TGS 2008: White Knight Chronicles Updated Impressions

By Sophia Tong, GameSpotPosted Oct 10, 2008 1:32 am PT

So what if we're saving a princess again? How many princesses get saved by knights in behemoth-sized armor?

TOKYO--Level 5 is a developer to keep a close eye on for sure. Its upcoming role-playing game, White Knight Chronicles, is an exclusive PlayStation 3 game that is like two games in one. You have a solid single-player experience that will take you through the main storyline, and if you want, you can take the adventure online to play with up to three friends. Last year at the Tokyo Game Show, we were able to get some hands-on time, but this year, it was only a PowerPoint presentation and a couple of trailers. We met with Sony Computer Entertainment Japan to see how the game is progressing, as well as take a look at some of the characters, customization, battle mechanics, and online components.

The trailer opened up by showing some gorgeous images of a densely populated city and a giant turtle carrying an entire city in its back. We were introduced to the main characters in the game. Just by watching the trailer, we could tell that we were in for an action-packed RPG with elaborate cutscenes and a touching story. The second trailer introduced character or avatar customization, and we saw some of the online play, which felt very much like a massively multiplayer online game.

This guy means business.

During the presentation, the producer of the game, Kentaro Motomura, went over some of the key aspects of White Knight Chronicles. He said that Level 5 wanted to create an authentic fantasy world where the most prominent features include objects and creatures that are enormous in scale. The gargantuan turtle we saw earlier was an example. Size also comes into play when your main character, Leonard, is able to transform into a towering White Knight.

The story involves rescuing a princess, and though that storyline has been used many times, it's not just about the overall goal--it's about how you get there. Leonard, who works for a wine merchant, happens to be at the castle when it is attacked by a wizard. He helps Princess Cisna escape and finds a mysterious suit of armor that is able to transform him into a powerful warrior. While he's busy fighting off the enemy, the princess ends up getting caught anyway, and in typical heroic fashion, he decides to go after her.

The active time-battle system was described as being heavily customizable because you are given a good chunk of commands to work with to create and name your own combos. You are given a palette to work with, and once you have it set up, the controls should be simple and easy. When Leonard is fighting, his gauge will fill, and once it is full, he can transform. Motomura said that there is strategy involved in the battles because you can't always count on transforming. Sometimes the monsters you face will also be very large, and it is possible to defeat them without being oversized.

The presentation also went into the avatar system where you can create your own character and adjust his or her features. There was a lot of customization that could be done so that each character is unique. Your avatar will come in later during the main story, but having an avatar means you can also play with other people's characters online. Through the PlayStation Network, you can link up and play co-operatively with three friends to go on quests. The demo that we saw had a group of adventurers take on a hulking troll. We were told that the data for your avatar is shared online and offline, so everything you earn (money, experience, items) online in quests will stay with you when you play in single-player mode. Quests can only be done with four people, but the online lobby can have up to 16 players. Like other MMOGs, you'll be able to send messages to each other and mess around with character motions.

It's too bad we didn't have a chance to play because the trailers looked amazing, and there seems to be a lot you can do with the battle system. White Knight Chronicles is scheduled for a December 25 release date in Japan only. No announcements have been made for North America, but we hope to be able to get more information on this game soon, so be sure to keep checking back.

156 Comments

  • shamsul_LP

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 2:03 pm PT

    my friend already play this..they can understand japanese...this game is damm good..

  • Tomboy_666

    Posted Mar 26, 2009 11:38 am PT

    According to Wikipedia this game has already released in japan.... in December 2008!!!

  • TheTenth10

    Posted Feb 3, 2009 4:29 pm PT

    let's hope it will be easy to form groups in taverns for example, and you can add the guys to your WKS friends list to send them messages to form a group

  • black-master

    Posted Jan 1, 2009 3:36 pm PT

    I have to get a ps3 with all those great exclusives like uncharted 2, white knight chronicles.resistance 2,la noir,and the list goes on.

  • Blink3r

    Posted Dec 17, 2008 2:31 pm PT

    WTF is happening?! many games have close release dates in japan but haven't even been announced to come out in america -.-

  • black-master

    Posted Dec 11, 2008 2:47 pm PT

    This looks like a great rpg.

  • KrayzieJay

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 3:31 pm PT

    Looks pretty damn good. I'll probably get hooked on the online play.

  • mergedsalem23

    Posted Nov 24, 2008 11:37 am PT

    I hope its a demo coming out.

  • mergedsalem23

    Posted Nov 24, 2008 11:34 am PT

    what bothers is I wonder what battles will be like as a knight because you are moving a giant knight I hope it dont move like godzilla.

