Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star is a 2014 role-playing video game for the PlayStation 3 developed by Gust. It is a continuation of Ciel nosurge released in 2012,2013-09-24, Ar no Surge announced for PlayStation 3, Gematsu2013-11-05, 「アルノサージュ ～生まれいずる星へ祈る詩～」，“詩魔法”がカギを握るバトルシステムや登場ヒロイン「キャスティ」「イオン」を紹介, 4gamer and also a prequel to the Ar tonelico series.2014-01-20, 「アルノサージュ」の最新情報が公開。「アルトネリコ」シリーズとの関連のほか，新キャラクターやバトルシステムなども明らかに, 4gamer It was picked up for localization by Koei-Tecmo and released on September 23, 2014.
An updated re-release called Ar nosurge Plus that featured improved tutorials, all previous DLC included into the game, and additional features was released on the PlayStation Vita on October 2, 2014 in Japan, and July 15, 2015 in America and Europe.
Another version called Ar nosurge DX was announced on June 6, 2020; with the platforms and release date aanounced on October 6 of the same year. The game was released alongside Ciel nosurge DX on March 04, 2021 for Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4 and Steam on Japan.
==Gameplay==
===Field Exploration===
In the fields, the players can explore the areas and collect items in a way akin to that of Gust's Atelier series, as well as talking with other characters, interacting with some elements of the scenery and activating events. They can also talk with the other characters that form their party in order to get their viewpoints on the current area or the objective they have to accomplish. If there is more than one character accompanying the main party, they can be switched for conversation with the  and buttons, and the conversation scrolled by pressing the button. The player will have a bar that constantly changes colors, alerting them to the possibility of entering a battle the closer it gets to a red color and the faster it flashes. The bar will have at its side the number of enemy waves that can be encountered in that area.
===Zapping===
As the player is given control over two pairs of characters: Delta & Casty, and Earthes and Ion, the player is given the ability of changing which party they are in control at any point in the game after a certain point in Phase 1, which is done by examining a Save Point and selecting the Zapping option. However, there are certain points in which the Zapping is forced by story reasons, while in others the player will be barred of Zapping and will be limited to controlling only one party.
Additionally, if the player advances too much with one of the two parties, at a point they won't be able to proceed any further with the storyline despite being free to do anything else they want. They will be notified of this by either a large Episode Reached! or Episode Locked! notice displayed at the top of the screen, and the Episode Online mark on the main menu will be replaced by either of these notices, depending on which one appears on the screen. When this happens, they will have to Zap to the other party and proceed further in their side of the story in order to continue advancing in the game.
===Battles===
During battles, the player will control two characters: the protagonist and his corresponding heroine, while they battle multiple enemy waves, so once an enemy group is defeated, other group will take their place until the player defeats them all, they run away, are defeated, or the turn limit is reached. The protagonist has the purpose of actively attacking the enemies and protecting the heroine, while the heroine stands behind the protagonist singing a Song Magic chosen by the player.
Turns are divided in Player's Turn and Enemy's Turn, of which the Player's Turn is used for the protagonist to attack the enemies a set number of times while the heroine charges up her Song Magic. For attacking, the player can use four attacks that are mapped to the four face buttons in the PlayStation 3's controller, as well as also being able to bring up a menu by pressing where they can use items, activate Friend Skills, run away from the battle or activate the Heroine's Song Magic whenever they wish to.
The better the player battles, the faster their Harmo Level will rise, which in turn will speed up the Burst Gauge, which is the representation of the strength for the heroine's Song Magic. However, received attacks as well as the usage of the bonus actions triggered with the and buttons can reduce the Harmo Level, so the player must be careful.
The heroine may use weaker Song Magic blasts of variable intensity against the enemies to support the protagonist during the Player's Turn, which also depend on how high the player has the Harmo Level and the type of Song Magic she is charging, with the likelihood of this happening increasing the more hits the player accumulates by attacking the enemies continuously (performing and maintaining a Chain).
Once the player has used up all the attacks the protagonist can use during that turn, the battle will move over to the Enemy's Turn, during which the player will have to watch for the timing of the enemies' attacks and press the button in order to block them and protect the heroine. Successful guards reduce damage taken and increase the Burst Gauge, while failed guards result in a loss of Burst and greater damage to the Heroine. The number of times the player can guard during the enemy's turn is limited, so they should be wise about which attacks to block during boss battles, as many bosses summon minions that don't deal much damage while the boss itself can easily defeat the pair if their attacks aren't blocked.
It must be mentioned that the protagonist can't die, as he doesn't even have an HP bar, but the heroine does have an HP bar at the side of her portrait, which is segmented into four parts. Each of these four parts corresponds to a Barrier, and if her HP falls below the threshold for a specific part, the Barrier corresponding to it will get destroyed and it won't be possible to heal her HP beyond that point unless an item with the Barrier Repair property is used. If all of the four Barriers are destroyed, the Heroine will fall and the game will count it as a defeat, giving a Game Over to the player.
Battles have a time limit, as if they aren't finished in a certain number of turns, the game will consider the battle as finished and send the player to the results screen, where they will receive experience, Dive Points, money and dropped items depending on the types and number of enemies defeated. After this, they will be taken back to the field and the encounter gauge will be reduced depending on the number of encounters for the area and the number of waves the player managed to defeat.
However, if the player manages to defeat all the waves before the turn limit expires, the encounter gauge will be emptied upon returning to the field, allowing the player to explore the field without worrying about enemies. This gives more importance to Song Magic due to the fact that once it has reached a certain Burst threshold, it can deal damage to all of the enemy waves currently present in battle at once, allowing the player to clear the area of enemies with a single attack. This is denoted in the wave indicator at the top of the screen by marking in red the waves that the currently charged Burst level can destroy at the moment.
