Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On (game)

Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On (とある魔術の 電脳戦機 (バーチャロン) ) is a video game adaptation and sequel to the crossover light novel by Kamachi Kazuma, which featured a crossover between the Toaru series and the arcade game series, commemorating the latter's 20th anniversary. It was announced at the 2017 Dengeki Bunko Spring Festival, and released for the PlayStation 4 and Playstation Vita on February 15, 2018.

It marks the first new Virtual-On video game in over 15 years.

Development
According to Watari Juro, producer of the Virtual-On games, the reason for the collaboration project was that since the Virtual-On series has been dormant for more than a decade, they needed entice previous players of the Virtual-On game as well new players. For the older players they wanted something that could surprise them, and this is where the "Toaru" series comes into the picture. For newer players, it is a way to stand out of the crowd as there are now many new robot fighting games and for those who don't know of the game's history would only look at the game as something of "more of the same".

Despite the initially cold response from both "Toaru" and Virtual-On series fans, Watari Juro was confident that they were heading to a good direction after the release of the crossover novel. According to Watari Juro, they chose to have the mecha that were used in the second game Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram (which is later reflected on the crossover game's own logo) for the collaboration as it just had the right amount of mecha in the game. Who would pilot which mecha wasn't decided until Watari Juro could consult talk with Kamachi but he always had a vague thought that Kamijou Touma would pilot Temjin. When designing the mecha, since Index was the main heroine, Katoki Hajime suggested in giving her a mecha with her silhouette, ending up with the unique Bal-Bados (BAL-RlooN) mecha Index pilots. While developing Watari Juro felt it necessary to have the game be released on a home console first instead of the arcades.

Like the novel, the story is written by Kamachi Kazuma, and is a sequel to the crossover novel. As there were many playable characters that were killed-off in the crossover novel, the story in the game is essentially a reset of the events in the novel. Katoki Hajime is retained as the illustrator and mecha designer for the games.

JC Staff, the animation studio that worked on all animated Toaru Majutsu no Index and Toaru Kagaku no Railgun content was later tasked on animating the promotional video for the game, which was first later released on September 19, 2017 in the 2017 PlayStation Press Conference in Japan.

Soundtrack
The theme song "Get Ready!", composed by Iuchi Maiko will be sung by Iguchi Yuka and Satou Rina as their respective characters, Index and Mikoto. The game's soundtrack will be composed by of  fame. The soundtrack was later released on the same day as the game on the Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On Original Soundtrack CD, bundled together with the PS4 limited edition of the game.

Release
A demo for the game was released on December 14, 2017 for Japan. The game will be released on February 15, 2018.

Limited editions
The game has a couple of limited editions that bundles other products. Notably, the PlayStation Vita Initial limited edition will have the Toaru Majutsu no Archive (とある魔術の 電脳紀要 (アーカイブ) ), which has a 100 page booklet, a new short story written by Kamachi Kazuma, Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On no Subete (とある魔術の電脳戦機ノ全テ), a radio drama comprising of the staff of the Toaru Radio no Index and Toaru Radio no Railgun shows, the theme song "Get Ready!" sung by Index and Mikoto as well as the sound CD Toaru Majutsu no Den'on Mokuroku (とある魔術の電音目録) which contains the full version of the song.

Crossover with Super Robot Wars
To commemorate the release of the game, a few characters from the game appeared in a promotional event for Super Robot Wars X-Ω. Kamijou Touma, Index, Misaka Mikoto, Shirai Kuroko, and Accelerator, with their respective Virtuaroids, will appear as super rare units that can be obtained in the game and become playable. This would mark the first time the Toaru Majutsu no Index franchise crossed over with a Super Robot Wars game.

In story in-game, the characters somehow end up in the world of Code Geass and they end up teaming up with the Black Knights as well as the Laserion and Zegapain characters. The climax of the story has Lelouch Lamperouge, main character of Code Geass, betray Touma because he wants the power of the Imagine Breaker, and asks Touma to accompany him back to his world, the world of Code Geass, but he refuses. Seeing this, he uses the Geass on Mikoto but she is able to resist it because she has "experience to these kind of things". Lelouch then has Kallen use her mech to force Mikoto, Kuroko, and Index from returning to their world. Touma then fights Lelouch and is beaten Touma asks Lelouch why he wants the Imagine Breaker, though he doesn't say. CC tells Touma that it's because he wants to erase his past mistakes. Lelouch however says that he doesn't regret his mistakes, and was prepared to shoulder all the sins that come along with the Geass. Lelouch explains that he wants the Imagine Breaker to counter other Geass users. Hearing this, Touma then punches Lelouch's Zero mask, finaly seeing him eye-to-eye.

In a speech, Touma mentions that though Lelouch has betrayed Index even though she helped him, he is still his friend, and that he is confident that Lelouch, who carries the burden of many lives, will not fall into despair if he's not there with him. He then says if Lelouch ever feels crushed by that burden then he need only remember the "Touma inside of him" that will punch him back to his senses. As the world crumbles, Touma and Lelouch have one final battle again, with Touma determined to break Lelouch's illusions. Touma comes out victorious, though severely damaging his mech. After the battle, Touma wants to know why he didn't just use Geass. First, Lelouch thinks that Touma might have just negated it, but then he admits that he didn't use it because he doesn't want to make the same mistake again of using Geass on a friend, harking back to his earlier flashback of using Geass on Euphemia.

