Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars | |
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Developer(s) | Chime |
Publisher(s) |
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Artist(s) | Shinichirou Otsuka |
Series | Conception |
Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows |
Release | 3DS, PS VitaWindows
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Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars [lower-alpha 1] is a Japanese role-playing video game by Spike Chunsoft and Atlus for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita platforms. [4] It is a follow-up to Conception: Ore no Kodomo o Undekure! in terms of gameplay, but their stories are unrelated. Conception II was released in Japan on August 22, 2013, in North America on April 15, 2014, in the PAL region in May 2014 and worldwide on August 16, 2016 for Microsoft Windows.
Conception II is a role-playing video game with turn-based battles, in which players control a student at a high school that doubles as a training facility for demon hunters. [5] [6] [7] The protagonist possesses an extremely high amount of ether in his body, which allows him to conceive Star Children to fight demons by 'classmating' with his other classmates. During battle, fighters can be strategically placed around the enemies, allowing players to either safely target weak points or charge head on for bigger rewards.
The game's story follows Wake Archus (default name), a young teenage boy growing up in a world where demonic monsters pose a constant threat to society. These monsters are formed in Dusk Circles, which have formed in several locations throughout the world. After a monster attack kills Wake's sister on the day of her wedding, Wake discovers that he has the mark of the Star God on his hand. He eagerly agrees to attend a school that trains people who bear this mark, all of whom are in their early to late teens, as the mark disappears shortly after they become adults. Wake is discovered to have a particularly high amount of ether in his body, which allows him to enter the labyrinths within the Dusk Circles and still use Star Energy, a feat not previously believed to have been possible. As a result, Wake is called "God's Gift" and made an instant celebrity within the school. It is also discovered that Wake has a 100% chance of creating Star Children with S-rank female students (the highest ranking within the school), which Wake and the heroine can use to fight monsters. These children are created via a process called "classmating", which involves Wake and the female student touching one another and then forming the Star Child via a special matryoshka doll. As the game progresses players have the ability to follow several story lines concerning the heroines such as a ghost haunting the school pool that Fuuko's sports team practices in or Serina's frustration with her lack of height and physical development.
As Wake fights his way through several Dusk Circles, fellow student and school leader Alec grows more and more jealous of Wake's ability as Alec feels like a failure due to his inability to fight in the labyrinths. The latter confronts Wake over him not training enough, to which Wake readily admits. Alec's frustration is compounded after he slays a monster within the school, only to find that the monster was wearing a school uniform. It is believed that somehow students are transforming into monsters, possibly after ingesting a narcotic called "Trigger" that is supposed to enable users to more efficiently use Star Energy. Despite being ostracized by some of his fellow students, neither Wake nor his friends fault Alec for his actions and he remains friendly rivals with Wake. Alec's personal feelings towards fighting grow more tense over time, only mollified by the revelation that Chief Ruby, leader of the school's science lab, has found a way to help enable him to fight within the labyrinths using crystals discovered in previous Dusk Circles.
The game has several endings depending on which heroine the player selects to take to the Star Conception Festival at the game's conclusion. If the player has met specific conditions including unlocking all of the heroines' endings, the player can unlock a harem ending. Players also have the option to not select any heroine, which will show a scene where he hangs out with Chlotz and Luce.
Conception II was first announced in March 2013 as a sequel to the original Conception game in April 2012. [8] While the original was for the PlayStation Portable, the sequel was announced for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita platforms. The game's story was revealed to be roughly twice the size of the original. [9] It was released on August 22, 2013 in Japan, with a playable demo for the game being released two months prior in early June. [10]
Atlus announced an English localization of the game on November 19, 2013, to be released in early 2014. [11] A week prior, the company had a mysterious ultrasound-based teaser website hinting at the game's reveal. [6] [12] The game's English title will be Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars. [13] While the original Conception was not translated into English after its release on the PlayStation Portable in April 2012, the two games' stories are not connected, allowing Western audiences to enjoy the game as a stand-alone title. [13] While the American and Japanese versions were released at retail (Japan on release date, and North America a few months later) and digitally (all regions on release date), the European release is digital only. [2]
Various downloadable content (DLC), both free and paid, was released for the game, including boss battles against Monokuma from the Danganronpa series. [14] Atlus announced they would release these DLC for North America and Europe between April and May 2014. [15]
Aggregator | Score | |
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3DS | PS Vita | |
Metacritic | 62/100 [16] | 62/100 [17] |
Publication | Score | |
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3DS | PS Vita | |
Destructoid | N/A | 7.5/10 [18] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | N/A | 7.5/10 [19] |
Famitsu | 34/40 [20] | 34/40 [20] |
Game Informer | 6/10 [21] | 6/10 [21] |
GameRevolution | N/A | [22] |
GameSpot | N/A | 5/10 [23] |
GameZone | 7/10 [24] | 7/10 [24] |
Joystiq | N/A | [25] |
Nintendo Life | 8/10 [26] | N/A |
Nintendo World Report | 6/10 [27] | N/A |
Official Nintendo Magazine | 54% [28] | N/A |
Polygon | N/A | 4/10 [29] |
411Mania | N/A | 6.9/10 [30] |
The 3DS and Vita versions of Conception II received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [16] [17] Many reviewers negatively compared the game to the Persona series, and Game Informer commented that while the issues in Persona felt important, the issues in Conception II felt "laughably superficial". [21] The reviewer from EGMNow was mixed in their review, as they felt that there was a "Persona-esque addictive quality to the package" when it came to the dungeon crawling, but that they did not overly enjoy the game's dating sim aspects due to the shallowness of the interactions with the heroines. [19] Joystiq criticized the game's more repetitive aspects and stated that upgrading the various Star Children made it necessary to repeat multiple dungeons to level them up, and that the game as a whole felt mediocre. [25]
In contrast, Famitsu rated both the 3DS and Vita versions highly, [20] and Nintendo Life remarked that "With fun characters, unique and engaging combat, a cute central conceit, and an irrepressibly cool soundtrack, Conception II is a bundle of JRPG joy." [26]
In the first week of sales upon release, Conception II sold 20,000 copies on the PlayStation Vita, making it the fifth best selling game of the week, and an additional 5,000 copies on the Nintendo 3DS, putting it at sixteenth place for the week. [31] This result was expected by Spike Chunsoft, which had shipped double the number of copies for the Vita version. [4] The game's collective 25,000 copies sold in the first week fell just short of the original game's 30,000 sold in the first week. [4]
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