• Posted August 2nd, 2012 at 20:22 EDT by Kyle Prahl
• 1 Comments

The Japanese market may not be embracing PlayStation Vita quite like Sony has been hoping, but that doesn't mean exciting projects aren't in the works for our friends in the East.

A free-to-play MMORPG called Guardian Hearts Online is coming to PS Vita in Japan, and is set for an August release. The first details of the game's existence comes from this week's Famitsu (courtesy of Andriasang). Guardian Hearts Online may turn out to be a port of developer Q Entertainment's mobile phone game Guardian Hearts, a turn-based RPG with rather attractive sprite art. Apparently, the Vita version will feature some kind of "item transaction system", but not much else is known.

Well, there is one thing - we have absolutely no word on a North American or European release, and that's rather disheartening. The advent of free-to-play gaming and the popularity of MMORPGs - two potent elements of Western gaming - would make Guardian Hearts Online a perfect fit for Sony's shiny new handheld in the States and UK. But hey, Q Entertainment has served English-speakers quite well in the past, delivering fantastic gameplay and rewarding challenges in the Lumines series. We may not have experience with the Guardian Hearts name, but that doesn't mean we can't learn!

Sound off in the comments if you'd like to see Guardian Hearts Online localized for Western release and be the first MMORPG to grace PS Vita.