Lord of Arcana Has Monsters From Todd McFarlane and Yoshitaka Amano

Lord of Arcana is Square Enix's entry in the looming Monster Hunter wars of late 2010 (made more crowded with God Eater Burst's announcement last week). But Arcana more than just a clone of the Capcom smash hit. Outside of some unique gameplay concepts, including an RPG-like encounter system, Square Enix has tied up with famous artists from throughout the world for the game's monster designs.

At the game's announcement earlier this month, we were given a look at Agni. This demon, said to have two faces on top of its massive body, has control over flame. The rock that covers its body is said to burn forever. It seems like those who manage to get their hands on this rock will be able to control fire themselves (this does seem to be a gameplay hint).

Agni was illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. Amano is known as the image illustrator for the Final Fantasy series.

Also at the game's unveiling, Square Enix provided a look at Bahamut, This flying dragon, with sharp claws and fangs, roars as its breaths out Mega Flare to burn its surroundings. It's said the steel-like scales that cover Bahamut can reflect any magic.

Bahamut was illustrated by Hideo Minaba, another Final Fantasy veteran who's also worked on games like Parasite Eve, Lost Odyssey and Little King Story.

Today, Square Enix showed the game's international side through Nidhogg. This beast is said to be capable of calling upon other demons with its roar.

Nidhogg was illustrated by Todd McFarlane of Marvel and Spawn fame.

These three are examples of Lord of Arcana's larger beasts. The game also has smaller creatures, also designed by famous illustrators. Examples include:

Goblin Fighter from Rin Kususaga:

Skeleton from Kimihiko Fujisaka (Drakengard, the cancelled Cry-On):

Minotaurus from Senda Satoru:

Griffon, also from Senda Satoru:

Qilin from Ittoku:

Square Enix seems to be holding weekly monster reveals for Lord of Arcana, so expect to see more designs from these and other artists leading up to the August 19 demo and October 14 release.