Black Cat : Kuroneko No Concerto

Black Cat: Kuroneko no Concerto for Nintendo DS is a Japanese card-based adventure game from Compile Heart, released in Japan on June 21, 2007. Also written as BLACK CAT 黒猫の協奏曲, with the subtitle read as “Concerto,” it adapts the world of Kentaro Yabuki’s Black Cat for the dual-screen handheld. Compile Heart both developed and published this single-player release, which received a CERO A rating in Japan.

The game follows Train Heartnet after his life has changed from that of the feared assassin called the Black Cat. Now working as a laid-back sweeper—a licensed bounty hunter—he travels alongside former international investigator Sven Vollfied and Eve, a girl created through nanotechnology as a living weapon. Their attempt to live freely is interrupted by old conflicts, including Train’s confrontation with Creed, the former associate responsible for the death of Train’s friend Saya.

Rather than presenting the license as a conventional action game, Kuroneko no Concerto is structured as a card-based adventure. Story progression is paired with strategic card battles, so encounters ask the player to consider the cards available rather than simply follow the narrative. The game also includes card collecting, giving the adventure an additional completion-oriented layer as new cards are acquired and incorporated into play.

Eve is central to the game’s growth system. Cards are used not only in battles but also when raising her, linking the collection and strategy elements to her development over the course of the story. This focus gives the player a direct role in shaping how Eve develops while the wider plot follows the conflicts facing Train, Sven, and their allies.

Its scenario draws on the Black Cat animated adaptation and its established cast and conflicts. The journey brings the sweepers into the struggle against Creed and the Apostles of the Stars, a revolutionary group associated with the mysterious power called Tao, while the secret organization Chronos remains part of the larger conflict. Train’s past, Eve’s uncertain place between girl and weapon, and the group’s battles with their enemies provide the dramatic foundation for the Nintendo DS game.

Black Cat: Kuroneko no Concerto arrived after the original Black Cat manga had concluded and after the 2005–2006 television anime had aired in Japan. It is separate from Capcom’s earlier PlayStation 2 Black Cat game, Black Cat: Kikai Shikake no Tenshi. As a Nintendo DS-only, single-player entry, Kuroneko no Concerto stands as Compile Heart’s card-driven take on the series, combining an anime-based adventure with collectible battle cards and Eve’s character-growth system.