Summon Night 6: Lost Borders coming to PS4, PS Vita

As a gamer, it always bothered me that English-speaking gamers were denied the goodness of Summon Night. But making the connections required for an English license to happen is not a simple undertaking. But back in 2014, our madness paid off — the planets aligned, years of work paid off, and our karma glowed bright enough that we were able to license Summon Night 5 so we could finally release the first mainline Summon Night game in the United States.

It turned out Summon Night 5 was only the warm-up — Summon Night 6: Lost Borders would be the main attraction, and would be our very first multi-platform release on PS4 and PS Vita.

Even 9 months before the Japanese release, it was clear that this was a beautiful, fun strategy RPG — and a Summon Night game, through and through. And it was extra special because the game celebrated the 15th anniversary of Summon Night; it would bring together many key characters from the whole series for one grand, trope-free romp.

Okay, I lied about the “trope-free” part. There are as many JRPG tropes as you would expect in Summon Night 6: Lost Borders — maybe more. But they’re as fun and funny as you would hope. The game centers on three main characters living in isolation. Their solitary routines are upended when people literally begin falling from the sky into their world. At first, they struggle to learn who the visitors are and why they dropped in, but as they unravel the mystery they learn the power of friendship, eventually using that power to help them overcome a dark secret that cuts to the heart of their reality.

The gameplay is classic Summon Night, but turbocharged and streamlined. The usual strategy grid is displayed when you move, but the characters are free to run anywhere within their movement range without being limited to the squares. The Summon magic is represented here, as expected, as are assists, but there’s a new huge Summon Burst type of attack that unleashes crazy devastation on enemies.

Terrain is expressed in 3D beautifully, as are the characters. And the ever-popular night conversations are available with more characters than ever to help develop strong ties with allies at the end of every chapter. Summon Night 6 also supports cross save, allowing the game to be played on both PS4 and PS Vita. And players will need that edge because the game is a replay beast, with more than a dozen endings to see.

Whichever version you choose to play, whether PS4 or PS Vita, if you’re a JRPG fan you’re in for a rare treat that opens the door to a fantastic universe.