Hyper-Radiance (Pacifica)
| Hyper-Radiance | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | P-RPG |
| Developer(s) | Seikokashi Software |
| Creator(s) | Fuyuhi Aiyasa |
| Platform(s) |
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| First release | Hyper-Radiance: Fuyuko Vs. the Blue Slime October 7, 2002 |
| Latest release | Hyper-Radiance VIII: Sweets in the Sky November 24, 2022 |
Hyper-Radiance (Pelinese: ハイパー・ラディアンス, Haipā radiansu) is a Pelinese series of Pelinese role-playing video games developed by Seikokashi Software. The series is well known in Pelinai primarily for its highly complex RPG character mechanics and extremely humorous writing. Its first title, Hyper-Radiance: Fuyuko Vs. the Blue Slime, was first published in 2002 to popular acclaim and later went on to become the best-selling video game in Pelinese history. It has since received seven more main-series games as well as an anime series, and has achieved a combined 90,000,000 sales of all released games as of 2023. Its primary platforms are PC and Sakanoba consoles, though older games in the series have received rereleases for the Setako Fold2 and Fold3 handheld consoles.
The Hyper-Radiance series first began development in 2003 as a development of the gameplay mechanics in Seikokashi’s then-recent RPG release Starry Lance, with it being planned to feature much more complicated character stats, abilities, and leveling mechanics than its predecessor. Its characteristically humorous plot lines and character writing were added early in the development to help distinguish itself from a contemporary Pelinese RPG market, including the original Starry Lance, which had a strong tendency towards serious, emotional writing after the release of the landmark Pelinese RPG Yumenohaka in 1996.
Similar to most other Pelinese video game and other media series, availability of the Hyper-Radiance games is largely confined to the Pelinese domestic market. No official localizations or releases for the wider SPE and SPW publishing regions have been produced since Hyper-Radiance V: Digital Dreams released in 2014 with Ezervulgish, Myriac, Austral, and Alman language support, and Seikokashi has continued to deny having plans for any further international releases as of 2022.
Common elements
Gameplay
Hyper-Radiance games consist of a large number of dungeons, each accessible from an overarching world map, as well as a hub menu that gives access to character and inventory management as well as various visual novel-style dialogue sequences and CG events.
Dungeons in the Hyper-Radiance series are typically large in both number and size, and allow the player to walk the character designated as party leader throughout them. The character navigates with the help of a minimap and may interact with a variety or dungeon contents: gathering points are harvested for crafting materials, chests can be opened for consumable items and equipment, and event points can be interacted with to trigger scripted dialogue sequences or boss fights. Dungeons are populated by monsters and begin combat sequences when they contact the player, who can gain or lose an extra starting round by attacking the monster in-map or by being contacted from behind.
In addition to normal dungeons, Hyper-Radiance also includes two types of challenge dungeons named raids and boss lairs. Raids resemble normal dungeons with significantly increased monster difficulty as well as more powerful rewards, while boss lairs are similar challenge dungeons than contain a single encounter with a powerful monster featuring abilities and combat mechanics that are much more complex than those of normal bosses or other monsters.
Combat is turn-based and takes place in combat instances: both player-controlled characters and enemy monsters are free to move around within their movement range on their turn until they take an action, which can consist of an attack sequence, the use of an item, or a block. Attack sequences in Hyper-Radiance use a time points system allowing the player to choose between performing many different types of action in order to min-max or compromise between metrics like per-hit damage and volume of attacks, as well as forego attacks to apply positive or negative status effects to enemies and allies. Each type of attack is assigned one of 20 types and can have more or less of an effect on targets with vulnerability or resistance to it. Executing or sustaining large number of attacks fills the player’s power gauge, which gives more time points to player characters when depending on its fill level and can be expended in whole or in part to perform various high-damage special attacks. Killing monsters provides leveling experience and weapon proficiency experience as well as various loot items that can be sold, handed in to resolve quests, or used craft and improve player equipment.
Build variety in Hyper-Radiance games is extremely high: each player character can enter a dungeon with 2 subclasses active from a choice of 4, each of which provides additional passive abilities and weapon proficiencies as well as additional options for attack sequences that favor different types of playstyle. Characters can also learn generic moves and passive abilities from items, as well as apply different equipment enchantments that increase stats, change the damage type of weapons, allow special weapon attacks, change equipment appearance, or increase the character’s supply of time points. Each character can level up to a maximum level cap of 999; levels increase stats and provide access to more and improved subclass traits, additional character-unique passive and active abilities, better proficiency scaling with weapons, and the ability to use higher item level equipment.
Hyper-Radiance uses a dual overworld map/town map system to provide access to dungeons and player utility services. The overworld map is freely accessible from town and shows the selection of normal and challenge dungeons accessible to the player both as icons on the map and as a collapsible list for easier access. The town map uses a similar arrangement with icons of characters to show available dialogue and CG events, as well as player services such as the equipment shop, equipment crafting, character management, inventory management, the review menu, and the quest acceptance & resolution menu. The review menu may be used to look at various player achievements and statistics as well as re-watch previously viewed visual novel dialogue sequences and CG events.
