Platform: Playstation 2

Genre: Strategy RPG

Publisher: Namco

Developer: Namco

ETA: TBA

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Venus and Braves

(Formerly Project Venus)

Usually when you look at a developer or publisher, the library of games that they have released have a tendency to gravitate towards only a handful of genres.  Not so with Namco.  Between franchises Tekken, Ridge Racer, and the Tales series, not to mention the seemingly endless number of one-offs, they have really tried to be a jack-of-all-trades, and for the most part have done quite well for themselves.  One of the few areas where Namco has lacked over the years has been in strategy games, however, but they are working on that.  Shortly after the PS2 was launched in Japan Namco released a strategy RPG by the name of Seven: The Cavalry of Molmorth, and now they have a sequel coming by the name of Venus and Braves, also for the PS2.  

The story takes place 100 years after Seven, centering around a not-so-young chap by the name of Blood Boall, a 159 year old immortal who looks no older than 18.  What better hero for a game than someone who cannot die to begin with?  A goddess named Ariah approaches Blood and tells him that he must stop a catastrophe from destroying the world, as has been written in the Book of Prophecies.  So the two of them team up and are eventually joined by several more characters, as they attempt to prevent this tragedy.

Returning to the fray is the Rotation Battle System used in Seven.  What this does is allow 

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players to place their characters on a 4X3 grid where each row, going from front to back, performs a different task during combat.  The front row is responsible for melee attacks, while the second row adds support and healing, with the back row being a place to send characters when they need a rest and can recuperate.  Besides the usual mix of melee, ranged, and magical attacks, it’s rumored that Venus and Braves may also have summoning attacks.  There is also going to be Net Play options in the game, but no word as of yet on what, exactly, this entails.

Seven never saw a North American release, so it really wouldn’t be surprising if Venus and Braves doesn’t see the light of day over here.  However, letter-writing campaigns were invented for a reason.  Swing by Namco’s site and let them know that you’re interested in the game if you want to see it come to these shores.

- Mr. Nash

(July 19, 2002)