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Nippon Ichi recently announced their latest game for PS4 and Switch, Lapis Li Abyss, and they revealed more about the game recently alongside a trailer for the game. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]
Lapis Li Abyss is a hack-and-slash platforming RPG where the ultimate goal is to find the treasure hidden within the game’s many dungeons. Players form a team of four characters out of eight, and challenge various stages within a mission-style structure.
Story
Have you heard of the legend of the Golden Forest that is passed down in a rural town within a certain small country?
In the lush woodlands that spread deep across the land, lies a forest of trees that grow gold.
Many adventurers have set out in the hopes of making their fortune, but none have had stories of success.
This little town which used to flourish as a base camp, is now on the verge of being wiped off maps entirely.
In such an age, the final group of adventurers make their way to this town that has been forgotten by time itself.
Characters
You can choose your party of four characters from eight different classes, which have different characteristics and use different weapons. You can also customize characters in some small ways, like their voice and color scheme.
Hunter:
A close combat attacker that focuses on 1-on-1 fights. They dual-wield swords and can use the Blood Strike skill, which slices while charging forwards.
Necromancer:
A mid-to-long range attacker specializing in area-of-effect attacks. They use a scythe and can use the Soul Bullet skill that shoots a spreadshot of bullets.
Shielder:
A defense and counter-oriented party member who uses the shield to do the Shield Bash skill, where they charge forward while protecting themselves.
A support job class that can also debuff enemies. They wield pots to use the Love Sign skill that causes a Love status ailment to enemies in range.
Gunner:
A long range fighter that uses guns. With their Rolling Shot, they spin around and scatter bullets to both the left and right sides.
Wizard:
An attacker who uses various magical spells with their staff. Their Tornado skill creates a mini tornado where they stand.
Destroyer:
A giant sword-wielding character that boasts a larger range for melee attacks as well. The Tyrant Break skill has them swing their sword downwards.
Bishop:
A spear-wielding warrior who can also heal allies. With the Viper Shine skill, they jump into the air and throw out aura spear shots.
Gameplay
The game centers around the DANGO System, where the other three characters are piled on top of the leader’s head. By choosing from the various job classes, you can have up to 4,096 different combinations. This style of fighting was developed in the old world war.
The stats of every character is reflected onto the DANGO team. The bottommost character is the leader, and is the one who performs attacks. The leader can be swapped out, where they will instead move to the top, and the second in line will become the new leader.
Assist Orders:
By expending the diamond-shaped Action Gauges of energy, the leader will throw the character directly above them, and that character will become invincible and attack the enemy, then jump to the top of the pile.
Extra Order:
By filling up the Extra Gauge to the max, you can use the Extend Order, where the leader throws every character sitting on top of them towards the enemy. They will each do individual attacks, then return to their former positions.
Fever Mode:
By raising the Fever gauge on the top right of the UI to the max, you begin Fever Mode. In Fever Mode, you are invincible, and collect Fever Gems from enemies and blocks. You can then use Fever Gems to roll the Fever Slots, which can grant stat buffs, or increased money drops, and more.
Basically, it’s a bonus round.
Stages
The game’s stages begins in a Sea of Trees that spreads out across the small country. Apart from the base at the entrance of the Sea of Trees, there are various stages that have very different looks, such as abandoned cities, deserts, caves, and more.
Stage: Forest of Dancing Sand
Stage: Old City
Stage: Old waterway
Sea of Trees:
The starting dungeon of the game. The area is littered with blocks formed with old world magic. A poisonous miasma surrounds the area, and nobody has reached the furthest depths of the area.
Exploration Routes:
As you go along your adventure, you unlock new exploration routes to conquer and receive rewards for doing so. As you go along, it gets progressively harder, but with a greater payoff. Start off with the easier routes, and ease yourself into taking on the bosses of each floor!
Enemies
There are more than 100 different enemies waiting to take you on in this game. Check out some of them below:
Lapis Li Abyss releases in Japan for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on November 29, 2018 for 7,538 yen.
