Hexyz Force Preview

Aside from Persona 3 Portable, another role-playing game that has high expectations is Hexyz Force. From the developer who brought us Riviera: The Promised Land, Hexyz Force is a classic RPG title that follows the story of two separate characters. Today, we participated in the demo presentation of the game and learned new information that got us excited. From the traditional role-playing experience we already expected, another feature to look forward to in the game are the multiple endings on offer. Hexyz Force is scheduled to be released on May 25th 2010 exclusively on the PSP. Let’s take a look on the new things we’ve learned from the presentation.

Hexyz Force follows the story of two characters, Cecilia and Levant. Atlus didn’t go through much of the story behing each character but it said that gamers can take up to twenty-five hours of playtime for each character. Both Cecilia and Levant have their own story and have the same goal. Playing through the game all the way through will make both characters join forces as they have one common goal; it won’t happen until gamers near the end of the game. There will be choices and quests that can alter the overall ending; there are a total of five endings for both characters.

As far as the how the presentation looks, Hexyz Force will have anime-style cutscenes equipped with voice overs. From the videos we’ve seen so far, the graphics can be compared to Sony’s Jeane D’Arc; it’s very detailed and crisp. For gamers who will be buying the UMD version of Hexyz Force, there is an install data option for more smoother gameplay. Installing the data doesn’t really make much of an improvement but it reduces a couple of seconds during loading times. As far as streaming graphics, it really doesn’t matter whether the game is installed or not. If a gamer decides to install the data, make sure 84MB of space is available.

The battle system of Hexyz Force is a traditional turned-based-battle system. Chaining attacks are possible, but in order to execute it, attacks must coincide with the elemental properties. For example; if a fire based attack was used, it should be followed to whatever element that’s strong to fire; which in this case is Water. Think of it as a rock, paper and scissors game. Leveling up requires experience points but there is an option for gamers who want to grind up. An Arena will be available in the game for anyone who wants to level up to make their character stronger. It is not necessary to grind but it will be helpful for the hard bosses that always plague RPG type games.

From the demo presentation we’ve seen, the game is looking to be an RPG game that fans of the genre will love. For a handheld RPG game, fifty hours of playtime is indeed a good length and with multiple endings, multiple playthroughs will be recommended. Check back with us near the game’s release date for our full review of the game.