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Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus (電撃学園RPG Cross of Venus) is a Japanese action role-playing video game developed by Pegasus Japan and published by ASCII Media Works for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console, and was first released in Japan on March 19, 2009 in limited and regular editions. The game was produced in commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary of ASCII Media Works' light novel imprint Dengeki Bunko. Eight heroines are presented including Shana from Shakugan no Shana, Kino from Kino's Journey, and Kana Iriya from Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu. Each heroine fights with her own unique style of weapon, combos, and special attacks. The protagonist is designed by Kouhaku Kuroboshi, and his childhood friend Kizuna Kasugai is designed by Noizi Itō.
While not a direct adaptation to the Shakugan no Shana series, this crossover-themed RPG features many characters from the Dengeki Bunko light novels, including Shakugan no Shana. These characters include Shana, Friagne and Yuji.
Gameplay[]
Dengeki Gakuen RPG CROSS of VENUS trailer
Game trailer.
In Dengeki Gakuen RPG, the story is progressed through the player exploring Dengeki Academy and the novel worlds, and conversing with the characters in the game. When an enemy is encountered, the game switches over to the action RPG aspect of gameplay. During these times, the player can either choose to battle the enemy with the player character, or switch during battle to one of the novel heroines. The player and each of the heroines have a life bar denoting how much health the character has, and an energy bar denoting the energy still usable for attacks. Each of the fighters use weapons specific to them, such as Shana from Shakugan no Shana using her katana, and Kino from Kino's Journey using her firearms. Combo attacks are possible to execute, and each character has his or her own unique combo and special attack. Enemies originally featured from the heroines' novels also make appearances. Of the eight heroines featured in the game, three—Index, Haruka Nogizaka, and Misao Minakami—are designated as helper characters. They can provide battle assistance via ability cards that can be used to attack enemies and heal the player's team, among other support. These cards have their origins in Dengeki Bunko novels, such as ability cards featuring helpful attacks and items from Spice and Wolf and Inukami!.
Plot[]
Story[]
A CG of Shana in the game
Dengeki Gakuen RPG is set primarily at Dengeki Academy, a Japanese private school that the main characters attend. The story revolves around an unnamed protagonist who one day hears a recent rumor that a ghost has been appearing during the night at school. While he does not have any real interest in the occult, he uses searching for the ghost as an excuse to sneak into the school campus one night. However, his childhood friend Kizuna Kasugai comes with him to search for the ghost, and the two decide to search around the bench in front of the campus store. In the silent darkness, the two gradually arrive to open the door of the store and before them they see a person's shadow move in the room. By straining his eyes, the protagonist sees that the person casting the shadow is eating melon bread, and realizes that this must be the cause of the ghost rumor; the shadow is in fact cast by Shana from Shakugan no Shana. This is possible due to one day the reality-based world of Dengeki Academy and the worlds of the Dengeki Bunko light novels to suddenly become connected allowing people from both the real-world and the novel worlds to cross over.
By meeting Shana, the protagonist and Kizuna become entangled in a struggle by the members of the novel worlds to protect their worlds from the unidentified evil organization known as Zetsumu (絶夢) who have been changing story details from the novel worlds and creating disorder in them. Their goal is "to snatch away the smiles from every person". In order to combat Zetsumu, the protagonists will help the fighters from the novel worlds by traveling between the real-world and novel worlds.
