New story and gameplay details revealed for Monark, a new JRPG based on the school of a team of former Shin Megami Tensei developers.
Of the game franchises with a cult following, Atlus’s Shin Megami Tensei series has one of the most gripping. It’s no wonder then that fans have kept up that excitement for a new studio made up of former Shin Megami Tensei developers. That studio, Lancarse, is now ready to present its new RPG in its entirety. Introducing Monark, an RPG coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. Monark is tentatively planned to launch in Japan on October 14, with the location not yet confirmed.
Those hoping that Lancarse builds on the team’s Shin Megami Tensi experience will surely be pleased. Monark is a school role-playing game, in which players take on the role of members of the deputy director of the True Student Council. However, this is not your typical school council. Its purpose is to deal with supernatural complications, for which the protagonist assumes direct responsibility. Needless to say, this is likely just an extremely simplified description of what Monark players will be getting into.
Monark will have an appropriately complex depth to his game. For starters, it features a complex story filled with multiple different routes for players to experiment with across multiple matches. These routes begin with the protagonist choosing one of four different companion characters and branch out from there. The main story appropriately has multiple different endings. Monark will also take pity on players, allowing them to skip routes they’ve already experienced to try new ones.
The combat at Monark remains to be explained in more detail. The screenshots show groups of up to six units, made up of the protagonist, his partner, and four minions. It is described as command-based action, which could mean active or turn-based combat. However, there is also free movement, which means that it is not grid-based. Players will send their units into open environments to face multiple enemies at once. Shin Megami Tensei’s inspiration is there, but Monark is definitely something new.
While there is a lot of attention on Monark due to the involvement of many Shin Megami Tensei veterans, there is another game and developer worth getting your attention. Fuyuki Hayashi is one of Monark’s producers and directors, but also a leader in Monark’s scenario writing. Hayashi’s only previous project is a game called Crystar, which seems to have some notable similarities to Monark, including free combat with commando actions.
Shin Megami Tensei fans will be able to get a closer look at Monark so they can make judgments for themselves very soon. A Monark reveal trailer is expected to be released on June 10 around noon PT. It bears repeating, however, that the Monark location may put the game in 2022 or later for Western audiences.
Monark will launch on October 14 in Japan for PS4, PS5, and Switch.