Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero

Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Designer(s)	Shingo Mukaitoge (producer)[1]
Composer(s)	Naoyuki Sato Michiru Yamane
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release	JP: December 11, 2008 KO: December 18, 2008 NA: January 6, 2009 EU: February 20, 2009
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero (カイとゼロの不思議な旅, Elebits: Kai to Zero no Fushigi na Tabi), known as Eledees: The Adventures of Kai and Zero in Europe, and Elebits: Kai wa Zero Sinbihan Yeohaeng in Korea, is an action video game developed and published by Konami. It is the sequel to the Wii game Elebits.

Gameplay

Kai and Zero. Kai is catching Elebits.

The Adventures of Kai and Zero is an action game that contains many puzzles that the player must solve to progress through the game.^[2] In the original Elebits game, the player viewed the world in a first-person perspective. In The Adventures of Kai and Zero, however, the player views everything in a top-down perspective, to place the emphasis on puzzles rather than in-game physics.^[3] Throughout the game, Kai and Zero travel to several worlds, each with unique experiences and different puzzles to solve. The player's primary objective is to explore the worlds and collect Elebits, which are small beings that pulse with electricity.^[2] Kai can shake trees and lift rocks, which awakes the Elebits hiding underneath these items and forces them to flee. During this moment, the player can then catch the Elebits before they disappear. If the player obtains several Elebits within a few seconds, they are rewarded with extra energy depending on how many Elebits they captured within that time frame. The energy that Kai obtains is mainly used to activate doors and elevators, and to use the Omega Elebits' abilities.^[2]

Plot

The game continues the story from its predecessor, Elebits. In The Adventures of Kai and Zero, Kai makes the Omega elebit, which he found at the end of the last game, his pet, and names it Zero. Later, Zero comes across an invention created by Kai's father, a magical bus named G.G, and accidentally charges it up, which sends Kai and Zero into an alternate universe. Every time Kai and Zero use the bus, they are sent to another world. To return to his own universe, G.G tells Kai that he needs to get a special type of Elebit called an Omega. G.G also tells him that Zero is an Omega.

After getting some Omegas, G.G tells Kai that he doesn't know the way back. A villager comes to tell you that the village is being ravaged by an Omega, which is the first boss. After defeating it, the mayor of the village gives you a map which turns out to be a map between two worlds. With the use of the map, they travel to the Elebit Mine. Kai meets a group of kids called The Pickle Gang, a gang of treasure hunters. It seems that they have lost two members and their Omega. Find the three and the leader, Toto, will give you a map. After finding the Omega and exploring the mine, you find the twins Louie and Lou. They got lost chasing an Omega. The screen starts to shake and the twins manage to escape while you have to fight the boss.

Toto gives you the map and lets you keep their Omega. G.G teleports you to a resort-ish looking beach where Kai finds out a boat got warped here by getting struck by lightning. One of the NPCs will say their world has no Elebits and they depend on energy from wind, water and other types of fuel. In the ship's basement, Kai finds that they're extracting energy from an Omega and they make is overheat. After fleeing the ship, the captain promises you a map if you save his ship. A villager named Arpaka tells Kai that he to find four Omegas to open a gate to get the Omega needed to calm the overheating one down. After getting all five and calming the down the overheating one, the captain gives Kai the map and he warps.

It's snowy here and the villagers say that the Snow Queen's children have gone missing and they think she's getting revenge on them by making the climate warmer. We see the Snow Queen and she says that it's not her fault that the snow is melting, it is because of her missing children. She awakens Zero's powers and gives you a map and before you can warp, you meet a blonde boy, who you saw in the previous areas. After fighting him he flees and Kai returns to his home world.

Arriving there he finds the people are arguing and the Elebits are acting strangely. He runs back to G.G and tells G.G what happened. The blonde boy from last time shows up and gives you a map that leads to all worlds you had visited. He warps you to his world, a barren land full of active volcanoes.

The boy's name is Leo and he had an Omega that looked a lot like Zero. Its name is Mobius and Mobius could take away negative emotions and traumatizing memories. That went to his head though and this is what happened to his home. Mobius is now somewhere and Leo tries to find him. After shutting down all the volcanoes, Kai remembers the Mayor in the first area (Elebit Forest) saying something about a maiden that could connect to the hearts of Elebits, much like he could. He thought maybe she knows where Mobius is. After traveling back and talking to the Mayor, who does not give you much information, Kai remember Arpaka saying something along the lines.

Arpaka says there should be a mural about the maiden. There Zero reacts to something and a rock cracks open, revealing the map to the Sea Temple.

There is where the maiden sleeps, in the temple. But to access the temple, you need to get two pearls. After getting the two pearls, the temple opens and you are attacked by an Omega. After beating the Omega the maiden awakens. Her name is Misha. Mobius' negatives are affecting all worlds. Leo shows up, it seems he was eavesdropping on their conversation. Leo thinks it's his own job to find Mobius and clean up his mess. Misha says it's bad for him to do so and tells Kai to go after him to Liybra of Crystal, which is where Mobius is. She says the Snow Queen should have the map though she needs to be reunited with her children. Her children turn out to be the Odd-eye Twins, Louie and Lou. After reuniting Louie and Lou to their mother, the Snow Queen, you receive the map.

Leo has been there already, his heart has been touched by the negatives given off by Mobius. It is Kai's job now to stop Mobius and restore the scales between worlds. You stop Mobius and everything goes back to normal. Kai and Zero return to their world.

Development

Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero was produced by Shingo Mukaitoge, who also produced the original Elebits for the Wii. Mukaitoge wanted to create a sequel to Elebits without the use of the Wii remote because it "[...] wasn't likely to have the same novelty anymore."^[1] Kai and Zero was intended to focus more on problem solving and puzzles using the DS stylus, but still remain true to the original concept of finding and capturing Elebits. The adventure elements within the game are inspired by The Legend of Zelda series.^[1]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 75 of 100[4] Review scores Publication Score Famitsu 31 of 40[5] GameSpot 7 of 10[3] GameTrailers 7.2 of 10[6] GameZone 7.8 of 10[7] IGN 7.9 of 10[2] NGamer 75%[8] Nintendo Life [9] Nintendo Power 7 of 10[10] Nintendo World Report 8 of 10[11]

The Adventures of Kai and Zero received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[4] IGN called the game less ambitious than its predecessor, but still praised it as a rewarding game nonetheless.^[2] Nintendo Power considered it a "cute, enjoyable diversion"^[10] and GameSpot praised it as a "very fun adventure".^[3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one seven and three eights for a total of 31 out of 40.^[5]

References

External links

• Official website (in English)
• Official website (in Japanese)