The central plotline of a Hyper-Radiance game is advanced by clearing dungeons, watching the dialogue sequences that occur, and fighting story bosses when they appear. The typical story length of a main series title is 40-50 hours when including side quests, alternate endings, and other content, after which the player is able to play through an extended post-game/NG+ sequence featuring new post-game dungeons and equipment, significantly increased difficulty, and the ability to unlock a secret ending.
Setting
Recurring characters
The primary cast of Hyper-Radiance has remained stable since the third game, though each title also includes a small number of new and recurring additional characters.
- Fuyuko: The self-declared poster girl of the Hyper-Radiance series, Fuyuko is a young, inexperienced angel of Celestia whose commitment to exterminating trash mobs and farming daily quests in the name of love and justice is matched only by her twin obsessions with gaming and sweets. Her daydreaming, carefree nature sometimes brings her into conflict with Celestia’s more by-the-book angels. Her design is that of a slightly shorter-than-average angel with long pink-tinted blonde hair, a glowing pink halo, and three pairs of small white wings, while her most common outfit consists of a white sweater and pleated skirt with magenta-pink trim, white overknee socks, and red sneakers.
Fuyuko possesses a great love for all sweets and other similar sugary foods and beverages; however, she strongly favors fruit-flavored and especially cherry-flavored sweets such as the cherry cream soda that she is often seen drinking.
- Haruhi: As the first non-angel that Fuyuko met after traveling away from Celestia for the first time, Haruhi is one of Fuyuko’s closest friends and a frequent companion on her many adventures through Celestia and beyond. While she broadly resembles Fuyuko in terms of personality, she is somewhat more grounded and often tries in vain to keep Fuyuko focused; she also often bets fictional 4D-Tetropoly money with the other girls on strange predictions about various aspects of their travels. Her design is an elf with mid-length light brown hair and amber eyes, while her typical outfit consists of silver-and-turquoise, Sevar-style metal armor sans helmet.
Haruhi’s favorite dessert is peach cobbler with whipped cream, though cola-flavored ice cream is a close second.
- Hanako:
- Izumi: Izumi is a human priestess that joined Fuyuko, Haruhi, and Hanako on their adventures during the events of Hyper Radiance III and has remained with them ever since. She is much more conscientious and well-organized than her friends and often performs the roles of record keeper and navigator while still participating in their fun by keeping track of Haruhi’s many bets with 4D-Tetropoly money. She is taller than her companions, with neck-length black hair and cobalt blue eyes, and wears a fantasy-styled version of a Pelinese priestess’s outfit.
Izumi eats sweets less often, but her favorite dessert is Dimmyj. She once referred to her favorite dessert as “that Sedunnic thing” after having difficulties pronouncing its name in Hyper-Radiance V, leading to a running meta joke where she and other characters make references to the fact that nobody knows where it is actually from in-universe.
- Kuroko: Kuroko is a demon princess who first appears in Hyper-Radiance II: Shadows of the Underworld as the main villain and a major adversary to Fuyuko and the party. She leads the demons of the underworld on behalf of her father, who is perpetually busy processing infernal paperwork and performing other executive management tasks, and possesses a singleminded devotion to causing mayhem and destruction for their own sake. Her intense rivalry with Fuyuko and commitment to bothering her in simultaneously incredibly elaborate and petty ways at every opportunity results in her common recurrence as an antagonist of varying degrees of story importance, though she can also appear as a neutral bystander or even as an antihero in some instances.
Kuroko’s favorite sweet flavor is black licorice, the official candy of the underworld, and she is often shown with black licorice-flavored soda as a contrast to Fuyuko; however, she also enjoys drinking rose milk and other rose-flavored beverages.
Media
Games
Below is a list of released titles in the Hyper-Radiance series. Titles and release dates of rereleases such as Hyper-Radiance V2 are placed under the header of their original title.
| Name | Date of first release | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelinai | SPE (Bailtem/Bareland) | SPW (Cordilia/Crabry) | |
| Hyper-Radiance: Fuyuko Vs. the Blue Slime |
October 7, 2002 | October 7, 2012 (PC) |
October 7, 2012 (PC) |
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| Hyper-Radiance II: Shadows of the Underworld |
November 29, 2005 | November 29, 2013 (PC) |
November 30, 2013 (PC) |
Notes:
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| Hyper-Radiance III: Recipe for Eternity |
September 2, 2008 | August 8, 2014 (PC) |
August 8, 2014 (PC) |
Notes:
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| Hyper-Radiance IV: Quest for the Great Gelatin |
October 15, 2011 | December 5, 2011 | December 5, 2011 |
Notes:
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| Hyper-Radiance V: Digital Dreams |
November 17, 2014 | December 8, 2014 | December 8, 2014 |
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| Hyper-Radiance VI: Night of the Pumpkin Spice |
October 28, 2016 | N/A | N/A |
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| Hyper-Radiance VII: Queen of Consoles |
October 10, 2019 | N/A | N/A |
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| Hyper-Radiance VIII: Sweets in the Sky |
November 24, 2022 | N/A | N/A |
Notes:
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Anime
The Hyper-Radiance series received a five-seaon animated television adaptation named Hyper-Radiance: The Animation, which aired in Pelinai from 2017 to 2022. The adaptation broadly follows the plot of the first seven Hyper-Radiance games with minor alterations. It is currently available on multiple Pelinese-language animation streaming services, notably including Garasuki.