Angelique trois (アンジェリーク トロワ) is the first Neoromance title to be on the PlayStation 2 and so far the only Angelique entry which presents the game in 3D models. This story and its setting acts as the spiritual predecessor to the series's major alternate continuity, Neo Angelique.
trois is the first title in the series to begin crediting developers for their work as opposed to the group labeling, Ruby Party. Yoko Hori served as the general director and Yasuno Shihoro is the director. Mahito Yokota composed and arranged the music.
The Premium Box edition includes eighteen character cards with short character messages on them and a memorial manual.
Plot
Leviath has been defeated and the cosmos is restored to order. The Queen of the Sacred Beast Cosmos (the protagonist) returns to her realm to watch over its progress. She and her aide, Rachel, work with their established Royal Institute to keep their region harmonious.
Three years after the events of Angelique Tenkuu no Requiem, a large continent suddenly collides with the lone planet and the Queen disappears into a mysterious mist. Rachel implores the Sacred Bird Cosmos for their help, yet they too fall victim to the mist. As the friends reunite, they stand before a mysterious silver tree on the foreign continent known as Arcadia. The protagonist alone hears a voice pleading for her to "release the seal", soon discovering that the brittle continent is on the verge of collapse within its pocket dimension. The Queen of the Sacred Bird Cosmos uses her powers to create a barrier to stall the destruction to occur in 115 days. The protagonist has to cultivate the continent within that time to save its trapped inhabitants and release the mysterious seal.
Gameplay
General
At the start of each game, the player can decide their protagonist's name, her nickname, her astrological sign and her bloodtype. They will then be asked a series of random questions to determine their protagonist's attitude. Questions vary and affect her starting compatibility ratings with the male cast. The character who likes her starting stats the most will give a spoken greeting for the player.
Cultivation no longer has a rival character to impede the player's progress, and actions are no longer dictated by an expendable energy gauge. Instead, the protagonist has three actions each day (one for Morning, two for Afternoon). The player decides the protagonist's actions after she awakens and plans her trip across the continent using a bird's eye view of Arcadia. Character icons conveniently indicate a character's location based on the time of day. The player can select a location to visit (select location and confirm) or cancel their day's plans (cancel button). Once the day's schedule is set, the protagonist will move according to the player's plan.
The protagonist harnesses Sacrea within her and uses it to increase the continent's "Happiness" (幸福度). The amount of Sacrea she is able to accept is reliant on her studies with the instructors. Each instructor increases specific Sacrea gauges:
- Victor = Light, Fire, Steel
- Sei-Lan = Darkness, Water, Dream
- Timka = Wind, Greenery, Earth
When the protagonist visits a guardian, she has two options related to nurturing the continent. She is capable of arranging one option once per visit. The first is "Power Supplementation" (力の補充), a function which fills up the protagonist's Sacrea gauge for whatever Sacrea the guardian commands. Stored Sacrea can be used for the second option, "Cultivation" (育成). Using a bird's eye view of Arcadia, the protagonist can build a fortification with a guardian. Buildings increase the continent's Happiness ratings and, if the buildings reach the four corners of the continent, the world map will expand with a new visitable location.
Rosalia and/or Limoges can be seen at their royal residence. The player can ask them to "Mediate" (仲介) between two guardians and boost their Affinity with one another. If the guardians and assistants get along with one another, the protagonist can have specific pair or trio collaborations for her cultivation efforts. Alterations to the fortification(s) positioning can be performed at the Royal Institute facility. Ernst may even recommend to move two buildings for optimum Happiness ratings.
At the day's end, the protagonist retires to her room. This menu screen allows her to sleep, review data of characters or the fostering efforts, change the game settings or save/load. Once she sleeps in for the day, a day elapses and the cycle will repeat again.
Every Saturday the protagonist is expected to spend their day on a progress report with Limoges and Rosalia. Both ladies will update the player with weekly Happiness objectives which they expect to be met in order to break the continent's seal. They inform if the player has met or is behind each week's goal. Four visits will be accompanied by the person who likes the protagonist the most: the objectives for days 89, 61, 33 and 5. If the player has high marks, he will reward the protagonist with "Pieces" (かけら) or gifts.
