Arc Rise Fantasia Hands-On

Those who have been waiting for a classic Japanese role-playing game to come to the Wii have something to look forward to this summer when Arc Rise Fantasia is released in the United States. The game was released last year in Japan and is developed by imageepoch, the makers of Luminous Arc. It's difficult to know all the features of the game after playing just the first 40 minutes, but we were able to get a feel for how the game will play and were impressed with the visuals in the initial CG cutscene. Unfortunately, there are only going to be two of these fully animated sequences in the game, but they were impressive nonetheless.

Most of the time, the story is told through lines of voice-acted dialogue with character portraits and in-game cutscenes. The hero of the story is L'Arc, a mercenary from the Meridian Empire who, in the opening cutscene, tumbles off of his airship after fighting off a horde of dragons. He meets a lovely young girl by the name of Ryfia, who's actually from the Republic with which the empire is at war. Whether it's her pretty face or, perhaps, her really short dress, he decides to escort her to her destination, and the fact that she is the enemy doesn't seem to faze him one bit. We eventually meet up with Alf, L'Arc's childhood friend and a member of the royal family, who also tags along to help the young lady. We'll have to wait to see how this story unfolds, but judging from how everyone reacts to Ryfia, there's likely going to be some serious drama.

Like a typical Japanese RPG, you'll move from one city or dungeon to another, traveling across the overworld map. When you enter a certain area or town, you can see extended scenes if you choose to press the 2 button when it appears. The game will provide a bit more backstory if you decide to read or watch these scenes, but they can be skipped or ignored. Rico is the in-game currency, which you'll acquire as you defeat monsters, to purchase new weapons, orbs, and other items to help you along the way. Orbs are your source of magic, so you can equip them to cast spells in combat. We got just far enough to test them out once, but we're told that there will be a lot more customization as time goes on in regards to your character and weapons.

Enemies are seen onscreen and you can generally run around them if you want to skip a fight. Battles are turn based and rely on action points. Your three-person party shares an AP gauge and each action comes with a cost. You can choose to use up all your AP with one character or divvy it evenly among your teammates, but it really depends on how you want to approach the fight. At certain points in the game, you'll have a fourth party member, but he or she will be controlled by the AI. You can chain attacks together to form combos and execute an excel act when your SP gauge is full. For easy battles, you can adjust your character's tactics and the game will automatically fight for you depending on your setup. There weren't a lot of options for us because we only played the beginning of the game, but we were told that eventually you'll have a larger cast of characters to choose from and you'll be able to form your own party.

Our tour of the Meridian Empire was brief, but there seem to be a lot of fascinating characters to meet and plenty of peculiar enemies to fight. The game stands out visually as well, with its vibrant environments and anime artwork. For those of you who keep track, composer Yasunori Mutsuda, who also worked on Chrono Trigger and Xenogears, is one of the composers for Arc Rise Fantasia.

If you're looking for a 60-hour epic on the Wii, then you will want to keep an eye out for Arc Rise Fantasia when it is released on June 22.