Code Age Commanders
Encyclopedia
is a Japan-exclusive action role-playing game
developed and published by Square Enix
on October 13, 2005 for the PlayStation 2
. It is part of the Code Age series, a franchise created by video game artist Yusuke Naora
and designed to span different interweaved titles in multiple platforms and media. The series consists of Commanders, the mobile phone game Code Age Brawls
, and the manga Code Age Archives.
The story of the game depicts the struggles of people surviving in a fictional "intraglobular world" menaced by an impending destruction, mysterious warped creatures, and different factions warring against each other. The game focuses successively on the viewpoints of four main protagonists.
Critics of the game were relatively positive, with high praises of its graphics and art direction but more mixed feelings for its complex and atypical gameplay.
must sometimes be defeated. The player controls one character while other allies are computer-controlled
and must not die for the mission to be successful. Between two missions, the player can select in a menu numerous optional cut scenes to watch and which reveal the memories of the Coded defeated, while stages already completed can be re-explored. The game features four successive main playable characters, and items and skills learned by one is each time passed to the next.
Weapons are equipped on both hands of the characters and are used with the circle and cross buttons. Pressing both buttons in succession is necessary to execute combos. The other buttons are used to lock focus onto an enemy, guard, dash, or manually change the camera angle. The number of attacks and blocks is limited by an energy meter for each arm, which decreases after each move but replenishes with time.
A third meter increases after each combo and allows when maxed out to perform a "Code Drive" attack. Executed with the triangle button, a Code Drive triggers a brief close-up sequence in which a blue circle appears around the character. If the player presses a second button before the circle shifts to red, a powerful special attack will be unleashed. If the enemy blocks the Code Drive, a second, shorter close-up sequence is triggered. Enemies can also perform Code Drives, in which case the player's button press allows for protection rather than attack. Executing Code Drives frequently can cause the weapon used to upgrade, or the character to go into a "Code Crisis"; a mode which reduces speed and renders immune to attack, but slowly drains hit points.
Characters do not level up in a way similar to standard role-playing games; instead, stats
evolve according to two coexistent systems. The "Self Evolution System" alters stats and skills depending on their usage during battle: for instance, a repeated use of left-handed attacks increases the character's left arm strength, while running around often increases their speed. The second system is the "Code Extension" mode, in which Code Points can be spent on either of the two arms or up to four body slots to increase their stats or acquire new skills. Code Points are earned after each mission in amounts that depend on the quantity of "Dropped Code" collected from defeated enemies, as well as mission clear time, and damage done and taken. When replaying completed stages, the amount of Code Points earned is the difference between the player's highest past score for the mission and the new score obtained.
, with people living on its internal surface. The center of the sphere is occupied by the "Central Code", a spherical structure which goes through a transformation called "Reborn" about every ten thousand years, destroying all life on the globe and allowing for the birth of a new one.
The game begins near the end of a Central Code cycle, while mankind has learned about the impending disaster and built "Arks", flying stations intended to float in the sky and house most of them in a deep sleep state for the duration of the Reborn. The operation works for one hundred years before objects falling from the Central Code hit the Arks and cause them to crash to the surface. Its passengers die or awake, now at the mercy of those who remained on the ground as well as the Otellos; a new, warped species which arose from the dropped pieces of the Central Code. The Otellos seek humans to turn them into mindless puppets named "Coded", although the mutation fails on people from the Arks and results in free and extremely evolved hybrids called "Warheads".
Knowing this, several humans seek Otellos voluntarily to become Warheads and try to protect mankind with the powers gained from the mutation. Several armed factions form with differing points of view on the way to save the world, while the Reborn still has not been completed.
after the Arks accident. He is the son of professor Alvin, one of the builders of the Arks, who disappeared some time after the accident. While searching for his sister Aliz kidnapped by a strange creature, Gene is mutated into a Warhead and watches his arm turning into a weapon during a battle against some Otellos. He is assisted by a small floating companion named Pake; and is later joined by the Warhead Kilroy, who was an assistant to professor Alvin; and Meme, a mysterious but determined, optimistic young female Warhead.
