GaijinWorks has been neck-deep in localization work for an English-language version of Bandai Namco’s Summon Night 6: Lost Borders since the beginning of the year. The latest and greatest chapter in the mainline Summon Night saga takes everything that players loved about Summon Night 5 and makes it even bigger and better.

In Summon Night 6: Lost Borders, each of the the three main characters has a single companion, a flying sidekick with an amazing special power, and they are all surprised when dozens of strangers begin to suddenly appear—literally falling out of the clear, blue sky. Lost Borders can be played and enjoyed without any knowledge of the previous games in the series, but fans will recognize that the mysterious strangers are actually returning characters from all of the mainline Summon Night games.

“The thirst for Japanese RPGs is real, and we’re beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to quench it with such a high-profile, blue-chip JRPG experience,” says GaijinWorks president Victor Ireland. “I’ve always said that fan support of games like Summon Night 5 would lead to more opportunities for GAIJINWORKS to deliver bigger and better games, and Summon Night 6 is a perfect example: It’s happening because we proved that an audience was there, even on a nearly forgotten platform like the PSP. Now, with the next game appearing on the most popular console in the world at the peak of its popularity, we can finally give this awesome series the global exposure that it deserves.”

Released in Japan as a celebration of the series’ 15th anniversary, Summon Night 6: Lost Borders offers gorgeous widescreen graphics presented in high definition, a first for the series. The fully 3-D battle system allows Chain Attacks that happen automatically when an enemy is surrounded by two or more allies; in these situations, each ally can hit the enemy without risk of counterattack. In addition to the Summons that are a hallmark of the series, two allies can team up for a breathtaking “Summon Burst” attack that invokes a devastating magical strike from one of many giant fantastical creatures.
Combat is only one part of the Summon Night 6 experience. The series is well known for its “night conversations”—one-on-one encounters where various characters confide in one another, leading to a web of elaborate, emotional storytelling with many different branching paths. Lost Borders also includes several charming mini-games: One has you fishing for different types of aquatic creatures, while another involves cooking power-up meals using the bounty you’ve caught with your fishing pole.

The game features more than a dozen endings, many of which have sub-endings that can change depending on the player’s affinity level with a particular character. “Summon Night 6 is one of our biggest projects to date,” Ireland explains. “It has enough text to fill about five novels—over 50% more than the huge volume of text that Summon Night 5 had.” Adding to the enormity of the localization task is the fact that the English-language version of Summon Night 6 will feature voice acting: All key events will be voiced, as in the original Japanese version. Recording of the English voice begins this month.

Summon Night 6: Lost Borders will be downloadable in North America, South America and Europe, with physical retail copies planned for North America. Details will be announced after E3 about a limited-edition deluxe physical version that will only be available for direct order via the GAIJINWORKS Web site.