Aleste Branch

***Aleste Branch*** (アレスタブランチ) is an upcoming sequel for the *Aleste* series, with currently no release date announced, but is slated to release in 2024 for consoles.

## Gameplay

*Aleste Branch* features a gameplay similar to the earlier titles in the series but with various modern touches. The player can choose between three playable ships, each with its own weapons arsenal, with the game utilizing a vertically-oriented screen similar to *Senjin Aleste*. The ships are equipped with a standard, forward-firing gun which can upgraded and can equip different sub-weapons by picking up their corresponding icons. This time, the sub-weapons can be charged up by holding the shot button, unleashing a powerful attack which can be used only a limited number of times.

## Characters and Ships

* Ellinor Waizen - Aleste Type-A
* Rosalind Numelss - Aleste Type-B
* Dr. Manfred Cytegort - Aleste Type-C

## Development

The game was first announced in November 2018, being developed by M2 to commemorate the 30 year anniversary of the franchise. In June 2019 the game's official title was confirmed, with the character design of Ellinor Waizen by illustrator Eiji Komato also being shown, while the new player ship, then named Aleste Dragoon, was revealed during the Japan Wonder Festival in July 2019. Additional information about the game was unveiled in September 7, 2019 during a special event in Akibahara, Japan, such as the game being designed with console-style difficulty in mind, as well as the ship's design being affected by the currently equipped weapon.

The first screenshots were revealed in 27 November, 2019, in a translation of a interview for the German magazine M! Games published on the site Usgamer. In-game footage of the game was planned to be unveiled in late December of the same year, but M2 went silent on the project until 16 September, 2020, when M2 showed the first gameplay footage of the game during a live stream on their channel. In 22 December, 2021, M2 announced an initial release date of the game for early 2022, posting the game's first preview on YouTube.

In an interview with Time Extension published in 22 December, 2022, Naoki Horii revealed that as the game grew in scope, the earlier concept of the game, which still utilized 2D sprite-based graphics was ditched entirely, with the game being redone from scratch with all new 3D graphics, which allowed them to expand the game and implement all-new ideas. On the next day, during a livestream M2 revealed a new trailer for the game, showcasing the two new characters along with gameplay.

During Tokyo Game Show 2023, the team was interviewed by Digital Foundry's John Linneman and Thomas Nickel, showcasing the in development build of the game, which is set to hit beta status in December/January. The game runs on Unity and is currently set to releases on consoles, no mention of a PC release.

## Staff

* Naoki Horii - Planning
* Highma Fuyuno - Planning, graphical design
* Masato Yamanaka - Programming, game design
* Keiji Takeuchi - Music and sound design
* Eiji Komatsu - Character design

## Videos

First Gameplay Reveal Aleste Branch (2020)「ALESTE BRANCH」 ショートPV『ALESTE BRANCH』 ショートPV02
## References

1. ↑ https://gematsu.com/2018/11/new-aleste-title-in-development
2. ↑ https://www.famitsu.com/news/201907/12179504.html
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/shmups/status/1155391535258537984?s=09
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/gosokkyu/status/1170294005327728640
5. ↑ https://www.usgamer.net/articles/aleste-branch-m2-feature-interview-shmup-retro
6. ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2020/09/aleste-branch-first-gameplay
7. ↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2021/12/aleste-branch-launches-in-early-2022-in-japan
8. ↑ https://www.timeextension.com/features/we-go-hands-on-with-m2s-aleste-branch-coming-to-a-console-near-you-soon
9. ↑ https://nitter.net/BimboFortuna/status/1706670735920631931#m