Nihon Falcom have launched the official Japanese website for The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki, revealing information about the RPG.

As previously reported, the game takes place in the Republic of Calvard in the year 1208. While under an economic boom thanks to post-war reparations, parts of the capital city has issues with Septium veins running dry, immigration, and bold political reforms from the new president.

The story focuses on one young man acting as a “Spriggan,” a fixer who can solve the issues of police detectives, negotiators, and bounty hunters in a discreet manner. As the man works for the Arc Ride Resolution Office, a strange request from a prestigious school girl ends up shaking the whole nation.

The battles have been changed from the AT (Action Time) battles of prior games, being able to transition from action-based field battles to command-based turn battles. This is via the tactical orbament Xipha, which also brings in Tactical Link and Brave Order mechanics.

Battles also take place in the overworld, with Field Attacks becoming commands. Players do not control the characters moving directly during battles, and the terrain’s geography can affect battles.

There is also the Topic System, where players can learn information to use when talking to NPCs to open up new dialogue options and consequences. How players choose to act can also change their Alignement Frame; with attributes in Law, Gray, and Chaos all being independent of one another. The new game will also have a smaller character roster, as the first game in a new saga.

Using DeepL to translate the webpages of the new Japanese website, we have learned more about the game. For example, the website explains that the Spriggan business is technically outlawed, but depending on the players actions they can make allies of anyone from the police to mafia.

The World

The Edith Capital has several landmarks, such as Revolution Square, the 90 year old Presidential Palace, and the prestigious Aramis High School. There are also modern homes, movie theaters, a commercial district, and the old town that has been left behind in development.

It is also the first country at that time to introduce traffic lights, and the first city on the continent to use a subway system to connect the major districts- rather than street cars. The nation of Calvard also used to be under a monarchy, until a democratic revolution 100 years ago.

The nation state of Crossbell is also an independent state, after the bloody conflicts of the past few years with the Erebonia empire. Erebonia is to the west of the Zemuria continent, with Calvard to the east and Crossbell between them.

The war reparations from Erebonia to Crossbell has resulted in the aforementioned economic boom, despite Crossbell not paying taxes to Calvard. As such, Calvard is becoming the leader of economic and military power on the continent.

The Zemuria continent is also home to the Septian Church and the Seven Yoh Society. They worship of the Sky goddess Eidos, the most worshiped goddess on the continent.

The church was established after the Great Collapse of the ancient Zemurian civilization, said to have guided the people at a time of confusion. Its influence has diminished since the leadership revolution, but still enlightens people on the subjects of learning, education, and medicine.

As with other Legend of Heroes titles, there is a Bracer Guild; private organizations that act as professional investigators and combatants when the police and military are unable to assist. As a neutral and international group, they seek to exterminate magcial beasts, prevent crime, protect the peace, and arbitrate disputes between nations.

In addition there are Jägers. While the Bracer Guild is lawful and Spriggans are “tolerated” by some, Jägers typically work for the criminal underworld for large rewards for illegal work. Sometimes even state authorities ask for their help, and even when taking part in large-scale battles, few know of their existence.

Thanks to the Bracer Guild and Jägers, this does not leave a lot of work for Spriggans. They typically get jobs that the Central Intelligence Agency does not want to send to the Bracer Guild, from citizens who wish for discretion, or even criminals who’s requests that are “reasonable.”

Characters

The young man working for the Arc Ride Resolution Office is Van Arkride (24, 180cm tall, Weapon: Stun Calibur). While seeming dry and pragmatic, he has his own morals and cares for others. Thanks ti his job, he has made connections with numerous industries, and became a Spriggan “almost by accident.”

He seems satisfied with his life, even when work is not good, and does his job without fail. Even so, he sometimes “shows a side of him that keeps him from touching the deepest parts of his heart.”

The girl who asked him for help is Agnès Claudel (16, 158cm, Weapon: Opal Staff). A first-year student of the Aramis High School, her innocent and soft demeanor hide a strong will. At school she is part of the student council as the general secretary, and is taking self-defense lessons using her staff.

Someone has stolen her great-grandfather’s ornament, yet she avoids asking the police or bracers. Instead, she seeks the help of the Arc Ride Solution Office, since they take any work.

Other characters were also revealed on the website, such as Feri Al-Fayed (13, 150cm, Weapon: Assault Bayonet). A young hunter of the Kurga Warriors, she has been trained for combat since she was a child. While she seems like a hardened hunter in battle, her lack of knowledge of big cities gets honest reactions of “everyday life as a girl of her age should.”

When another hunting party she is in contact with vanishes, she begins her own search, and gets in contact with the “underhanded solvers” she had heard about.

Finally there is Aaron Wei (19, 175cm, Weapon: Twin Star Swords). A leader of a bloodthirsty gang, he learned swordsmanship and kung fu from the Gekka School (one of the three major kung fu schools). His charismatic demeanor has led to him being known as the Qilinji, or Little High King of Louzhou.

The Black Moon Hayue syndicate, which controls the Eastern Human Street, is attempting to recruit him as one of their top henchemen. However, Wei has no love-loss for the syndicate. 

Gameplay

Players are able to freely jump from action to command-based battles at the touch of a button. As seen in the video below, the action freezes in command battles, though the prior comment about character movement not being controlled may refer to the AI partners. In action mode, it seems the various characters teleport into the player’s position to execute their moves.

The websites states players can freely choose which battle system they prefer, “such as focusing on exhilarating action battles against small enemies, and command battles for strategic battles against strong enemies.” They can also switch to commands when they encounter the enemy to make it feel more like the AT battle system of prior games.

Command battle shave players choose their normal attacks, war crafts, magic arts, and items; all while keeping an eye on the order they will play out in. The Xipha tactical orbment can also be used to temporarily boost the hero’s abilities, and aid nearby party members in performing follow-up attacks to arts.

The webpage for combat featured a muted video showing both combat modes in action.

The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki launches 2021. Platforms have not been announced at this time, with the official website stating “undecided.”

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