White Knight Chronicles: Ancient Pulse

With a track record of producing games ranging from good to fantastic, Level 5 has in the last few years become the company to watch in the RPG field. Their biggest project, at least in terms of scale, is White Knight Chronicles: Ancient Pulse, an action-RPG announced a few years ago for the PS3. While we hadn't heard from the game since last TGS, about a year ago, Level 5 is finally starting to make some noise on the game. Most importantly, White Knight Chronicles was dated in this week's issue of Famitsu for Japan, for December 25th, 2008! The game will also have a large showing at TGS this October where we will finally see an updated build of the game.

There are also some new scans and a (lol-translated) interview from this week's Famitsu, previewing what will be shown at the Tokyo Game Show in a few weeks.

The Scan: Found Here.

And the interview:

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Hamamura: The fact that you called us into the Level5 studio must mean that something big's stirring right?
Hino: Of course. We're finally nearing completion and decided on 12/25 as the release date, so we wanted to inform you of that.

Ha: December! That's right around the corner!
Hi: Yeah, lol

Ha: Ah..so the game development is almost done then.
Hi: Actually...not as close as you might think so we're working very hard at the moment...
Ha: LOLOLOL
Hi: We're finally seeing the light at the end of the long development tunnel, so the entire staff is doing some major final work.

Ha: I see. When I first saw WKC, I was astounded by the quality of the artwork. You know...how those humongous monsters actually move, the beauty of the artwork contrasted with some very grotesque monsters. I thought "wow!" at the initial stage, but thought it would take a considerable time to develop.
Hi: I've created a lot of RPGs to date so there were a lot of parts where I could apply my experience, but due to the fact that it was an RPG on an epic scale, compounded with tackling another huge aspect of the game, caused the development to take a very long time. This is a title that had 3 major parts to it: developing on the PS3, developing an epic RPG, and a tremendous additional piece. From a gamer standpoint, it is a very rich title, but from a developer's standpoint, it gave us a lot of headaches. This is the largest title I've ever created, even at Level 5. I've been very fortunate that I have been able to create this title with SCE.

Ha: There's a keyword that's grabbed my attention, but I'll ask about that in a bit lol. Is there any story aspects which haven't been talked about before?
Hi: The concept of transforming in a fantasy world hasn't changed. We decided to make WKC an orthodox story where the protagonist goes to rescue a kidnapped princess; where the protagonist fights evil and rescues the princess.

Ha: Orthodox, indeed. lol. A lot of the characters are also very charming aren't they.
Hi: Not necessarily charming. There are a good number of characters that have an "out there" personality and because of that, it was difficult to balance out the character settings as well as the world view. Because I've learned from working on the Dragon Quest series that character design is painfully important, I struggled a lot with character design and world views. It got to the point where I struggled so much that there was a time where I wandered aimlessly trying to deal with this. Creating the world view was also something that my staff put a tremendous amount of time and effort into out of necessity. Also, as a game, I felt it was important to include situations where some tense situations could be relieved in a fun manner so we've included a good amount of that. To the point where it was sometimes difficult to incorporate such events.

Ha: I can hear your suffering lol.
Hi: The story is so immense that every aspect of the game took a lot of time to develop. Because of that, though, this game has an immenseness that I feel will be difficult to recreate in future titles, nor will that opportunity rear it's head for atleast a very very long time.

Ha: So the official title has been decided.
Hi: Yes, WKC -Ancient Pulse-

Ha: What does the subtitle mean?
Hi: WKC is, in fact, a very sorrowful story, but the event that started the chain reaction of events occured ages ago. The event that occured ages ago affects the present day time that the protagonist and friends live in. The title essentially has the meaning that the event of the past is reawakening in present time. How should I put this; from the title, I tried to portray that this is only the beginning, that this is the first chapter of an epic. I hope that this story will go on for a long time.

Ha: Hm...I sense something electrifying lol. So we'll actually be able to play the game at TGS in october right?
Hi: Actually, we're still trying to determine how to have players experience the title in the best way possible. There's no doubt that we will have visitors experience the game, but whether that will be via playing the game? Please look forward to TGS.

