is an action role-playing game developed by Racjin and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 console. The game features an original story by Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. It is based on the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series, also published by Square Enix. The game was released in Japan on December 25, 2003, and in North America on January 18, 2005.
The game follows both protagonists of the series: Edward Elric and his younger brother, Alphonse Elric, as they explore lands full of giant creatures known as chimeras as well as thieves. Once meeting a girl named Armony, the two brothers start learning where the chimeras come from. The player primarily controls Edward, an alchemist who can transform objects from the game's stages into weapons to defeat his enemies. Additionally, he can receive support by Alphonse's AI in order to fight multiple enemies.
Despite good sales in Japan, critical reception to the game has been largely mixed. Critics have been divided on the game's graphics and gameplay. However, the story has also received praise for the cast's characterization while other reviewers found it easy to predict the twists and outcomes.
Gameplay
thumb|right|Gameplay of Broken Angel featuring both Alphonse (left) and Edward (right) using transmuted weapons to fight the enemy chimera
Broken Angel is an action role-playing game, which is similar to that of a 3D beat-em-up. The player takes control of Edward Elric. Besides using his metallic arm as a sword, he is also able to transmute weapons to enhance attack power. Thanks to this, he can attack enemies he cannot reach and utilize defense. Development for the game began before that of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime series. Hiromu Arakawa, the author of the original manga, oversaw the story of the game and designed its characters, while Bones, the studio which would be responsible for the anime series, produced 30 minutes of animation. Themes emphasized during the creation of the game include the bond between Alphonse and Edward, as well as the series' basic concept of Equivalent Exchange, which states that "man cannot gain without sacrifice". The developers looked at other titles for inspiration, particularly Square's action role-playing game Kingdom Hearts, in addition to other games based on manga series, such as Dragon Ball, Naruto or One Piece games. The biggest challenge they had to overcome was to try to make the title a "full-fledged" game rather than a simple "character-based" game. In the United States, the game was showcased at the Electronic Entertainment Expo of Los Angeles in May 2004, with the presence of Asano. For the North American version of the game, the developers made the difficulty level more challenging and aggressive.
Since Square Enix wanted the game to be released during the show's broadcast on Adult Swim, Funimation had to begin casting, and recording (at Okatron 5000 under director Chris Sabat) for the English dub for the game long before they were set to record a single episode for the show.
Audio
The score for the game was composed by Makoto Suehiro, Isao Kasai, Kenji Tani, and Tomohiko Sato. It includes three vocal songs: "Flowers of the Hearts" sung by voice actress Motoko Kumai, "Emotionally" sung by Saori Yamada, and a remix of the first TV ending theme song, "Kesenai Tsumi" (Inerasable Sin) sung by J-pop singer Nana Kitade entitled "Kesenai Tsumi~raw“breath”track~". The soundtrack was published in Japan as a copy-protected album by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment, on February 18, 2004.