Rogue Galaxy the directors cut

At E3 we pulled Nao Higo the producer of the US version of Rogue Galaxy aside to talk about the game. As you guys probably know Rogue Galaxy is an outer space RPG designed by Level 5 (Dragon Quest VIII / Dark Cloud). Already out in Japan Rogue Galaxy is critically acclaimed and has managed to sell over 300,000 copies. A challenging feat since the game was released around the same time as Kingdom Hearts II and a bevy of December ’05 heavyweights. Nearly a year later North America and later Europe are going to get a chance to see Level 5’s full vision. Instead of getting the same release as the Japan got, SCEA is adding in new features and tweaking the game for the better. The final version of the game will have an all new chapter, which Level 5 wanted to do, but didn’t have the time to add it in. The combat system has also been tweaked. It still is as fluid and polished as it ever was, but in the North American version players can choose when to execute combos. By collecting blue spheres around the battlefield a special attack meter will charge. When this is full Jaster can use his signature “Burning Strike” technique and rack up some serious damage. Level 5 and SCEA added in new dramatic battle effects to the combo system to make battles more exciting. Speaking of the combat system it is similar to Final Fantasy XII where players command one character and two of the other party members are controlled by artificial intelligence. While in battle your AI buddies might recommend using a specific spell or to cast a healing spell. As the battle leader players can choose to accept AI suggestions or reject them on the fly. Rogue Galaxy is looking even better and we’re looking forward to the game’s October 2006 release.