Sony Computer Entertainment and MediaVision have updated the official website of their upcoming PlayStation Portable RPG WildARMS XF. As by series tradition, WildARMS XF takes place in the world of Filgaia. While it used to be a prosperous place, the world is slowly but surely drifting towards ruin. The remaining natural resources, food, land and financial assets are at the center of continued armed confrontations. Despite all those problems, the Kingdom of Elesius used to be a large, powerful, and peaceful country, until its queen Alexia died in an accident one year ago. Many refer to it as an incident and not an accident, as the entire affair is still shrouded in mystery. The king's suffering from illness eventually gave rise to the rule of the Royal Senate. The game's protagonists are opposed to this ambitious Royal Senate. Their knight unit has been modeled after a legendary military unit.

The game's heroine, 17-year old Klarissa is the leader of this aforementioned unit of knights. Another member is 26-year old Firs. Serving as Klarissa's guardian, the blue-haired man is always on her side. 15-year old Revin is a master of magic, who has a weak spot for Klarissa. Sadly for him, she does not show any interest in him. Labryna used to be the king's magician. Thanks to her skills as a magician, she is the most lethal weapon of Klarissa's group. Logner is a 29-year old mercenary.

Before one of the game's strategy battles begins, the player can gather important pieces of information by glancing over the Direct Event Report. This report will inform you about the current status, the forecasted future status, and conditions for victory. The game's strategy battles won't be turn-based. Instead a character's turn will be determined by a stat known as reaction points, and differ from battle to battle. If the player succeeds in pulling of an uninterrupted series of commands, the damage inflicted upon enemies will increase significantly. On the other hand, if the enemy manages to land a series of consecutive moves, the damage taken by the player's party will increase.

Last but not least, WildARMS XF will offer PlayStation 2 connectivity. Upon obtaining a certain key item in WildARMS XF, it will be possible to connect your PlayStation Portable to a PlayStation 2 running WildARMS the Vth Vanguard via USB cable. Talking to a goblin in the broken altar in the PlayStation 2 game will yield the following results: In WildARMS XF players will be able to obtain more items and reward money. In addition, they will get access to higher grades and can look forward to a special event scene. In WildARMS the Vth Vanguard, six new boss battles await your characters.

WildARMS XF will be available in Japan on August 9th for 4,980 yen ($40.95 US).

• Official WildARMS XF Website