As the characters go back to their respective worlds, CC asks if Lelouch wanted the Imagine Breaker or Kamijou Touma instead. Lelouch doesn't reply as CC guesses that Lelouch may have been after something that can support him as he moves toward the future. CC asks Lelouch if she and Kallen are not enough for him, but Lelouch merely laughs it off, once again proclaiming that he is Zero, and that he will continue to move forward with his own power.

Gameplay
In addition to the three weapons equipped to the Virtuaroid, a fourth weapon is available depending on the ability of the character piloting the Virtuaroid.

As opposed to previous Virtual-On games, where the victor was decided by the amount of HP remaining if a KO wasn't achieved within the time limit, a new point system has been added, with the score determining who wins if time runs out. Additionally, certain actions within the game, such as a point-dominant player running without hitting for a certain time, can result in penalties being imposed.

The game will also have online matches and coop gameplay.

Notable Features

 * Voost Weapon - Players can activate abilities related to the pilot character to gain an advantage in battle. Acqua can summon Ascalon as a weapon, Kuroko can use her teleport, and Mikoto can perform the Railgun as Voost Weapons.
 * Tutorial - Beginner players can learn about the combat system of Virtual-On through a series of tutorials presented by Tsukuyoki Komoe.
 * Smart Style - Playing using Smart Style allows abilities used to lock onto enemies.
 * Veteran Style - Recommended for experienced players, in combat, abilities have to be aimed to actually hit enemies.
 * Missions - Players receive missions that, when accomplished, reward players.
 * Boss Battle - Players must defeat a computer-controlled enemy that is designed to be considerably more difficult to defeat.
 * Explosion Code - A separate combat mode where two teams of two play a gamemode similar to soccer.
 * Kill Attack - A survival-style game mode where a player fights against enemies until the player's unit is downed.
 * Arcade Battle - A traditional game mode that follows most Virtual-On combat rules.
 * Network Mode - Players can organize matches with other players connected through the Internet.
 * Online Battle - Players can look for opponents to play against. Team skirmish with up to two teams of two players are allowed.
 * Rank Match - Competitive players can enter Rank Matches to gain Rank Points, which are compared with other players in the game's leaderboards.
 * Cross-Save - Game progress can be synced between the PS4 and the PS Vita versions of the game.
 * Original Story - An original story written by Kamachi Kazuma details the events that follow the story as told in the Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On light novel.

Story
The story takes place in a parallel world, just after the events of the GREMLIN Arc. Each playable character has their own story that the player can complete.
 * Kamijou Touma: Peace has returned to Academy City after the A Certain Magical Virtual-On novel and the Virtual-On tournament Boosters Cup is being held. Kamijou Touma participates in a tag team with Index and continues winning against powerful opponents such as Level 5s and magicians. He is relieved to find Virtual-On is peaceful and safe this time, but then the Blue Stalker, who was supposedly defeated last time, appears again.
 * Shirai Kuroko: Shirai Kuroko planned to participate in the Boosters Cup with Mikoto. But when Mikoto left her behind and formed a team with Shokuhou instead, Kuroko's anger explodes! Driven by jealousy and vengeance, Kuroko begins attacking participants to gather companions so she can defeat Shokuhou and prove she would be more useful to Mikoto. If you want to know why Mikoto formed a team with Shokuhou, read the new story by Kamachi Kazuma that begins on page 50 of this magazine!
 * Kanzaki Kaori: To resolve the problems occurring around the world, Necessarius has sent Kanzaki Kaori to Academy City which is thought to be the center of the problems. To gather information, she tries to contact Tsuchimikado who is a fellow Necessarius magician that infiltrated Academy City as a spy, but she runs into various magic side criminals instead...

Playable

 * Kamijou Touma (MBV-707-G/VSL Temjin 707)
 * Index Librorum Prohibitorum (IDX-10/3000 "BAL-RlooN")
 * Accelerator (RVR-87/VSL Specineff “Rusty Blood")
 * Misaka Mikoto (HBV-502-H8 Raiden "Judge Igniters")
 * Shirai Kuroko (RVR-14/VSL Fei-Yen kn "Judge Igniters")
 * Shokuhou Misaki (SGV-417-l/VSL Angelan "Hive Eaters")
 * Uiharu Kazari (SAV-326-D/9/VSL Grys-Vok "Judge Igniters")
 * Saten Ruiko (RVR-33/VSL Aphmard S "Judge Igniters")
 * Acqua of the Back (RVR-39/VSL Aphmard B)
 * Tsuchimikado Motoharu (RVR-68/VSL Dordray)
 * Kanzaki Kaori (RVR-12/VSL Aphmard C)
 * Lessar (RVR-42/VSL Cypher)
 * Furashina Ririn (RVR-44/2000/X Cypher 2000 "Blue Stalker")

Non-Playable

 * Tsukuyomi Komoe
 * Lilina
 * Last Order
 * Leivinia Birdway
 * Othinus
 * Faiyubu (voice-only)

Stages
Some of the stages can show either daytime, evening, or nighttime.
 * Oblation Tryout (Academy City rooftop)
 * Official Virtual-On Stadium (normal/dirt/turf)
 * Colosseum
 * Catastrophe Force
 * Gate Field

Reception
After a week on Japan's Weekly Game Rankings for February 12-18, Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On debuted at #8 and #16 with 17,938 units sold on PS4 and 9,284 units sold on PS Vita for a total of 27,222 units sold between the two versions.