Fairy Tail | |
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![]() Cover of the PS4 edition | |
Developer(s) | Gust |
Publisher(s) | Koei Tecmo |
Producer(s) | Keisuke Kikuchi |
Series | Fairy Tail |
Platform(s) | |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Fairy Tail is a 2020 role-playing video game developed by Gust and published by Koei Tecmo. Based on the manga series Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima, it follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and the other members of the titular wizard guild. It was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows in Japan and Europe on July 30, 2020, and in North America a day later. Reviewers praised the game's combat mechanics, but criticized the story as lacking accessibility for those not already familiar with the Fairy Tail franchise. A sequel, Fairy Tail 2, was announced for release in winter 2024 for PlayStation 4, Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Windows. [1]
In Fairy Tail, players control a party of characters and traverse the game world with the goal of restoring the titular guild to its former glory. The guild itself acts as a base, where players can accept missions, which when completed raises its renown via a lettered ranking system. Jewels (the in-game currency) are also earned from missions and, in addition to buying items, can be used to upgrade the guild's interior, such as adding a magic shop or the ability to take on more difficult quests.
Battles are turn-based, with a focus on chaining attacks and performing combination specials. [2] Players use menus to select physical or magic-based attacks, use items to heal status ailments or restore HP or MP, defend, or flee from the fight; some fights can not be fled. Attacks slowly fill the Fairy Gauge that, when full, allows the player to trigger a Magic Chain, which allows party members to attack one after the other for less MP, or end the chain with a massive Finisher. [3] After taking enough damage, individual characters can trigger Awakening, which grants brief stat bonuses and, on some characters, new forms and moves. Before being triggered, Awakening can be expended to avoid an incoming attack, or follow up an ally's attack with another. [3] Characters are knocked out when they run out of either HP or MP. [3] Enemies are placed on a 3×3 grid and the abilities of the player characters each have specific ranges and areas that they can affect. [3] Some abilities can even reposition enemies on the grid. [3]
Once the party defeats the enemies by winning the battle, each member gains experience points in order to reach new levels. When a character gains a new level, the statistics (stats) of the character are upgraded. Player characters and enemies alike have elemental compatibilities and weaknesses, [2] based on a system of seven types of magic: Non-Elemental, Fire, Ice, Holy, Demon, Light, and Dark. Winning battles can also reward players with jewels and items dropped by the enemies, such as Ethernano Particles, which are absorbed by party members whose element matches that of those dropped and restores some of their MP. Equipable items called Lacrima may be dropped by enemies, bought, or crafted at the guild. They are separated into three categories; those that boost character stats, those that increase the likelihood of inflicting status ailments on enemies, and rare lacrimas formed from recipes that can only be equipped by a specific character.
After the strongest members of Fairy Tail stop the dark guild Grimoire Heart on Tenrou Island, the dragon Acnologia appears and seemingly destroys the island while they are on it. Seven years later, the Fairy Tail guild has fallen into disrepair, becoming the weakest in Fiore. However, the missing members return, having been protected by magic cast by Mavis Vermillion's spirit, and start building up the guild's reputation again. Fairy Tail decides to participate in the Grand Magic Games, a tournament held in Fiore's capital Crocus to decide the most powerful guild, and takes first place. At the same time, Fiore's royal family initiates a plan using a device called Eclipse that is said to be capable of defeating an army of 10,000 dragons that are coming from 400 years in the past to ravage the kingdom. However, Princess Hisui was tricked by a Rogue Cheney from the future into allowing the dragons to come through the door of Eclipse so that he can control them and defeat Acnologia, but only seven successfully come through before Eclipse is closed. All the guilds participating in the Games team up to combat the dragons, while Fairy Tail defeats Future Rogue and destroys Eclipse, sending him and the dragons back to their own times.