Ha: I see. It's exciting to hear that everything is moving forward nicely. BTW, at the beginning of the interview, you mentioned an aspect outside of an epic scale RPG, but what is that about...?
Hi: I think how gamers play RPGs have changed over time. There are many different games out there now, so it's no longer just an era where people just enjoy the storyline.

Ha: Things have indeed changed.
Hi: Because of that, we wanted to include an aspect that everyone would be able to look forward to, beyond the concept of just playing an RPG. While WKC is an epic RPG, games also have a new function, which is contained in this new aspect.

Ha: So that means, instead of a game where you just blindly play to move forward, there's another, completely different face to this game?
Hi: That's exactly it. WKC has a lot of different aspects to it, and has playstyles which have never even existed conceptually in existing RPG's. I can't go into much detail atm, but WKC is not just about enjoying the adventure.

Ha: When you say it's not just about enjoying the story...
Hi: Unfortunately, I can't reveal the details just yet, but we're added this aspect which is only possible on the PS3.

Ha: Hm....I'm really curious. When will we be able to find out the details?
Hi: Hm...I'd like to reveal it as soon as possible.

Ha: Understood. I will be looking forward to it! Finally, a mesage to all the readers. There hasn't been any articles about WKC in close to a year so I'm sure there are quite a few people who are waiting for something.
Hi: It's been 3 years since we started development on WKC. An immense game on the PS3 ends up taking a tremendous amount of time, but we feel that the additional time it took to develop this game has allowed it to become a title with a tremendous amount of content and a lot of impact. It's coming to be an amazing title. Because everyone's waited so long, we hope to make sure that the game was worth the wait. As such, the entire staff and myself will work dilligently to finish and polish up the game. Please look forward to, more or less, PS3's first mega epic RPG.

Ha: We'll be looking forward to more information in the future!
Hi: Gotcha, lol.

It sounds great, and I'm eagerly anticipating impressions out of TGS. Hopefully this will be the epic RPG the PS3 has been waiting for!

I was actually keeping my eye on this the first time I glanced it on IGN.. it makes me sad that I don't have a PS3, but here's hoping they toss it on 360. xP

Originally Posted by Karma

I was actually keeping my eye on this the first time I glanced it on IGN.. it makes me sad that I don't have a PS3, but here's hoping they toss it on 360. xP

Could be, Just like FF13

Originally Posted by Karma

I was actually keeping my eye on this the first time I glanced it on IGN.. it makes me sad that I don't have a PS3, but here's hoping they toss it on 360. xP

Published and funded by Sony.

But here's something interesting! A new Level 5 game is to be announced at a Level 5 event, September 28th!

Level-5 Holding Announcement Event
New games coming soon from Japan's most vibrant RPG maker?
By Kevin Gifford, 09/17/2008
Level-5 (and its head and chief producer, Akihiro Hino) may be busy right now putting the final touches on White Knight Chronicles for its Christmas '08 Japan release, but you don't get to be one of the most well-known RPG developers in all of Asia by just sitting around and rolling up cigarettes with all those Dragon Quest royalty checks. In this week's issue of Famitsu magazine, the publisher took out a cryptic ad to announce Level-5 Vision 2008, a media and industry-only event taking place September 26 in Tokyo.

The ad offered little clue behind what may be happening at the event, but judging by the "A game revolution is beginning" slogan slathered across the two-page spread (not to mention an admonishment to "wait for shocking announcements from Level-5!" down below), it seems reasonable to assume Level-5 wants to tell us about more than what they had for lunch yesterday. Keep your eyes peeled.

Layton-ton?
Dark Cloud 3-ton?
Jesus reincarnated as a hamster currently riding a bicycle-ton?

Guess we'll have to wait until the 28th to find out.

Can't wait for this! I hope a US date is announced soon.

But oh snap! I'm more excited for what's coming next at the moment. I really hope it's next-gen Dark Cloud.

The official website has been updated. Along with a message from the creator to stay tuned for a surprise announced at TGS, there are some new screens as well.












