Its been talked about in recent weeks, and NIS America has now lifted the lid on Monark, a rather intriguing JRPG that'll arrive on Switch next year. It has some pedigree, with former Shin Megami Tensei developers involved in the project.
You can see an extended look in the video above; there seem to be quite a lot of mechanics at play here. There'll be four companions, each changing your fate depending on actions; you also manage your EGO carefully as you progress, and "your desires will shift according to your words and deeds". Below is a summary of the story.

You suddenly awaken in Shin Mikado Academy.
Before you is a barrier separating the campus from the rest of the outside world.
Within the academy grounds are the madness-inducing Mist, cryptic phone calls that connect to the Otherworld, and seven Pactbearers--each with their own Daemonic Authority ruled by their Egos.
To resist the irrationality surrounding you, you acquire the Authority of Vanity, a Daemonic power that subsists off of your Ego and madness.

As you'd expect there'll be a fancy Limited Edition, pictured above. If you want to see that or a whole load of neat details about the game check out the official website.
So, are you excited about Monark?
Comments 24
Nice, I was interested in this already but I'll definitely pick it up on Switch now.
Tough sell on that $100 LE. The gameplay I've seen doesn't do much for me, even with the developer's pedigree.
Looks kinda generic. I'll probably wait for reviews. And the pedigree doesn't mean much when real SMT games are releasing on the system, including a visually ambitious brand new one.
The MegaTen influence is interesting, but I will probably wait to see more gameplay.
Well that's a whole lot of anime character picks and very little gameplay...
In the few gameplay shots It says "free movement system" which makes me think it would be an action game but the set-up makes it look more like a turn based SRPG or something. Then there's no info on how the outside of battle gameplay works.
Hard to really say much of anything at this point.
Looks almost like an SRPG. I'm certainly interested!
Looks like it could be good. I like the direction. I'll probably pick it up unless it gets universally panned or something like that.
Can't help but feel that making these anime Rpg's for the switch aswell is holding anime games back on playstation/xbox in terms of graphics and scale.
Really hope the switch pro is true and gets games like scarlet nexus and takes of Arise
The whole setting remins me a bit of Kowloon High School Cronicles..........a dated but still excellent title that probably didnt sell very well on the Switch.
This looks kinda budget. NIS has great localization so it may be better than it looks but "former SMT devs" doesn't mean that much when there's no corporate fallout of "SMT isn't what it used to be" Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons style. The real deal is still the real deal, so why are these guys no longer making it?
Hopefully it's better than it first appears. We need more of that endless JRPG 3DS love we're missing.
I'll keep an eye on this but the Switch obviously is giving me my SMT fix already and SMT V's release date being leaked ahead of the Direct is further proof of that
It definitely gives me some SMT If... and Persona 1 vibes though
I hope it's ridiculously complex and rated M. I won't lie, I'm gonna buy this for sure. Not that $100 set though.
Mostly I'm just so thrilled that MegaTen has such a visible place in gaming journalism and the gaming community these days. For years and years I felt so alone.
Doki Doki Literature Club is coming to switch, Xbox, and PlayStation
This game is alright. Just wait and see on more information
Really hope this delivers!
"Defy the irrational - for the sake of those entwined with your fate"
Well, sure, I've felt the urge to do just that. But those "Switch Pro rumour" forums don't want to hear from wary and skeptical types like me...
Waiting for the reviews on this, but I’m definitely interested. There’s such a plethora of good RPGs on the Switch - so far removed from the Wii U days.
I'm intrigued, but with SMT V coming out before this game, it might be a little too close to SMT. I don't want to be playing two SMT's at once, they take long enough as is!
Inject this into my magatsuhi.
I had my eyes 👀 on this one for a few months now. This looks great. I even recognize some of the voice acting. I am still playing SMT3(classic get it. Way good). The way things are shaping up for this year and next I’ll have a plethora of great RPG’s to play for the next two years and all those Zeldas… WOOP 🙌 WOOP 🙌.
I'm interested. Sure, we'll have two real SMT games on the Switch soon, but I'm okay with having more games that are similar.
The combat looked interesting - at least compared to our usual mainline SMT/Persona fare, which is in a dire need for a change-up. The rest though, music, menu and character/creature design etc. are not quite there. Probably a pass all in all.
A JRPG from the makers of Shin Megami Tensei? Consider me intrigued now.
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