The second protagonist, Fiona, is a soldier of the White Army of Guinevere, who saved her life. Commander Guinevere, a Warhead, was a female scientist who worked in the Arks with professor Alvin. Fiona is initially very loyal to Guinevere, but becomes more reluctant following the death of a friend and the commander's changing, more dominating behavior.
The third protagonist is Gerald, a member of the Black Army of Sullivan. Also very loyal, Gerald nevertheless wonders why people do not unite to face the common threat represented by the Otellos. Commander Sullivan was another companion of professor Alvin and Guinevere, and also became a Warhead. His divergence of opinions with the White Army forced him to gather his own distinct army. The fourth and final protagonist is Haze Healy, a member of the Keepers; a faction opposed to both White and Black Armies.
, the producer of the Code Age franchise, began in 2002
; and Code Age Commanders was officially announced in the April 2005
edition of the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu
. The development team was nicknamed "Warhead" and specifically assembled for the game, with its lead developers Yusuke Naora and Toshiyuki Itahana belonging to the art field rather than project management. Several connections to the mobile phone game Code Age Brawls
and the manga Code Age Archives were put throughout the game, so that information learnt from it could be used by players and readers of the other installments to understand the full picture.
The focus on customization features in the game was designed by Naora to appeal to the American market. A trailer of the game was featured at the Los Angeles
E3 in 2005, although Naora later commented that a North American release date was not yet set as there were concerns about competing with the soon-to-be-released PlayStation 3
. While the gaming website RPGamer
reported at one point a 2006
release in North America, the game was eventually released only in Japan.
, with Yasuhiro Yamanaka penning three tracks and J-Pop
singer Kou Shibasaki
writing and performing the theme song
titled "Memory Pocket -Memopoke-". The non-optional event scenes of the game are fully voiced
. The Code Age Commanders Original Soundtrack, which does not contain "Memory Pocket", was published by Square Enix on October 19, 2005 in Japan. It spans two discs and 80 tracks, covering a duration of 2 hours and 28 minutes. "Memory Pocket" was released as the B-side to Shibasaki's single Sweet Mom by Universal Music Group
on October 5, 2005 in Japan, and was included in her second album Hitori Asobi published by Universal Music Group on 2006-12-14 in Japan.
; 7.5 out of 10 in the American Play Magazine
; and 78 out of 100 on the gaming website GameBrink.Com. Nevertheless, the gaming site Siliconera reported overall low sales in Japan and attributed the absence of a North American release to this lukewarm response.
GameBrink.Com highly praised the quality of the graphics and animation of the game, and compared them to those of the Kingdom Hearts titles. The site greatly lauded the music and sound effects, stating that they set the mood well and tie in with the visuals; and comparing their style to that of "Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star
mixed together". Siliconera also considered the character design interesting and original, although they felt the textures were "blocky sort" and the environments consisted mostly of wide fields.
However, GameBrink.Com felt that the gameplay, user-friendly even to non-Japanese players, consists of too much repetitive button mashing despite featuring characters with different abilities. The Code Extension mode was considered imperfectly implemented, seeming as if it were "tacked on […] late in development", being totally optional yet difficult not to use to survive in the later missions. Calling the gameplay "shallow", the site stated that "the soundtrack would probably be a better purchase than the actual game". On its part, Siliconera noted that while the gameplay may seem complex for using every button on the controller, thirty minutes were enough to grasp how to play the game. The site felt the missions were designed with good pacing and replayability value, but added that hardcore role-playing game fans could dislike the lack of exploration, puzzle, and standard role-playing game principles.
The storyline was also criticized by GameBrink.Com for feeling secondary to the gameplay yet being told in long and numerous cut scenes; their amount was compared to that of the Xenosaga
series. On the contrary, Siliconera praised the story and did not report any issue concerning it, although it regretted that playing and reading the other installments of the franchise was necessary for a thorough understanding of all plot points.
