Arcana Heart

is a 2D arcade fighting game series developed by Team Arcana (originally co-owned with its former parent company Examu). The first edition was released to arcades (mostly in Japan, but a few in other countries) in late 2005. The games feature an original all-female cast, and after choosing a character, the player chooses an "elemental alignment," or Arcana, which determines the character's special moves.

Games

Arcana Heart

In mid-March 2006, a patch was released for Arcana Heart called Arcana Heart Full!. The patch fixed a variety of issues, toning down overly-powerful characters and "buffing up" weaker characters. However, a controversy arose when Examu priced the patch, which was physically housed on a single custom chip, at ¥78,000 each, whereas similar patches for similar games have been released for free (such as the patch for Melty Blood: Act Cadenza).

Console version
On July 5, 2006, it was announced that a console version of the game would be slated for release on PlayStation 2 in Japan on October 12, 2006.

The home version allows the option of playing individual characters in "Original" or "Full," reflecting the original and patched versions of characters from the arcade version. Voice acting was also added to all story segments.

On April 11, 2007, the game was released in North America. A notable difference between Arcana Heart and most other US PlayStation 2 titles is that the game has only Japanese voiceovers and no English voiceovers. Examu removed the voices present in the Japanese console version's story mode as well as pre-battle and victory screens, but kept the voices used in battle.

Arcana Heart 2

Arcana Heart 2 is the sequel to Arcana Heart. It was the first game in the series to be developed and published by Examu after the rights of the franchise had been transferred to the company from Yuki Enterprise. It was also the first game for Examu's proprietary eX-Board, an arcade board based on Windows XP Embedded that would become the standard platform for the rest of the series and other arcade games published by Examu. The game was unveiled at the AOU2008 Amusement Expo.

The game features 6 new fighters, each with their own unique Arcana. New techniques were also included, such as the Arcana Blast, allowing the player to become temporarily invulnerable; Arcana Homing, a feature allowing the player to simultaneously close the distance between them and the opponent while homing in on them; and the Critical Heart, a devastating special attack unique to each character.

Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2

On October 30, 2008, Examu released a major update to Arcana Heart 2 called Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2. This version further balanced the game and fixed some bugs. It also featured some design changes, such as new character illustrations and a red redesign for Kaya Hirotaka. New additions included an additional stage; three new characters: Akane Inuwaka, Nazuna Inuwaka, and Parace L'Sia; their respective Arcana: Fenex (Sound), Kayatsuhime (Flower), Parace L'sia (Life); new color palettes for each character, available by pressing the Start button on the character select screen; and an additional training mode. Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2 was further updated to version 2.6 on February 27, 2009.

AQ Interactive handled the PlayStation 2 port of Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2, which was released only in Japan on April 9, 2009. It was planned for a worldwide release but was cancelled due to low sales of the first one, as well as poor performance and slowdown in gameplay, making the port weaker than the arcade perfect port of the first one.

Arcana Heart 3

Arcana Heart: Card of Glory
A spin-off of the series for mobile phones, Arcana Heart: Card of Glory, was jointly developed between Examu and Cave Co., Ltd. It is only available for NTT docomo phones through its i-mode service.

Media

Manga
A manga adaptation based on the video game was serialized on the March 2005 issue of Comp Ace magazine. It was written and illustrated by Yuyuko Takemiya and was published on August 10, 2003.

Audio drama
The "Arcana Heart Fan Disc" was sold on January 27, 2005 at Comiket 72. The package included a DVD containing three audio dramas and interviews, and a CD containing three character songs and instrumental songs. A drama CD was included with the limited release of the Japanese PS2 game.

Arcana Heart Drama CD Heartful Situation was published by TEAM Entertainment. Episodes were released on July 23, 2008 and February 24, 2010.

Soundtracks
Arcana Heart Heartful Sound Collection was released on March 21, 2007, Arcana Heart 2 Heartful Sound Collection was released on April 9, 2008, Arcana Heart 2 Suggoi! Remix was released on February 5, 2009, and Arcana Heart 3 Heartful Sound Collection was released on January 13, 2010.

Each soundtrack has been primarily composed by Motoharu Yoshihira. Arcana Heart 2 Suggoi! Remix featured arrangements from a variety of composers, including Nobuyoshi Sano, Atsushi Ohara, Ayako Saso, Shinji Hosoe, Raito, and Takayuki Aihara. The soundtracks for the series have been published by TEAM Entertainment and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, with the exception of Arcana Heart 2 Suggoi! Remix, which was published by SuperSweep.

Arcade sticks
Japanese peripheral manufacturer Hori produced two limited edition arcade sticks for the series following the PlayStation 2 releases of Arcana Heart and Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2. The Arcana Heart arcade stick was released on October 12, 2006, and the Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2 arcade stick was released on April 9, 2009. A promotional campaign following the release of the Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2 arcade stick featured other goods such as postcards and beverage coasters.

