Tokitowa's Battle System Explained

[Andromeda]

Announced earlier this year, Tokitowa or Time and Eternity, has gathered a lot of attention for it's claim of being the first HD animation JRPG. What makes the game special is the fact that the characters are sprites, but have the quality of an anime. When looking at screenshots from in game, all of the characters are what you would expect to see from an anime. It is a huge visual leap from the traditional concept of sprites for a RPG, which most are used to seeing looking much like old 8 and 16 bits RPGs making use of the super deformed style.

In recent months, videos have shown more of the game in motion. The game world is still 3D, but all of the characters and enemies will be anime quality sprites along with all of the cutscenes being HD animation. However, even with seeing how the game runs, little more was known about the combat system.

New details about the combat system have come out to explain it. Attacks are mapped to the face buttons of the controller, which are customized from a menu out of combat. So it will have a similar feel to games like Valkyrie Profile and Trinity Universe, but also let the player choice was attacks go into the buttons. Additionally, as seen in videos, it is possible to dodge attacks. Dodging is a timed effort requiring the player to watch the enemies movements to know when to execute a dodge. It isn't said how dodging will be activated, but it is likely a button press.

When in combat the main character has two personalities or souls they've been saying. The different sides of her also have different specializations in combat. The red haired version is a ranged fighter making use of her rifle, while the blonde haired version is a close range fighter shown wielding a long knife. Other abilities and spells are also at her disposal.

Tokitowa has been talked about for a English release, but it is still unknown. Namco Bandai is publishing the game in Japan, who is known to release some of their products outside of Japan, but Imageepoch, the developer has a deal with NISA to publish their games in the US. And NISA is well known for publishing smaller JRPG titles. So between the two companies, the likelihood of a release is fairly high.

[Merlin]

All that hype and no video? Come on man...


I have a thing for red-headed anime characters, so this is already a win for me.

[Andromeda]

I can supply videos if it is desired, there's tons of the game as well as other games. I've been trying to feel out what's going to be a good balance. Some feedback on if people want to see the videos and screenshots would be good. I'm completely flexible.

So I'm guessing you'll be picking Toki then at the end of the game, since you have to decide which soul stays around.
toki10.jpgtoki12.jpgtoki23.jpg

[SuperSabin]

This game actually looks quite interesting and the concept of it fascinated me as well. I have a question about the battle system though, is it going to be turn-based, action rpg, or strategy?

Also, what platforms is it going to be on? or is it a ps3 exclusive?

[Andromeda]

It is a PS3 exclusive.

As for the combat, it is hard to tell from what videos I've seen, but my guess is that it is a real time combat system. It looks like there is a SP meter that fills based on basic attacks (rifle shots), and then probably the face buttons consume the SP, as they have point values next to them. It is all just speculation though from examining the combat videos.

[Fluffy]

I thought this game was already confirmed for an English release. I've heard it said here and there.

Anyway, I'd pick Hanazawa Kana. Which means I hope that this game keeps its Japanese audio. ; ;

The one thing that worries me about this game is the fanservice. I honestly don't like that in my games or anime. I can tolerate a bit, but it just annoys me whenever it pops up.

[Andromeda]

Yeah, I was pretty sure I read that as well, but when I try to search to do a confirmation for it I couldn't find the article. So I when the safer route until I find the article. I'd rather not make claims I can't cite my source on if asked.

The Japanese audio will likely depend on who localizes the game. If NISA does it, then it'll be dual audio, like all of their games. If it is Namco Bandai, it'll likely only be English audio. So pray for NISA to pick it up.

I agree that the fan service stuff I've seen for the game feels unnecessary and off putting. If the game gets released, I'll still buy it, but I don't think it is an necessary component for the game. This is especially so for the actual animations in game which are drawn specifically do show her panties in specific moments. So it was a conscious decision they made. Oh well, fan service sells. >.>