Kamurai Preview

Namco recently revealed its new Sony PlayStation role-playing game, tentatively titled Kamurai (roughly translated as The Coming of God). It has also been dubbed the "God RPG," and its script is being written by Kenji Terada, who previously worked on Square's Final Fantasy I-III (NES). Haruhiko Mikimoto, best known for the Macross anime series, is the character designer for the game. Kamurai will also feature the voice talents of actors from popular anime and other video games - Mayumi Iizuka (Misty from Pokemon), Ryo Horikawa (Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z), Kotono Mitsuishi (Misato from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sailor Moon from Sailor Moon), and Shiho Kikuchi (Miharu Tatebayashi from Tokimeki Memorial).

The world of Kamurai consists of both heaven and earth. The heavens consist of six kingdoms - the Kingdom of Earth, the Kingdom of Fire, the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of Sky, the Kingdom of Life, and the Kingdom of Darkness. Each of them, except the Kingdom of Darkness, is ruled by a god. The kingdoms are up in the sky on a floating continent; which can only be reached by passing through a gate. Humans can only enter the kingdoms of Earth, Fire, and Darkness by using the Bridge of the Clouded Sea. The Kingdom of Darkness doesn't have a ruling god, for the gods have abandoned the land. Wielding the power called Kamurai, the gods let the humans on earth live in peace and unity. But a few gods think they should dominate and rule over the humans.

There are two main characters in Kamurai. Kagato, whose parents died in his youth, was raised in the Village of Darkness by Obaba and its tribes. Cheerful and lively, the seventeen-year-old wants to become strong and be helpful to everybody. He decides to go on a journey to pursue his vision and see the different worlds out there. Fushi No Miko is the son of the God of Light but is currently under the care of the God of Life, and he has been assigned to different parts of the world to hunt down beasts. He is nineteen years old, proud, egocentric, calm, nihilistic, serious, and stubborn. He believes a god must be pure and should rule the humans but must also protect them at all costs. Supporting characters such as Shuon and Sayohime will eventually join your party. Shuon is a sixteen-year-old girl who comes from the Kingdom of Fire and who is traveling around the world. To learn everything she can about the world, she may take a step further and even approach thieves when desperate. Cheerful and strong willed, she is looking for a companion who has great fighting skills. Sayohime is the sister of Fushi No Miko and the daughter of the God of Light. A kindhearted fourteen-year-old girl, she believes the gods should help the humans. Though quiet, she has both will and strength. Although she is in a highly respectable position, she doesn't boast about it. She currently works in a church in the Kingdom of Life.

You will take on the role of both Kagato and Fushi No Miko. The game has its own unique system called the Cutback Script System, and you will progress through the game from the characters' different points of view. Other systems, such as the Will System and Mind System, feature supporting characters who have reactive AI and feelings and emotions depending on how you treat them. The game features a full 3D polygonal field map and 2D graphics for the characters. No details have been revealed regarding its battle systems yet.

Kamurai for the Sony PlayStation is scheduled for a release sometime this year in Japan.