Bandai Namco just announced that action visual novel A.W. : Phoenix Festa (The Asterisk War: Houka Kenran in Japan) will be released in North America on July 26th exclusively for PS Vita.

If you're nowt familiar with the game, you can find an official description below:

A.W. : Phoenix Festa is based on a popular Japanese light novel — The Asterisk War: The Academy City on the Water, where in the 20th century a catastrophic event known as the Invertia leads to the destruction of many large cities on Earth. In order to recover from the devastation, the Integrated Enterprise Foundation is formed and cities are reorganized including one city called Rikka, also known as Asterisk. Within Asterisk, six academies hold tournaments called “Festas” pitting students from each academy against each other.

A.W. : Phoenix Festa combines dating sim mechanics and combat in one game and features its own original storyline carved from the light novel series. The game will let fans experience a true love adventure with numerous endings. A.W. : Phoenix Festa will also offer players various options to enhance relationships between their favorite characters which can be influenced through battles and conversations with non-playable characters (NPCs). Players may start the game as main character Ayato or an original character and go about daily school life by making friends and competing in the “Phoenix Festa” tournament. Players also train themselves in order to increase their combat abilities as they prepare to participate in the “Phoenix Festa” tournament with their favorite characters.

“A.W. : Phoenix Festa is poised to bring the unique action and story of the popular Japanese light novel The Asterisk War to life on the PlayStation Vita,” said Eric Hartness, Vice President of Marketing at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “A.W. : Phoenix Festa blends two very different genres; dating sim and action, into a very unique experience for anime fans and PlayStation Vita owners to enjoy.”

While your brain reels at the idea of a major publisher still releasing PS Vita exclusives, you can check out a batch of screenshots below.