From Software announces Evergrace

[10.11.99] » Breaking away from King's Field's first-person gameplay, From Software introduces a medieval third-person action RPG.

   Among English-speaking gamers, From Software is traditionally associated with the King's Field series -- a first-person action RPG set in a medieval dungeon-crawling environment. A pseudo-sequel entitled Eternal Ring was announced at the most recent Tokyo Game Show for the PlayStation 2, sporting the same perspective and gameplay fans have come to expect. Now, From Software has announced another title in the same vein as King's Field and Eternal Ring, but with a dramatic and unprecedented new twist: a third-person perspective.

   Sarcastic edge aside, Evergrace appears to take the dark, moody dungeon gameplay of King's Field and mix it with the graphical prowess of Zelda 64. In development for the PlayStation, Evergrace is an action RPG which allows players to highly customize the hero's equipment and appearance. Players can individually equip the head, arms, legs, and body, while adding accessories such as rings and amulets -- with each equipment change resulting in a dramatic change to your character's appearance, as seen in screen shots below. In addition, one can equip "Balmira" onto your character, a system which also allows one to charge up a gauge to release physical and magical powers during the heat of combat. And like Square's Parasite Eve, bonus points are gained after battle which can be applied to one of five character stats in addition to standard level-ups.

   Evergrace is currently slated for a release sometime next spring for the PlayStation, presumably after the March PlayStation 2 launch-title release of Eternal Ring.