Persona romantics can fall in love again in new JRPG Eternal Nights

The line-up of games shown last night PlayStation condition was a definite W for gamers from all walks of life, no matter if they are VR Vampire Dummy Mom Enthusiasts, Roller derby fanaticor Fighters who have finally crossed the road into the open world. However, a game’s journey to join PlayStation’s stacked list of game announcements has been as anime as its own zany premise. This game is ages.

ages, developed by Studio Sai, is a hack-and-slash JRPG set in a post-apocalyptic world where a mysterious infection is turning people into rampaging monsters. As you can see from the announcement trailer, ages is packed with all the things that make a JRPG great: you have your cool protagonists with magical powers, dungeons full of traps and puzzles, and loyal party members that you can hold down the R2 button to hold hands with while you watch Sunset – wait (checks steam page) Oh, ages is also a dating sim. Right on.

Yes that’s right. love bay bay Next to ages

lightning-fast anime-like JRPG action, you’ll also “fight for those you love”, schedule dates and grow closer to those in your free time Boys and Girls in the Apocalypse. Finally, you have two hands that appear to be able to regrow from dismemberment; why shouldn’t you also use them to fight for a cure for humanity Holding hands with one of the five cute survivors in your party?

Besides some moderately spicy visual novel artwork in romantic scenes, ages also has 2D animated cutscenes that change depending on which girl or guy you are dating. But time is pressing. You can utilize it by deepening your relationship with your companions while unlocking new abilities (just like in real life), scouring the land for life-saving supplies, or just saying “miss me with that BS” and empathizing with Leeroy Jenkins as the first dungeon you see. To each his own.

If you think that a JRPG that doubles as a dating sim sounds awfully similar to the works of the persona Series, you’re right. Indeed after playing individual 5, Persona 4 Goldand Person 3 FES, ages Developers quit their job as a technical artist at Apple to continue developing their game.

Growing up playing games Final Fantasy VII, FFVIII and FFX,

Atelier Shey founder Jae Hyun Yoo narrated my box that the time spent forming deep romantic connections with a small group of characters while delving into the real-world time management of a calendar resonated with them the most.

“Having these experiences [in Eternights] was [my] Main wish,” Yoo said.

Yoo has an impressive resume. Before Apple, he worked as an engineer at Thatgamecompany and as an FX animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios. To give you an idea of ​​Yoo’s abilities, he worked on Elsa’s dress transformation into Frozen, Portal magic in big hero 6and the pixelated destruction of Sugarland in Destroy it Ralph.

The first footage the internet has ever seen ages was in one 2019 r/Unity3D subreddit post by Yoo. At that time, ages went under the project name Kafka and was described as persona meets Devil May Cry. Jae posted the game with a calendar system, time management, and relationship-based gameplay, replacing the RPG bits with hacks and slashes.

Aside from answering questions about rigging 3D models and sharing inspirational videos from persona Series director Katsura HashinoJae has posted a number of updates on ages. These updates include persona-inspired character introductory trailerearly animation cels of the trailer My hero academy-inspired punchand combat shots.

“I remember my mother was worried [Eternights]’ said Yoo. “I guess she was a little relieved yesterday.”

Nothing says anime like coming to terms with yourself after taking inspiration from the greats that come before you. Plus your debut game being featured alongside the likes of Final Fantasy XVI and Resident 4 Remake is pretty awesome.

“I hope you enjoyed this first look at our debut game,” Jae said in one PlayStation blog post. “As a storyteller, I’ve always wanted to mix a love story with adrenaline-pumping action. I wanted players to have a strong, personal reason to push them through combat encounters and to feel like they were fighting for more than their own survival – they were fighting for those they love.”

ages is ready to carry the torch from persona like Prometheus from Gaming, bringing the fires of battle and romantic party members to the masses. I can’t wait to hold hands and – dare I say, smooch some waifus and mannos – oh and save the world too, if ages releases.

eternity Slated for release in early 2023 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and PC.

Updated: 6/3/22 5:30 PM ET: This post has been updated to include the developers’ responses.