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
developed and published by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
on October 13, 2005 for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. It is part of the Code Age series, a franchise created by video game artist Yusuke Naora
Yusuke Naora
Yusuke Naora is a Japanese video game art director and character designer working for Square Enix . He served as the art director for several Final Fantasy and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles...
and designed to span different interweaved titles in multiple platforms and media. The series consists of Commanders, the mobile phone game Code Age Brawls
Code Age Brawls
is a video game developed by Square Enix for mobile phones and is part of the Code Age franchise. It follows a woman on another world who has been partially transformed into a powerful creature called a Warhead, who must continually battle other creatures known as Coded in order to take over their...
, and the manga Code Age Archives.
The story of the game depicts the struggles of people surviving in a fictional "intraglobular world" menaced by an impending destruction, mysterious warped creatures, and different factions warring against each other. The game focuses successively on the viewpoints of four main protagonists.
Critics of the game were relatively positive, with high praises of its graphics and art direction but more mixed feelings for its complex and atypical gameplay.
Gameplay
Code Age Commanders is an action role-playing game divided in missions, in which the goal is to fight enemies called "Coded" to reach a certain area of the map, where a bossBoss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
must sometimes be defeated. The player controls one character while other allies are computer-controlled
Game artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...
and must not die for the mission to be successful. Between two missions, the player can select in a menu numerous optional cut scenes to watch and which reveal the memories of the Coded defeated, while stages already completed can be re-explored. The game features four successive main playable characters, and items and skills learned by one is each time passed to the next.
A third meter increases after each combo and allows when maxed out to perform a "Code Drive" attack. Executed with the triangle button, a Code Drive triggers a brief close-up sequence in which a blue circle appears around the character. If the player presses a second button before the circle shifts to red, a powerful special attack will be unleashed. If the enemy blocks the Code Drive, a second, shorter close-up sequence is triggered. Enemies can also perform Code Drives, in which case the player's button press allows for protection rather than attack. Executing Code Drives frequently can cause the weapon used to upgrade, or the character to go into a "Code Crisis"; a mode which reduces speed and renders immune to attack, but slowly drains hit points.
Customization
In addition to Coded, enemy creatures include "Otellos", which can either be defeated normally or be absorbed, mutating one of the protagonist's arm into a new form with new abilities. Depending on their types, absorbed Otellos can be used to fight, heal or be shot as a projectile weapon. Multiple Otellos can be absorbed into each arm and switched for usage, although gathering too many may result in an "Overload" mode in which attack power is boosted; but one Otello must be dropped quickly or the character's hit points will decrease steadily and continually.Characters do not level up in a way similar to standard role-playing games; instead, stats
Statistic (role-playing games)
A statistic in role-playing games is a piece of data which represents a particular aspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a integer or, in some cases, a set of dice....
evolve according to two coexistent systems. The "Self Evolution System" alters stats and skills depending on their usage during battle: for instance, a repeated use of left-handed attacks increases the character's left arm strength, while running around often increases their speed. The second system is the "Code Extension" mode, in which Code Points can be spent on either of the two arms or up to four body slots to increase their stats or acquire new skills. Code Points are earned after each mission in amounts that depend on the quantity of "Dropped Code" collected from defeated enemies, as well as mission clear time, and damage done and taken. When replaying completed stages, the amount of Code Points earned is the difference between the player's highest past score for the mission and the new score obtained.
Setting
Code Age Commanders is set in an , a fictional hollow world similar to a Dyson sphereDyson sphere
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output...
, with people living on its internal surface. The center of the sphere is occupied by the "Central Code", a spherical structure which goes through a transformation called "Reborn" about every ten thousand years, destroying all life on the globe and allowing for the birth of a new one.
