Avalon Code

by Xseed

Product Features

• Plot changes based on the player's choice of either a male or female lead character, who can regardless make enemies, alienate friends, and even fall in love.
• Unique item creation and alteration system through the mysterious Book of Prophecy.
• Developed in conjuction with top teams associated with Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV and the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory series.
• Highly detailed characters, landscapes and monsters fuel the addictive nature of capturing different monsters to complete your book?s collection.
• An immersive storyline in which players can lose themselves at a moments notice.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001HBF1MS
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 3.5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 10, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,959 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

From the creative minds behind Rune Factory and Harvest Moon with the development studio responsible for the Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV DS remakes comes Avalon Code, a single player action RPG boasting incredible graphics, a deep and engrossing story and innovative game play mechanics. Using the main character’s ‘Book of Prophecy,’ players can save items and modify the rules of engagement during battle as well as change weapon and monster attributes. The player even has control over the story as it changes, depending on which gender the player chooses to play as, enhancing the ability to immerse themselves into the story.

The Book of Prophecy holds all. View larger.

Engage in 2-fisted combat. View larger.

A world of colorful characters. View larger.

The Story
From out of nowhere as you look around and all you see a crimson sky. You stand high atop a tower looking down upon a world consumed by flames. An old man beside you opens his mouth and speaks:

“Time has expired for this world, but the records of this book shall create the next...”

Suddenly your eyes snap open and you jump out of bed, covered in sweat, but not necessarily surprised. It was only a dream, but unfortunately an all too familiar and frightening dream that you’ve been having quite often lately. Dazed, your sleep-filled eyes wander about the room as they always do when you wake, but something is different this time. There is a book atop the desk, a book full of blank pages. But this no empty tome. It seems that a spirit of sorts named "Rempo" is bound to this book and as you are drawn closer it enlightens you on the nature of the book you behold. It is known as the "Book of Prophecy" and upon the insistence of the spirit, you leave on a journey to to fill its pages and in the process make an impact on the world, the likes of which you never could have foreseen.

Gameplay
The connection between your dream as the main character and the book you are shown by Rempo is that the world has been slated for destruction, but only temporarily. The powers that be intend to recreate what they destroy, but require a blueprint for this, which is the purpose of the book. It is your job to seek out all the things that are to be recreated and note them in the book. But nothing is so straightforward in an RPG. There are forces in the world that would keep you from your appointed task. You must foil them by using the book itself.

Although the Book of Prophecy does serve as a storage device, it is much more than that. It is player's main tool, having a part in almost every aspect of the game. It takes a comprehensive snapshot of whatever it comes in contact with. This can be things as different and disconnected as a blade of grass and a sword. But as this is happens players will see that nothing is quite what it appears. All items are made up of a collection of attributes, many of which go unnoticed in their natural state. Once broken done into their separate pieces and laid out in the book, not unlike LEGO in the hands of a child or genes under the microscope of a scientist, these can recombined as the player sees fit to alter the strengths and weakness of enemies, solve puzzles, etc. Another added gameplay element that players will enjoy relates to the gender of the playable hero/heroine they choose. Although the beginning scenarios faced by either will be very similar, their end points may be quite different, allowing for hours of extra game time and replayability.

Key Game Features:

• Top-Level Development Talent - The experienced Nintendo DS development team behind the Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV remakes, Matrix Software, is at the helm together with the creative minds behind the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory series.
• Alter the Game World to Your Advantage - By collecting information on the various monsters, inhabitants, plant and locations found in the game world and filling out the pages of the mysterious Book of Prophecy, players can influence a myriad of parameters, from monster attributes to weapon strength.
• Enticing Graphics and Game Play - Highly detailed characters, landscapes and monsters fuel the addictive nature of capturing different monsters to complete the book’s collection.
• Immersive Story - Players can lose themselves in the game’s grand, sweeping storyline. Choosing between either a female or male protagonist, start on a quest to either save or doom the world. As the main character, players can make enemies, alienate friends, and even fall in love.

Product Description

A crimson sky… You stand tall atop a tower looking down upon a world consumed by flames. An old man beside you opens his mouth to speak; “Time has expired for this world, but the records of this book shall create the next...” Your eyes snap open. You jump out of bed, covered in sweat. It was only a dream. “That dream again…” You’ve been having this strange dream quite often lately. Was it really only a dream? Dazed, your eyes wander about the room when you notice a book atop the desk. The pages in it are all blank… “What is this?” A spirit arises from the book and enlightens you on the prophetic nature of the book you behold. Upon the insistence of the spirit, you leave on a journey to complete the book and change the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Certainly a very unique title with endless opportunities!, March 28, 2009

By 

AlexJouJou (D.C.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Avalon Code (Video Game)

There is a lot of activity on the net about this title--but I've been waiting to see what it gets here on amazon. Guess I got a little too tired to wait--so I went out and bought it myself.

