Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Banjoyuugi (遙かなる時空の中で-盤上遊戯-, Banjoyuugi translated as "The Board Game") is the Haruka multiplayer party game foil to its Neoromance predecessors, Fushigi no Kuni no Angelique and Sweet Ange. It is the first game in the series to be fully voiced —excluding the normally mute protagonist.
The Premium Box edition includes real-life reproductions of the Eight Guardians' favorite incense, which used to be sold as regular merchandise on Gamecity Shopping.
Plot
Sometime after the first protagonist and her friends arrive in the parallel world, Shirin traps the White Dragon Priestess's soul within an eternal dream. The dreaming protagonist encounters three copies of herself, each claiming themselves to be parts of the priestess's divided conscious. Trapped in a replica of the capital with dream versions of their comrades, the four priestesses compete to expose the impostor who is preventing the real priestess's return to reality. Their goal is to gain Fujihime's trust by retrieving legendary treasures: the Robe of the Fire-rat, the Jeweled Branch, the Dragon's Throat Gem, and Buddha's Stone Bowl.
Gameplay
General
Before the game begins, the player can determine the length of their game (maximum turn count) and the number of active players. Players can play against three other human or AI players. The turn order between them is decided by chance before the story introduction. Protagonists can be renamed, but here are the default names for each version.
- Pink hair - Akane
- Green hair - Wakaba
- Blue hair - Ruri
- Blonde hair - Kurumi
Each priestess must select one of the Eight Guardians to escort her. A single player then selects a randomly generated movement fuda (charm) and advance in whatever direction the player wishes on the Kyoto map. Locations may trigger a variety of events or reward the landing player with an item to obstruct the competition. While a guardian may alter the likelihood of certain events, the results are left to chance. A priestess and her partner can hold a maximum eight items each in their inventory. One day (turn) elapses from the clock after the four priestesses complete their respective turns.
Like the base game, hovering blue flame icons over a location's icon indicate that a vengeful spirit is present. Actions are simplified to Attack, Fuda, or Flee. Fuda can be used once they are obtained, allowing the priestess's team to use healing items or spells. Using them is left to the player's discretion since their AI partner will never use items in battle. The strength of the guardian's attack is determined by drawing a numbered fuda from a shuffled deck. Five Elements are in effect and may alter the end results by a one point difference. For example, the Byakko guardians have +1 damage against Wood opponents but -1 against Fire opponents. Battles will not end until one of the party's falls.
Winning against the vengeful spirit can lead to a chance to seal them like the original game. Losing occurs when the guardian's health drops to zero and leads to the priestess's instant return to Fujihime's manor. They lose a turn to recover their strength. Since the vengeful spirits do not regenerate their health, other players can exploit from the loser's progress. The current player may also choose to use their turn to train with their current guardian. Once the Akram training dummy is defeated, the pair can gain unique bonuses to help them for future battles.
A demon generates on the map at whim. They can obstruct a priestess's team with a crippling effect or send them back to Fujihime's manor. The demon retreats if they are ignored for three turns, but battle commences automatically if a player intercepts them. Whoever defeats him/her first is rewarded a rare summoning fuda and unleashes the stronger Akram to the field. Defeat him four times in one playthrough to obtain a special event and his mask.
If multiple priestesses land on the same space they can peacefully trade or fight against one another. Trades are conducted by first proposing an item and agreeing/declining to accept it. PVP battles leads to the victor taking any singular item from their foe's inventory by force. Battles can be compounded with demons/vengeful spirits in the same spot.
Fujihime aimlessly informs the priestesses of a legendary treasure's location, which is marked by a glowing golden aura around a location's icon. First player to reach the destination claims the treasure, and whoever gives the treasure to Fujihime first gains Trust Points with her. Her Trust Points affects the player evaluation which occurs every fifteen days.
Character Routes
Each guardian has the "Feeling" rating present. It can only be increased by traveling with him, winning battles, and experiencing events at his favorite places in the capital. Players can halt their turn to give a guardian multiple presents. Giving him his favorite flower, scent and paper color to leads to a substantial boost. When a guardian travels with another priestess, his intimacy ratings with other priestesses will gradually fade.
Three Heart Pieces can be collected per guardian, and they can only be found once in each playthrough. When a male character receives every Heart Piece, he will personally thank the priestess and return the gesture with a written letter. The priestess he gives it to automatically gains Intimacy boosts within him as long as she has it in her inventory. Letters can be traded or discarded to further alter character affinity.
Romance endings can be viewed if the winning priestess has at least 750 Feeling rating with a guardian. He can reject her if she is less than second place and/or fails to have proper ratings with him. Fujihime's ending occurs if the player is rejected by every guardian.
Modes
Continue
Load from a previous save. Special character messages play after loading.
New Game
Self-explanatory.
Bonus
Gallery collection for earned illustrations and specific events. A character introduction is available at the start to better acquaint newcomers to the series.
Settings
Adjustments for text and skipping speed. Muting options for music, sound effects, and voices are available. If these options are changed before a new game, they will automatically be in effect.
Spin-Offs
- Harukanaru Toki no Naka de History - repackaged with three other Haruka titles.
- Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Premium Box Complete - Premium Box of the PS version repackaged with five other Haruka titles
Related Media
Two guidebooks were published: a partial guide for romance events and items and a complete edition. Free samples of the fan made four panel comics can be read online at Gamecity. It was featured in Vol. 15 and Vol. 17 of the series's fan mook series, Haruka Tsushin.
Allusions
- Masaomi's Christmas party event in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 Unmei no Labyrinth allows the Haruka 3 characters to play a different board game starring the first cast. Shin-ichiro Miki, Kouki Miyata, or Akira Ishida can briefly reprise their first Haruka role for the event.
Gallery
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Premium Box cover
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Wallpaper
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