Tartaros, a dark guild composed of demons created by Zeref, then assassinates past and former members of the Magic Council. When some of its members are hurt in one of the attacks, Fairy Tail vows revenge. It is eventually learned that Tartaros is aiming to detonate Face, a pulse bomb designed to neutralize magic across Fiore that is connected to the lives of three unknown council members, and revive END, Zeref's strongest demon. While Fairy Tail assaults their base, Tartaros activates Face. Mard Geer, the leader of Tartaros, then transforms the base, trapping the members of Fairy Tail. After Lucy Heartfilia frees her comrades by summoning the Celestial Spirit King, who destroys the base, Fairy Tail retreats. Launching another attack, Fairy Tail learns that Face is not one bomb, but a network of three thousand that is set to go off in one hour. After they succeed in killing Tartaros' top members, Acnologia appears but is held off by Igneel while Natsu Dragneel and others defeat Mard Geer. The Face bombs are then destroyed by other dragons, and the Book of END is taken by Zeref. Acnologia flees after killing Igneel, and the other dragons disappear. Natsu sets out on a journey and Fairy Tail is disbanded by its master, Makarov Dreyar. Later, in a monologue, Zeref reveals that Natsu is END (Etherious Natsu Dragneel), a demon he created from the body of his dead younger brother.
In the epilogue one year later, Lucy reunites with Natsu and the two set out to find the other members of Fairy Tail and revive the guild. Their mission also sees them stop the Avatar guild, who summon Ikusa-Tsunagi, one of the Yakuma Eighteen Battle Gods. With the members back together, Fairy Tail gets approved as a guild by the new Magic Council, and find Makarov before continuing their S-Rank wizards examination, which was interrupted by Grimoire Heart eight years earlier.
In September 2019, it was announced that Gust were developing a role-playing video game based on the manga series Fairy Tail under the direct supervision of its creator Hiro Mashima. [4] Keisuke Kikuchi, a producer at the game's publisher Koei Tecmo, said that Mashima gave them a lot of feedback during the development process and was looking at everything from the viewpoint of making the fans happy. [5] When deciding what story arcs of the large manga series to adapt for the game, Kikuchi explained that two fan-favorites stood out to them in particular, the Grand Magic Games and Tartaros arcs. Following the events on Tenrou Island, the titular guild is run down and needs to be restored to its former glory, with one of the game's core systems being the guild's development and expansion. Playable character choices and fan requests also played a large role in deciding when to set the video game; according to Kikuchi, "the best place to start would be in the middle of the franchise where some of the very popular characters have already made an appearance". [6] Characters are voiced by the same voice actors from Fairy Tail's anime adaptation.
Kikuchi said the goal was to ensure that fans of the franchise would enjoy the game, but felt many aspects of the series "work perfectly as a game [for those unfamiliar with the original work], such as the unique characters who grow stronger throughout the story and the world itself, which is overflowing with fantasy elements." [7] He also said that players could watch the anime to learn more about the story if this is their first foray into Fairy Tail. [7] Kikuchi felt the turn-based combat made the game more accessible and easier to display the characters working together. He cited the "duel" system that lets players fight their fellow guild members one on one, and the ability to use "Extreme Magic" that destroy background objects via the "over damage" system as elements unique to Fairy Tail. [8] Although characters have elemental weaknesses, the developers balanced the game to allow fans to continue using their favorite characters and not have to sacrifice their preferences to advance. [9]
Originally planned for a worldwide release on March 19, 2020, Koei Tecmo announced in February 2020 that they were delaying Fairy Tail until June 25 of that year to further polish the game. [10] In May 2020, it was announced that the game would be delayed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] In July, Kikuchi said many of the developers were still working from home. [7] Fairy Tail was released in Japan and Europe on July 30, 2020, and in North America on July 31, 2020. [12] The digital deluxe edition comes with additional costumes for characters, including one for Lucy based on the character Ryza from Gust's Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout . [13] An additional costume for Erza was offered for free until August 14, 2020. [13] A free update added a "Photo Mode" on August 6, 2020. [14] Four additional playable characters and three sets of additional costumes for characters, 48 in total, were released as paid downloadable content that same day. [14]
