Full Moon Crusade

Full Moon Crusade (Japanese: 満月の十字軍 Hepburn: Mangetsu no Jūjigun) is a 2002 action role-playing video game developed and published by Catalyst Games for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the first entry in the Full Moon Crusade series, followed by a sequel, Full Moon Crusade II, 2004.

The story follows Tanabe Fumiko, who protects the Moon Realm from outside invaders. She was sent out on her own to defeat a deadly organization from controlling the world. During her journey, Tanabe meets new friends who are willing to help her and forms a party.

Gameplay
As with most action role-playing games, Full Moon Crusade emphasizes real-time combat where the player is given direct control over the character. Each character has their own stats that determine their strength and abilities, which can be upgraded as you progress through the game. Defeating enemies and completing special missions can help you gain EXP and level up your group members. The player can have up to four different members in their group at a time.

Setting and characters
The game takes place in a world known as the Moon Realm. The main protagonist is Tanabe Fumiko, a compassionate woman who claims to be the protector of this realm. Later on, she meets Okimoto Ryoto, a merchant that constructs weapons, Orio Shiori, a beautiful and elegant girl who loves to write poems, and Nakao Yuko, a professional artist. She also recruits her sister Nasuko Fumiko, who once dreamed of being a hero like her.

Plot
Full Moon Crusade is set somwhere on earth in a fictional place that the game refers to as the Moon Realm. One day, a random army of monsters attacked the village and it was up to Tanabe Fumiko to stop them. Afterwards, she went on an adventure to figure out who was responsible for this and get her revenge.

Development
Development of the game began shortly after Catalyst Games was founded by Kimoto Yuji, who would become one of the directors of the team. The game was first revealed at the 2002 Tokyo Game Show and it was inspired by the Final Fantasy video game series.

Reception
Full Moon Crusade received “generally favorable“ reviews according to the review aggregator website Metacritic. The game sold over a million copies worldwide, making it a commercial success.