Zwei: The Arges Adventure will launch for PC via Steam, GOG, and The Humble Store on January 24, publisher XSEED Games announced. It will be available at a 10-percent launch discount from its regular selling price of $19.99 / €19.99 / £14.99.

Here’s an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

Pokkle and Pipiro are two step-siblings living by themselves in the ho-hum village of Puck on the time-forgotten floating continent of Arges. Pokkle loves making terrible puns and wears a tail for funsies, and Pipiro loves buying fashionable clothes and has no filter whatsoever. Together, they meander through what seems to be a peaceful, monotonous existence in their sleepy little burg where nothing interesting ever happens.

Until something does, anyway! A mysterious masked figure shows up one night and steals six holy idols from the local shrine. The self-proclaimed “Archduke of Arges” tenders a hefty reward for their return, and our “brave” duo jumps at the chance to go find them – Pokkle for the glory, and Pipiro strictly for the cash moneys.

Their journey will take them to every last nook and cranny across the land and lead to confrontations with a wide variety of friends and foes, each more ludicrous than the last, as a sinister plot to revive an ancient “Demon Lord” unfolds and 500 years’ worth of history comes into focus. Can two 14-year-olds with limited abilities and almost no social skills truly save the day? Or is Arges just pretty much screwed?

Released in Japan simply as Zwei!!, Zwei: The Arges Adventure is the direct predecessor to the previously released Nihon Falcom action RPG Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection, from the creators of the popular Ys and The Legend of Heroes franchises.

Boasting a completely standalone story set on a mysterious “low fantasy” island floating amongst the clouds, Zwei: The Arges Adventure plays out as a classically styled action-oriented 2D dungeon crawler with oodles of optional content and unlockables, player-defined challenge through a unique food-based experience system, and a pervading tongue-in-cheek humor style that helps set it apart from other entries in the genre. Although released on several different platforms in Japan over the years, this is the first time it’s ever been officially released in English, and is the most feature-complete version of the game to date.

So what are you waiting for? There’s no need to ask Zwei; you Arges gonna have to play this game right now!

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