The player can gain additional turns by attacking the enemies marked with a  enough to fill a yellow bar below their HP, which when it gets filled, it will Break that enemy and leave it stunned, reducing their number of possible actions next turn or even leaving them unable to move at all; as well as killing enemies that don't have the previously mentioned mark. Additionally, event and boss battles are exempt from the turn limit, so the player doesn't have to worry about it for particularly hard battles.
====HarmoBurst====
When the player has reached the max Harmo Level (Lv. 4), the option for activating the Song Magic is replaced by other called the HarmoBurst, in which the protagonist will be able to attack enemies continuously until the Harmo Level gauge gets completely emptied. Additionally, this will allow the protagonist and heroine to activate a more powerful attack, in which the protagonist launches a super move followed by the Song Magic of the Heroine with amplified power. This action can only be used on the player has completely cleared the Genometrics for the Heroine of the party they are controlling at the moment.
====Friend Skills====
The player can also call upon the characters that have established a friendship with the party in order to attack the enemies or provide support to the pair after certain conditions are met. However, only one of these skills can be used per battle.
===Synthesis===
At shops, the player has the option of using the items and recipes they have collected to make newer items, always with the assistance of the shopkeeper of the place they are at. Aside of this allowing the player to gain items they wouldn't be able to in any other way, this also triggers scenes in which the characters involved in the creation of the item discuss it and give it a name the first time a specific item is made, as well as also having humorous sequences of dancing and singing at the end of the synthesis process. It's in this way that the items for strengthening specific parts of equipment of the party can be made: TxBIOS increase the power of Song Magic, Cathodes increase the power of weapons, and RNAs increase the power of armors.
===Genometrics===
Carrying over the Dive system from the Ar tonelico series, the player can also Dive into the Soulspace of the characters, which receives the name Genometrics here, and have adventures through them. During this time, the gameplay changes to be more like that of a visual novel, where the player only has to read through the events taking place, move the protagonist through the Genometrics map and take decisions when prompted. Entering each point in the map requires the player to spend a set amount of the DP they have gained from battles, as well as taking some of the decisions in the events, so if the player doesn't have enough DP, they will fail to complete the events and get expelled from the Genometrics they are exploring.
Once the player has completed all the events necessary to finish the scenario for that particular Genometrics, they will trigger an phenomenon called the Embrace Role, through which they will increase their Dive Level and will be able to proceed further inside the heroine's mind. They will also obtain a Song Magic corresponding to the Genometrics map they just completed, and this is the only way the heroines can receive new Song Magic for use in battle.
Unlike the Ar tonelico series, however, the events in the Genometrics can be repeated as much as the player can pay the DP cost for them in order to take other choices, as taking different choices can lead the player to view new CG illustrations, and obtain more Genometrica Crystals. The rewards each event point yields are visible right after choosing it but before confirming that one will enter it. And the Dives aren't limited only to the heroines in Ar nosurge: the player can instead Dive into the Genometrics of several of the characters they meet, and the decisions taken in each individual Genometrics will have some impact in the other, by changing the friendly disposition of these characters towards the current party as well as their introverted, extroverted, masochistic and sadistic tendencies.
===Purification===
This gameplay element consists of the heroines and the protagonists taking a bath in a hot spring together. During this, they will change from their normal clothes to swimsuits and have conversations to know each other more in-deeply. Additionally, during the Purification, the player can Install Genometrica Crystals they have received from Dives to increase the abilities of the party. It's possible to Install them into anyone of the playable party members (Earthes, Ion, Cas and Delta), and while there are five possible spots where the crystals can be Installed (legs, abdomen, chest, arms and head), not all of these will be available from the beginning: the player will be allowed to Install on them when both the protagonist and the heroine have gotten a deep enough relationship.
===Connectivity with Ciel nosurge and the Gust Official Site===
One of the features the game allows the players is to connect their MyGustID account from the Gust Social Site to Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star, as well as linking up their account to Ciel nosurge: Ushinawareta Hoshi e Sasagu Uta in order to gain additional benefits, which are listed below:
* Obtain GP from doing activities in the Gust Social Site or by exchanging the HymP they obtained in Ciel nosurge. The GP can be spent to increase the multipliers for the experience, Carats and Dive Points obtained as rewards from battle.
* Copy the Plugin type items that were crafted in Ciel nosurge to Ar nosurge, allowing the party to gain extra power from the beginning. None of the Plugins obtained in this way can be obtained in Ar nosurge proper outside of using this method.
* Change the dialogues for the scenes where Ion appears, as well as the dialogue prompts for Earthes, depending on how far the player has progressed in Ciel nosurge's story and the status of their relationship with Ion. Likewise, the progress in Ar nosurge will unlock sequences in Ciel nosurge where Ion dreams about the events that will happen in the future, and will also open up access to the events gotten from the Ion Extend Talk Pack Vol. 3. This also unlocks special CGs and voicemails in the Ciel nosurge Console after clearing Ar nosurge.
The connection is done by associating a SEN account to a MyGustID account used in Gust's official site, and then logging into the SEN inside the game using them. However, all these features were dummied out from the localized version due to the removal of the game's connection features, as well as there not being an equivalent of the Gust Social Site and Ciel nosurge to the Western players.
