Atlus gave us Vita screens, please understand...

Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars is one of the quirkier efforts on the way from Atlus. In case you're unaware, this RPG incorporates the usual fantasy save-the-world stuff with the twist that the hero Disciples will lose their powers at 18, so they must get together to have "Star Children". So... yeah.

This does look like a promising and intriguing title, however, so the good news for North American 3DS owners is that — ahead of its 15th April release — Atlus will be releasing a demo. The demo will arrive on 3DS (and Vita) in North America on 25th March, with progress being transferable to your save in the full game when it arrives, while beating the demo will bring "a set of bonus goodies" across to the full-fat experience, too.

In addition, Atlus has revealed details on how Star Children can be teamed up into Giant Battling Death Robots, which undeniably sounds awesome. Below is some of the blurb on that feature.

Let me present a nightmare scenario for you: you've fought your way through all the floors of an intense dungeon and are finally at the boss. All the potions you thought you'd never use are now gone, your mana is empty and the debuffs and status effects keep getting reapplied every turn you try and take them off. Hope seems non-existent...until you remember your army of Star Children can "Mecunite" and form a deadly robot that's an elemental powerhouse!

To make these robots in combat costs the hero's Bonding Points, so it should be used sparsely. It combines one whole team of children into a single unit, which takes on the primary element of that team. Meaning you should make sure the boss monster you're up against is weak to that element.

Mecunite units have a mega-devastating single target attack, an AOE attack and a heal that heals allies for 100% of health, so it's something that can easily turn the tide of battle. And since it gets its own HP/MP, you can wait until you have a team of Star Children at critical health (but that can be a dangerous line to play...)

They come with huge stat boosts too, so not only will you they dish out tons of damage, but their high speed stat gets them a lot of turns. As you might have guessed, it can quickly turn the tide of battle.

So there you have it, a demo and confirmation of Giant Battling Death Robots. Europeans may have noticed that we're giving North American dates above, but it's hopefully just a matter of time before the demo arrives in the region. Atlus is bringing Conception II to Europe as a download-only game in Q2, so we'll keep an eye out for further details.

Are any of you in North America planning to pick up this demo in a few weeks?