Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure heads Westwards to PSP
Japanese fantasy RPG destined for anglicised launch in 2007
When it comes to imaginative, in-depth and ever so slightly insane fantasy role-playing games, you can't touch the Japanese. From Final Fantasy and Children of Mana to Suikoden and Ys, the Land of the Rising Sun seems to have a never-ending production line – albeit one that doesn't always quite stretch to these shores.
The latest classic that IS to get an anglicised makeover is Nihon Falcom's action RPG Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure, which is being brought to the US via Mastiff in the first months of 2007 (and hopefully heading to the UK before too long!)
Gurumin is based around a headstrong girl named Parin, who becomes drawn into a world of friendly monsters, most of whom she inevitably ends up having to rescue from an evil race of Phantoms who have, erm, 'monsternapped' them (don't blame us, it's in the press release).
As you might expect, these Phantoms aren't the sort to listen to reasonable argument about monster rights. They need to be vanquished with real-time combat using a legendary drill, which is seemingly even more powerful than the top of the range Bosch jobs you get from HomeBase.
That's the short version anyway – as you can imagine, the real thing is far more involved as you wander a vast world, encountering 23 colourful non-player characters, collecting over 90 objects, and laying waste to 48 unique enemies and special bosses
Intriguingly, the phantoms aren't the only thing you'll be able to smite. Virtually all objects in the world will be destructible using the legendary drill (sounds a bit more like the one we got from HomeBase now…) and many will conceal money or items (…or maybe not).
With non-linear gameplay, puzzles, trap-filled dungeons and a whole host of mini-games, Gurumin should certainly keep you busy for a good few hours.
Indeed, Shinji Yamazaki, president of Nihon Falcom, doubtless had to be forced away from a legendary drilling session to remark: "All of us at Nihon Falcom are absolutely delighted to see Gurumin released in the US. We're especially pleased to be working with Mastiff, as we know their localization will capture all the things that make the game great. "
We'll be checking back on Garumin and its European release prospects just as soon as we've sorted out all these DIY jobs around the office.
