Following the recent tease, Nippon Ichi Software lifted the curtain on its newest upcoming game, titled Xicatrice.
The title is an "Abnormal Powers X School JRPG" for PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch that will release in Japan on June 29.
The player takes on the role of a teacher who leads a special unit of students to perform dangerous missions. It focuses on the freedom of character development among a vast variety of skills, allowing each player to enjoy different strategies.
The player will have to overcome challenges together with seven students who have awakened their supernatural powers and suffered emotional scars as a consequence. The title "Xicatrice" derives from the french "Cicatrice," which means "Scar."
Below you can check out the announcement trailer, providing a first look at the characters.
As a teacher, the player will help the students develop through lessons, teaching them skills among a very large amount of available options. Missions will then be performed via turn-based battles.
In the game's world, about a century has passed since mankind began to develop supernatural powers. Some used them to help society. Some misused their gifts. Some could not control them and went crazy. In order to deal with these issues, the AUT (Anti-Abnormal Unusual-Talent Team) was formed as a policing agency made of people with superpowers.
However, these incidents continued to happen at increasing rates to the extent that the agency couldn't keep up, while a special educational institution called RAUT (Reserve Anti-Abnormal Unusual-Talent Team) with the purpose of protecting and nurturing children with abnormal powers. While those were still students, they were at times mobilized in case of emergency to support the AUT.
In 2023, the story begins as a former AUT member who has lost their power as a consequence of a certain incident takes over as the teacher of the RAUT's 302's Platoon.
School life is handled via lessons during which you'll help improve the students' basic stats, with each having their strong and weak subjects and attitudes. On top of that, you can also help them progress further by meeting them on the weekends. You have to plan your lessons well as time before the next mission is limited.
There are 300 different skills including actives and passives to choose from and each student can equip only a limited number (which will grow with their basic stats) among those they have learned.
During missions, the students will have to fight against creatures created by negative emotions of the people and criminals who abuse abnormal powers. Battles are turn-based and only one action can be selected per turn from those proposed by the students themselves based on the skills they have equipped. Since the player has lost their powers, they cannot directly participate, but instead, they need to make judgment calls on the actions the student take.
It's also important to help the students face their emotional traumas. If they cannot overcome their scars, they will be consumed by their powers, ending in tragedy. However, achieving specific conditions or reaching bad endings unlock bonuses for the next playthrough.