The player is free to ignore or continue the main story at their own pace. Arcadia's deadline will proceed with or without their support. There are three different endings available for the default storyline.
Character Routes
Every male character excluding Elda can be romanced. While the player can check character parameters from their room, the numbers will not update unless they have their fortune read by Mel. His Lovelove Flash remains the same.
Intimacy and Affinity stats return with two new character parameters. "Respect" (敬意) represents a character's platonic affection for a character/the protagonist. Increasing this stat is mandatory for unlocking personal events and/or the collaboration cultivation combos. "Heart Beat" is the circular heart icon located at the upper left hand corner with male character portraits. Its intensity changes the amount of Intimacy/Respect which can be earned through character interactions. A High Heart Beat has a red and nearly full gauge; low Heart Beat has the gauge blue with a minuscule gauge. Heart Beat's intensity for the cast fluctuates by the day. Higher characters affinities boosts the results of studying, Sacrea distribution and Happiness results gained through cultivation.
Character affinities can increase during visits through the "Talk" (お話) option. When this option is selected, the protagonist can listen to gossip or choose to give a gift. Items for gift giving can be purchased at Charlie's store. The player can alternatively buy ingredients for baking a dessert. Homemade presents may offer higher Intimacy boosts than normal. As with previous titles, every character has their preferences for gifts. Pieces, earned through successful progress reports, grant high Intimacy/Respect boosts regardless of the character.
Sunday dates have been revised to be automated walks through one of the leisurely sections of Arcadia; a total of six locations can be visited. PlayStation buttons (
, 
, 
, 
) appear as the couple tour the vicinity. Tap the corresponding button before it disappears to initiate a conversation, or "Love Chat". Her companion's Heart Beat gauge rises or drops depending on the protagonist's responses. Unlike previous Angelique titles, the date will resume regardless of the answer. The protagonist can initially have a maximum five Love Chats with her partner. Characters with high Intimacy/Respect stats will unlock another section for viewing if she still has energy; the protagonist's conversation attempts will be rejuvenated for the second area. Every male character has two special illustrations for these dates. The player will need to trigger a conversation at a specific location and area in order to see them.
Personal invitations for weekday dates can occur before the protagonist begins her day. If she has high Intimacy ratings with multiple characters, two characters may visit her room simultaneously. She can choose to ignore or personally refuse a character's invitation, leading to a decrease in their Intimacy ratings. Choosing to skip the Saturday progress report for a date will lower every character's Respect for the protagonist. Alternatively the protagonist may interrupt her daily routine if she spots a character who is affectionate towards her; she may invite him to a causal date. These dates are short conversations at a leisurely location. Dates automatically cancels her plans for the day.
Two mandatory breaks in the main storyline are the "Snow Prayer Festival" (雪祈祭, days 87~84) and the "Night Wish Festival" (夜想祭, days 66~63). The male character who has the highest affinity for the protagonist will invite her to spend the day with him. Every character has special illustrations for these dates, meaning that it may require multiple playthroughs to unlock every image.
Festival dates are good indicator for character affinities, but they do not mean the player has completed their personal events. Personal events must be triggered before day 15. The player will know when at least one of them has been triggered when the camera angle for a character's date invitation changes to a wide angle of the protagonist's room. It is possible to have multiple character routes unlocked in one playthrough.
Arios can be seen only in subsequent playthroughs. Unlock the Promised Land (約束の地, upper left corner) through cultivation and visit it at noon time on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To unlock his Tenkuu no Requiem route, choose to name the protagonist "Arios" (アリオス) at the start of the game and receive the failure message. Name her normally and continue to see him on the aforementioned days. His relationship events mirror the rest of the male cast only with his Tenkuu no Requiem version.
Excluding Arios, five different romance endings exist for every romance character. The conditions for viewing them vary on the level of Arcadia's Happiness, the character's Intimacy and Respect ratings with the protagonist and the number of romantic events which have been completed.
