Romance Video Games Codexery

Angel Beats! 1st Beat

Original visual novel that inspired the afterlife story of the Angel Beats! anime.

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Angel Beats! 1st Beat

kxz Chen · CC BY-SA 2.0

Angel Beats! 1st Beat is a supernatural visual novel set in an afterlife limbo where the dead must relinquish their attachments before moving on.[1] The player controls Yuzuru Otonashi and reads narrative text accompanied by character sprites and background art.[2] The player's decisions in Angel Beats! 1st Beat lead to a branching narrative with multiple possible conclusions, and the game offers three distinct storylines focused on Yui, Masami Iwasawa, and Matsushita.[2][3]

Making and release

Jun Maeda began writing the scenario for a possible video game adaptation in November 2010, after the anime series concluded.[4] Visual Arts president Takahiro Baba conceived the game as an episodic release in multiple volumes, despite Maeda's opposition.[4] Baba believed multiple volumes were necessary due to the large cast and story scale, and to avoid an overly long play time.[5] A free demo became available on May 15, 2015, and the limited-edition version for Windows was released on June 26, 2015.[6]

Subsequent volumes were later cancelled, with planned content used as a basis for the manga Angel Beats! Heaven's Door.[7] Maeda served as the game's designer and contributed as a scenario writer, with Kai and Leo Kashida also writing scenarios.[8] Maeda's initial preference was for a role-playing game format rather than a visual novel, and he believed the PlayStation Vita would have been a more suitable platform for its release.[5] The limited edition package contained a 36-page guide book, a music album called Holy, and several other bonus items.[6][9]

What the cited sources add

The opening theme is "Heartily Song" by Lia, and the two ending themes are performed by Suzuyu and LiSA.[10] Weapons produced in this manner can vary from basic hand-to-hand tools to sophisticated guns and explosive devices.[2] Mixed reality can be generated through computer programs; for instance, Kanade uses a program named Angel Player to produce supernatural abilities.[2] Two hundred secret achievements are hidden within the game.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "PCゲーム「Angel Beats! 1st beat」2014年発売! 第1巻の攻略キャラは岩沢、ユイ......そして松下五段!?", ASCII Media Works, January 1, 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "「AngelBeats! 1st beat」が2014年に発売.麻枝 准氏原作のTVアニメ「AngelBeats!」を題材にしたアドベンチャーゲームだ", 4Gamer, January 7, 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Angel Beats!", Dengeki G's Magazine (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Key Head: Maeda Working on Possible Angel Beats! Game", Anime News Network, November 21, 2010; "Large Free Talk Interview of Jun Maeda and President Takahiro Baba", Dengeki G's Magazine, October 30, 2013, p. 22–27; "Jun Maeda's Angel Beats Anime Gets Game Green-Lit", Anime News Network, September 27, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Large Free Talk Interview of Jun Maeda and President Takahiro Baba", Dengeki G's Magazine, October 30, 2013, p. 22–27 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "「Angel Beats! -1st beat-」体験版Ver1.10公開!", Key, May 15, 2015; "「Angel Beats! -1st beat-」の体験版が配信開始!", ASCII Media Works, May 15, 2015; "PCゲーム「Angel Beats! 1st beat」の発売日は2015年5月29日! 予約特典はガルデモ未発表曲", ASCII Media Works, December 22, 2014; "Angel Beats! PC Game Scheduled for May 29 Release", Anime News Network, December 22, 2014; "Products", Key (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "電撃25周年記念作品「Angel Beats! -The Last Operation-」電撃G'sコミックにて連載開始!", Kadokawa Corporation, July 27, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Products", Key; "Products", Key; ErogameScape; ErogameScape (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Special", Key; "「AB! -1st-」システムパッチ Ver.1.01を公開いたしました", Key, July 10, 2015; "Interview: The World's Biggest Visual Novels with Visual Art's", Anime News Network, May 31, 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "AB!-1st- 主題歌CD発売決定&キャラクター投票開始!", Key, February 13, 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Angel Beats! 1st Beat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Asaba, Taiga, "「Angel Beats! -1st beat-」プレイインプレッションをお届け! いま絶対に遊んでおきたい本作の魅力を語り尽くす(2/2)", Famitsu, June 26, 2015, p. 2 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Angel Beats! 1st Beat (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. Which company published "Angel Beats! 1st Beat"?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Visual Arts.

From the source: “1st Beat is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts.”

2. Which company developed "Angel Beats! 1st Beat"?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Key.

From the source: “1st Beat is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts.”

3. Who designed "Angel Beats! 1st Beat"?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Jun Maeda.

From the source: “The game is based on the 2010 anime television series Angel Beats!, originally conceived by Jun Maeda, and also adapts scenes featured in the anime.”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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