Honestly, the graphics aren't incredible, but they're still great. It'll be interesting to see what the updated build looks like in motion at TGS.

awwwwww yeeeeah!
i may not have a ps3, but this looks so cool

Some new information on White Knight Chronicles has come out:

Was able to procure the dengeki scans and here is the new info for WKC

-First RPG on the market to be native 1080p
-Storyline quality on par with that of DQ series story lines
-Image quality approaching that of Final Fantasy
-Aspects (Tension) reminiscent of Monster Hunter

Sounds good. Like something a developer would say about their game. But still, 1080p is awesome! If it's 60fps, then *bow* *bow* to Level-5.

The new Level-5 games have been announced via Famitsu. Nothing really catching my attention at this point, but still interesting:

LEVEL 5 VISION 2008 10TH ANNIVERSARY BLOW OUT:

Ninokuni (DS/Level5/2009)

- The animation in the game is all by Studio Ghibli
- Level 5's first 10th Anniversary product
- There will be a book bundled with the game filled with information on various magic crests and spell recipes. This "Magic Master" book is something that the main character in the game has, and the player will need to refer to from time to time while playing the game.

- There will be a console version of the game, but the hardware is not decided yet.
- They want the console version to offer something different for people that have already played the DS version, the selection of the hardware will be based on which is most suitable for this purpose.
- The exact same book will be packaged with the console version as well.

Inazuma Eleven 2 (DS/Level5/2009)

- Football Frontier concept
- Alien Gakuen team introduced


Cardboard Senki (PSP/Level5/2009)

- Brand new type of RPG (o rly)
- You play as a mini robot called LBX, in environments made out of cardboard
- You can buy new parts and models for LBX at stores to upgrade and outfit the robot


Ushiro (PSP/Level5/2009)

- Horror RPG where a shinigami clings on behind people that have exhausted their lives to experience their lives
- As a shinigami you observe, possess, and fulfil the wishes of the person you're attached to
- There's a scene where you fight a monster that is an embodiment of a person's malice

TGS is getting close! It will be interesting to get updated hands-on impressions.

Sony and Level 5 had an event in Japan with TGS for the game:

TGS 08: White Knight Chronicles media event

+ Posted by Jeff Rubenstein // Social Media Manager

Just a few minutes ago, one of the most anticipated games of Tokyo Game Show was formally unveiled to the media: White Knight Chronicles (called Shirokishi here in Japan). I sat in on the session and, um, chronicled it for you here:

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Kentaro Motomura, Producer of White Knight Chronicles, first runs down some key points – Level-5 created this RPG especially for the PLAYSTATION 3, with a key differentiating element of a transforming hero. They’re trying to do something new with this mechanic. You can play solo, or in a group of up to 4 online (more on that later).

Motomura-san gives a quick rundown of the story and then plays a trailer detailing these scenes: During the princess of Balandor’s coming of age ceremony, a group known as the “Wizard” raids the kingdom looking for the power of “Knight.”

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A young man named Leonard escapes into a cellar and finds a mysterious set of armor, which transforms him into the White Knight, and he defeates the Wizard’s enormous monster. However, the princess was kidnapped during the battle. Leonard sets off with his newfound power to find the kidnapped princess.

The trailer also reveals a number of other characters, huge beastly monsters, even larger armored creatures, and Leonard’s transformation into the titular White Knight (who is clearly a bad ass). The trailer concludes with a bat-winged airship flapping off into the stratosphere.

Motomura-san now describes the concept of the world – an authentic fantasy world created on an enormous scale. One of the characteristics is that there are lot of enormous creatures in the game, such as a monster so large, it has a town on its back.

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Next, character transformation designs are shown – the White Knight, the Black Knight, and the Dragon Knight, which has a pair of wings. All are huge (7 meters high).

More details on who these powerful characters are *before* they transform: Leonard is a young man who works for a wine merchant before being drawn into the events detailed above. Cisna is the aforementioned princess. Yulie and Eldore provide support to Leonard. Yulie is a childhood friend of Leonard, while Eldore is a mysterious warrior lending advice to Leonard.

There are many more major foes shown as well.

Battle

OK, now what you were really pining for: the Battle System. Players can freely register commands into the “function palettes”. You can create and name your own combos to be used in an active-time battle using simple controls. Many, many combinations are possible.

Motomura-san talks more about the Knights for which the game is named. Sometimes you (and your friends) are going to come face-to-face with incredibly large enemies, impervious to most of your attacks. But you’ll likely want to transform into one of the huge Knight characters. But it’s possible to fight successfully with a mix of small and transformed warriors.

