THE BUZZ: XSEED Games, in conjunction with Marvelous Entertainment and Developer Vanillaware, will publish Grand Knights History for the Sony PSP.

Designed by renowned developer Vanillaware (Odin Sphere, Muramasa: The Demon Blade), Grand Knights History received a rare platinum award from Japanese publication Famitsu, when it released earlier this month.

“XSEED Games is excited to be bringing Grand Knights History to the North American audience,” said Jun Iwasaki, President of XSEED Games. “Vanillaware is renowned for their beautiful and striking hand-drawn 2D graphics, and with its stunning visuals and strategic gameplay, Grand Knights History will be a must-have for all PSP owners with a taste for deep, engrossing RPGs.”

Set in the medieval-styled land of Listia, players take on the role of a captain and chooses which side to align with. The captain will recruit soldiers, train them and send them to war online. The combination of offline questing combined with online fighting brings a unique quality to the game. The deeply customizable RPG system incorporates race, sex, appearance, job class, sub-classes and weapon types make sure that no two characters turn out alike.

Grand Knights History releases in North America this winter. And just so our friends in Europe aren’t left out, look for a release from Rising Star Games in about the same time-frame.

EGM’s TAKE: We love Vanillaware’s continuing tradition of beautiful 2D games, and the online system has us intrigued. We just hope we can remember where we put our PSPs in time for the release.