Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes

[Xalioniaf]

As if the cell phone wasn't a strange enough platform to release games on...

SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES SONG SUMMONER : The Unsung Heroes, a Full-Scale Role-Playing Game for iPod, Now Available on iTunes

Los Angeles (July 7, 2008)

Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix™ interactive entertainment products in North America, announced the release of SONG SUMMONER™: The Unsung Heroes, on sale at the iTunes® Store worldwide (www.itunes.com) and available for play in English and Japanese on the iPod nano with video, iPod classic and fifth generation iPod.


SONG SUMMONER: The Unsung Heroes is a Role-Playing Game that transforms your iPod® songs into powerful "Tune Troopers" that you can control in battle! As the protagonist Ziggy, you will embark on an epic journey to rescue your brother from the clutches of the Mechanical Militia! Intriguing characters, an epic story and a tactics-based battle system combine for a rich RPG experience previously only available on home and handheld game consoles.


SONG SUMMONER: The Unsung Heroes
Publisher: Square Enix, Inc.
Platform: iPod nano with video, iPod classic and fifth generation iPod
Genre: Role-Playing
Launch Date: July 8, 2008
Price: 4.99 USD (iTunes Store download)


STORY

From the days of old, Melodica was a land of music, a land of freedom. The people sang, played and danced to the music they so cherished. Until one day, they came — the Mechanoids, who enhanced their bodies with machinery. Those who were tempted by greed and power willingly gave away their souls for bodies of steel, forsaking their humanity to become cold, emotionless automatons. Now, they seek to destroy all that do not embrace their way of life.

But there is hope on the horizon. There are those who are fated to stand against the tyranny of the machines — the Superstars, who can turn sound into lethal weapons, and the Conductor, also known as the Song Summoner, who can summon powerful warriors born of music.

In their most desperate hour, Melodica awaits the arrival of their new Song Summoner...


FEATURES

Transform your iPod songs into "Tune Troopers" to combat the evil Mechanical Militia
Tune Trooper types and abilities are determined by the songs used to create them
Your Tune Troopers can be powered up even outside of the game--just by listening to the songs you used to create them!
Control Ziggy, a "Conductor" that creates warriors out of music, and guide him through his journey to save his brother Zero from the Mechanical Militia
Experience a turn-based tactics battle system, divided into player and enemy phases where each side takes turns maneuvering their forces
Deploy the right troopers at the right time, and use contraptions found on the map effectively to achieve victory in battle!
iPod Click Wheelallows players to play the game as easily as selecting music

I've bought it (it's only five measly dollars), and I'll be trying it out later.

 

[iaredrew]

Was just about to post this!! Love love love the ingenuity at squeenix!

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/songsummoner/na/index.html

 

[Calais]

This sounds like a really interesting idea, although I'm pretty skeptical on the game itself. Still, $5.00 for a game where I can use the Backstreet Boys to create my party sounds awesome.

 

[iaredrew]

played it for a little bit today.. it's reeeeeally not that good tbh. It's pretty much the same idea as monster rancher where you put the cd's in to make monsters and then a tactics gameplay with the monsters.

I did find it kinda amusing that "Hall of the Gods" from the ffxi soundtrack gave me a Rating A, silver soldier lol.

 

[Elemmire]

I honestly thought this was some song they were putting on iTunes at first, hehe.. shame I have nothing to play it on.

 

[iaredrew]

I honestly thought this was some song they were putting on iTunes at first, hehe.. shame I have nothing to play it on.

You're better off not having something to play it on. I'm not enjoying it one bit.

 

[Aidyn]

I'm actually having a fun time with it, playing it at work during down time (Which at one location I work at, I have a lot of).
You have to remember that it's only $5, and it's an iPod game.
It's certainly not an 'incredible' game or anything like that, but it's something to pass the time with. I like it.

 

[iaredrew]

The mechanics of it are actually pretty bad though, the cards you get are at random so it's never the same song (somtimes it's the same if you don't save and come back), the pretty much best choice is chosen for you automatically during battle, and most of the cards you get at the beginning are extremely overpowered. That's just my gripes on it, I woulda downloaded it or maybe spent a couple bucks for it, but I just don't feel like it's worth $5 when there are better online games for free.

 

[Aidyn]

Haha, not gonna argue that the mechanics are crap. Rolling through the list with the wheel is a hassle, and the cards are kind of a pain. $5 might be a little pricey, but it does pass the time at work.
It's a cool concept (Very Monster Rancheresque, as you mentioned), but difficult to carry out on an iPod I think. Like I said, it's not incredible, but it's an effort at least.
Perhaps $2 or $3 would've been a better pricetag.

In any case, I try to use Bronze troopers the most, makes the fights a little more challenging. If for nothing else, the SuperStars are kind of goofy.

 

[iaredrew]

lol, what about the tekken style wooden guys, where the heck did that idea come from??

 

[Halifirien]

I couldn't resist getting it, mostly since I had credit on my iTunes account and Penny Arcade did a good strip about it.

I got an A-rank trooper from the dance mix of Olivia Newton-John's "Xanadu."