If you've hated mobile RPGs, Cross Summoner could change your mind

One year ago, Pokelabo’s development team of 15 people sat down and conceptualized Cross Summoner. Today, the action RPG is being published by Gree, is climbing the app charts, and is wanted by publishers across the world.

Cross Summoner is an action RPG that makes full use of the touchscreen on iOS devices. Its epic story aside, the game is best loved for its battle system, which involves you leading a party of five in battle via buttons on the lower half of the screen. This semi-automatic battle system is reminiscent of Chinese hit Dota Legend, and is a far cry from the bland card battles we’ve become so sick of.

Pokelabo CEO Yuta Maeda shared that the team chose this battle system based on smartphone trends. It wanted to merge its card battle knowhow with updated effects and animations to create a smartphone game that was greater than either element.

Maeda said that the game’s selling point wasn’t just its animation and 16-bit visual style. The scenario-heavy Cross Summoner is a throwback to old-school RPGs, and that, according to him, is why it resonates so well with players.

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That’s not to say it’s a premium game. Cross Summoner is free-to-play, and is monetized via the good old gachapon system as well as in-app purchases. According to Maeda, it will be localized for English, European, Korean, and Chinese markets, with the first launches being simultaneous French and English ones.

Maeda also added that he thought culturalization of Cross Summoner for other markets would be minimal, since the focus of the game was on its characters and world.

Right now, the English and French versions of Cross Summoner are slated for a December 2014 release. Watch out for our preview of the game coming tomorrow!

This story is part of our Tokyo Game Show 2014 coverage.

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