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | (PC) 66/100 [15] (PS4) 71/100 [16] (Switch) 69/100 [17] |
Publication | Score |
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Famitsu | 32/40 [18] |
Nintendo Life | 6/10 [19] |
Nintendo World Report | 8/10 [20] |
Push Square | 7/10 [21] |
Gayming Magazine | 3.5/5 [22] |
According to Famitsu , Fairy Tail sold 28,683 units in Japan its first week, 15,447 on Switch and 13,236 on PlayStation 4. [23] In October 2020, Koei Tecmo announced that it had sold 310,000 copies worldwide. [24]
Jenni Lada of Siliconera gave the game an 8 out of 10 rating with strong praise for the combat system and its treatment of the characters, but cited how it expects players to already be familiar with the story of Fairy Tail as the "only real downside". [25] Inverse's Just Lunning praised the game for simplifying traditional turn-based gameplay in an "intuitive way, using elemental interactions in a way that requires strategy and planning but still feels simple enough that anyone can understand", but criticized it for omitting too much of the source material, while also making little attempt to endear its characters to newcomers. His 7/10 review ended with, "Fairy Tail strips away far too much of what's great about the popular anime and manga franchise to feel like a worthy adaptation. Even so, it's an enjoyable RPG in its own right." [26]
Writing for Collider, Dave Trumbore praised the turn-based combat as "refreshingly fun" and enjoyed seeing the social bonds between characters evolve, but called the tasks and missions "repetitive and paint-by-number". He finished with, Fairy Tail "remains a solid enough title that's intended for fans of the series, but as a standalone game, it's just so-so." [27] In a 6/10 review for Nintendo Life , Mitch Vogel wrote that the game has "occasional glimpses of the much greater RPG that Fairy Tail could be, but alas, it's never really given the chance to spread its wings." He called the combat system well-made and multi-layered, but felt it lacked difficulty. He also praised the game's detailed art, but cited poor frame rate performance on the Switch version. [19]
Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its historical simulation games based on the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as well as simulation games based on pseudo-historical events.
Hiro Mashima is a Japanese manga artist. He gained success with his first serial Rave Master, published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1999 to 2005. His best-selling work, Fairy Tail, published in the same magazine from 2006 to 2017, became one of the best-selling manga series with over 72 million copies in print.
Tetsuya Kakihara is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He was affiliated with 81 Produce before he became a freelancer in June 2013. He set up his own agency, Zynchro, in July 2014.
Fairy Tail is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from August 2006 to July 2017, with the individual chapters collected and published into 63 tankōbon volumes. The story follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel, a member of the popular wizard guild Fairy Tail, as he searches the fictional world of Earth-land for the dragon Igneel.
Natsu "Salamander" Dragneel is a fictional character and protagonist of the Fairy Tail manga series created by Hiro Mashima. First making his debut in Fairy Tail chapter #1, "The Fairy's Tail", originally published in Japan's Weekly Shōnen Magazine on August 2, 2006, Natsu is depicted throughout the story as a member of the eponymous wizards' guild, who are notorious in the fictional Kingdom of Fiore for their numerous accounts of causing unintentional property damage with their magic. Being a Dragon Slayer, Natsu possesses the same abilities as his foster father, the dragon Igneel, namely the ability to consume and manipulate fire. Natsu's predominant role in the series is to reunite with Igneel, who has been missing for seven years by the story's outset. He appears in most Fairy Tail media, including both feature films, all original video animations (OVAs), light novels, and video games. He is voiced by Tetsuya Kakihara in Japanese, while Todd Haberkorn voices him in the English dub.
Lucy Heartfilia is a fictional character from Hiro Mashima's manga series Fairy Tail. Lucy first makes her debut in Fairy Tail chapter #1, "The Fairy's Tail", originally published in Japan's Weekly Shōnen Magazine on August 2, 2006, as a teenage wizard and aspiring novelist who joins the titular guild because of its popularity, despite its members' tendency to cause unintentional property damage. As a Celestial Wizard, Lucy uses magical objects known as Gatekeys to summon celestial spirits, beings from another world that possess various abilities, such as powerful zodiac spirits that she summons with rare golden keys. Lucy appears in most Fairy Tail media, including both feature films, all original video animations (OVAs), light novels and video games. She is voiced by Aya Hirano in Japanese, while Cherami Leigh voices her in the English dub.
Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess is a 2012 Japanese animated fantasy action comedy film and the first based on the manga series Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima. It was directed by Masaya Fujimori, and its screenplay was written by anime staff writer Masashi Sogo, while Mashima was involved as the film's story planner. Tetsuya Kakihara, Aya Hirano, Rie Kugimiya, Yuichi Nakamura, Sayaka Ōhara, Satomi Satō, and Yui Horie reprise their character roles from the anime series. The film also features Aya Endō as the titular priestess Éclair, and Mika Kanai as her birdlike companion Momon. The first film was released in Japan on August 18, 2012, and on Blu-ray and DVD in North America on December 10, 2013.
The first season of the Fairy Tail anime television series was directed by Shinji Ishihira and produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight. It follows the first adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia of the fictional guild Fairy Tail. The season adapts the first 16 volumes of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail manga series. Natsu befriends Lucy who joins the titular guild and later goes on missions with her to earn money along with fellow wizards Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlet, as well as Natsu's flying cat, Happy. The five go on a forbidden S-Class mission with Gray and Erza to save Galuna Island and fight Gray's rival Lyon Vastia. Shortly after, the guildhall is attacked by their rival guild Phantom Lord, leading into a guild war. After the dissolution of Phantom Lord, the group learns of Erza's past as a slave in the Tower of Heaven and confront Jellal Fernandez to destroy the tower. Lastly, once back at Fairy Tail, Natsu and the others face Laxus Dreyar and the Raijin Tribe as they stage a coup in Fairy Tail.
The second season of the Fairy Tail anime television series was directed by Shinji Ishihira and produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight. Like the rest of the series, it follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia of the magical guild Fairy Tail. The series contains two story arcs. The first 20 episodes make up the "Nirvana" arc, which adapts Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail manga from shortly after the beginning of the 16th through the middle of the 20th volume. The arc focuses on Fairy Tail's alliance with other guilds to take down the dark guild Oración Seis, aided by the Dragon Slayer Wendy Marvell and a reformed Jellal Fernandez. The last four episodes form the self-contained "Daphne" arc, where Gray Fullbuster seemingly betrays the guild and helps Daphne, a deranged wizard, capture Natsu to power an artificial dragon.
The fourth season of the Fairy Tail anime series was directed by Shinji Ishihira and produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight. Like the rest of the series, it follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia of the fictional guild Fairy Tail. It continues the "Sirius Island" story arc from the third season, where Fairy Tail's S-Class examination on Sirius Island is interrupted by the arrival of Grimoire Heart, who attempt to retrieve the dark wizard Zeref living on the island.
Happy is a fictional character who appears in the manga series Fairy Tail and Edens Zero created by Hiro Mashima. He is depicted throughout his appearances as an anthropomorphic blue cat who accompanies the main protagonists on their adventures, often providing comic relief. In Fairy Tail, Happy is a member of the magical Exceed race who possesses the ability to transform into a winged cat with white, feathered wings, and serves as a friend and partner of Natsu Dragneel. For Edens Zero, the character is re-envisioned as an alien android and companion of the female protagonist Rebecca Bluegarden, for whom he also functions as a convertible pair of blaster weapons. Happy has made appearances in various media related to Fairy Tail, including an anime adaptation, feature films, original video animations (OVAs), light novels, and video games. He is voiced by Rie Kugimiya in Japanese media, while Tia Ballard voices him in the English anime dub.
