Kiniro no Corda 2

Kiniro no Corda 2 (金色のコルダ2, officially called La Corda d'oro 2) is the direct sequel to Kiniro no Corda. Many of the game mechanics introduced in this title remained as the backbone for other Corda titles. Its general system is used with a few alterations in MISS PRINCESS: Miss Puri! and Geten no Hana.

Since the first Corda was dedicated to the romance of music, the main goal for this title is to express "the power of friendship and trust" which can be found in music. Ruby Party members specifically state the invisible chains which bind people together (絆, kizuna) is a metaphor for the "corda" (string) for an stringed instrument. Developers sought to appease written fan requests by simplifying the difficult learning curve.

The Premium Box includes an illustration book of the event stills, a CD for the music with audio character introductions, and original stationary. Consumers who purchased the game using Gamecity Shopping service obtained ten character postcards.

Plot
Seiso Academy's annual spring concour was a resounding success, and the Fata faded from the contestants' view. Five months later, the concour contestants somehow reunite with Lili. Although the students continue to celebrate music through concerts, his powers are strangely weakening. The cause is later revealed to be a permanent split of Seiso's dual curriculum by dividing the academy into two different schools. The protagonist can no longer use the magic violin's magic, but she is determined to keep playing it to help prove the value found in Seiso's current system.

Gameplay
After the naming process for the protagonist is completed, the player can alter the game's difficulty. Easy and Normal are given by default. Their first free song can be selected during the introduction sequence. The player can move the protagonist anywhere on the bird's eye map once the story exposition, time constraints, and requirements for each of the four concerts are explained. Movement acts in the same manner as the previous title, and more locations become available as concerts are completed. Menu BGM and GUI alterations occur for each concert.

Time passes through specific phases and cycles each weekday: Morning ⇒ Lunch ⇒ After school ⇒ Night.
 * Morning - the player can alter the protagonist's alarm to wake up for special character greetings. Specific characters are likely to be seen during different times of the morning. Tsuchiura can appear at any time with average frequency.
 * 7:00: Hihara, Amou, Kanazawa
 * 7:30: Yunoki
 * 8:00: Tsukimori, Shimizu, Kaji, Fuyumi


 * Lunchtime - one time break. Press cancel for a choice to skip events.
 * Afterschool - Free-time with three practice sessions. When sessions are spent, the day turns to night.
 * Night - walk back home. If a male character likes the protagonist, he may offer to escort her back home. Otherwise she heads back to her room. Once she sleeps, the daily cycle repeats.

The main menu (undefined) has been revised to be a concise GUI located at the upper left corner of the screen. Commands change depending on the time of day. Everything needed for the music program is located in sub-menus underneath the following icons.

Each concert presents the goal of mastering song(s) and gathering an audience. Mastery of one song within the music genres — Elegant (清麗), Radiant (彩華), Melancholy (愁情)— is often a mandatory challenge that must be met; otherwise, the player is free to choose whatever song their ensemble(s) can acquire and practice. The visuals for performances have been revised and still do not require player input. They can be watched or skipped.

Concert performances have a simplified evaluation score from C (lowest) ~ SSS (best), the number of Bravo Points (BP) rewarded is decided by the grade. Whether the player decides to meet objectives before each deadline is left to their discretion, yet it will be harder to advance the main narrative with low grades.

Other minute details introduced in this entry and applied to other Corda titles are:
 * Randomly selected title call from one of the voiced characters.
 * Unique character quotes for every image in the Memories' gallery.
 * Real instrument recordings are used for the musical performances.
 * Ensemble character animations pop on screen when songs are played in the Music gallery. Text commentary for songs are omitted.
 * Alternate expressions and outfits for the returning cast.
 * Animated overlay effects for events and still images like Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3.

Preparations
Protagonist parameters have been reduced to: Technique (技術), Accumulated Bravo Points (BP), and Audience Members (聴衆). She no longer needs to specialize in a particular genre in order to play a song, merely be at the proper Technique level. Experience is still gained through practice, but only with the solo and duo options. The protagonist often gains optimum knowledge by herself. She may possibly gain BP, music partners (music curriculum students), and/or ticket holders for the concert (general education students) if she impresses her listeners.

Lili's new Fata Shop supplies the protagonist's every need. Items for hastening the practice process, formal wear for the concert, presents, and additional music compositions can be bought with BP. Formal wear is minimized to a colored dress, and it no longer affects the outcome of the concert's grade. The player is given a white dress as her default color; other colored dresses are optional purchases. If the player purchases several items, Lili gives a random consumable practice item as a grateful extra.

Ensembles must be formed in order to be able to entertain at concerts. To create an ensemble, the protagonist must find a piece to practice within her current Technique level. Once she has gathered willing players for each necessary instrument, she can assign an ensemble. Members must try to master the score individually. Their average expertise is recommended to be at least 70~80 points before attempting a group session. Ensembles have an individual parameter for its mastery called "Perfection" (完成度). Ideally, ensembles should try to reach the default maximum Perfection (100) before a concert.

