Steogosoft Games’ Rise of the Third Power pays homage to the heyday of console-style RPGs..

It has a demo at the moment. You can find it on Steam until September 8. Dangen Entertainment will publish Rise of the Third Power, and its overview provides some exciting details: „1587, 2A—15 years have passed since the guns of the Great War, at last, fell silent. The conflict rocked the world, leaving half a generation of men and women lying dead on the battlefield. Of the many players that had acted on the world stage, only two remained: the kingdom of Cirinthia and the ancient Republic of Tariq.

In time, Dimitri Noraskov, a hero to the defeated Kingdom of Arkadya, rose from the ashes. He saw his king as a coward for surrendering and a traitor for submitting to the Treaty of Evenheart. So did the people. They supported Noraskov when he overthrew the king. They helped him as he reclaimed the lands that had been stripped of them. And they supported him as he raised an army. Noraskov had theorized that the nations of the world were still too worn by the Great War to enforce the terms of the Treaty. Thus far, his gambit has proven successful.

The Arkadyan Empire shows no signs of curbing its aggression. Many feared that a reprise of the Great War that at one time could have been prevented is now all but inevitable. But some believe it can yet be stopped… Rise of the Third Power is a love letter to the glory days of the console-style RPG, with modern conveniences such as auto-save and a combination of the best elements of Japanese and Western-style gameplay and writing. Experience this fusion of East and West, old and new […].

Join a party of eight, each with their unique ambitions, perspectives and personalities, as they embark upon a suicide mission to topple the Arkadyan emperor, Dimitri Noraskov. A blend of humour, drama and tragedy await players as they navigate the treacherous world of Rin. As the world of Rin recovers from the Great War, the balance of power remains badly skewed, with vacuums of power still waiting to be filled. The player’s party will be both beset and aided by schemers, liars and betrayers, all while the clock ticks down to a reprise of the greatest war in human history.

[…] Rise of the Third Power offers eight playable characters in a battle system built from scratch, each with their strengths and weaknesses. All of them are meant to participate in battle simultaneously without the need for tedious party management. Combine each character’s unique powers and disadvantages, analyze the abilities of your foes, set your formation and charge into battle. Each piece of equipment found, purchased or stolen is a permanent, unique upgrade for each character. Instead of buying replacements, the player purchases upgrades. No more buying that awesome helmet back in town only to stumble over a better one as treasure in a dungeon. Each character has three equipment slots with eight upgrades each, with 192 to find in total. This system avoids the tedium of inventory management while also giving the completionist something useful to hunt for,” the Steam page reads.

Rise of the Third Power is coming to PC at an unknown date. It looks a bit like a DeviantArt game, but the pixel art is decent!

Source: Gematsu