Growlanser II headed to the US

[03.12.02] » Atlus' action / strategy series finally headed to the US from a surprise publisher.

   Since the first game was released in 1999, the Growlanser series has quickly become one of Atlus Japan's prime franchises. The series has already seen two sequels on the PlayStation 2 and Atlus even went so far as to purchase the developer Career Soft outright last October.

   But despite strong support and decent sales in Japan, the company's American branch has shown little interest in bringing the series stateside. However, it seems that a Growlanser game will finally find its way west from an unlikely source. Gamers.com reports that Working Designs' "mystery RPG" for the PlayStation 2 is none other than Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice.

   While the move is certainly surprising considering Atlus' fairly strong US presence, Growlanser II is a prime candidate for a Working Designs localization. The game has all the qualities of the company's normal fare -- old-school 2D graphics, anime-styled characters, and a copious use of voice acting for the cast. Those who haven't been following the game can read more in our extensive preview.

   While only the second Growlanser game was mentioned, a third game in the series has already been out in Japan for several months. No details are available on a possible U.S. release for that game, but the announcement of one game in the series certainly can't hurt its chances.

   Look for more details soon.