Torrance, Calif., (June 24, 2011) - XSEED Games, an independent-minded publisher, today announced a partnership with Namco Bandai Games that will bring the highly-acclaimed Action RPG title Solatorobo: Red the Hunter to North America on the Nintendo DS™ handheld system. Developed by celebrated Japanese game studio CyberConnect2, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter (also known as Solatorobo: And Then to CODA) is viewed by many as the spiritual successor to the classic RPG adventure, Tail Concerto, which drew praise in the late 1990s for its anime-style artistic elements and distinctive anthropomorphic animal characters, traits which are shared by Solatorobo. Under the exclusive agreement, XSEED Games will have sole publishing rights to Solatorobo: Red the Hunter in North America when it releases this fall on Nintendo DS.

“We are extremely excited to bring Solatorobo: Red the Hunter to all the fans who have been clamoring for this amazing game since its initial release in Japan,” said Jun Iwasaki, President of XSEED Games. “Solatorobo delivers a fresh new style of game for the popular handheld which consists of an extremely unique and detailed world, resulting in an experience that is both rich in story and of a high visual fidelity rarely seen on the Nintendo DS platform.”

Released in Japan last October, Solatorobo (literally translated “sky and robot”) takes place in the Shepherd Republic, a series of floating islands that are populated by two distinct races of anthropomorphic dog- and cat-people. While very human-like in their nature, both of these races have evolved to use specially-built robot mechs (or Robos) in their everyday lives.

In the game, players follow the story of the dog-like Red Savarin, a young adventurer and hunter who has set off with his Robo companion Dahak on a quest to retrieve a stolen file of the utmost importance, only to be thrown into an altogether deeper adventure along the way. As the story of Solatorobo: Red the Hunter develops further, Red and Dahak will travel throughout the Shepherd Republic, meeting new characters along the way and uncovering the truth behind a mystical artifact he has discovered.

Currently in production, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter will be released this fall in North America by XSEED Games for Nintendo DS. XSEED Games will release more product information in the coming months.