Code Age Brawls

was a 2005 role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for mobile phones. Forming part of the ''Code Age'' media franchise, the story follows the character Lost L as they struggle to survive through an apocalypse brought upon the world by its control system. Lost L ends up helping a group of survivors against the hostile Afternova faction. Gameplay saw Lost L fighting in turn-based battles and absorbing defeated opponents' powers. A player-versus-player multiplayer function was prominently featured.

The concept for ''Code Age'' was created in 2002 by Yusuke Naora, with the development team of ''Brawls'' using the project to expand upon the multiplayer communication of '' Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII''. Miwa Shoda wrote the scenario, while Kumi Tanioka composed the soundtrack. As with the rest of ''Code Age'', ''Brawls'' remained exclusive to Japan. It released five story chapters between December 2005 and July 2006, before shutting down in September 2006. Western journalists praised the demo for its graphics, while a Japanese review noted issues with its network multiplayer.

Gameplay

''Code Age Brawls'' was a role-playing video game; players controlled the character Lost L, and the game was split between 2D pre-rendered environments navigated by the player character in 3D, and 3D battle environments. Battles are turn-based and consist of five rounds. Each player must select actions represented by colored badges, with each having strengths and weaknesses to others similar to a rock-paper-scissors mechanic. Once both players have made a selection, the badges are revealed, and the winner does damage to the opposing player based on the difference between their levels.

The badge colors are ranked in power from highest to lowest as yellow, red, blue, purple, and gray. If players play the same color they both attack, and if one player's color is higher only they attack. Players may choose to not play a badge in order to save it for later rounds; if both players do not play a badge then neither attacks. After winning a battle, the player gains access to the opponent's form and abilities, equivalent to a character class with themed weapons and equipment, and variations depending on the lead's gender. A chosen form also influences how players can use their badges.

In the original version, alongside single-player combat against computer-driven opponents, network-based multiplayer allowed player-versus-player battles, linking up through matchmaking with nearby phones playing the game. In April 2006, the in-game Battle Arena−which previously hosted combat against AI-controlled teams of three−was modified to include direct combat between two real players. Players could also use their location as a base and team up with others in their location to attack other people's bases.

Synopsis

''Code Age Brawls'' is set on an , a fictional hollow world similar to a Dyson sphere, with people living on its internal surface; at the sphere's center is the Central Code, a structure which resets the world even ten thousand years by wiping out the current civilization in an event called the Reborn. In an attempt to survive the next Reborn, humanity constructs arks around the Central Code. The plan fails as the arks are struck out of orbit and land back on the ground. Humans come under attack by Otellos, a species that can warp humans into mindless Coded, although some can absorb Coded and transform into powerful warriors dubbed Warhead. Survivors splinter into factions, some fighting each other and others hiding underground.

The game follows Lost L, a human who attempted to become a Coded to survive the Reborn, but is instead transformed into an incomplete Warhead. Due to this condition causing bodily degradation, Lost L must battle other Warheads to steal their bodies. Lost L ends up joining forces with a vigilante group facing off against the hostile Afternova faction, learning about their past and the Ark project along the way. The final chapter focuses on Lost L confronting the leader of Afternova with help from ''Commanders'' characters Gene and Meme; and R, a character from ''Archive'' with a similar condition to Lost L.

Development

The concept for the ''Code Age'' world was created by Yusuke Naora in 2002, prior to the 2003 merger of Square and Enix to become Square Enix. ''Code Age'' formed part of Square Enix's plan to develop "polymorphic content", a marketing and sales strategy to " rovidewell-known properties on several platforms, allowing exposure of the products to as wide an audience as possible"; this approach included ''Compilation of Final Fantasy VII'' and the ''World of Mana''. Naora's concept was created independent of this policy. Production of the ''Code Age'' projects was handled by a group dubbed "Warhead". Gathering the staff together to create the game was a difficult process. Naora, who also produced,''Code Age Commanders'', was co-producer with Takanori Kimura. The director was Toru Osanai, while the character designs were created by Toshiyuki Itahana. The music was composed by Kumi Tanioka, who also worked on ''Commanders''.

Miwa Shoda, who had previously worked on ''SaGa Frontier'' and '' Legend of Mana'', wrote the scenario. The storyline of ''Brawls'' was interconnected with that of ''Commanders'' and ''Archive'' to help players understand the full tale and how all the different stories fit together. When creating the gameplay, the team wanted to expand upon the assistance communication used in the Materia System of '' Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII''. While in the latter game the communication was one way only, ''Brawls'' incorporated two-way matchmaking for player battles. The environments were designed in a similar way to '' Final Fantasy VII'' and '' VIII'', projecting 3D character models onto 2D pre-rendered backgrounds. Using 3D graphics for the whole game would have put too much strain on the hardware, so 3D environments were reserved for battle sections, with the team still wanting to push the graphical limits of phones. The manga-style story cutscenes were chosen as they best fitted the mobile format.

Release

A trademark for ''Code Age Brawls'' was registered by Square Enix in September 2004 alongside other trademarks relating to the ''Code Age'' project. The game was simultaneously announced in Japan and shown off at a Square Enix press conference prior to E3 2005 as the third part of the ''Code Age'' project with a projected release in 2005. The game was shown off as part of a compilation video detailing the three ''Code Age'' projects. As with the ''Compilation'', each project was abbreviated using a lettering formula; "CAA" stood for ''Archives'', "CAC" for ''Commanders'', and "CAB" for ''Brawls''. It was also shown at the Tokyo Game Show in August 2005. A free trial beta test was from November 10 to November 30.

The game released on December 15 for NTT DoCoMo-compatible devices. ''Code Age Brawls'' was a subscription-based game, with players needing to pay a monthly fee in order to continue accessing the game. As part its promotion, a lottery campaign was run between its release and January 31, 2006, with the rewards being themed accessories. Players of ''Commanders'' could also use a code from that game to gain early access to a rare battle card. Chapter 2 released on January 24, 2006, coming with an additional character class. Chapter 3, which also updated the community site, was released on March 14. A player versus player battle arena was announced for the title starting in late April 2006, along with support for NTT DoCoMo's i-area service that allowed players to find each other using their mobile devices. Chapter 4 was released on May 14. The Final Chapter was released on July 3. While a North American release was reportedly planned for 2006, ''Brawls'' and the other ''Code Age'' projects went unreleased outside Japan. ''Brawls'' closed down on September 30, 2006.

Reception

Western journalists were impressed by the games trailer reveal. ''IGN'' described its graphics as "stunning", especially noting the games very detailed character models. Stephen Pallet of GameSpot called it "incredible" for the smooth use of textures. The game demo was felt to be "rich in terms of plot and strategy". Reviewing the initial release, Japanese website ''ITMedia'' praised the combat as refreshing compared to other games on the market, but negatively noted frequent server connection issues during multiplayer matches.

References

{{reflist

2005 video games
Japan-exclusive video games
Mobile games
Role-playing video games
Square Enix games
Video games developed in Japan
Video games scored by Kumi Tanioka