Fragile has always gotten a lot of attention in no small part due to its unique take on your typical well-trodden post-apocalyptic setting. What makes Fragile unique is that the game is more about moody exploration than combat, requiring you to help fifteen-year-old protagonist Seto track down a mysterious girl he becomes infatuated with after his guardian passes away.
What’s more, Seto and the girl are among the only few remaining survivors left on the planet., so Seto’s seeking her out just as much for companionship as anything else.
Since the world and life as we know it have already ended by the start of the game , you might be left wondering just how the tragedy came about and what the parting thoughts of those who perished were. In a preview of its upcoming issue, Nintendo Power sheds some light on how you’ll be uncovering this info.
Fragile sort of takes a leaf out of Metroid Prime’s book in that you use objects in the environment to learn more about the world you’re in. For example; a cellphone with a recorded message from the owner, begging whomever finds it not to forget her. Unfortunately, the phone ran out of memory before she could tell you her name.
Another example given is that of a “video-game cartridge holding the final regrets of an RPG fan who wished he had come up with a worthy name for his hero instead of hastily hammering out “AAAA” on the character creation screen.”
Sounds depressing, doesn’t it? While there have been some concerns about the controls, it’s easy to see why even XSEED were so eager to snatch up the localization and publishing rights to the game. Fragile definitely sounds like another one of those quirky experiences that explores topics most games would stay away from.
Now is also a good time to mention that Rising Star Games will be publishing Fragile in Europe in Spring 2010 and have a hub up for the game here!