#arboriasprodigy

Send me questions about my character’s series

hoo boy where to start here

So, for the textbook definition, Surge Concerto is a smaller series of games hailing from the EXA_PICO universe of games! If you’ve ever heard of an obscure RPG series called “Ar Tonelico”, it’s loosely connected to that! (Very loosely, actually, so no prior knowledge of it is really required)

As of this posting, there are really only two games in the series: Ciel Nosurge, released in 2012 for the PS Vita, and its sequel Ar Nosurge, released in 2014 for the PS3–and later in 2015 as a deluxe rerelease for the PS Vita, Ar Nosurge Plus.

Without getting into it a huge amount, Surge Concerto is a game with a really heavy basis on story above anything else. Ciel Nosurge is a full visual novel/life-simulator game, while Ar Nosurge is a visual novel wearing the skin of a (decently fun) JRPG. 

The games feature a consistent, varied cast of characters. And while they are occasionally the victims of some rather annoying pandering (I think most of you can assume what I mean when I use this word), I honestly feel like the cast of Surge Concerto may be one of the best, most believable, and fleshed-out casts of characters I’ve encountered in a while! And if you’ve noticed I’ve referred to Earthes as “the player”, yeah–you, the person at the controller hitting buttons–are treated as an entity in the story in a rather engaging spin on the idea I’ve only ever seen in maybe a few other games; in a sense that only serves to enhance the game’s immersion, at that.

The world is also incredibly fleshed out, with expansive lore and actual, detailed in-universe systems of science and Song Magic! And if you assumed the latter was just something said for show, no–

Song Magic is an act of “show, don’t tell” put to the absolute extreme, to the point it features two entire in-universe languages. Both of which have official syntax and grammar materials available for the public, as well as a rather lengthy dictionary, which the community has lovingly translated.

If all this sounds like a lot, yeah–it kinda is, which is one minor problem it suffers. That being said, I’d highly advise getting into it if you have the time or interest to invest! It’s well-worth it, in my opinion! 

The series can feel a bit hard to approach if you just go at it blindly, so I’ll provide a short little introduction/primer below if anyone here wants to get started!

First, you have to start with Ciel Nosurge. While you can start at Ar Nosurge, I would not recommend it. The events of Ar Nosurge are written almost purely as a climax to the events of Ciel Nosurge, so almost all of the impact of it is lost if you don’t know what happened prior.

Ciel Nosurge

The basic premise of Ciel Nosurge is that you (yes, YOU, the player) somehow connect to a newly built monitor in the home of a girl named Ion. After some introductions and dialogue choices, you learn that she has amnesia and that, for some reason, the device in your hands (a PS Vita; just roll with it) has the ability to help her restore her memories. What follows is a VERY LONG visual novel/life simulator, where you go through Ion’s memories with her–learning of the planet “Ra Ciela” and the troubles it faces. Aside from that, there’s the mystery of where Ion is, and why only she and some woman named “Nelico” are the only ones around.

The game was never officially localized, but this fanbase is dedicated beyond belief, so there exists a fully subtitled and translated playlist of the game’s main story (with important side events included as would be appropriate). This covers pretty much everything you’d need to know to move into Ar Nosurge, and is how I got into the series! It’s about 50+ hours long so, uh. Watch it at your own pace! ;v;

There is work on a translation of the offline version of the game, but it’s ongoing and could take a while. For now, the playlist is the most readily available option to experience the story!

With that, let’s move into Ar Nosurge!

Ar Nosurge

As I mentioned before, Ar Nosurge acts as the “climax” to Ciel Nosurge’s “setup”! Set after a rather lengthy time jump between games, Ar Nosurge’s plot focuses on giving closure to a number of established and unresolved plot threads set up in Ciel Nosurge. The game shifts control between two pairs of player characters, with one side starring Delta Lantanoil, a previous character who showed up in Ciel Nosurge, and the other focusing on Earthes (oh hello), a robot who accompanies Ion as she continues the plot threads from the previous game. The identity of Earthes actually changes depending on whether you have a save file from Ciel Nosurge–if you have one, then Earthes is the same player who connected with and helped Ion from Ciel Nosurge; if not, the story treats you as someone else who connected to the terminal after a certain “event” happens at the end of Ciel Nosurge. 

