Monster Hunter and the Lord of Arcana

The internet has been abuzz with speculation as to what exactly the name “Lord of Arcana” was when it was discovered as a trademark registered by Square Enix over a year ago. Could it be a new RPG? Perhaps it was an adaptation or spin-off of their card-collecting fantasy arcade game Lord of Vermilion? No one knew the answer, but we finally found out within the pages of Famitsu this week: Lord of Arcana is a Monster Hunter-esque multiplayer action game for PSP. And there was much rejoicing.

OK, so most of that last paragraph was made up, and I’m sure I don’t need to point out exactly what was. But the game is definitely Square Enix’s way of capitalizing on the Monster Hunter-alike craze that’s recently torn Japan asunder. The fact that they’re making one isn’t a surprise unless you’re new to this hobby. No, the surprise is it actually took them this long to make one. And thank goodness the speculation about their answer being Final Fantasy Agito XIII was mistaken.

This is definitely the newest me-too trend in Japan, and Square Enix didn’t want to be outdone by the likes of Namco Bandai’s God Eater. But this game takes it really far. They even completely copied Monster Hunter’s HUD. It’s pretty similar to the “me-too Dynasty Warriors clones” that plagued consoles last generation, especially the PS2. Admittedly, this blatant mimicry isn’t overkill like the shooter festival that’s plaguing consoles these days.

Upon first glance, and from looking at the gameplay preview with a slayer fighting Bahamut, you’ll notice that Lord of Arcana is noticeably bloodier than a Monster Hunter game. You can also look at the screen shots to see that someone forgot to add color to the game. Given how it looks behind the curve in terms of Square Enix’s efforts on PSP, speculation (for real this time) began about who was developing this game, and/or whether SE was merely publishing it. Some gamers were even speculating that this was developed by the ironically-named Hit Maker, after NIS America’s president gave them a verbal slamming via an interview on Siliconera. It turns out Square Enix is definitely developing this one themselves, according to a comment left on the European Playstation Blog by Rob Rutter, Brand Manager of Square Enix Europe.

It’s graphical disappointment may be due to the customization options that will be on hand. You’ll be able to fully customize your slayer’s appearance before you head onto the battlefield. Precisely how deep said customization is will be revealed in due time.

This game’s apparently not far off, as Square Enix Japan has it listed as releasing sometime later this year. That also means it would release in the same period as Monster Hunter Portable 3rd on the same system, which is an incredibly smart idea, I’m sure. Interestingly enough, this game is already confirmed for an American and European release (that’s a PDF link for the latter), though a release date hasn’t been announced. So happy hunting, or something.