Lost Song's story is based on an alternate timeline of Sword Art Online that does not follow the canon storyline of the light novels. It follows series protagonist Kirito and his friends as they play the Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called ALfheim Online (ALO). The game introduces a guild named Shamrock, led by scientist and idol Seven, who Kirito competes against to be the first to clear ALO's expansion, Svart ALfheim.
Lost Song received mostly mixed reviews, with the multiplayer and controls being praised; however, the game's dungeons were criticized for being bland and recycled. Reviewers also stated the game appeals more to fans of the series. A sequel, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, was announced at Dengeki Bunko Fall Fest 2015 for PS4 and Vita, with a release date set in 2016.
Gameplay
Kirito and Sinon talking. Lost Song's conversation system is presented in a visual novel style, with static images and text.[4]
Unlike its predecessors, which have MMORPG-like gameplay,[5]Lost Song is labeled as an action game instead of a role-playing game.[6] It is the first game in the series that allows one to play as characters besides protagonist Kirito; there are 19 characters available, though two are only attainable through downloadable content.[7] Additionally, players can create their own character to use in the game's story mode. Regardless of which character is being used, the story will progress as if the player is Kirito.[8] Each character can wield three types of weapons—for instance, Kirito can dual-wield or use a one- or two-handed sword—and weapons have skills that can be trained to unlock new abilities.[9]
While in battle, a party consists of three members: the player and two player-selected characters. Fighting is performed on the ground and in the air, with the latter allowing the player to move freely, although players cannot fly in dungeons[10] and are restricted to an altitude limit during the early portion of the story.[11] Auto-attacking, which is disabled during flight, enables other party members to automatically attack an enemy in close enough proximity without command from the player. In combat, the player can assign magic spells and attacks for the other two party members to use.[9] The type of spells available depends on the race of the character; for example, Salamanders use fire-based spells, while the sylph use wind magic. In a party, the character that the player assigns to perform magic is not targeted by enemies.[12] During combat, there is a "Union" gauge which, when filled, allows players to perform the "switch attack", where one character attacks first and a party member immediately follows with a second attack.[9]
The game has multiplayer, allowing players to engage in player versus player (PvP) duels.[13] Online capability is also available, with a lobby featuring up to 16 players who can be split into four-person parties to complete quests,[14] such as fighting stronger versions of bosses found in single-player.[15] Four-player groups can also participate in PvP as 4v4 battles.[16]
Synopsis
Setting and characters
Lost Song takes place in Svart ALfheim, a set of floating continents in ALfheim Online. Two of the continents are "Flosshilde", an ice-based region,[17] and "Woglinde", a grassy area with windmills.[18]
Based in the same continuity as Hollow Fragment, the game follows an alternate timeline from the original series; instead of escaping Sword Art Online on floor 75 like in canon, the players were forced to progress through the game's remaining 25 floors. Lost Song occurs at the same chronological point as the Gun Gale Online arc in Sword Art Online II, but the characters are instead exploring ALfheim Online, the newest virtual reality MMORPG to be released.[19]Lost Song introduces three new characters that play a role in the plot: Nanairo "Seven" Arshavin,[9] an idol and Russian scientist studying virtual reality; Nijika "Rain" Karatachi, an SAO survivor[20] and Seven's older sister[21] who follows Kirito during the story;[22] and Sumeragi, Seven's bodyguard.[23] Seven and Sumeragi are leaders of a guild called Shamrock, Seven being the head. While Seven is at a lower level, her guild mates are among the strongest players in ALO, with 30 percent of the top 100 players being Shamrock members.[24] Sumeragi is the top swordsman in ALO, having defeated Eugene, the general of the Salamander race, in battle.[25] Rain is a former member of the guild, being expelled after lying to other guild members, followed by capitalizing on the time between her removal and the official de-registration of her guild status to steal information.[26]
Plot
After the events of Hollow Fragment and escaping Sword Art Online, Kirito expresses an interest in playing ALO, and decides to join after hearing of Seven's work in the game.[27] Rain, aware of Kirito's feats in SAO, decides to follow him, though he notices her presence. The two eventually meet when she was attacked by a field monster in a valley, and Kirito invites her to join his adventures.[28]
Kirito begins to express doubts about Shamrock and Seven's fan club, and decides to attend one of her concerts.[29] There, he notices that the attendees become motivated to perform Seven's interests that she mentions onstage.[30] Seven later reveals that Sumeragi is her research partner for a project she is working on,[31] known as the Cloud Brain. She describes the experiment as a network that unites ALO players' emotions into one, as seen at the concert.[32] She invites Kirito to assist her in creating it, but he turns it down, as he wants to enjoy playing the game with his friends.[33]