Characters[]
The player assumes the role of an unnamed sixteen-year-old protagonist attending Dengeki Academy as a second-year high school student; the player is given the choice of any name for him. He does not often give deep thought before he acts, but is also a softhearted person. He is accompanied by his seventeen-year-old childhood friend and classmate Kizuna Kasugai (春日井 キズナ Kasugai Kizuna), voiced by: Eri Kitamura) whom he met during kindergarten. In contrast to the protagonist who does not read much, Kizuna is the library committee chairman and loves to read. She is described as a fan of Dengeki Bunko light novels, and a dream of hers is to read all the novels under that imprint which exceeded 1800 volumes in July 2009. She takes the initiative in everything she does, and is the type to be responsible for keeping the peace. She is a caring person, but she is a little unyielding. Dengeki Gakuen RPG features eight main female characters from Dengeki Bunko light novel series, who include: Shana (voiced by: Rie Kugimiya) from Shakugan no Shana, Kino (voiced by: Ai Maeda) from Kino's Journey, Kana Iriya (voiced by: Ai Nonaka) from Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu, Index (voiced by: Yuka Iguchi) from Toaru Majutsu no Index, Taiga Aisaka (voiced by: Rie Kugimiya) from Toradora!, Dokuro (voiced by: Saeko Chiba) from Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan, Haruka Nogizaka (voiced by: Mamiko Noto) from Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, and Misao Minakami (voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu) from Asura Cryin'. There are also characters that can become available, such as Mikoto Misaka (voiced by: Rina Satō) from Toaru Majutsu no Index and Toaru Kagaku no Railgun.
Shakugan no Shana Characters[]
Artwork of Shana by Noizi Itō (later featured in SHA-NA)
"Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter" Shana - voiced by Rie Kugimiya
Combat character / Attack System: Slash attacks / Attribute: Fighting
Shana was the first character encountered by the protagonist and Kizuna. She is a Flame Haze who is looking for a human with the power to oppose Zetsumu. Her existence is known to the world as Yukari Hirai (who had originally had her existence consumed by Friagne's Rinne), but that name doesn't appear in the game. Shana and Kizuna explain their parallel worlds' events and people in detail to each other. Shana's Fūzetsu is useful against enemies' searching and actions. Due to her cool and serious personality, she has a difficult time with Margery and the others, who are doing whatever they please. She hits it off badly with Taiga, and this may be due to others saying that they have similar voices, though the others don't think as to why that is. Conversely, she seems to get along with Kino due to them often agreeing with each other.
Her strongest move is using a giant fist of flame to hit enemies, which is called "Fist of Flames" (炎の拳 Honō no Ken). Though her attacks have a short range, her movement ability is high, allowing her to close large distances in one movement to attack enemies, making her a close-combat character.
Artwork of Yūji in the game
Yūji Sakai - voiced by Satoshi Hino
Yūji is another protagonist from "Shana's world" (シャナの世界 Shana no Sekai). He is a "Mystes" who harbors the Reiji Maigo, which recovers his Power of Existence at midnight. He gives Shana her name (from her weapon Nietono no Shana), and from meeting her he learns about Zetsumu and the parallel worlds but is able to remain relaxed, impressing the protagonist. His discernment abilities are strong. The protagonist's "Kyūketsuki" (吸血鬼, Vampire) was passed down to him. Zetsumu have similar jet black large swords to Kyūketsuki, but the name and details of those swords are unknown. When using a strong attack, his slash changes to a purple color.
"Flame of Heaven" Alastor - voiced by Masashi Ebara
The Crimson Lord who Shana is contracted to. He feels that the existence of Zetsumu is dangerous and takes action with Shana. According to him, all worlds now exist as "Stories" (物語 Monogatari) which move "People's Hearts" (人の心 Hito no Kokoro), and that the "protagonist's world" (主人公の世界 Shujinkō no Sekai) is a Story that is read by people of another world, just like the parallel world of Dengeki Bunko is a Story for the protagonist's world. Alastor calls the protagonist "boy" (少年 shōnen) and Kizuna "girl" (娘 musume). Like Shana, he finds it difficult to deal with Marchosias, which amazes the protagonist.
Artwork of Margery in the game
"Chanter of Elegies" Margery Daw - voiced by Hitomi Nabatame
Enemy character / Attribute: Fighting / Condition Abnormality: None / Fūzetsu: No effect
The boss character of chapter 12, she is a Flame Haze known as the "Murderer" (殺し屋 Koroshi-ya). She appears because she thought the situation with Zetsumu would be amusing, but after being confronted she stays at the school. As usual, she has bad drinking habits, getting into drinking bouts with Komoe Tsukuyomi from Toaru Majutsu no Index and Yasuko Takasu from Toradora!.
