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Tales Channel+: Tales of Zestiria To Be Released in Japan on January 22

A post by Bandai Namco Games on the official Tales of Channel leaked that the upcoming Tales of Zestiria video game for the PlayStation 3 will be released in Japan on January 22. The post, which also previewed the goods that will be sold at the Tokyo Game Show later this month, was removed shortly after it was revealed.

The official website also unveiled two new characters:

Hideyuki Hori (Persona 3, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny) plays Sergei, the captain of the Imperial White Knights that serve the Lawrence Empire.

Takanori Hoshino (Ghost in the Shell Arise, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's) plays Lucas, a mercenary known by both the Highland and Lawrence empires.

The game is classified as an "RPG where passion lights up the world," and the official tagline for the game is "Tradition will one day become 'hope.'"

Namco Bandai Studio's Daigo Okumura designed Alisha, while Kousuke Fujishima designed Sorey. Mutsumi Inomata is also returning to contribute character designs along with Minoru Iwamoto. The anime studio ufotable is once again contributing animation for cut scenes and the opening for the game under studio founder and producer Hikaru Kondo. Motoi Sakuraba and Gō Shiina are composing the soundtrack, and Superfly is performing the game's theme song. An anime special inspired by the game is set to premiere before the game is released.

The full battle system, titled "Fusonic Chain-LMBS" (with LMBS standing for "Linear Motion Battle System), renews the franchise's real-time battle system, and adds a gauge that lets characters freely battle as long as there is stock in it. By using the gauge, effects such as healing and blowing away the enemy will be usable. The game will also include a new battle feature called "Kamui" that allows for a human and a heavenly being to fuse. In the game, Slay will be able to fuse with Lyra, changing his form and allowing him to use Lyra's attributes to attack.

[Via Tokrin]