==== Special Boss ====
Additionally, the game has a special challenge in the form of a boss that can be fought as much as the player wants near the end of the game in the depths of the Flask Sea, provided they have fulfilled a few conditions beforehand. What makes this boss peculiar is the stratospheric amount of HP it has, as it is equal to the amount of mag the Ciel nosurge players have sent to the Micro Quasar. Therefore, the game will always connect to Gust's servers to check the current HP amount the boss right before fighting it, as well as checking if the player can fight it at the moment, as players can only challenge the boss once per day, with the counter resetting at midnight (JST). However, the damage each individual Ar nosurge player causes to it during battle will be uploaded to Gust's servers, which pretty much makes it into a battle of Ciel nosurge players versus Ar nosurge players, as reducing its HP also reduces the Micro Quasar's community gauge, making it harder for the Ciel nosurge players to unlock the rewards gained from filling it.
After the HP amount of the boss has been depleted, each individual player can challenge it to a final battle, where upon defeating it, they will gain the ability to change the characters' costumes and also gain the ability to rotate vertically the character models in the Extras menu. However, it can still be fought again whenever the player wishes.
Like all other connection-based features, the special boss and the rewards it gave upon its final defeat were removed in the localized version, though the flag data, dialogues and routines for the rewards it gave are still present in the game's code. It was reinstated for battling in the localized versions of the PlayStation Vita port Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star. Additionally, Gust removed the connection with the Micro Quasar for the JP region version for both the original version and the Plus port on January 6th 2015, so now the boss has a set HP of 1 million that won't be affected by the actions of the other players. However, it still requires having a SEN account linked with a MyGustID in order to access the battle.
==Setting==
The themes of the game are "human bonds" and "the inner surface of the heart".2013-11-06, 『アルノサージュ』イメージムービーが初公開された“ガスト創立20周年発表会”をリポート！　岸田メルさんや加隈亜衣さんも出演, Famitsu On a fictional planet named Ra Ciela, humans and a spiritual lifeform known as Genoms previously co-existed, however after Ra Ciela was destroyed in a failed ceremony that sought to convert it into energy for long-distance interstellar travel, humans began to travel in search of other planets to inhabit using a special spaceship called Soreil.
Following contact with a hostile life-form known as the Sharls, the people that lived in Orei, one of Soreil's areas, were abducted, as humankind was powerless against the Sharls due to them being able to use a power known as Song Magic. Thousands of years later, the Felion Wall, a structure located in the depths of Orei opens, and from inside emerge the Ancients, people with the ability to use the same Song Magic the Sharls possess. The Divine Empress then opened the wall and let part of the people reside in the city of Felion, but this split off the people on Orei in two factions: one led by the Divine Empress and her PLASMA squad, which sought to exterminate the Sharls in order to bring peace to the people, and other one led by the Archbishop of the Genomirai Church, Zillillium Rimonite, who sought to have humans and Sharls coexisting in promise of achieving an enlightened life. 2013-09-29, Ar no Surge first details and screenshots, Gematsu
==Story==
=== Phase 1: yal fii-ne noh-iar; "The Song that Protects the Planet" ===
The game opens up with an introduction that explains in a slightly misleading way the events that led to the end of Ciel nosurge, and also the basic setting information about Felion and Quaturv.
The player is then privy to a dream Delta is having, in which he and Casty are in an unknown place. They find a password-protected door for which Delta inexplicably knows the password, and are thrust into a battle with a series of robots. After defeating them, Sarly says some suggestive things to Delta, which provoke Cas' rage and causes her to hit him, which wakes him up from the dream.
Cas then asks just how longer Delta plans to continue sleeping, and after making him get up, she helps him opening up his restaurant, Cook de Delta. She also accompanies him to buy supplies for his restaurant, but while they are discussing the menus, Cas gets a call from her job: she is a Weaver, a Song Magic Singer for the elite defense squad of Felion, PLASMA. There she hears that Nay ran away once again and is tasked with finding her.
She and Delta find Nay on the outskirts of Felion, and after helping her defeat some robots that were destroying the barriers and walls, they all return to Felion. Delta is then summoned by the Empress to escort Cas in a rescue mission, although the Prime Minister reminds him they haven't forgotten the crime he committed of opening the Felion Wall, which caused many people to be abducted by their enemies, the Sharls.
Delta and Cas arrive at the Genomirai Church's base, the city of Quanturv, and they infiltrate into it while Zill is carrying out her religious duties to try and rescue Sarly. They find and rescue Sarly in a situation quite similar to the dream Delta had that morning, but they fall into the depths of Orei in the process due to being ambushed by the Genomirai Temple Knights. They then decide to camp the night in that abandoned Residential District due to Cas spraining her ankle. During that night, they have a dream about their past and their shared childhood in Manjusara, whose strong feelings give birth to an Incarnate Genom called Prim.
After getting acquainted with each other and that Delta establishes a First Harmonics with Prim, the team manage to return to Felion using the ventilation ducts, although Delta ends up unconscious after their destination turns out to be Nay's private Purification Spot.. Afterwards, the Empress sends them on a mission to retrieve a Song called Ciel N Protecta.
Delta's team manages to infiltrate Quanturv once again through a back door after getting unexpected information from an accidental connection that the Quanturv Archbishop, Zill, established with him via Genometrics. They are briefly captured, but manage to escape thanks to Prim, and they defeat Zill and recover the Song. However, Zill escapes while announcing Ciel N Protecta was a minor Song compared to her true objective: a powerful Song called Ciel nosurge.
Delta's team rushes over to the Flask Sea, and the Placenta therein, to try and stop Zill. However, Zill finishes making her preparations and remotely forces Ion to sing Ciel nosurge, producing countless Sharls with it. Delta' team is then captured and sent into the Flask Sea.
