Update: February 28, 2008
«©NCSX» The world in Soma Bringer doesn't use crude oil or solar power. It uses Soma which is plentiful, easily harnessed, and is critical to industry in the land of Barnea. However, strange visitors have broken into the world and the equilibrium of Soma has become unhinged. To restore balance to Soma and crush a gang of monsters along the way, a formidable seven-member strike team called the Pharzuph (7th Division) is assembled to venture forth into the world and set things right once again.
Nintendo bought out Monolith (developer of the Xenosaga games) last year and the first game that the recently acquired crew releases is an action-RPG dubbed Soma Bringer which features music composed by Yasunori Mitsuda.
View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.
NCS Game Notes
» At the outset of the game, a shooting star falls from the heavens and onto the land of Barnea - dark clouds may be seen flowing in opposing directions followed by the streaming downwards plummet of the star which crashes and explodes.
» Start a new game and you'll be able to select a character out of seven choices. An eight figure named Idea is shadowed and not selectable.
Available Characters
Welt / Red haired lad who carries a sword and shield
Idea / Blonde pixie in blue dress and white knee-high boots (locked)
Einsatz / Silver-haired sword handler who looks like Sephiroth
Jadis / Broad shouldered axe swinger with purplish hair
Millers / Pink haired gal who wears a gauntlet on her left hand
Cadenza / Willowy young man who wields a firearm
Forte / Orange haired female magic user
Granada / Her garb is reminiscent of Galadriel of Princess Crown fame
» Once your character is chosen, you'll select a class out of six options as follows:
Character classes
Battler / Warrior-class that uses melee weapons
Koas / Fighter that can also use white magic - sort of like a ranger
Darks / Fighter who amplifies his blows with black magic
Gunners / Shooter who fires at enemies with projectile based weapons
Kanbus / All-around fighter who uses spears and poles
Somas / Magic user who harnesses elemental power
» After the class is chosen, a weapon is selected. For example, we chose Welt and made him a Battler. In his weapon selection screen, we were able to select a sword & shield, a broadsword, or a dual-sword set-up. Next, you'll have 7 character points to allocate to the hero's Strength, Skill, Magic, and Health. Finally, you'll name the newly created hero in hiragana, katakana, or English.
Prologue: Girl in the Woods
The birds are chirping and shafts of sunlight shine through the dark clouds above. The impact crater from the shooting star is shown on the touch screen. Press "A" and Welt (or the character you chose) is shown on the top screen. He runs out and is greeted by Millers. The two continue outside where they're joined by Jadis, Forte, and Cadenza. The quintet runs into the forest where they meet up with Einsatz and Granada. This is the newly formed Pharzuph 7th Division squad of adventurers on an urgent mission.
Once control is handed over to the player, use the d-pad to move to the northeast. Einsatz and Millers both follow close behind. The action takes place on the top screen while the touch screen shows a local area map and the control assignments for the face buttons. At the outset of the game, pressing the "A" button swings the primary weapon of the hero. The cavern area that the party enters serves as the home to three turnip-like creatures. Run up to one and the battle commences immediately without any separate loading screen or shift of venue. Press the "A" button to attack and your two party members will automatically join in on the hack and slash. Their actions are controlled by the computer AI and they attack with gusto.
» Although only three active members of the party attack during the overworld exploration, the complete party consists of all seven characters who can be seen during short sequences that help to relay the storyline.
» In the early goings, a tutorial teaches gamers the controls, menu options, and other important details about the adventure.
» There are four levels of zoom that may be adjusted by pressing the SELECT button. The highest level of zoom gives players such a close-up view of the party that you won't be able to assess your surroundings or see the enemies you're attacking.
» The actions of the main character may be mapped to the four face buttons so that they're automatically performed when the corresponding button is tapped. Movement is handled entirely with the d-pad and actions are triggered by pressing the face buttons. Two sets of actions may be assigned to each face button and you'll be able to toggle between the sets of actions by pressing and holding the R trigger. When it's time to use items that are stored in inventory, press the L trigger and the relevant face button commands will be made available for use. This is an important feature of the game because there is no way to pause the adventure when a health item is needed to recover HP. If you press the START button to access inventory, the game world around you continues to move in real time and an enemy attack will leave your hero vulnerable.
» When attacking enemies, an exclamation point will appear as the party is pummeling a beast with consecutive hits. Continue attacking with gang-like aplomb and two exclamation marks will appear. As long as the creature doesn't succumb to the rain of blows, your next hit will activate the "Break" system which is indicated by three exclamation marks. A Break attack impacts ponderous damage on the beast.
» In the early going, the "Break" attack is usually the killing stroke. The Break System is explained in the tutorial at the outset of the game. There's also an S-Break System which is shown following the Break System tutorial. You'll get to test the Break and S-Break attacks by attacking the boss that appears in front of the plant-like crystal vessel which holds a girl within. She's crouched in an upright fetal position. An emergency siren sounds and the crystal cracks which leads to a local area explosion that flattens the party. Everyone's none the worse for wear however and they look upwards to find the girl lying on the ground. End prologue.
» The game card features 8 save slots.
Act. 1 Uncovering
After the prologue is finished, the next scene starts off with the entire party aboard a craft where they get acquainted with the girl they've recovered from the cracked crystal. Her name is Idea. Despite being a girl who just emerged from a strange vessel, she understands Japanese and speaks with the party.
This document is ©NCSX 2008. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.