Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone

Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone (フォーチュンサモナーズ ～アルチェの精霊石～, Fōchun Samonāzu ~Aruche no Seirei Seki~) is a 2D side-scrolling action role-playing video game. The player takes the role of a sword-wielding girl named Arche who wants to learn magic.

Fortune Summoners:
Secret of the Elemental Stone
Developer(s)Lizsoft
Publisher(s)
EngineFOR-D System
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • JP: September 10, 2008
  • WW: January 30, 2012
Genre(s)Dungeon crawler, action RPG,[1] Metroidvania[2]
Mode(s)Single player

Gameplay

"Gameplay in Fortune Summoners consists of side-scrolling action, with you in control of one of three party members and the computer controlling the other two (with highly customizable AI dictating their actions). You will explore towns, delve dungeons, climb towers and, just maybe, find Arche a snack or two. Combat is different depending on who you control - Arche, being a swords-girl, controls in a fashion similar to a character from a brawler or fighting game, with many special moves tied to button combos. Sana and Stella, her companions, rely more on their varied selection of spells to see them through a fight - spells that rain ice down on enemies, make mirror images of friends, or set the ground ablaze!"[3]

Plot

Arche Plumfield, a young girl moves to the town of Tonkiness with her parents and enrolls in the local magic school. However, she soon finds out that in order to perform magic she needs the power of an elemental stone.

Characters
  • Arche Plumfield (アルチェ プラムフィールド): The player character. Cheerful and honest. Uses a short sword to fight.[4]
  • Sana Poanet (サナ ポアネット): A shy girl who uses water magic.[4]
  • Stella Mayberk (ステラ メイベルク): A haughty girl who uses fire magic.[4]

Release

Fortune Summoners was originally released by the Japanese dōjin soft group Lizsoft in 2008. A 2009 re-release offered graphical improvements, additional voice acting, and other added content. Carpe Fulgur localized the 2008 version for an English release in 2012.[5]

Reception

In the West, Fortune Summoners received mixed reviews from critics.[6] Sam Marchello of RPGamer scored it 1.5 out of 5, calling the game "a repetitive nightmare" with "poorly designed dungeons and neverending cutscenes filled with trite dialogue."[7] Francisco Acosta, writing for MeriStation, said that "For lovers of titles like Ghosts'n Goblins, Zelda II or Wonder Boy, Fortune Summoners is nothing short of essential, but we must bear in mind its limitations."[8]

Metacritic: 60/100[9]

Censorship Controversy

For audiences outside Japan, the game developers censored a hot springs scene. This change caused some degree of controversy, though the change was self-made and was not done specifically to comply with any laws.[10]

References
  1. Caldwell, Brendan (8 February 2012). "Wot I Think: Fortune Summoners". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  2. Davison, Pete (July 25, 2013). "You Should Play Fortune Summoners". USGamer. Retrieved August 12, 2016. However, as good as Recettear is, a lot of people don't seem to pay anywhere near as much attention to the other two titles Carpe Fulgur has brought to the West since Recettear's original release: EasyGameStation's earlier game Chantelise: A Tale of Two Sisters ... and Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone, a Metroidvania-esque role-playing platform adventure unrelated to the two EasyGameStation titles.
  3. http://www.carpefulgur.com/fs/about.htm
  4. "Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone - Characters". Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  5. Davison, Pete (2013). "You Should Play Fortune Summoners". USgamer. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  6. Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone at Metacritic
  7. Marchello, Sam. "Summon Me a Better Game". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  8. Serrano Acosta, Francisco Alberto (1 February 2012). "Análisis Fortune Summoners PC". MeriStation (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  9. "Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone". Metacritic. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  10. "Censored". Steam Community. Valve Corporation. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
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