Viola: The Heroine's Melody
1 Month on Steam Celebration!
Viola will receive a version 1.0.2 update some time in the future to fix additional bugs. Unfortunately, progress on the next patch has been halted due to health issues I've been experiencing. Recovery might take an extended period of time.
Viola: The Heroine’s Melody hits the big time!
Here’s a full list of new features included in the 1.0 update:
- Four new levels, including Viola’s final showdown!
- Three new Personal Quests for Ceryn, Arti and Justice!
- Three different endings to achieve, including a “true” ending!
- A fully functional “Story Mode”: no more rhythm inputs, faster support levels, and faster leveling.
- A fully functional “Custom Difficulty”: customize Viola’s difficulty as you please.
- Updated banter conversations and more banter points: 70+ conversations between party members.
- Updated storylines, animations and text: Viola’s story is better than it’s ever been!
- Improved feedback, visuals and audio during battles.
- Improved windowed and 960x540 view for people with smaller monitor sizes.
- Bug fixes for all aspects of the game, including platforming, rebinding controls, achievements, visual errors and more.
It’s been a long journey - thank you so much for sticking with me. For those of you’ve been playing Viola from the early days: you can use your save data to beat the game and close out Viola’s journey! However, I recommend starting fresh to re-experience Viola: The Heroine’s Melody while she’s at her very best.
For all new fans of Viola: welcome! Viola: The Heroine’s Melody is my love letter to JRPGs. Exactly three years ago, I was suddenly laid off as a game designer for a mobile game development company. It was the first time that happened to me, and it came as a huge shock. However, it made me realize that I wanted to start making games that I personally wanted to play. I wanted to create something that would give me the courage to push on even when times are dire.
And now, I hope Viola can give you courage as well!
If you like what you’re seeing and want to hang out with me and other fans of Viola, visit my Discord channel! Or check out regular updates on Twitter.
I won’t keep you any longer: it’s time to start the game! Now, for the last time:
See you, Violin Girl! Someday, somewhere!
Viola: The Heroine's Melody hits the big time on February 17!
- Viola's price will change to $14.99 early in the day. Today is the final day you can buy Viola at its reduced Early Access price.
- At 9 AM Pacific / 12 PM Eastern / 6 PM Central European time, Viola's 1.0 update will release!
- Two hours later, I'll be hosting an AMA on r/Games: pop in and ask any questions you might have!
If you've already bought Viola: The Heroine's Melody, the best thing you can do (next to having fun playing the full release) is to to leave a review! This is one of Steam's rare games with a full 100% positive rating in reviews - but lacking the "Very Positive" or even "Overwhelmingly Positive" tags. Put your review in and help get the word out!
See you all tomorrow!
156.5 Hotfix
Version 0.156.2 - Hotfix
The update also fixes a number of different bugs, as well as new UI updates for the 960x540 view. Both sets were originally intended for the final release, so you're getting those early!
Viola 1.0 releases on February 17!
Viola: The Heroine's Melody releases on February 17!
Just two more weeks until you're able to play Viola: The Heroine's Melody from start to finish. It's been a year and a half since I started with Early Access, and close to three years since I started making this game.
COVID-19 has had an impact on Viola's development, and it certainly had an impact on all of our lives. The previous delay was an indirect result of the pandemic, but it did give me time to work on content that was previously cut from Viola. Being able to put in extra time to make sure Viola is the best experience it could possibly be has been very rewarding.
In any case, to celebrate the upcoming release date, there's an update right now that contains the following:
- Ceryn, Justice, and Arti now each have their own Personal Quest!!
- Updated visuals for battles - including better feedback, better animations, spell effects, and more!
- UI updates: smoother selections and menus during battle!
- Gameplay updates! Platforming with springs and cannons while wall and triple jumping has been improved.
- New and improved animations for story moments and battles!
- Improved environmental artwork!
- Improvements to the Bond Level conversations, as well as a full suite of party banter conversations. 70+ conversations between every single party member!
- A massive number of bug-fixes, such as platforming issues, issues with being unable to resolve Personal Quests, running from battles restoring a little too much HP, controller rebind issues, UI overlap issues, and many, many more.
You still won't be able to progress past Drum Village, but you can revisit old levels as you please.
On February 17, you will be able to play three new levels, plus an additional final level featuring just Viola, and of course, you'll be able to witness one of the multiple endings. Do your best and go for the true ending!
An unfortunate note for old players of Viola: while your save data can be used to progress in the game, you will not be able to play the three new Personal Quests that have been added if you have already reached an S-rank Bond Level with them.
Note: Once the 1.0 release drops, Viola's price will increase from $9.99 to $14.99, as promised in the Early Access information on this game's store page. That means if you've been on the fence, this might be the best time to hop on, wait for the 1.0 update to drop, and then start playing!
See you, Violin Girl! Someday, somewhere!
