Play Nostalgia Online

Summary

Nostalgia feels like a classic turn‑based RPG on the DS, featuring three‑dimensional characters that act on a Combat Order bar for timed attacks, defenses, items, and each member’s special skills. The game also lets you fight enemies from your steampunk‑styled airship, using a separate command set for ship‑to‑ship battles, and grades each encounter with a letter that affects rewards.

The dual screens are used cleverly: the top shows the action while the bottom constantly displays a scrolling map that fills in as you explore new regions, with random encounters still popping up in dangerous zones.

Red Entertainment partnered with Matrix Software, with producer Keisuke Kikuchi guiding the project and director Naoki Morita shaping the alternate‑history 19th‑century backdrop. Matrix supplied the 3‑D engine, building on their DS work for Final Fantasy III and IV, and the soundtrack was composed by Rei Kondoh, Kaori Komuro and Shinichiro Sato (credited as “T’s Music”). A limited‑edition artbook accompanied early Japanese pre‑orders.

Reviews were mixed; Metacritic landed at 72/100 and Famitsu gave 30/40, noting the game’s ambition but uneven polish. First‑week sales in Japan hovered just under 8 000 units, reflecting its niche appeal.

Storyline

Nostalgia on the Nintendo DS transports players to an alternate‑reality, steampunk‑infused 19th‑century Earth. The story follows Eddie Brown, a young London aristocrat whose famous adventurer father, Gilbert Brown, vanishes after a daring rescue of the amnesiac princess Fiona. Determined to find him, Eddie pilots a high‑powered zeppelin across the globe, joined by three unlikely companions. Pad Remington, a street‑wise survivor from London’s East End with a talent for firearms, gradually overcomes his class prejudice and becomes Eddie’s steadfast friend. Melody Farklight, a self‑absorbed witch from the isolated Mervielle Village, learns humility and opens her heart to her teammates, especially Pad. Fiona, the "Bearer of the White Wings," wields benevolent white magic and holds the key to the Cabal’s coveted tablets that can open a portal to Asgard. Together the crew raids ruins, uncovers an ancient civilization, and ultimately confronts the Cabal to rescue Gilbert and restore the world’s lost history.