Soulmaster

Soulmaster (ソウルマスター) is one of Koei's original fantasy games. Like Metamode or Garakutale, this title is targeted to appeal to younger audiences with its monster collection aspect. The game was made during the party game's reemergence to popularity in Japan, following the trends of titles such as the Itadaki Street or Momotaro Dentetsu series.

Junko Taguchi designed and illustrated the characters and monsters in this game. MASA is the game's sound and music composer.

Plot
During ancient times, there once lived thirteen sorcerers. After they were chased away from their homes, they decided to abandon earth and create their own paradise, a magical world called Aster. To make the world of magic more homely, the sorcerers decided to create various beings using their magic, such as dwarves, elves, and unicorns. The sorcerers decided to pass their souls and powers onto a new race of cats, entrusting these beings with human sentience and magic. The sorcerers' bodies faded away, but their souls live on to sustain Aster. They are worshiped as founding deities in Aster.

Three hundred years later, the other magical beings felt threatened by the cat beings' existence, and a war was waged between the countries in Aster. The result of their long war ended with the cat beings victorious and a split in the land's hierarchy. The rebellious monster factions were sealed away to a land called the Wall of Fog, and peace under the cats' reign was secured. However, the wars cost the survivors the proper knowledge to sustain the magic from their creators. In an attempt to preserve what magics they still had, the cat people created magic academies.

Students within magic academies not only practice and learn sorcery, as they also possess the power to train monsters in their command. The cat sorcerers are regularly given requests from local villages to suppress monsters troubling residents. Every sorcerer dreams of becoming a Soulmaster, a elite master of magic.

Gameplay
The general flow of the game is split into two main phases.

Story
One-player only four chapter story mode. Presents the game's main story scenario via still images and text bubbles. The story splits twice during chapters, allowing the player the choice to play another path.

Continue
Lets the players load from a previous save in Story.

Multiplay
Presents customizable stages for one or four-man games. Randomizes monsters in an area.

VS
Players can compete against one another using monsters found in their respective save slots.

Album
Gallery mode for collected monsters from a particular save. Includes card illustration and a rotational 3D model for monster actions.

Option
Lets players turn off sounds, music, or battle sequences. Text can be either manual or auto and the sound quality can either be stereo or mono.

Main Cast

 * Gray (male) or Elma (female)
 * The default names for the protagonists (names can be changed). He/She is a new sorcerer who eagerly seeks to become a Soulmaster. Neither protagonist is pictured in promotional media, but they act as the player characters for two players in the game.


 * Kasshu
 * Hot-blooded and rowdy, Kasshu is a sixteen-year old youth who is prone to quarreling rather than negotiating complexities. Months before his country sent him to become a sorcerer, he was a proficient hunter. Therefore, he has an uncommonly strong physique compared to his comrades.


 * Rosetta
 * A fifteen-year old maiden who is quite the bookworm. She prefers to learn the ancient texts of the academy rather than practice magic. Rosetta is a collected and gentle character who lives life at a leisurely pace. She prefers not to perpetuate conflict.


 * Li On
 * Li On carries the mantle of nobility at all times, thinking that his classmates are beneath him. A cool and impassive seventeen-year old chap, he doesn't mince words and rarely voices his thoughts. His proficient sorcery stifles others from completely belittling him.


 * Azalea
 * Like Li On, Azalea is a young woman who lived her childhood in nobility. Her family poses as members of the wealthy merchant class, but she is actually a princess of a lost kingdom. A high-and-mighty drama queen, Azalea joined the academy to avoid marrying a man thirty years her senior.


 * Leifahn
 * Once this sixteen-year old youth graduated from his tutoring, his countrymen decided to anoint him as his country's elite oracle. As his country's representative in the magic academy, Leifahn conducts himself with a chivalrous and amicable attitude to those he meets, striving to always help those in need. Even so, he secretly yearns to be freed from his dictated life.


 * Tikka
 * Energetic, cheerful, and a bit clumsy, Tikka is the youngest daughter and designated successor of a reigning lord in her country. She has no magical talents, but she wants to try her best. Tikka is accidentally admitted to the academy when she lost her way home.

Sub Characters

 * Ryula
 * As the president of the magic academy, Ryula is an adept sorcerer who has the mystical power to view the past, present and future from her crystal ball. She cannot leave the academy unprotected so she asks her students to act on her behalf.


 * Angela
 * A teacher at the magic academy, Angela is the one who oversees her students' progress. She gives the main cast advice and tips to help them understand their craft.


 * Wayne
 * Wayne is Angela's older brother and Leifahn's mentor within the sorcerer committee. He acts as Leifahn's somewhat forgetful role model, though he has absolute faith in his star pupil.


 * Harl
 * A dark cloaked man of mystery, Harl is a teacher secretly dispatched by the sorcerer committee to observe the main cast's progress. Since he doesn't explain his mission to the protagonists, they mistake him as the criminal perpetrator of their requests throughout the majority of the story.


 * Radgliff
 * Radgliff is a member of Angela's thieves guild who fluctuates between supporting or antagonizing the main cast. Later in the story, it is revealed that he wants to break down the Wall of Fog to free his imprisoned country.


 * Hanon
 * As the oracle closest to the Wall of Fog, he fears the day when it may collapse. Hanon is convinced that the only solution to protecting Aster on judgment day is to merge the countries under his rule. He thinks his ambition has enough resources to protect everyone against the evil that could be unleashed.

Related Media
Koei released a master guidebook for this game. Aside from including maps and a list of the game's monsters, it includes full body illustrations and information for the characters who appear in the game.