The game begins near the end of a Central Code cycle, while mankind has learned about the impending disaster and built "Arks", flying stations intended to float in the sky and house most of them in a deep sleep state for the duration of the Reborn. The operation works for one hundred years before objects falling from the Central Code hit the Arks and cause them to crash to the surface. Its passengers die or awake, now at the mercy of those who remained on the ground as well as the Otellos; a new, warped species which arose from the dropped pieces of the Central Code. The Otellos seek humans to turn them into mindless puppets named "Coded", although the mutation fails on people from the Arks and results in free and extremely evolved hybrids called "Warheads".
Knowing this, several humans seek Otellos voluntarily to become Warheads and try to protect mankind with the powers gained from the mutation. Several armed factions form with differing points of view on the way to save the world, while the Reborn still has not been completed.
Characters
The events of the game unfolds successively from the viewpoints of four different Warhead protagonists. The first one is Gene, a young man who becomes amnesicAmnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
after the Arks accident. He is the son of professor Alvin, one of the builders of the Arks, who disappeared some time after the accident. While searching for his sister Aliz kidnapped by a strange creature, Gene is mutated into a Warhead and watches his arm turning into a weapon during a battle against some Otellos. He is assisted by a small floating companion named Pake; and is later joined by the Warhead Kilroy, who was an assistant to professor Alvin; and Meme, a mysterious but determined, optimistic young female Warhead.
The second protagonist, Fiona, is a soldier of the White Army of Guinevere, who saved her life. Commander Guinevere, a Warhead, was a female scientist who worked in the Arks with professor Alvin. Fiona is initially very loyal to Guinevere, but becomes more reluctant following the death of a friend and the commander's changing, more dominating behavior.
The third protagonist is Gerald, a member of the Black Army of Sullivan. Also very loyal, Gerald nevertheless wonders why people do not unite to face the common threat represented by the Otellos. Commander Sullivan was another companion of professor Alvin and Guinevere, and also became a Warhead. His divergence of opinions with the White Army forced him to gather his own distinct army. The fourth and final protagonist is Haze Healy, a member of the Keepers; a faction opposed to both White and Black Armies.
Development
Conceptual work by Yusuke NaoraYusuke Naora
Yusuke Naora is a Japanese video game art director and character designer working for Square Enix . He served as the art director for several Final Fantasy and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles...
, the producer of the Code Age franchise, began in 2002
2002 in video gaming
The year 2002 in video gaming saw the release of many games to sixth-generation video game consoles, predominately, the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.-Events:...
; and Code Age Commanders was officially announced in the April 2005
2005 in video gaming
-Events:*March 6 — The television show 60 Minutes tackles issues within video game controversy. This segment of 60 Minutes has been criticized by video game players for encouraging video game censorship....
edition of the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
. The development team was nicknamed "Warhead" and specifically assembled for the game, with its lead developers Yusuke Naora and Toshiyuki Itahana belonging to the art field rather than project management. Several connections to the mobile phone game Code Age Brawls
Code Age Brawls
is a video game developed by Square Enix for mobile phones and is part of the Code Age franchise. It follows a woman on another world who has been partially transformed into a powerful creature called a Warhead, who must continually battle other creatures known as Coded in order to take over their...
and the manga Code Age Archives were put throughout the game, so that information learnt from it could be used by players and readers of the other installments to understand the full picture.
The focus on customization features in the game was designed by Naora to appeal to the American market. A trailer of the game was featured at the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
E3 in 2005, although Naora later commented that a North American release date was not yet set as there were concerns about competing with the soon-to-be-released PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. While the gaming website RPGamer
RPGamer
RPGamer is a media and news website dedicated to covering computer and video game RPGs. Its coverage includes North American game news, European game news, Asian game news, gaming industry news, game reviews, game previews, hands-on game impressions, gaming conventions, game merchandise, release...
reported at one point a 2006
2006 in video gaming
-Events:* January 26, 2006 -- Nintendo announces its newly redesigned handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite. The new model is lighter, smaller, has configurable brightness and features an improved user interface.* January 26, 2006 -- Konami Corp...
release in North America, the game was eventually released only in Japan.
