Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star Concerto

A game that really means for you to hang in there.

Open the curtains to what is basically an epic story to build a new world because the old one went boom. Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star is a game developed by Gust for the Playstation 3 and can be considered a prequel to the Ar Tonelico series, introducing yet again what miracles can happen if you just believe...and have just the right song. The story switches at (your) will between two members of an anti-fairy organization and a pair that really would make more sense if the game's predecessor had also been released outside of Japan. Eventually the two pairs become intertwined in their quest to protect the people right in front of them, but at the same time try to save the masses despite the cost some individuals will have to pay.

 

The plot of Ar nosurge is slow to get into its stride and just as slow to get into. The most obvious flaws is the lack of its own prequel being released state-side, because without it some aspects of the game are confusing, senseless, unwarranted, or basically wipe the player's mind blank with confusion. This may also contribute to some characters and plot points being built up to mean something huge in the finale, but not long into the game they drop like flies for good. You're forced to agonize over their unresolved fate or simply move on, which Ar nosurge makes easy. Yes, yes. That's where the good stuff starts. You can ignore some of the long-winded talks in the second playthrough of the game.

 

At times you will choose between the impulsive amnesiac Delta and his bossy partner Cass, and other times you'll be forced to switch to the viewpoint of Ion, a sweet earnest girl who starts out trapped in her own mind, and her enigmatic robot partner Earthes. Whomever you choose, whenever you choose them, the story flows smoothly and reveals a number of surprises that will appeal to the RPG-ers in us. However little can be said without revealing spoilers, only that you, the player, will turn out to be made more vital to the story than you could have suspected.

 

 

Opinions will clash, actions will clash louder, especially when one girl takes her desire to go home to the extreme (and then gives up in a rather anticlimatic way after the lengths she went through for half the game). This is a game plot I recommend to those who favor RPGs and watch out particularly for the immersion level, yet at the same time warn them about the story's flaws. With Ar nosurge you won't have much of a choice but to hang in there. There's a possibility that you may be a god to the characters of the game, or did the introduction song lie?

 

 

What the game makers definitely didn't lie about was the fan service.