"Funeral of Freiren" won the Manga Award in 2021 and is showing no signs of slowing down, with an anime adaptation scheduled for fall 2023! It's a fantasy like a historical drama, with the long-lived protagonist weaving history through various encounters and partings, but when I came across this work, it reminded me of a certain masterpiece. For those who thought "Funeral of Freiren" was interesting, with its unique emotional sadness of Freiren's encounters and partings, as well as the original setting, I would like to introduce a masterpiece game that I absolutely recommend!
Namco's Hidden Masterpiece "Venus & Braves"
The work I'd like to introduce is "Venus & Braves: The Witch, the Goddess, and the Prophecy of Destruction," a PS2 game released by Namco in 2003. A PSP port was released in 2011 and is generally recognized as a hidden masterpiece. I personally believe that "Venus & Braves" has a similar atmosphere and appeal to "Furieren's Funeral," and I believe that readers who enjoyed "Furieren" will find this work to be a hit!
Synopsis of "Venus & Braves"!
The year is the 999th of the Akral century. A calamity had been predicted for this year, but the people were completely oblivious to it and were busy with their year-end routine. Suddenly, monsters attacked the city, throwing the people into chaos. The members of the Golem Bandits, who were usually ridiculed for being dimwits, came to the rescue. A mysterious woman appears before Blood Boar, the immortal leader of the bandits, and tells him that the calamity is not over yet. She is actually the goddess Aria. Following the prophecy held by the goddess Aria, Brad and his companions are plunged into a long, drawn-out battle that will last for 100 years.
The protagonist is an immortal man, and Freiren is also nearly ageless.
Venus & Braves' protagonist, Brad Boar, is 345 years old at the start of the story and is immortal. While the protagonist of Funeral of Freiren is not immortal, he is nearly ageless, having lived for over 1,000 years. The encounters and partings between the protagonist, who never ages, and his companions, who age and die naturally, are a major element of the story, and these two have a great deal in common. This epic drama about encounters and partings with an immortal protagonist is a common genre, but both the original and the better works portray this theme well!
All the characters die! But their will lives on.
In Venus & Braves, everyone, including unique characters and mob members, is destined to die. It's a death that comes to everyone equally: the end of life. The protagonist, Brad, meets and loses his comrades, but fights alongside a new generation that has inherited their will. The same can be said for Freiren. After the deaths of her past comrades, Himmel and Heiter, she continues her adventures with Fern and Stark, who inherited their will and skills. And since Freiren is a long-lived elf, she inevitably faces farewells with Fern and Stark. While the separation is heartbreaking, moving forward with a new generation is a touching yet moving development.
Strengthen your knight order with a new generation! An RPG where you fight with the weight of history!
As mentioned above, Venus & Braves features a system where characters age and deteriorate. Therefore, it's necessary to constantly replace them with new blood. The marriage system is crucial here. Successfully pairing a male and female character triggers a marriage event between the members of the Order. Once married, the couple will have children, who will eventually join the Order. These children will be incredibly strong, and as these children have more children and pass on through the generations, they will become even stronger. This is how the game builds history and strengthens the Order.
The Weight of History Can Be Felt in Freiren
In contrast, Freiren's emphasis on those who inherit this will and become stronger is somewhat weak. It's still unclear whether Fern and Stark will become lovers and their children will help Freiren. However, even in Freiren's world, there is the weight of history, and enemies that were fought in the past but could only be left alone can now be defeated as technology advances over time, giving the game a sense of the weight of history. Even in Venus & Braves, there is a playstyle where you leave enemies you can't beat and wait until you can.
The battle system is a little unique! Make a strategy and shut them out!
Venus & Braves' battle system is a bit unique. Players select seven members from their knight order and place them in the front row (attack), middle row (support), and back row (healer) on a 4x3 field. They rotate their formations each turn to engage in battle. Enemy behavior patterns are also largely fixed, so if you plan your strategy well before battle, you can completely shut them out, although the strength of your allies will also play a role. Everything about battle is decided in the preparation stage. Distance, determination, and a calculator are all important.
Goddess Aria: A Rationalist Heroine Who Doesn't Understand Other People's Hearts
Venus & Braves features a heroine, Goddess Aria. In Venus & Braves, you strengthen your knight order in order to defeat monsters written in the Book of Prophecy. In game terms, it's like, "There's a boss battle in XX years, so get ready." And it's the heroine, Goddess Aria, who tells you about this prophecy. However, because she's an immortal goddess, Goddess Aria is an ultra-rationalist heroine who doesn't understand other people's hearts.
Ruthless, but Right?
The goddess Aria is a rational, businesslike character who speaks matter-of-factly without any visible emotion. She pressures Brad into making ultra-rational, heartless decisions like "Fire the members who are too weak and useless" and "Quickly dismiss the members who are old and useless." These are ruthless decisions, but they are correct in both the story and the game. The goddess is only concerned with saving the world, and she believes that individual lives should not be taken into consideration in order to achieve this. In contrast, Brad is a very kind-hearted, down-to-earth, and reluctant character. He rebels against the Goddess's opinions, causing the deaths of his comrades and burdening them with unnecessary hardships.
How Freiren Has Changed Over the Past 10 Years
However, influenced by Brad and the others, Goddess Aria gradually begins to understand human feelings and take action. This will have significant implications later on, and Freiren's personality is similar to that of Goddess Aria. I believe she probably had a similar personality to Goddess Aria before she began her adventure with the hero Himmel. However, Freiren is also influenced by Himmel and his friends, and at his funeral she regrets not having tried to get to know him better. This shift in perspective is common in both works and is one of their highlights.
The generally dark "Venus & Braves" and the bright "Funeral of Freiren"
While both works share a similar atmosphere, there are clear differences. Venus & Braves is set in the unpeaceful world before the final boss is defeated, while Freiren takes place after the final boss is defeated. While the former is a story of a time-consuming struggle to escape a dark and hopeless situation, the latter is a story of a world that has returned to relative peace after the defeat of the Demon King. While Venus & Braves features many depressing yet memorable episodes, such as the death of comrades and the people's extreme actions driven by despair, Freiren is a nostalgic, soothing, and upbeat story, featuring a carefree journey around the world after peace is restored and reminiscing about the history of heroes.
[Funeral of Freiren] A collection of masterpieces recommended for Freiren fans
Today, I'd like to introduce Venus & Braves, a game I highly recommend to fans of Funeral of Freiren! While there are many similarities between the two games, the atmosphere and the emotions felt are similar, and I think anyone who loves Freiren will absolutely enjoy it! Since it's an older console, it may not be easy to find the hardware, but it's an incredibly fun and moving game, so please at least check out the promotional video! Also, Bandai Namco, please release a sequel or remake.
