If you've been looking to the cosmos for some stellar role playing goodness for your Playstation Vita, you'll be pleased to hear that fortune has smiled upon you with the announcement of Phantasy Star Nova - a new sci-fi RPG from SEGA and established RPG Studio Tri-Ace, which is set to be a Playstation Vita exclusive.
The Phantasy Star series is a surprisingly vast one which dates back to 1987; notable for having one of the first female protagonists in a video game, top notch graphics (for the time) and for being quite story-driven, at least comparatively, the series has gone on to rather more diverse pastures in recent years. Having found arguably its biggest success with the massively multiplayer Phantasy Star Online, Nova is set to offer something of a return to the series' roots, as the game will once again feature a single player, story driven mode alongside support for four player local and online co-op, for when those battles get that little bit too tricky.
It's all looking a bit... brown, at the moment
Not much is known in the way of story at this time, but what is known is that Nova will take place in the same world as Phantasy Star Online 2, the latest online title in the series. With the ability to create your own character, you'll real time battle your way across a number of missions as the story unfolds, enlisting the help of your team mates from time to time. As you'd likely expect, there are a number of classes on offer too - Hunters for instance are warriors who can master swords, while those of the Force class can wield rods that allow them to control devastating magic.
Nova has currently been confirmed for a 2014 release in Japan, with no other release date announced at this time. As SEGA still has yet to bring Phantasy Star Online 2 to the west, we could well have a long wait on our hand before Nova arrives. Why not check out the trailer below for the first footage of the new game:
