Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana

Anyone who played the sleeper classic RPG game La Pucelle: Tactics for the PS2 in 2004 already knows Nippon Ichi and is looking for more RPG goodness from this company that does the traditional Japanese RPG so well. At E3, Jack Niida, NIS America marketing coordinator, was kind enough to give GameShark.com the nickel tour of the three RPGs they have in the works for RPG fans in the USA.



Releasing just after E3 in late June, Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana for PS2 sports a very traditional Japanese strategy RPG game system. It uses the cost-turn combat system that gives the player two moves per turn and charges extra turns for special attacks. Developed by Gust Co., Ltd., Atelier Iris invites the player to role-play in the world of Regallzine as the young alchemist Klein Kiesling. The player will travel the land unlocking the hidden secrets of alchemy.



The fascinating thing about the game? alchemy system is that it actually allows the player to create his own weapons and items, with each having special powers and appearance, by combining elements found in the world.



Graphically the game is bright, colorful and full of well detailed characters and environments.

Makia Kingdom

The second game, Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome for PS2, is the spiritual successor to La Pucelle: Tactics and Disgaea. Jack Niida likens it to "Final Fantasy Tactics on steroids."



Set in the netherworld, one of the overlords of the netherworld, Lord Zetta, while trying to foil a prophecy, has found himself trapped in an ancient history book and his kingdom destroyed. Since he is a book, he must depend on the kindness of others to regain his true form and his kingdom. Along the way he learns a few lessons about how to treat people.



The player will start with the barest of shacks and must build up the kingdom from there. As the player improves his kingdom by building more structures and creating more characters and weapons, the actions on the battlefield against the competing overlords also go more the player? way. Some Civilization-like strategy elements are definitely at work here.



One interesting aspect of the construction process in Makai Kingdom is that the player must sacrifice one of his characters to create a new facility. The chosen character writes his wish for a new facility in the book and instantly the new building appears and the character disappears. The more powerful the sacrificed character was, the better the facility will be. It is a bit of a balancing act.



Unlike most more traditional RPGs, weapons in Makai Kingdom are not only edged affairs but also include firearms and even modern vehicles. Buildings are also not just static constructions. They can be moved around the map like mobile command posts.



Makai Kingdom will release in July of this year. We?l see then if NIS managed to pull it all off with style.

Generation of Chaos

Last in the queue, with an expected ship date of sometime in Spring 2006, is Generation of Chaos. Under development by Idea Factory, this is the first game to be published by Nippon Ichi for the Sony PSP.



Generation of Chaos for the PSP is the fourth title in the GOC series. And while at this time there was no actual game to see and play, so no gauge of the game? actual quality could be assessed, the addition of a hardcore RPG title to the PSP library is a pretty sure seller at this point.



We?l be looking forward to Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome, and Generation of Chaos as the coming year goes on.