Threads of Fate

Threads of Fate
Developer(s)	Square
Publisher(s)	JP Square NA Square Electronic Arts
Designer(s)	Hiromichi Tanaka
Composer(s)	Junya Nakano
Platform(s)	Sony PlayStation
Release date(s)	JP October 10, 1999 NA July 18, 2000 JP January 25, 2007 (re-release)
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone CERO: A
Media	1 CD-ROM

Threads of Fate, known in Japan as Dewprism (デュープリズム, Dyūpurizumu^?), is a console role-playing game for the PlayStation console developed and published by Square (now Square Enix). The story revolves around the adventure of two characters, Mint and Rue, and a highlight of the game is that the player is able to play from the perspective of either.

Gameplay

The gameplay is simple and action-oriented rather than turn-based, playing more like an action platformer than a traditional menu-based RPG such as those in the Final Fantasy series. It is more similar in style to the Mana games by Square or even The Legend of Zelda series by Nintendo. The lead female character, Mint, attacks with a pair of chakrams, known as the Dual Haloes, and is a proficient magic user. The lead male character, Rue, is more physical and attacks with his axe, Arc Edge. He also has the ability to transform into various monsters that he defeats, utilizing their attacks and powers. The ring menu used to select Mint's magic attacks or Rue's shape-shifting is reminiscent of the menu system in Secret of Mana.

At the beginning of the game, the player is given the choice of playing through the game as either Mint or Rue. Depending on the selection, the game proceeds with one of two storylines. Though the quests are very similar, the storylines themselves have a branching quality that brings certain scenarios to life in one storyline without remotely mentioning them in the other; completing both games will give the player a holistic storyline to weave together from the two, as well as a 'true' ending to the game.

Characters

Rue

Rue is a powerful, organic doll created by Valen, the most powerful of Aeons, in order to serve him. He has a gentle, honest, hard-working, brave, and humble personality (a foil to Mint's character). Rue was cast into hibernation for years until he woke up alone in a temple, confused and weak. He limped out into the snow and collapsed. Here, he was found by Claire, who took him in and cared for him. Rue grew close to Claire in the years that passed. However, he was shattered when Claire was killed in a confrontation with Doll Master, another doll created by Valen that had come to recruit Rue in an attempt to resurrect Valen. Infuriated, Rue cast Doll Master away and pined over Claire. He managed to meld her soul with his, and he then grabbed his Arc Edge (his main weapon) and began his adventure to bring her back. He heard of the relic and its powers, and went to Carona in search of it. This threw him into Mint's path.

Mint

Mint is the de-facto comic relief, and the heroine of the game. She is the Crown Princess to the East Heaven Kingdom. She is brash, adventurous, egotistical, manipulative, violent and overall not what one would expect a princess to be. Despite seemingly everyone expressing disapproval of her attitude, Mint is thrown completely off-guard when she discovers her right to the throne has been given to her younger sister, Maya. Having had enough of Mint's behavior, Maya gladly accepts the throne and plans to make her sister's life miserable. Unable to compete with the powerful magic of the relic her sister possesses, Mint leaves home on a journey to find a relic more powerful than Maya's and become the ruler of the world. Along the way, Mint crosses paths with Rue, who is also searching for a relic. What Mint lacks in manners, she makes up for in magical talent. Armed with two magically charged chakram rings and wielding an incredible jump kick, she is a formidable adversary.

Mint has an irrational fear of pumpkins, something that is featured numerous times within her storyline. Also foul-mouthed, she treats everyone around her cruelly, including her own grandfather. She seems to utterly detest Rue, even attempting to assault him numerous times but usually failing as the result of some comedic twist, such as losing balance when executing an attack and plunging into a nearby body of water as a result. At the end of her storyline, however, Mint does express a certain degree of care for Rue, and even her own sister, Maya, whom she seems to greatly hate. In the ending, the sisters engage in a fight, filled with a copious amount of swearing and jump kicking. The exiled princess' magical abilities are broken down by 'elements' and their corresponding colours: Industrial/White, 'Dark Industrial'/Black, Fire/Red, Water/Blue, Electricity/Yellow, and Wind/Green.