Audio
The score for the game was composed primarily by Kumi TaniokaKumi Tanioka
is a Japanese video game music composer and musician. She is most known for composing the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series.-Early life:Kumi Tanioka was born in Hiroshima, Japan. She studied music and composition while in school and enjoyed listening to video game music as her younger brother...
, with Yasuhiro Yamanaka penning three tracks and J-Pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
singer Kou Shibasaki
Kou Shibasaki
, born Yukie Yamamura, on August 5, 1981 in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan is a Japanese singer and actress.-Music career:Shibasaki made her debut in the music industry in 2002 with her first single Trust My Feelings, but she became recognized for her second single Tsuki no shizuku which was used for the...
writing and performing the theme song
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
titled "Memory Pocket -Memopoke-". The non-optional event scenes of the game are fully voiced
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
. The Code Age Commanders Original Soundtrack, which does not contain "Memory Pocket", was published by Square Enix on October 19, 2005 in Japan. It spans two discs and 80 tracks, covering a duration of 2 hours and 28 minutes. "Memory Pocket" was released as the B-side to Shibasaki's single Sweet Mom by Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
on October 5, 2005 in Japan, and was included in her second album Hitori Asobi published by Universal Music Group on 2006-12-14 in Japan.
Reception
Code Age Commanders sold 37,000 units in its first week of release in Japan, a strong start for a new franchise; debuting at number two in the charts behind Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi. The game scored 32 out of 40 in the Japanese gaming magazine FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
; 7.5 out of 10 in the American Play Magazine
Play (US magazine)
Play was a U.S.-based magazine focused on video games, anime, manga, film, DVD, television, comics, music and media. Published by Fusion Publishing, Inc. since 2001, Play magazine also had a separate Internet presence on its website, Play Online...
; and 78 out of 100 on the gaming website GameBrink.Com. Nevertheless, the gaming site Siliconera reported overall low sales in Japan and attributed the absence of a North American release to this lukewarm response.
GameBrink.Com highly praised the quality of the graphics and animation of the game, and compared them to those of the Kingdom Hearts titles. The site greatly lauded the music and sound effects, stating that they set the mood well and tie in with the visuals; and comparing their style to that of "Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star
Phantasy Star series
is a series of console role-playing video games and other supplementary media created by Sega. The original game debuted in 1987 on the Sega Master System with Phantasy Star, and continues into the present with Phantasy Star Universe, Sega's foray into the realm of MMORPGs...
mixed together". Siliconera also considered the character design interesting and original, although they felt the textures were "blocky sort" and the environments consisted mostly of wide fields.
However, GameBrink.Com felt that the gameplay, user-friendly even to non-Japanese players, consists of too much repetitive button mashing despite featuring characters with different abilities. The Code Extension mode was considered imperfectly implemented, seeming as if it were "tacked on […] late in development", being totally optional yet difficult not to use to survive in the later missions. Calling the gameplay "shallow", the site stated that "the soundtrack would probably be a better purchase than the actual game". On its part, Siliconera noted that while the gameplay may seem complex for using every button on the controller, thirty minutes were enough to grasp how to play the game. The site felt the missions were designed with good pacing and replayability value, but added that hardcore role-playing game fans could dislike the lack of exploration, puzzle, and standard role-playing game principles.
The storyline was also criticized by GameBrink.Com for feeling secondary to the gameplay yet being told in long and numerous cut scenes; their amount was compared to that of the Xenosaga
Xenosaga
is a series of science fiction video games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Namco Bandai. Xenosaga's main story is in the form of a trilogy of PlayStation 2 video games. There have been three spin-off games and an anime adaptation. The Xenosaga series serves as a spiritual successor to...
series. On the contrary, Siliconera praised the story and did not report any issue concerning it, although it regretted that playing and reading the other installments of the franchise was necessary for a thorough understanding of all plot points.