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• Radiata Stories Staff Readying New RPG for DS

  It seems like PSP is getting most of the big RPG announcements out of Japan of late. But not this time. The folks behind Square Enix's PlayStation 2 classic Radiata Stories are working with Atlus on a new RPG, and it's for DS.

   

  The new game is titled Radiant Historia. Set in the world of Vancool, you play as Stok, a spy with the intelligence agency of the nation of Alicetel. Your country is at war with neighboring Gran org, whose ruler Queen Protea is blamed for the drying of the land and a strange disease that turns people into sand.

   

  The game begins when Stok and his subordinates are sent into Gran org territory to rescue a captured spy. They end up getting caught themselves. Stok suffers a great injury and briefly enters the world of Historia, where he's given the ability to travel through time and space.

   

  You'll be using this ability as you play through Radiant Historia. We're not sure how the system works exactly, but it seems as though you'll be changing the past in order to create a "proper" future. The game has you travel through time, and also through space as you switch off between parallel worlds.

   

  Expected of a Japanese-style RPG, Radiant Historia will have a full combat system. Details are scarce on this area of the game at present. From what we gather, enemies are positioned on a 3 x 3 grid. Your attack and defensive strength are determined in part by your proximity to the enemy when attacking.

   

  Although key members of the Radiata Stories team are working on it, Radiant Historia is not a tri-Ace game. It actually seems to have talent from a variety of sources. The Radiata Stories connection comes from character designer Hiroshi Konishi and world setting creator Satoshi Takayashiki, both of whom worked on Radiata. The game's director is Mitsuru Hirata, director of Shin Megamitensei III Nocturne. Atlus is also guaranteeing quality sounds for the game as it's put Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts) to work on the soundtrack.

   

  Japan will get Radiant Historia on November 4. An international release has yet to be announced.