Claire

Claire is a tender, loving, and beautiful farm girl that took in Rue when she found him collapsed in the snow nearby her cottage. Over the years Claire had been with Rue, they developed a special bond. However, one snowy night, she was killed by Rue's "brother", Doll Master, when she tried to defend Rue. Claire's death launched Rue into a quest to bring her back to life.

Elena

Elena is the optimistic, free-spirited daughter of Klaus and Mira who is loving and loyal to her friends and parents, but she is quite gullible and airheaded. Mint/Rue saves Elena from the bandits, Blood and Smokey, after she had set out alone into Carona Forest in search of her parents. In Rue's story, after Rue disguises himself as a pollywog to rescue Elena, she believes that he is a pollywog that can transform into a person, so she persistently calls him "Polly" despite his efforts to explain.

Klaus and Mira

These are Elena's parents. They are archeologists studying the formation and location of the relics of power formed by the Aeons millennia ago. Dr. Klaus is a hard-working, passionate researcher who yearns to find a relic. His wife, Mira, is independent, tender, and tends to the antiques shop that she and her husband run in Carona. She was also rumored to have been a champion swordswoman.

Fancy Mel

A strange witch who lives in a house in the sky reachable by a floating star on the outskirts of Carona Forest, Fancy Mel has flashy taste and decorates her home and surrounding areas with pastel colors, floating stars, colorful mushrooms and other cutesy emblems. Fancy Mel possesses great knowledge of the relic and reluctantly assists Mint and Rue in breaking the seal despite potential dangers this action may cause. She surrounds herself with small red helper-creatures, the Poppul Purrels, as well as Cockadoos (multicolor birds) and floating yellow puff creatures adorned with wings which flutter about her wherever she goes. Klaus dislikes Fancy Mel for her flamboyant mannerisms, while Elena enjoys visiting her and playing the magical games of the Poppul Purrels.

Wylaf

Wylaf is an age-old magic-using dragon whose name strikes terror into the hearts of many hardened warriors. Throughout Mint and Rue's quest, Wylaf holds some powers and items necessary to accomplishing their goals, but he challenges those who come to him to a battle before he surrenders anything he may have. He does this as a means to test the hearts and strength of his opponents, judging their worthiness based on how they fight. In truth, Wylaf seeks to leave the hope of the future in the hands of mankind, knowing it is their world to nurture or destroy.

Prima Doll

Born from the cube discovered as the 'key' to breaking the seal on the relic, Prima Doll is a synthetic existence created by the grand magician Elroy. While many, including himself, insist he is only a tool with the sole purpose of releasing the relic, others such as the main characters and Klaus dispute this; Klaus goes so far as to consider Prima Doll a son. When first released from the cube, he was incomplete, but as the necessary items were gathered, he began to function properly and was fully energized. Prima Doll is quite intelligent but fairly naive to the world around him. He often makes witty jabs at Mint despite his naivety. It is uncertain how old he is.

Doll Master (Ruecian)

Doll Master, a former servant of Princess Maya's court, is a doll created by Valen, the same Aeon who formed Rue, making him, in essence, Rue's "brother". He garnered Rue's hatred when he accidentally killed Claire, the woman who protected and cared for Rue. Doll Master seeks to revive Valen by whatever means necessary, restoring his master to grace as the most powerful and only remaining Aeon.

Psycho Master (Karwyn)

A minion of Ruecian. He always has his eyes closed and relies on his psychic powers to sense the presence of his enemies. If he were to open his eyes (like he does in his final battle) he becomes a truly deadly opponent. He has psycho-kinetic powers, control over dreams, and other powers related to the brain. He is highly devoted to his master. It is implied that he is the strongest of Doll Master's servants, as said in Mint's story.