Version 0.138 is here!
The new character, Arti, is also the final character to be recruited in Viola. The whole gang is finally together!
On top of that, there are new side quests to do, with a new town to explore. Momo and Emerald's side quests are both related to this quaint snowy town.
Finally, the new difficulty settings allow you to change how Viola plays. If you've had trouble with any of Viola's rhythm game mechanics, or if you simply want to know how much health an enemy has, try out the new Story Mode. Or... customize your own experience by trying out Custom Mode!
That'll be all! Have fun playing!
See you, violin girl! Someday, somewhere!
Version 0.129 + Release Delay
Delays
Previously, Viola was planned to release in this month of August 2020. Due to complications regarding planning, marketing, the search for funding, as well as COVID-19, this will, unfortunately, no longer be possible.
Instead, Viola will look for a more favorable window of release during Q1 of 2021.
As the one in charge of Viola, I'm deeply sorry to disappoint you all. However, ultimately, making sure you get the best game possible is always the right call.
I won't leave you with nothing, though: I've released a new update with several sidequests, as well as bug fixes that had been plaguing the game. See below for the full patch notes!
So what's next for Viola?
- Previously cut content, such as additional sidequests & features, will be included!
- More options for players to enjoy Viola, such as difficulty levels and other customization options.
- Improved clarity & game feel for a more enjoyable gameplay experience.
- More variety with spells, monsters, and strategies.
- Smaller updates with bugfixes, sidequests, and streaming!
- It's just gonna be, like, way better.
I hope that, despite the disappointment, you'll continue to support Viola. She needs all the help she can get!
Patch Notes for Version 0.129
- Soleil’s Personal Quest has been added!
- Mallow’s Personal Quest has been added!
- New spells have been added for Soleil and Mallow.
- New gems have been added to the store.
Bug fixes
- When encountering an enemy, the encounter will always contain at least one monster of the type touched in the level.
- When learning new songs, the correct song will always display.
- When playing songs from the songbook, notes are displayed in the correct position.
- Dialogue when checking out objects no longer automatically reactivates.
- When using a potion during battle, you can now properly return to the potion menu.
- The pause menu in the overworld will no longer select things not present in the pause menu.
- The Castle Cordier level will now always load the next level on completion.
- Cannons pointed in the south west and south east directions now shoot Viola at the proper angle.
- The tutorial for the party swap mechanic now properly displays its text.
- Various tiles in the Castle Corridors level have been fixed.
- Various enemies now go through the proper animations during battle.
- The sound effects when first meeting Momo will no longer crackle.
- When not collecting Mallow’s body in Castle Cordier, the cutscene that halts your progression will no longer softlock the game.
- The sound effects in the store now follow the volume set in the options menu.
Bugfixes for Version 0.112!
- The correct battle themes should now play in all battles, including the new boss battles.
- The Capriccio of the Woods can no longer be replayed on plants that have already been activated.
- Sybil's Wishfire conversation to gain bond level S now properly plays.
- The bookshelf in Niko's house will now function properly.
- The boss battle in Sybil's Personal Quest will properly play out if Sybil was in your party and not in the fifth slot.
- You can no longer return to the overworld after losing the boss battle in Sybil's Personal Quest to prevent the game from permanently un-recruiting Sybil.
Version 0.112 is here!
In this update you'll find new levels, spells, sidequests, and a lot of new songs and characters. The Castle Corridors level is unique: separated from your friends, you'll have to explore the whole level to get them all back! You'll also officially recruit Mallow and Ceryn into your party. You've seen them a number of times before, and now you'll be able to play as them!
Steam Achievements were also added after narrowly missing the previous update. If you've played Viola before, your achievement data should automatically update to reflect your current progress. If that doesn't happen - let me know! The best way to get in touch with me (and other fans of Viola) is by joining Viola's Discord channel!
I won't keep you any longer. Go and have fun! Buuuut, if you wanna look at more of the changes, you can check those out below.
General Changes & New Additions
- Steam achievements were added!
- New characters: Ceryn, the last Stormdeer, Mallow, the skeletal writer and Justice, the demon, have been added!
- Ceryn is an all-around caster who uses weather spells.
- Mallow is a physical powerhouse who can’t cast spells.
- Justice is a glass cannon warrior with high damage.
- New levels added: Castle Corridors and the Freshly Burned Fields!
- New songs added: Capriccio of the Woods, the Fugue of Finality and the Nocturne of Luna.
- Niko’s Personal Quest has been added!
- Sybil’s Personal Quest has been added!
- A new boss fight has been added!
- New enemies have been added: the Thereminus, Black Slime and Crystalmights.
- New spells have been added for Niko, Sybil, Ceryn, Mallow and Justice.
- Several new banter conversations have been added.
- All characters now need less battles to get to a higher support level.
- Some characters no longer need Personal Quests to reach support level S.