Marvelous Entertainment today announced a director's cut version of its PlayStation Portable title Valhalla Knights 2. Titled Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance, the new release will feature an enhanced battle system, new quests, monsters and items, as well as a gallery mode.

As for the improved battle system, the number of party members has been cut from six to four. The developers anticipate that this change will make the system more action-oriented, yet at the same time easier to use. Moreover, the AI of party members and enemies has been tweaked. If certain conditions are met, players will be able to unleash a powerful combination attack capable of taking down even strong enemies. Newly implemented gate crystals will allow the player to quickly travel between two points in the game, provided he has visited them before. To make the game easier for newcomers to the series and the RPG genre, the tutorial has been improved and additional information on screen (i.e. the number of monsters left to kill during a quest) is provided on screen.

Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance will be released in Japan on June 25th for 3,990 yen ($41.02 USD).

• Famitsu