Arcana Heart
Games. Section::::"Arcana Heart 2". "Arcana Heart 2" is the sequel to "Arcana Heart". It was the first game in the series to be developed and published by Examu after the rights of the franchise had been transferred to the company from Yuki Enterprise. It was also the first game for Examu's proprietary eX-Board, an arcade board based on Windows XP Embedded that would become the standard platform for the rest of the series and other arcade games published by Examu. The game was unveiled at the AOU2008 Amusement Expo. Andamiro demonstrated the original version of Arcana  Heart 2 in the US at the 2008 Amusement Expo conference from September 10 to September 12, 2008. The game was running in a Japanese "candy" cabinet but with English gameplay and artwork. It was released in the US in October 2008 as a conversion kit to change other arcade games into an Arcana Heart 2 arcade game. The game features 6 new fighters, each with their own unique Arcana. New techniques were also included, such as the Arcana Blast, allowing the player to become temporarily invulnerable; Arcana Homing, a feature allowing the player to simultaneously close the distance between  them and the opponent while homing in on them; and the Critical Heart, a devastating special attack unique to each character. Section::::"Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2". On October 30, 2008, Examu released a major update to "Arcana Heart 2" called "Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2". This version further balanced the game and fixed some bugs. It also featured some design changes, such as new character illustrations and a red redesign for Kaya Hirotaka. New additions included an additional stage; three new characters: Akane Inuwaka, Nazuna Inuwaka, and Parace L'Sia; their respective Arcana: Fenex (Sound), Kayatsuhime (Flower), Parace L'sia (Life); new color palettes  for each character, available by pressing the Start button on the character select screen; and an additional training mode. "Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2" was further updated to version 2.6 on February 27, 2009. AQ Interactive handled the PlayStation 2 port of "Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2", which was released only in Japan on April 9, 2009. It was planned for a worldwide release but was cancelled due to low sales of the first one, as well as poor performance and slowdown in gameplay, making the port weaker than the arcade perfect port of the first one. Section::::"Arcana Heart: Card of Glory . A spin-off of the series for mobile phones, Arcana Heart: Card of Glory", was jointly developed between Examu and Cave Co., Ltd. It is only available for NTT docomo phones through its i-mode service. Media. Manga. A manga adaptation based on the video game was serialized on the March 2005 issue of "Comp Ace" magazine. It was written and illustrated by Yuyuko Takemiya and was published on August 10, 2003. Audio drama. The "Arcana Heart Fan Disc" was sold on January 27, 2005, at Comiket 72. The package included a DVD containing three audio dramas and interviews, and  a CD containing three character songs and instrumental songs. A drama CD was included with the limited release of the Japanese PS2 game. "Arcana Heart Drama CD Heartful Situation" was published by TEAM Entertainment. Episodes were released on July 23, 2008, and February 24, 2010. Soundtracks. "Arcana Heart Heartful Sound Collection" was released on March 21, 2007, "Arcana Heart 2 Heartful Sound Collection" was released on April 9, 2008, "Arcana Heart 2 Suggoi! Remix" was released on February 5, 2009, and "Arcana Heart 3 Heartful Sound Collection" was released on January 13, 2010. Each soundtrack has been primarily composed by  Motoharu Yoshihira. "Arcana Heart 2 Suggoi! Remix" featured arrangements from a variety of composers, including Nobuyoshi Sano, Atsushi Ohara, Ayako Saso, Shinji Hosoe, Raito, and Takayuki Aihara. The soundtracks for the series have been published by TEAM Entertainment and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, with the exception of "Arcana Heart 2 Suggoi! Remix", which was published by SuperSweep. Arcade sticks. Japanese peripheral manufacturer Hori produced two limited edition arcade sticks for the series following the PlayStation 2 releases of Arcana Heart and Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2. The Arcana Heart arcade stick was released on October 12, 2006, and the  Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2 arcade stick was released on April 9, 2009. A promotional campaign following the release of the "Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2" arcade stick featured other goods such as postcards and beverage coasters. Characters. Introduced in "Arcana Heart 2". is the series' secondary protagonist, introduced as the main protagonist of "Arcana Heart 2". She comes from a long line of holy maidens from the Lagerkvist family and is the most powerful yet. Like her predecessors, she works for Sweden's Spirit Sector and is the youngest member to be selected to join their group. Her Arcana is Zillael , the Arcana of Holy, a highly revered winged unicorn. Introduced in "Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2". is the titular character and main protagonist of the second game's update "Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2". She is the older sister of Nazuna and part of the Inuwaka clan, a family of shinobi that aid the Thousand Year Protector. She is overprotective of her younger sister but doesn't let it show and always appears calm and composed. She is a strategic genius who always tries to do what she considers "cool." Her Arcana is Phenex, the Arcana of Sound, who was charmed by  her singing voice and now lends its power to her. Reception. Eric L.Patterson writing in "Play" magazine gave the game a 7.0 out of 10, and remarked that the game reminded them of "Asuka 120% Limited Burning Fest" for the Sega Saturn.