With just a few months before its release, Shouzou Kaga released a second trailer for his free indie title, Vestaria Saga I: The Exiled Knight and the Star Maiden.
Note: All images belong to Shouzou Kaga.
The last time we had a trailer was back in August 2015, at which point the game was roughly 10% complete. Fast forward around 9 months and the game (the first part) is now 90% complete, with just a few graphics to be finalised.
According to Kaga, roughly 15 volunteers contributed to the Vestaria Project. The expected release date for the first part is August/September 2016; when complete, it will be released as free software.
The trailer itself opens with a nostalgic world map scene depicting the events that lead up to the war. In June of 1024, officials traveling from the Solvian Empire were caught in a boat fire at the Meledan port of Frist.
Zechs is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
While the Meledans claimed that the incident was caused by local ruffians, the Solvian survivors pointed the finger at the Meledan army instead. As a result, the imperial Emperor Manneus declared war on Meleda for the attack.
Due to the impressive tactics of the imperial commander Ajax and betrayal from their allies, the Meledan army suffered an overwhelming defeat. The defeated Meledan army were forced to retreat to the royal capital of Regina.
There, Duke Redessa’s son Zechsrias prepared to repel the enemy as acting commander. However Meleda’s allies feared the imperial threat and turned tail to their respective nations, causing the collapse of the Anti-Imperial Alliance.
Zeidreese, the hero of the game, is ordered by his older brother Zechs to flee with Princess Atolfis to the southern port city of Fral, where they can seek travel to the bustling business city Venecia, home of Zeid’s older sister.
The next part of the trailer showcases snippets of various dialogue scenes, featuring the diverse cast of characters. Around the 1:20 mark, we see Zechs presumably being suppressed by the imperial invaders.
Afterwards, we get a peak at various battle, dialogue and map scenes. There’s a lot to digest, but with little context behind them, I’ll just mention the most significant ones.
Seven countries. Seven rings and seven maidens?
At 1:57, Zeid and Garland, a religious-looking character who appears frequently in the trailer (perhaps Zeid’s tactician?) discuss the “Land of Sorcery and Enjoyment”, one of the seven nations of Vestaria.
According to Garland, it was formed by the “Wandering Mage Sphere”, one of the five heroes who liberated Magul Island 600 years ago. Observant fans may recall Akkord being a “Sphere Mage”, which may be related.
At 2:05, a skeletal “Underworld Knight” emerges out of nowhere and attacks Zeid. Next, around 2:20, Zeid goes toe to toe with a fire-breathing Cave Dragon. Kaga sure loves his monsters and dragons!
Around 3:58, Lydia the Sweet Bard (my best guess at her class name) appears to literally whip Talys the Savant to allow him to move again. Whoa, that’s pretty extreme! Now I’m curious about what her “Ripwhip” spell does…
Hopefully Nintendo don’t notice…
From 4:19, there’s a dialogue scene between Aslan (above), Ritton (centre) and Nyna (below). It seems the castle has been invaded and Nyna wants to find her mother. However, Aslan warns that as the Earth Maiden, Nyna mustn’t endanger herself.
It’s impossible not to comment on the similarity of Nyna’s design with another Kaga-era priestess–Deirdre from Genealogy of the Holy War. Plus the name “Nyna” is totally shamelessly borrowed from Shadow Dragon.
Finally, near the 5:00 mark, a soldier reports to Garland that the enemy has 5 times their numbers. Garland remarks that their mission is to buy time for the others and places his faith in Zeid and Prince Soltin. This scene appears to take place in Chapter 15.
The trailer finishes off with the game’s updated logo and subtitle, “The Exiled Knight and the Star Maiden”, to reflect that it’s the first of two parts. With luck, the first part will be well-received and Kaga will be motivated to finish his story!
