Keroro RPG Detailed

As detailed earlier, Famitsu got the first word in this week's issue on Namco Bandai's new RPG, Project K. It turns out that the K stands for "Keroro," as in the Keroro Gunso manga and anime series. The series is known as Sgt. Frog in the English speaking world.

Fully titled Keroro RPG: Kishi to Musha to Densetsu no Kaizoku (roughly, "Knight, Warrior and Legendary Pirate"), this DS RPG is being developed by Namco Tales Studio, the same group that churns out all those Tales games. Players can look forward to their favorite Keroro characters in a Tales-like RPG experience, complete with the Linear Motion Battle system.

The game's story begins after Sergeant Keroro has returned to town having retrieved a mysterious game machine. Upon powering up the system, the monsters from the game world end up being transported into the real world. The five members of the Keroro Platoon find themselves going the reverse route -- into the game world!

You'll take control of Keroro and his platoon members in an adventure set in the game world (well, the game within a game world). Your adventure will take you between various lands, including a pirate ship, a desert, and an area that looks like Japan in its Sengoku Era.

Expected of an RPG, the game will have lots of conversation scenes. And expected of Keroro Gunso, the passages between the platoon members should be a hoot. Namco Bandai is packing the game with character voice, along with anime-style portraits during the conversation scenes.

So where exactly is the Tales in all this? Enter the Tales series' trademark (they even have a logo that they put on the boxes) Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS). Combat takes place from the side, with the Keroro Platoon facing off against their foes in 2D. You have access to powerful special attacks, some of which make the Platoon members transform.

The LMBS system tends to see a few changes between Tales games. For Keroro RPG, Tales Studio is adjusting the gameplay to increase aerial combos and make it easier to connect combos. Once you get in the air, you may end up staying there.

Another new feature for the Keroro LMBS system is the use of support characters. You can tap special character panels on the lower screen to call out a support character who will assist you in various ways, beating up on your opponent or healing you. The characters who appear in the support roles will, in grand Keroro franchise tradition, be parodies of other properties.

Keroro RPG isn't just some random Keroro game with the Tales name and a few Tales gameplay elements stuck in. Some familiar Tales series names are working away at the game. Ryuji Odate, who previously worked on Tales of Versus, is heading up development as producer. The game's Linear Motion Battle System is being overseen by Hidenori Yamauchi.

These two were joined by Tales series supervisor Makoto Yoshizumi for an interview with Famitsu. Yoshizumi said that the game's development is being aided by the fact that many of the staffers are fans of the Keroro series. Odate said that development on the project started both with a desire to make a true RPG for the Keroro Gunso series, and with a desire to introduce kids to the LMBS system.

That introduction will come some time in 2010. Keroro RPG is currently 60% complete.