Tsugunai: Atonement
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Tsugunai: Atonement is a 2001 role-playing game developed by Cattle Call for the PlayStation 2 game console and released by Atlus.
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[edit] Story
The main character, Reise, is a Raven, a sort of mercenary who takes dangerous jobs to earn a living. The game opens as Reise climbs an ancient tower to retrieve the Treasure Orb, a sacred artifact. In doing so, he angers the gods, who retaliate by separating Reise's body and soul. In order to atone for his sins, Reise must demonstrate kindness and courage by assisting the denizens of a small fishing village. He accomplishes this by possessing the bodies of those he needs to help, in order to allow them to accomplish tasks that they will not or cannot accomplish by themselves. In time, he ends up saving the village from a great evil.
[edit] Characters
The principle characters that Reise possesses throughout the story are:
Fisela : A tomboyish female fisherman who hates her father. She believes that her father didn't care for her mother enough in her last days.
Ashgo : An apprentice monk. He is a complete klutz and gets in people's way, but the abbot sees his potential.
Raffer : The former commander of the castle guard. He has become a fugitive, but has amnesia and can't remember what crime he committed.
Ifem : A Raven who owes a large debt. He takes jobs that he can't handle in order to pay it off.
[edit] Gameplay
The game is broken up into around 35 different "quests". Some of them involve the principle characters, while some are more peripheral and let you explore the lives of some of the other characters in the village. All combat-oriented quests involve the principle characters. Once Reise meets the quest's objective, the quest is solved and the story advances, often changing the situation in the village and opening up new quests.
Even though the game involves many different characters, the mechanics treat the characters as equal, except in the case of the weapons they can equip. Magic, supplementary equipment, and items are carried over from quest to quest, regardless of whom Reise possesses.
[edit] Trivia
The American sub-title to this game, Atonement, is simply the English translation of the title.
One thing that stands out in Tsugunai's credit is that the music was composed by famous videogame composer Yasunori Mitsuda. The official soundtrack, featuring enhanced instrument samples, was named an cinniùint.
Sales of Tsugunai were poor in both Japan and in North America, due in part to poor marketing and the unusual nature of the game presentation.
