The neo-retro love affair continues, and I couldn’t be happier. Continuing the trend of action-RPGs with distinctive 8-bit feels (see Half-Minute Hero and 3D Dot Heroes), Nippon Ichi Software’s upcoming Classic Dungeon looks to bring the pixels to Japanse PSP games on February 18, 2010. Although it resembles your typical dungeon crawler, it has a rather unique gameplay system.

You place your characters on a chart, with your primary character in a central spot and the other characters in surrounding support sports. The primary character is the one that you control when entering the dungeons.

The support characters grow alongside the primary character, advancing differently and earning different skills depending on the structure of the chart you’re using, their position on the chart, and on job of the primary character. As the primary character explores the dungeons, the support characters will come in for assists, acting as shields if you’re about to incur damage from an enemy or trap.

When not in a dungeon, you’re able to freely swap characters between support and primary roles. Additionally, the game offers a variety of charts, some allowing you to set more support characters, and some giving added effects to certain slots.

Classic Dungeon will also feature a pixel editor, ad hoc multi-player, and a switchable soundtrack that lets you jump between the standard score and the bleeps and bloops version. Plans for a U.S. release has yet to be announced, but if you pray to your 8-bit man-god maybe our prayers will come true.

[Hat tip: Andriasang via Gamesetwatch]