Shirokishi Monogatari

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Shirokishi Monogatari

Developer(s)	Level-5
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date(s)	TBA 2007 TBA 2008 TBA 2008
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single Player
Rating(s)	CERO: TBD ESRB: TBD PEGI: TBD
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Media	1 × BD-ROM

Shirokishi Monogatari (白騎士物語, Shirokishi Monogatari^? lit. "White Knight Story") is a video game RPG developed by Level-5 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is Level-5's first project for the system, and is currently slated to release in Japan sometime in late 2007, with a worldwide localization to follow shortly thereafter.

While little is known about the title, Level-5 has revealed they are placing an emphasis on scale within the game world. According to a Famitsu article, many enemies are extremely large in size (some standing over 2,000 meters tall), resulting in battles with the player similar in style to Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 2 title, Shadow of the Colossus. In one piece of concept artwork, a massive turtle-like creature is depicted carrying an entire city on its back.^[1]

1 Gameplay
- 1.1 World
- 1.2 Battle system
2 Characters
3 Audio
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Lenard transforming into the White Knight.

Shirokishi Monogatari, like most other console RPGs is presented in third person perspective. The player can freely choose which character to control. Like any other RPG, the characters gain experience points and level up, becoming stronger over the course of the game. Level-5 plans to make Shirokishi Monogatari a 50-60 hour game, a length Akihiro Hino considers to be a full length RPG, going against the pressure to make Shirokishi Monogatari a launch title and cutting the story short.^[2]

[edit] World

While it is unknown whether the world in Shirokishi Monogatari is one seamless world where players can walk from one end to the other, the Tokyo Game Show trailer shows that, similar to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, one can select locations on a world map, presumably ones the player has already visited, to instantly go to, along with a preview of that area. Each area also has a quest list that shows quests the player has yet to complete. The player can choose a quest to do before going to the desired area.

[edit] Battle system

Battling on the Blaster Plains.

The battle system used in Shirokishi Monogatari uses a realtime combat system, where the battle mode is initiated automatically when enemies are present. Before a battle, the player optionally goes into the "Battle Preparation" menu (accessible at any time) and chooses a set of seven commands for each character in the party. This set of seven commands is called a "Function Palette", and several of these palettes can be saved, suggesting that tactical palette preparing and switching will be essential to the game. The commands can also link in some way, presumably to create combos. These can then be used in battle, where the player controls one of the characters, while the others are controlled by the AI, as seen in the Tokyo Game Show trailer. Players, though, can freely change the character they're controlling. The main character can transform into the White Knight when a gauge is filled, using normal attacks on minor enemies. Characters can also perform combo attacks with other characters, such as one character holding an enemy while another attacks it. Boss battles also take place in a similar fashion except that they may include cutscenes for in-battle events.

[edit] Characters

Lenard

The main character who can transform into the White Knight.

Yulie

A girl who comes from the same village as Lenard.

Erudoa

A middle aged warrior.

White Knight

A seven meter tall warrior from a time when such creatures nearly destroyed all of mankind.

Black Knight

A creature identical to the White Knight in both powers and abilities.

[edit] Audio

Shirokishi Monogatari will feature full voice-overs (likely in both English and Japanese), as well as an orchestrated soundtrack by Level-5 composer Tomohito Nishiura.