In this week’s issue of Dengeki PlayStation, Falcom has lifted the lid on the Playstation Vita port of The Legend of Heroes Zero no Keisei, which is the sequel to Sora no Keisei trilogy, in which Trails in the Sky is the first of the three games. First up, a name change. When the game was first announced, it had the name The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Keisei Event Full Voice Edition. That has been changed to its final name: The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Keisei Evolution. It is also slated for a summer 2012 release, which is a more concrete release than the 2012 date the game received when it was revealed. It will be priced at ¥6,090 (US$79.30/AU$73.60).
The games biggest change is the amount of voice work that will be done. Over 150 characters in the game will now have voices, hence why the placeholder title included “Full Voice Edition.” The recording of the voice, revealed in an interview by Dengeki Playstation, may take two months to complete. Main character Lloyd will take up to 1,200 pages of dialogue in the game. Now that is a lot of talking.
While the full voice acting is the biggest addition, it is certainly not the only addition. The visuals will get an update over the Playstation Portable visuals, with animated character shots during scenes of conversation and improved effects on shadows, water and depth-of-fields. A new opening movie is also being developed, alongside new arrangements of the game’s soundtrack. The Vita version will also have mini-games, which will utilise Vita-specific features such as gyro and rear touch. It is unknown whether the features will be used during the main game. Trophies and additional sub-quests will also be included.
PSP version
When the game was announced, the teaser site mentioned Pyramid Inc, creators of the Patapon games. This is the studio who are developing the game, allowing Falcom to focus on new entries of the series, mainly Nayuta no Kiseki, the next entry of the series, and the entry after Nayuta no Kiseki (Falcom are really planning ahead). Falcom CEO Toshihiro Kondo revealed in the Dengeki Playstation interview that he chose Pyramid to develop the game because he is close friends with members of the development team and that he got the chance to see some of the research and development projects. The focus of other titles was also a factor, despite the fact that there was an option for Falcom to develop the game.
Chara-Ani was also mentioned with the announcement, but their role was unknown.In the interview, Chara-Ani producer Tadakazu Hiraga revealed that they are the planners, producers, managers and distributors of the game. Quite a lot of roles for the one company. Apparently, the publishing of the game will be handled by a third company known as Kadokawa Games, not Falcom. Kondo revealed, however, that they did keep an eye on development and checking out the data involved to assure a faithful port.
For those who are really interested in the title, then you might like the fact that there will be a conference over at Nico Nico Video that will be focused on The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Keisei Evolution, as well as other Falcom “Keisei” productions. It is planned for the 9th of February (this Friday) at 6pm Tokyo Time (4am Eastern/1am Pacific/8pm AEDT).
Source: Andriasang
