Monark, the “New School RPG” developed by Lancarse, is set to launch on October 14th in Japan

After last week’s tease, the “New School RPG,” Monark, received its Japan release date for October 14th, as revealed by the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu.

Developed by former Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei developers, the game is set to launch on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

After last week’s tease, the game was set for a reveal on June 10th. But Twitter user Xenosaga discovered that the trailer for Monark was revealed earlier in their publisher, FuRyu’s, YouTube channel.

The video revealed critical story narratives and the cast and developer’s names, release date in Japan, and some other tidbits of info.

The former Shin Megami Tensei developers working on Monark are:

• Kazunari Suzuki (Shin Megami Tensei writer)
• Aya Nishitani (Digital Devil Story and SMT series writer)
• Tsukasa Masuko (SMT and Devil Summoner composer)
• Ryotaro Ito (Digital Devil Story and SMT series writer)

While the video got removed from the channel, here is what fans need to know about Monark.

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Monark’s gameplay and cast

The development team behind this title is comprised mainly of former Shin Megami Tensei developers. As per the news, the names behind the development and production of Monark are:

• Developer: Lancarse
• Publisher: FuRyu
• Scenario: Fuyuki Hayashi, Ryutaro Ito
• Scenario Supervision and Cooperation: Kazunari Suzuki, Aya Nishitani
• Planning, Production, and Direction: Fuyuki Hayashi, Mitsuhiro Hoshino
• Character Design: So-bin
• Background Music: Tsukasa Masuko

The main protagonist of Monark (Image via FuRyu and Lancarse)

The entire voice cast as shown in the video is:

• Gakuto Kajiwara
• Honoka Kuroki
• Shigeru Chiba
• Madoka Asahina
• Yuki Sakakihara
• Taito Ban
• Suzuko Mimori
• Kotori Koiwai
• Wataru Hatano
• Satomi Akesaka
• Shinichirou Kamio
• Ayasa Ito
• Shinichirou Miki
• Ryusei Nakao
• Atsushi Tamaru

According to Gematsu, in the leaked video of Monark, snippets of the main storyline were revealed. The main protagonist is voiced by Gakuto Kajiwara, while the stuffed rabbit character shown in the video is voiced by Shigeru Chiba.

The story unfurls around the protagonist as he becomes the deputy head of the True Student Council. It was formed to handle all the abnormal situations that arise in the school. The protagonist is seen choosing a “buddy” from the already given four characters.

It is also made clear that Monark has multiple endings based on which the buddy whom the protagonist chose can continue their journey with. While there is replayability for achieving all the endings, to make the matter easier, gamers can skip the shared paths to move through the unique ones.

There will also be an “EGO” system representing the seven deadly sins of the character. The diagnosis and choices made by the player in Monark will affect it.

The combat mechanics of the game represents a command-based battle with a free move turn system. Increasing the madness will also allow players to use powerful skills and attacks. Overuse results in the character losing their mind and making random actions in battle.

Apart from the storyline and cast names, the video also revealed pre-order benefits for the players and the central theme, “Nihil,” of Monark.

A recent interview with the developers was also given in the magazine. Here is what Fuyuki Hayashi and Mitsuhiro Hoshino had to say:

“We got excited talking about Shin Megami Tensei IF, and how nowadays there are no games like it, so we constructed the prototype for Monark with consideration for the world view and atmosphere we thought important to preserve in a school RPG project.”

The actual four-minute debut trailer followed by the six-minute background music introduction video is set to be revealed on June 10th at 12:00 PM JST/08:30 AM IST. While the world waits for E3 2021, the reveal is set to hype fans of the genre.