While Soul Sacrifice, the initial PS Vita offering from legendary video game creator and producer Keiji Inafune, was announced a few weeks ago for release in Japan, there was no word on other territories. However, fans will have no need to organise an Operation: Rainfall-esque mission, with the recent announcement that the game is set for release in North America. Inafune, or INAFKING as he likes to be credited, explained that the game will explore the themes of sacrifice and cruelty, which he associates with reality, in a fantasy setting.
“What I wanted to illustrate in this game was a “reality blended into a fantasy world.” The word “fantasy” normally points to a story that is fictitious; however, with Soul Sacrifice I wanted to illustrate a “reality” within a fantasy that wasn’t sugar-coated. It’s not about focusing on the strange, but to flip the commonly held concept of what a fantasy theme should be with the concept of “reality.”
Cruelty is a reality in our world, and we have to make sacrifices and pay costs on a daily basis. I wanted to blend this “reality” theme into a fantasy world, one filled with magic, and create a new type of gaming experience that relied on the player making sacrifices in order to obtain great power.
There is a “dark pleasure” lying in between fiction and reality that none of us knew was there. If you simply think of it as a “dark fantasy,” then your expectations will be betrayed – but in a good way. Please look forward to Soul Sacrifice. It will be a game that players around the world will surely enjoy.”
The game is being developed by Inafune’s new company, Comcept, who have tasked themselves with generating strong, original concepts and tackling what they have dubbed “Japan’s creative crisis.” The game will also feature music composed by Yasunori Mitsuda and Wataru Hokoyama, the former responsible for the amazing soundtrack heard in the criticall acclaimed Wii JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles.
[Source: PlayStation Blog]
