Sands of Destruction is a 2008 role-playing video game developed by Imageepoch and published by Sega for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in 2008, and in North America in 2010. Set in a desert world where humans are ruled over and persecuted by the anthropomorphic Ferals, the story revolves around protagonist Kyrie after learning he holds the power to destroy the world. Gameplay features exploration of the game world from a top-down perspective, and a turn-based combat system incorporating real-time mechanics.
The game was created as an RPG with an unconventional story premise, though darker aspects of its story draft were toned down for a wider audience. Notable staff included writer Masato Kato, artists Kunihiko Tanaka and Kimihiko Fujisaka, and co-composer Yasunori Mitsuda. The game was supported by a Production I.G-produced anime series and a manga which featured different interpretations of the same world and characters. Japanese pop band AAA composed theme songs for the game and anime. Reception of the game was mixed, with the one common point of praise being the soundtrack.
Gameplay
Sands of Destruction is a role-playing video game in which players control a group led by protagonist Kyrie across a desert world, their progress through the game dictated by the main storyline quest. The game world is navigated from a top-down perspective: characters are represented with 2D sprites within 3D environments with a rotatable in-game camera. The player party goes between safe town areas, housing facilities and shops where equipment and weapons can be bought, and dungeon environments which contain puzzles and hostile encounters. These are selected from a world map. Towards the game's end, a number of optional quests are available to complete.
Combat is triggered through random encounters in dungeons. The combat scene covers both of the Nintendo DS screens, with ground and air-based enemies appearing on different screens. In battle, a party of three characters faces the enemy group. The combat uses a turn-based system with real-time elements. When a character's turn appears, the player inputs a sequence of attacks the current party member then performs: depending on type, attacks will take varying amounts of a character's Battle Points. Battle Points are limited, and vary depending on a semi-hidden Morale mechanic. After landing six attacks, the party member automatically uses either a special move or a magic spell. Landing ten attacks in a row or a critical hit grants additional Battle Points to the character, while using all Battle Points unlocks a final powerful attack triggered using a quick time event. Using a resource dubbed SP, party members can perform special actions that can either deal damage, or provide utility and support.
After battle, the party is rewarded with experience points to raise a character's level and statistics, and Customization Points which can be used to upgrade different combat skills' accuracy or attack power. Equipment attributes can be upgraded using rare materials. Additionally, characters learn vocal lines dubbed Quips. Up to four Quips can be assigned to the character who learns them. They can grant boons such as increased battle rewards, or boosting attack or defence.
Synopsis Setting and characters Sands of Destruction is set on a desert world that is periodically destroyed and reborn by an ancient force tied to a power dubbed the Destruct Code and guarded by the four Primal Lords. In the current incarnation of the world, the population is split between humans and anthropomorphic Ferals. Ferals, ruled by the Twelve Beast Lords, mostly treat humans as a slave class. In response to this, two human-centric factions emerge: the World Annihilation Front who seek to find the Destruct Code and destroy the world, and the Golden Lions who oppose the Ferals but wish to preserve the world. To oppose them, the Beast Lords create the World Salvation Committee to defend the current system.
The main characters are members of the World Annihilation Front. The protagonist is Kryie, a peaceful-minded young man orphaned from birth who has lived a sheltered existence with friendly Ferals. He becomes allied with Morte, an outwardly cheery woman determined to destroy and restart the world due to it appearing beyond salvation. The pair are joined by Agan Mardrus, a friend of Morte's and member of the Golden Lions; Taupy, a Feral bounty hunter with the appearance of a teddy bear; and Rhi'a Dragunel, the last of the dragon people tied to the world's beginning and end. Naja Gref, initially pursuing the World Annihilation Front before joining their ranks, is a half-Feral who suffers discrimination due to his mixed parentage.
Plot Kyrie lives in the village of Barni with his uncle, where humans and Ferals are treated as equals by their ruler the Beast Lord Ursa Rex. One day, Kyrie hears a voice which triggers a power which turns Barni and everyone there into sand, including Ursa Rex. Arrested for Barni's destruction, he is rescued by Morte and the World Annihilation Front. Morte, determined to destroy the world, attempts to sway Kyrie to her side by the oppression of humans under the Ferals. During their travels, they are joined by Taupy, an initially reluctant Agan, and by Rhi'a to observe events. The group, guided by orders from the World Annihilation Front's unknown leader, fights two of the Primal Lords so Kyrie can gain their power. Kyrie comes to care for Morte, and continues hearing the voice pushing him towards his role as the "Destruct". On orders from the World Salvation Committee, Naja pursues them to preserve the remaining Primal Lords.
