Black★Rock Shooter THE GAME

"In the year 2032 AD, mankind was decimated. Before she awakes...She becomes RPG." Black★Rock Shooter THE GAME is a role-playing game on the PSP based on the Black★Rock Shooter concept, developed by Imageepoch. The game is said to combine role-playing game, shooting game and third-person shooter game elements. Its release date was on August 25, 2011.

The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where 19 years have passed since an alien invasion has annihilated a vast majority of the human population. The remaining inhabitants on Earth are given the responsibility of the Earth's safety from the invaders, until the awakening of Earth's ultimate weapon against the invasion.

Synopsis

 * Main article: Black★Rock Shooter THE GAME Characters

In the year 2032, Earth suffers from a sudden invasion by alien forces. Nineteen years passed after that event, and with chaos ruling the globe, the only way to rescue the world from utter destruction is to survive and fight against those who force Earth into complete annihilation.

The main character of the game, Black★Rock Shooter (in the game a "living weapon" designated with the name BRS), is entrusted with the responsibility to protect mankind, possessing the abilities to fight against the invaders as the ultimate weapon. She emerges from the ruins of a city similar to San Francisco, and witnesses an amassing of surviving troops which becomes her support throughout her mission.

Gameplay
Black★Rock Shooter THE GAME possesses elements of both role-playing and third-person shooter genres. The player assumes the role of Black★Rock Shooter, the main character, and follows her battles against the alien forces, with occasional assistance from non-player characters.


 * For more information about gameplay, proceed to the Gameplay Guide.

Battle System
In battle mode, Black★Rock Shooter's objective is to defeat the monsters within a set area. The players fight in real-time and in three dimensions, allowing Black★Rock Shooter to move across the battle area to gain mobility or position herself for attacks.

Like in a third-person shooter, the player is given a hit point bar (pictured in blue) which the player must maintain while fighting, and aiming at enemies are usually done by using the directional keys in the console. The game also provides a weapon energy bar located below the hit point bar (normally green) which enters an "overheat" status when the weapon is used excessively in battles.

Amount of damage inflicted by the player to the enemies are denoted as well.

Character Development
Unlike in traditional shooter games, the character receives experience from battles, a feature common to role-playing games. The character's progress is also based on levels, which denote the player's experience in battle.

Development

 * See full article: Black★Rock Shooter (Developments)

The jrpg.jp domain, owned by Ryu's Office, which is then headed by Ryuta Kounuma (known for Valkyria Chronicles II and Persona 3 and 4), released a teaser video last August 14, 2010 after the release of the Black★Rock Shooter OVA. The next day, a website was opened, with a promotional video and a tagline. Other details, including whether it is related to Ordet's OVA production, are unknown. Meanwhile, there were no related news regarding the RPG project posted in both the official site of the OVA and in Huke's blog site.

On November 24, 2010, Imageepoch held a gaming conference where they plan to announce the Black★Rock Shooter JRPG, alongside seven other games. The conference was livestreamed on NicoNico Douga's website. Good Smile Company, who is in-charge of making Black★Rock Shooter figures, was among those in attendance. Info from Imageepoch in the said event revealed that Black★Rock Shooter THE GAME is being directed by Kazuya Niinou (Trauma Center, Etrian Odyssey, Last Ranker) and has a scenario by Kazushige Nojima (Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2).

After the day of the conference, a new version of the official site for the RPG has been launched. The original teaser is no longer available, although still available in YouTube, and news from the conference is available in the site.

In an interview by Dengeki, Imageepoch's owner Ryoei Mikage confirms that they will release the game overseas, having a contract with NIS America, and that NISA will be releasing their titles in the US and probably also Europe. Although the initial decision of NISA was considered as "still under consideration", NISA finally confirms the release of the PSP game in North America and Europe.

The regular-edition release of the game is set at ¥6,279 with a Limited Edition version for ¥10,479. There has been reports of the release date being set for the 27th of March on the official site of the game, however, it was later removed due to unknown reasons.

Cast names confirmed include Maaya Sakamoto, Miyuki Sawashiro, Masaki Terasoma, Mai Nakahara, Tomokazu Sugita, Youko Hikasa, Yoshimitsu Shimoyama, Hiroshi Kamiya, Asami Shimoda, Yousuke Akimoto, Kenji Hamada, Mitsuaki Hoshino, and Katsuhisa Houki.