Realm Souls Origins

Realm Souls Origins (レルムソウルズオリジンズ) is an action role-playing video game developed by Burst Arts and published by Multisoft for the Nintendo 3DS, serving as the fifth installment in the Realm Souls series. The game was released in Japan on February 9, 2012, in North America on May 21, 2012 and in PAL regions on May 26, 2012. The game features an overhauled battle system not like previous games in the series with new elements. It is a prequel to the original Realm Souls, taking place long before the first game. The game centers on the journeys of Nekrad, Lumina and Nova in their quest to locate the missing Master Zonulos, and protect the worlds from the earliest forms of Anti-Souls.

## Gameplay

Origins is an action role-playing game with hack and slash and shooter elements that introduces a new aspect to the series known as the Skill System. This system allows players to customize a Skill Pack with any skills that they can perform any time, called Pack Skills. Performing regular attacks and Skills fills a gauge displayed above the Skill Deck. After certain requirements are fulfilled and the gauge is complete, the player's basic attack is changed to the "Rave" Skill, which racks up powerful combos depending on what Command Style is activated. Filling the gauge a second time replaces the "Rave" Skill with the more powerful "Blaze" Skill.

Instead of Magic Points, the game utilizes a system known as Centric Act, depicted as a purple gauge above the player's icon. Using Centric Act can allow the player to shift into a first-person perspective using a new technique known as Crossblast. The player can lock onto enemies and fire streams of homing attacks, depleting the gauge relative to the number of enemies targeted. Once depleted, the Centric Act gauge gradually refills with every attack and Pack Skill the player lands on an enemy.

Another aspect introduced in the game is the Zone Bond (Z-Bond), measured in a white gauge near the player's icon. It is used to draw power from certain companions which the player encountered during the game, such as Crash Bandicoot, temporarily replacing the commands in the player's customized skill pack with a pre-determined set of skills that change with each Z-Bond. Once the skill gauge is filled while performing a Z-Bond, a powerful finisher is activated to wipe out enemies. Each finisher has two levels which can render a finisher more powerful than before, similar to that of the Skill System. The Z-Bond can only be used when its corresponding gauge is filled completely, and can be activated by pressing the select button to access the Z-Bond menu, followed by selecting the chosen ally.

## Plot

Long ago, the worlds are protected by the seven Guilds: Pegas, Komor, Tatsin, Shishin, Okam, Hebra, and Kujia. The leaders of these guilds were apprentices of the late Grand Headmaster, who trained them and bestowed them magic weapons. Before his passing, a devastating conflict has been foreseen by him, and the worlds' end is imminent. In order to counter it, the Grand Headmaster imparted wisdom on his students in the hopes that the Magic War he had foreseen could be prevented, or at least the damage limited. Nekrad, Lumina, and Nova, three members of the guild Kujia, aim to be true Masters. However, after Master Zonulos disappeared, creatures called Anti-Souls appeared in various worlds searching for Pure Soul Maidens. As if the Grand Headmaster's vision is about to come to fruition, Nekrad, Lumina, Nova, and other guilds travel to the worlds to rid them of the Anti-Souls.

## Characters

Nekrad – one of the three main protagonists of the game. He is a magic weapon wielder who is a member of Kujia alongside Lumina and Nova, developing a strong sibling-like bond and sharing his dream of becoming a Master with them. Throughout his journey to obtain the Sign of Worth for becoming a Master, Master Zonulos manipulates the trials to stimulate the evil inside of Nekrad, leading him to be denied of the Sign of Worth. Though he is aware of the evil in his soul, Nekrad refuses to accept it, and Master Zonulos' suggestions that it might be controlled have only deepened his quandary. Nekrad's magic weapon is a cross between a rifle and a katana.

Nova – one of the three main protagonists of the game. He is one of the three magic apprentices from the guild Kujia training to become a Master. Before ever joining the guild, he was stripped of the evil in his soul and sent to train under Master Mega by Master Zonulos so he may form an all-powerful Magic Weapon called the Ω-Gear. While that process weakened his power, he was able to keep up with the other members in his guild. He also develops a crush on Lumina, which motivates him to become a Master. Nova's magic weapon features a set of magic knives.

Lumina – one of the three main protagonists of the game. She is the only one among her friends to succeed in achieving the rank of Master by the start of the game, and is tasked by Master Zonulos to supervise Nekrad and bring Nova home. Unlike Nekrad and Nova, Lumina had nothing to do with Zonulos’ plans, so she remained completely unaware of them. Lumina's magic weapon is based on a shotgun and a rapier.

Akako – a harpy who works as Master Zonulos' apprentice. She normally wears a white cloak to conceal her true form and abilities. She warned Nova that Darkon was in some kind of danger, but disappeared before explaining any further. She targets Lumina during her adventure to "cut any loose ends," so that Nova will not have any attachments left and can be used to focus on forging the Ω-Weapon. It is later revealed that Akako is one of Cyrus' first experiments in his study of the evil in people's souls, making her one of the first Anti-Souls as a result.

