Darksiders Dev's RPG Proudly Flaunts Final Fantasy Inspirations in New Trailer

A new trailer for Battle Chasers: Nightwar, the upcoming turn-based RPG developed by Airship Syndicate, has been released. The video, which you can watch below, offers a lengthier look at gameplay, which the studio says is inspired by classics such as Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Phantasy Star.

It's easy to see those influences in the video, which shows characters running around an overworld from an isometric perspective, much like Diablo or games inspired by it, such as Torchlight. Enemy encounters, however, play out like Final Fantasy, with two sides facing-off against each other and taking turns to dish out attacks.

As previously revealed, Battle Chasers: Nightwar is set in the same universe as the comic book series created by Joe Madureira and published by WildStorm in 1998. Madureira, along with a number of developers that worked on THQ's Darksiders series, founded Airship Syndicate to create Nightwar.

Development is partially funded through Kickstarter, but publisher Nordic Games is also attached to the project.

"Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a love letter to one of our favorite genres of gaming: the JRPG," Airship Syndicate said in its Kickstarter pitch. "We grew up playing legends like Final Fantasy, Suikoden, Chrono Trigger, and Phantasy Star. While many greats continue to come from Japan, very few western developers are creating them. With your help we're going to change that."

Nightwar takes place in a lost continent called The Grey Line, where "nothing has ever come from, or survived entering." Players take control of a character called Gully and "her unlikely band of adventurers" as they venture into the territory and attempt to find her father, a great hero called Aramus that ventured into the Grey Line but has not returned.

Familiar faces from the Battle Chasers universe such as Garrison, Knolan, and Monika will return. Gameplay is built on many familiar genre pillars such as Active Initiative Bars, Mana, and special abilities.

The dev explains: "The turn-based combat in Battle Chasers is inspired by the great JRPGs of years past, with three major features: the Dual Mana system; an Active Initiative Bar with random buffs and debuffs; and momentum-shifting super attacks called Battle Surges."

In addition to publishing Battle Chasers: Nightwar, Nordic Games has teased plans for a third instalment in Darksiders series.