Playstation Vita JRPG Fans Rejoice! ‘Caligula’ Is Releasing In North America And Europe In Spring, 2017


If there is one video gaming system or handheld considered to be a massive hub for role-playing games (RPGs), especially those of a Japanese flavor, it is easily the Playstation Vita. The successor of the Playstation Portable, it has a wide array of RPG titles to keep dungeon crawlers, turn-based tacticians, and story drivers on the edge of their seat. Some of the past Vita games to receive plenty of attention include Tales of Hearts, the 11th main entry in the Tales Series, Soul Sacrifice Delta, an upgraded version of the original that incorporated Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and Mercenary Kings, a 2D side-scrolling, military shooter that combines elements of Contra, the Metal Slug Series, and the Monster Hunter Series.

Today, the Playstation Vita has lost a lot of its appeal among hardcore gamers, especially with the rise of mobile gaming. Still, those who actually own one are highly devoted to the handheld. Because of this, gaming developers and publishers are still willing to create games for the niche handheld peripheral. The release of Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir and Demon Gaze 2 are a testament to that fact, especially when it comes to North American and European releases. Now, Vita gamers can add another game to the up-and-coming games list as Caligula has been confirmed to be released in both regions too.

Before moving towards the news confirming the game’s release in the North American and European regions, it is best to detail what Caligula is. At its core, Caligula utilizes many elements of Japanese RPGs (JRPGs) which includes turn-based combat and dungeon environments, but they add in their own unique specialty which is known as the “Imaginary Chain” battle system, which allows gamers to visualize their actions before pulling them off.

Another detail where Caligula differs from other JRPGs is the story, though it can be somewhat compared to Sword Art Online. It is set in a virtual reality program known as “Mobias” which was created so people can escape the pain of their lives in an idyllic high school setting. The main protagonist (unnamed since it is the player who names him or her) realizes he or she is in a virtual reality world and is part of the “Going Home Club,” a group dedicated to escaping it and its god-like overseer program known as “?.” They are opposed by another club known as the “Ostinato Musicans” who support “?” and see the “Going Home Club” as traitors.

As for developer and production details about Caligula, it is developed by Aquiria and published by FuRyu (Japan) and Atlus (North America and Europe). Tadashi Satomi, famous for writing the script for the first games in the Persona Series and some work for Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner, has also written the script for the game.

Caligula, Atlus
“Caligula” will release sometime in the Spring of 2017 for the Playstation Vita in both the North American and European regions. [Image via Screen Capture of “Caligula”]
According to Siliconera, Atlus surprised everyone when they made it known they would be publishing Caligula for both North America and Europe at E3 2016. Besides that, not much else was revealed about the game except for numerous screen captures of the game in progress of porting. Atlus did, however, mention that the North American and European versions of the game will be available as a digital copy. They made no mention of any physical versions or of any special editions, but it is way too early to think physical versions and special editions will be omitted from being created. It is also expected that Caligula may get a Playstation 4 version made the closer we get to the game’s release window.

[Image via Screen Capture of Caligula Reveal Trailer by Atlus]

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