As ensemble members practice, their opinions may conflict and lead them to refuse to play together. The protagonist must then act as a mediator by privately practicing (two duo practices total) with conflicting members. Solving arguments adds 10 points to the ensemble's Perfection parameter. Bonuses can stack if the protagonist ends multiple disagreements, and it is possible to boost maximum capacity to 140 Perfection. Exceptional ensemble sessions can be used to attract audience members and BP with a wider range than solo practicing.

Weekends offer a single practice session per day with substantial character boost(s). Ensemble practice is not an option, but the protagonist can use the time for solo or duo outings with one of the main characters. BP cannot be earned on these days. It is recommended to buy items at the Fata Shop before practice to make the best of these days.

Character Routes
Every main male character except for Kira can be romanced. Fuyumi is the only female character to have an ending with the protagonist. Non ensemble members only have the "Intimacy" (親密度) parameter. Possible ensemble members have two parameters which can alter their attitude towards the protagonist: Intimacy and "Assessment" (評価). The first attribute is their fondness for her, and the second represents their impression of her as a musician. Each character has their established means of increasing the Assessment stat which is listed within their profile information.

Affection can generally increase through the following methods:


 * Visit a character during Lunch or Afterschool. Character icons easily identify their locations on the map. Shining icons means that the event is special and may be necessary for their personal story. No in-game time elapses for triggering these events, so multiple events can be seen in a day.
 * State a greeting to them if they are on the map.
 * Practice a song liked by targeted character. Duo practice sessions can increase Intimacy further.
 * As soon as the protagonist returns to her room to retire, she might be given the option to review and respond to text messages. These messages are often necessary steps for succeeding a character's route.
 * Give presents. Presents are conveniently color-coded for each character. If scarves are given to characters during the winter weeks, their portrait will experience a slight change.
 * Wear a character's favorite colored dress during concerts.
 * Respond positively to any character invites and events.

In-game hints for triggering a character's events are included within each character's profile. Should these conditions be met in time, the player can fill a character's "Romance Stage" (恋愛段階, the hearts seen in the character menu). Each character with an ending has four hearts, one before each concert. Hints will additionally inform the player if they have failed to meet the requirements for viewing an event. Even with these hints, events for ensemble members can still be missed if the player fails to meet the additional Assessment requirements. As long as their Romance Stages are successfully passed, however, the player can view their ending and final romance events.

Good endings unlock a special staff roll with a montage dedicated to the key character. An abridged version of their character image song plays during their movie.

Continue
Self-explanatory.

New Game
Self-explanatory. If the player has completed the game once before, they have the choice of restarting the game with their previous protagonist's name, a handful of bonus items, and BP earned from their last performance. Hard difficulty also becomes available on repeated playthroughs. Newcomers may want to view the brief introductions for the previous title's events and characters before experiencing the actual narration.

Memories
Keeps earned events, images, movies, and music. Music now includes songs outside of stage performances, including those played during character exclusive events. Event gallery limits viewing for fully voiced events only. Bonus epilogue endings can be viewed after completing a character's ending.

Settings
Lets the player adjust the speed of text being displayed on screen and the skipping speed of the game's events. Volume adjustments for sound effects, music, and voices —and a muting option for specific characters— are included. Button guides, tutorials, and text box visibility can be altered as well. If these settings are changed before starting a new game, they will automatically be in effect.

Mobile Joy
Cellphone bonuses after inputting passwords given on the Gamecity Fanclub site. Rewards players with images and audio clips for their cellphone.

Game Previews
Promotional teaser for Neo Angelique and Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Maihitoyo.

Characters
Previous cast return with the following additions.
 * Aoi Kaji
 * Akihiko Kira

Expansions/Spin-offs

 * Kiniro no Corda Box Selection ~10th Anniversary~ - Includes select Premium Box merchandise.
 * Kiniro no Corda 2 encore
 * Kiniro no Corda 2 f

Related Media
Many CDs and databooks were created. Free samples of the four panel comics anthologies published by Koei can be read online at Gamecity. A light novel authored by Megumi Fujino was published by Gamecity Bunko; a free online sample can be read at online. Cellphone novels were made for this part.

Cospatio manufactured replica school uniforms for Seiso students and a scrunchie themed to this game. Decorated boxes and music boxes were decorated with these characters.

Allusions

 * A remixed version of Prelude (the main theme for Neo Angelique) and Unmei wo Kaeru Chikara (an event song in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3) can be learned and played by the protagonist's ensemble. Like the original game, an acoustic version of the Kiniro no Corda main theme is present. Playing the three Neoromance songs in a single set rewards bonus BP from concerts.
 * The first 23 seconds of ENDLESS FIGHT (Dynasty Warriors 3) plays in a repeated loop during a Cultural Festival event which can be seen on Normal or Hard difficulty.