Kyrie attempts to negotiate a peace between the Front, the Committee, and the Golden Lions, but his power resurfaces and destroys the surrounding area. The Primal Lord Crimson Sun, revealed to have been posing as Kyrie's uncle, appears to a despairing Kyrie and reveals his destiny to destroy the world. When Naja corners the group, Kyrie has Naja kill him as destroying the world would kill Morte. A despondent Morte is given a message from the Front's leader that Kyrie can be resurrected, and is directed to find Crimson Sun by the Beast Lord Lacertus Rex. Naja joins them, having become conflicted about his role in Kyrie's death, and the party fights the remaining Beast Lords who oppose their plan to revive Kyrie. They discover Kyrie has reverted to an energy form, refusing to manifest due to his role as the Destruct. Morte uses her own love for Kyrie to restore his human form, with Crimson Sun granting them his blessing as they have chosen to remake rather than destroy the world.
Gaining the power of the final Primal Lord, the party are summoned to Lacertus Rex, who is revealed to be the secret founder of the World Annihilation Front, having used Morte and Kyrie to recover the Destruct Code so he can remake the world in his image. They pursue Lacertus Rex to the Primal Cataract, a river of energy flowing to the Ark where the world's Creator resides. Killing Lacertus Rex, the party confronts the Creator, an artificial being who birthed Kyrie to initiate the latest cycle of destruction and rebirth. Kyrie rejects his role, and the party defeats the Creator. Using the Primal Lords' powers, Kyrie and Morte remake the world into a flourishing land where the desert sea has become an ocean of water, and humans and Ferals can leave in peace as equals.
Development Sands of Destruction was developed by Imageepoch, a Japanese developer then known for their work on the Luminous Arc series. The staff included Imageepoch founder Ryoei Mikage as director, Sega's Yoichi Shimosato as producer, scenario writer Masato Kato, and composer Yasunori Mitsuda. The concept originated when Mikage, Shimosato, Mitsuda and Kato—who all knew each other to varying degrees—got together for a lunch and Migake pitched the idea of working together on a new non-traditional RPG. As Sega was not known for RPGs, Imageepoch had greater creative freedom when designing the game. At the time the game was pitched, Mikage said there were no RPGs for the DS outside established series, with their choice of platform arising from wanting to create a title which played against genre expectations. The two-screen combat system caused trouble for the programming team, with there being a "difficult few months" before they were able to get it working correctly. Mikage later said the team's priority was "just trying to get the game out on time", leading to later quality concerns.
Kato agreed to create the scenario as there was space in his schedule. His concept, with a group of young people wanting to destroy the world rather than save it, was meant as an inversion of the typical Japanese RPG storyline. Scenario company Gekko helped with the script writing. Kato's original draft was much darker, with the Ferals using humans as food and several graphic scenes being featured. Mikage described the scenario as mirroring human attitudes towards animals. Due to concerns surrounding the DS's younger audience and fearing a harsh rating from Japan's CERO board, the story was toned down for broader appeal. Despite regrets, Shimosato felt that the developers had made the right decision in regards to marketing the game in Japan. When creating the final scenario, Kato could not portray the darker elements explicitly, incorporating humor to obfuscate the premise. Both Shimosato and Kato, while understanding the necessity, felt the darker story would have found an audience.
The characters were designed by Kunihiko Tanaka and Kimihiko Fujisaka. Additional character and art design was handled by a large team including Tsukasa Kado and Shin Nagasawa. The character Taupy was designed by Kato, whose rough sketches were liked enough by the team to be used. Kato described Morte as his favorite character, though most of the staff liked Taupy for his unconventional attitude and appearance. While the DS was typically not known for large environments and 3D graphics, Mikage wanted impressive graphics and persuaded Sega to have the game use a two-gigabit cartridge. The increased storage allowed 3D environments with a rotating camera, detailed sprites, three hundred cutscenes including CGI sequences, and extensive voice acting. The CGI scenes were co-produced by Image Corporation, Sanzigen and Dynamo Pictures. The CGI character models were created by freelance designer Satoshi Ueda. 2D graphics were retained to create a "nostalgic" atmosphere. The sound programming was handled by Procyon Studio's Hidenori Suzuki. The Japanese cast featured prominent voice actors including Mamoru Miyano (Kyrie), Maaya Sakamoto (Morte), Tōru Furuya (Taupy), Yui Ichikawa (Rhi'a), Hiro Mizushima (Naja), and Hiroyuki Yoshino (Agan).
Release Sands of Destruction, known as World Destruction in Japan, was announced in April 2008. As part of its promotion, an eighteen-episode radio program was broadcast between July and October 2008, featuring guests from the game's production team and cast. The full Japanese title translates to World Destruction: Guided Wills. The game was released in Japan by Sega on September 25, 2008. It was later supplemented with a guidebook published by Enterbrain in October 2008, and an artbook published by Kotobukiya in March 2009.