White Knight Chronicles
A real-time RPG with giant knight transformations.
Level-5 and Japan Studio created White Knight Chronicles, a role-playing game for PlayStation 3 and the developer's first title for that console. Sony Computer Entertainment published it. By August 2009, Japanese sales had reached 350,000 units.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Level-5; Japan Studio
- Publisher
- Sony Computer Entertainment
- Director
- Akihiro Hino
- Composer
- Takeshi Inoue
- Yumiko Hashizume
- Noriyasu Agematsu
- Genre
- Role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Platforms
- PlayStation 3
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
In this role-playing game, you see the action from a third-person view and can choose any character to control. As characters earn experience points, they level up and grow more powerful. A world map lets you instantly travel to any location you have already visited, and you can see a preview of that spot along with any unfinished quests. You can select a quest to start before you arrive. The battle system happens in real time, beginning when enemies appear. Before fighting, you can open the Battle Preparation menu at any time to set up to three groups of seven commands for each party member, making a total of twenty-one commands known as a Command Setup. You can save multiple setups to switch between classes. Commands can be chained together to form combos. You control one character while the rest act on their own, and you can switch which character you are controlling at any time. The main hero can turn into the White Knight by using action chips earned from defeating foes. Boss fights work similarly but may include cutscenes during the battle. You can strike enemies with different elemental magic, and divine magic heals your party. Magic is crucial, but using it does not boost a character's physical strength, so magic users need to stay out of harm's way. After a victory, you receive materials. These are used to craft and improve armor, weapons, accessories, and items, and also to build Georama parts.
Plot
The story of White Knight Chronicles starts in Balandor, where Princess Cisna celebrates her coming-of-age with a banquet. Leonard, the main hero, along with his friend Yulie and the Avatar—a new hire at Rapacci Wines—are sent to deliver wine for the event. After finishing the delivery, they stay for the party, which is suddenly attacked by the evil Magi organization. During the chaos, King Valtos, Cisna’s father, is slain by a man in dark armor. This shock causes Cisna to speak again; she had lost her voice after her mother, Queen Floraine, was assassinated. Leonard guides the distressed Cisna to safety in the castle’s lower levels, where they discover an Incorruptus suit of armor and a gauntlet called the Ark. By using the Ark to merge with the armor, Leonard transforms into the White Knight, a being able to fight the Magi. After he destroys a monster in the castle, the Magi kidnap Cisna. Royal advisor Sarvain orders Leonard to rescue her using the White Knight. Yulie, the Avatar, and a traveler named Eldore join him. The kidnapping is driven by Cisna’s hidden ability to unlock sealed Knights.
Development and release
Level-5 conceived White Knight Chronicles to have 50 or 60 hours of gameplay, a length Akihiro Hino considers to be a full role-playing game, going against pressure to make it a launch title and cut the story short. The music was composed by Takeshi Inoue, Yumiko Hashizume, and Noriyasu Agematsu, with orchestration by Hideo Inai, lyrics by Akihiro Hino, and vocals by Kazco Hamano, who sang the main theme Travelers and the ending theme Shards of Time. The North American release replaced the original Japanese voices for these songs with English-dubbing. The official soundtrack was released on two discs on July 1, 2009, by Aniplex. A web-exclusive prequel manga called Shirokishi Monogatari: Episode 0 Dogma Senki was released in 2008, overseen by Takashi Ikeda and illustrated by Yūko Satō. It takes place 10,000 years before the main game and follows another White Knight.
Reception
Critics were split on White Knight Chronicles, landing it a 64 out of 100 on Metacritic. Japanese magazine Famitsu scored it 29 out of 40, with its main criticism aimed at the online mode. Despite these middling reviews, the game moved about 130,000 copies on day one in Japan and roughly 207,000 in its first week. Eurogamer rated it an 8 out of 10, noting that while the multiplayer fell short, the core game remained enjoyable and its gameplay systems were well-designed and tightly woven together.
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