Yes, White Knight Chronicles is coming to North America; Akihiro Hino, the CEO and president of Level-5, says so himself. In an interview with GameTrailers, Hino reaffirmed that Level-5 plans to bring the game over to North America, but he did not disclose when it would be coming.
Furthermore, when pressed for the possibility of North American gamers playing alongside Japanese gamers in WKC's online components, Hino neither denied nor confirmed the cross-region play with a "hasn't been decided yet" response. This sort of wording leads to speculation that such a feature might be in the works and will be implemented if Level-5 works out all the kinks. It would be great if they do. To see the full video interview, just have a look past the break.
Posted Dec 17th 2008 1:05PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has reviewed the upcoming Level-5 RPG White Knight Chronicles and they weren't too impressed it, giving the PS3 exclusive a score of 29/40 (7,8,7,7). The reviewers didn't care for a number of elements in the game, such as the in-game menus, battle controls, chatting (apparently it was difficult to chat while moving around) and overly simplistic battle system. However, they did praise the game's customizable combos, epic battles and gorgeous looking world. Finally, the game length is said to clock in at about 30 hours.
This doesn't bode well for White Knight Chronicles -- but do keep in mind that Famitsu has had rather strange opinions in the past -- they gave the universally panned Haze a 34/40 (9,8,9,8).
Level-5's first big PS3 RPG, White Knight Chronicles, is hitting Japan very soon. In order to get the populace ready for this epic adventure, the official Japanese site now features a beautifully illustrated prequel manga. Simply click on "Special" at the top of the site to get a peek at the first issue. Sure, it's in Japanese, but for fans that are eagerly awaiting this game, this is a nice way of seeing the expansive world of WKC.
The last time we did a story on White Knight Chronicles, we were bringing you a 14-minute look at Level-5's studio and the online components of the game. It was an interesting look, having the developers show everyone around, but now it' time for a new trailer (and even more footage of online play).
The trailer posted above is the same one that was played at the Tokyo Game Show last month. A lot of it includes spliced up imagery from the first trailer the year, before but it's got a few new things in there. The vid posted after the break shows us a little bit about how the "live party" online portion of the game works. Get into that if you want to know more.
Way back last month at the Tokyo Game Show, Sony's booth had a small closed theater for White Knight Chronicles. After watching an all-Japanese interview and a brief trailer, closed theater-goers received a little card which gives access to a special video made available starting today. While all of you couldn't grab a card and consequently are not able to see this new video, we've done the work for you and are hosting the special treat for you to watch right here.
White Knight Chronicles fans (especially the ones who can understand Japanese) will surely be interested in seeing this 14-minute long look into the making of the game. The first five minutes takes us on a guided tour through Level-5's posh Fukuoka studio. CEO and president of Level-5, Akihiro Hino, then takes us through eight minutes of the battle system, fending off overgrown monsters and transforming into the White Knight himself. The last minute includes some footage seen from the TGS trailer. So watch it right now! WNC is out in Japan on Christmas Day, December 25.
Posted Oct 8th 2008 11:45AM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Japanese gaming magazine Dengeki PlayStation reveals in its latest issue an online co-op mode for the Level-5 RPG White Knight Story. This online mode is independent of the story mode, but will feature characters from the single-player mode. Here is how it works: a lobby will accommodate 16 players, who will then be separated into groups of up to four in order to tackle quests and challenges. This mode will also give players a way to chat with one another. White Knight Story will be playable at TGS, so we'll let you know our thoughts on the game when we get some hands-on time with it.
With a Japanese release date finally hammered down for White Knight Story, expect to see a barrage of new info and media pouring in the following months. To kick start this impending influx of cavalier RPGness, we've found some delectable screenshots of Level-5's new adventure. You can see the new images in our gallery below; be sure to check them out.
