Shakugan no Shana DS is the Nintendo DS port of the PlayStation 2 game. It was released on March 29, 2007. Pre-orders of the DS game were eligible for receiving a calendar that spanned April 2007 to March 2008 and a collection of rough sketches named Tōka (灯火 Firelight) by Noizi Itō. The Nintendo DS version adds on to the PS2 version with the addition of an image gallery that allows the player to see what Shana and Kazumi Yoshida look like in different clothes and a battle mode that lets the player fight against the computer with a character other than Shana.
Story[]
A new story for the DS version was written by Yashichirō Takahashi.
Characters[]
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Plot[]
On the morning of a summer holiday school day, Shana and Yūji were discussing with Yoshida, Ike and the others about going to the beach as a group when a girl appeared before them. The girl snuggled up to Yūji and confessed her love for him, causing an uproar in the group and angering Shana and Yoshida. With new sparks of love being formed, the group head to the beach, the start of days filled with love and battles.[1]
The girl who intruded into the school was the cute and mysterious Crimson Denizen Mare. She boldly approached Yūji and seemed to desire Yūji himself.[1]
Gameplay[]
- see also: Shakugan no Shana DS/Flowchart
Based on standard visual novel gameplay elements, players progress through the story by reading text. However, this is combined with 2 unique action elements using the DS stylus. The first is Active Countdowns, which are cleared by touching the numbers on the screen, and the second is Battles, where the player fights enemies by controlling Shana. These 2 are inserted within the visual novel, creating a sense of realism in the story.[1]
Active Countdowns[]
Active Countdowns (アクティブ・カウントダウン) have been inserted into the story to appear abruptly and require quick decision-making. They are cleared by touching the numbers 1-5 arranged randomly on the screen in order and within the time limit. Success or failure will change the story developments after it, such as a character's reaction, and add "ED Points", which relate to ending requirements.[1]
Battles[]
Battles (バトル) are conducted using the commands "Move", "Gather", and "Attack", and victory is achieved when the enemy's health is reduced to 0. Attacking and guarding requires touching symbols on the touch screen which match the ones flowing across the upper screen. Attacks activate when the player succeeds in 3 touches. When defending, guarding occurs when the player touches the same symbol as the one chosen by the enemy.[1]
The 3 symbols are Unrestricted Spells, flames, and Treasure Tools, and combining them in different ways leads to changes in attack damage. Specific combinations activate special techniques which do double damage. Precise touches are required to inflict higher damage.[2]
Shana has 4 special techniques:
- Unrestricted Spell + Flames + Treasure Tool = Breath of Conflagration (劫火の息吹)
- Flames + Flames + Treasure Tool = Thrusts (刺突)
- Flames + Flames + Unrestricted Spell = Crimson Torrent (紅蓮の奔流)
- Treasure Tool + Treasure Tool + Flames = Nietono no Shana (贄殿遮那)[3]
All actions during battle require the consumption of the Power of Existence gauge. Advancing 1-2 steps requires 1 gauge and attacking requires 2. The maximum number of gauges is 6, so they can be used up quickly if the player uses them haphazardly. At the start of a turn, 4 gauges are restored.[2]
Battles occur on a 5 x 3 grid. Distance from the enemy results in 1 of 4 states: close quarters, short distance, intermediate distance, and long distance. These states affect the power of attacks and their accuracy. The player should fight while feeling for an advantageous position where the opponent's attacking power is low. This way, even if the player fails at guarding, they will be inflicted with low damage. Accuracy increases by 5% for each step the player is away from being directly in front of the enemy. Therefore, it is best to be positioned diagonally to the enemy.[2]
There is one battle per chapter of the game's story and the enemies increase in strength each chapter. Enemies have different characteristics and different attacks can have varying levels of effectiveness on them. There are 10 enemies that can be faced in the game:
- VS Mare - The balance between Shana's attacking strength and accuracy is at its best at close quarters when against Mare. Mare's strongest attacks are Treasure Tools, so large amounts of damage can be avoided by concentrating on Treasure Tool guarding.
- VS Vine - Vine's attacking strength drops dramatically at close quarters. The strength of Shana's Flame attacks becomes lower at this position, so it's best to attack with Treasure Tool attacks which will have high attacking strength, like the special moves Nietono no Shana and Thrusts.
- VS Friagne - Friagne's attacks become stronger the closer you get to him. He should be fought while maintaining long distance. At long distance, Friagne has high Unrestricted Spell attacking strength, so guarding should be centered around Unrestricted Spells. Unrestricted Spell attacks are also effective against him.
- VS Margery - The reverse of Friagne, Margery's attacks are weakest when in close quarters. She should be fought while maintaining close quarters. Her Unrestricted Spell attacks are far and away stronger than the other types, so guarding should be centered around Unrestricted Spells.
- VS Sorath & Tiriel - Their attacking strength is average at all distances, but it is comparatively safer fighting them at close quarters. When finishing them off, it is recommended to use Nietono no Shana at intermediate distance to inflict high damage.
- VS Sydonay - Sydonay has high attacking strength and fatal wounds will be inflicted if he uses his special techniques at any distance besides long distance. He should be fought at long distance. It is most effective to use Unrestricted Spell attacks against him for high accuracy and strength.
- VS Dantalion - Dantalion has high attacking strength at every distance except for short distance. Though Shana's attacks would be weaker, the most safe and reliable strategy is to use Flame and Treasure Tool attacks to inflict damage because they have high accuracy.
- VS Tenmoku Ikko - Tenmoku Ikko has extremely powerful Treasure Tool attacks. The attacks are exceptionally strong at close quarters, and it is possible that the player is defeated in one attack if they fail at guarding. He should always be fought at long distance.
- VS Merihim - Merihim is good at intermediate and short distances. The player should try to fight him at long distance or close quarters, but Shana's attacks are more powerful at intermediate and short distances also, so the player should counterattack when there is an opening.
- VS ??? - Attacks at close quarters are effective against the last enemy. Focus on Treasure Tools when guarding from their attacks. When they flee to short distance, hit them with Thrust, which has high accuracy and strength, and attempt to get to close quarters again.[3]
Extras[]
2 extra modes were added to the game when porting from the PS2 version.
Dress-up Gallery[]
A mode which unlocks after clearing the game. Shana and Yoshida can be dressed in many different costumes, such as just a white shirt and nothing else, a sexy bunny girl costume, and a standard sailor uniform.[1]
Battle Mode[]
A free battle mode where characters defeated in the story mode can be used. Before battles, there is dialogue between the characters written by Yashichirō Takahashi.[1]
Development[]
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Reception[]
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Trivia[]
- While the PS2 version has full voice acting, the DS version contains only partial voice acting.
Gallery[]
    The cover of Tōka.  Sketches for the covers of the DS and PS2 games in Tōka.  Sketches of Shana and Mare.  Sketches of Mare's clown forms in the game.  The back cover of Tōka. |