under the stage name T.M.Revolution (T.M.R.), which stands for , stemming from the famous 1980s pop electronic band T ...
and
ASCA ''Asca'' is a genus of mites. Asca or ASCA may also refer to: Organisations * ASCA (news agency), Italy (founded 1969) * Accumulating savings & credit association, a form of microfinance * American Swimming Coaches Association (founded 1958) * A ...
performed the series' opening theme song , while
Rei Yasuda Rachel Rhodes (born April 15, 1993), known professionally as , is a Japanese singer and model. She portrayed and co-voiced the character Lumi, the fictional lead vocalist of Genki Rockets in 2006. She debuted as a solo singer in 2013. Early lif ...
performed the series' ending theme song "through the dark".
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
had acquired the anime series, and they streamed it on its platforms. Following
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
's acquisition of
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...
, the series was moved to Crunchyroll.


Episodes


Reception

On July 18, 2014, ''White Cat Project'' reached the top of Google Play Japan's ranking of newly-released free apps, four days after release on Android. It reached 1 million downloads six days later, becoming the fastest growing app in Colopl's history. It soon became Japan's fastest growing smartphone game, having amassed 10 million downloads a little more than a month later on August 30. It reached 100 million downloads on June 27, 2016. The game won the award for "Best Game of 2014" in Google Play Japan and in "Best iPhone Game" and "Best iPad Game" in Japan's
App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...
Best of 2014 awards. It also won the "Excellence" award in the
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 ...
Awards in 2014 and 2015. Colopl was sued by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
in 2016 on claims that ''White Cat Project'' violated five of Nintendo's patents. While Colopl initially defended itself in the lawsuit, the company announced in August 2021 that they agreed to settle with Nintendo for (approximately ) as to "resolve the matter as soon as possible". The settlement allows Colopl to license Nintendo's patents for ''White Cat Project'' and other games.


Notes


References


External links


Official website
{{Project No.9 2020 anime television series debuts 2014 video games 2016 video games Action role-playing video games Adventure anime and manga Android (operating system) games Anime television series based on video games Crunchyroll anime Fantasy anime and manga Free-to-play video games Gacha games IOS games Kadokawa Shoten manga Kodansha manga Manga based on video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Project No.9 Shōnen manga Video games developed in Japan Colopl games