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Asterisk War PS Vita Game Gets July 26 Release in Multiple Territories

Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe announced on Monday that it will release the A.W: Phoenix Festa (Gakusen Toshi Asterisk: Hōka Kenran) PlayStation Vita game digitally on the PlayStation Network in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Australasia on July 26. Bandai Namco Entertainment America had already announced earlier this month it would release the game on July 26.

Bandai Namco Entertainment did not mention a physical release for the game outside of Japan.

Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia announced in November that it would localize the game in Asia. The company streamed an English-subtitled trailer for the game in November.

Bandai Namco Entertainment America describes the game:

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.

The game is based on author Yuu Miyazaki and illustrator okiura's The Asterisk War: The Academy City on the Water (Gakusen Toshi Asterisk) light novel series.

The game shipped on January 28 in Japan in both a regular and a limited edition. The light novel series inspired two television anime adaptations. The first 12-episode season premiered in October, and the second 12-episode season premiered in April. Aniplex of America will release the first season with an English dub on Blu-ray Disc this year, and has also licensed the second season. Crunchyroll streamed both seasons as they aired. Yen Press is releasing the original light novel series digitally and in print.

[Via Siliconera]