Fragile is an upcoming Wii role-playing game being developed by tri-Crescendo and a Namco team that was responsible for two Japanese PS2 RPGs, Seven: Molmorth no Kiheitai and Venus & Braves.
The game is being published in Japan by Namco Bandai Games with a release set for January 22nd but does not yet have an international release. Hopefully Namco will also pick it up and publish it in Western countries though as the game looks mighty interesting.
In Fragile (who’s Japanese subtitle is translated “Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon) players control main character Seto who is searching the devastated world for survivors in a world where everyone has disappeared. He needs to find answers to his questions and in doing so he uses a flashlight to search the game’s environments which players control by pointing the Wii Remote sensor at the screen (similar to Luigi’s Mansion). The flashlight is one of the main aspects of the game and you use it to solve puzzles, light up your surrounding so you can see, uncover hidden items, objects and enemies, and as a weapon against some of the foes you will face. In addition to the flashlight Seto also has a metal detector that he can use to uncover hidden items under the ground as well as a microphone which can be use to pick up the sounds of hidden enemies. You will also find various other weapons to use against the game’s enemies including a stick, bow, crowbar and small hatchet.
While exploring the game’s various environments, players will stumble upon short stories and sketches left behind by the people from the world who disappeared. Finding these objects and examining them will unlock the memories of their former owners and reveal more of the game’s backstory and various exposition to the game’s world as well as give players hints. Some of these short stories were sent in to tri-Crescendo via competitions held by various Japanese gaming magazines; the winning entries got featured in the game.
Although the game is all about Seto’s search for the people that have disappeared and will thus feature ghosts and demons that lurk the world’s abandoned cities (as well as a mysterious wandering girl named Ren, and the like), the game is not a survival horror game but rather an RPG that will focus on “human drama” rather than a completely scary atmosphere ala Silent Hill, although the game will contain it’s share of scary moments. The game will also feature a theme song named Hikari sung by Aoi Teshima.
Graphically Fragile has some truly beautiful scenes (just look at the top pic) and an anime look and style that not only fits the Wii RPG really well but also seems to fit what the game is going for like a glove. Check out some Japanese trailers and videos for the game.