Visual Novel games such as 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is like a close sibling to the JRPG genre. Whether in the opening hours of Persona 5 or Steins;Gate, the crux of each genre relies upon impressive storytelling and intriguing characters that can often overshadow limited gameplay.
Within them, paragraphs of dialogue are always significant or treated with flair to humanize the characters. The visual and sound design of environments fleshes out the background, making the fictional world personal to the player. And the climactic highs of these two genres never regress to the opening chapter; instead, setting the bar above expectations to reward the player’s investment tenfold.
That’s what you’ll hear about 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. It was a pandemic sleeper-hit for PlayStation 4 that Atlus published, with the iconic Odin Sphere developers, Vanillaware, crafting the IP for a worldwide September 2020 release. Despite its muted launch, unanimous praise came from all directions and shepherd 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim to The Game Awards for Best Narrative nomination last year. Ironically, another year has passed, and recently Atlus announced a Nintendo Switch version will be coming on April 12th, 2022!
Let’s get you up to speed on the facts, though! 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a 2D side-scrolling adventure that features gorgeous hand-drawn art and environments. You’ll choose between thirteen high-school students in a fictionalized 1980s Japan. Following their stories, you unfold narrative mysteries and progress through multiple conclusions to reach the true ending. And in typical Anime fashion, these teenagers will gain Sentinels: armed mechas used in a futuristic war to defend humanity against the Kaiju threat during top-down RTS battles. Optimizing your team composition based on character Sentinel-class and weaponry will keep you on your toes for those RTS segments!
Going down development lane with Vanillaware
Vanillaware founder, George Kamitani, conceptualized 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim way back in 2013, originally pitched for a toy line following the release of Dragon’s Crown. The idea didn’t lift off, though, due to partner company demands concerning the project. It got scrapped by Atlus to focus on game production instead two years later – eventually leading to workload and development challenges in Vanillaware.
Kamitani handled the narrative script alone while Yukiko Hirai and Emika Kida, the exceptional artists that worked on Odin Sphere and others, tackled character design. Eventually, famed Hitoshi Sakimoto, known for Final Fantasy Tactics‘ music composition, handled the soundtrack similar to his past works at Vanillaware with his studio Basiscape.
All-hands production started in summer 2015 with a later projected release date somewhere in 2018. Simultaneously, Vanillaware wanted to launch PS4 and PlayStation Vita (ah, you poor thing) versions to appeal to a vast demographic of players. However, an indefinite delay shook anticipations for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, with the Vita version, canceled prematurely.
2019 would have better news for fans when the game is finally out in November in Japan. The rest of the world would get to play the game once localization efforts during the pandemic progressed. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim would then release in September 2020 for English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian audiences.
The importance of 2D art in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Before 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Vanillaware was a studio dedicated to creating fantasy games that were original and capitalized on showcasing cutting-edge 2D art in gaming. Within an industry pushing stunning 3D graphics, Kamitani wanted to implement a 2D style to bring back attention in mainstream gaming. Odin Sphere would be one of the first ripples in the industry that received recognition for its vivid 2D art style in 2007.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim became their latest attempt at shining light on the magic of 2D art. Though, this time, they incorporated 3D models into the environment with a 2.5D presentation. Depth of field, sunlight, water movement, shadows, and many others were focused – enriching the base 2D art and further implying that the art form wasn’t stagnating but very much alive.
Side-scrolling adventure games may reuse background assets frequently, but 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim doesn’t overstay those locations. The environments only remain familiar to connect character stories. For example, a conversation between protagonists on a sidewalk earns significance when the other characters recognize their counterparts in the city. These developments open up the story for players to ponder, maybe even learning something new in the process. Because of this, the world becomes interconnected – playing strongly to its various protagonist timelines and creating ways to adapt hand-drawn 2D art in a manageable way.
Sticking to its strengths
As far as changes go for the port, the Switch version will remain the same as the original PS4, except for new additional armaments Sentinels can put on before fights. The story remains untouched. Naturally, cutscenes will meet the same quality, if not more optimized, like the PS4 version. So just like the quiet release last year, anyone who hasn’t experienced the game will get a chance to play the original at its best quality.
A fantastic move by Atlus and Vanillaware! It could have easily been added on unnecessarily with story DLCs and other nonsense to pump up sales. But instead, the strengths of the title took precedence: its original masterful storytelling and magnetic visuals. While limited in budget, it remained an ambitious project tying a handful of playable characters through a dynamic plot and succeeded.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a price tag or preorder available for the Nintendo Switch version as of writing. Though, the PS4 iteration stands at $60 to give you an idea. In the meantime, we’ll update you as fresh news comes out about any changes that might surface! Hopefully, its April release will spark the wave of attention Kamitani wanted for 2D art because it’s truly an untapped field on a mainstream level.
What do you think about 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim so far? Let us know below!
