is an action role-playing game developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The game was released in Japan in May 2011, in PAL territories in April 2012 and in North America by Xseed Games in April 2013. Focusing on the efforts of protagonist Aeron to rid his love Elena of a curse that is turning her into a monster, the player explores thirteen towers, solving environmental puzzles and taking part in platforming while battling enemies—a key part of gameplay is the Oraclos Chain, a weapon that aids in both combat and navigation. Depending on the strength of Aeron's relationship with Elena, multiple endings can be reached.
Development began in 2006 following the completion of Jump Ultimate Stars as Ganbarion's first original title. The main concept was born from the desire to create a game scenario based around purification and love. Character numbers and plot twists were kept to a minimum to focus attention on Elena's plight. Due to recurring problems implementing the relationship mechanics and working with the Wii's controls, Pandora's Tower went through an extended development period. Despite releasing in Europe, Nintendo did not announce a plan for a North American release. Xseed Games would later pick up the title for a release in that region. Pandora's Tower had modest commercial success and was met with mixed to positive reviews; praise went to the story and elements of combat, while the graphics and character development were faulted.
Gameplay
Pandora's Tower is an action role-playing game where players take the role of Aeron as he explores a fortress called the Thirteen Towers, suspended above a ravine known as the Scar, on a quest to cure his lover Elena of a curse. Aeron can be controlled through both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk or the Classic Controller. The base from which Aeron explores the Thirteen Towers is the Observatory, a building on the edge of the Scar. In the Observatory, Aeron can save his progress, and interact with Elena and the merchant Mavda. The main objective when inside the Thirteen Towers is the reach the Masters, powerful monsters housed at the top of each tower in a locked room which act as the game's bosses. These rooms must be accessed by solving puzzles throughout each Tower to unlock the door. On his way through the Towers, Aeron must fight numerous smaller enemies: he can perform a basic melee attack, and a charged attack which deals higher damage and will trigger additional attacks if the player times a button press with the appearance of a targeting ring around Aeron.
Aeron's main weapon is the Oraclos Chain, an artifact that can be used in multiple ways: it can tie up enemies, bind enemies together so they share damage taken when Aeron attacks, and swing them around Aeron to deal damage. The Chain can also be used to rip armor or materials from enemies. The Chain's attack power increases the longer it is pulled when attached to an enemy. In addition to the Oraclos Chain, Aeron has access to multiple subweapons, such as a sword. Puzzles within the Towers include activating levers and switches, manipulating platforms, triggering special mechanisms unique to each Tower environment, and climbing along walls and beams to reach other areas within the Towers. The Chain is essential to these puzzles, being used as a grappling hook and a rope from which Aeron can swing from one platform to another. Elements within the Towers, such as what enemies are active and what items may be found, vary with the time of day Aeron visits them.
While Aeron is within the Towers, a time counter is displayed, showing the advancement of Elena's curse. As Aeron defeats both normal enemies and the Masters of each Tower, he gathers flesh from them which he must give to Elena to eat and reverse the curse's effects, resetting the timer: the amount of reversion is dependent on the quality of flesh, which deteriorates over time after being extracted. Elena's state is also tied to the Affinity gauge; giving her flesh, talking with her, giving her gifts and asking her to help with tasks raise the meter, but delaying reverting Elena's transformation causes it to decrease. The strength of Aeron's relationship with Elena directly impacts the game's ending. Items and equipment are created and stored in the Observatory, with Mavda using materials brought back from the Towers to create new equipment for Aeron. She can also repair equipment that has been damaged in combat while equipped to Aeron, and upgrade existing weapons and equipment with new materials. If the time limit is exceeded and Elena completes her transformation, or Aeron falls in battle, the game ends and restarts from the last active save.
Synopsis Setting and characters Pandora's Tower is set on the fictional continent of Imperia: once divided into ten kingdoms, the now-nomadic Vestra tribe were stripped of their kingdom. The dominant religion of Imperia is Aios, a polytheistic system worshiping nature as personified by twelve deities. Though once united through the ancient War of Unification which began the Unified Era, Imperia has seen recent conflicts as three kingdoms sought to break free from the powerful kingdom of Elyria.
During the game's present, the war has ended but tensions are still high on both sides. The game's primary setting is the Okanos region at the Thirteen Towers, a giant fortress suspended above a giant chasm called the Scar, held in place by thirteen giant chains said to keep the Scar from growing. Initially built five centuries before, a disastrous magical experiment caused the Towers to be infested by monsters. Fifty years prior to the start of the game, a new experiment involving the monsters triggers the Scar's creation.
