Ever After: Xrd Act is a fighting video game for PS4, PS3, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Steam. The 4th main (5th overall) instalment in the Ever After fighting game series, Ever After Xrd Act was developed using Unreal Engine 3, with cel-shaded graphics in place of the series traditional hand drawn sprites. Following the storyline of the last game in the series, Ever After: Loveless Blade, it introduced four new characters.
The first Xrd Act game, Ever After Xrd Act -Sign- was released in arcades on February 20, 2014, and for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan and North America in December of the same year. A digital-only release happened in Europe in June 2015, and it was brought to Microsoft Windows via Steam on December 9, 2015. A sequel follow-up, titled Ever After Xrd Act -Revelator-, was announced for a Q2 2016 release on consoles. Both games are also set to be released on the Wii U and Xbox One in Q3 2016 and Nintendo Switch in Fall 2017.
Gameplay[]
The game uses a six-button layout: five of which are responsible for the attacks—punch, kick, slash, heavy slash and dust—, and the other one for taunting or respecting the other player. There are several other techniques which are triggered when two or three buttons are pressed simultaneously. A burst gauge is filled as time goes by or when the player receives damage; once the gauge is filled, the player can perform a Psych Burst to move away from the opponent. It unleashes a blast of energy that, if it successfully hits the adversary, completely charges another gauge, the tension gauge. The tension gauge allows the player to perform certain other special attacks.
The game features four main modes: Network Mode, Practice Mode, Battle Mode and Story Mode. The first allows online matches through the PlayStation Network (PSN), which may be ranked in world rankings. The Practice Mode features a regular training mode, a tutorial mode that teaches the basic controls, a mission mode that simulates battle situations, and a challenge mode that is focused on performing combos.
The Battle Mode comprises the arcade mode, which unveils part of the game's story after the player defeats eight opponents; a versus mode, in which the player can have offline battles with a second player or against a CPU; and a special "M.O.M" mode. The M.O.M. Mode, which is an acronym for "Medal of Millionaires", is a variation of the regular survival mode in which the player earns medals based on performance and improves through a progression system.
The last mode of Ever After Xrd Act is the Story Mode, which is new in the current instalment. This mode presents the full game story as a film-like animation divided into several chapters, for uninterrupted viewing. The viewer can pause the movie at any time to investigate a glossary of game terms and plot devices, which are described in the library mode.
Synopsis[]
Plot[]
The game is set one year after its predecessor, Ever After: Loveless Blade.
It all started in Sign's storyline, the first part is set in arcade mode each characters' own storyline while the second part of the storyline is set after arcade mode's storyline on console version and also served as the beginning of the final chapter.
Later in Revelator/Rev 2, the storyline is now focusing on Beast and Mary since the final chapter of Sign's story mode on console version
Characters[]
The arcade version of the game initially featured fourteen playable characters. Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Jack, Tom Thumb, Sprat, Gretel & Hansel, Rosie & Posie, Puss in Boots, Pinocchio, Miss Muffet, Dr. Crooked, Edda and Professor Cricket return from previous instalments, while four new characters, Lumiere, Dr. Cogsworth, Babette and Inspector Hood has been added. The game also features Big Bad Wolf and Bloody Red as the Boss characters who was added to the playable roster in arcades via an update. Additionally, the console versions add Chairman Humpty, Alice, Dorothy, Mary, Captain Hook, Belle and Beast as playable DLC characters, bringing the total roster count to 21. The console exclusive characters were added to the arcade version along with balance changes on March 19, 2015.
The update Revelator made balance changes and added Ichabod Crane, who was non-playable in Sign's story mode, and Black Knight along with Gen. Charming as playable characters. Another returning character, Snow Queen, was also added to the playable roster. The new character introduced in Revelator, Bloody Mary, who is a non-playable boss character in the arcade version, was announced as a DLC character for the console version. Bell from Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi is a playable guest character and the last of the six new additions to the Revelator update.
Rose Red & Snow White, on the other hand, will return as playable in an updated version of Revelator, Rev 2, followed by a new character, Cinderella.
Music[]
The opening theme of Sign is "Everlasting Overture" by Yōsei Teikoku
The ending theme of Sign is "Yoru no Otogibanashi" (夜のおとぎ話 lit. Fairytale of the Night) by Asriel
The opening theme of Revelator is "Red Hooded Killer" by BABYMETAL
The ending theme of Revelator is "Blood Moon" by Akiko Shikata