Last week we heard about the upcoming PS3 Exclusive JRPG Ar Nosurge by Gust, and today we finally get the official announcement from the developer, including a large batch of screenshots and artwork.

The game's title is telling in itself, as it's a collaboration between  Ar Tonelico‘s director Akira Tsuchiya and the character designers of the PS Vita Exclusive Ciel Nosurge NtNy and Flight Unit. It will be released in Japan on January the 30th for 7140 yen.

Ar Nosurge is set on planet made of crystals named La Ciela, where people live in geofronts (underground cities). Unfortunately a race called Char threatens them by using a mysterious power called "Song magic". This prompted the geofront city of Ferion to close its bulkheads to the outside world for thousands of years.

When the gates are finally reopened people able to use song magic as well, called "ancient race" appear and begin living together with normal citizens, while the leaders of Ferion create a special team called Plasma in order to fight the Char with the help of the song magic wielded by the ancient race.

The City of Ferion itself is located in a geofront, with towering skyscrapers connected by skyways, illuminated by colorful neon lights. In the residential disctrict the "modern people" and the "ancient race" coexist, protected from the Char by the great wall named "Shield of the Gods".

The gameplay will be split between what will happen inside Ferion and battle, that will be tale place outside in the fields. While in the city the main characters will prepare  by shopping and crafting items and use a mechanic called "geno-metrics" to view inside the heart of other characters and heal the wounds from their past. By doing so they'll gain power.

Outside the city battles will happen, and they'll have mechanics quite similar to Ar Tonelico, centered about the hero standing and fighting on the front line and protecting the heroine that uses her song magic from behind. Combat itself will incorporate action elements and will be detailed at a later date.

The main character is Delta Rantanoir, he currently works as a cook at his own diner after being discharged Plasma's special team "Genomes". He'll be helped by worker robots called Ashes. They're quite mysterious and everything about them is unknown, but it's possible that they were created for battle, as some are highly armed.

Below you can see the first beautiful screenshots and artwork, portraying Delta, the Ashes, the city of Ferion and more.