Mode Master (Kirielle)

A female minion of Doll Master, Mode Master controls shape-shifting powers similar to Rue's. She seems to know Rue well, shaping into Claire in order to lure, confuse, and anger him; after revealing her true form, she taunts Rue as being a weak cry-baby who pines for Claire. It is suggested that Mode Master and Doll Master once had a romantic relationship when she bids farewell to him at the beginning of the climactic final chapter. She and Trap Master are the least-confronted mini-bosses during the game.

Trap Master (Narcius)

Trap Master is a punk-ish minion of Ruecian with red, spiky hair and a unique ability to suddenly place invisible, highly effective traps nearly everywhere. He usually transports people he wants to fight into a rather computerized room filled with booby-trapped platforms. Quite often threatening to fight without actually engaging in combat, he has a hot temper and goes completely off the wall when Mint tells him that he is a "porcupine head." It is implied that Trap Master is the weakest of Doll Master's associates.

Belle and Duke

Belle and Duke are a pair of thieves that are looking for rare treasures in Carona. A rival to Mint even before the relic quest, Belle is a spellcaster with a biting, angry attitude. Duke is a martial artist enamored with romantic novels and epics. He continually fantasizes over such things as honor between fighters, duels, and the kinds of things the heroes in the novels do, and he is rather clumsy, due to not practicing what he learns. The two of them have an uncanny relationship; Belle regards Duke as a moron, while Duke has much respect for Belle (and fans of the game debate over a possible love). Together, though, they make for formidable foes and remarkable allies when they begin to help Mint/Rue in their campaign against Doll Master. They utilize a crab-like battle machine called hexagon after their initial fight.

Rod

Rod is a sword master/smith who is camped next to a river in the forests of Carona for the duration of the story. An honorable, strong, capable man, Rod is an indispensable ally in Rue's/Mint's quest for the relic. He trains each of them in their combat skills and discusses his work with them. He likes to show off his weapons in combat; with each successive fight, they become larger and more extraordinary and complex. He has deep respect for Mira (mostly because she has the heart to feed him when he becomes broke). He also has a puppy named Johnny Wolf.

Valen

The most powerful Aeon of his time, Valen had worked a lifetime creating his relic (called "Dewprism") in order to attain immortality for himself. He created dolls such as Rue and Doll Master to guard his relic. However, before Valen could harvest the relic's power, he was killed by his fellow Aeons, who were jealous and fearful of his power. Valen managed to encase his soul within Dewprism, and he waited to be revived by one of his dolls.

Blood and Smokey

Blood and Smokey are two incompetent bandits who come to Carona in search of treasure. They are mostly bullies, and even though they look dangerous, they are rather weak. Blood is taller, faster, and the leader of the two, while Smokey is shorter and stronger. They encounter Rue/Mint at least twice in the game.

Princess Maya

Princess Mint's younger sister, Maya, inherited the right to be the next Queen of the East Heaven Kingdom when Mint's attitude finally pushed her family's patience over the edge. Maya also came into possession of a relic named 'The Book of Cosmos', with which she is very powerful. She works with her supposed minion, Doll Master. Maya is known throughout her kingdom as being calm and graceful, but those who interact closely with her know that she has a mean, violent streak akin to her older sister's, occasionally employing similar foul language and jump kicks.

Ruenis

Ruenis is also a doll of Valen, like Rue and Ruecian, awakened after Valen has already been defeated. After beating the game with both characters, it is revealed that Ruenis chooses to live with Rue and Claire back home.

Plot line

The game offers two plots stemming from the origins of the two lead characters (Rue and Mint) and their reasons for searching for the legendary artifact known as a relic, which was created by a group (or possibly race) of super-magicians known as the Aeons. As the game progresses, the plots weave, split, and weave back together, leaving a more analytical observer to wonder and piece together the exact relationship between the two stories, and how they play with and against one another.

Rue is a quiet, caring young man with a mysterious origin; his adoptive sister, Claire, has been comforting him for two years before a tragic incident brings a man, known only as the Arm of Death, to their small cottage one clear winter night, presumably to assassinate Rue. Claire gives her life trying to protect Rue, leading the boy to set off on a journey to find a great relic in order to bring her back to life.

