In the first part of our blow-out coverage of the amazing Rogue Galaxy, Patrick and I thought it might be nice to set you up with some profiles of the party members you can expect to meet. Of course, we don't want to ruin the story for you, so we've intentionally left some bits of plot out of our descriptions in order to tantalize you. After sinking a ridiculous number of hours into Rogue Galaxy, we're both terribly excited to be bringing you a huge amount of information over the course of the next week, starting today with the character profiles and continuing on with exclusive screenshots and art, an exclusive video, team interviews, and our exclusive review on Friday. So, without further ado, it's time to meet the cast of Rogue Galaxy -- enjoy the exclusive art!


Jaster Rogue

Masquerading as the infamous space pirate the Desert Claw, young Jaster Rogue finds himself thrust into a world of bounty hunting and planet hopping. Cast in the mold of a Luke Skywalker type of character (even his hair is a sandy blond), Jaster is drafted by a motley crew of galactic marauders under the command of Dorgengoa, captain of the intergalactic privateer the Dorgenark. After Jaster gets shanghaied from his sandy home planet of Rosa, the space pirates drag him all over the galaxy; from planet to planet they roam, searching for a lost bounty of treasure that only the famed Desert Claw can help them acquire.


Of course, Jaster isn't the Desert Claw, and the only reason the space pirates believe his dubious claim is that he carries the legendary Desert Seeker, one of the galaxy's Seven-Star Swords rumored to belong to the Desert Claw. Where'd Jaster get this priceless blade? Some old guy just hands it over to him on Rosa after seeing some promise in the young lad. Will Jaster's new cohorts discover his true identity? If they do, will there be anything left of poor Jaster once they're done tearing him to pieces for his treachery? These are just a few of the questions that hang over Jaster's head as he careens through every corner of the galaxy with his questionably moral compatriots.

As the first character you acquire in Rogue Galaxy, Jaster is most likely the one that you'll use the most, and while other slightly more interesting characters may pop up later in the story, you may find yourself falling back on him when things get tough. Jaster fights with a giant sword and a hand-held pistol, so you'll find him most effective when opening with a barrage of quick blaster bolts and finishing with a few well-placed slashes. His Revelations revolve mostly around the element of electricity and the traits of his home desert planet of Rosa, and you'll get the most mileage out of his Flash Sword ability which imbues his blade with extra lightning damage and his Desert Wind ability which swallows every enemy on the screen in a lethally abrasive sandstorm.