Posted Sep 17th 2008 9:30AM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
According to this Famitsu scan, the PS3 exclusive White Knight Story will be released on Japan on December 25th. The four-page story features an interview with producer Akihiro Hino. A subtitle has been unveiled, which translates to Ancient Beat. Aino tells us development is nearing the end but not completed. The producer claims this is the most epic title he has worked on and mentions an aspect of the game that is only possible on the PS3. Unfortunately, no word yet on a release date outside of Japan.
[Via PS3Hyper -- thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Posted Sep 5th 2008 3:00PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Oops! Looks like we were a bit too eager to report on White Knight Story's release date. Yesterday we stated that the latest issue of Famitsu pegged the PS3 exclusive RPG's Japanese release date as December 11th. A flip through the actual magazine doesn't reveal the same date; in fact, the date is still unannounced.
Posted Aug 29th 2008 10:00AM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Some have been complaining lately that the PS3 is lacking in JRPGs, but most people forget that White Knight Story was mentioned in a Sony presentation as a game that will launch this fiscal year ending in April 2009. All we have from the PS3-exclusive Level-5 RPG thus far has been infrequent updates of screenshots and concept illustrations. But a tease on the official websites at Sony Japan and Level-5 tells us that's all about to change: "The days of wakening are coming soon." (translation courtesy of PS3Hyper) Speculation range from an announcement at Tokyo Game Show or some information in an upcoming issue of Famitsu. Stay tuned!
Level 5's ambitious and mysterious RPG, White Knight Chronicles, has undergone a bit of a face-lift since its first trailer shown a couple of years ago. It's difficult to explain -- the graphics haven't necessary gotten better (we won't say either way until we stare at the game itself on a 1080p screen), but the style seems to have gotten a few tweaks. These screenshots from TGBus show the new style in an old context: most of them seem to come from the old trailer, but with the new style. A few screens appear new, also: the gigantic Knight battles a nasty enemy. In motion, we're sure it looks cooler, but that's all we can say for now.
If you're supposed to take rumors with "a grain of salt", this would probably require you to ingest so much salt you'll melt away like a slug. Not only does Italian magazine PSMania claim that Level 5 is working on White Knight Story in tandem with development on Dark Cloud 3, they claim it's being developed as a PlayStation 3 exclusive for release in March of 2009, using the new "Kumo Engine". While this is great news, we're skeptical Level 5 would be working on their new, ambitious IP while also hacking away at another beloved franchise. Take this how you want, but we hope it's got some truth to it. Dark Cloud is a pretty underrated franchise.
It's been a long time since we've seen or heard anything regarding Level 5's upcoming RPG, White Knight Chronicles (the "chronicles" moniker seems popular for this generation of RPG's, really). However, Jeremiah at PS3 Forums slapped up a ton of scans from magazines in pretty excellent resolutions. Our grammar has taken a vacation because our minds are twisted in horrid ways from thinking about this game.
A lot of the scans seems old, many of the pictures we've probably posted before, but just in case these are updated screens (we think the above image is showing off the improved graphics, but aren't sure) or a new page here or there, we're bringing them to your attention. Let's hope this game pops up at E3 or TGS later this year.
We know, it's like Famitsu has new scans of this game every time we turn our heads. While it might not be important to some, it's worth noting in these scans that your characters do in fact change their clothes. This is something we're sure Level 5 is carrying over from Rogue Galaxy and it's nice to see them implementing it again. Or if that doesn't interest you, there are a few more battle screenshots to check out, including some of a giant knight battle. There's also a few images of the new enemy the knight is fighting -- it looks pretty creepy even in concept art form. Enjoy!
Magazines just love Level 5's White Knight Story. Famitsu has released some new looking screenshots and, while a bit fuzzy, show off some brighter colors than we've really seen so far. We've got another screenshot of the battle system in progress, the main character and two others staring down a bunny-dog-like creature, and then a giant boss that can only be described as ... um ... trendy? He's got a nice scarf. And giant club. Enjoy!