After the connection to Delta is severed, it changes to the other channel, which picks up immediately after the end of Ciel nosurge, where Ion establishes a connection to the player's world through the robot Earthes, and after running a few errands for Nelico, Ion makes a bomb to destroy the World Wall that keeps her trapped in that small world.
The bomb works and opens up a hole in the wall. As Ion and Earthes are about to jump off the cliff to escape, Nelico tries to stop them, but is defeated by the duo. They then jump off the cliff.
Ion then awakens inside the Ar nosurge Tube in the Observatory, with Nero watching over her. Nero tries putting her to sleep again, but Ion jumps off the Observatory, with the Sharls slowing down her fall until she lands at Kurt Himmel.
Earthes awakens while asking a Sharl called Tattoria several things. They then hear a scream, and see Ion being attacked by monsters. Earthes defeats them and they reunite with Ion. Tattoria leads them to a Sharl village called Honokano.
At Honokano, Ion and Earthes carry out a few errands to get tickets for the train, which takes them to the largest city in Sharlanoia: Tenryosara. There, Ion hears some rumors about the Enlightened Sovereign, and supposing it could be her old friend Kanon, she and Earthes rush to the Cathedral to meet her.
Ion meets Kanon at the Cathedral, but after a brief discussion, ends up having to run away to avoid capture. Ion then encounters Zill and Nero at a location called the Bezelielpurger. After a short fight, Zill offers Ion to join her, but Ion refuses because she can't trust Zill.
Meanwhile, Delta and the others awaken after somebody took them out from the Flask Sea. Upon returning to Felion, they are shocked to discover two years have passed, and are tasked by the Empress to head to the surface to check the situation, and try and find the Master Sharl to be able to control the other Sharls and force them to self-destruct.
Once they reach the surface and head into the Sharl Road, they find Prim and Nero, and are forced to fight them. After defeating them, Nero escapes but they secure Prim, who Sarly informs them is the Master Sharl. They then prepare to bring her back to Felion.
However, they encounter Ion and Earthes, and after a short conversation during which Kanon starts singing yal fii-ne noh-iar;, end up fighting them, with Cas knocking them both into the depths of Orei with her song magic. She and Delta then try to bring back Prim to Felion, but are stopped by Sarly on the way, who tells them they must stop the Song Kanon is singing due to observing it is causing anomalous reactions in the Flask Sea.
Cas and Delta hurry up to the Altar of noh-iar; and fight Kanon in it, but even though they defeat her, they fail to stop her Song, and thus Cosal, the King of Genoms, assumes physical form in the world once again. Kanon, feeling her duties in the world have been fulfilled, then tries to commit suicide by jumping off the platform, but Delta saves her and takes her to Quanturv to recover.
Ion and Earthes find themselves at the Placenta, and rush to Felion to try and convince the humans to stop from exterminating the Sharls. She tries to convince Nay to stop from doing so, but she fails to reason with her and ends up fighting her. In the end, Nay is stopped and her Sharl extermination Song only works partially, knocking out the Sharls instead of killing them.
=== Phase 2: EXSPHERE_NOSURGE; "An Undesired Fusion" ===
After Nay wakes up, Ion tries going to the Cathedral to talk with Cosal, but she ends up finding a battered up Kanon and having to fight Cosal after her words fail to get through to him. She then is forced to leave the Cathedral with Kanon.
After trying to reason with Kanon to not waste her life, Cas and Delta return to Felion to find the Wall has been forced open due to Cosal reawakening the Sharls, and end up having to fight a monster created by Nero called the 8th Dimensional. After they defeat it, Nero escapes with Prim.
Afterwards, Cas and Delta are ordered to go to the Quarantined Residential Sector. Once there, they find a large number of corpses, and see how a Song that Prim is singing causes the Felion forces that came with them to die and be absorbed into the 8th Dimensional. After fighting an evolved form of it, they barely escape back to Felion, whose population has been greatly reduced.
Meanwhile, Ion and Earthes head to the Flask Sea to try and stop Zill from fusing with the 8th Dimensional, and in the way, they are given by the Felion Prime Minister a song for that purpose called Expaja. Ion tries to sing it, but unfortunately she doesn't manage to do it before the 8th Dimensional absorbs her and Nero, and fuses with Zill to become the Maternal Overseer.
Cas and Delta arrive at the scene shortly later, and after being given Ion's memories by Earthes, Cas obtains Expaja and sings it to remove Ion and Nero from the Maternal Overseer. Unfortunately, the Song isn't enough to defeat it, so they are forced to retreat to Quanturv.
After talking with each other, the Prime Minister, Prim and Nero, both teams apologize to each other for their previous actions, and decide on the course of action they will take: Ion and Earthes will head to Sora to change back the power source of Soreil that Zill changed the settings for: to consume the life energy of the prisoners in the Flask Sea instead of from the extradimensional energy harvested by the Ar nosurge Tube, causing severe power outages in the ship that are causing pieces of the land from Sharlanoia to disappear and be replaced by the vacuum of space; while Delta and Cas will try to save the Sharls. However, during this time, Delta is also made aware by Nero of the fact he is being controlled by the player through Interdimend as well as it being the cause of his amnesia and loss of sensations, and Nero tells him the way to rescind the connection.
Cas and Delta then head to the Cathedral to ask for Cosal's help, but they are refused because Cosal will only hear those that win a tournament that is currently taking place. Cas is transformed into a Sharl using a potion from Tattoria, and while they manage to win the tournament, Cosal refuses to even listen to them because Cas isn't a true Sharl, and are ordered to leave his presence. They afterwards go and ask Nay for her help in saving the Sharls, and she finally relents after a lot of persuasion.
