New game: Radiata Stories

maybe someone can translate this..
http://www.squarenet.info/main.php?site=sn-news&id=1241

EDIT: got this from themagicbox..
Square Enix announced a new PS2 RPG called Radiata Stories, which is developed by TriAce (Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean). The main character is a 16 year old boy named Jack Russell, a fencer who is on a quest to confront the raging dragons. Jack will travel with a female friend named Ridley Timberlake, who is a knight. Radiata Stories is scheduled to release in Japan in 2005.

I wish I could say I was excited by that, but it doesn't seem remotely distinct from every other RPG ever made.


..........Except Earthbound of course. NOTHING is remotely like Earthbound.

1up reports:
Radiata Stories, the title recently trademarked by Square Enix, is the next RPG project from Star Ocean developer tri-Ace, Famitsu Weekly reports this week.
While an official announcement has yet to be made, the domain name "www.radiata.jp" has been registered by tri-Ace, and redirects to its Japanese webpage. The first details on the game, which is expected to hit Japan in 2005, have appeared in the latest round of weekly Japanese game magazines.

The first images of the game show off a visual style reminiscent of Square's old action-RPG Dewprism, albeit with greater detail and softer, darker colors in the vein of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.

Players can begin the game with one of two characters, male or female -- Jack Russell is his name, Ridley Timberlake hers -- each 16 years of age. They're both residents of the small village of Soreyu, on the outskirts of the Radiata Kingdom, but their travels naturally take them far beyond there, and into the company of some 150 supporting characters (exceeding even Suikoden proportions). There appear to be some cameos in the cast from other tri-Ace games -- a couple of the designs look like ringers for Freya and Lezard Valeth from Valkyrie Profile.

Radiata's battle system takes place at least partially in real time, employing something called the Link Battle System. The lead member of the party can team up for combination attacks with one, two, or all three other members, depending on their affinities.

While it might seem like it's a bit early for the developer to reveal a new project, with Star Ocean: Till the End of Time having only just arrived in North America, it's been well over a year since the third Star Ocean game arrived in Japan in February of 2003.

We'll look forward to an official announcement and more details shortly.

150 freakin' supporting characters? I smell replayability.

I can't say that I'm terribly excited about this, as there are a bunch of games on my "must buy" list already. But I'll definately get it... eventually.

So it's Star Ocean meets Suikoden? I remain unimpressed. They're hitting par when they should be nailing eagles right and left. With complacency like that someone could easily steal the crown. Hopefully they'll unveil some new detail that will make this game seem a lot more appealing.

I heard about that awhile ago. Well, it sounds really interesting, from what I've read so far. I'll definitley check it out, and keep up with the news.


:D

Famitsu-Scans
EDIT: More Pics
EDIT: TGS-Trailer (swf/15mb)
EDIT: New Scan