We’re way-fairly convinced you’re going to find this post way-fairly awesome, and no, not just because it’s about Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time, the upcoming PSP strategy RPG from, well… us.

As for why we’re so convinced, it’s becau—wait, what? Oh, no, you heard right; we said “PSP.”

Look, folks, it’s still an immensely popular system with a huge user base and an amazing library of RPGs and SRPGs. Also, with a game as ridiculously lengthy as Growlanser: WoT (and this PSP remaster is significantly meatier than the original release from way-back-when), it does take a while to localize things from Japanese to English, so it’s not as though we’re eagerly planning PSP games for 2025. Unless, of course, the PSP becomes sentient and takes over the world, in which case we welcome our new PSP overlords and commit to supporting the system for all eternity.

Anyhoo, the reason you should be am excite for this post is because:

1. It is to celebrate the debut of the game’s full trailer (above), which shows tons of gameplay footage from the imminent North American release.
2. Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time is the fourth chapter in a long-running, highly beloved series of tactical RPGs. Despite being one of the most popular entries, it also happens to suffer from “Never-before-released-in-North-America-itis,” making this a rather exciting launch for fans of SRPGs, anime, things from Japan, and shininess. (check out the art and you’ll get what I mean about “shininess”)

PS Vita owners, don’t fret! Our last PSP release, Gungnir, may not have supported PS Vita at launch (we greatly appreciate the patience of PS Vita fans hoping for that compatibility), but we’re happy to proclaim that it does now (and should be accessible through the PS Vita PS Store as of August 7th). We’ll cooperate with the right folks as much as possible to make Growlanser: WoT playable on those sexy screens as close to launch as possible.

Our own Persona 4 Golden for PS Vita (coming this fall, pre-order today!), the enhanced and expanded handheld version of one of the highest rated RPGs of all time, is proof enough that we’re proud and excited to support those five diagonal inches of OLED goodness.

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time launches in stores — and digitally via PlayStation Network — on July 31, 2012. Check it out, won’t you?

ATLUS says: when your Growlanser lasts longer than four hours, please remember to get up and stretch or something.

Just this past week, those hopes were given a prescription-strength injection of horse steroids as Atlus (that’s us) officially announced Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time, the enhanced PSP version of the long-beloved and much-requested fourth chapter in the popular series of RPGs, for release this summer in North America.

Let’s tune out all those exclamations of shock that ATLUS is releasing a PSP game in 2012 (because it isn’t going to be the only one) and get to the heart of the matter: telling you everything you need to know about Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time.

First of all, a fun fact: we decided not to put the numeral in the title because a) none of the other North American releases of the Growlanser games have done so, and b) because we didn’t want folks unfamiliar with the series to avoid it outright because they were worried they were jumping in too far into things. Like many Japanese RPG series, the games don’t have a narrative tie, meaning uninitiated genre fans will get as much enjoyment (i.e. a lot) as will those who live and breathe the series.

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time tells of a land—once rich with culture and technology—long ago nearly obliterated by evanescent divine entities. Two millennia later, the mysterious entities appear again, threatening to bring about an end to all things unless a fabled warrior of destiny can rise against them. It may sound similar to games you’ve played in the past, but Wayfarer of Time —and in a more general sense, the Growlanser series at large—goes much further than most RPGs when it comes to the level of interaction players have with characters they encounter during their journey.

Much like the very popular Social Links in the Persona series, players can pour a lot of time and energy into winning over a special someone in the game and then, when they think they’ve won them over, invite the party member to join them on a special getaway. It’s a chance to learn a lot more about the character’s motivations and backstory and really helps build the sense that you’re getting to know them. They’ve even added the ability to save a character from otherwise certain death, a decision that—like many of the others you can make during your play time—can change how other events will unfold. Did I mention the game has over 40+ endings, and that it keeps track of how many of them you’ve unlocked?

Combat is tactical, the story is epic, the character designs are done by the LEGENDARY Satoshi Urushihara, the PSP version has improved visuals, quickened load times, features to make players’ experiences more streamlined and enjoyable, and much more. It’s a ginormous RPG experience, it’s coming to PSP this summer despite tons of doubt that it ever would, it’s getting a quality Atlus localization…High fives all around, right?