Continued Arc Rising in Fantasia

As per request, here is the translation for the latest article in Famitsu regarding Marvelous and imageepoch’s upcoming Wii RPG, Arc Rise Fantasia. This article details a couple of new characters, as well as gives an overview of some features of the battle system.

As you will recall from the previous translation, ARF (silly acronym is silly) is set in the Meridian Empire, which, thanks to Light Summoning, has flourished. Unfortunately, the appearance of the Corrupted Dragons and a mysterious condition known as Crystalization has left the citizens of the Meridian Empire in fear.

The hero of the story, Ralk (whose name was originally “Bright” but seems to have been changed) is a member of a military unit dedicated to the destruction of the Corrupted Dragons. However, during an operation, he comes into contact with a mysterious girl named Rifia…

But that’s all old news. Below are the newly revealed characters:

Sarge (33)
“It worked out, so it’s fine, right? Quit being selfish!”
A member of a group of bandits, Sarge is cocky, talkative, womanizing, and unpredictable. He is laid back in terms of speech and action, but actually holds a hidden past.
He uses daggers in battle.

Leslie (22)
“What is it, boy? If you work that hard, you’ll wear yourself out.”

A woman in the middle of a journey, Leslie always maintains a composed attitude, and occasionally throws out arrogant remarks, but is basically an honest person.
She uses dual pistols in battle.

Necromancer (15)
“You don’t need to worry. I’ll come back and kill you later.”

A controller of the dead, she (?) strives to kill Rifia. Her motives are unknown.
She uses her fists in battle.
NOTE: This very well could be a boy (the article doesn't specifically mention the gender). I guessed female due to the slimmer figure, longer, purple hair, dress-like costume, and female voice actor. However, as many of you know, that doesn’t necessarily equal “female” in Japanese popular culture.

Next up, battle system:

ARF’s “Trinity Battle System” allows one team of three different characters. As you use the same characters together, their intimacy or friendship levels increase, giving your team various new effects and abilities. There are various skills that can be unlocked only through this system, so choosing your team will be very important.

Additionally, within the battle system there are attack combos that can activated. A “Single Connect” is a combo used by one character, meanwhile, the party can string a combo together known as a “Party Connect.” It also makes use of 4 different types of “Tandems” (Regular Tandem, Arm Tandem, Light Summon Tandem, and Ley Stone Tandem).

The article shows how chaining these Tandems will strengthen their skills. For example, the Arm Tandem “Steal” will eventually become “Plunder” through stringed use. Similarly, the Light Summon Tandem “Shine” will eventually become the much more powerful “Shine Bullet.”

Finally, the article highlights “Trinity Acts,” which are basically attacks that combine the “Excel Acts” of each active party member into a single powerful attack. There are various Trinity Acts available throughout the game, and using different characters will affect which are available to the party.



Arc Rise Fantasia is being developed by imageepoch, and will be published by Marvelous on the Nintendo Wii sometime this winter in Japan. There is currently no word on North American or European localization.