Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Maihitoyo

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Maihitoyo (遙かなる時空の中で 舞一夜, Maihitoyo roughly translated as "Overnight Dance") is the branding name for one of Ruby Party's multimedia projects —the others being the Angelique Gemme Stories and Twin Collection series. Maihitoyo is the name for two games, an animated movie, two drama CDs, a light novel, and a live theatrical production set within the first Haruka game. Each medium provides the same basic plot with varying characters, backdrops, and events. Developers stated that their goal was for fans to experiment and enjoy whatever medium that most appealed to them.

The Premium Box included an illustration book of the Maihitoyo game and a printed foldout of the stylized chapter illustrations. A memobook was added to the purchase if the game was reserved at select game outlets, and Hori printed a PS2 memory card in its image. Gamecity Shopping offered nine postcards and had a limited time poster giveaway for its consumers.

Plot
Sometime after the protagonist arrives into the capital and gains the ability to seal vengeful spirits, the Imperial Palace is consumed by a considerable number of curses. The overwhelming spiritual taint causes several members of the nobility —including Fujihime— to become severely ill. Due to restrictions regarding decorum, the protagonist is sent to stay at the palace alone to remedy the predicament. Her early attempts to purify fail and she is bullied by the nobility for her improper conduct. A mysterious young man visits her during her time of vulnerability and imparts her with the knowledge she needs to overcome the threat. Once she is reunited with her comrades their goal is to save the Imperial Palace, the spiritual heart of the capital, from the Demon Clan.

General
The overall gameplay has been changed to resemble the third entry using Hachiyoushou character portraits. Backgrounds from previous Haruka titles are often reused for events in this title. Standard name and birthday adjustments apply for new protagonists. For the first time in the series, the protagonist's name will be audibly spoken if her default name is kept.

The protagonist's avatar can explore the palace and capital by moving along preset paths. There is no time limit for the main story or character events. Story and character events are symbolized by floating exclamation points on the main map. Shining exclamation points indicates that the player will proceed with the main story once activated. When the protagonist is within the palace after chapter 2, she gains access to explore a secondary mirror world within the main menu. It changes the over world map to a web of colored dots, each dot representing a battle within the palace walls.

Combat takes place primarily within the mirror realm. It remains turn based but has been modified to roughly follow the third game's system.
 * Cheering is no longer needed to build a guardian's Will Power for magic. It does remain one of the means of replenishing their Will Power, the other being protecting allies or answering favorably during the standard battle quotes.
 * Magic no longer consumes Five Elements to cast.
 * A maximum two characters can be switched into the active party before or during battle.
 * The protagonist's healing fuda changes to magic she can cast during combat.
 * Summoning magic no longer plays animated movies when cast.
 * Special abilities for battle or exploring can be leveled up in the main menu. Level increments can be gained by placing the character in the battle party.

When damaging magic is cast, the player has the option of compounding its effects by spinning an elemental wheel (L1 and R1 buttons). Starting elements within the wheel rely on the spell cast in battle. If a full rotation is completed within the time limit, the protagonist and one of her guardians can be paired in a special illustration for a powerful spell. The length of the sequence relies on her comrade's learned elemental properties and the remaining health of the opponent. Her partner for the final spell is decided by whoever the player uses for the final element.

Maihitoyo requires the player to pay a toll for regular battles called "Priestess Power" (神子の力). It can only be restored by selecting text options which befit a dutiful priestess during the main story. One priestess power is used per battle, meaning that the player will be unable to progress in the mirror world if it runs out. If the player continues from their cleared save data, they will not need to revisit sections of the map they have previously purified. The only exceptions to this are the "Love Buds" (恋のつぼみ) needed for character events.

The entire story is told in a total of five chapters. Music from Hachiyoushou is reused with thirteen new music tracks created for this game.

Character Routes
Character profiles now mimic the third game's system in the main menu. The lone parameter for increasing intimacy is the "Feeling" stat, which is indicated by the rising or lowering ★ throughout the game. In-game hints for each character are provided under the Memo tag.

Love Buds replace Heart Pieces, the majority of which must be earned within the mirror world. Once the protagonist earns the appropriate affinity for the associated character and has met the correct chapter requirements, their personal events will trigger. Certain events require the player to enter specific text options in order to succeed. If the player has completed their events successfully, their Love Buds will blossom over their portrait and within their in-game menu.

The player can complete every character's romance events until the main story's Abstinence event occurs. The protagonist is asked to select her favorite colored paper to invite a particular character to her side. Once the paper is chosen, it closes off other character routes. The protagonist and every guardian has one ending while Suefumi has two. His second ending can be earned on a secondary playthrough.

While the player has the freedom of hopping to any chapter during repeated playthroughs, Love Buds will need to be earned again in the mirror world each time the game is cleared.

Continue
Load from a previous save. Twenty-eight total save slots. Continue from a cleared save to keep completed character ending icons within the save data menu. Characters also keep their earned parameters and abilities from cleared save data.

New Game
Self-explanatory.

Bonus
Includes an illustration gallery, movie collection, and a limited event gallery earned through playthrough(s). Events are limited to the epilogue event for each character's story. Mobile Joy options can be found in this section.

Settings
Adjustments for text and skipping speed. Muting options for music, sound effects, and voices are available. Players can additionally change the difficulty of battles to Easy, Normal, or Hard. If these options are changed before a new game, they will automatically be in effect.

Game Previews
Promotional videos for the PS2 port of Kiniro no Corda and Neo Angelique.

Characters
Every returning character —aside from Fujihime and the majority of the Demon Clan— receive new outfits and portraits. Here are the characters who make their on-screen debut into the game continuity with this entry.


 * Suefumi Oono
 * Emperor
 * Kokiden Kougou
 * Fujitsubo no Chugu
 * Seimei Abe

Spin-Offs

 * Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Maihitoyo Twin Pack - repackaged with the PS2 port of Hachiyoushou.
 * Pocket Scenario Series: Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Maihitoyo

Related Media
A voice actor talkshow for the Maihitoyo project was hosted by Shin-ichiro Miki (Yorihisa Minamoto) and Tomokazu Seki (Tenma Morimura) at Koei's Tokyo Game Show 2006 booth.

Several publications and CDs were published for the game. Free samples of the fan made four panel comics can be read online at Gamecity. A light novel adaptation was authored by Mashiro Yabuki and illustrated by Satoko Sowa. Free samples of these books can be read at Gamecity Bunko. An extra short story and a cover image dedicated to Maihitoyo was included in Volume 14 of the comic adaptation.

Yumeta Company (TYO Animations) produced the eponymous animated movie adaptation. The movie serves as the base for the drama CDs. Gachapon character keychains were available during the movie's theatrical debut. A Cardmasters deck was published by Bandai.

The first Neoromance live theatrical production was the Maihitoyo stage adaptation which was the start of their collaboration with ODYSEEY. It is roughly based on the animated production yet includes a lighter tone and character image songs. Each day was peppered with live audience participation and improvisation at select scenes. The original characters introduced in this story return for Oborosoushi and the second game's theatrical production. Multiple merchandise for the theatrical production are still up for viewing on the official website. An event to thank fans was held by members of the theatrical group. Seijiro Nakamura (Tenma Morimura) and Masakazu Nemoto (Takamichi Fujiwara) formed a two man unit because of the play named ASH.

The production's revival included a mini-talk show with the producer and actors after the story for fans to enjoy.