Radiant Historia

Radiant Historia is a role-playing video game co-developed by Atlus and Headlock for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in 2010 by Atlus, and in North America in 2011 by their subsidiary Atlus USA. An expanded remake for the Nintendo 3DS, titled Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, was released in 2017 in Japan and released in North America and PAL territories the following year, with the latter version being published by Deep Silver.

The game is set on Vainqueur, a continent divided between the warring nations of Alistel and Granorg. Alistel soldier Stocke is chosen to wield the White Chronicle, a tome capable of navigating multiple timelines, so he may prevent Vainqueur's desertification. Stocke and his party explore Vainqueur, fighting enemies on a grid-based battlefield using a turn-based system. Travelling between alternate timelines is a key part of both the storyline and the gameplay, with the number of potential timelines unlocked influencing the ending.

Radiant Historia was developed by a team with staff drawn from both Atlus' Megami Tensei series, and the tri-Ace title Radiata Stories. First proposed by Satoshi Takayashiki in 2007, the base concept underwent several changes due to suggestions from Atlus staff. The remake included redrawn artwork, voice acting, an additional story path, and an animated opening produced by A-1 Pictures. The music for both versions was composed by Yoko Shimomura, with theme songs performed by Haruka Shimotsuki.

Reception and sales for both versions have been positive, with both reaching high sales chart positions in Japan and the West. The original received praise for its gameplay and time travel mechanics, though opinions were mixed on its graphics and linear structure. Several critics compared it favourably to role-playing games from the 16-bit gaming era. The remake saw a generally positive response, with many praising the added story and gameplay content.

Radiant Historia is a role-playing video game (RPG) set in a fantasy world and following a group of characters traveling across the war-torn continent of Vainqueur. The game's environments are explored from a top-down perspective, with different zones opening up during the course of the narrative. These self-contained environments are accessed using a world map, and can then be freely explored. Within these environments following the game's opening mission, the main character Stocke can manipulate boxes to clear paths and solve puzzles, in addition to other elements such as destructible objects and treasure chests containing consumables or items such as armor and weapons.

A key part of Radiant Historia is navigating a series of branching stories spread across alternate timelines using a book called the White Chronicle. Given to main protagonist Stocke during the game's opening, it is used to travel between different timelines during the course of the story. After its first use, the Historia can be accessed at special points scattered through the game world. Following a key choice within the story, there are two main timelines and numerous smaller branches from those timelines. Several events within one timeline can only be completed using information or items gathered from the alternate timeline. Events in both timelines are recorded in a journal that can be accessed through the party menu.

Aside from points where the story dictates the player's action, navigating the timelines is a non-linear process. Story segments within each timeline, called "nodes", are color-coded depending on its content; brown nodes are chapters of the main story, blue boxes are events in which the player can make a choice which creates new paths in the timeline and can be revisited to take a different path, and dark boxes indicate a node with a bad ending or no way to continue the narrative. Experience points and currency earned in battles are carried over between timelines. Events across each timeline are tied to side quests the player can complete. While there are multiple endings depending on the path taken by the player, there are only two canon endings; the standard version, and an extended version unlocked by completing all side quests.

Enemies, represented by sprites, are visible while exploring environments. Running into them will trigger a battle, but Stocke can stun them with his sword and either avoid battle or trigger a preemptive attack. A cloaking ability unlocked later in the game enables the party to slip by enemies unseen. Battles take place in a separate arena, with the battle itself and turn order information being displayed respectively on the bottom and top screen. There is an auto-battle function, where the party will automatically perform basic attacks. Successfully defeating the enemy party rewards the player party with money and experience points which level up the party members, giving them higher statistics such as raised health and more powerful attacks.