<s>
The	O
first	O
installment	O
in	O
the	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
series	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
features	O
an	O
original	O
all-female	O
cast	O
of	O
eleven	O
young	O
girls	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Maidens	O
"	O
,	O
who	O
possess	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
beings	O
from	O
the	O
Elemental	O
world	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Arcana	O
"	O
,	O
to	O
avoid	O
a	O
catastrophic	O
event	O
taking	O
place	O
in	O
Tokyo	O
involving	O
the	O
reunification	O
of	O
both	O
Earth	O
and	O
the	O
Elemental	O
world	O
as	O
one	O
by	O
the	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Elemental	O
Affairs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
was	O
created	O
by	O
members	O
at	O
Yuki	O
Enterprise	O
who	O
previously	O
worked	O
on	O
both	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
V	I-Application
and	O
Samurai	B-Device
Shodown	I-Device
V	I-Device
Special	I-Device
,	O
with	O
Tōru	O
Sakurai	O
serving	O
as	O
designer	O
and	O
scenario	O
writer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
Examu	O
released	O
a	O
single	O
custom	O
chip	O
patch	O
for	O
arcades	O
titled	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
Full	O
!,	O
which	O
introduced	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
fixes	O
and	O
balances	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
later	O
ported	O
to	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
by	O
Ecole	O
Software	O
,	O
featuring	O
the	O
ability	O
of	O
playing	O
characters	O
in	O
"	O
Original	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
Full	O
"	O
modes	O
,	O
reflecting	O
their	O
original	O
and	O
patched	O
arcade	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
garnered	O
positive	O
reception	O
from	O
critics	O
since	O
its	O
release	O
on	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
;	O
praise	O
was	O
given	O
to	O
the	O
hand-drawn	O
graphics	O
,	O
character	O
roster	O
,	O
gameplay	O
,	O
and	O
multiplayer	O
but	O
criticism	O
was	O
geared	O
towards	O
the	O
high	O
learning	O
curve	O
and	O
complexity	O
for	O
newcomers	O
,	O
lack	O
of	O
additional	O
content	O
,	O
and	O
balancing	O
issues	O
in	O
the	O
single-player	O
modes	O
,	O
with	O
some	O
feeling	O
divided	O
in	O
regards	O
to	O
the	O
sound	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
two	O
sequels	O
:	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
2	O
(	O
2008	O
)	O
and	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
3	I-Application
(	O
2011	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
is	O
a	O
airborne-based	O
fighting	O
game	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
Asuka	B-Application
120%	I-Application
Limited	I-Application
Burning	I-Application
Fest	I-Application
and	O
Guilty	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Special	O
moves	O
are	O
performed	O
by	O
entering	O
button	O
commands	O
while	O
pressing	O
the	O
D-pad	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Notable	O
features	O
in	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
are	O
the	O
elemental	O
Arcana	O
spirits	O
and	O
homing	O
mechanic	O
;	O
after	O
selecting	O
a	O
character	O
,	O
players	O
also	O
choose	O
an	O
Arcana	O
to	O
compliment	O
each	O
character	O
with	O
extra	O
special	O
moves	O
and	O
augmentations	O
from	O
more	O
than	O
100	O
combinations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
takes	O
place	O
in	O
Tokyo	O
and	O
revolves	O
around	O
the	O
Earth	O
and	O
the	O
Elemental	O
world	O
,	O
both	O
of	O
which	O
previously	O
existed	O
as	O
one	O
but	O
were	O
separated	O
for	O
unknown	O
causes	O
and	O
now	O
exists	O
in	O
parallel	O
boundaries	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
becoming	O
more	O
ambiguous	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
prank	O
,	O
Lilica	O
re-drew	O
the	O
magic	O
circle	O
,	O
and	O
Yoriko	O
summoned	O
Mike	B-Application
,	O
the	O
self-proclaimed	O
"	O
Demon	O
King	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
was	O
created	O
by	O
members	O
at	O
Yuki	O
Enterprise	O
who	O
previously	O
worked	O
on	O
both	O
Samurai	B-Application
Shodown	I-Application
V	I-Application
and	O
Samurai	B-Device
Shodown	I-Device
V	I-Device
Special	I-Device
,	O
with	O
Tōru	O
Sakurai	O
acting	O
as	O
designer	O
and	O
scenario	O
writer	O
,	O
while	O
Yasuo	O
Tanaka	O
served	O
as	O
producer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
was	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
Japanese	O
arcades	O
by	O
Atrativa	O
Japan	O
on	O
December	O
22	O
,	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
17	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
Examu	O
released	O
a	O
patch	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
titled	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
Full	O
!	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
Full	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
11	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
in	O
Japan	O
by	O
AQ	O
Interactive	O
,	O
featuring	O
the	O
option	O
of	O
