Sword Art Online: Lost Song

Sword Art Online: Lost Song (ソードアート・オンライン －ロスト・ソング－) is an Action RPG (ARPG) developed by Artdink and published by Bandai Namco Games for the PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) and PlayStation 3 (PS3) as the third game adaption on console for the series. Unlike the previous games, Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment and Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment, Lost Song is set in an alternative ALfheim Online (ALO), but in the same timeline as the previous games.

The game was released on March 26, 2015 in Japan, April 28, 2015 in Traditional Chinese. An English version, translated differently than the English version for Hollow Fragment, was released on May 12, 2015 in other Asian countries. Lost Song was published in Europe on November 13, 2015 and on November 17, 2015 in North America.

In its first week of sales in Japan, the PS Vita version of the game sold 139,298 copies at retail, while the PS3 edition sold 55,090 physical copies, for a total of 194,388 units sold. As of January 2016, the game has sold 150,000 copies in the west. Lost Song has received the Gold Prize in the PlayStation Awards 2016.

Story


Lost Song includes a completely original story which primarily involves the exploration of "Svart Alfheim", a new area of ALfheim Online comprised of a series of floating continents close to the World Tree. The game skips past the Fairy Dance arc. The story takes somewhere between 20 and 30 hours to complete.

Having arrived at the new hub city, Kirito's group encounters the «Shamrock» guild. Although led in practice by Sumeragi, this guild's official leader and most conspicuous member is Seven, aka Professor Nanairo Arshavin, an MIT alumna conducting research on virtual societies forming within online networks. By encountering "Nanairo Arshavin", who is said to stand as the light in contrast to the darkness belying the world of ALfheim Online through the legacy of Kayaba Akihiko, Kirito's next great adventure is put into motion.

Gameplay

 * For various Sword Skills in the game, see Sword Art Online: Lost Song/Sword Skills

For the first time in the series, players are able to play as characters other than Kirito. In addition, players are able to create their own custom characters, though the story mode will still progress as if the user was playing as Kirito. Parties of up to three characters may be formed, up from two in the prior games. In keeping with being set in ALfheim Online, players are able to fly as well as walk on the ground. However, walking within dungeons is mandatory.

There are two modes for flight, one being flying using the up button and the other hovering. While hovering, the player is able to do perform any action just like when walking, but players are unable to use any skills while ascending and descending. The player can halt the flight mode via various ways: by pushing the left or right button, by pushing the square for a basic attack or triangle for dash attack, by pressing R1 and circle button for defend or just pressing the down button to fall or walk.

Players can also target individual parts of an enemy's body as they see fit, resulting in different types of damage output. Additionally, some armored body parts make a clank sound when hit with a non-magical/physical attack, while some body parts are resistant to magical attacks by fifty percent (50%).

Additionally, Lost Song adds the ability to use magic to attack enemies or to provide support to one's party. The game is the first in the series to allow for four-person online multiplayer in one party, but the maximum number of players is sixteen for raid-type missions.

Characters
There are approximately 20 main characters in this game. The following characters have been confirmed as being included thus far:


 * Kirito (Kirigaya Kazuto)
 * Asuna (Yuuki Asuna)
 * Yui [In-Game Daughter of Kirito and Asuna (MHCP-001)] - NPC only
 * Silica (Ayano Keiko)
 * Leafa (Kirigaya Suguha)
 * Lisbeth (Shinozaki Rika)
 * Sinon (Asada Shino)
 * Klein (Tsuboi Ryoutarou)
 * Philia (Takemiya Kotone)
 * Strea (Strea-MHCP002)
 * Argo
 * Pina - NPC only
 * Yuuki (Konno Yuuki)
 * Seven (Nanairo Arshavin )
 * Sumeragi (Sumeragi Ryouta)
 * Rain (Karatachi Nijika)
 * Alicia Rue 
 * Sakuya 
 * Agil (Andrew Gilbert Mills)
 * Recon (Nagata Shinichi) - NPC only
 * Eugene  - NPC only
 * Lux (Kashiwazaka Hiyori)
 * Black Lotus (Kuroyukihime)  - Accel World crossover character

Other characters, including a number of newly-created ones, may be introduced in the wake of the game's Japanese release.

Svart Alfheim
As an echo to the introduction of the Hollow Area to Hollow Fragment, Lost Song introduces "Svart Alfheim", a series of floating continents located adjacent to the World Tree. Each continent, reported as measuring approximately one square kilometre in size, has a particular area type: plains, deserts, icebergs, and so forth. Each of these regions can be reached from any unlocked Teleport Gate, one of which is located in the central city, The Floating City of Ryne, which includes a town square, an inn named «The Crowned Rooster», Lisbeth's smithy, Agil's Weapon Shop, an item shop, and a tavern named «Einherjar», The Tavern of Heroes.

The first of these continents is "Woglinde, the Island of Meadows", a grassland region featuring windmills and other large structures. . The second island is known as "Wellgunde, The Valley of Sand", which features a desert with several canyons. The third island region is known as "Flosshilde, the Ring of Ice" and features a sweeping snowstorm blocking adventurers' paths. The fourth island is known as "Niebelhiem, the Rocky Wasteland". It features a gloomy aura and four towers, which are powering the main tower. It also features some of the same structures from Woglinde, except that they are damaged.

Soundtrack


A Sword Art Online -Lost Song- Soundtrack was bundled with the game's limited edition on PS Vita.

The game has "Cynthia no Hikari" by Aoi Eir as its opening theme song, and "Yoru no Niji wo Koete" by Haruna Luna as its ending theme song.

Trivia

 * The word "Lost" in the game's title refers to the usage of "lost" in "get lost" (i.e. lose one's way) instead of in "to lose something".
 * "Svart" means "Black" in Old Norse, which is also the basis for the «Words of Power» in ALO, and inspiration for other parts of the game.
 * Unlike Hollow Fragment, Lost Song does not allow importing save data from the previous games due to the difference in settings.
 * An unlockable movie included in the game stars Rain (Nijika) singing the game's theme song in a short music video, similar to the videos of Hatsune Miku.
 * The game's strongest event boss, «Lost Song», is named after the game's title, and defeating it unlocks Seven as a playable character.
 * A special series of events, similar to the events of Mother's Rosario, are included in the game. These events begin when the players clear the altitude limit on the third island. However, some major differences include:
 * Yuuki additionally recruited Kirito, instead of only recruiting Asuna, to help her guild clear a massive event boss to have their names featured on MMO Tomorrow.
 * Kazuto was present when Asuna went to see Yuuki at the hospital and then logged into ALO to see her again.
 * Kirito and Yuuki speak of their meeting in Sword Art Online, which was only a bonus final battle in Hollow Fragment.
 * Yuuki and Asuna have one last duel, with Asuna as the victor
 * Yuuki passes on her eleven-hit combo to Asuna, but not as her last action before dying. This also unlocks the skill for Yuuki to use in-game as well.
 * Yuuki did not die as her virus is getting weaker.

Preview
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