Popolocrois

PoPoLoCrois
Fantasy - RPG series
developer	SCEI , G-Artists
Publisher	Agetec Ignition Entertainment SCEI
First title	Popolocrois Monogatari (1996)
Last title	PoPoLoCrois (PSP) (2005)
Platform (s)	PlayStation , Playstation 2 , PSP
Genre (s)	role playing game

PoPoLoCrois ( Japanese. ポ ポ ロ ク ロ イ ス 物語 , Poporokuroisu monogatari ) is a video game series based on the Japanese manga series of the same name from 1978, with the various titles being released for Playstation , Playstation 2 and PSP . The manga was filmed twice as an anime series. In Europe mostly only the PSP version is known, since all previous parts were only released in Japan . The word popolocrois is a mix of the words popolo and crois , which have their origins in both Italian (popolo = people, people) and French (crois = to cross).

Games and release dates

• Popolocrois Monogatari ( July 12, 1996)
• Poporogue ( November 26, 1998)
• Popolocrois Monogatari II ( January 27, 2000)
• Popolocrois: Hajimari Bōken ( June 20, 2002)
• Popolocrois: Tsuki no Okite no Bōken ( March 18, 2004)
• PoPoLoCrois (PSP) ( February 10, 2005, May 19, 2005, December 6, 2005, June 16, 2006, June 30, 2006)

Gameplay

The game consists of completing certain missions and exploring the game world. The battles are turn-based and appear random, similar to Final Fantasy Tactics . When one of the characters begins their turn, they can move around a limited area to attack the enemy head-on or from behind.

action

The main character of the game series is Pietro, the prince of the Popolocrois kingdom. The first game, Popolocrois Monogatari , begins on the night of Pietro's 10th birthday when he discovers that his mother, who has been declared dead, is in a deep sleep from which she does not wake. Pietro sets out with the forest witch Narcia to save his mother's soul from the underworld.

This is only the beginning of the Popolocrois story on which the other games are based, but which have no history-wise connection.

The second game, PoPoRoGue (Popolocrois + Epilogue; ポ ポ ロ ー グ Poporōgu ), tells about the now 12-year-old Pietro, who sets out to free his father from the bondage of evil.

The third game, Popolocrois Monogatari II , tells the story of 15-year-old Pietro, who sets out with Narcia and other characters to free the world from the mysterious power that threatens to destroy the world.

The PSP offshoot (Japanese Popolocrois Monogatari: Pietro no Ōji no Bōken ( ポ ポ ロ ク ロ イ ス 物語 ピ ピ エ ト ロ 王子 の 冒 険 )) is a combination of the 1st and 3rd game, as well as a new scenario. These are traded as separate "books".

characters

• Pietro Pakapuka , the main character of the game, begins his adventure at the age of 10 and gets older the further the story advances. The Crown Prince of Popolocrois wears green clothes with a pendant showing the emblem of the royal family. At the age of 15, his style of clothing changed to include a gold tiara, white cape, and clothing that looked more like a uniform. He is very careful and values ​​friendships very much. Pietro has had an eye on Narcia since the first meeting. Pietro finds out that he has internalized a part of the dragon soul that he inherited from his mother, Queen Sania.
• Narcia is a forest witch who is an apprentice to her stepmother, who is also a forest witch, and helps Pietro through the entire adventure. Narcia is completely dressed in pink. At the beginning of the game she is described as shy and reserved, but when she meets Pietro, her character changes. She has fallen in love with the prince and is often vigilant about protecting him. She later turns out to be a fairy , which explains her two-pointed hat under which she hides her antennae.
• Kai is Narcia's alter ego , which she transforms into as soon as she comes in contact with salt water. Guilda, her stepmother, told her that if she came into contact with salt water as a forest witch, she would die. Guilda gave Narcia the treasure of the forest witches, a golden key, with which it is possible for her to transform into a human, Kai. She can keep her secret a secret from Pietro and the White Knight for a while, but by an unfortunate accident she later reveals her true personality.
• Don & Gon are soldiers who were sent by Pietro's father to protect his son in his endeavors. But they are very cowardly and run away at the slightest sign of danger. They are not brothers, although this is first assumed.
• The White Knight is only known by this pseudonym and the real name is unclear. In the course of the game he meets Pietro and Narcia and stays with them until the end of the first game or book. Then he reappears when Pietro, Don and Gon go to the mine in Pasela to kill the dragon there. He later leaves the group when a baby dragon has chosen him as a mother so that she can find a new home in the land of dragons.
• GamiGami Devil is a somewhat unbalanced dwarf who can neither read nor write, but is a technical genius who builds robots and huge cities and loves greasy food. He has an aversion to Pietro and his family but has a mad crush on Narcia, who does not return his love. In the third game or third book, he kidnaps Jilva and lets her play role-playing games disguised as Narcia. He later realizes that Narcia is Kai. However, he is not in love with Kai. Nobody knows why.
• Queen Sania Pakapuka is Pietro's mother. She is a dragon in human form. Sania dies when Maira takes possession of her body. Queen Sania's father is the Great Dragon.
• Kimendoji is a typical samurai that Pietro, Narcia and GamiGami Devil meet on Sword Mountain while searching for Pietro's father, who is the Dark Lion King at the time . He supports the group in battle and then leaves them again for three years after the Dark Lion King was destroyed and Pietro's father was freed from the evil force. He returns when Pietro and Narcia want to find out where the children disappeared after visiting a certain circus . Despite his appearance, Kimendoji is afraid of puppies.
• Jilva is a princess who lives in Roma, the land of music. She is very extroverted and direct, and acts like a pubescent girl. She falls in love with Pietro when she learns that he is the hero of Popolocrois.
• Leona first appears in the game as a black tiger who is held captive by the circus. She transforms back into her human form when Pietro and his friends kill the circus boss, who is one of Maira's henchmen. She is very strong and skilled with a bow and arrow. She can also talk to animals, which is a skill inherited from her mother. She is in love with the White Knight.
• Gabo is a tiny baby dragon who chose the White Knight to be his mother. He is a very underdeveloped character with few hitpoints and very weak attacks. But in the course of the game there are several ways to acquire special skills through hidden side missions. Gabo does not know that Pietro killed his mother, the earth dragon.
• Eisdämon ( Ice Demon ) was once the ruler of the north country and master of ice magic. In the past, he attacked Popolocrois but was prevented by a dragon, Pietro's mother, from completely destroying the world. He is the boss of the first game or book I.
• Maira is the final boss in the last part of the game series. She was once the goddess of beauty, but because of her envy and hatred of anything more beautiful than her, her father turned her into an ugly monster and banished her from heaven. Maira swore vengeance against her father, so that she woke up an ancient demon , Barbaran, and with him almost destroyed the whole world.

Anime

The game was adapted as an anime television series by TMS Entertainment under the direction of Yōsuke Tamori. The 26 episodes ran from October 5, 2003 to March 28, 2004 on TV Tokyo .

The background music comes from Kōichirō Kameyama. For the first 13 episodes the piece of music Träumerei ( ト ロ イ メ ラ イ , Toroimerai ) and the credits Tsuki Sen'ichi Ya ( 月 千 一夜 ) were used, both composed, written and sung by Rurutia . For the remaining episodes, Tomodachi no Uta ( と も だ ち の 歌 ) was composed, texted and sung by Core of Soul in the opening credits , and Sakuramioka ( 桜 見 丘 ) by Local Bus in the credits .