What about the role-playing? (cntd)

A three-character party will accompany L’Arc though most of the game and they all share a single Action Point Gauge. This gauge will deplete every time the player performs a certain attack and if the player chains a certain amount of attacks together, the player can execute something called Multiple Attacks, which is a set of attacks that are evidently more powerful than the players’ standard attack range.

A role-playing game would not be complete without a set of special attacks; and Arc Rise Fantasia has a whole host of visually impressive ones in store for us. Some characters have powerful weaponry that they can use to execute special stunning attacks, and some can even change the environment for the attack to be performed. They’re very varied and certainly a change from the norm of role-playing game attacks.

Perhaps the most exciting special action that the player will be able to perform is summoning beasts. Yes, I’m being serious. You will be able to summon beasts in this game, and these beasts are called Rogress. Rogress are monsters with a high level of strength, able to take out even the toughest of enemies in the game.

Arc Rise Fantasia may have a comparable game play set to most role-playing games, but seems to introduce a lot of interesting ideas and devices otherwise not experimented with in most other JPRGS. The game also has a diverse range of characters, coming in all different styles, characteristics, and, most importantly, move sets.

Could this fit the bill?

What is already impressive about Arc Rise Fantasia is the wide gathering of different Japanese gaming talent involved in the game’s core development. Hiroyuki Kanemaru, the director of the acclaimed Gamecube hit, Tales of Symphonia, will be directing the game as a whole. This gaming director has had an impressive track record of successful JPRGS, and seems to be putting a lot more ambitious ideas in this game than he has done in his past efforts.

Yasunori Mitsuda, the composer of one of the hallmark JPRGS: Chrono Trigger, will be providing his musical skills to the soundtrack of the game. There are two confirmed songs in the game and the game’s soundtrack sounds memorable, only from looking at brief glimpses of game play.

Takumi Miyajima, the writer of the scenario in Tales of the Abyss, is writing the overall story of Arc Rise Fantasia. The plot of the game is busy and expansive, but seems engaging enough already.

Whilst the developers behind this title have been sparse with details, it already seems to be the kick start for accomplished Japanese Role-Playing Games on the Wii, as it is promised to be. The game may not break the entire landscape of the genre, but Arc Rise Fantasia seems rich in ambition, and already feels like a big adventure for fans to embrace. It is just a shame that it’s been scaled back to Summer 2010 for a proper release.