Keiji Inafune crowns King of Pirates for Nintendo 3DS

The last time gamers heard from ex-Capcom producer Keiji Inafune, he was working on both a mobile game and a Compile Heart collaboration project. According to a recent post on Famitsu, Inafune has also announced that his company Intercept (sister to his other game studio Comcept) will be developing a game called King of Pirates for the Nintendo 3DS. Inafune made the statement during a Marvelous AQL (formerly Marvelous Entertainment) merger press conference.

According to the game's official site, King of Pirates is an action role-playing game that features multiplayer support. Gamers take control of a penguin that has to lead a ragtag team of animal pirates in a high seas-themed adventure based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms historical novel. The game will feature over 300 creatures ranging from cows to dragons and will be tailored after major RoTK characters.

According to the former Capcom producer, the game's story will focus on themes like friendship and betrayal between crew members. While the aesthetics suggest that it's a children's title, Inafune mentioned that he hopes adults will try it out as well.

The producer plans on turning the franchise into a trilogy of games. The title is a joint production between Inafune's game production company Intercept and Marvelous AQL, publishers of Grand Knights History. The game is scheduled to be out in 2012, though a more specific window has yet to be confirmed.