The most recent issue of Dengeki PlayStation includes a feature about RPGs on PlayStation 3. The feature is headlined by two-page scopes on Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and Last Remnant, as well as Level 5's Shirokishi Monogatari (White Knight Story).
Since Level 5's first PlayStation 3 title was only 10% complete when it debuted at last year's Tokyo Game Show, the magazine asked company president Akihiro Hino about the game's status. While Hino wouldn't provide a specific date, he said, Level 5 would soon be able to show "various things" to the gaming public. The final product's visual quality apparently will be on the same level as the graphics shown in last year's trailer movie. Hino is promising new elements hard to imagine from the trailer. During a Q&A session last year, he had singled out the following three elements as the key concepts behind Shirokishi Monogatari: Being a hero, a new sense scale, and a new battle system. In addition to those three concepts however, there seems to be another, secret concept. Hino wouldn't give away any details, saying only it will surprise a lot of fans.
According to Dengeki PlayStation, a total of 15 RPGs (including the aforementioned titles) are currently in development for PlayStation 3 in Japan. Gust, Nippon Ichi Software and Takuyo confirmed to the magazines that development of their respective PlayStation 3 RPGs is well under way. The following four titles are also mentioned in the feature: Hudson's untitled action RPG, Rengoku The End of the Century, Bandai Namco Games' untitled RPG and Project D from Michael Soft.
Last but not least, the magazine's editors also conducted a short survey among developers of PlayStation 3-based RPGs. Asked about how they aim to use the system's online component, respondents mentioned digital distribution of additional items or dungeons after a game's release, distribution of demos, fixing of bugs, and game design with an online premise. Furthermore, developers apparently believe PlayStation 3 will not only help evolve the RPG genre visually, but also allow for new ways to play games.