Meanwhile Ion, Earthes and Sarly head for the Airport, where they discover Earthes has connections that allow him to gain administrative access over the Soreil's systems, which also allow them to operate the Space Buses stationed in the place. Ion and Earthes then depart for Sora, but Sarly has to remain behind and gives them a communication Tron to maintain contact with them.
Ion and Earthes reach Sora, and when they finally get to the Surge Concerto Terminal located in its deepest area, Ion tries singing the switchback Song Sarly and Undu gave them. However, the Song fails because the Soreil's systems are still running.
Meanwhile, Cas and Delta run up to the Observatory after Sarly tells them Ion's situation, during which Cas forces Delta to reveal the fact he has Interdimend installed, and the things said program is doing to him. When they finally reach the Observatory, they are intercepted by the Maternal Overseer, who intends to keep them away from the Ar nosurge Tube so they can't shut down the Soreil's systems, but Cosal comes and helps them. Delta finally initiates the shutdown sequence.
Ion can finally sing the switchback Song, but she is attacked by Prim and Nero. Prim then destroys Earthes using a satellite cannon and takes away their head.
Delta then takes the chance to connect with the Ar nosurge Tube to attempt to sever his connection to the player's world. The player wrestles with him to try and retain their control, but their last connection to that world is severed when Cas destroys the console, causing the Interdimend program to crash.
=== Phase 3: RE-INCARNATION "Rebirth" ===
-The player finally reestablishes a connection to that world thanks to Ion and her friends building a new body for Earthes. But the situation is dire, as with Earthes' old head, Prim and Nero can sever their connection permanently. They also hear that Sarly's friend, Dr. Leolum is in danger, and thus Earthes, Sarly and Ion rush to the Hymmnesphere to help him after tracing back his location.
After using a Space Bus to reach the Hymmnesphere, and a fight with monsters summoned by Nero and Prim, the party notices they are accompanied by another person called Ixit. Sarly discovers Dr. Leolum is actually her old friend Shirotaka, and helps her to reestablish a connection to Earthes' old head so we can stop the termination program that Ixit left running for Prim and Nero.
The program is stopped, and is established that Ixit is actually Ion's friend and supporter Renall, who was left amnesiac due to Nero destroying her memories much like she did to Ion. The party then returns to Quanturv so Sarly can make a modified version of the program used on Ion to restore Renall's memories.
Meanwhile, while the effects of Interdimend are disappearing from Delta, he feels frustrated because he tried fighting and his prowess has decreased too much due to not having the advantages that Interdimend gave him. This gets to the point where Earthes and Ion have to rescue him and Cas after a botched operation to save Undu from the Maternal Overseer, so despite Cas' protests, Delta decides to reinstall Interdimend into himself.
Cas finally relents, but asks Delta to have a day-long date with him first. After the day is through, and Delta is fast asleep, she sings the reconnection Song to reinstall Interdimend into him, which is also the same song that gives the game its name: Ar nosurge. During it, she asks us players for our help in saving their world, and to do so before Delta stops being who she loves.
-Delta and Cas then find a way to lower the level of the Flask Liquid from the Flask Sea, and use it to gain access to the Placenta again to try and save Undu. They also find Nero there, who tells them the key to restore Renall's memories, but before she can do anything else, she is absorbed by the Maternal Overseer, who had already finished absorbing Undu as well, and both are forced to retreat once again.
After a few trials, Earthes and Ion are successful in restoring Renall's memories thanks to the keyword Delta and Cas got from Nero, and after a short reunion, Renall convenes a meeting with PLASMA and the Empress to tell everyone the reason Nero destroyed her memories: it was because she feared the Song she and the people at the Hymmnesphere had developed. It's a teleportation song called Distllista, which serves to complete the botched Grand Phoenix Project that Nero had ruined so long ago.
Delta and Cas offers themselves as volunteers to explore the planet Distllista will take them to, and after receiving special equipment for the task from Shirotaka and Sarly, the whole team heads to the place where Ra Ciela's core existed so many years ago. There, Nay sings and sends them to the planet in question, where they meet a called Shurelia in the middle of a room in a Tower called Ar tonelico, the room containing an enormous music box called the Orgel of Origins.
Meanwhile, Ion and Earthes start making preparations to weaken to Maternal Overseer and save the people in the Flask Sea, which includes asking Cosal to reestablish his Synchronization with Kanon. However, Cosal refuses, and instead, gives them a certain item that he crafted after a long time of gathering his feelings: a Heart of the Land. However, Prim and the Maternal Overseer appear and try to steal it, so Cosal buys Ion and the others time with his Song Magic so they can escape.
Delta and Cas are guided by Shurelia outside the Tower, but are set upon by soldiers who believe them to be spies from the enemy nation of Sol Cluster. However, a man called Ayatane in there speaks to Cas in Emotional Song Pact, and they are saved from being arrested after determining they are distant friends of their ancestors.
After taking him to the city of Kurt Pheyna, Ayatane introduces as the chief of his clan, one of the Teru families, and tells them that it may be difficult for them to be allowed to migrate to their planet, so they decide to head to a place called Syestine to talk with the planet's Gods, the Wills of the Planet.
