E3 2002: Mystic Heroes GameCube preshow report

At Koei's pre-E3 press conference today, the company revealed details on its upcoming fantasy action game Mystic Heroes for the GameCube. Released earlier this year in Japan as Battle Fengshen , Mystic Heroes is an action game with a heavy emphasis on cooperative melee fighting. A key component of the combat system in the game is working with your allies and having them assist you during battle.

Mystic Heroes will put you in the role of one of four characters--Shiga, Lani, Naja, and Tai--who set out to stop the evil Emperor Kang. Exiled to a tower on Mt. Hoshin because of his merciless oppression, Kang escapes using the power of an ancient artifact called the Dragon Star. Bent on revenge and determined to rule again, Kang uses the Dragon Star to revive all his fallen troops, raising the mother of all undead armies. Master Gen, an elder mystic, gathers the four heroes together and charges them with stopping Kang and restoring peace.

The gameplay will send you duking it out across eight stages, using mystic attacks that are enabled by equipping magical items called runes. Each rune has a set of spells that you'll be able to use if you have enough experience. You'll be able to collect 70 runes over the course of the game by defeating enemies, finding them in your travels, or completing certain objectives. While most of the runes can be collected in the story mode, some can only be found in the game's survival mode. You'll find four types of mystic attacks to choose from. If you use them enough, you'll be able to level up your character and gain access to stronger and more effective spells.

Mystic Heroes is set to ship this fall for the GameCube. Look for more on the game from the E3 show floor.