Announced in this week's Famitsu is developer imageepoch's new RPG being developed exclusively for the Wii: Arc Rise Fantasia, previously known as Project Ray. Scans from the issue were made available on the internet shortly afterward.

Arc Rise Fantasia will be a turn-based traditional fantasy RPG, developed by a team which includes staffers from the company's first two games, Luminous Arc and its sequel for the DS. The game's battle system will use a 3-person party, where each member of the party shares an AP gauge, which depletes as actions are performed in battle. If mulriple characters use the same skill on the same enemies, the skill will increase in effectiveness. The game will be in 16:9 widescreen.

The game's official site is supposed to open this tomorrow, June 27th. The game will be produced by Marvelous Entertainment. No official release date has been set for Japan as of yet.

imageepoch has only completed two games to date: Luminous Arc and its sequel, both for the DS. The company is currently working on three different projects: Project Ray (this game), Project S (World Destruction for the DS) and an as of yet unrevealed Project DF.

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The Wii's lack of a traditional RPG library has been something of a running joke among gamers for the past year or so, but Marvelous Entertainment, at least, is doing its best to improve things. In the latest issue of Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu, the publisher officially announced Arc Rise Fantasia, a brand new role-playing game for the Wii that looks to make anyone with a taste for high fantasy and Japan-style RPG gameplay stand up and pay attention.

Akira_EX via 1up.com »