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This wiki is devoted to Ephemeral Fantasia, the game by Konami released in Japan August 10, 2000, in America July 9, 2001, and in Europe September 7, 2001. It is a role-playing video game for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The game is fully titled Reiselied: Ephemeral Fantasia. Reiselied roughly translating from German to "travel song."
Similarly to TLoZ: Majora's Mask, the story is confined to a single island for which time is constantly looping over a period of five days. This time loop is created by the main antagonist, Xelpherpolis. To stop the time loop, the protagonist must travel through the same five days multiple times.
Ephemeral Fantasia features traditional role-playing video game turn-based battles, with a variety of playable characters and skills. Additionally, there is a guitar minigame that can be played several times throughout the course of the story.
Initially, players are presented with the five days in full. Mouse is taken to each of the key locations at specific times in order to witness the events transpire. After the first week, Mouse's guitar companion, Pattimo, notices the time loop in place therefore it is up to the player in order to progress the game by recruiting the playable characters in the game. After the first 5 days have taken place then the events that repeat each week can be ignored by the player in favor of other more pressing matters.
The game itself is not an easy 'pick up and play' affair for the first time gamer. It is a difficult and taxing experience if the player does not know exactly when and where to go in order to trigger certain events that allow the story to progress, or characters to be awakened from the spell of time. It is this initial frustration that often means the game is harshly criticized.
This game follows Mouse (whose name, along with Beak and Fang, are the only optional names in the game). Mouse who has been summoned by a powerful figure on a remote island to compose a song. Xelpherpolis invites Mouse to play at his wedding to Princess Loreille, no doubt because of his fame as an excellent musician. Of course, Xelpherpolis doesn't expect him to solve the mystery of the island and free its inhabitants.