Upon arriving at Syestine and the Dianthus Tree deep within its forests, Delta and Cas are introduced to a medium called Sonwe, who proceeds to channel the Gods. The major Goddess from them all, Horus, proceeds to speak to them through Sonwe, who informs them that while she accepted some of their people over 5000 years ago, she can't do so anymore because that could cause conflict with the planet's own native inhabitants. However, she tells them that she'll do everything in her power to make sure they can find a new home.
Horus then notices the Heart of the Land that is within the shared inventory Cas and Ion have, and tells them that it can be used as the seed for the creation of a new planet. They then return to the Tower, and as suggested by Shurelia, they use a pair of Grathnode and Parameno crystals to create a wormhole connecting the Center of Ra Ciela with the planet they are in at the moment: the Grathnode Crystal is created by a woman called Solius of the Storms from Songstone Crystals they gathered, while the Parameno Crystal was gifted to them by Shurelia.
Meanwhile, Kanon finally finds her Synchronization partner in Nay, and in concert with an operation Renall planned to have Nay regain the public's trust, in which Renall acted as a spy from the Genomirai Church and which Nay was unaware of, they both sing em-pyie-n vari-fen jang; to weaken the Maternal Overseer by releasing the souls it has absorbed.
Ion and Earthes then welcome back Cas and Delta upon them appearing from the wormhole, and after hearing everything Horus told them, she decides to take Kanon and Cosal with her due to considering them to most appropriate candidates for a Priestess and a Will of the Planet. While she does this, Cas and Delta take Shurelia on a tour around Soreil, where Cas also takes the chance to warn her against establishing a relationship with guys with bad memories, and in which Shurelia becomes smitten with the Observatory and declares her wish to make a similar place in her Tower. During a break in the tour, Cas and Delta also take the chance to establish a Synchronization of the deepest level so they may always be together.
Meanwhile in Ar Ciel, Kanon and Cosal are forced to confront their inner demons by Ion and Horus through a Song called Lxa ti-cia, and upon finishing these trials, Cosal orders them to assemble the members of the Seven. Once the Seven are gathered: Cas, Delta, Shirotaka, Renall, Kanon, Sarly and Nay, they together craft a new Song Magic that will be used to create a planet, and Cosal is absorbed into the Heart of the Land to become the Will of the new planet.
=== Bad Ending ===
However, upon hearing Shurelia's wish for Delta to remain in Ar Ciel, knowing the connection between Ar Ciel and Soreil will be severed once Ra Ciela is recreated, Delta decides to remain with her, causing Cas to declare their relationship as finished and go away with Ion, Earthes and the rest of the Seven.
Several months later, Shurelia decides to play a virtual reality game in the Binary Field with Delta, which surprisingly enough for them both, puts them in a rather compromising scenario. After they finish the game, Shurelia asks Delta if he is truly okay with having remained with her in Ar Ciel and if he has no second thoughts on the matter, but Delta says he's okay with it.
=== Final Battle ===
After Delta tells Shurelia that he can't abandon Cas or the people he cares about, and that Ayatane gives them a recipe card called Reincarnation as a parting gift, which supposedly can call forth a miracle when synthesized, he and the rest of the party assemble at the Singing Hill, at the very top of the Hymmnesphere, and Ion starts singing the Song they crafted with Cosal, Ra Ciel Reincarnation. However, Prim shows up to interrupt them, and does so by using Song Magic to transform Soreil into an evolved version of the Maternal Overseer. She also starts singing the same Song that was used to create the 8th Dimensional: Expshere nosurge, and Ion falls prey to it.
However, the people continued singing the Song for Ion, and after Cas and Delta manage to release her from the monster, Prim also starts rebelling against the person controlling her, giving both teams a chance to finish creating the planet. The Soreil monster is finally defeated and the new Ra Ciela is born from the song, but Prim dies from the wounds she received during the battle.
Several months later, on the planet, Kanon and the Empress give an address to the people where they recount the many sacrifices that were made for the creation of the planet, and express their heartfelt wishes for everybody to cherish their new home and to always get along well.
=== Normal Endings ===
Cas, Delta and Nero pay a visit to Prim's grave, regretting the fact they were unable to save her, but also being thankful for having helped them in the final battle.
Meanwhile, Ion and Earthes have a conversation about the nature of their relationship, and about the fact it is possible their connection may be severed soon despite their wish to remain together. Ion also confesses that since she and Nero were unable to find a way to return to their original worlds that didn't involve sacrificing large numbers of people, she asked the Seven for a Song that will naturalize their souls to the EXA_PICO universe, which will allow them to live without causing anybody trouble, but also rendering permanently impossible their return to their worlds.
So the Seven are convened, the song, Ar-ciel Ar-manaf, is crafted, and Cas sings it for her friends, making them permanent residents of Ra Ciela. Some scenes of their lives are shown afterwards, with Nay being berated by Renall for putting off her paperwork duties as Empress, Kanon walking among the Sharls and having a pleasant conversation with them, Nero residing in an agricultural community with Tattoria, other Sharls and humans, harvesting food; Cas and Delta riding a horse across a sunset plain, and Ion and Earthes walking on the waterside of a lake under a starry sky.
=== Cas and Delta Normal Ending ===
Cas and Delta are visited in their new home by Sarly, who tells them that now that the Interdimend program had its objective fulfilled, it will be terminating itself soon, so she asks them both to speak to the player while they still have the chance to do so. Both thank the player for everything they did, and after showing a smile to the player, the connection cuts off, returning to the Interdimend interface as it terminates and closes itself up.