Characters

Introduced in Arcana Heart

 is the main protagonist in the series. She is a normal high school student who shares a passion for justice with the superhero television shows she grew up watching. She also assists her mother in running the family-owned restaurant Cafe Aino, and hopes to one day make something that can be placed on Cafe Aino's menu. Her Arcana is Partinias, the Arcana of Love. An angel with two pairs of wings who can manipulate light, she is Heart's partner and friend. Heart also makes an appearance as a playable character in Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.

 is Heart's childhood friend from Britain. She has painful memories of getting sucked into the Elemental World with her friend, Fiona. While Fiona was unable to return, Saki was saved by her Arcana, Bhanri, the Arcana of Lightning. Bhanri resembles a woman trapped in a giant crystal and was once a queen revered as the Goddess of War.

 is also known as the Thousand Years Protector, who works with the Ministry of Elemental Affairs to protect the human world from crisis. She remains in a state of perpetual slumber until awakened by her Arcana Anutpada, the Arcana of Time. It is a mysterious clock-like mechanism that has lasted since ancient times and has the ability to manipulate time and space at its whim.

 is from the Koinumaru clan of ninja warriors; members of her clan have the ears and a tail of a dog. Every time the Thousand Years Protector awakes, a member from the Koinumaru clan is selected to become the Millennium Guard and accompany her on her mission. Konoha's Arcana is Moriomoto, the Arcana of Nature, who has the ability to freely manipulate plants.

Voiced by: Maria Yamamoto (Arcana Heart), Haruka Kimura (Arcana Heart 2 on) (Tsuzune)Voiced by Mayumi Yoshida (Arcana Heart), Ayumi Tsuji (Arcana Heart 2), Miyuu Kashiwagi (Arcana Heart 3 on) (Koito and Kouta)
 comes from a family who has been performing blessings, exorcisms, purifications and other rituals to assist in all matters related to the Elemental world for centuries. Maori lives with her older sister  and her younger sisters  and , whom she directs during the rituals. Her Arcana is Ohtsuchi, the Arcana of Earth, a giant clay figure that draws its power from the faith of mankind.

 is not actually a girl, but a product of China's technological advances: a humanoid robot created by Professor Mei Ling Hua, a colleague of Kira Daidohji. Mei-Fang was programmed with 4,000 years' worth of Chinese recipes and a wide array of martial arts knowledge. Her Arcana is Lang-Gong, the Arcana of Fire, a wolf that lived an extremely long life in Shangri-La and seeks further evolution.

 is a genius young girl who wished to go to a medical school due to her doctor's degree, but failed and got sent back to kindergarten. Afterward she turned to world domination. She was invited by the Rosenberg branch to monitor spirit disasters in Japan. She fights using a giant semi-solid blob which she controls through her Arcana, the leviathan Niptra, the Arcana of Water.

 is the daughter of a human mother and a demon father. She enjoys skipping school and skating around town on the roller blades her father bought her, which she enhanced with ether-powered motors. Her Arcana is Tempestas, the Arcana of Wind, who was once gravely wounded but nursed back to health by Lilica.

 (Yoriko) (Michelangelo)
 is introverted, bookish and fascinated with the occult. One night, with Lilica's help, she decided to try to summon a low-level demon servant for herself. As a prank, Lilica re-drew the magic circle, and Yoriko summoned Mike, the self-proclaimed "Demon King". A contract was formed between the two of them, and now she is unable to part with him. Her Arcana is Dieu Mort, the Arcana of Death. He was formerly a man sentenced to be executed known as the "God of Death".

, the "Crimson-Eyed Criminal", became a cold-hearted assassin after losing her family. She travels the world alone, accompanied only by a leg-less ball-jointed puppet which carries the consciousness of , her older sister. Her Arcana is Gier, the Arcana of Shadow, a creature composed of purely negative emotions that Lieselotte summons with drops of her own blood.

 hails from a wealthy family in Britain. She became good friends with Saki (who came to Britain as an exchange student from Japan) until one fateful day when they were both sucked into the Elemental world. Saki managed to escape, but Fiona was trapped and now seeks to find a way back home, with the help of Mildred. Her Arcana is Oreichalkos, the Arcana of Metal, a reptilian beast believed to be the oldest Arcana in existence.

 is the main antagonist and final boss of the original Arcana Heart. Formerly the chief secretary of the British Spirit Society, her ambition is to merge the human and elemental worlds and attain god-like powers. She uses all of the characters' Arcanas in Arcana Heart, before becoming one herself in Arcana Heart 2.

 is a NPC that reports between certain stages on the celestial events occurring in Japan. It is implied in Arcana Heart 3 that she is a top TV personality that wanted to be a news anchor and ended up ruining her image.

