Atlus bringing 2D fighter AquaPazza to PS3 this year

Today Atlus announced that it's publishing a 2D fighter called AquaPazza: Aquaplus Dream Match for PlayStation 3 this holiday season.

AquaPazza is the joint effort of visual novel company AquaPlus and developer Examu. The game originally released in Japan in 2011 and later 2012. It pits 13 characters and 13 partners from AquaPlus's other games against each other.

So in other words, you might not know anything about them, but they do sound pretty cool. The studious Manaka, for example, bashes opponents with a bookcase. The backgrounds look pretty cool, too — I spotted a giant crab and a boar in one of the screenshots.

Partners provide an additional skill and assume one of three classes with one of four different actions. Hopefully, that's a little bit easier to parse in the actual game.

AquaPazza contains a story mode (and an unlockable "another story" mode for characters, with alternate endings) as well as time-attack, training, and gallery modes. Players can also engage in matches online or locally.

Atlus will leave the Japanese voice track intact. The game will cost $30 in stores and as a download.