Margery performs her special move and summoning techniques by wearing the flame robe Toga, which has the appearance of a beast.
"Claw and Fangs of Violation" Marchosias - voiced by Mitsuo Iwata
The Crimson Lord who Margery is contracted to. He enjoys watching her swing people around when she is drunk.
Artwork of Friagne in the game
"Hunter" Friagne - voiced by Junichi Suwabe
Enemy character / Attribute: Love / Condition Abnormality: None / Fūzetsu: No effect
A Crimson Lord who has defeated many Flame Haze. He once fought Shana and was defeated. Friagne is revived by Zetsumu and again targets Shana. With the exception of Stiyl Magnus from Toaru Majutsu no Index, who appears as a fake and real version, Friagne is the only boss character to appears twice, in chapter 8 and 15. He mainly attacks using his Treasure Tool Regular Sharp and his Rinne and approaches while dodging air attacks. Friagne had been revived not long before chapter 6 and had been told by Reishirō Saeki from Asura Cryin' to not overdo it, and in chapter 8, when he challenges Shana and the others, his condition had still not returned to normal and he was defeated easier than he had thought. At this time Friagne is rescued by Aureolus Izzard from Toaru Majutsu no Index and the two withdraw. By chapter 16, it appears that he had regained his original strength, but begins to lose his sanity after seeing Marianne being extinguished in "Shana's world". At the scene in "Shana's world", he defeats the past Shana and himself from that world, altering the scene and reviving Marianne. As Friagne wishes to make Marianne into an independent existence, he again challenges the player party and is defeated.
His special move and summoning techniques consist of him using the handbell Treasure Tool Dance Party to explode his Rinne. During the SP "Rematch Mode", Friagne gains a random Condition Abnormality effect.
Marianne - voiced by Kimiko Koyama
Enemy character (irregular shape) / Attribute: Love / Condition Abnormality: None / Fūzetsu: No effect
Friagne's Rinne and lover in the form of a small doll. She sets traps so that the protagonist and the others can't approach Friagne. In chapter 15 she is confronted as a prelude for Friagne, wielding the coin Treasure Tool that can turn into a chain and seal weapons, known as Bubble Route.
Artwork of Sydonay in the game
"Thousand Changes" Sydonay - voiced by Kenta Miyake
Enemy character / Attribute: Fighting / Condition Abnormality: None / Fūzetsu: No effect
The "General" of the Trinity and the boss of chapter 9. He is hired by Zetsumu and confronts the protagonist and the others in "Iriya's world". He then saves Hecate, who was battling the protagonist and the others, before leaving, saying that they will accept the end of their world. He fights using the spear Treasure Tool Shintetsu Nyoi and his ability to freely change his appearance.
His special move and summoning technique is called "Thousand Changes" (千変 Senpen), where he changes his appearance into a monster with the body of a tiger.
"Master Throne" Hecate - voiced by Mamiko Noto
Enemy character / Attribute: Love / Condition Abnormality: None / Fūzetsu: No effect
The "Priestess" of the Trinity, who appears after clearing the game. In "Iriya's world", she was the source of rumors about a "white ghost" (白い幽霊 shiroi yūrei). It is unknown what she was doing there.
Her special move and summoning technique is the meteor-like light bullet shooting Unrestricted Spell Aster.
"Corpse Retriever" Lamies
A Denizen who collects Power of Existence from a Torch for a certain reason. He is one of the few allies from the Shana Story and meets the protagonist and the others in "Iriya's world", giving all of them except Shana his handkerchiefs, which allows them to move inside a Fūzetsu. Kino from Kino's Journey got the impression that Lamies was a "traveler" just like her.
Cantate Domino
Enemy character (machine) / Attribute: None / Condition Abnormality: Enabled / Fūzetsu: No effect
A Rinne who is the assistant of the "Professor", "Seeking Researcher" Dantalion. It is a mob character and many of them appear in the game. In the storyline, in order to conduct destructive activities, they disguise themselves as humans and hide in the parallel world, and they even try to launch surprise attacks on the protagonist and the others, but are always caught due to their ability to move inside Shana's Fūzetsu.