Introduced in Arcana Heart 2

 is the series' secondary protagonist, introduced in Arcana Heart 2. She comes from a long line of holy maidens from the Lagerkvist family and is the most powerful yet. Like her predecessors, she works for Sweden's Spirit Sector and is the youngest member to be selected to join their group. Her Arcana is Zillael, the Arcana of Holy, a highly revered winged unicorn.

 is taciturn and quiet. An orphan in Moscow, she joined a team of Spirit Investigators and received training at a young age. When the organization was cutting back on personnel, she took the opportunity to leave and traveled the world as a Freelance Spirit Specialist. At first, Zenia has no memory of her previous life, but in Arcana Heart 3 she learns that her real name is , and she is Lieselotte's older sister. Her Arcana is Almacia, the Arcana of Ice, a globetrotting penguin which became a higher being after years of experiences.

 enlisted in the Western Europe Spirit Sector after losing her entire family to demons. Elsa is usually mild-mannered and straightforward, but sometimes she's also airheaded and too strict on herself. Her Arcana is Koshmar, the Arcana of Punishment, who saved her life when she was mortally injured in a fight with Clarice.

 used to be a noble from the Demon Realm, but she abandoned such a lavish life style and decided to live in the human world due to the influence of Lilica's father, Felchenerow. She always has a composed personality and a smile on her face. When the Western Europe Spirit Sector sent Elsa to fight her to the death, Clarice saved her life by imbuing the power of the Arcana "Punishment" into Elsa. Clarice took for herself the power of the opposing Arcana of Sin, Sorwat.

 is a blond-haired, blue-eyed American of Japanese descent, from the Osaka region. She has a bright and friendly personality, as well as an intellect that rivals Kira's; she enrolled in MIT's College of Spirit Research at the age of ten. Her Arcana is Medein, the Arcana of Magnetism, appears as a giant turtle and helps Catherine with her spirit research.

 appears to be a young boy at first glance. As "Dorothy the Wizard," she performs with her parents on the stages of Las Vegas. She has a strong sense of justice and, like her mother, helps the American Spirit Department whenever she can. Her Arcana is Heliogabalus, the Arcana of Mirror, which resembles a giant swarm of ladybugs, spiraling like a kaleidoscope.

 is cheerful and openhearted, but egotistical. Seven years ago, she willingly traveled to the Arcana World from the physical world and, since then, has stopped aging. Her Arcana is Mildred, the Arcana of Halo ("Light" in the English version of Arcana Heart 3), who is her twin sister caught in a dimensional split between her world and the spirit world and received new powers as a result. Mildred was the main antagonist and final boss of the first Arcana Heart game, but now serves as Angelia's guardian following her defeat.

Introduced in Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2

 is the titular character and main protagonist of the second game’s update Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2. She is the older sister of Nazuna and part of the Inuwaka clan, a family of shinobi that aid the Thousand Year Protector. She is overprotective of her younger sister but doesn't let it show and always appears calm and composed. She is a strategic genius who always tries to do what she considers "cool." Her Arcana is Phenex, the Arcana of Sound, who was charmed by her singing voice and now lends its power to her.

 is the younger sister of Akane and part of the clan that rivals Konoha's. Nazuna seeks to find her own destiny outside of the Inuwaka clan and is always attempting to prove herself. She fights using her three sacred weapons Tsumiko (cane), Fusumi (crow) and Hayata (wolf). Her Arcana is Kayatsuhime, the Arcana of Flower, she is protector the Inuwaka clan who governs over growth, prosperity, and harvest.

 is the main antagonist and final boss of Arcana Heart 2: Suggoi!, and serves the same role in the score attack mode in Arcana Heart 3. While a human, she lived in Switzerland during the Renaissance and worked as an alchemist, but after death her soul was sent to the Arcana world, where she became Paracelsia, the Arcana of Life. She refers to herself as the "Millennium Keeper", and has a long-standing rivalry with Kamui Tokinomiya. In an attempt to control life and distort dimensions, she has visited the physical world several times to collect and refine magical stones, causing many incidents.

Introduced in Arcana Heart 3

Reception 
Eric L.Patterson writing in Play magazine gave the game a 7.0 out of 10, and remarked that the game reminded them of  Asuka 120% Limited Burning Fest for the Sega Saturn.

References

External links

Arcana Heart
Official website (Examu)
Official website (Atlus)

Arcana Heart 2
Official website
Official website (Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2)

Arcana Heart: Card of Glory
Official website

Category:Arcade games
Category:Arcana Heart
Category:Atlus games
Category:Fighting games used at the Super Battle Opera tournament
Category:Ninja video games
Category:PlayStation 2 games
Category:Urban fantasy video games
Category:Versus fighting games
Category:Video game franchises
Category:Video games developed in Japan
Category:Video games featuring female antagonists
Category:Video games featuring female protagonists