Vision of Aurora Borealis: Of Elves and Men

[dropcap size=big]L[/dropcap]egends speak of the origins of the mythical race known only as “elves”. Vision of Aurora Borealis takes this Icelandic myth and turns it into a romantic visual novel. Purin Productions just released a short demo of the beginning of the game to entice people to back it and I took the time to play through it. There’s not a whole lot there but it does set up the rest of the game nicely.

In Vision of Aurora Borealis, you play as Chris, a photographer, on his way to Iceland to take pictures of the Northern Lights after a spat with his sister. She complains that he spends all his time playing games and going to anime conventions (seriously, what’s wrong with that?) and that he should get a “real job”. On a mad impulse he decides to enter a photography competition and books a plane to Europe’s frozen north. And without much (if any) thought.

The next thing he knows, Chris is racing down the icy roads in search of the Lights. All the while wondering what the hell he was thinking. As night sets in he starts to see the Aurora Borealis and readies to take a shot only to see it vanish. Time after time. Finally, he gets frustrated and pushes his car to its limit causing it to crash into the snowy embankment. And, just as the airbag deploys itself he passes out.

The final scene in the Vision of Aurora Borealis demo has Chris waking up in a quaint cottage in the middle of nowhere. As he looks around he’s greeted by a young girl with pink hair. She introduces herself as Gryla and tells him that she rescued him from the wreck of his vehicle, worried that it would hurt him further. After a brief discussion, she gives him a warning: “Leave, or suffer the consequences of meeting an elf.”

Vision of Aurora Borealis actually takes on this Icelandic legend and the very opening of the demo talks about the origin of the species. We all pretty much know the story of Adam and Eve. Even those who don’t follow the religious text of the Holy Bible have a basic understanding of the creation story. But, there apparently is more to the story than what’s given in the beginning chapters of Genesis. And it involves Eve’s “children”.

In this legend God told them to look over the Garden of Eden and Eve apparently took this commandment very seriously. One day He told them that he was going to pay them a visit and Eve got to work on tidying up the place. However, she forgot to bathe two of her children and worrying that they would look dirty in His eyes she hid them from His sight. Of course, this is God we’re talking about here. He knew they were hidden and ostracized them from the rest of humanity. They became the basis for the elvish legend and there would be consequences if they were to show themselves to humans.

The demo for Vision of Aurora Borealis shows promise and I personally look forward to seeing where they take the relationship with Chris and Gryla, for better or for worse. And how this all ties in with the myths of the elvish race.