Sōkaigi

Sōkaigi
Developer(s)	Yuke's
Publisher(s)	Square
Artist(s)	Natsuki Sumeragi (character design)
Composer(s)	Hiroki Kikuta
Platform(s)	PlayStation, PlayStation Network
Release date(s)	JP: May 28, 1998 JP: August 12, 2008 (PSN)
Genre(s)	Action role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Sōkaigi (双界儀, lit. Twin Dimensions) is an action role-playing game developed by Yuke's and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Sony PlayStation video game console. It was released in 1998 in Japan, but was not released in other territories.

This game features character designs by manga-artist Natsuki Sumeragi and a musical score by Hiroki Kikuta.

Story

Sōkaigi takes place in December 1998. An explosion on Mount Fuji, as well as in other areas of Japan, has killed 14 percent of the nation's population. The explosions have caused several fireballs to unite into a gigantic pillar of fire 150 kilometers in height and 10 kilometers in width. Stone pillars known as "Gallan" have also appeared throughout Japan, and ghostly demigods known as "Yorigami" have taken claim to the now ruined country.

The day of the explosions, a high school student in Noborito named Mizuho Mikanagi, along with four of her friends, takes on the task of saving Japan.

Gameplay

Sōkaigi plays from a third-person perspective with a camera that stays behind the main character from the perspective of the player. The objective is to destroy all red crystals while avoiding attacks from monsters. Pressing the X button performs attacks, and may be held to use green orbs to perform more powerful ones. Pressing the square button uses a dash, which may be used while the main character is in the air, while the triangle button makes the character jump and circle allows the character to use cards to cast magic spells. Double tapping Left, right, or back will make the character perform a short jump.

Cast

Music

The soundtrack for Sōkaigi was composed by Hiroki Kikuta, best known for his work in other games such as Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3. The score uses a mix of progressive rock and ethnic sounds. It was recorded using only live instruments.^[1] It contains two vocal tracks, "Quake" and "Lovely Strains", the latter sung by Japanese actress Kotomi Kyono. The track "Angel's Fear Again" may be a reference to another of Kikuta's pieces from Secret of Mana called "Angel's Fear".

Reception

GameSpot gave Sōkaigi a 5.6 out of 10 ("mediocre"), complimenting its character designs and framerate, but criticizing its graphics, sound effects, and lengthy cut scenes.^[2]

References

External links