The seventh season of the Fairy Tail anime series is directed by Shinji Ishihira and produced by A-1 Pictures and Bridge. Like the rest of the series, it follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia of the fictional guild Fairy Tail. The season contains three story arcs. The first 27 episodes continue the "Grand Magic Games" arc, which adapts material from the beginning of the 36th to the middle of the 40th volume of the Fairy Tail manga by Hiro Mashima. Focusing on Natsu and the others who have been frozen in time for seven years on Tenrou Island, the members continue to participate in the Grand Magic Games, an annual competition to decide the Kingdom of Fiore's strongest guild. However, they encounter a conspiracy involving a time machine called Eclipse and the imminent destruction of the kingdom. The next 24 episodes form an original storyline called "Eclipse Celestial Spirits", in which the twelve celestial spirits of the Zodiac rebel against their owners Lucy and Yukino after being transformed by Eclipse's black magic. The remaining 39 episodes contain the "Tartaros" arc, which adapts material from the rest of the manga's 40th volume to the middle of the 49th volume, depicting Fairy Tail's battle with a dark guild of Zeref's demons who aim to resurrect E.N.D., their master and Zeref's ultimate creation.
The sixth season of the Fairy Tail anime series was directed by Shinji Ishihira and produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight. Like the rest of the series, it follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia of the fictional guild Fairy Tail. It contains a single story arc, titled "Dai Matō Enbu", which adapts material from the beginning of the 31st through the ending of the 35th volumes of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail manga over 24 episodes. Focusing on Natsu and the others who were frozen in time for seven years on Sirius Island, the members return to Magnolia and discover that Saber Tooth is the strongest guild in the Fiore Kingdom. Having become the weakest guild during the absence of its core members, Fairy Tail decides to enter the Grand Magic Games, an annual competition to decide Fiore's strongest guild.
Attack on Titan, known in PAL regions as A.O.T.: Wings of Freedom, is an action hack and slash video game based on the animated series Attack on Titan, which is based on the Hajime Isayama's manga series of the same name, released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita in Japan. It was released on February 18, 2016, in Japan. On April 7, Koei Tecmo announced a Western release in North America and Europe for August 2016. Windows and Xbox One versions were also revealed. On March 20, 2018, Attack on Titan 2, the game's sequel, was released worldwide.
Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy action comedy film and the second based on the manga series Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima. It is directed by Tatsuma Minamikawa based on a screenplay by Shōji Yonemura, both of whom worked on the anime series, and the film is the sequel to 2012's movie Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess. Mashima himself also created a storyboard for the second film and served as a chief producer.
The eighth season of the Fairy Tail anime series was directed by Shinji Ishihira and produced by A-1 Pictures and Bridge. The first ten episodes are an adaptation of the spin-off manga series Fairy Tail Zero by Hiro Mashima. Fairy Tail Zero is a prequel which focuses on the adventures of the guild's first master, Mavis Vermillion. The last two episodes adapt material from the last two chapters of the 49th volume of the original manga, and deal with Lucy Heartfilia reuniting with Natsu Dragneel and Happy at the Grand Magic Games. Season 8 is the second and final season of the 2014 anime series.
Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest is a Japanese manga series written and storyboarded by Hiro Mashima, and illustrated by Atsuo Ueda. It is a sequel to Mashima's previous series, Fairy Tail. The manga was launched in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket manga app in July 2018, and is licensed by Kodansha USA for an English release in North America. As of April 2024, seventeen tankōbon volumes have been released in Japan. An anime television series adaptation produced by J.C.Staff premiered in July 2024.
The ninth and final season of the Fairy Tail anime series was directed by Shinji Ishihira and produced by A-1 Pictures, CloverWorks, and Bridge. Like the rest of the series, it follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia of the fictional guild Fairy Tail. This season contains two story arcs: the first seven episodes continue the "Avatar" arc, which adapts material from the final chapter of the 49th volume to the second-to-last chapter of the 51st volume of the Fairy Tail manga by Hiro Mashima, depicting Natsu, Lucy, and Happy's journey to reorganize their disbanded guild; the remaining 44 episodes form the "Alvarez" arc, which adapts material from the last chapter of the 51st volume to the manga's conclusion, depicting the guild's war with the militaristic Alvarez Empire, and Natsu's final battle with his adversaries Zeref and Acnologia.