And you are just the one to do it! In their newly revealed game, titled ambitiously “World Destruction”, you will take on the role of Kyrie who is recruited by a rebel group that wants to destroy the world. Why? Well why not! Well ok the real reason is likely to provide hours of reading text explaining how horrible it is to live life as livestock to the beastmen.
With Masato Kato doing the scenario there is little doubt that we will see an instant classic. From his work story planning in Chrono Trigger to script writing in Xenogears it is clear virtually everything he writes turns to gold. And that isn’t even the only name to drop, they have the composer from Chrono Trigger, Yasunori Mitsuda, doing the music.
The game itself will be presented in 2D/3D DS RPG style. The battle system is akin to Chrono Trigger’s with 3 characters fighting in turn-based battle using battle points to attack with special abilities or combo attacks. X-slash FTW!
No announcement has been made yet on a stateside release, and sega would be crazy not to, but cross fingers till they do just to be safe.
A new character trailer has been released, this time featuring Alicia, this time however more than just the trailer has been released. The “book” style apperantly plays into the gameplay and story as the game menu is a book and the story follows a single story, likely a diary of one of the characters. In battle it is a curious mix of real time with pause and strategy, where you run around in real time but attacks are made in a paused mode and you make each unit’s move in turn using this method. Being defeated doesn’t immediatly result in death, instead the character will be “pushed down” and a medic can be called to recover them. Inbetween battles players can train their troops, and do R&D to improve weapons for the characters or upgrade the tank. An interesting tidbit is that the game can be , but apperantly does not have to be installed on the harddrive, coming in at a whopping 3.3 GB, and with load times at a paultry 15 seconds without an install one has to wonder what the point is.
Without further ado, Alicia: (more…)
Yet more Valkyria goodness. This video introduces Zaka “the Mosquito”, leader of the group. I’d be interested to learn how he got that nickname! Apperantly Zaka is also related to Isara, making it one big happy family. It should be interesting as family dynamics are rarely explored in RPGs. (more…)
Since it is just 5 days before the classic gothic-horror rougelike RPG finally hits the states, let us whet our appetite with a video.
Fair warning for those watching the video: this game is not for the feignt of heart. With a dark storyline, slower paced action gameplay and a completely unforgiving death system where you lose it all; this game is not for everyone. But if you enjoyed the Shin Megami series and Azure Dreams or Izuna this is surely one to check out.
Developed by Gust and published in the US by NIS America, Mana Khemia is a nice diversion. If you like the Atelier Iris series and Ar Tornelico, you’ll like Mana Khemia. Call me boring or a pathetic fan girl, but I think this is a good thing. There are times when I’m looking for something comfortable and familiar. Playing a game like that is like snuggling under the covers on a chilly Sunday morning and just being lazy. So if you’re looking for something different, amazing, and revolutionary, this isn’t the right choice. But if you’re into snuggling with hot chocolate, I definitely recommend checking it out.
You begin the game as Vayne, a young man with a cat companion named Sulpher. A teacher from the alchemy school invites him to be a student and so he begins his studies. On his first day of school, he befriends a super-cute, pink-haired girl, a spunky cat-girl, and a brash loser of an upperclassman. Each chapter is broken down into events and classes. In order to progress the story, you have to pass your alchemy classes. These classes might teach you combat, alchemy, or judging whether or not to run from battle. I am in the second chapter and so far, there are hints that there is something special about Vayne, but nothing concrete. There also isn’t some great evil threatening the world yet, either.
The battles are turn based, although when you get to take your turn next is determined by your actions. There is attack, defend, run away, item, and skill/magic. Instead of experience points leading to increasing levels, your points can be allocated to an alchemy grid, similar to the sphere grid in Final Fantasy X. The primary difference, however, is that in order to allocate your points, you must synthesize items, armor, or weapons using alchemy and have them either in your inventory or equipped. If you haven’t synthesized them yourself, you can’t learn the skills associated with them. As such, leveling up your character is directly determined by how far you’ve progressed in the story and what items you’ve picked up along the way. In addition to that, as you progress through a dungeon, time passes. When it becomes night time, the enemies get a LOT more difficult. Unless you’ve got a lot of skills on the grid unlocked, the night enemies are too challenging, so you have to leave, come back, and start the dungeon over. So forget grinding. It doesn’t get you anywhere. Enemies are visible on screen as you traverse the dungeon, so you can avoid them, if you’re careful. This definitely helps with the time passing issue.
The alchemy system is the basis of the game since you have to synthesize items in order to “level” your characters. Experimentation is easy and you can receive support from other characters in your party. I haven’t messed around with it that much yet, so I’m not entirely sure how the different characters can affect your outcomes. The synthesized items have qualities like “muddy” or “powdery.” I haven’t figured out how they affect the game yet, though. I haven’t found my Heal Jars to work differently based on whether they’re muddy or powdery.
The graphics are what we’ve come to expect from Gust. The enemies are the same, as are the mana. I love Punis. And the pretty boys. 
There is a Japanese voice option, thank God. The English makes me cringe. (I’m one of those Japanese voice acting purists, though…) The story so far is fluffy, but I’m guessing that it will get interesting later. I’m definitely enjoying this game, but it’s not breaking down any barriers. It’s more of what I like about Gust’s games and that’s good enough for me.
Ernest Gary Gygax (July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American writer and game designer, best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson, and co-founding the company Tactical Studies Rules with Don Kaye in 1974. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of the role-playing game.[2]
On March 4th, the Associated Press confirmed reports of Gygax’s death that originally were made by Troll Lord Games,[3] a small role-playing game company Gygax had been working with.[4][5] He had been in poor health, suffering multiple strokes and a near-heart attack. He died the morning of March 4, 2008 at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
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