Forever Kingdom

The Soul Bind is a curse placed on Darius and his party which causes them to share the same lifeforce. Thus, if a member of Darius' party is attacked, then they all endure damage. Consequently, healing one character also heals the other two, as well.

Generally, a 'Soul' gauge measures the overall lifeforce of the party, which is displayed at the bottom-left corner of the screen. When damage is taken by any of the three player-characters, the gauge decreases. If the gauge is completely depleted, then the entire party perishes simultaneously. While proving to be somewhat frustrating, the game features an option which allows Life Extracts (healing potions) to be used at the press of the button, removing some of the challenge of managing three characters who share one life gauge.

The game takes place directly before the events of Evergrace. Darius lived a somewhat sheltered life with his parents in the small village of Solta. Though not having any siblings, Darius was very close to his friend Sharline, whom he cared for like a sister. However, Darius' simple home life in Solta would come to a tragic end when assassins hired by the secluded village of Morea murdered Darius' parents for unknown reasons. In addition to facing the loss of his family, Sharline was nowhere to be found, leaving Darius with the conclusion that she was also killed.

Shortly after the tragedy, Darius sought refuge with his childhood friend, Ruyan, from the village of Seclue. Ruyan's father agreed to take Darius under his wing, as well as training him in swordplay so that he might one day take vengeance against his adversaries. As time passed, Darius and Ruyan tirelessly trained together, eventually forming "The Four Swordsmen of Solta" with two other mentionable warriors, Drumhort and Saris.

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 28 out of 40.