White Knight Chronicles: Introducing the Online System

On the first day of Tokyo Game Show, Level-5 took us on a tour through the online system of White Knight Chronicles. Now even if you’ve been keeping up with the previously-released Japanese version of the game, this will be news to you.

Online mode opens up for you once you’ve completed Chapter 1 in Story Mode, and features 3 main facets of play – GeoNet, Georama, and Subquests.

GeoNet is a social networking service for WKC online players, where you can meet and interact with other players to get set for multiplayer quests.

Georama is where you can design your own “HomeTown”, which serves as a lobby for the online mode. There are 3 different fields to build your Georama in with 18 different combinations. You’ll drop in buildings, infrastructure, and even modify the earth itself. A 2D city sim this is not. Examples were shown where players could make hedge mazes or pixel art in the towns. What’s cool is you can recruit NPCs from the story mode to come live in your town. The NPCs have jobs of different levels, which will further change the town. Also, you and others can shop in the shops that you create. Up to a dozen players can enter one Georama at once, and from there you can head out questing. Hundreds (or more) parts and elements were shown – it’s pretty deep. Of note: North American players will be able to visit the Georama town of European friends, and vice versa.

Subquest – unlike the story mode, which centers around Leonard, you control your own avatar in this mode. As the story unfolds, quests will become available. When you are successful, you’ll accumulate points which will build your guild rank. The higher the rank, the more quests and weapons that are available for you. You can quest with friends or use the random matching system to be paired up with like minded strangers. 50 subquests will be available at launch, and new ones will be added along the way online.

Oh, btw: Voice Chat confirmed! It’ll also be patched into the Japanese version at some point in the future. An additional exclusive feature for North American and European gamers: Rogue Galaxy’s Live Talk feature will be implemented. Characters will issue forth a “huge variety” of context-specific commentary as the quests unfold. Of course, all the updates the Japanese release has seen will be on the disc when it hits North America and Europe in Spring 2010.

For more on the game, look for an interview with Level-5 on the PS.Blog soon.