This is certainly a rather surprising announcement. Gematsu has just posted an article revealing that SEGA’s 2D fighter Blade Arcus from Shining EX, a crossover game featuring characters from Shining Blade and Shining Hearts, will be released on Steam as Blade Arcus from Shining: Battle Arena. The game is scheduled to be released on July 29, and its Steam page can be found here. Apparently Degica Games is responsible for bringing the game to PC, although they’re not listed as the publisher on the Steam page. At the time of writing, there’s also a live stream going on for the game at AnimEVO 2016. Below you can find the info posted on the Steam page, as well as the launch trailer posted on the Steam page! Interestingly, this PC version of the game will in fact support online play, something that was surprisingly absent from the console version of the game in Japan.
While the game was released on PS3 and PS4 last year in Japan, there’s no announcement regarding those versions heading to the West. In recent times, none of the main Shining RPG games have been localized for the West, making it all the more surprising to see this game released. But judging from the lack of announcement from SEGA, it doesn’t seem that they’re really involved with this PC version of the game, as it appears to be handled by Studio Saizensen and Degica Games.
Degica Games is currently running a giveway where you can win various prizes, which include preorder bonus items, such as a swimsuit calendar, the Doujinshi “Shining Heroines Works” and a soundtrack OST, that were included with the limited “Tony’s Premium Fan Box” Japanese PS4/PS3 release.
Thanks goes to Gematsu for their article on this announcement.
In a world controlled by blade, magic, and fist diverse warriors gather for battle!
This is a 2D fighting game featuring characters from Shining Blade and Shining Hearts.Featuring:
- Tag Battle with 16 playable characters
- Beautiful artwork by Tony（AlbionWorks）
- Story Mode with full voice acting
- Hone your skills in Traning Mode!
- Go head to head with your friends in Versus Mode!
- Online mode, created just for the Steam release!
- Defeat your rivals from all over the world with Online Leaderboards/Ranking System!
4 Different Game Modes!
- Explore the characters stories in an RPG style with full voice acting in Story Mode!
- Go head to head with your friends in Versus mode.
- Hone your skills in Training Mode.
- Take on Blade Arcus Battle Arena players from all around the world with Online mode.
Characters
Play as one of 16 different characters from the Shining Universe!
All your favourite characters are here including Rage, Sakuya, Misty, Sonia, Rick and Dylan!!!Here’s the full list: Ryuuga, Pairon, Rage, Sakuya, Xiao Mei, Altina,Roselinde, Melty, Fenrir, Isaac, Rick, Dylan, Rouna, Urayukihime, Misty, Sonia
Beautiful Artwork and Voice Acting
- Tony（AlbionWorks）has created some incredibly beautiful artwork for this game.
- We’ve also brought on an incredible cast of voice actors including Yukari Tamura, Nana Mizuki and Rie Kugimiya.
Battle System
Originally from Japanese game centres/arcades, Blade Arcus from Shining features unique battle and game balance systems. Play online, defeat your rivals, and become the very best!
You’ll utilize tag-based mechanics by selecting a primary character and a secondary character. You can switch characters between rounds as well as call on your partner for help using “Link Attacks”.
System Requirements
Minimum:
- OS: Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz or faster processor
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.1 compliant video card
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Storage: 4 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectSound
- Additional Notes: Controller recommended
I’ve never played that game, but I’ve always disliked its “sprite-less, 3d-like” animations, I think they would have made a better choice with Dengeki Bunko, but I can understand why did they choose that one instead of a game full of licences, specially when talking about long therm digital distribution like Steam.