Rance (game series)

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Rance ( Japanese ラ ン ス , ransu ) is a game series developed by Alice Soft , exclusive to Japan, which belongs to the group of computer role-playing games and eroge . The main character is the title-giving character Rance. The game series started in 1989 and is one of the longest existing and still functional game series with pornographic content. All of these games up to and including Kichikuou Rance are officially made available free of charge by Alice Soft.

Game series

Rance

Rance: Hikari o Motomete (Japanese 光 を も と め て , "Rance: Quest for Hikari", "Rance: The search for Hikari") was Alice Soft's debut title under this name and was first published in July 1989 for the MSX released; Before that, the company operated under the name "Champion Soft" and was already developing eroge back then. This was followed by a publication in 1990 for Windows 3.x , as well as an English unofficial translation as a patch for Rance: Hikari o Motomete on January 21, 2011. In this game, Rance and his magician slave Sill Plain are looking for Hikari, the kidnapped and missing daughter of a noble family.

Hikari ("light"), the red-haired girl from the intro has been kidnapped. Rance receives a mission from his boss to investigate this case. Rance is not alone and is supported accordingly by his 16-year-old slave Sill. She comes from a wealthy family, but was kidnapped by bandits and bought by Rance at auction. In this story he is kind of a detective, which makes this title more like a detective / exploration game. Later parts focus on the strategic or role play technical aspect. Together, Rance and Sill must solve the mystery of Hikari's disappearance and bring those responsible to justice.

A new edition of Rance, called Rance 01: Hikari o Motomete (Japanese 光 を も と め て , "Rance 01: Quest for Hikari") was published on September 27, 2013. This includes a new gameplay system and improved graphics. Various matters have been retrospectively changed ( retconned ) to match the newer games.

Rance II

Rance II: Hangyaku no Shōjotachi (Japanese 反逆 の 少女 た ち , "Rance II: Rebel Girls", "Rance II: Rebel Girls")

After ten years of training, the young, female students of the old magician Ragithis rebelled and killed him. This locked the city underground with a barrier spell that prevented anyone from leaving the city. Rance and Sill appear at this time and accept the task of defeating the sorcerers and saving the city. He finds out that the real criminal was Ragithis himself. He put a magic ring on each of the four virgins. These give the bearers great magical powers, but can also steal the magic from the virgins. After gathering the magical powers of 40 virgins, these rings would promise endless power to everyone.

The 20th anniversary compilation by Alice Soft Alicesoft 2010 included Rance 02, a new edition with new graphics and sound. Here, too, various elements have been changed retrospectively. In Rance II the "Hanny" race is affected by magic, but not in Rance 02: Here they are immune.

Rance III

Rance III: Leazas Kanraku (Japanese リ ー ザ ス 陥 落 , Ransu III -Rīzasu Kanraku-, "Rance III: The Fall of Leazas", "Rance III: The Fall of Leazas")

The nation of Leazas is suddenly attacked by the Helman Kingdom. Prince Patton von Helman is looking for the sacred weapons of Leazas: armor, sword and shield. With this, he wants to unseal one of the two strongest swords in the world: the demonic blade of Chaos. Queen Lia Leazas sends a message to the current bearer of the holy arms, Rance. This should save them and recapture Leazas' lost territory. However, Rance has pawned it and is on his way to get it back.

Rance III was translated into English on December 26, 2012 by a fan translator named Tulip Goddess Maria.

Rance IV

Rance IV: Kyōdan no Isan (Japanese 教 団 の 遺産 , "Rance IV: Legacy of the Sect", "Rance IV: Legacy of the Sect")

Rance and Sill are in a floating city. This game was translated into English in 2013.

Rance 4.1

Rance 4.1: Okusuri Kōjyō o Sukue! (jap. お 薬 工場 を 救 え! , "Rance 4.1: Save the Medicine Plant!", "Rance 4.1: Save the medicine factory!")

A side story in the Rance series, which is dedicated to a factory developing "satisfaction" medicine. Rance was hired to investigate. This game was translated into English on January 25, 2014.

Rance 4.2

Rance 4.2: Angel Gumi (Japanese エ ン ジ ェ ル 組 , "Rance 4.2: Angel Group", "Rance 4.2: Angel Group")

A direct sequel to Rance 4.1. Rance and his followers attack the headquarters of the "Angel Group", a gang of monsters that attack the "Happiness Pharmaceuticals". The game was translated into English on March 28, 2014.

Kichikuō Rance

Kichikuō Rance (Japanese 鬼畜 王 ラ ン ス , "Brute King Rance", "Brutal King Rance")

This game is not part of the official Rance Universe timeline and splits up as a "what-if" episode after the events of 4.2. Rance leads a group of bandits attacked by the Helman Army; Sill is captured in the process. Desperate, Rance flees across the border to marry Lia, Queen of Leazas. Then he uses his new kingdom to exact vengeance, free Sill and possibly conquer the land as well. The game was translated into English on September 13, 2014.

Rance 5D

Rance 5D: Hitoribocchi no Onnanoko (Japanese ひ と り ぼ っ ち の 女 の 子 , "Rance 5D: Lonely Girl", "Rance 5D: Lonely Girl")

Rance is lost together with Sill in a dungeon and must escape to begin a new adventure.

