Sega has been busy sending out new screenshots of its upcoming PSP RPG Shining Blade, due out on March 15th in Japan. In the bounty of images below, we can get an idea of how the battle system will work and get a glimpse of character interactions. Artwork also shows a variety of alternate costumes being available for the game’s lovely ladies.
Sega also described the girl in the green and white outfit, whose name is Elumina. Her combat specialty is comparable to that of bards and support characters from other RPGs, as she sings “Force Songs” that affect all allies.
Shining Blade is a follow-up to Shining Hearts, a 2010 RPG, also for PSP, that never made it outside of Japan. While the game uses the engine from the Valkyria Chronicles trilogy, it’s not a tactical RPG. Screens and videos have shown the lead character exploring a town and visiting shops on foot, which were done via menu interfaces in all three Valkyria games.
It’s unlikely that this game will come stateside, but with the PSP being perfectly region-free, you might consider an import.