Returning to the final dungeon, Kirito notices Sumeragi, who challenges him to a duel. After being teleported to a different area, the two begin fighting.[34] With the usage of Skill Connect, a game exploit in which two consecutive Sword Skills are used without delay, Kirito defeats Sumeragi.[35] Kirito advances through the dungeon to confront Seven, while Sumeragi and other Shamrock members transfer their Original Sword Skills (OSS) to her.[36]
Upon reaching the boss room, Kirito finds out that Seven had already defeated it by herself.[36] While she discusses the results of the project, Rain questions her actions and how they interfere with her idol status.[37] The three begin fighting, and despite possessing a wide array of OSS, Seven is defeated.[38] An angered Seven proclaims that she will be the one who clears Svart ALfheim and her avatar corrupts as a result of overload from the OSS.[39] As the battle continues, Rain tells Seven that she does not want to fight,[40] and after Seven's loss, Rain consoles her while her HP decreases to zero.[21]
Afterwards, Seven stops performing concerts ingame, as Shamrock membership declines.[41] After logging out, Kirito meets Rain and learns of the rift between her and Seven that prompted her to play ALO.[20] Back in ALO, Seven meets Rain again; Rain tells her about their childhood and their split after their parents divorced. After she was reminded of two Russian greetings that Rain had taught her, Seven's memories return and the two are finally reunited.[42]
Development
The game's development was officially announced at the Tokyo Game Show on September 19, 2014, with the working title of SAO III.[43] While predecessors Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment and Hollow Fragment were developed by Aquria, Artdink was selected to develop Lost Song.[1] For the game's theme music, Eir Aoi and Luna Haruna, who performed the theme songs for the anime,[44] had their singles "Cynthia no Hikari" (シンシアの光, Cynthia's Light) and "Yoru no Niji wo Koete" (夜の虹を越えて, Over the Night Rainbow), featured in the game as the opening and ending themes, respectively.[45][46]
Marketing and release
As a supplement, Re: Hollow Fragment, an improved version of Hollow Fragment, was bundled with Lost Song as Sword Art Online: Game Director's Edition and released in Japan on November 19.[47]Re: Hollow Fragment was also available as a free downloadable if players pre-ordered Lost Song.[48] At Dengeki Game Festival 2015, it was announced that Lost Song and God Eater 2, also published by Bandai Namco Games, would have DLC from the other game: on April 9, Dengeki PlayStation magazine released a serial code of Kirito and Sinon's costumes for God Eater 2, and 14 days later, released a code of GE2 characters Julius and Alisa's costumes for Lost Song.[49] At Tokyo Game Show 2015, Kuroyukihime, from Sword Art Online author Reki Kawahara's series Accel World, was added as another playable character in Lost Song.[50]
Lost Song was released in Japan for the PS3 and Vita on March 26, 2015,[51] while a Traditional Chinese version was released on April 28.[52] An English-subtitled version of the game was released in Asia on May 12,[7] the PAL regions on November 13,[53] and North America on November 17, with the English-subtitled PS3 port being an Indonesian-exclusive.[54]
Sword Art Online: Lost Song received "mixed or average" reviews, according to video game review aggregatorMetacritic.[56][55]Destructoid writer Josh Tolentino believed, like its predecessors, Lost Song was meant for fans of the series. He praised the combat system for being less time-consuming in comparison to Hollow Fragment, though he criticized the dungeons as being bland and an "apathetic level design".[15] Meghan Sullivan of IGN gave the game a score of 6/10, believing the controls are easy to use and commended the multiplayer, but stated that the enemies and dungeons are repetitive and considered the story to be dull.[11]Hardcore Gamer's Jason Bohn stated that the game was "hamstrung by a lack of investment", noting the lack of English voice acting and the plot being told through static images.[4] Meanwhile, PlayStation Lifestyle awarded it a score of 7 out of 10, calling it "a fun, lighthearted and breezy run through well-worn action-RPG territory."[59]
Sales
Within the first week of its release in Japan, the PS3 and Vita versions sold 55,090 and 139,298 copies, respectively, with a total of 194,388 copies being sold. The two versions' sales were the sixth- and second-most of the week, respectively.[60] The numbers reached as high as 65,000 (PS3), 177,000 (Vita), and 18,000 (PS4). In a January 2016 interview, producer Yousuke Futami stated the game had sold 100,000 copies in North America—30,000 of which were downloaded—and 50,000 in Europe.[61]
^ abArtdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Kazuto: Rain...hah, not Rain. You're Nijika Karatachi in the real world, aren't you? / Nijika: Nope. Here, my maid name is Rain. [...] / Kazuto: ...Rain. Aren't you going to come back to ALO? / Nijika: Yeah...that's not going to be easy. I put my mother through enough with the SAO incident, and playing ALO any more would just be...you know. Besides, I told you, right? That I logged into ALO to meet my sister...
^ abArtdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Alvaldi's Lair. Seven: Why are you all getting in my way!? That's mean! It's MEAN!!! / Rain: I thought you just acted like an adult as justification for doing whatever you wanted, but... You still cry just like a child... / Seven: Wha...? / Rain: You're surrounded by adults... The weight of the world is on your shoulders... You're the center of so much gossip... You just got caught up in a wave you didn't want to come down from—that's all, isn't it? / Seven: ...aaah...uhuuuu... / Rain: Hey, easy now...want to cry on your big sister's shoulder? There you go... [...] / Kirito: Her HP drained, Seven's body becomes a faint glimmer of light, and disappears... Rain holds that faint shimmer in her arms, as her sister slips away yet again...
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Strea: That girl, Seven... She's really weak. Her stats seem to be a lot lower than any of us... / / Sinon: Really? But I heard that Shamrock is only made up of the best of the best. / / Strea: Thirty of the top hundred players in the quest rankings are Shamrock members. That's pretty impressive!
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Strea: The hottie that Eugene was trying to glare a hole through is Sumeragi, the strongest member of Shamrock. / / Philia: Apparently Eugene lost a duel against him the other day.
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Ruins of Frode. Sumeragi: You're...Rain. Rain the Liar! / Rain: Ah, ahahaha... Oh, I've stepped in it now... / Kirito: What do you mean? Rain, you know these Shamrock guys? ... What's he talking about, Rain? / Sumeragi: Not long ago, she lied to and deceived our members, worming her way into Shamrock. We expelled her from the guild when the truth came to light. Which means she continued to use the gap between her discharge from the guild and use the official de-registration to steal our information.
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Kirito: Now that I think about it, I got interested in ALO almost immediately after I returned from SAO and was discharged from the hospital... [...] Rainbow... The attention her research on VRMMOs had been getting was starting to pique my interest.
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Wellgune. Kirito: While we're on the subject of those boots, they look to be the exact same shape and size as the footprints I found when I tried to catch our mysterious stalker the other day. Coincidence? / Rain: H-how did...! / Leafa: Th-then this...is who's been trailing us!? / Rain: I must say I'm impressed! I never thought you would catch on so quick. I should have expected so much from Kirito, the legendary hero of SAO! You suspected the moment you saw me, didn't you? / Kirito: Pretty much. So... Why have you been following us? / Rain: I was just curious, is all. I wanted to see what this famous hero and his friends were like, and to see how good they really are.
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Thrizi's Labyrinth. Asuna: They say Seven keeps asking for their help during her concerts. / Kirito: Yeah, that's what I heard...hm? [...] It looks like the fan club is acting of its own accord, but it's exceedingly clear that Seven wields tremendous influence. / Asuna: Well then we should go see her sometime soon. Anybody can go to a Seven concert, right? / Kirito: Yeah...yeah, that's right. I need to see how she talks to her friends during the show...!
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Niflheim. Seven: Recently our guild has been doing their best to clear the Svart Area. But...from here on it looks like the quests are going to be really, really, REALLY difficult! So anyone who's able... I want you to help Shamrock clear these quests! Shamrock will set out at 9 p.m. tomorrow to clear a difficult new quest! [...] / Leafa: So it looks like that aggressive play WAS the fan club's decision. / Sinon: But when she gets them so agitated, they're capable of doing just about anything.
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Agil's Cafe. Kirito: Sumeragi...are you and Dr. Rainbow acquainted in the real world, as well? / Seven: Yes, he's my research partner. He's come from his home in Japan to join me here in America. Let's just say he's my assistant.
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Agil's Cafe. Seven: We have collected the mathematical throughput of ALO-playing human brains onto a network, joining then together in the cloud. Thus we will be able to build a system with more processing power than any computer CPU—an organic system that can even process human emotions. / Kirito: ...And you're planning to run this experiment while ALO's Svart Area is being cleared!? / Seven: Yep. You saw it too, didn't you Kirito? When everyone's hearts and minds joined together as one at my concert?
