Bleach: Dark Souls is shipped to North America

Sega of America announced yesterday that Bleach: Dark Souls for the DS has been shipped to retailers in North America. The game will feature a cast of over 40 characters, voiced by their original actors. The game, developed by Treasure, will feature improved graphics, multiplayer and more customisation features. The full press release is here:

SAN FRANCISCO (October 7, 2008) – SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced that BLEACH: Dark Souls™ for Nintendo DS™ has shipped to retailers in North America. BLEACH: Dark Souls delivers an authentic anime experience with non-stop action and swordplay. The game features an expanded cast of over 40 characters and are voiced by the actors from VIZ Media’s award-winning BLEACH animation series. BLEACH: Dark Souls is rated T for Teen.

Developed by famed Japanese developer Treasure, BLEACH: Dark Souls features a multitude of enhancements to last year’s critically acclaimed game BLEACH: The Blade of Fate. These enhancements include multiplayer games with expanded personalization features, brand new Bankai moves, 30 new Spirit Cards, power-enhancing crystals, and improved character balancing. The BLEACH: Dark Souls storyline takes place in-between seasons one and two of the animated series and was created exclusively for the game.

BLEACH: Dark Souls offers enhancements to the impressive 2D action and brilliant visuals that have become the hallmark of Treasure, the game’s legendary development team. Players will face a variety of opponents playing as one of 44 highly-stylized characters in intense action-packed battles based on the animated series. For the first time ever, players will be able to assume the role of evil Hollows, adding a new twist for gamers to explore. BLEACH: Dark Souls utilizes a traditional 2D fighting game format with enhanced visuals that push the graphical prowess of Nintendo DS to new heights.

BLEACH: Dark Souls features four player multiplayer battles via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and DS Download Play. Players can now battle in melee brawls or fight on teams. Finally, BLEACH fans will enjoy using the newly included encyclopedia that offers detailed explanations of the BLEACH universe, character info, descriptions of their attacks and a full glossary of BLEACH terms.