(Unfortunately, the game kind of botches this system in the localization, so I find it’s usually best to just pretend Earthes is the same person no matter where you go. Anyways!)

All this aside, Ar Nosurge is a lot easier to get ahold of than Ciel Nosurge, since for some reason it was localized by itself! It’s available on PS3 and PS Vita, although I personally recommend the PS Vita version, as it features more content and adds in a number of dialogue options that were bizarrely missing in the localized PS3 version (leaving only dialogue options that, for one particularly important scene, DRASTICALLY CHANGE THE CHARACTER OF EARTHES. And NOT FOR THE BETTER.) So if you can, I would highly advise trying your best to get ahold of the Vita version, Ar Nosurge Plus, or watching a playthrough of it if that isn’t an option. Not terribly enticing options, but again, the omissions made in the PS3 version very nearly turned me off from the game’s story, so unless you have tolerance for that sort of thing, I’d recommend the above.

Anyways, yeah! I think that covers most of what I have to say. There are other official materials present regarding the game, some of which have been fan-translated and some of which have not, but if you go through the main content, you really should have the basic idea!

dune slowly opened his eyes, blinking away what felt like the crust of sleep, only to find himself staring at a clear blue sky, rather than the ceiling of his bedroom at home. sitting up, he began to take stock of his new (and quite unfamiliar) surroundings.

Clive was still exploring, making notes here and there---because, frankly, something was puzzling in every corner. This place is the last thing he'd call normal. However, although he did find out a dozen differences already, there was literally no lead on how he came here in the first place, or rather, how he can leave, yet. Seems like he'll have to at least spend the night in this strange city. As infuriating as it is...he'll have to accept the Room he was assigned. Damn it. He wasn't happy, knowing he's sitting right in the unknown System of this strange Place. Perhaps it'd still be good to talk to one or two more citizens before he returns to the Apartment, though. Who knows, maybe he might still get something useful.

There was a young girl nearby, and although Clive is terrible when it comes to talking to children, it's still for the best if he tries. After all, a child or not, she's surely been in this place longer than he has. So, Clive approached her, tipping the brim of his hat.

“Oh, wonderful!!” It was much too cold for My Melody to stick around outside. She’d rather converse with her new acquaintance inside her shared condo. It had actually been rather lonely for her around the place since at the moment she only had one other roommate, and to be completely honest she had never even met that girl! So she invited Veronica enthusiastically in the hopes that she’d spend at least an hour or more for a visit.

“And I’ve been wanting to ask; do you like tea or cookies? Maybe cake..?” She continued to lead Veronica along as she spoke, and thankfully they weren’t too far from the condominiums, so it would be an easy walk for the both of them.

This may be the last time Susie waits in line like an ordinary customer. From now on, she’s going to order online to avoid the inconvenience of waiting.

The reason she’s considering this lifestyle choice is a little girl in front of her at SpiraleBucks. She’s around her own height, though Susie knows young humans tend to be around this tall. Susie’s never met a child as verbose as this, either, though she doesn’t deal with children on a regular basis.

She doesn’t know why the cashier’s not being any help. Is it some sort of policy? Regardless, it’s time that Susie took matters into her own extremities.

“Excuse me, miss? Did you happen to receive a small, rectangular device? It’s what you use to pay with here.”

She hasn’t picked this up by now?

“The Picture of Dorian Gray” sentence starters

SnapCube’s Sonic ‘06 Real Time fandub starter pack @arboriasprodigy​ said:

« i can, uhm, kick your ass? right now? »

this seems really interesting !