Last November, I had the opportunity to introduce you to Rainbow Moon, our upcoming strategy RPG for PS3. Since then, we have received amazing feedback from all of you. In the lead up to the release, it gives me great pleasure to tell you more about the game’s battle system. You also have the chance to be one of the first to watch the Rainbow Moon trailer, available first via the PlayStation.Blog.
Although much of Rainbow Moon’s appeal is in its exploration and character development, the battles are what matter most. Akin to our Soldner-X game series, we have taken an innovative approach by combining classical elements with new ideas. An example is the triggering of battle encounters. Random encounters? Yes or no? Well, how about both?! In Rainbow Moon you will find foes roaming the surface of the planet and have a chance to battle in additional random encounters. The latter, however, are 100% optional and can be disregarded if you so decide.
All battles take place on grid-sized maps and are completely turn based. That’s right, just like the good old days: No stress, no chaos. Take your time to observe the situation and make the right move. Up to three party members can encounter a variety of evil beings. There are a number of commands at your disposal. The most important are Move, Attack, (using short or long range standard attacks), Skill (we’ll talk more about this in a moment), Defend, Use an Item, and Escape (all battles can be abandoned during your turn).
Using the right skills at the right time will decide your victory, and there are over 120 special skills of different types you can use throughout your journey. These range from powerful attacks, to support such as healing and other unique skills such as casting light or analyzing enemies. Some skills can be learned by only one of your characters, while others are suitable for multiple characters.
So, how about enemy behaviors? In Rainbow Moon you will encounter around 100 different enemies from 17 classes, each with its own characteristics. Besides attacking you with standard and special attacks, enemies can do a lot more, including casting support skills, focusing their attacks on certain characters, splitting, merging, self-destructing, fleeing, and a few more we will leave for you to discover for yourself.
I will not go into all the details, but I can promise you there’s a lot more than meets the eye. You will find different deployment grids, a wide variety of status conditions (poison and enchantments), weapon affinities, a BIAS system, passive skills, skill levels, speed bonus system, and so on.
As you can see, a great amount of effort and attention to detail has gone into the development of the game. You’ll be happy to hear that Rainbow Moon will be one of the few games on PSN with Platinum Trophy support. In total, you’ll find more than 50 trophies are up for grabs.
There’s a lot more I’d love to share with you. If you want to know more about Rainbow Moon, please make sure to visit the official website and follow us on Facebook here. Rainbow Moon will be published on the PlayStation Store by our long-term partner eastasiasoft in just a few weeks.
PS: Please share your thoughts and feel free to ask questions using the comments box below. I’ll be more than happy to get back to you.














17 CommentsAdd Yours
1
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 4:50 pm by Chocobo115
been keeping an eye on this for a bit since the last announcement in November. Any idea what this is gonna cost and might there be a PS+ discount?
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 6:59 pm by Marcus Pukropski
Hi Chocobo115,
a PS+ discount has not been decided yet, but it’s possible.
The price has not been decided too, but it will be in line with other PSN games, so probably not over 15$, even with platinum support. Promised, you can expect tons of content for that money, although most of it is optional.
2
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 4:55 pm by notCalle
Looks great, and would be the perfect match for a Vita Cross Play deal.
3
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 5:31 pm by Megakizz
looks awesome cant wait
4
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 5:45 pm by Rytteren
have been looking forward for this game in a long time. now the time is almost here
5
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 6:42 pm by Bilouze
I’ll be honest, I am only thinking about buying this game because I want to support the developpers so they can make Soldner X3 someday. X2 was, and still is, the best shoot’em up on PS3.
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 7:03 pm by Marcus Pukropski
Hi Bilouze,
we’re glad you like SX2:) But maybe there’s a chance you will like this game too. From a game design point a view, there is some analogy although this is a complete different genre.
Plus, the game has a dedicated soundtrack from the original SX2 composer Rafael Dyll.
6
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 6:59 pm by Mayernator87
Looks like a good old fashioned RPG. Me likey!
7
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 7:21 pm by ashalan30
This game needs to be put on the PS Vita aswell!! any chance of it???
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 7:28 pm by Marcus Pukropski
Hi ashalan30,
we’re indeed considering such a version, however no decisions has been made so far. We recommend to check our website frequently for updates.
8
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 8:04 pm by SKIBADEE187
love the look of this has a platinum as well will be a day one buy.
9
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 8:28 pm by Jarod
Hi Marcus,
Just to be sure, Rainbow Moon will be english only or have you planned other languages too (french \o/) ?
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 8:45 pm by Marcus Pukropski
Hi Jarod,
yes, english only.
10
Posted on 4 May, 2012 at 9:58 pm by ste_the_legend
It’s strange, I was only wondering about the latest news on this game the other day but I couldn’t remember what it was called. Looks awesome and quite likely a day one purchase for me ^_^
11
Posted on 5 May, 2012 at 12:14 am by HouseQuake
It’s just such a joy to see a new RPG respect the root of RPG and keep it intact as opposed to changing everything into button mashing and calling it innovation……
Free roam world map.
Turn Based battle system.
Colourful towns that are available to explore.
Memorable NPCs that can be spoken too.
Side quests.
Secrets.
Different means of travel on the world map.
Dungeons
Colourful music, complete with memorable melodies.
Enthusiastic presentation that makes all a big deal.
Light hearted attention to detail.
I could go on.
Latter “RPGs” retailing at £40 lack almost all on the above list, Rainbow Moon, a game i will spend no more than £15 on, ticks every box.
I truly hope the industry goes through a change soon, a change for the better….because we’re forgetting what makes a truly memorable game lately and more and more i am relying on more independent developers.
I can only think of Level 5 (Ni No Kuni), Mistwalker (Last Story) and at times, NiS, Namco Bandai or Atlus that are still delivering great RPGs as mainstream developers, especially Level 5.
Anyway, Marcus, extend our support to the team, you all absolutely deserve it. Keep THE games alive.
Posted on 5 May, 2012 at 9:53 am by Marcus Pukropski
Hi HouseQuake,
thanks for your kind words:) I hope you all will have the same fun we had during development and testing. So we’re really looking forward to your feedback.
If you like the game please, please recommend it to your friends.
12
Posted on 5 May, 2012 at 12:15 am by RogueTrooper211
Could this be the game to fill the simple isometric strategy RPG void left in my life since Vandal Hearts on PS1? I can but hope.
13
Posted on 5 May, 2012 at 10:00 am by bismarcks
Looks great! Is there an expected release date?
14
Posted on 5 May, 2012 at 10:54 am by Marcus Pukropski
Expect a release in June/July, depending on Sony QA.
15
Posted on 5 May, 2012 at 11:50 am by taurus82
Let’s hope this doesn’t get lost (FOR TWO YEARS!) like Auditorium HD.
16
Posted on 5 May, 2012 at 11:53 am by taurus82
Let’s hope this doesn’t get lost in Sony QA (FOR TWO YEARS!) like Auditorium HD is still suffering.
17
Posted on 6 May, 2012 at 7:26 pm by bakre02
You gotta be kidding me.
We close the comments for posts after 30 days. If you would still like to comment on this post, please use our contact form.