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Soul Eater: Monotone Princess (ソウルイーター モノトーン プリンセス, Sōru Ītā Monotōn Purinsesu) is an action adventure game released exclusively on the Wii in Japan. The game was created and developed by Square Enix with BONES Studio and released in September 25, 2008. The story of the game revolves around members of the EAT Class in Death Weapon Meister Academy fighting against the evil organization known as Paraponera, led by a Witch named Ponera, who is known as the "Monotone Princess".
Synopsis
In Paris, a large gathering of people assemble at the Santa Mario Novella Basilica, a stranger declared "wandering souls, the time for salvation has come". All those who attended the meeting suddenly disappear. This disappearance attracts the attention of Death Weapon Meister Academy, a worldly renown police force that trains Meisters and Demon Weapons, people who can transform into weapons. The academy dispatches Maka Albarn and her Team and her friends to investigate the disappearance. However, they find agents of an unknown clan gathering souls rather than consuming them. The students realize these agents have a dangerous agenda, making their assignment much more dangerous than any assigned by the Academy before.
Characters
Playable
- Maka Albarn with weapon Soul Eater
- Black☆Star with weapon Tsubaki Nakatsukasa
- soul with weapons death spear and spear
Non-Playable
Enemies
Mini-Bosses'
Bosses
Guest Enemies
Gameplay
Game controller
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Monotone Princess disc
The game uses a Wiimote with nunchuck.
The nunchuck's directional stick moves players in 360-degree directions within the game. The Z button re-centers the camera to the back of the character.
The Wiimote's A button produces attacks. When a meister is without a weapon, they perform punches and kicks. When a meister is wielding a weapon, the A button produces up to three in a row. When not moving the Wiimote, the attacks are fairly consistent in damage. However, if on the third attack the player waves the Wiimote left and right, the character will perform an attack that has a wider radius to take out additional enemies, such as Maka using Soul to swing more widely in a circle, or Black Star twirling Tsubaki's chain scythe mode around him.
The Wiimote's B button has two function. In battle, the B button targets which enemy to attack; pressing the B button again cancel the targeting. When not in battle, the B button pulls up Shinigami's Kill List, with statistics about player's progress in a level.
The Wiimote's C button is used with the Moon power-up to initiate Soul Resonance between meister and weapon. Upon activation, the player must press the A button, then wave the Wiimote left and right to build up the resonance wavelength. If the wavelength is not built up enough, the special attack fails; if the wavelength is built up enough, each meister performs a special move, such as Maka performing Witch-Hunt.
The Wiimote's 1 button is used for some menu selections.
Main Menu
After a character announces "Soul Eater: Monotone Princess!" the player may press A and B simultaneously to pull up one of four menus, two rows and two colums:
- Start (Row 1, Column 1): Click to begin the game from the very beginning.
- Saved Games (Row 1, Column 2): Blair takes players to games saved (up to three games saved)
- Movies (Row 2, Column 1): As players proceed through the game, they can review animated sequences by Bone used in the game itself, or RPG-styled animation with original stories that show the paths the characters take.
- Options (Column 2, Row 2): Players can adjust subtitles, audio, and speed of menus.
Playable Characters
Maka Albarn: Wielding the scythe Soul Eater, this pigtailed bookworm slices through opponents. Maka is adept for players who use her spin techniques to knock back multiple opponents close up. Her soul resonance ability is Witch-Hunt, which expands the size of her scythe's blade for a wider radius of attacks.
Black Star: The meister of the chain scythe Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, Black Star can be slower in attack responses due to his desire to show off in combat. But his attacks are powerful in both up-close and distant combat, Tsubaki's chain giving him a wider radius in combat. Her soul resonance ability allows Black Star to throw his scythes further.
Death the Kid: The son of the Grim Reaper, Kid is powerful yet distracted by a desire for perfect and precise symmetry. Armed with twin pistols, LIz and Patty Thompson, Kid's attacks are long-distant, which makes him more vulnerable in some up-close combat. His soul resonance increases the power of his soul wavelength fired from the pistols.
Items
- Suns: Appearing like the smiling cackling star in the sky, these power-ups are found hidden in boxes that must be smashed to be revealed. They increase a player's HP against damage.
- Moons: These lunar objects give a power-up to the weapon. For Soul, it allows Maka to unlock Witch-Hunt and perform soul resonance.
- Candles
- Kyūkon Water Jar
- Anti-Madness Medicine
- Medusa's Herb
In-Game DWMA Menu
The menu is arranged in three columns and three rows, with a menu option in the lower right-hand corner. The options are the following (left to right):
- Row 1: Crescent Room, ???, the Quad
- Row 2: Death Room, the Death Board, the Balcony
- Row 3: The library, the Infirmary
- Lower Right-hand Corner: Options (see below)
Medusa and your partner will also appear on the main menu in between meetings with characters, usually after you have chosen to go to a menu option that includes a chibi version of a character.