playing	O
characters	O
in	O
their	O
"	O
Original	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
Full	O
"	O
modes	O
,	O
reflecting	O
the	O
original	O
and	O
patched	O
versions	O
of	O
characters	O
from	O
the	O
arcade	O
original	O
,	O
while	O
voice	O
acting	O
was	O
also	O
added	O
to	O
all	O
story	O
segments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
drama	O
CD	O
was	O
included	O
as	O
a	O
pre-order	O
bonus	O
with	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PS2	B-Device
conversion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Japanese	O
peripheral	O
manufacturer	O
Hori	O
produced	O
a	O
limited	O
edition	O
Arcana	O
Heart-themed	O
arcade	O
sticks	O
following	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
version	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2008	O
,	O
Atlus	O
licensed	O
a	O
North	O
American	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atlus	O
initially	O
planned	O
to	O
launch	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
version	O
of	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
in	O
North	O
America	O
on	O
April	O
8	O
but	O
was	O
not	O
released	O
until	O
April	O
10	O
,	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
notable	O
difference	O
between	O
the	O
Japanese	O
and	O
North	O
American	O
PS2	B-Device
releases	O
is	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
has	O
only	O
Japanese	O
voiceovers	O
and	O
no	O
English	O
voiceovers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examu	O
removed	O
the	O
voices	O
present	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
PS2	B-Device
version	O
's	O
story	O
mode	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
pre-battle	O
and	O
victory	O
screens	O
,	O
but	O
kept	O
the	O
voices	O
used	O
in	O
battle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AQ	O
Interactive	O
later	O
re-released	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
conversion	O
in	O
Japan	O
as	O
a	O
budget	O
title	O
October	O
16	O
,	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
21	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
a	O
soundtrack	O
album	O
titled	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
Heartful	O
Sound	O
Collection	O
was	O
co-published	O
exclusively	O
in	O
Japan	O
by	O
Sony	O
Music	O
Entertainment	O
Japan	O
and	O
TEAM	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
featuring	O
arranged	O
songs	O
by	O
Yoshihira	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
conversion	O
,	O
a	O
fan	O
disc	O
titled	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
Fan	O
Disc	O
was	O
sold	O
by	O
Cabinet	O
on	O
August	O
17	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
at	O
Comiket	O
72	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
audio	O
dramas	O
episodes	O
titled	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
Drama	O
CD	O
Heartful	O
Situation	O
were	O
also	O
co-published	O
by	O
Sony	O
Music	O
Entertainment	O
Japan	O
and	O
TEAM	O
Entertainment	O
between	O
October	O
24	O
and	O
November	O
21	O
,	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
on	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
received	O
"	O
generally	O
favorable	O
"	O
reviews	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
review	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
site	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GamesRadar+s	O
Mikel	O
Reparaz	O
gave	O
positive	O
remarks	O
to	O
the	O
intuitive	O
combo	O
system	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
Marvel	B-Application
vs.	I-Application
Capcom	I-Application
,	O
simplicity	O
,	O
and	O
hand-drawn	O
graphics	O
but	O
criticized	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
difficulty	O
balance	O
in	O
the	O
Arcade	O
and	O
Story	O
modes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGNs	O
Ryan	O
Clements	O
compared	O
Arcana	B-Application
Heart	I-Application
with	O
Guilty	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
due	O
to	O
stylistic	O
similarities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Smith	O
commended	O
the	O
character	O
designs	O
,	O
fighting	O
system	O
,	O
smooth	O
2D	O
visuals	O
,	O
and	O
English	O
translation	O
but	O
criticized	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
voice	O
acting	O
during	O
story	O
cutscenes	O
in	O
the	O
North	O
American	O
version	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
's	O
probably	O
not	O
going	O
to	O
supplant	O
the	O
big	O
hits	O
of	O
the	O
genre	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
makes	O
a	O
fun	O
change	O
of	O
pace	O
from	O
Street	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
,	O
Guilty	B-Application
Gear	I-Application
,	O
and	O
back	O
to	O
Street	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
again	O
and	O
again.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Plays	O
Eric	O
L	O
.	O
Patterson	O
remarked	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
reminded	O
him	O
of	O
Asuka	B-Application
120%	I-Application
Limited	I-Application
Burning	I-Application
Fest	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
.	O
</s>
