E3: XSEED, Part 2
All of their awesome Wii stuff.
06.06.09 - 3:55 PM

While we already had a chance to expound all of the great handheld stuff that XSEED was showing this week, we also took the time to sit down and see several of their upcoming Wii titles. Fragile, Arc Rise Fantasia, Little King's Story, and Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga were all demoed for us by the wonderful staff of XSEED Games.

Fragile, while not an RPG in the classic sense, is an adventure game developed by tri-Crescendo. Taking place in a 1970s-era post-apocalyptic Japan, the main character is attempting to find someone - anyone - else who has survived the disaster. The main character comes across a girl who flees from him, and he sets off to find the girl. The game is very exploration-oriented and the player character will often find notes that were left by those hoping to get them to loved ones. Players will use the Wii remote's pointer as a flashlight, which will improve throughout the game. The game's focus is not combat, although there are several weapon types in the game used to defeat the game's ghostly enemies. The title also features amazingly gorgeous cutscenes with haunting music. XSEED Games is hoping to keep the entirety of the game's Japanese soundtrack, including the vocal tracks. The game's great music is complimented by the graphics in the game, which are equally haunting and eerie and looks great for a Wii title. Fragile is slated for release this winter.

Arc Rise Fantasia, released this week in Japan, is the first true RPG for Wii, according to XSEED. Developed by IMAGEEPOCH, the studio behind the two Luminous Arc titles, the game explores the world of Fulheim, a land that is sustained through the use of reys, the source of all magical powers. There are creatures called Containment Dragons that pose a threat to the world, however, and the death of them releases toxins into the environment, meaning that they are a true evil whether they are dead or alive. The main characters L'arc, an imperial soldier, and Als, the second prince of Meridia, to fight off the danger of the Dragons.

Arc Rise Fantasia uses an AP-based battle system that takes place on a grid. However, the Trinity Action Battle System, as it is named, allows individual characters to break out chains of attacks or allows all the characters to come together in a combination attack. We didn't get to see a great deal of the gameplay outside of the initial story sequences, though what we saw looks good. XSEED also promises a great deal of battle voices, so unlike most RPGs, gamers won't hear the same stuff over and over there. Music is also composed by Yasunori Mitsuda. Arc Rise Fantasia is slated for release in Winter.

Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga is the first title in the series to see release for a non-PSP platform and is headed straight for the Nintendo Wii. Unlike the other games in the series, which focused on a party of six players, the Wii version of the game only have a party size of 3. However, instead of battles taking place in their own fields, all of the combat in Eldar Saga takes place on the world map. The combat itself is Action-RPG standard, with lock-on ability, tons of weapons, and huge monsters. Fans of the PSP titles will be happy to know that the scenario writer from Valhalla Knights 2 has returned for the Wii iteration, and that K2 is still behind the game. Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga is slated for release in October in North America.

The last Wii RPG that XSEED had to show us was the simulation-RPG Little King's Story, developed by Cing of Trace Memory fame. Fans of Harvest Moon or Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King will be right at home with this title, which involves a young boy that finds a crown which grants him control over a kingdom. Players will need to assist the new king in putting together a functioning land by assigning his people to different types of jobs. Each citizen will have a unique identity and can be one of 15 job classes, all with different attributes. Each citizen will have their own social structures which will evolve both with or without intervention by the King. All the events for citizens are dynamic, not scripted, so the world truly is a living, breathing world. We're excited to see more about Little King's Story when it is released this summer.