Ø Story
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| Ø Story | |
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| Developer(s) | General Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Enix |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release date | JPN April 27, 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game Full motion video based game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media | 2 DVD-ROMs |
Ø Story (ラブストーリー?) (pronounced as "Love Story", and also spelt φ Story) is a Japan-exclusive adventure full motion video based game developed by General Entertainment and published by Enix on April 27, 2000. It was the first Enix game published on the PlayStation 2, and was part of the campaign to promote the release of the console in Japan.
The player takes the role of a young man who dies in a motorcycle accident. He is sent back to earth as a ghost by Ai, the angel of love, who tells him that he may revive if he gains the love of a girl named Lina within six days.[1] The female cast of the game is composed of Japanese television actresses and models.
Reviews of the game range from average to negative, with criticism of the game's graphics and acting. English-speaking game reviewers expressed concerns regarding the difficulty for players unaware of Japanese customs to fully understand the game.
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[edit] Gameplay
Ø Story is an interactive movie in which the story is depicted in continuous full motion videos. The player can make various actions at set moments (such as communicating by writing on sand, chalkboards, or computer screens) which result in slightly different paths and scenes, although the direction of the story remains globally the same. Events similar to the Quick Time Events featured in Sega's game Shenmue are also present. They require the player to trigger an action by quickly pushing a button when an "O" flashes on-screen.[1]
The player can shoot arrows at Lina, which allow to read her mind in text dialogues or cutscenes. Minigames are present, including baseball and rhythm games. All these actions can increase or decrease the player's "love meter" depending on his success, and the objective of the game is to fill the love meter to 100 percent by the end of the sixth day.[2]
[edit] Development
In August 1999, Enix' Chief of General Affairs Kouichi Hasegawa announced to Bloomberg News that four titles were in development in the company for the upcoming Sony PlayStation 2 console. While he had not revealed the names of the games, it was known that one of them would reportedly feature large quantities of full motion videos in DVD format.[3]
Ø Story was showcased in February 2000 with the presence of the game's actresses at the PlayStation Festival in Tokyo, as part of Sony's campaign to promote the soon-to-be-released PlayStation 2.[4][5] The title was Enix' second adventure game in full motion video, following Eurasia Express Satsujin Jiken in 1998.[6] The cast recruited for Ø Story includes Japanese actresses, television personalities, and models; notably Aya Hirayama and Kaori Manabe, who would later star in the Waterboys film and television series, respectively; and Erika Yamakawa.[7]
A game demo was given to video game journalists in March,[8] and the game was showcased a second time, at the Tokyo Game Show in April, where it was one of the most visited Enix attraction after Dragon Quest VII.[6] The gaming website IGN attributes this popularity to the fact that, earlier in the year, screenshots of the game had shown two female characters about to kiss each other.[9] However, the release of the game revealed that there are no lesbianism in the story and that one of the girl featured in the kissing scene is in fact possessed by the player's ghost.[1]
[edit] Music
| Ø Story Original Soundtrack | ||
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| Soundtrack by Konatsu Yuzunogi | ||
| Released | May 17, 2000 | |
| Genre | Video game music | |
| Length | 73 minutes | |
| Label | First Smile Entertainment | |
The music of Ø Story was composed by Konatsu Yuzunogi and includes two vocal songs, "Hello Again" and "Old Friend", both sung by Aya Hirayama with lyrics written by Haru Yuki. The original soundtrack of the game was published in Japan on May 17, 2000 by First Smile Entertainment. It comprises 36 tracks.[10]
| Track listing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Hello Again" | ||||||||
| 2. | "Old Friend (Ø Story Ending Theme)" (Old Friend(φStoryエンディングテーマ)) | ||||||||
| 3. | "Rainy Goodbye" (雨のさよなら) | ||||||||
| 4. | "The Two in the Night Sky" (夜空のふたり) | ||||||||
| 5. | "Prayer" (祈り) | ||||||||
| 6. | "Heart of Saki" (サキの心) | ||||||||
| 7. | "Cross" (すれ違い) | ||||||||
