White Knight Chronicles

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. Like in most other RPGs 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 RPG, going against the pressure to make White Knight Chronicles a launch title and cutting the story short.

World

One 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 do before going to the desired area.

Battle system

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

The game 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.

Characters

Leonard (レナード, Renādo)

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese); Daniel Taylor (English)The main protagonist, and pactmaker of the White Knight. He was found as an infant in some ruins which had been uncovered 17 years earlier.

Yulie (ユウリ, Yūri)

Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Dannah Feinglass (English)A girl who comes from the same village as Leonard and was Leonard's childhood friend. Hints in the story indicates that she could be the pactmaker of the Moon Princess.

Eldore (エルドア, Erudoa)

Voiced by: Masane Tsukayama (Japanese); Charles Shaughnessy (English)Eldore is a skilled warrior and servant to the queen of the long-perished kingdom of Athwan. During the Dogma War fought 10,000 years earlier, he served the queen and, after her death, travelled forwards through time, seeking out her reincarnation at the cost of his youth.

Kara (カーラ, Kāra)

Voiced by: Rina Yamada (Japanese); Catherine Cavadini (English)A dancer from the desert village of Albana.

Caesar (シーザー, Shīzā)

Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa (Japanese); Vince Corazza (English)The adopted son of the ruler of Greede, the walking city, Caesar is the pactmaker of the Dragon Knight. In addition to this power, he gained "dragonsight", which allows him to see a person's true self.

Princess Cisna (シズナ姫, Shizuna Hime)

Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese); Kari Wahlgren (English)The princess that was kidnapped during her coming-of-age banquet. Rendered mute upon witnessing her mother's murder ten years prior, she regained her voice upon witnessing that of her father. She is the reincarnation of a queen from the Dogma War 10,000 years prior.

King Valtos (ヴァルトス, Varutosu)

Voiced by: Michio Hazama (Japanese); Bob Joles (English)The king of Balandor and father of Cisna, he was killed during his daughter's coming-of-age banquet.

Grazel (グラーゼル, Gurāzeru)

Voiced by: Yūya Uchida (Japanese); Crispin Freeman (English)The game's main antagonist, true leader of the Magi army, pactmaker of the Sun King and older brother of Kara. He wants to control all the Knights to become the ruler of the world.

Avatar (アバター, Abatā)

A character that the player can customize and accompany Leonard and his allies with throughout the game. He or she is also the character used by the player for online multiplay. Has little role in the main game.

Incorruptus

Ten thousand years ago, in the time known as the Dogma Age, the Yshrenian and Athwani empires erupted into a vicious and brutal war. These two were the largest and the most powerful kingdoms in the land, nearly equal in prestige and resources.

Their battles raged across the world, turning verdants forests and peaceful hamlets into charred and burned fields. The casualties quickly mounted on both sides, resulting in a situation where one side or the other had to gain an advantage, give in, or risk mutual destruction.

Yshrenian scholars and scientists introduced the Knights (referred to as Incorruptuses), giant machines created solely for the purpose of war. These beings, when bonded with a human soul, could utilize immense power on the battlefield and able to lay waste to an entire army single-handedly. The Athwani military soon began to fall under the overwhelming power of the Knights. Their forces became cannon fodder, causing a severe drop in morale and efficiency.

The scholars of Athwan, desperate to turn the tide of battle, developed sealing magic intended to completely remove the knights from the field of battle and leave both armies on an even plane. They cast their spell, and though many valuable lives were lost in the process, the knights were sealed away.

The Yshrenian army courageously rushed into battle against the Athwani army, but their spirit was broken. They had lost their strongest advantage and, having become reliant on the power of the knights, had no real hope of victory. The Athwani kingdom did not escape unscathed, however. Years spent in a costly and violent war ended with the death of their best and brightest, leaving the country in a state of discontent. Unrest grew throughout the land, eventually resulting in the death of the Queen.

The Knights remain sealed away, long forgotten and unused.

Wizel the White Knight (白騎士, Shirokishi)

A 7-meter tall warrior from a time when such creatures nearly destroyed all of mankind. Wields a sword and shield. Pactmaker: Leonard.

Dinivas the Black Knight, a.k.a. "Ebonwings" (黒騎士, Kurokishi)

A warrior similar to the White Knight in both powers and abilities. Wields a sword and can fly. Pactmaker: Kara (Killed by Shapur at the end in White Knight Chronicles), Shapur (Current).

Larvayne the Dragon Knight (竜騎士, Ryūkishi)

A warrior similar to the White and Black Knights in both powers and abilities. Wields a spear and can fly. Pactmaker: Caesar.

Adolmaea the Sun King (太陽王, Taiyōō)

A warrior similar to the White, Black and Dragon Knights in both power and ability. Adolmea is much taller than the others and wields a twin sword. Pactmaker: Grazel.

Luthia the Moon Maiden (月初, Tsukihatsu)

A warrior similar to the other knights in power. Luthia is the only female incorruptus. Luthia wields a bow and use divine and elemental magic. Pactmaker: Yulie. (In White Knight Chronicles II)

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.

Reception

White Knight Chronicles has received mixed reviews. It received an aggregated score of 66.40% on GameRankings and 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.

Sequel

A sequel titled White Knight Chronicles II was released in 2010.