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Agil's Cafe. Seven: What do you say, Kirito? Will you help me out? Even with such a small group, you're powerful enough to fight on an equal footing with us. Will you lend us a hand in exploring the possibilities of this network? [...] / Kirito: ... The answer is no. / Seven: What?? Why?? It's not like we're doing anything bad! / Kirito: For three reasons. The first of which is because I'm a player. [...] The real thrill of a VRMMO is cooperating with friends you would trust with your life to clear that final dungeon. Until now, we were unable to enjoy games with every fiber of our being. And that's exactly why we want to play ALO unfettered.
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Dark Yggdrasil. Sumeragi: No one will bother us here...and Seven's experiment will be a success. / Kirito: I wouldn't be so sure. / Sumeragi: Your words change nothing! Now, Kirito, let us settle this!! Duel request...Total Loss Mode, surely?
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Dark Yggdrasil. Rain: Kirito's attack...was that a Sword Skill...!? I've never seen a consecutive attack like that...! / Asuna: He told me earlier... that by activating two one-handed sword skills after the other, he can cancel the delay between them. It's a system exploit called... Skill Connect!
^ abArtdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Alvaldi's Lair. Seven: They're all dead. That boss was REALLY strong... but I just beat it... The last boss. / Kirito: Huh? ...What'd you say!? / Seven: I alone defeated the God of Darkness residing in the deepest level of Svart ALfheim. / Kirito ...But there's no way someone of your skill level could win! What the heck are you talking about? / Seven: Didn't I tell you, Kirito? That there's a way to transfer Original Sword Skills in this area? [...] / Rain: So Shamrock and the fan club all transferred their Original Sword Skills to you simultaneously...? / Seven: Exactly. Even Sumeragi passed his skill on after he fell to you.
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Alvaldi's Lair. Seven: Ehehe... Kirito, I don't like you when you're angry. Not once did I coerce anyone. Nor do anything wrong. Everyone have their consent—it's that simple. And I will perform my experiment, in return. Do you not understand the beauty of that? / Kirito: It doesn't matter what I say, does it... / Seven: Sumeragi should be taking the readings right about now... I hope the results are good... / Rain: [slaps Seven] Seven...aren't you forgetting something? [...] Maybe your little experiment IS an impressive feat! Maybe it WILL further technology! But you're an idol too, right!? Or is that just a joke!? Idols should give people something to aspire to, and yet here you are just ruining everyone's fun!!
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Alvaldi's Lair. Seven: Come at me!! I'll use the skills I've collected to beat you until you beg for mercy!! [...] Guh...n-no way...!! I have all these skills, and yet...you're keeping up with me...!?
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Alvaldi's Lair. Seven: HAA...HAA... No...NO...! I will be the hero who clears the Svart Area!! I will have my moment of glory, and will continue my experiment as everyone's idol...everyone's GODDESS!! I will continue to sing the Ragnarok Pastoral!! / Kirito: Seven...! / Seven: Y-yes...! You say you survived SAO, so... I can become even more of a hero by defeating you! Everyone will bear witness to my might! So...Kirito and Rain! Let's go one more time!! I...WILL...win...you'll...see... [Seven's avatar begins to corrupt] / Rain: Kirito, something's wrong with Seven! / Kirito What...is she...? [...] What is going on!? Is this another skill of hers? / Rain: Maybe she's experiencing a data overload from taking on so many Original Sword Skills at once!
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Alvaldi's Lair. Rain: I'm sorry... I'm really sorry... She has no strength left to fight now... She's just throwing a tantrum... I...I'll handle it from here... Seven, can you hear me? You may not listen to me...but I have to be blunt so you'll understand... Seven, you don't realize what kind of situation you're in! / Seven: SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UUUUUUP!! DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!! YOU...YOU KNOW NOTHING! / Rain: I know...I understand... I don't want to hurt you...
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Agil's Cafe. Strea: I've heard that Shamrock halted all activity, and that fan club membership has dropped off as well... / Philia: Yeah, that's also right. I've also heard Seven has all but stopped performing as an idol in ALO...
^Artdink (November 17, 2015). Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PlayStation 4). Bandai Namco Games. Level/area: Woglinde. Rain: When we were little, we lived in Russia, and we got separated when our parents divorced. Dad took you to America, and Mom took me to Japan. Privyet, dosvedanya...you have a habit of saying those words, right? Those are Russian greetings. I taught them to you when we were still in Russia... I don't think you remember. You were pretty young... / Seven: Ah, aaah...! I remember...I remember!! My...my sister taught me those words...! It was you! [...] [Rain and Seven embrace] / Rain: We've finally met...thank goodness... My name is Nijika Karatachi. Rainbow...I'm your sister. / Seven: I'm...I'm Rainbow Arshavin.