There will be significant character customization in WKC as well. The created avatar will take part in the epic story Leonard’s companion

Character making_Upper body

Online vs offline mode: When offline, Leonard is the main character and plays through the story. When online, up to 4 players cooperate to battle as their created character. A video demonstrates a number of characters traveling together through the countryside, the customization options. Male and female characters are shown, with vastly different looks. The type of character (warrior, magic user, etc) is customizable as well. Players can invite others from within the game, and another joins.

The group is then shown taking on a huge troll with a giant club. More areas are then shown, countryside, towns and castles, and other vistas and landscapes.

Now Motomura-san explains the fusion of offline and online modes. Players share money, items, and levels that are earned in one mode into the other. Motomura-san mentions that there are many more new elements to this that will be revealed later.

Online_battle_04

During the Q&A, Motomura-san assures “a huge number” of online quests, and reiterates that it’s different from the offline “story” mode. It’s basically 2 RPGs in one title.

Shirokishi hits Japan on Christmas Day. There’s not yet a set release date for North America or Europe, but you can be sure we’ll announce that information on the PlayStation.Blog when it happens. Look for more on White Knight Chronicles throughout TGS – we’ll be sure to link out to the best coverage. In the meantime, we’ve got lots of screens here.

Some screens:




Not exactly the best looking game, but it still looks like it will be pretty good.

So.. pretty.. o-o

Ack! No, I can't afford a 360 and a PS3! > <;;

It looks intresting, Its definately worth keeping an eye on.

Boxart:

That is pretty bad ass. I wonder how ours will look.

I can't wait fir this game... I downloaded the trailer off the japanese store, and the game graphics are decent, but the CG is AMAZING!!! I might even go as far to say that it's better than Final Fantasy's CG cutscenes...
I hope that it comes out here soon... Well at least early 2009, but I doubt that'll happen... BUT A PS3 EXCLUSIVE! We needed that!

New White Knight Chronicles Commercial/Trailer. It looks SOOO GOOD. PLEASE ACTUALLY BE GOOD!

Jesus reincarnated as a hamster currently riding a bicycle-ton?

HAHAHAHA

Japanese cover art looks pretty "shmexy", if I'm even allowed to call a game case that :/

Honestly, the graphics aren't incredible, but they're still great.

I agree, graphics arn't very important to me anyway. I'm still schleppin' a psone!

I know this game look incredible.
And it's online too! Looks so cool!
I agree with Mr.Wonderfull, I really hope this game is good!!
Please please please!!!

Ut-oh. The Famitsu review is out, and Level-5 clearly did not send a big enough check.

Time to bail out?
Score: 7778: 29/40

Originally Posted by Kagari

Summary:
Lots of optional content.
Big boss battles.
The combat system is simplistic.
Online chat has some issues that the reviewer hopes get patched in the future.
Reviewer #1 mentioned that he wished there was an autorun option because it's hard to chat and fight at the same time.

Offline play is balanced.
You can create your own combos. Fighting is fun.
The SNS system is difficult to use, in the future it would be nice if they patched it.

A beautiful world with huge monsters and intense battles.
Descriptive narrative and events in the single player mode.
The combat system can be repetitive.
Armor synthesis to easily strengthen weapons, is good.

Not complex, easy to get into.
Creating combos is fun, however, the way the menu works could be more polished.
The online mode's future depends on if they upgrade it.
For the time being, the chat function is inconvenient and needs improving.

Added to OP. Basically important bits taken from the review.

Hm. It seems like the Online mode is their biggest problem with the game, which I sort of expected, honestly. Hopefully the offline is really solid, and I'll wait for some importers' impressions before I give up hope on this game.

No need to give up hope Mr.Wonderful!
Although the online may not be the best, the actual game sounds very fun!
I also like to say that all reveriwers have their bisases. Every human being has one, despite what they think.
I think we should try it before we give up hope! I mean, why not right? It still got decent reviews, although it doesn't show well in the score. Which I find even more annoying. I never listen to reviewers... Because there have been plenty of games they've bashed that I love. So it all matters on you! XD

this game looks awesome, I can't wait for it to come out, and I love the fact that its only for the PS3.