Atlus, the developer and publisher of multiple original RPG titles, including Shin Megami Tensei, Etrian Odyssey, and Kartia, have opened up an official Japanese site for their current project. Noora to Toki no Koubou: Kiri no Mori no Majo, meaning Noora and the Carving Studio: The Witch of the Misty Forest in English, is being developed by the team in charge of the dungeon crawler series Etrian Odyssey, scored by Michiko Naruke (composer for Wild Arms), and the scenario is written by Shinichi Yoshiike of Atelier fame.
Noora is about the titular character Noora Brandor, who can create new items out of old ones by manipulating time itself. Whenever this is upgrading an old model to a new one or simply greatly accelerating the process of creation remains to be seen. Her role in the game is to prove she is not the forest witch Vera, aiding the village who suspects her of being the witch. The story itself takes place over a span of three years.
From what I can gather, the game uses a traditional RPG battle system, and item crafting will likely play a very heavy role in your performance. Noora has been in development since before the release of Etrian Odyssey 3, and will be released in Japan for the DS in late July of this year. There is no word of an English release just yet but it’s likely.
