In a surprise announcement today, Ignition Entertainment USA and Marvelous Entertainment have announced that Ignition will be publishing the imageepoch-developed Wii RPG Arc Rise Fantasia, for a summer 2010 release in North America.

Arc Rise Fantasia was originally going to be published by XSEED Games. Details on how the game switched hands from XSEED to Ignition is currently unknown. Arc Rise Fantasia is not the first game to switch hands between the two publishers; Muramasa: The Demon Blade was originally going to be published by XSEED before it went to Ignition.

Ignition Entertainment Ltd., a UTV Enterprise, a worldwide publisher and developer of videogames and Marvelous Entertainment announced that Arc Rise Fantasia is releasing in Summer 2010 exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.

Arc Rise Fantasia, winner of the "Best Wii RPG" from IGN at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2009, is a new turn-based RPG with a beautiful, anime-inspired Japanese art style. Players will jump into the shoes of L`Arc, a calm and composed mercenary, who sets out to defend the Meridian Empire from an impending invasion of ferocious creatures. After assembling a party of friends, each with a unique set of abilities, players will embark on a perilous journey across an overworld filled with deadly enemies and treacherous dungeons. While
strategically queuing up attacks, players can summon mystical creatures and work with their party members to execute massive attacks.

"We are absolutely thrilled to bring Arc Rise Fantasia to a western audience," said Shane Bettenhausen, New Business Development Director of Ignition Entertainment. "It`s an ambitious Japanese role-playing game with deep gameplay, top-notch production values, and an unforgettable story line--Wii owners have been pining for a massive fantasy epic and their patience will definitely be rewarded."

"In Arc Rise Fantasia we`ve implemented a fun and quick paced battle system to give gamers an enjoyable RPG experience," said Hiroyuki Kanemaru of Image Epoch.

"Ignition Entertainment has a great track record with bringing established Japanese experiences to new western audiences and we`re delighted to be able to team up with them to publish Arc Rise Fantasia."

Additional information about the game can be found at the game`s official website: www.arcrisefantasia.com, on Twitter: www.twitter.com/arcrisefantasia and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/arcrisefantasia.

Akira_EX via reuters.com »