| 8. | "In the Sunshine" (光の中で) | ||||||||
| 9. | "Hurry Up!" (急げ!) | ||||||||
| 10. | "For the Dawn" (始まりのために) | ||||||||
| 11. | "Beach of the Promise (Theme of Ø Story)" (約束の浜辺(φStoryのテーマ)) | ||||||||
| 12. | "Theme of World Above" (天上界のテーマ) | ||||||||
| 13. | "First Conversation" (初めての会話) | ||||||||
| 14. | "Unattained Feelings" (とどかぬ思い) | ||||||||
| 15. | "Lina and You" (リナとYOU) | ||||||||
| 16. | "Lina and You (Alter Version)" (リナとYOU(オルターネイト・ヴァージョン)) | ||||||||
| 17. | "Lina and Saki, at End of Day" (リナとサキ,一日の終わりに) | ||||||||
| 18. | "Touch Lina's Mind" (リナの心にふれて) | ||||||||
| 19. | "Last Chat" (最後のチャット) | ||||||||
| 20. | "Theme of Saki" (サキのテーマ) | ||||||||
| 21. | "Theme of Ruby" (ルビーのテーマ) | ||||||||
| 22. | "Theme of Hitomi" (ヒトミのテーマ) | ||||||||
| 23. | "Theme of Mahoro" (マホロのテーマ) | ||||||||
| 24. | "Theme of Shimotsuki" (霜月のテーマ 01) | ||||||||
| 25. | "Theme of Shimotsuki 2" (霜月のテーマ 02) | ||||||||
| 26. | "Crisis 1 - Beach" (危機 01浜辺) | ||||||||
| 27. | "Crisis 2 - Uninvited Visitor" (危機 02招かれざる訪問者) | ||||||||
| 28. | "Crisis 3 - A Gift" (危機 03プレゼント) | ||||||||
| 29. | "Crisis 4 - Concert Venue" (危機 04コンサート会場) | ||||||||
| 30. | "Lina and Saki's Date 1 - Boutique" (リナとサキのデート 01ブティック) | ||||||||
| 31. | "Lina and Saki's Date 2 - Batting Center" (リナとサキのデート 02バッティングセンター) | ||||||||
| 32. | "Lina and Saki's Date 3 - Tarot House" (リナとサキのデート 03タロットの館) | ||||||||
| 33. | "Dance! Dance! Dance!" (ダンス!ダンス!ダンス!) | ||||||||
| 34. | "The Akbum of Memories" (思い出のアルバム?〈ボーナス・トラック〉) | ||||||||
| 35. | "Hello Again (Instrumental Version)" (Hello Again(オリジナル・カラオケ)) | ||||||||
| 36. | "Old Friend (Instrumental Version)" (Old Friend(オリジナル・カラオケ)) | ||||||||
[edit] Reception
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This article or section deals primarily with the English-speaking world and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page. |
The gaming websites IGN and GameSpot compared the game to Digital Pictures' Sega CD games and its storyline to the movie Ghost.[1][2]
Ø Story scored 5.8 out of 10 on GameSpot. The website called the video quality good despite occasional compression artifacts, while the few non-video sections were considered "more like average PlayStation graphics than those of a PlayStation 2 game". GameSpot noted that an understanding of the Japanese language is indispensable to play the game, and that even then non-Japanese players are likely to find Ø Story odd due to the high amount of cultural references present in the game.[2]
According to IGN however, the quality of the graphics varies greatly, with the worst instances being comparable to "a heavily-artifacted RealVideo file". The website noted that these artifacts are "awful" and detrimental in one of the minigame in which the player must search for a girl hiding in a large crowd. IGN also rated the acting as particularly bad, "on the same level as a good episode of Power Rangers", although some performances were seen as better than others. They also felt that the interactions between the real actors and the computer-generated image of the ghost were awkward. Regarding the sound quality, they remarked that all looped dialogues have a high-pitched frequency playing in the background, which can be annoying for sensitive hearing. Finally, they noted that the game is short and can be finished in 24 or 48 hours despite spanning two DVDs.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Williamson, Colin (May 1, 2000). 0 Story Preview. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ a b c Sato, Ike (May 4, 2000). 0 Story for PlayStation 2 Review. GameSpot. CNET Networks. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Perry, Douglass C. (August 2, 1999). PS2 Week in Review: July 28 through August 2. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
- ^ Zdyrko, Dave (February 18, 2000). PS Festival 2000: Complete Software List. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Yahagi, Akira (February 18, 2000). PlayStation Festival 2000が19日から一般公開へ (Japanese). ケータイ Watch. Impress Group. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ a b Zdyrko, Dave (April 3, 2000). TGS 2000: Enix's Only PS2 Game. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ 0STORY（ラブストーリー） (Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Nix, Marc (March 22, 2000). Demo Repo. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ Zdyrko, Dave (March 17, 2000). Girl on Girl Action Invades PS2. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
- ^ φStory - Love Story Original Soundtrack. Square Enix Music Online (unofficial site). Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
[edit] External links
- Ø Story homepage at the Square Enix website (Japanese)
- Archive of Ø Story homepage from Enix website (Japanese)