Munata – One of the Grand Headmaster's apprentices. He is the "reliable" leader of the Pegas Guild, symbolized by a pegasus. Prior to disappearing, the Grand Headmaster assigns Munata to lead the other Guild leaders in his place.

Jukuzo – One of the Grand Headmaster's former students. He is the "fearless" leader of the Komor Guild, symbolized by a bat. As Munata's second-in-command, Jukuzo begins to doubt his leadership and acts of his own accord to prevent the Magic War.

Seiko – One of the Grand Headmaster's disciples. She is the "virtuous" leader of the Tatsin Guild, symbolized by a seahorse. She acts as the Guild leaders' moderator while also observing them and reporting her findings to Munata.

Raika – One of the Grand Headmaster's students before his death. She is the "coolheaded" leader of the Shishin Guild, symbolized by a lion. A lone wolf with little attachment to the other Guild leaders, she is assigned the role of identifying the traitor among the group.

Tengai – One of the Grand Headmaster's apprentices who is the leader of the Okam Guild, symbolized by a wolf. Despite being a Master, he considers the other Guilds and their leaders as extensions to his small family. Under his master's orders, he secretly recruits magic weapon wielders from various Guilds to be sent to another world to ensure their survival after the prophesied Magic War. Tengai has a daughter named Sepia, who is pregnant with the child who would soon be Rook.

Waln – a Master who is the Grand Headmaster's last student before his death. He is the mysterious leader of the Hebra Guild, symbolized by a snake. Nothing else is known about this man, but the other Guild leaders trust him to do what his late master requested him to do. His role is to prevent any violence between the Guilds.

Mega – One of the few remaining Masters alongside Zonulos. He is the leader of the Kujia Guild, symbolized by a whale. He is both a mentor and father figure to Nekrad, Lumina and Nova, and is noted for being biased against the existence of evil in favor of good, a key factor behind his eventual falling out with Zonulos. He sends Nekrad and Lumina to deal with the appearance of the Anti-Souls and the disappearance of Master Zonulos, while requesting the latter to retrieve Nova, fearing that Zonulos will use him to create the Ω-Gear. Mega's name is an anagram of Game, as in Multisoft's former name, Gamesoft.

Tulim – A magic weapon wielder who is daughter of Master Mega. She has a crush on Nekrad, which he does return, but because of the manipulations by Zonulos that turn him on a path of evil, they have a falling out, which they were unable to patch up prior to the Magic War. Whereas Mega's is an anagram of "Game," Tulim's name is an anagram of "Multi," for Multisoft.

Ain – A magic weapon wielder from the Okam Guild. For some of the heroes' missions, he aids them in defeating the Anti-Souls.

Eleta – A girl from the Okam Guild much like Ain, her first friend from the Union. She temporarily joins the heroes in saving the worlds from the Anti-Souls.

Hito – A humble young man who is from the Tatsin Guild. A philosopher with several of his own ideals, he sees the worlds as future victims of the same fate and starts working to prevent that.

Galacta – A young woman who is a member of the Komor Guild. She has theorized that from the depths of Realm Souls is an ancient city that creates their weapons; that theory ended up being Zonulos' goal for summoning Realm Souls.

Genista – A young magic weapon user who plans on forming her own Guild, being both Byakuya's younger sister and a comrade of Lynn. Before her dream could come true, she is attacked by an unknown assailant who takes her place and she fades from existence.

Zonulos – the main antagonist of the game. He is an elderly Master used to be part of the Kujia Guild but passed up on becoming a Guild leader in favor of his own intentions. Zonulos wandered the worlds as he eventually became obsessed with the Magic War's mysteries and sought to create the Ω-Gear to summon Realm Souls. Furthermore, he originally also took Nova as an apprentice to serve his purposes to prolong his life before the youth's inability to use evil forced him to steal one of Cyrus' early Anti-Soul experiments, Akako, while using Nekrad as an ideal pawn in his schemes. On top of that, he slowly pits the Guilds against each other by causing distrust and paranoia.

## Worlds

Riser Town:

* Nekrad (original) (Main Protagonist)
* Nova (original) (Main Protagonist)
* Lumina (original) (Main Protagonist)
* Mega (original) (Boss (Nekrad))
* Tulim (original) (Ally)
* Ain (original) (Ally)
* Eleta (original) (Ally)
* Hito (original) (Ally)
* Galacta (original) (Ally)
* Genista (original) (Ally)
* Sonia (original) (Ally)
* Byakuya (original) (Ally)
* Lynn (original) (Ally)
* Jody (original)
* Munata (original)
* Jukuzo (original)
* Seiko (original)
* Raika (original)
* Tengai (original)
* Waln (original)

The Junkyard:

* Serph (Digital Devil Saga) (Ally)
* Sera (Digital Devil Saga) (Ally)
* Argilla (Digital Devil Saga) (Ally)
* Heat (Digital Devil Saga) (Ally)
* Cielo (Digital Devil Saga) (Ally)
* Gale (Digital Devil Saga) (Ally)
* Jenna Angel (Digital Devil Saga) (Boss (Nova))
* Harihara (Digital Devil Saga) (Boss (Lumina & Nekrad))

Makai:

