Developed by Matrix Software — the studio behind the Final Fantasy III and IV remakes on DS — and published in the West by XSEED Games in 2009, Avalon Code follows a young man chosen to carry the 'Book of Prophecy,' a tome capable of reading and rewriting the 'elemental code' of everything that exists in the world, from creatures to the weather, before a cataclysm destroys it all. That mechanic of writing down and combining properties on the touch screen is the heart of the game, both in combat and in solving puzzles.
It received mixed reviews for its linear story and some repetition in the final stretch, but its item-'coding' system remains one of the most original ideas the DS produced in the action-RPG genre; today it's championed by those who value experimentation over polish.
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