E3 2008: XSEED at E3
07.15.08 - 3:52 PM

While XSEED only had Valhalla Knights 2 playable at this year's E3, they had a bevy of new announcements, including the RPGs Rune Factory Frontier and Little King's Story for Wii, as well as Avalon Code for DS. Check out a quick rundown of the titles below!

I'll be honest, I was not a fan of the first Valhalla Knights, but taking a look at the E3 demo for Marvelous and XSEED's PSP RPG, I'll give the second one a whirl. When asked what's new about Valhalla Knights 2, an XSEED representative's first response was that the game is bigger - a lot bigger. Players looking to go through the game's story mode alone are looking at 60 to 80 hours of gameplay, while those who want to clear everything are looking at over 100 hours of play time.

In Valhalla Knights 2, players take control of their six-member battle party and destroy an ancient evil and fulfill a thousand-year-old prophecy. With a script written by the scenario writer of Final Fantasy XII, Valhalla Knights is also looking to up the story quotient of the title. That's not to say that the battle system has stayed the same - the control scheme has been much improved and is worth a look even for those who disliked the first game.

Rune Factory Frontier is a spinoff of the Harvest Moon series, with this newest iteration being designed specifically for Wii. Players will cultivate the land in their village, welcome new neighbors, have love interests, and battle - or befriend - dangerous creatures. As players breathe life into the barren wilderness, spirits will gather, becoming larger and rarer the further the player progresses. Players will also decide whether to battle or befriend monsters when they threaten the town.

Also for Wii, Little King's Story is an original title developed by key members of the Harvest Moon, Final Fantasy XII, and Dragon Quest VIII teams. Described as a combination of life simulation, real-time strategy, and RPG elements, players command their mass of loyal townspeople, telling them to do anything from searching for treasure to fighting to the death. Players will slowly build their empire and unite rival kingdoms under their flag to create the greatest kingdom ever.

For the DS, Avalon Code is an RPG created by the development team behind the Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV remakes for DS. Players will be able to modify a great deal of the world around them to suit their needs, from monster attributes to the strength of their weapons. Featuring a fully 3D world, Avalon Code looks to be one of the best looking RPGs on the DS.


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John McCarroll