* Demitri Maximoff (Darkstalkers) (Rival)
* Morrigan Aensland (Darkstalkers) (Ally)
* Felicia (Darkstalkers) (Ally)
* Donovan Baine (Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge) (Ally)
* Anita (Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge) (Ally)
* Hsien-Ko (Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge) (Ally)
* Lord Raptor (Darkstalkers) (Boss (Nova))
* Pyron (Darkstalkers) (Boss (Nekrad))

Tethe’alla:

* Lloyd Irving (Tales of Symphonia) (Ally)
* Colette Brunel (Tales of Symphonia) (Ally)
* Genis Sage (Tales of Symphonia) (Ally)
* Raine Sage (Tales of Symphonia) (Ally)
* Kratos Aurion (Tales of Symphonia) (Ally)
* Sheena Fujibayashi (Tales of Symphonia) (Ally)
* Zelos Wilder (Tales of Symphonia) (Ally)
* Presea Combatir (Tales of Symphonia) (Ally)
* Regal Bryant (Tales of Symphonia) (Ally)
* Mithos Yggdrasill (Tales of Symphonia) (Boss (Lumina))

Mushroom Kingdom:

* Mario (Donkey Kong) (Ally)
* Luigi (Mario Bros.) (Ally)
* Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros.) (Ally)
* Toadsworth (Super Mario Sunshine) (Ally)
* Toadette (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!) (Ally)
* Toad (Super Mario Bros.) (Ally)
* Yoshi (Super Mario World) (Ally)
* Wario (Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins) (Rival)
* Waluigi (Mario Tennis) (Rival)
* Bowser (Super Mario Bros.) (Boss)
* Kamek (Yoshi's Island) (Enemy)

World Tournament:

* Sakura Kasugano (Street Fighter Alpha 2) (Ally)
* Dan Hibiki (Street Fighter Alpha) (Ally)
* Ken Masters (Street Fighter) (Ally)
* Ryu (Street Fighter) (Ally)
* Charlie Nash (Street Fighter Alpha) (Ally)
* Birdie (Street Fighter) (Boss (Lumina))
* Rose (Street Fighter Alpha) (Boss (Nova))
* Brandon Yuki (Revenger Strike) (Brainwashed/Boss (Nekrad))
* M. Bison (Street Fighter II) (Enemy)

N. Sanity Island:

* Crash Bandicoot (Ally)
* Tawna Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot) (Ally)
* Ripper Roo (Crash Bandicoot) (Boss (Nekrad))
* Dr. Nitrus Brio (Crash Bandicoot) (Enemy)
* Dr. Neo Cortex (Crash Bandicoot) (Boss (Lumina))

Mega City:

* Mega Man (Ally)
* Roll (Mega Man) (Ally)
* Dr. Thomas Light (Mega Man) (Ally)
* Proto Man (Mega Man 3) (Boss (Lumina))
* Bomb Man (Mega Man) (Enemy)
* Guts Man (Mega Man) (Enemy)
* Cut Man (Mega Man) (Enemy)
* Elec Man (Mega Man) (Enemy)
* Ice Man (Mega Man) (Enemy)
* Fire Man (Mega Man) (Enemy)
* Dr. Albert Wily (Mega Man) (Boss (Nova & Nekrad))

Nightopia:

* Nights (NiGHTS into Dreams…) (Boss (Nekrad))
* Reala (NiGHTS into Dreams…) (Boss (Nova))
* Akako (Original) (Boss (Lumina))
* Wizeman the Wicked (NiGHTS into Dreams…) (Boss (Nova))

Luminous Parks:

* Akane (original) (Ally)
* Louis (original) (Boss (Nekrad))
* Meri (original) (Ally)
* Mike (original) (Boss (Nova))
* Lucas (original) (Ally)
* Joe (original) (Ally)
* Wyatt (original) (Ally)
* Richard (original) (Ally)
* Rebecca (original) (Ally)
* Professor E. Gadd (Luigi's Mansion)
* Kraden (Golden Sun) (Ally)
* Sue (Realm Souls)
* Cyrus (Realm Souls II) (Ally)
* Faust (Realm Souls II) (Ally)

Newk City:

* Akako (original) (Boss (Nova during 1st visit)/Final Boss (Nova))
* Zonulos (original) (Boss (Nekrad))
* Louis (original (Boss (Lumina))
* Anti-Nova (original) (Boss (Lumina))
* Nekrad-Zonulos (original) (Boss (Nekrad), Final Boss)

Twin Utopia:

* Camiel (Realm Souls)
* Fuyumi (Realm Souls II: Dimensional Silence)
* Mandora (Realm Souls II: Dimensional Silence)
* Umayo (Realm Souls II: Dimensional Silence)
* Wania (Realm Souls II: Dimensional Silence)
* Kawakaze (Realm Souls II: Dimensional Silence)
* Tanusk (Realm Souls II: Dimensional Silence)
* Hyoma (Realm Souls)
* Naoki (Realm Souls)

Final Chapter:

* Nekrad-Zonulos (original) (True Final Boss (Lumina))

Fortune Isles (Epilogue):

* Sepia (Realm Souls Origins)
* Rook (Realm Souls)