Class of Heroes announced for the PSP by Atlus

For those console owners wondering where the RPG-mania of the last generation is this time around, look no further than the handhelds. Between the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS, there’s no shortage of RPGs, and a significant reason for that is the development and publishing work of Atlus, who today announced Class of Heroes for Sony’s handheld.

There are not a lot of details about the game thus far, but some of the key factors are there: it’s a dungeon crawler, there’s a ton of gameplay (80 hours on a handheld is an incredible bargain) and like another Atlus dungeon-crawler, Etrian Odyssey, there’s plenty of customization for different character and class creation, and a weapon creation system that as well.

Class of Heroes, developed by Zerodiv and published in North America by Atlus, ships April 7, giving you plenty of time to finish up whatever old-school RPG you’re currently working on. Check out the video provided by Atlus below.

From Atlus:

CLASS OF HEROES^TM TO ASSEMBLE ON

PSP‚® (PlayStation‚®Portable) SYSTEM; PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS ENCOURAGED TO BUY TEXTBOOKS AND SWORDS EARLY

What do you think of when someone, some random stranger, says the‚ term “dungeon-crawler?”‚  Well, aside from, “Why exactly is a stranger talking to me about video games?” or, “This person seems a little strange,” your next thoughts might include: first-person RPG action, deep character and party customization, a fun premise, a story that you get to tell as much as it is told for you,‚ etc.

Those would all be correct, of course, if you’re talking about the upcoming dungeon-crawler for PSP‚® (PlayStation‚®Portable) system, Class of Heroes^TM.‚  And, like all good RPGs, you’d only be scratching the surface.‚  In the grand tradition of first-person RPG classics like Etrian Odyssey, Class of Heroes puts you in a world where everyone wants to become the next great adventurer, out in search of monsters to slay and treasure to uncover.

The twist with Class of Heroes is that you’re actually a student in an academy for adventurers, and each subject mastered and quest solved is a step towards your graduation into‚ full-fledged dungeon masterdom.‚  What’s more, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a handheld‚ RPG with more content than Class of Heroes: over five hundred character possibilities, over a thousand items to collect or craft, hundreds of foes to defeat, and over 80 hours of hardcore, tried-and-true gameplay translate into a heck of a lot of RPG goodness.‚  Worried about battery life?‚  Don’t be; you can save at any time.‚  How’s that for convenient.

Class of Heroes opens enrollment‚ on‚ April 7th.‚  Don’t forget your lunchbox.