PS1 JRPG Fans May Want to Keep an Eye on Arisen Force: Vonimir for PS5, PS4

Our esteemed scribe Robert Ramsey wrote about the impact of PS1’s unmatchable catalogue of JRPGs earlier this month, and if that specific article spoke to you, here’s a game you probably should be paying attention to. Arisen Force: Vonimir is currently seeking a small amount of funding on Kickstarter, but is planned for PS5 and PS4 in 2025. Judging by the game’s crowd funding page, a lot of the release is already built, and the studio is planning to leverage the ~$15,000 of cash it’s seeking to flesh out the final product.

As you can see from the trailer, this has been heavily inspired by the 2.5D art style Square Enix has pioneered in critically acclaimed titles like Octopath Traveler. The blurb reads: “Arisen Force: Vonimir is an action RPG featuring exquisite high-definition pixels. It combines an engaging RPG adventure storyline with a stylish action-based combat experience. We have created a magnificent Middle-Earth world for the player to explore and go on an adventure, recruit teammates, collect and develop business, challenge enemies, reveal the secrets of the world, guide the future, and forge their own legend.”

There’s a demo already available on Steam, which is a little jankier than the screenshots may lead you to believe, but obviously the title’s still fairly early in development. It looks good overall, though, and certainly one to keep an eye on if you’re a fan of the JRPG genre.