Famous Japanese studio Nippon Ichi is working on Dragoneer’s Aria, a new fantasy RPG being built from the ground up for the PSP. The game is scheduled for release in February 2008.

“When you can combine the talents of some of the world’s most experienced RPG developers, with the man responsible for the awesome character design in Lineage II and the genius of Johann Sebastian Bach then you clearly have something worth getting excited about. Dragoneer’s Aria is shaping up to be the first essential PSP release of 2008. ” said Will Curley, Sales Manager for KOEI Ltd.

The game features a brand new turn system that enable players to select the order of each character’s attack. This gives players much more control and more of a strategic grasp in battle. Players can also have 4 characters attack in a row, before the enemy attacks. These new chaining-based method can trigger powerful “Chain Skills”, getting exponentially stronger if “chained” longer. More on the game below:

Forget trudging back and forth across the map and being forced to engage in countless random encounters. Dragoneer’s Aria introduces visual enemies and field skills for a role playing experience where action is at the forefront and there is seamless transition between adventure and battles. Character ability also plays an important role in Dragoneer’s Aria. Depending on who is leading the team on the field, their team ability changes. For instance one character may have the ability to heal as they walk and if that character is set as the leader, then the entire team takes on that ability.

For Dragoneer’s Aria, there is a whole new way to guard enemy attacks. The ordinary guard is replaced by a rhythm based clicking game similar to that of a musical rhythm action title. The player’s success rate in this mini game will determine the amount of damage they receive.

Dragoneer’s Aria is the latest blockbusting RPG from Nippon Ichi in partnership with Hitmaker. It follows in the footsteps of hugely popular titles Makai Kingdom, Phantom Brave, La Pucelle: tactics and of course the critically acclaimed Disgaea and its stunning sequel. With a wealth of new ideas to freshen up the whole RPG experience, a tale that begs for just one more go, and a soundtrack that includes music from the legendary JS Bach, Dragoneer’s Aria is already looking like being one of the essential PSP purchases of 2008.