=== Ion and Earthes Normal Ending ===
Ion decides to talk to Earthes in the home they are sharing while she still can, as she knows the connection between them is about to be severed once again. She tells them she is thankful because the player allowed her to meet again with her friends and achieve so many amazing things, but she also regrets that she was unable to find a method to maintain their Interdimend connection, and deciding to send off the player with a smile rather than with tears, she smiles while thanking the player for everything they have done as the connection is cut off.
=== Cas & Delta True Ending ===
Cas and Delta are at their home fretting about how to act and what to say about something, but the question is settled when it's revealed that Sarly came bringing Prim with them. Sarly reveals the Reincarnation they synthesized from the recipe that Ayatane gave them, together with Nero's own power of Oversight, allowed them to bring Prim back to life, and both Cas and Delta are happy to have their daughter safe and back with them.
=== Ion and Earthes True Ending ===
After Ion convenes the Seven and as Cas is about to sing the Song to naturalize her soul and Nero's to Ra Ciela, Prim bursts out and say they shouldn't do so. She then also reveals a bit of information she got from the player that was controlling her: if Ion and Nero head to the center of the universe and talk to its greatest Will, the Will of EXA_PICO, they will be able to expand their Oversight to the point they will be able to head back home. The others ask her why the other player never pursued that way to bring Nero back to her world, and Prim answers because it would have taken too much time, and that the Maternal Overseer would likely have destroyed the Soreil before that could have happened.
Ion is initially reluctant to take this approach despite wanting to go back to her home and family so much, but after some convincing from her friends and Earthes, she decides to take this chance. She then sings a song that contains all her gratitude and feelings for her friends and this world.
Sarly then takes some time to do repairs on the Soreil to make sure it will take them to the center of the universe, asking them to return immediately if anything happens, and after saying their farewells to their friends, and Earthes vowing to protect them both, Nero, Ion and Earthes embark on their last journey.
An indeterminate time later, Earthes is at the Observatory checking how Ion and Nero are doing, with Ion saying they are getting close to the coordinates that Prim gave them, and saying it's possible they may never meet again once she returns to her world, although she also says the possibility of her returning to the same world the player is in isn't necessarily zero. Nero takes a jab at her by saying the player's world could actually be her own world, causing them to quarrel briefly, but then static starts filling Earthes' screen, with Ion saying they are closing on the area and that it is emitting great quantities of energy. She hurriedly bids farewell to the player and promises them to meet them again as the connection is cut and the Interdimend interface closes up itself.
==Development==
The game is directed by Akira Tsuchiya, who previously served as the director of the Ciel nosurge life simulation game, as well as the entirety of the Ar tonelico series. The character design is by ntny, and the game models are produced by Flight Unit. The game features music by the singers Akiko Shikata, Haruka Shimotsuki, Noriko Mitose, Origa and Yoshino Nanjo. Shikata is also in charge of the opening theme, To the Songless Hill -Harmonics Pre=Ciel-.
According to character modeler ntny, this game was actually in development at the same time as Ciel nosurge, but they kept quiet about in order to surprise the players, despite the insistence of the players of them wanting the former Ar tonelico team to release another RPG.
==Music==
The game's music is composed by Daisuke Achiwa and Kazuki Yanagawa, and it also features several pieces from Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia that were originally composed by Ken Nakagawa.
The game also features a total of fifteen vocal songs sung by Akiko Shikata, Haruka Shimotsuki, Noriko Mitose, Origa and Yoshino Nanjo, several of which make use of the Emotional Song Pact and REON-4213 languages that were made for the Surge Concerto series games. It must be noted though that unlike the Ar tonelico series, the songs featured on this game don't receive the name Hymmnos: they are instead classified in two categories called Cielns and Hymmns. The music of the game was released as a three-disc original soundtrack, while the vocal themes were released in two separate albums as per the Ar tonelico tradition called the Genometric Concerts.
===Opening Theme===
To the Songless Hill -Harmonics Pre=Ciel- by Akiko Shikata
===Cielns===
This refers to the library control songs that are crafted through the server system of the Surge Concerto Terminal.
*Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA; by Yoshino Nanjo
*Class::CIEL_NOSURGE; by Akiko Shikata
*Class::EXPAJA; by Yoshino Nanjo
*Class::XIO_PROCEED; by Akiko Shikata
*Class::AR_NOSURGE#Re-Incarnation; by Yoshino Nanjo
*Class::DISTLLISTA; by Haruka Shimotsuki
*Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE; by Noriko Mitose
===Hymmns===
This refers to the songs that are crafted without using the Surge Concerto Terminal, and are generally crafted by Incarnates and Genoms on their own.
*em-pyei-n vari-fen jang; by Origa
*yal fii-ne noh-iar; by Origa
*Hidra Heteromycin by Haruka Shimotsuki
*Lxa ti-cia by Akiko Shikata
*Ra Ciel Reincarnation by Akiko Shikata
===Ending Themes===
*Ar-ciel Ar-manaf by Yoshino Nanjo
*With the You of this World, and to the You of That World by Akiko Shikata
==Limited Edition==
In addition to the normal edition and the multiple combo packs that have become customary to the Gust Shop, Ar nosurge also has a limited edition called the Agent Pack, which bundles a special music box called the "Seven-Dimensional Orgel" alongside the game. This music box plays the main melody of "To the Songless Hill".
==Ar nosurge Plus==
Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star Plus is a port of the game for the PlayStation Vita that was released on October 1, 2014 in Japan and on July 15, 2015 on America and Europe. This version is mostly the same as the original PlayStation 3 release, although it has the following features and differences from it:
*All textures and images have been downscaled to fit the resolution of the PlayStation Vita's screen.
*Three new purification partners have been added for Delta and Earthes, each with their own set of talk topics: Sarly, Nero and Shurelia.
