Ar Nosurge’s Gameplay Trailer: Intriguing and Titillating

Sorry, we’ve no idea if this title will hit store shelves in North America. For now, it’s only scheduled to release in Japan.

Developer Gust released a new trailer for their upcoming JRPG, Ar Nosurge, which is exclusive to the PlayStation 3 and slated to launch on March 6 in Japan. The video gives us a peek at the title’s compelling gameplay, which includes battle and “purification ceremonies” that, for some strange reason, involve swimsuits. It’s a critical part of the game, apparently.

This is actually a really creative game. The gameplay features towns, exploration and battles and each is a separate “mode.” For instance, when in town mode, players can synthesize items and equipment, and their characters progress using a system called Genometrics. When in battle mode, the heroine uses powerful song magic, while her compatriots protect her. Song magic isn’t new to the world of JRPGs; for instance, those who remember the Lunar games are quite familiar with music-based sorcery.

Gust is a tried-and-true JRPG developer and fans have come to trust these productions. As the niche genre continues to slide, we start to wonder if we’ll ever see a super big-budget JRPG production again. They all seem to be lower on the production value scale these days, and many are heading to the mobile and digital realms.

Is the anime off-putting now?

Back in the day, when most all games came from Japan, we were sorta forced to embrace anime. Even if you didn’t like it, you were exposed to it. These days, with so many Western productions, those outside of Japan don’t have to tolerate something they don’t enjoy; namely, anime. Maybe that’s why the JRPG has fallen so far in recent years.