After a character concludes a statement, two options appear. The left option repeats their statement; the right option moves onto the next topic, usually ending the discussion.
Options
On the the DWMA Menu, Options are available, in the shape of Lord Death's mask. The options are arranged into two rows and two columns and a fifth menu on the bottom.
- Column 1, Row 1: For your current meister, you can see which Techniques you have unlocked and to which power level you must arrive to unlock new ones. This menu includes a practice option to test out techniques and button combinations.
- Column 2, Row 1: Auntie shows which items your characters have collected at the DWMA and during missions.
- Column 1, Row 2: Save Game (into one of three slots). Select one of Blair's three pumpkins (three game slots) to save the game (the left button confirms, the right button cancels).
- Column 2, Row 2: Open Saved Game.
- Bottom Menu: Adjust audio and speed of subtitles.
Battles
Players run (not jump) through predetermined paths in cities. When they arrive at an area for battle against enemies or a boss, they will hear a box break and barriers emerge from the ground to confine the players to the fighting area. Then enemies fall down onto the scene. Upon defeating all enemies, the barriers will fall, allowing the players to move forward.
Plot
One night, a mass of seemingly possessed persons enter a church. Aman passes around what looks like a cocoon, sucking the soul from persons but leaving their bodies behind. The man, Grimoire, instructs Killbell to proceed with his plans.
DWMA
After hearing information from Franken Stein, EAT meisters Maka Albarn, Black Star, and Death the Kid proceed to move through their school in search of assignments listed on the Death Board. As they speak with their weapons, they also run into Auntie, who gives assignments, and also teachers such as Sid Barrett and classmates such as Ox Ford.
The story proceeds depending on which meister that you choose to play. As the meister proceeds through the city to complete missions that include the elimination of wolf-like creatures and Death Knowers, the meister encounters Jack the Ripper. Although Jack runs quickly and slashes with a far reach, the meister manages to kill the serial murderer and claim his kishin egg of a soul. The meister then is assigned to retrieve candles hidden in a section of the city.
After completing these three missions, the meister will meet with Stein in the Crescent Classroom for a new assignment: find and acquire the Soul Sucking Jar.
Eventually the weapon will meet with Spirit in the Infirmary, where he will provide Anti-Madness Medicine.
After training into sunset with soul resonance to augment their abilities, the meister will meet with Lord Death for a new mission. Maka and Black Star will handle this nighttime mission. While Black Star prefers to run on his own, Maka will use soul perception to sense their enemies. Insectoid creatures emerge from the ground, speaking in squeaky voices.
Media & Merchandise
Original Soundtrack
A soundtrack called DWMA's Treasure "Campus Broadcast Music Complete Works" (死武専秘蔵「校内放送楽曲大全」?)[21] was released as a pre-order bonus CD.
Walkthrough
On October 14, 2008, SquareEnix released the Official Complete Guide, which includes walkthroughs, descriptions of all playable and enemy characters, interviews with the game's actors, and concept art and storyboards.[1]
Trivia
- Grimoire's exact design was used in the manga for the character Noah (Greed). While the resemblance is exactly the same, it should be noted they're both different characters.
- The Sound menu features Maka jamming on an electric guitar while Soul sits atop an amp. This image refers to Lord Death's explanation for the practice of soul resonance between meister and weapon, as featured in Chapter 1, then adapted into Episode 4.
- The "Now Loading..." screen features chibi animation of whichever character is played: when playing as Maka, she is seen riding with Soul on his motorcycle; when Black Star, he is running; when Kid, he is flying on Beelzebub.
- When the player does not use the characters for a few moments, they perform movements as part of cycled animation: Maka will stretch then cross her arms and tap her foot; and Black Star will practice squats.
- Some of the characters' moves are typical for their personalities. For example, when performing three attacks in a row, whereas Maka and Kid are ready to repeat the process, Black Star stops to brag—which leaves him open to attack due to his arrogance.
- This video game is one of the first productions to not only animate but to give a voice to Auntie.
- When characters make embarrassing comments at the DWMA, wind blows a leaf through the scene, similar to a tumbleweed blowing.
- When excited about a discussion inside the Crescent Room, Black Star ducks down to dig through material, tossing up multiple copies of his autographed pages.
- The Death Knower in the game's first level resemble Lord Death, wearing skull masks and large foam glove hands with which they perform Shinigami Chop-esque moves.
References
- ↑ Soul Eater Monotone Princess Official Complete Guide. SquareEnix. Accessed 20 Mar. 2015.