NIS update: New Ar tonelico Qoga for PS3, Cladun and Z.H.P. for PSP

Hello everyone! NIS America just held our annual press event in San Francisco, and we’ve announced several new titles!

Let’s cut to the chase. Here are three titles we will be releasing in Fall 2010 and Spring 2011. First of all, Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel for the PlayStation 3 will be released in Spring of 2011! Nobody saw this coming, right? ;)

Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel is the final entry in the Ar tonelico series. There will still be song magic features, but the battle system has changed drastically. It is now an action-based battle system, and there is an eye popping twist to it as well… literally. You’ll be experiencing some edgy and kinky special moves the Ar tonelico girls pull off in this game! But we’ll talk about that a little later.

The game features all new characters with a new story, so even if you are new to the Ar tonelico series, you won’t have any problems getting into it! And if you have been a fan of the series… thank you for waiting patiently for this announcement! Ar tonelico Qoga will be released in Spring of 2011. Check out some of the Japanese screenshots until we have more to show!

Let’s move on to the next announcement. We will release two Nippon Ichi Software PSP titles in fall! They are… “Cladun: This is an RPG” and “Z.H.P. : Unlosing Ranger VS. Darkdeath Evilman”!

Cladun will be released only on PlayStation Network. It is a retro-looking dungeon crawler RPG with (almost) unlimited customization for your equipment, Magic Circle (character battle formation), character features, and even the last boss! The dungeons will randomly change all the time, so even if you re-visit a dungeon, the traps, enemies, dungeon map, and more will be different. It is a PSN-only title, but don’t underestimate its endless replay value! Check out the trailer below. Also, check back on www.nisamerica.com for the official Cladun website, which will launch around 5pm Pacific Time today!

Z.H.P. is NIS’s new strategy RPG. The ridiculously over-the-top story and characters make you feel right back in familiar NIS territory. The story goes something like this: The main character (you) is an ordinary shy young man. One day, walking on the street after getting some stuff from a convenience store, he witnesses a car accident! Oh no! The victim was the hero, the Unlosing Ranger, supposed to be at the Last Boss Battle to save the world… The hero asks the young man to take over his mission to save the world from the Last Boss, Darkdeath Evilman. Unable to refuse the hero’s last wish, the young man became the weakest, wimpiest main character ever in videogame history!!

Z.H.P. will be released this coming Fall on both PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Network! Check out the trailer to see how deep this game is!

I hope you are excited about our new titles! Lastly, I have something very exciting news for Atelier Rorona fans: We have decided to make a premium package including a hard cover art book. The game and art book will come in a premium box with Rorona artwork on it! Yay! Also, we launched the official website for Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland! Enjoy!