With Eternal Arcadia's release coming up fast in Japan, details are now being revealed about the cast of characters, as well as some rudimentary plot and battle details. With a release date expected to be sometime in September for Japan and a scant three months later for North America, these more solid details come as little surprise.

First off is a complete list of characters. While there still may be some surprises in store as for secret characters, this is the lineup so far. Listed below are each by name, followed by a chart containing portraits of each.

    -Vyse is the main character in Eternal Arcadia, and is the leader of a pirate band.
    -Aika, who is a female treasure hunter, is the companion of Vyse and has decided to join him in his quest.
    -Drachma, an elderly man who has had his right arm replaced by one mechanical, he is a captain with great skill.
    -Fina, who is of foreign descent, was rescued by Vyse and Aika. Not much is known about her.
    -Qpil, a small pet belonging to Fina, has a whale-like appearance and the ability to transform into various tools and different shapes which Fina wields during battle.
    -Teodora is the queen of the Empire. She is cold and has great ambitions to conquer other nations.
    -Enrique is the son of Teodora, and as such the prince of the Empire. His ideals are much different than his mother's, and he has the moral value of justice and peace prevalent in his character.
    -Galcian, the General of the Empire, battles the pirates. He is a cool, calm, and intelligent fighter.
    -Alfonso is a commander of the first of the Airships. He is also a nobleman.
    -Gregorio is one of the Empire's Prime Ministers. Little is known beyond that.
    -Vigor is a ladies' man, and is the commander of the third Airship. He is tall and handsome.
    -Belleza is the commander of the fourth Airship. She is young, lithe, and beautiful, but is overconfident of her abilities and will underestimate the enemy.
    -De loco is a tinkerer, and has designed unique special weapons for his airship, as he is the commander of the fifth Airship. He looks rather clownish.
    -Ramirez wields a laser sword with great proficiency, and he commands the sixth Airship. He is rather emotionless.

In order from left to right:
Top Row: Vyse, Aika, Drachma, Fina, Qpil.
Middle Row: Teodora, Enrique, Galcian, Alfonso, Gregorio.
Bottom Row: Vigor, Belleza, De loco, Ramirez.

Plot details have begun to trickle out, and a few can be seen within the character profiles. Beyond that, more information was revealed: there are six stars, or moons, surrounding the planet. Each moon is a different color, and each stone which falls from their respective moon has the same color, and elemental attribute. When you combine together a weapon and moon stone of like forces, the power will increase greatly. The main focus of the game seems to be that the evil, ambitious queen of the Barua Empire, Teodora, wishes to conquer all the floating lands in the world, and with her boasts of high technology, she is attempting to rid the world of any whom oppose her, including Vyse and his companions. There are also references to a magical flying whale, as big as any floating nation, named Mobys. It is unknown as of yet what role Mobys will play.

Battle system details were also sparsely revealed. Besides the six aforementioned elements, there will also be what is coined a "Gutsy" system, where those attacks that have been learned by one member of the group can be accessed by all. Also, the characters' action power is pooled and used by all members of the party. SaGa Frontier II meets Super Mario RPG? We'll have to wait and see. There will also be two different types of battles: Standard "party vs. party," as well as "Bombardment" battles, where your airships square off against those of an opponent. Your airships may be improved offensively and defensively to deal with these threats.

Eternal Arcadia is an interesting looking game, by all accounts. Stay tuned as RPGamer is sure to bring you more info and a solid release date for this game as these are made available.