Gallery: Ar tonelico Qoga - Knell of Ar Ciel

With its March 15, 2011 release approaching, let's take a look at some nice screens and character illustrations from the final installment of Gust's rather intriguing mix of RPG and romance simulation, finally making it's PS3 debut. The first two games were pure 2D bliss packed with lovely hand-drawn art, parallax scrolling and limited 3D elements that gave them a nicely old-school feel. Qoga's shift to 3D battles and an all-new combat system does allow for more dynamic angles as you'll see, but it looks as if the game also uses some interesting hand-painted art in certain non-battle sections. I liked the first two games quite a lot (although the real-time combat system in part 2 was a bit too gimmicky) - fingers crossed that Qoga doesn't disappoint in any department.

More info about the game and screens below the jump.

Game Description:

This third and final chapter in the Ar tonelico franchise marks a new approach to the RPG genre by seamlessly combining simulation with role-playing. Gamers can not only customize weapons and items, but now their design their character's personalities, skill and appearance through virtual interaction. Also, past events will influence future game play as well as the outcome of the game. Both the graphics and battle system are all new, created from the ground up for a unique gaming experience.

Features:

• Action + RPG - A unique game style where action-based combat meets RPG. The story telling and adventure part is like an RPG, but when you encounter an enemy you will fight like an action game.
• Music Mixing - Your special skills in the game are cast through music. By mixing the background music you can create new stats and spell effects!
• Interaction - In this game, you can alter the story and the stats of a character by interacting with them like in a sim game.
• Multi Ending - The game is incredibly open-ended with many different endings. Depending on how you interact with the various characters your story will change.

Character Art: (L-R) Aoto, Finneru, Saki

Screen Shot Gallery (Japanese version)