Characters
Queens and Queen Aides
Sacred Guardians
- Sacred Guardian of Light Julious
- Sacred Guardian of Darkness Clavis
- Sacred Guardian of Wind Randy
- Sacred Guardian of Water Lumiale
- Sacred Guardian of Fire Oscar
- Sacred Guardian of Greenery Marcel
- Sacred Guardian of Steel Zephel
- Sacred Guardian of Dreams Olivie
- Sacred Guardian of Earth Luva
Instructors
Assistants
Others
Aizouban Changes
The re-release, Aizouban, offers the following additions different from the first release.
- Fixes game bug for replaying Olivie's ending.
- A harder difficulty setting for the story.
- Event skip for main story events is included.
- Includes voices for main story events.
- Adds movies for select scenes.
- Friendship events between female characters are present.
- Gallery mode is available at the start with different images. Players can see the 3D models and their animations.
- A digest version of Angelique ~Shiroi Tsubasa no Memoire~ is included on the start menu. It clips both parts of the OVA to form a single narrative with first person text narration from the protagonist; any animated footage which addresses the protagonist by her default name (Angelique) is omitted.
- Save data from the original version of the game can be reused in Aizouban.
First print bonuses for the Aizouban version include four premium character cards and one special card.
When Aizouban was first released, the DVD audio playback was reported to be flawed by players. Ruby Party acknowledged the faults and held a temporary exchange program for renewed DVD copies of the game.
Related Media
The Neoromance live stage event series, Neoromance ♥ Festa, began shortly after this game's official sales date. The stage event, Angelique Mémoire 2001, was the only event dedicated solely to trois. The game was featured in Game Center CX's Koei episode. A playable demo was available at Koei's Tokyo Game Show 2000 booth.
Ruby Party spawned two cross media projects with the characters in trois. The first is the Gemme Stories series, a set of side stories which take place a short time after trois. The entire narrative was spread across three different mediums:
- Comic Angelique ~Aozora no Kiseki~ - author: Midori Kusanada; illustrator: Shinko Katsurasaki
- Three part OVA Angelique ~Seichi yori Ai wo Komete~ - OP: Angelique ~Eien no Yakusoku~; ED: LEGEND OF THE LIGHT. Both songs by LAZY.
- Drama CD series Angelique ~Niji no Nostalgia~
Fans who purchased each set of items and experienced them in consecutive order could learn the mystery behind the Gemmes spread across the entire story arc. To emulate the story of the OVA adaptation, a real-life auction was held at Angelique Mémoire 2001 which had rare series's merchandise for interested fans. The auction's official website is named after the fictional corporation introduced in the animated feature.
Twin Collection series is the other project. Character image songs could be enjoyed on CDs or through animated music videos using shorten versions of the songs on VHS/DVD. The VHS/DVDs series include short animated stories featuring the pair on the cover before introducing the next duo's perspective, linking the stories together into a combined narrative. The featured characters then gather for the final volume's finale.
Other CDs and databooks were created. Free samples of the four panel comics anthologies published by Koei can be read online at Gamecity. Their short story anthologies are listed on the series's site.
Windows 95/98/Me can run Angelique trois Screen Cocktail, a desktop accessory software. Users can make a character's romance events their screen savers, create a character alarm clock or calendar and put their favorite character up as their wallpaper. Purchasing the item early rewarded picture labels and character cards.
Gallery
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Aizouban cover
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Advertisement flyer
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Original Video Animation Angelique ~Seichi yori Ai wo Komete~ Vol. 1 VHS cover
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Vol. 2
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Vol. 3
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Original Video Animation Angelique ~Seichi yori Ai wo Komete~ Vol. 1 DVD cover
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Vol. 2
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Vol. 3
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Angelique Twin Collection Vol. 1
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Vol. 2
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Vol. 3
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Vol. 4
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Vol. 5
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Vol. 6
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Vol. 7
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Vol. 8
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