The graphics are very good and certainly engaging. The music is pretty good but, surprisingly, I wasn't wowed by it. The gameplay is very unqiue--I've never seen anything like it! While I think this game plays more like Legend of Zelda than Chrono Trigger or FF I actually would encourage more people to pick up this little gem even if you are not traditionally a player of RPG---if you like Zelda type puzzle/action games you should check this game out!

It's hard to really describe well the gameplay. Basically you have things like recipes and you "scan" objects with a book--and each object (could be character, weapon, flower, etc) is made up of different codes. How you work with those codes and re arrange them is what this game is all about. The story is o.k.-- a bit different. The fun comes in figuring out the codes for certain things. For example one of the beginning enemies (Mul) can be scanned and has codes. I replaced one of its codes with a code for ILL and that made the enemies easier to defeat. It also works the other way--early on there is an animal you need to "save" so you need to find specific codes to heal the animal.

Dungeon's are a mix of puzzle and hack and slash--with strategy thrown in at times. They were a little repetitive for me but again it's a dungeon--the fun is in beating up enemies and solving puzzles--regardless of whether they all look similar or not.

I will say this game REALLY needed a guide to go with it. And that's the downside for me. Although I'm sure some children could play this I really think it might be too complicated for the younger crowd. Exploration can be very tedious and some points are hard to find. As many other reviewers have pointed out the book itself needed a search feature. I'm not even 1/2 way through and it is a pain to constantly have to go through the book to find the code you want--again why I don't think I'd recommend this for young children. I am sure I'll probably come up with some level of organization for the codes but I would have preferred that this already exist as it really makes a difference.

To some degree I think Avalon Code would appeal most to fans of Zelda or other puzzle/adventure type games rather than those who go for old school JRPG (which this is clearly not!). Although I am enjoying it I must admit to finding it very frustrating in places--but what I prefer in my games is a bit more straight forwardness. I like RPG's where I can level up and use weapons and buy new weapons and equiptment and so on. A la Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest or even tactical's like Luminous Arc.

Overall though this is a very clever unqiue title. And there's the beauty---we all seem to want some level of innovation in our games--give us something new, something fresh, something that makes us think and challenges us. Avalon Code delivers on this in spades. I would have given it a solid 5 stars IF the Book of Prophecy had a search feature or you were able to hold more code,if it didn't cost MP to swap codes, and if there were more in game tutorials or other help as it can get pretty complicated. I think this holds it back from being a contender for best new game (like TWEWY last year). However, if you want something new, fresh, innovative and unique--Avalon Code is your game!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creative idea, but it has its frustrating points, June 27, 2009

By 

Barbara B. "Bibi" (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Avalon Code (Video Game)

I picked up Avalon Code after trying a short demo version. The idea of playing around with the "codes", being able to choose the gender of your character, and naturally getting a boy/girlfriend, all sounded appealing.
Overall, I found Avalon Code to be an addicting, enjoyable game. There's always something new to discover, and I've played through several times already, both as a girl and a boy. The graphics are very well done, and I love all of the characters' and monsters' designs. The cutscenes,if you get as attached to the characters as I did, are very emotional. Avalon Code combines my two favorite kinds of games, puzzles and RPGs, into one!
The most frustrating aspect of the game is, as others have mentioned, finding the codes. I would also suggest carefully reading the instruction manual before hand, and getting hints from your Spirit guide as often as possible.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, although flawed, August 26, 2009

By 

Martonimos - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Avalon Code (Video Game)

Most of the complaints you'll hear about this game are valid. The Book of Prophecy, while certainly a great concept, becomes tedious when you have to look through hundreds of pages to find a single code. The game spends a good chunk of its first part teaching you to use it, making for one extremely long, drawn-out tutorial that still manages to miss certain things, like how to use codes to hit colored switches. The lack of hit points means you'll die a lot, although you barely lose anything when you die, making it little more than an annoyance. The writing is a bit stilted and lacking; early in the game, a woman traps you in her basement, and after you escape, if you return to talk to her... nothing happens. Your character just ignores the whole attempted imprisonment thing. While each small area has its own map, the lack of a larger map to unify them makes navigation difficult. The fact that there are little things hidden in the maps, like plants or small creatures, is a nice addition, but searching for those little tidbits can be infuriating.

These are all relatively flaws, and they chip away at what would otherwise be an excellent game. Avalon Code's ability to mess with the fabric of reality, while not as cool as it sounds, really comes into force when customizing weapons, items, and enemies. Yes, that's right; if your enemy has too many hitpoints, chances are he has a Stone or Iron code you can remove to make him weaker. Also, the Book of Prophecy is used to give almost everything backstory and flavor text, making the game feel really open and alive in your hands. The level of control you have, given the limits of the medium, is pretty cool. I'd say I had more fun exploring, filling up the book, and messing with codes to create new items than I did with the game's actual plot. Rather than rehashing or retreading old ground, Avalon Code presents this as its core concept, and comes out the stronger for it.

Avalon Code is a good game, although bogged down by minor issues that keep it from being a great game. Hopefully, these could be fixed in a sequel someday, but until then, this is a nice little gem of a game that I'd say is worth picking up.