  • mergedsalem23

    Posted Nov 24, 2008 11:28 am PT

    09 is the year for sony to make a come back, just a matter of time.

  • mergedsalem23

    Posted Nov 24, 2008 11:22 am PT

    I really do want to try this out it will be something new to the game console market single campaign mode/mmo and with the history level 5 have I know it will be good.

  • Candy27420

    Posted Nov 18, 2008 7:06 am PT

    Wow is all I have to say, it sounds amazing. I can't wait.

  • Antagonist8503

    Posted Oct 20, 2008 10:42 pm PT

    Well, the PS3 has a pretty strong lineup in 2009. In February the PS3 has an exclusive that no 360 title coming out in that month can beat, Killzone 2. As for other exclusives, WKC seems a pretty fair bet at peaking RPG fans interests since there has been a dry spell of RPGs on the PS3. As far as exclusives go, PS3 still has a solid lineup that will rival if not beat 360 exclusives which include Twisted Metal(yes, if you encrypted the code from the special edition, it says Twisted metal on the PS3 - meaning if twisted metal black was any indication, the game is gonna rock), God of War 3, Final Fantasy Versus 13, Jak 4, Killzone 2, and WKC. Oh and if you say that Star Ocean 4 is an exclusive, it will not be a definite exclusive, it WILL come to the PS3 beyond a reasonable doubt. How do i know this? Well when asked the question, the game developer said that it may or may not, but never said it wouldn't and if I know the developer and some of the game's history as being on the playstation for so long, along with some of opinionated assumptions such as the developer wanting to get to the main fanbase, then I'm sure the game will come to PS3. Question is when and will there be added content like Eternal Sonata. I still have yet to see any 360 exclusives that will rival these games in 2009. Besides people, the PS3 has done really well, considering it came out 1 year later than the 360. So in my opinion the PS3 has come a long way facing stiff competition along with a crazy pricetag that turned down sony fans. If the PS3 came along with the 360 with a more affordable price tag, guess what, the 360 wouldn't be doing so well now would it, but it was microsoft's plan which worked for them. Kudos to them for thinking ahead but they failed in the beginning of the 360s life when it came to quality assurance. Sony on the other hand didn't. Although I loved my xbox because of Halo and Ninja Gaiden Black, I didn't see many other games worth buying.

  • higheclipse

    Posted Oct 20, 2008 7:14 pm PT

    this game sounds good, the heavy customization is something i would like to put to the test...can't wait

  • jacky531

    Posted Oct 20, 2008 2:45 pm PT

    This game just keeps sounding better the more I hear about it

  • EnaVRi

    Posted Oct 20, 2008 11:00 am PT

    I don't play any 360 games yet... I'm sure they have plenty exclusives... But PS3 exclusives are great... Not only MGS4 and Uncharted... i'm not in the mood mentioning all the exclusives that I have but... They are good... And PS3 exclusives are getting better now... For example Resistance 2... R1 was already a Solid shooter... R2 is going to be much better and will be one of the best FPS games...

    This game will also rock the gaming scene... I'm expecting good things from this...

  • Tech-head

    Posted Oct 20, 2008 10:57 am PT

    @gamzrsweet,

    So for the record, you are calling yourself an idiot right?

  • andyward_f5

    Posted Oct 19, 2008 10:57 pm PT

    gamz, are you a freaking mongoloid? The PS3 is 1000X better then a 360 for several reasons, blu-ray; for size of format and blu-ray movie playing capabilities, free online and the Cell processor, 360 had there time in the light, but it's just plain to expensive to make 5 DVD games all the time, grow up and get the new stuff

  • gamzrsweet posted Oct 19, 2008 10:31 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    gamzrsweet

    Posted Oct 19, 2008 10:31 pm PT (hide)

    kkkknaruto if u think sony even stands a chance with 360..pretty much every exclusive sony has had except for mgs4 and uncharted sucked big time and im not really seeing many exclusives in the future...oh thats right cause microsoft is getting most of em, obviously devs see that the 360 is way more superior than ps3, any idiot could see that...

  • felipenet7

    Posted Oct 19, 2008 8:31 pm PT

    kkkkknaruto you are write! 3rd party developers are being very stupid not to understand what they are making! PS3 exclusives are going to dominate the console and they all come from Sony itself. So Sony is becoming more stronger and in the future no 3rd party developers are going to be a match to Sony's titles. it's so dump from 3rd party developers not to make games that ps3 owners want but just some horrible ports! I had to make my mind between Resistance 2 and World at War and of course I'm gonna get the PS3 exclusive! I had to make my mind between SOCOM and Hell's Highway and of course I went for SOCOM!!! Stupid developers can't they see giving priority to an old 360 is making them loose ground!!!

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