■What is Absented Age?
Absented Age is a fresh mix of genres: an action RPG outside of combat that becomes a roguelike-style strategy RPG during combat.
If you touch a foe, get an advance attack in, or get jumped yourself, you’ll transition directly to turn-based combat, with any surrounding enemies joining the fray.
Dodge and weave through a flurry of hundreds of unique skills and items, and take down formidable monsters while dressing up your characters in a variety of outfits!
The interactive music performed by the protagonists’ Tea Ceremony Band Club adds even more immersion to the story.
★This game is the sequel to the previous title, Squarebound, and allows you to carry over your save data from the original.
The acclaimed tutorial returns in this installment as well, so even first-time players should feel at ease.
In this outing, making strategic use of Assist Summons, which let you call upon friends you’ve bonded with throughout the story to fight alongside you, and Change Summons, which allow you to temporarily switch characters to overcome difficult situations, will be key to your success.
Master advanced techniques that transcend genres — such as semi-charged attacks, counters, perfect guards, and directional influence: show off your very own ultimate, stylish gameplay.
You are free to share or stream gameplay of this title as long as you follow the separately provided guidelines.
■Story
Having lost both your memories and physical form, you awaken as a ghostly girl in the mysterious alternate world of memories known as the “Forbidden Domain.”
Together with the spirit Tart whom you meet there, you begin gathering fragments of your memory — only to discover that you were once a trumpet player named Karen, who dreamed of performing at Chōrakusai, this summer’s major music festival.
You also learn that, even now, despite rumors of your death spreading through the world, your bandmates are desperately continuing their search for you.
After fierce battles with the mysterious anomalies known as Gengers (beings that prey upon the heart in both the city and the Forbidden Domain) you manage to reclaim half of the lost fragments of your heart.
With the aid of Yayoi, a spirit wielder from the secretive Elysio Church, you gain a means to manifest in the real world once more—imperfect, yet tangible.
And so, the stage shifts to a school where many of Karen’s memories lie waiting.
But there, in the depths of the sea of memory, another anomaly awaits. One that holds the key to your past…
■Highlights
◆Cooperation with Allies
From Hayato, who turns difficult situations into opportunities with powerful counterattack skills, to Suzu, who excels at siege-style combat centered around autonomous deployable turrets…
The bonds you’ve formed with your allies throughout the story manifest within the Forbidden Domain via spirit stones, lending you powerful support on your journey.
The field actions available to you during exploration and action gameplay depends on the equipped spirit stones, greatly expanding your strategic options.
Use spirit arts to instantly switch the combat style of your partner, the spirit Tart.
Take advantage of the newly added skill tree to enhance your strengths with skills such as follow-up attacks and automatic healing.
◆Extensive Equipment and Outfit Customization
Lots of new equipment with original illustrations.
As in the previous title, this game features a massive variety of abnormal status effect variations and equipment slots for lots of customization.
Each time you obtain a previously acquired piece of equipment, its proficiency level increases.
This proficiency is retained even if the item is lost, so feel free to try out new combinations without worry and enjoy customizing your appearance.
————【For Japanese-speaking players】————
This version of “Absented Age 2: Ghostbound”, developed by terunon’s Lab, includes a built-in English ⇔ Japanese language toggle.
Please note that the content of the game, including all additional features, is identical to the original Japanese release.
(Additional content such as the Arcade Mode was already released in the August 2023 v2.00 “Strategy Festival Commemorative Update.”)
You can instantly swap between Japanese and English at any time during the game by pressing the @ key or L3 Button (can be changed).
If you’re interested in playing games in other languages, we hope you’ll consider giving the English version a try.
The English translation was graciously provided by vgperson.
From scenes packed with emotion to humorous worded item descriptions, may you enjoy the intricacies the wonderful translation.
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■Check out our previous title here.
[International] Absented Age: Squarebound
