Thanks to Final Fantasy XIII, I am still at the early stages of White Knight Chronicles. Although I did try very hard to get as far as I could, the story just isn’t interesting enough yet for me. However, I’m still going to finish it and anticipating the sequel, known as Shirokishi Monogatari: Hikari to Yami no Kakusei (I will call it WKC2 from now on) in Japan. There are some new information of the game in a recent issue of Weekly Famitsu showing off some of the improvements Level-5 is working on for its summer release in the country.

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The Hyper team just got our copy of Final Fantasy XIII two days ago, and boy have we been busy. Thus far, FFXIII is living up to its promises. And with only hours of gameplay, here are some of our impressions of the game:

• The way the story started, through we’ve yet to comprehend fully what is going on, seems to be have some kind of sci-fi and conspiracy influences a.k.a FFVII. It’s awesome and we’re loving it so far.
• Cut-scenes and character CGI are unbelievable, and in our opinion, maybe on par or even surpasses that of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots. The lovely, hip-swinging Vanille looks absolutely gorgeous.
• However, background graphic seem to be slightly choppyin certain areas, though we’ve yet to make out whether it’s our TV, the age of our PS3 console, the game itself, or (most possibly) the result of our high expectations for the game.
• Controls are ATB and turn-based’ish, not as complicated as we originally thought. Based on what we read, there are more evolution in gameplay later, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it won’t become another FFXII down the road.
• Voices are exceptionally done to reflect their characters. Lightning sounds every bit as we expected a soldier-gal to sound like, and likewise, Vanille the happy-go-lucky and disgustingly-teenage gal that some may find irritating.
• The Chocobo living in the hair-nest is hilarious. It kept us glued to the TV, guessing when the little dude is gonna fly out and dive back into those wacky 70s hairstyle.

Stay tuned for more articles as we proceed through this title, which is looking more and more like it’s worth the 3-year wait. If you haven’t ordered this yet, our advice: Get One NOW!

Ten days to go before it’s Japanese release, Bandai Namco shares more info on Gust’s grand looking RPG Ar tonelico III: Sekai Shuuen no Hikigane wa Shoujo no Uta ga Hajiku. Cocona-Vatel (above, view character art here), who apparently have a big following in Japan after her appearance in the previous game, will “travel” to the world of Ar tonelico III to hand over a crystal to a character named Harvester.

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Song Magic hold the key to the story and battle system of Ar tonelico series and it’s no difference for Ar tonelico III: Sekai Shuuen no Hikigane wa Shoujo no Uta ga Hajiku, coming out this January in Japan. By “Diving” into their souls, main character Aoto will be able to unlock the Reyvateil girls’ Song Magic for use in his epic adventure. However, unlike previous games, Diving will also reveals the alternate versions of the girls, which can have totally different appearance, personality and also their own names. More info on the Reyvateil and their alternate versions after the cut.

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As you probably have know now, Gust and Bandai Namco are bringing the latest entry in the Ar Tonelico series to PS3. Ar tonelico III: Sekai Shuuen no Hikigane wa Shoujo no Uta ga Hajiku will continues the theme of the series, which emphasize on your relationships with your party members (who happens to be all female) in the game and the use of Song Magics in its story and battle system. The game is currently more than 80% done according to the developers Gust and will be out in Japan this January. More details about the game below.

Main Character: Aoto

Two main races exist in Sol Cielm, the world of Ar tonelico, they are the Human and Reyvateil. Aoto (click here for full character art) is a human and an apprentice to a master builder, he is said to be a careless but responsible person. His hate towards Soul Cluster (see below) deepen after meeting Saki (above right).

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While we are still waiting for SCEA to translate the first game at ridiculously slow pace, Level-5 and SCEJ already announced the real sequel to the RPG with the title Shirokishi Monogatari: Hikari to Yami no Kakusei (roughly translated as White Knight Chronicles: Awakening of The Light and Darkness). Weekly Famitsu had a 4-page feature on the great looking game recently, revealing the story, world, characters and also interview with Producer Akihiro Hino and Director Yoshiaki Kusuda, who also directed the first game.

Awakening of Light & Darkness

The first game tell us how Leonard save the princess and the mysterious organization called Wizard that he ran into. The sequel takes place one year later, with a more mature Leonard whose aim now is to save the world which is about to see the end of a 10,000 years war called “Dogma War Record”. However, that won’t happen until a full scale war between the two conflicting kingdoms.

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We already knew Snow can ride his summon Shiva in Final Fantasy XIII’s Driving Mode from earlier screens but V Jump just revealed that Lightning can do the same with her summon Odin too. Click on the thumbnails below for screens of the stylish looking Driving Mode animation. Also revealed in the mag is the name of the PSICOM leader. Yaag Rosch is a key personnel of the Holy Government and is said to be Lightning’s main rival.

Will buy this game for the music alone, it also helps that the game has likable characters and looks really great. Rorona no Atelier: Arland no Renkinjutsushi is coming out real soon, less than two weeks, in Japan.

Idea Factory, Gust and Nippon Ichi Software is working on the next PS3 RPG with characters from Atelier and Disgaea series. One of the features they highlighted for Trinity Universe is the AAA system (it stands for Active Animation Adventure), which is an advanced animation system used to make the characters look lively while talking to each on screen (read the overview of the game here). Does it works? The above video should tell. The game will be out this September in Japan.

Really interested in End of Eternity (aka Resonance of Fate) because of its setting (read more about the game’s world here). Weekly Famitsu’s second report of the game focuses on the battle system, which now has an official name and it’s t.A.B or tri-Attack-Battle (the acronyms in Japanese games are getting crazier everyday). Read on for full details, including an interview with tri-Ace’s Takayuki Suguro (director of the game) based on the mag report.

The basic flow for the battle system is explained first and there are five steps.

1. Pick a character to perform your actions.
2. Move around and attack your enemies.
3. Your turn ends once all your party members have make their moves, repeat step 1.
4. Repeat step 1 -3. If you want to skip a character during this action phase, you can do so.
5. Battle will ends when all the enemies are eliminated or their bosses defeated.

This is where the term t.A.B starts making sense. There is no enemies’ turn. They will simply attack you all the time but they will only target the character you’re controlling. Enemy encounters are random when you are on the Field but they are visible when inside dungeons (the differences between Field and Dungeon are explained here). Also, if any of the character in the party died, it’s game over.

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