If you have heard of Tears To Tiara before, (which I doubt) that’s because it was originally released for the PC in Japan back in 2005. This new version, Tears To Tiara: Earth’s Wreath is actually an enhanced port onto the PS3. The studio releasing the game is Aquaplus, a company gaining popularity in Japan by releasing a variety of media ranging from manga to adult video games. Don’t worry though, this one isn’t too perverted. If you actually have played the game, you may want to check this out.

The game is a strategy RPG with full 3D character sprites, animated cut-scenes, and tons of characters and items. The Japanese version is receiving a lot of attention due to the fact that the entire game features voice-acting from some of the most popular voice actors in the anime world. The American version most likely won’t be on such a grand scale, but hopefully since the game is in a blu-ray disc, whoever localizes it will be nice enough to include the original Japanese dialog (wink wink Atlus).

The story translates roughly to something like this:

Aroun

1200 years since the Bronze Age. A new empire quickly arose in the continent and as its influence spread, so began the erosion of what was formerly known as the “Ancient Country.” In the middle of that, a girl known as “Rhiannon” from a certain clan is working on reviving the devil king, and according to the empire’s priest a scarifice must be made. The ceremony that Rhiannon’s older brother “Arsal” aimed to prevent, in the end, the devil king “Aroun” has been regrettably revived…

Rhiannon

Aroun is the main character of the game that the player will control. So far little else is known about the story.  The player will make many allies which can assist in battle. There is a 2D world map that the player uses to traverse the world. I had a hard time telling if this game was perverted or not. On the surface it looks fine, and the video backs that up. However, Japan is known for releasing some games which focus more on dating-sim than their RPG elements.

I sure hope this game is more focused than that because it looks like a truly impressive SRPG. No word on if the game will be making it to North America, but I believe the fact that it’s being released for the PS3 means it is more likely to happen.

So far Aquaplus hasn’t brought any games to America, but that doesn’t mean another company won’t localize it. The game’s official website can be found here.

Roy aquaplus, preview, ps3 0 comments