Rance VI

Rance VI: Zesu Hōkai (Japanese ゼ ス 崩 壊 , "Rance VI: Collapse of Zeth", "Rance VI: Fall of Zeth")

Rance is thrown into a slave camp while Sill is treated like a VIP. A bitter rance joins a resistance group to overthrow the Zeth government. Meanwhile, a greater evil conspires to use the resistance group to their advantage and to conquer the whole human realm.

The game was released on August 27, 2004. It contains, at least in relation to the other Alice Soft games, new 3D graphics for exploring dungeons.

Sengoku Rance

Sengoku Rance (Japanese 戦 国 ラ ン ス , "Warring States Rance", "Warring States Rance") is the seventh game in the series and was released on December 15, 2006. It is the first game without a number in the title, although in the game itself the name "Rance VII" is displayed in the background of the title screen and on the game card. The game takes place in a country called " ＪＡＰＡＮ " (written in large western letters). It is clearly inspired by the Sengoku period .

After Zeth was saved from the final destruction by Rance, he goes to JAPAN to enjoy a vacation at the hot springs. But soon he encounters a new challenge: the unification of the country, a gay demon apostle, murderous dangos and the stopping of two old evil entities that haunt the country. And maybe he'll also become a father.

The game includes alternative real versions of real characters, including: Oda Nobunaga , Shibata Katsuie , Maeda Toshiie , Niwa Nagahide , Akechi Mitsuhide , Uesugi Kenshin , Naoe Kanetsugu , Takeda Shingen , Tokugawa Ieyasu , Imagawa Yoshimoto , Date Masamune , Asakura Yoshikage , Mori Motonari , Shimazu Yoshihisa , Hōjō Sōun , Sakamoto Ryouma , Yamamoto Isoroku and Franz Xaver .

Sengoku Rance was ranked first in Getchu.com's 2006 Bishōjo ranking, fifth in music, sixth in scenario and seventh in visuals, and fourth in the overall category.

Rance Quest

Rance Quest (Japanese ラ ン ス ・ ク エ ス ト , "Ransu Kuesuto") is the sequel to Sengoku Rance. It is a dungeon crawler RPG that was released on August 26, 2011 in Japan. The title and logo parody the Dragon Quest series.

Rance visits Kalar Forest to find a way to free Sill from her ice prison; An incident from Sengoku Rance. In doing so, he has a curse that prevents him from having sex with a woman whose level is below 35. When he finally does, the woman's level immediately drops back to level 1. So he has to convince the Kalar Queen to free him from this curse.

An expansion called Rance Quest Magnum (Japanese ラ ン ス ・ ク エ ス ト マ グ ナ ム , "Ransu Kuesuto Magunamu") was released on February 24, 2012. It includes the original Rance Quest and adds new scenarios, items, characters and a new route. Some errors are corrected and the system is improved somewhat.

Rance IX

Ransu IX Heruman Kakumei (Japanese ヘ ル マ ン 革命 , "Rance IX: The Helman Revolution") is the sequel to Rance Quest. It was released on April 25, 2014. The story is about Rance's conquest of the Helman Empire by teaming up with the rebels. These are led by the exiled Prince Patton Misnarge. The game features seven "main" heroines and is systematically similar to Fire Emblem and Advance Wars .

universe

The Rance series takes place in a world with a diameter of 2000 km and was created by the god Rood Rassam ル ド ラ サ ウ ム to entertain him.

  • The major countries of the continent speak a common language.
  • The continental currency is gold, abbreviated as "G". Rance 4 mentions that one piece of gold equals 100 yen , but this doesn't seem to be constant.
  • The world has no electricity, instead uses magic as a source of energy.
  • The sun and moon rotate around the continent.
  • The continent is not surrounded by an ocean, but there is a tidal current every 10 years, after which the continent is surrounded by sea for a short time.
  • A UFO lands in Sengoku Rance from which a woman in human form emerges. Rance can help her and fix her UFO.

Other media

The first animation was a two-episode OVA released in 1994 called "Rance: Sabaku no Guardian". They have a story of their own: Rance is hired to eliminate a band of bandits called "Green Scorpion", who attack the city every full moon to kidnap virgin girls.

The second animation, Rance: Hikari o Motomete The Animation , was released on December 26, 2014. The story of the first episode is based on the remake of the first game. This anime is included in the hentai genre .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Summary of the game series and Rance Quest (Japanese)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.alicesoft.com  
  2. ↑ ア リ ス ソ フ ト ア ー カ イ ブ ズ - Archive of Alice Soft Games (Japanese)
  3. ↑ List of games by Alice Soft (Japanese) ( Memento of the original from January 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.alicesoft.com
  4. ↑ Champion Soft on VNDB - The Visual Novel Database
  5. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rancetranslation.wordpress.com
  6. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rancetranslation.wordpress.com
  7. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rancetranslation.wordpress.com
  8. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rancetranslation.wordpress.com
  9. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / arunarutranslatescrap.wordpress.com
  10. ↑ 2006 年 美 少女 ゲ ー ム ラ ン キ ン グ 結果 発 表 ( Japanese ) Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  11. ↑ http://blog.alicesoft.com/archives/3798193.html
  12. ↑ エ ロ ア ニ メ 「ラ ン ス 01 光 を も と め て THE ANIMATION」 は 特 典 が 超 豪華 ( yes ) December 26, 2014. Accessed June 7, 2016.