There are very few US game publishers like Atlus—where would the world be without games like the crushingly brutal Demon’s Souls, for instance?—but we’re certainly thankful they exist. Now they’re continuing the tradition of localizing solid, otherwise niche RPG titles with Radiant Historia.

Radiant Historia finds Special Intelligence Agent Stocke in a bit of a bind when a routine escort mission takes a turn for the disastrous. The only way to right the world’s course is through the power of the White Chronicle, a book that allows Stocke to travel back and forth through key events in time.

The time-traveling escapade purportedly “[channels] the heart and soul of fan favorite 16-bit RPG classics,” which should be a hot enough bullet point on its own to turn a few heads. Combat takes place via a position-based battle system, visuals contain “intricate hand-drawn details,” and it all moves to the tune of “one of the best soundtracks in recent memory.” We’ll have to wait and see if all that holds true, but for now, have a gander at the box art and a few choice screens below.

  All the exciting quotes come from Atlus’s official press release, and more information on the game will be available when the official website launches. Radiant Historia‘s release is scheduled for February 22, 2011.