Coming to theaters in Japan on July 25th is the anime movie, Short Peace. The movie consists of four short movies by various directors – a couple of which (Hinoyoujin and Farewell to Arms) are from Akira creator, Katsuhiro Otomo. Now, a fifth part of the project has been announced... As a video game.
A collaborative effort by Gouichi Suda (Better known as Suda 51) of Grasshopper Manufacture, and the developers at Crispy of Tokyo Jungle fame, comes a new action game titled, Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day (月極蘭子のいちばん長い日).
According to Weekly Famitsu, the game is designed as a sidescroll action game. The player takes the part of the protagonist, Ranko Tsukigime, and must race through various stages based on modern-day Japan to evade capture by her as-of-yet-unknown pursuers. The game has a unique system where you defeat enemies with visual effects. Confused? Crispy's top man, Youhei Kataoka explains the game system thusly:
"Effects aren't just for show on the screen. Effects will fly and hit enemies, creating more effects, and by affecting the field around them, you can use the effects in other ways, such as footholds. I think that using the effects themselves is very entertaining as a system. Also, by creating a chain of effects, the screen becomes much more lively, and feels good to watch like a promotional video that keeps getting cooler."
Suda, who put together the concept and scenario for the game, added that the exhilaration and enjoyment were the focal point of the new game. Suda, who recently celebrated the completion of his latest game, Killer is Dead (out next month), currently has two more publicly announced projects yet to come. Let's hope he doesn't burn himself out.
According to the publishers at Namco Bandai, Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day is 30% complete. The game is set to come out on the PlayStation 3. No release date has been announced yet, nor is there any word on an international release.
『月極蘭子のいちばん長い日』――『SHORT PEACE』プロジェクト第5番目の作品はゲームだった！ [ファミ通.com]
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