Their attacks include spreading their wing-like parts and ramming, throwing a shovel, and the "Caterpillar Bomb" (毛虫爆弾 Kemushi Bakudan), which is unblockable and causes a confusion effect. Due to these, having high standard abilities and having no attribute (thus no attribute it is weak against), they are a formidable enemy among the mob characters. Though they are Rinne, they have mechanized bodies, which means the anti-machine Dengeki Card "Rod Mace" (ロッドメイス Roddomeisu) is effective against them.
In SPECIAL, it disguises itself as a middle school student and steals the hat of Firo Prochainezo from Baccano! after taking a liking to it.
![Another illustration of Shana by Noizi Itō used for the game, originally used for the 38th volume of the Dengeki hp magazine[1] (later featured in Kaen)](/wiki/File:Kaen_9.png "Kaen 9.png (2.21 MB)")
Development[]
Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus was developed by Pegasus Japan, and published by ASCII Media Works. The CG artwork featured in the game was done by a team of graphic artists from Akabeisoft2.
An enhanced remake was released on the Nintendo DS on February 10, 2011 titled Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus Special (電撃学園RPG Cross of Venus SPECIAL) developed by the same team. This version features a whole new map layout, upgraded to 3D graphics instead of the previous 2D graphics. Other additions include: new dialogue and party conversation, three new sub-scenarios, gameplay balancing and a boss rematch mode.
Related Media[]
Official Fanbook[]
The game's official fan book was released on March 19, 2009 published by ASCII Media Works.
Dengeki Gakuen RPG Bunko[]
A book of short stories written by Dengeki Bunko authors entitled Dengeki Gakuen RPG Bunko (電撃学園RPG文庫) was given as a special favor for reserving either game edition; each story is set at Dengeki Academy.
Nendoroid Petite 4-set[]
The limited edition was sold at nearly twice the price of the regular edition, and included with the game a set of four small super deformed figurines of Shana along with Taiga, Kino, and Index,[2] which were produced by Good Smile Company as part of their "Nendoroid Petite" (ねんどろいどぷち Nendoroidopuchi) series. They are palm size and have interchangeable parts.[3]
Opening Song[]
The game's opening theme song, "Odyssey" (オデッセイ Odessei), is sung by Yuuka Nanri and the lyrics are written by Yūho Iwasato. The single for "Odyssey" was released on February 25, 2009.
Game Soundtrack[]
The game's original soundtrack was released on March 25, 2009. The music in the game is composed by Yūji Toriyama. There are two tracks for Shakugan no Shana: the seventeenth track, "Misaki City" (御崎市 Misaki-shi), and the twentieth track, "Broken Department Store" (壊れたデパート Kowareta depāto).[4]
Drama CD[]
Cover of the Drama CD
A drama CD entitled Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Kizuna no Bōken (電撃学園RPG キズナの冒険) was released on March 28, 2009. The CD also contains two vocal songs sung by Eri Kitamura, the drama CD's theme song "Believe", and the game's insert song "Planetary". It features a story which is a prologue for the game's storyline. The dramas are five episodes from the Dengeki Bunko Web Radio program about the game, and two episodes which weren't broadcast. Shana and Alastor appear in the dramas, voiced by Rie Kugimiya and Masashi Ebara respectively.[2]
Trivia[]
- The Zetsumu Organization reappears as the antagonist of a later Dengeki crossover title, Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax.
Gallery[]
References[]
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| Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Main Series | PlayStation 2 • Nintendo DS (Flowchart) | |
| Mobile Applications | Shakugan no Shana ~Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite~ • Shakugan no Shana II ~Seireiden no Tatakai~ • Shakugan no Shana QIX • Shakugan no Shana Fūzetsu Battle (List of units, List of Treasure Tools, List of quests) • Shakugan no Shana Fūzetsu Battle R | |
| PC and Online Games | Shakugan no Shana 9 Puzzle • Desktop Mascot Shakugan no Shana (Mascot Speech) | |
| Crossovers | Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus • Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax • Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void • Weiß Schwarz | |