Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey to Sail with Premium Model in the West

Though premium games are often devoured by their free-to-play counterparts on mobile, they also manage to secure a niche place in the hearts of fans. For example, Square Enix manages to sell nostalgia as premium titles, and many genres, especially RPGs, manage to weave tales of success.

But what about cross-platform premium titles? That's a tricky area that's hardly delved into. Sure, there are popular games with counterparts for mobile, like Mortal Kombat X, but these counterparts are either bite-sized in gameplay and or are entirely different genres.

So crisp! So fresh! So bright!

But what about a full, cross-platform 2D RPG, without shedded mechanics or watered-down graphics? It's possible, according to Kobojo Games.

Though revealed a few months ago, Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey is gathering passengers for an upcoming, unforgettable trip as indie developer Kobojo Games announced that Zodiac will arrive in the U.S. and Europe as a premium title. As a recap, the premium model is an all-up-front model, where players shell out a one-time fee for the full game.

Currently, the game is in production in Scotland with two legendary names of the video game industry: Kazushige Nojima, the writer of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy X, and Hitoshi Sakimoto, composer of Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, and Final Fantasy XII, playing the same roles during development.

Zodiac's blending of the classic and modern is where the title shines brightly, weaving an engaging and unique storyline laced with intense battles, freeform exploration, and item crafting--all painted on a gorgeous 2D canvas. Of course, we can't forget about the handdrawn art and comprehensive soundtrack.

Horrifying or relieving?

Initially, Zodiac will offer multiple areas to explore, plenty of dungeons, hours upon hours of quests and side-quests, cinematic events, and of course some blood-pumping boss battles! Post-launch, there will be more added, in the form of episodes, that will flesh out the world and characters of Orcanon, while adding new character classes and abilities.

So far, Zodiac resembles both Dragon's Crown and Final Fantasy Tactics, and to me, that's enough to grab thousands of players' attentions, if not far more. Nojima is known for crafting tales politics, corruption, and avarice utilizing plenty of twists and turns, and Sakimoto's ability with music composition guarantees heart-stirring themes, potentially drawing many tears like a bucket dipped into a well. With a class system bound to resemble Final Fantasy Tactics, Zodiac is a recipe worth falling into the hands of gamers.

Judging by the pipes, it's an area not safe for the lungs.

According to Kobojo CEO Mario Rizzo on the development of Zodiac:

"The heart and soul of Zodiac has always been to bring players a classic JRPG experience regardless of platform - the kind of experience that JRPG fans enjoy, and sadly, that no longer seems as common as they once were. Listening to the great feedback we received after showing the game at GDC and E3, we've made the unprecedented decision to shift gears from Kobojo's usual free-to-play format to make Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey a premium game for Western audiences. We're excited to announce that the launch of the game will offer an original Nojima-san storyline and the thrilling gameplay that we've all been hoping to see from a new JRPG product in a standalone, one-time premium game purchase, with episodic content updates to continue the epic saga of Orcanon."

Though coming first to the iOS, Zodiac aims to sail to the Android later this year, with Sony and PC platforms following in 2016. Unfortunately, there's no pricing as of yet, but if to make a guess, it could easily be $19.99.

And every penny would be worth it.

Take a moment to savor the official artwork:

Zodiac%201.jpg