The main protagonist is Aeron, a former soldier from the kingdom of Athos. Three years prior to the start of the game, a wounded Aeron was given shelter by Elena, an Elyrian. Despite their countries being at war, Elena nurses him and the two eventually became lovers. They are accompanied on their journey to the Thirteen Towers by Mavda, a woman of the Vestra tribe who is the current guardian of the Towers. Her tribe have the ability to manipulate the chains of fate, and gives Aeron the Oraclos Chain weapon to both aid him in his quest and maintain a connection with Elena.
Plot While singing at Elyria's Harvest Festival, Elena is struck by a curse that forces her to flee the Elyrian army with Aeron. They are led by Mavda to the Thirteen Towers, with Elena having been partially transformed into a monster by this point. Mavda reveals that the only way to lift the curse from Elena and prevent her transformation is to feed her the flesh of "Masters", powerful beings living inside the Towers. Given the Oraclos Chain, Aeron explores the Towers and kills each of its Masters, returning to give their flesh to Elena. Each time she eats Master Flesh, she receives visions detailing the events behind the Towers' creations. Five hundred years before, in an attempt to end the War of Unification, the people of Elyria and the Vestra decided to embody the twelve deities of Imperia in physical forms—the Towers' Masters—with a thirteenth vessel providing balance between them in a project dubbed Experiment Zero.
A husband and wife who had lost their son as a result of the war offered themselves as the raw material of the final Master, but the woman's unknown pregnancy caused an imbalance that transformed the Masters into monsters. The husband and baby were rescued using the Oraclos Chain, but the wife became Zeron, a dark monster consumed with a want to reunite with her descendant and bring 'peace' to the land. The Vestra sealed the Masters in the Towers and guarded them, while the wife's child eventually became Aeron's ancestor. The wife's jealous want of her descendants caused her to curse people who grew close to them, with Elena being the latest victim of the curse. The Vestra brought each afflicted person to the Towers in the hopes that the Masters would be destroyed and Experiment Zero ended: Mavda was the latest guardian of the Towers. Four hundred and fifty years later, the Elyrian Army recreated the Masters as living weapons: without the knowledge and help of the Vestra, the Elyrians instigated a drastic geological upheaval that created the Scar, which acted as a portal to the netherworld.
Endings Depending on the players actions and the strength of Aeron's relationship with Elena, the game has six possible endings. If the counter runs out and Elena is consumed by the curse, Aeron returns to find her transformed into a monster, and allows himself to be killed by her. Leading an army of monsters, Elena unites Elyria under her rule. This scene is a "Game Over" scenario. Ending D: Broken Chain: Following the defeat of the Ninth Master, Elena attacks Aeron and then begins to transform, forcing him to kill her to put an end to her misery before she could complete her transformation. In the epilogue, it is revealed that the Thirteen Towers' curse continued, and that Elena and Aeron were forgotten. Ending C: Still Together: Returning after defeating the final two Masters, Aeron finds Elena in a monstrous form and is forced to fight her in a final boss battle. After defeating her and temporarily returning her to normal, they are then captured by the Elyrian army, who were led to them by Mavda. Mavda suggests using Elena's new powers, guided by her continued love for Aeron, to unite Imperia under Elyria's rule. The epilogue reveals that this did happen. Ending B: All For You: After eating all the Master Flesh, Elena becomes Zeron's host, and Aeron fights her on top of the Thirteen Towers. Despite returning to human form, Elena says Zeron is still inside her, and to end Experiment Zero she commits suicide by throwing herself into the Scar as Mavda closes it. This succeeds in cleansing the plague, but Aeron wonders if Elena could have still been saved. Ending A: Together Forever: Events play out as in Ending B, but Zeron explains that the Scar was created to stop Elyria from creating biological weapons. Despite Zeron's defeat, Elena is still cursed, and decides to end Experiment Zero. Aeron chooses to join her, and the two throw themselves into the Scar, using the chain to close it as they fall. The epilogue reveals that the land continued to be plagued by war, and that the Vestra passed down Aeron and Elena's tale as a legend. Ending S: Unbreakable Bond: Events proceed roughly as in Ending A, except that Elena is purged of the curse. Aeron must then destroy a monstrous Zeron, saving Elena one last time. The two then leave while Mavda uses the chain to destroy the Thirteen Towers, sacrificing herself to end their evils. In the epilogue, it is revealed that the kingdoms manage to end the War of Independence after the closing of the Scar, the Vestra are granted new lands to settle on by Elyria after Elyria's king receives a letter from Mavda detailing events at the Towers, and Aeron and Elena lived happily together.
Development