Japanese game developers Imageepoch and Namco Bandai recently unveiled a brand new HD RPG called Time and Eternity (Tokitowa) for the PS3, due for release this year. This is big news for a few reasons, the first of which being that Imageepoch hadn't actually developed a title for an HD console up until now. Many of their titles have been for the PSP, so this marks a pretty big step up for them.

The second reason this is big news is that the game uses 2D animation for its battles as well as movement on the field. When I say 2D however, I referring to real, hand-drawn 2D animation. The goal is to make Time and Eternity the first 'HD Animation RPG'. One look at the screenshots from Famitsu makes it pretty clear that they're not doing a shabby job of it so far.

The story seems simple enough; you play as the eighteen year old male lead (blue hair) as he's about to tie the knott with his betrothed, Princess Toki. Unfortunately for the two of them, they've heard rumblings of something dark and treacherous working in the shadows. I'd like to believe that Imageepoch will do something interesting with the concept. Their original PSP RPG, The Last Promise Story, had an intriguing albeit short narrative if nothing else.

And therein rests my primary concern about a project like this. I have no doubt that the animation, handled by Satellite, will likely be of high quality and the visuals themselves beautiful. The problem with projects like these that require so much effort and time is that the actual content comes up short or the game itself isn't very long at all. Imageepoch isn't a gigantic developer so I'm hoping they're managing their resources well. I'd hate for their first HD release to be a bust.

Video footage is coming next week, so there'll be more details for sure. In the meantime, take a gather at some of the screenshots and artwork from Famitsu and chime in. Are you excited? Concerned? Sound off below!

[via Famitsu and Siliconera]