Song of the Sea (video game)

Song of the Sea is a 2017 RPG party video game. It is based on the film of the same name directed by Tomm Moore. The game was published by Ubisoft Entertainment and was developed by Ubisoft Milan for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game was released on October 31st 2017 in North America, October 27thin PAL regions and January 7th2018 in Japan. It is the first video game to be officially translated, dubbed and localized to Irish.

Story
The game follows along the story of the film, although the game is set after the film, where Ben is telling Saoirse the story of the film. The game is set in flashback.

WARNING: SPOILERS START HERE

Conor, a lighthouse keeper, lives on an island with son Ben, his pregnant wife Bronach, and sheepdog Cú. Bronach disappears late one night, presumably dying after childbirth, leaving behind daughter Saoirse.

Six years later, Conor is broken, Saoirse is mute, and Ben is antagonistic towards Saoirse, blaming her for Bronach's disappearance. On Saoirse's birthday, they are visited by their grandmother, "Granny". That night, Ben scares Saoirse with a story of Mac Lir and his mother Macha, the Owl Witch, who stole his feelings and turned him to stone. Later, Saoirse plays a seashell horn given to Ben by their mother, leading her to a white sealskin coat in Conor's closet. She wears the coat and walks to a group of seals in the sea, revealing her as a selkie. After swimming, she is found by Granny, who insists upon taking the children to the city. Conor reluctantly agrees despite Ben's protests, and locks the coat in a chest, throwing it into the sea.

On Halloween, Saoirse plays the seashell, alerting Færie to her. She and Ben attempt to go home, but encounter the Færie, hopeful that Saoirse will allow them to return to Tír na nÓg. However, they are attacked by Macha's owls, turning the Færie to stone. They take a country bus, where they run into Cú, who had followed them. However, Saoirse is growing ill. They come across a sacred well that Saoirse dives into. Ben follows and meets the Great Seanachaí: They learn that she was kidnapped by Macha, and that she is mute because she needs the coat, otherwise she will die. He gives Ben one of his hairs that will lead him to Macha. As he follows the hair, it shows him that Bronach - a selkie herself - had to return to the ocean when Saoirse was born.

Ben then meets Macha, who explains that when Mac Lir suffered from a broken heart, she turned him into an island near their home. She is determined to do the same for everyone, even herself. Ben manages to rescue Saoirse, giving Macha back her feelings and allowing her to recognize that taking away feelings doesn't help. She helps them fly them back home, and Conor attempts to take Saoirse to a hospital; simultaneously, Granny is near the island to find them. Ben dives into the sea in search of Saoirse's coat, and recovers it with the seals and Conor. The group is then washed up on Mac Lir's island, where Saoirse's health is fully restored and she sings the Song of the Sea. The Færie rise and travel to Mac Lir and he emerges with Macha and his dogs as they head home to Tír na nÓg.

Bronach appears preparing to depart with Saoirse, but Ben pleads to let her stay with them. Since she is half-human, the choice rests with Saoirse, who elects to remain behind with her father and brother, even though it means giving up her selkie powers and becoming fully human. Accepting her daughter's decision, Bronach takes her coat and departs. After a tearful farewell, the Faeries depart across the sea, and Ben and his family happily return home to their island, where Granny finally arrives, and decides the children can stay with their father. Ben and Saoirse reconcile and become friends.

SPOILERS END HERE

Story Mode
Story Mode is a turn based RPG. The mode lets you explore around locations from the movie, including Dublin, the roundabout and the lighthouse just to name a few. Enemies appear in the game, such as Macha’s owls, goblins, banshees, and various other creatures based on Irish mythology and folklore. Defeating any of these will cause Ben and Saoirse to gain some experience points. Ben and Saoirse are both playable in this mode but they differ in stats. Ben has better speed than jump, whereas Saoirse has better jump than speed. Both characters can jump on the enemies, and they also offer some different attacks to defeat enemies. For example, Saoirse offers an attack using her shell, and Ben can lasso and kick the enemies. They can also team up and form a dual-attack, which will cause Ben and Saoirse to team up and form a strong attack. Story mode also features puzzle elements, where they have to pull switches or explore areas one character cannot.