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[Scott]

Set for a vague "May 2005."

STELLA DEUS WEBSITE NOW LIVE
Irvine, CA, April 8, 2005 - Atlus U.S.A. , Inc., a leading publisher of interactive entertainment, announced today that the official Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity website has gone live at www.atlus.com/stella_deus. The site features exclusive screenshots and movies as well as character bios, game information and downloadable goodies such as wallpaper and AIM Icons.

A deadly mist called the "Miasma" spreads across the land, killing all in its path. Having forsaken hope, the inhabitants simply await their deaths. Lord Dignus, self-appointed Overlord of Fortuna, sends forth the Imperial Legion to put a quick end to their apathy and eliminate this "weakness" from his kingdom. Spero, a member of the Legion, has been given the task of hunting spirits to further the alchemic studies of his friend Viser. The young soldier hopes this will bring an end to the Miasma. Meanwhile, a shaman warrior named Linea believes that she can save the world by opening the fabled Gate of Eternity.

Stella Deus Key Features:

• Gorgeous hand-drawn artwork and voiced dialogue bring the world of Stella Deus to life!
• Over 50 hours of tactical gameplay including side quests such as the Catacombs of Trial!
• Effectively manage your characters to launch devastating Team Attacks!
• Customize your inventory by fusing and creating items!
• Fully voiced dialogue!

They've also revealed that it will have a reversible boxart:
(click thumbnails for large, printable versions - no 56k!)

Outer:


Inner:


And lastly, some English screenshots:

A lot more on the website. Enjoy!

 

[Mejilan]

Mine!

 

[Gattsu25]

woa...what's this? A SRPG with non-SNES level sprites?

How does it play and how does it compare to other PS2 SRPGs?

 

[Alex]

Quality game releases are fucking ridiculous this generation.

 

[Ironclad]

Wow, the inner boxart is infinitely better than the outer boxart. Either way, this is so mine.

 

[Scott]

How does it play and how does it compare to other PS2 SRPGs?

Bebpo posted a review of it here.

 

[Brian Fellows]

You cant have it! It will be mine!

 

[jiggle]

Wow, some of the spell fx looks really good.
And the more realistically proportioned character-sprites look awesome in animation.

 

[Borys]

PS2 is on a fucking roll this year :O
Please STOP Sony, I don't have that much money.

 

[Brandon F]

Damn, Atlus and Squeenix PS2 releases alone will ensure I have plenty to play in 2005.

Oh and THIS should have been our cover...

 

[Cloudy]

Hawt....

 

[Alex]

That would've been a much better cover, the the artwork is quite excellent overall, I'd say. I really dig the color use.

 

[jiggle]

It bewilders the mind to think why that image wasn't made available for voting.

 

[Andy787]

Damn. Anyone have more of this game's artwork?

 

[drohne]

i'm pinning my srpg hopes on this one. fire emblem and disgaea are alright, but there hasn't been a game in the ideal tactics ogre style for some time. bebpo's review was really encouraging, and for a strategy game it's gorgeous.

 

[radios shipping overview]

It bewilders the mind to think why that image wasn't made available for voting.

This was explained on Atlus USA's forum. On the Japanese cover, the logo is placed below the top third of the cover, and the logo needs to be somewhere in the top third of the cover to be seen when it's not on the front rack of Gamestop's shelves.

I'll definitely go with the alternate cover.

 

[Alex]

My opinion is fairly close to Drohne's. I dig Fire Emblem's polished, old school roots, and the kooky grind systems of NIS titles.

But eh, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is still in my mind the king of the genre. Too bad Knight of Lodis was such a disaster, well, that's probably being harsh, but gets the big dissapointment idea across.

Maybe we'll get some fun SRPG discussion around here as well for the first time in a blue moon! Crazed NIS fans, and equally crazed Nintendo "NOTHING ELSE EXISTS" fans aren't my bag.

 

[Go Go Ackman!]

My opinion is fairly close to Drohne's. I dig Fire Emblem's polished, old school roots, and the kooky grind systems of NIS titles.

But eh, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is still in my mind the king of the genre. Too bad Knight of Lodis was such a disaster, well, that's probably being harsh, but gets the big dissapointment idea across.

Maybe we'll get some fun SRPG discussion around here as well for the first time in a blue moon! Crazed NIS fans, and equally crazed Nintendo "NOTHING ELSE EXISTS" fans aren't my bag.

I still hold the original FFT and Tactics Ogre series as the apex of SRPG design - music, graphics, gameplay and story-wise.

I say this every time I have the chance - I wanted to like Disgaea, but it dissapointed me on almost every level (in every sense of the word "level"), and I haven't touched a NIS-developed strategy game since.

Please, for the love of god, don't let this game be shitty, because it looks amazing.

 

[Shouta]

I just play Growlanser for my strategy needs nowadays :lol.

The original cover is the best with the reversible following in second. The odd one out from the cover selection contest awhile back was the best of the choices though (I think it was the one with the red-haired girl on the front)

 

[Randam_Hajile]

I've been doing alot of research on this game over the past few days, and now it is THE game I'm most looking forward to getting and playing through as soon as it comes out.

Unfortunately, Gamestop sucks balls as there is no reservation SKU for it, even though the game is listed in the computer.




Edit: Oh My God..... After reading Bebpo's review and hearing about the incredible Japanese voice acting, I was really worried about Atlus dubbing the game and hoping for dual language options. And now, after watching the "Dialogue: Mystery Girl" movie on the official site, I'm on my fucking knees PRAYING for dual language options! Dammit, the English voices are atrocious! Please, oh please Atlus, give me a dual language option. I don't want to have to import this. I care about the story too damn much.

 

[ferricide]

there is no dual language option.

you can skip the dialogue (every line has a text box associated with it, so you can hit X to move on) or you can crank down the voice volume in options. i did not do this, so i don't know if this creates any sort of delay or anything, but i doubt it. it's a speedy, responsive game. it's one of those games where the menus can go as fast as you do.

the voices are not so hot.

 

[Go Go Ackman!]

Oh, and growlanser sucked too.

 

[Alex]

I bought Baten Kaitos over Growlanser, I'd like to say I was drunk, but...

 

[Shouta]

Ackman = dead to me.

 

[MrDaravon]

This game looks fantastic. The artwork and graphics are just beautiful. This has been on the top of my wanted list for a few months now, I'm glad to see I'm not alone.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Growlanser II
Growlanser III
Stella Deus
Makai Kingdom

I am ON a SRPG tear here, folks.

And listen to that delicious Sakimoto & Iwata OST. Why haven't those two been given an orchestra to work with like the guy that did Rygar's? They just about scream philharmonic in everything they've done.

 

[Mrbob]

 

[demi]

haha elaine

I'm hoping to grab this when it's cheap as well, to go along with my sealed disgaea/phantombrave/lapucelle. I'll play them. One day.

 

[opkal]

I absolutely love the art and music in this game, fantastic stuff. It's been a while since I’ve played a SRPG and the itch needs scratching.

 

[Mejilan]

I absolutely love the art and music in this game, fantastic stuff. It's been a while since I’ve played a SRPG and the itch needs scratching.

Tell me about it. I have Disgaea, La Pucelle, and Phantom Brave, but it's been a long time since I've played a new, good SRPG (Fire Emblem).

 

[firex]

My god I have to buy this, looks like a real spiritual successor to TO:LUCT. I only hope Atlus does a good enough job with the translation to keep the story as interesting as Bebpo said the Japanese version had.