Ar Nosurge originally came out for the PS3 a year or so ago (depending on the country you live in). Ar Nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star is essentially the same game, only for the PSVita. I really would have liked for it to be the exact same and for them to add cross-save ability, but it is what it is. As it is, the Plus has all of the DLC content added that was previously released, plus a few new scenes. Plus, Ar Nosurge Plus is a beautiful Japanese RPG.

Your setting is a spaceship, but it’s so large that I continually forgot that it wasn’t an entire planet. There are large cities on the ship, cities that are at war with each other. These cities and all of the various districts have their own feeling to them. The NPCs are a bit generic, but your cast of characters that you interact with is quite large and they’re all very interesting. The women especially tend to wear quite revealing clothing. Their tastes in everything run the gamut of styles, leaving you wondering what the next person you see will look like.

Ar Nosurge Plus has a beautiful opening with some odd music, but odd in a good way. That pretty much describes the whole game. The music can be haunting at times. All of your characters speak out loud and in a change from most games I’ve played recently, they speak in English. You also get text running at the bottom of the screen, which is handy for those times you want to play without sound.

Ar Nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star has quite a complex storyline. When their planet was on the verge of destruction, the Divine Empress tried to save it. Sadly, disaster struck. Now they’re left floating in space on a giant ship called Orei. No one is sure where it is headed, or if it is even moving anymore. The ship has been invaded by human-like creatures called the Sharl. The people about have divided themselves into two factions: one group worships the Sharl and one defend against the Sharl. Naturally, the Sharl protect those who worship them and attack the others. Earthes is the god from another world that comes to this one. He just wants to get back to Earth.

You play with two sets of characters: Delta and Cass or Earthes and Ion. You start the game with Delta and Cass. 6 months ago, Delta and Cass were partners working for Plasma. Plasma are the guard for the Divine Empress (AKA Nay to the few who know her real identity) who protect the city from Sharl. Delta ended that when he did something very bad that got him kicked out of Plasma (and almost jailed for life). Delta doesn’t know why he did it as he has no memory of that incident or anything before it happened. He remembers nothing of childhood or anything. Naturally, when the Divine Empress hires him back as a mercenary, both Delta and Cass are shocked (and are partners again). There is definitely something not going on yet between them, but they both want it to happen. There are a lot of romantic (and sexually suggestive) themes in Ar Nosurge Plus. Anyway, Delta and Cass are trying to figure out what to do about the Genomirai Church that worships the Sharl so they can save their own town, Felion, from them. You’ll hit a point where you can’t go any further with them and you’ll switch over to Earthes and Ion. The partnership still works the same way, so your gameplay doesn’t really change. You will roam areas where monsters are present, fighting as you come across them.

These battles are turn-based. Be prepared for many, many waves of enemies in a single battle. There are also town areas you will need to explore. These don’t have enemies in them. You will find shops, inns, and many other normal things that you would expect. There are two places pretty unique to Ar Nosurge Plus. One is the purification sites. At once of these sites, your hero can take a bath with his partner to equip crystals that will make them stronger. Yes, they have to bathe together to enhance their battles. Your hero can also bathe with others, like Sarly and Nay, who just want someone to chat with in the bath. To get the crystals to equip on the hero and heroines, you will need to visit the bios shop. There, you can "dive" into the minds of people that you know well (or sometimes not so well). These dives are almost like another game. You don’t really battle in them. It’s mostly a lot of conversations where you can use points you have earned from battle to make hard decisions. The hard decisions will earn you crystals. It’s a bit confusing, but you’ll get the hang of it. If you run out of points to use, you can exit the shop and grind more killing enemies. It will save however far you have gotten in their mind. Yes, I realize this is a very strange concept. I definitely wouldn’t want someone running around in my mind, but it is necessary to get places that you need to go and to learn more about your partners.

So far, I have found Ar Nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star to be on the easier side of the games that I have played, at least on the Normal difficulty. I have yet to die in battle without really trying hard. I have had to grind points for diving, but that’s more time consuming than difficult. If you want it to be harder, you can try out Hard or even Veteran. If you do find that things are too hard on you, you can also grind for experience by killing enemies until your heart’s content. You will level up more from the experience and gain items that will help you.

There are things that you can do to make your life easier. Sparkling spots are things that you can pick up. You can use these things to synthesis items at shops like Delta’s restaurant (now taken over by Nay) and Sarly’s shop. I definitely recommend that you synthesize things, if only to see the animation. The characters do an odd dance, which is different at each shop. You can skip it after you’re bored of laughing at them.

Since Ar Nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star is a turn-based game, you shouldn’t have trouble getting used to the controls as you have unlimited time to learn. Before each battle, you will have to select a song for your heroine to use in that battle. (X) selects the song to use in battle. Once in battle, the D-pad chooses your target. (Square), (X), and (Triangle) do whatever actions are listed. You have a limited number of each attack. Once you level up enough, you can also use (R) plus one of the other buttons to access more attacks. You have an unlimited number of these attacks, but they will use energy. (O) is your shield from enemy attacks, but you have a limited number of those, so be careful! You should also realize that your hero is doing all the fighting and protecting the heroine. The heroine is in charge of the magic. Once her song magic is charged, she can destroy waves of enemies. Outside of battles, you can trigger random conversations with your party members, like in the Tales of series, when you see a (Square) next to their picture in the bottom right. I recommend triggering these when you see them. Sometimes you learn some funny things.

Ar Nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star is a game with a very complex storyline. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing it, but I’ve got a long way to go before I complete the story. If you’re looking for a true Japanese RPG with an in-depth story (and a bit of romance), I recommend you check out Ar Nosurge Plus today.