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Xseed announced that they’re going to be publishing Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces in the U.S. this holiday season. Sky Crawlers originated as a series of novels, which were adapted into an anime movie directed by Mamoru Oshii. Innocent Aces takes place in the same universe as the movie but follows its own original storyline.
The basic premise is this: the game is set in an alternate reality where the world is at peace. Yet, humanity still craves the excitement of war and for this purpose, the government organizes large scale wars between large corporations for people to fight in, and for the media to cover. It’s a little Battle Royale-esque in its setting. Here’s a blurb from the press release about the story.
After decades of constant war and fighting, the world has finally come to a lasting peace. But with war being an integral part of their lives for so long, the citizens of the world are desperate for a solution to solve this newfound peaceful life of calm and tranquility.
To ease this tension and to appease its citizens, the government has started pursuing a new round of wars. These new campaigns are not a power struggle between hostile countries, but rather sponsored events between private corporations with military-trained personnel contracted by each side to do their biding for them. It is the battles fought by these war contracted corporations such as Rostock and Lautern and the constant media reports on them that satisfy and replace the basic human instinct to fight using the war as a show.
The latest rookie pilot to join the Sky Crawlers, codenamed “Lynx,” is working his way up the ranks and becomes involved in a secret new military project with the goal of making pilots immortal. Join Lynx on his journey to conquer the skies while unraveling the mystery behind the military’s covert new project.
Since Xseed’s relationship with Namco Bandai seems to be improving steadily, I wonder if there’s any chance of them picking up a few Tales games in the future? Tales of Innocence, I’m looking at you.
< Spencer’s note: I can confirm Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces is the mystery Wii game Xseed has been hinting at. >
