Publisher Kobojo announced Zodiac, a new role-playing game multiple platforms that features the talents of several creators behind Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and other Japanese RPGs, at Tokyo Game Show today.
Zodiac is being designed as a high-quality Japanese-style role-playing game for touch devices, said Mario Rizzo, CEO of Kobojo, at a TGS press event. He likened the game's ambition to "Final Fantasy meets Valkyrie Profile and Dragon's Crown in a new online multiplayer experience."
The role-playing game features a 2D world, turn-based battles and a persistent multiplayer, according to a gameplay demonstration at TGS. Players can explore a lush world both on-foot and by riding the main character's partner, a gryphon. Other party members, including friends' characters will join players in turn-based battles.
Working with Kobojo on Zodiac are scenario writer Kazushige Nojima, musician Hitoshi Sakimoto and sound designer Masaaki Kaneko. The collaborator's credits include games like Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 15 and the Kingdom Hearts series. Other well-known Japanese collaborators will be announced sometime in the future, the publisher said.
Nojima said Zodiac's story revolves around 12 gods that represent the zodiac signs. Those signs also apply to the class of your character; player's can swap between 12 classes, each with their own elemental affinity and skills, on the fly.
Kobojo is showing the showing Zodiac running on iPad and PlayStation Vita at Tokyo Game Show, but its release platforms are still undecided. Since the game is being developed in Unity, Rizzo said, it can come to a wide variety of devices. It's also not yet clear what business model the game will follow — Kobojo has a history of making social games and free-to-play titles — as Rizzo said negotiations were still underway to bring the RPG to certain platforms.
Expect Zodiac to hit sometime in 2015.