Mint, meanwhile, is a rebellious, ill-mannered, hotheaded princess entrusted with the crown of East Heaven Kingdom. However, the Council that aids the king believes that her brash and crass nature are unbecoming of a future ruler, and they elect unanimously to promote Maya, Mint's younger sister, to the position of heir apparent. They solidify their decision by giving Maya the Book of Cosmos, the kingdom's most powerful relic. Mint is shocked by the news, and even more shocked that two of her advisors—the man known as Doll Master, and her grandfather—fully agree with the decision. Stripped of her title and chased from the castle by an army of demon pumpkins, Mint promises revenge—even better, she vows to take over the world if she can find a relic more powerful than the Book of Cosmos.

Themes

Threads of Fate has a reasonably uncomplicated story and (save for its rather unexpected plot twist) harbors minimal surprise and suspense, with its greatest story pull being in its character interactions, aided by flawless localization.

The simplicity of the story makes its theme oddly obtuse, however. The game's storyline is based heavily on the distinction between immutable destiny and choice. This is most obvious in Rue's storyline, as he gives many speeches near the end of the game about fighting the will of his master and refusing to accept fate, but many of the more important characters also follow through on this theme.

For instance, Mint's original destiny was to become queen of East Heaven Kingdom. However, she was thrown from her position, casting her out of her high fate. In response to this, she decided to write her own destiny by skipping the formality of ruling a kingdom and instead simply seeking to take over the world. Rod's fate, too, was written by his father Pleskin, and he expected to be the greatest swordsman of all time, capable of defeating his father, who held the title. Because Pleskin died, Rod was left to wallow in the despair of never being able to surpass his father's legacy until Lucine helped him realize that he needn't be tied by his assumed fate. He instead became a swordsmith-fighter-vagrant, determined to surpass his father's legacy in his own way, by becoming the greatest weapon crafter known to the world.

Music

The music of Threads of Fate is composed by Junya Nakano, who has worked on several other games for Square. Hidenori Iwasaki did the score's synthesizer programming. A soundtrack was released in Japan (titled Dewprism OST) and was available via import for several years in other countries. The soundtrack, though discontinued and out of print, was recently given a re-print in August 2006.

The OST has two discs, Disc RUE and Disc MINT, featuring all of the tracks played throughout the game. The tracks are divided between the discs according, for the most part, to which character they fit best. Much of the mellower music is contained on Rue's disc, with a fairly small selection of 'happy' tracks or battle tracks, while Mint's disc contains almost all of the more intrusive tracks, the happier tracks, and several battle themes (although due to the overwhelming number of 'neutral' tracks to any of the more emotional tracks, Mint's disc doesn't reflect her personality as well as Rue's disc reflects his).

Reception

Threads of Fate was released at the peak of the RPG boom for the original PlayStation, during SquareSoft's "Summer of Adventure" promotion (which also included Legend of Mana and Chrono Cross), and the game was largely "lost in the crowd". The graphics were impressive for the PlayStation, but the gameplay was somewhat simplistic, which may have led many players to bypass the game in favor of more publicized and technically accomplished games; the game most commonly blamed for Threads of Fate's lack of commercial success is Chrono Cross, which held a much higher pitch of anticipation due to its status as the sequel to Chrono Trigger. Despite its limited commercial success, Threads of Fate is not considered to be altogether bad (its average rating is around a 7.5 out of 10) and is even regarded as a gem in some circles, resulting in a fairly adamant cult following.^{[citation needed]}

The game was scored a 34 out of 40 by the Japanese magazine Famitsu.^[1] The game was re-released in 2007 under Square Enix's Legendary Hits label in Japan.^[2]

Manga

A manga based on the game was planned to be made by Ken Akamatsu of Love Hina fame, but the project was scrapped. Many of his character designs would later be redesigned and used in Akamatsu's Negima!: Magister Negi Magi.

References

External links

• Official Threads of Fate website
• Threads of Fate at MobyGames
• Threads of Fate at Game Rankings
• Threads of Fate at RPG Gamer