We took a look at the PS2-inspired JRPG Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom last summer and came away pretty optimistic about what it would ultimately offer. Now, with the the better part of a year passed and the release "coming soon," publisher Focus Home Interactive has put up a new "Overview" trailer showing off animations, combat and conversation systems, supporting characters, and other elements of the game's wild fantasy world.
"Explore the world and use your characters' special powers―Kayenne's telekinesis, Poky's electromagnetic field manipulation, and more―to progress in your adventure and find precious parchments, which are key to learn devastating spells and powerful combat techniques," Focus Home said.
"Throughout your quest, take part in hyper-dynamic combat inspired by traditional fighting games as you use combos, special moves, magic, elemental affinities, and devastating finishers. As you complete quests and battles, you will gain experience and levels, develop your characters, and recruit new playable companions on your team."
It doesn't sound like a great revolution in RPG design, but the visual style is striking, and Shiness promises a punch of nostalgia, too. "Few developers make games like this anymore, and Shiness reminds me enough of the games I played as a teenager to make me want to see much more of it," Wes wrote after playing it at E3 2016. "Even if it hearkens back to 15-year-old games, that was enough to make it stand out among the crowd."
Shiness is available for pre-purchase on Steam for 15 percent off the regular $30/£25/€30 price. It's expected to be out in a few weeks.
