The tongue-twisting Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII project continues apace with Final Fantasy Agito XIII, a PlayStation Portable RPG with (reportedly) a sizeable online component. PSU’s hunter-killer drones have dragged in a lush CGI trailer with snippets of real-time gameplay footage for your consumption.
Agito XIII takes place in a small, peaceable nation once protected from the outside world by a shimmering crystal barrier. For reasons as yet unknown that barrier is destroyed, leaving the kingdom open to assault by an expansionist neighbor, Milites. The player controls 12 students from the school of magic, Akademeia, who take arms against the invaders.
Battle takes place in real-time, and is said to be similar to that of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, with spells, abilities and attacks mapped to the face buttons. In addition to signature weapons (including the katana, shotgun, tarot card deck and scythe) each character has his or her own summon monster, fully controllable once conjured into the warzone.
Final Fantasy Agito XIII is coming to Japan in 2009. European and North American dates are still to be announced.