*A few additional costumes were added for all playable characters.
**Delta: Von Pandämonium, Lyner Style
**Casty: Frau Hölle, Aurica Style, Sports Wear (DLC), Gre-chan Style (Japan-exclusive DLC), Unity-chan (DLC)
**Earthes: Antimatter, Shurelia Style
**Ion: Darkness Pulsar, Misha Style, Polar's Memory I (World Link), Blooming Yard (World Link), Blooming Violet (World Link), Amenomirai Vestments (DLC)
*As indicated in the previous point, in addition to the Plugins the player could transfer to the PlayStation 3 version via the World Link option, Ar nosurge Plus also allows to bring three of Ion's Ciel nosurge costumes into the game, provided they crafted them in Ciel nosurge beforehand. (Japanese version only)
*Similarly, costumes patterned after the four main characters from Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia were added, one for each character, which are unlocked upon clearing the game for the first time with any of the endings.
*More in-depth tutorials have been added into the game to clarify aspects of its battle system and other matters.
*The special Maternal Overseer battle is enabled permanently with a set amount of 1,000,000 HP. (English version only. The Japanese version used the same method as the original PlayStation 3 version prior to the server downsizing that took place on May 15, 2015).
*Touch functionality was enabled for the Purification sessions, and for getting comical reactions from Delta and Earthes while they walk through the game's areas.
*All the DLC for the PlayStation 3 version is included by default into the game.
*The shop events don't start automatically upon entering their respective shop anymore. Instead, the player can choose when they want to see them by choosing the newly added "Talk" option from the shop menu.
===Limited Editions===
Similarly to the PlayStation 3 version, Ar nosurge Plus could be purchased in an Agent Pack limited edition that included the following items:
*Agent Headphones
*Agent PlayStation Vita Skin (for the PCH-2000 model)
*Agent Strap
*Agent Cleaner Cloth
Players could also acquire it in a special bundle alongside Ciel nosurge: Ushinawareta Hoshi e Sasagu Uta Offline called the Agent Twin Pack, which came in a special metal briefcase and which included a coded DLC voucher for the Amenomirai Vestments costume.
The American release also had a limited edition courtesy of NIS America, which contained the following:
*18 x 24 inch poster of Ion and Casty.
*Surge Concerto pin badge.
*Set of character artwork stickers.
*Screen cleaner cloth.
This limited edition in particular was produced in very limited quantities and is now one of the most sought items for PlayStation Vita game collectors, while the Japanese Agent Packs have barely changed in price despite the time that has passed after their release.
==Ar nosurge DX==
Ar nosurge DX is the remastered version of Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star that was released on March 04, 2021 in Japan for the Switch, PlayStation 4 and Steam.
The game generally speaking is a port of Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star Plus for the PlayStation Vita with the textures and images taken from the original PlayStation 3 release, although with all the exclusive DLC for Plus integrated into the base game excepting for the "Gre-chan Style" costume for Cas, the removal of all touchscreen functionality, and with the addition of a special gallery in the Encyclopedia section of the menu that showcases the ten winning entries for the Surge Contest fan art contest.
===Limited Editions===
Ar nosurge DX can be purchased alongside Ciel nosurge DX in a series of special edition packs called the Agent Packs, which have the following tiers and contents:
====Agent Pack Code: Silver====
In addition to both games, this tier includes the following extras:
*Reprint of the Genomirai Secret Documents included in the Agent Pack for the original release of Ciel nosurge: Ushinawareta Hoshi e Sasagu Uta.
*Set of 3 postcards with artwork featuring Ion.
*Artwork and Setting Sheet Collection Book "Tenmon Top-Secret Information Repository: Observation Diary of Princess Ion and Associated People''
*Laboratory Research Material Collection Book "The World of Song Magic"
*Set of 2 Drama CDs that recount the stories of Surge Concerto and Ar tonelico: "Vow of Dawn/Prayer for Rebirth: A Tale of Two Stars"
*Set of 2 B5 clear files featuring the original cover arts for both games.
*Collectible cover artwork card.
====Agent Pack Code: Gold====
In addition to all the contents of the Code: Silver pack, it includes the following:
*Interactive Drama CD "May my feelings reach you", featuring a new song made by Akiko Shikata titled "ih=fao-i iyon-du;."
*Tabletop acrylic calendar for all years patterned after the Ciel nosurge game interface.
*Crystal keychain featuring a model of Ion wearing the Polar's Memory I.
*Handwritten letter from Ion explaining the pack and its contents.
*Special gift box from Ion.
====Agent Pack Code: Gold with 7D Gate Connection Bundle====
Includes everything from the Code: Gold pack, and it also adds the following:
*Reversible dakimakura case featuring Ion and Nei.
*Acrylic diorama kit "Crystelier" Big Size 7D Expansion Field Set, patterned after Manjusara.
*Ion and Nei mini-figure set. 5 figures with swappable heads and outfits taken from Ion's possible costumes and hairstyles in Ciel nosurge.
*"Manual Music Box that Crafts Ion's Feelings". Crank-type music box that uses punchcards, which includes the punchcards for seven songs, ahih rei-yah; among them, and an unusued punchcard for the owner to write their own music on.
However, due to the current situation caused by the COVID19 pandemic, the contents for this pack underwent production delays, causing that all players who purchased it to receive it in two parts: all of the contents up to the Code: Gold Pack on release day, and the contents exclusive to the 7D Gate Connection Bundle to be shipped late in April, 2021.
==References==
==External links==
*Official Website
Category:Surge Concerto
Category:Games