Atlus grabs Steal Princess, mystery RPG

by JC Fletcher { Dec 1st 2008 at 6:00PM }

Atlus is no longer content with just producing the games we want. With recent releases like Ontamarama and Draglade and new announcements like Ys I & II, Trackmania DS, and the perplexing My World, My Way, the company has turned their attention toward localizing other companies' games we want. We appreciate the personal service.

According to the ESRB, the company has picked up at least one more of our fascinations: Marvelous' Steal Princess, a nice-looking ARPG with a map editor. They're also planning to release some kind of dungeon RPG called The Dark Spire, whose origin is currently unknown. Based on Atlus's longstanding Success connection, a Siliconera reader has posited (as we did when we saw the description) that this might be Success's Genmu no To to Tsurugi no Okite, the first-person dungeon RPG which allows players to switch between a gorgeous retro line-art mode and a gorgeous black-light-poster-esque mode. At least, we hope that's what it is!

Maybe you can identify Dark Spire based on the ESRB's description, which we've reproduced after the break.

Gallery: Steal Princess

Gallery: The Dark Spire

"This is a role-playing game in which players traverse through a dungeon to look for a stolen treasure. Players encounter monsters throughout the dungeon and can choose from a list of actions such as "attack," "defend," and "run." Some story elements have graphic descriptions of violence (e.g., "...cut his own wrists and sprayed his blood" and "the sword impaled her through the chest"). Character accessories can include "bikini armor" and a "frilled codpiece," while one scene mentions an "erotic panda." Expletives (e.g., "bastard" and "hell") can be seen in the dialogue, as well as references to alcohol products (e.g., "breath that reeks of rum")."

Tags: atlus, esrb, genmu-no-tou, marvelous, rpg, steal-princess, success

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

1337stra @ Dec 1st 2008 7:12PM

Genmu no To to Tsurugi no Okite Sounds like hella fun, The DS needs more mature games like that.

Dave @ Dec 1st 2008 9:05PM

YES!! STEAL PRINCESS!

I am the biggest Landstalker fan in the universe.

Alundra was another work of gorgeous art.

pxt @ Dec 1st 2008 11:53PM

Genmu huh? Sounds like a logical choice. I'd buy it.

Between this and 7th Dragon, it sounds like the old school RPG is alive and kicking.

aj @ Dec 2nd 2008 3:06AM

And Izuna.

Now if someone went further, and made a slick, professional version of something like Nethack or Powder (or whatever you prefer, they're all the same sort of thing) then I'd wet my pants with glee.

xcdjy @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:50AM

J-heez. All this site EVER talks about is RPG's. In fact, when you reviewed Metal Slug, I was in awe! Then I realised you'd buried it as Shovelware a few days before that. Omigodneontetraroflaflop, this site is a joke.

Nutmeg @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:14PM

I was interested in this, not sure anymore, but I'll still keep an eye out.

mahouneko @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:55PM

I have Steal Princess DS (Japanese version) and it's pretty interesting. The problem I have with the game is that the controls are somewhat sluggish for a game that is heavily dependent on timing. Unfortunately, getting the best rank on each stage is VERY important to getting through the game properly so you'll be spending quite a lot of time replaying several stages.

Genmu actually sounds interesting. Too bad that it's not available in the stores around here.