| ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Mistwalker Racjin |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Kensuke Tanaka Hitoshi Yamagami |
| Designer(s) | Hironobu Sakaguchi |
| Artist(s) |
|
| Writer(s) | Hironobu Sakaguchi |
| Composer(s) |
|
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Tactical role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat[a] is a 2007 tactical role-playing game developed by Mistwalker and Racjin and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS exclusively in Japan. The storyline follows Aisya, princess of Millinear, after a fire monster burns the kingdom to ashes on her coronation day. She gains the ability to revive the dead as ash-formed bodies and sets out to investigate the cause behind the disaster. The gameplay combines tactical grid-based movement of 2D characters in the field with traditional turn-based battles, in which party members are represented by CGI models.
The game was designed by Mistwalker founder and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, who acted as executive producer, writer and designer. Production lasted roughly two years, with Sakaguchi using his love for the genre when creating the design concept. The game was among the first projects conceived and announced for Mistwalker. Sakaguchi collaborated with artist Hideo Minaba and composers Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata, who had worked with Sakaguchi during their time at Square. Due to its heavy use of CGI graphics, it was the first DS title to ship on a two-gigabit cartridge. The title debuted to low sales in Japan and received mixed reception from critics; it was praised for its narrative and gameplay, but its graphics and pacing saw mixed responses.
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