The official Persona 5 website received an update, adding more details regarding the characters’ Persona and some impressive artwork from character designer Shigenori Soejima. You can view the characters (left) and their Persona (right) below, along with some details on who the Persona’s are based on. It’s interesting how all of the Persona’s seems to fit the “thief” and “outlaw” theme of Persona 5.
The man behind the Shenmue HD fan project, known as Noconkid (or Kid Nocon), has now joined the Shenmue 3 development team. Noconkid is a 3D graphics designer from South Korea, and had been working on a Shenmue HD fan project for several years now. Running on the Unreal Engine 3 and later 4, the quality of his work and attention to detail had impressed many, including Yu Suzuki himself. Interestingly, this is the second time Yu Suzuki has hired a fan to work on Shenmue 3.
Sega of America have released the second character roster trailer for Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, the 2D fighting game which will be released next week on October 6 in North America and Europe. Here’s a list of characters (and the light novels they originate from) featured in the trailer:
You can view the new video below! Concerning the game’s release, while North America is getting a physical edition together with a Collectible Outer Box CD, the European version of the game will only be available digitally on PSN. It’s not clear if Sega will be giving any extras for the digital EU version of the game either, but it seems unlikely at this point.
During a Niconico live stream earlier today, SEGA has revealed the first actual footage of Yakuza 6 on the PS4. The short video shows the in-game rendition of renowned actor and director Takeshi Kitano (also known as “Beat” Takeshi), who will be playing one of the game’s characters. You can view the Youtube video below, uploaded by Youtube user Nammo P. Yakuza 6 is scheduled to be released exclusively on the PS4 in 2016 in Japan.
Recently SEGA announced they currently have no plans to bring the upcoming PS4 version of Phantasy Star Online 2 to the West, but it’s been a while since we’ve had any word from them regarding the PC version. We got several requests from our readers asking for any information regarding the PC version, so we reached out to SEGA to see if we could get an update, and got this statement from their spokesperson:
With regards to the PC version, we are working behind the scenes on potential solutions to bring it to the West. As soon as any information becomes available, we will share it.
Unfortunately, this is mostly a variation of the statements made earlier. At least it means they haven’t entirely given up on the idea of releasing the game in the West, but one has to wonder how much time they really have left. If I had to guess, I think SEGA may be looking at letting someone else publish the game in the West, much like how Asiasoft Online handles the SEA version of Phantasy Star Online 2.
Some of you may know I also contribute articles to the Panzer Dragoon fansite The Will of the Ancients from time to time. I thought the following article I originally posted on TWOTA is worth posting here as well:
Shmuplations has translated an old developer interview with some of the key staff members behind Panzer Dragoon Saga. The interview originally appeared in the AZEL -Panzer Dragoon RPG- strategy guide, and features the game’s director Manabu Kusunoki, designer Yukio Futatsugi and programmer Hidetoshi Takeshita. It’s an interview containing details about Panzer Dragoon Saga that I wasn’t aware of, and it’s definitely a very interesting read for Panzer Dragoon fans. You can read the article here.
We talked about the Hatsune Miku DLC for Persona 4: Dancing All Night before, but now Atlus U.S.A. has confirmed that the DLC will also be released in the Americas on October 20 for $4.99. If you buy the DLC, Hatsune Miku will be playable in the “Heaven feat. Hatsune Miku (ATOLS Remix)” song. You’ll also get accessories that let you change change her hair and eye color. We included the Japanese trailer for the DLC below, along with two images showing Miku with different hair and eye color.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night will be released for the PS Vita on September 29 in North America and November 6 in Europe.
We knew the PS4 version of Phantasy Star Online 2 would be getting a graphical upgrade compared to the PC version, but during the recent Tokyo Game Show we got a closer look at exactly what changes Sega has been working on. The PC version of Phantasy Star Online 2 had a slider in its graphics options ranging from “Stage 1” to “Stage 5” (with Stage 5 being the highest graphics settings). The PS4 version will be running at what is essentially a new “Stage 6” setting, and that setting will also be making its way back to the PC version.
At their “Sega feat. Hatsune Miku Project” panel at the Tokyo Game Show, Makoto Osaki (producer for Project DIVA Arcade) and Hiroshi Utsumi (Project Manager for the Project DIVA series) revealed a bit more information on the upcoming Project DIVA X (PS Vita and PS4) and Project DIVA Future Tone (PS4).
Atlus has announced that Persona 5, which was scheduled for a worldwide release in 2015 on PS3 and PS4, has been delayed until Summer 2016 in Japan. Atlus U.S.A. has also confirmed the game will be released in 2016 in the Americas, but no announcement has been made for the European release.
At the same time, Atlus has released a new trailer, which shows more of the game’s gameplay and story elements (we embedded the video and an unofficial translated version below). The main protagonist is shown held captive and interrogated regarding his ability to “steal hearts”. Apparently, the concept of “stealing hearts” will be an important aspect of the story. Also making an appearance are the other playable characters: the cat-like creature Morgana (who doesn’t like being called a cat), and Anne Takamaki and Ryuji Sakamoto. In the first part of the video, these three can actually be seen running off a pyramid, suggesting that we may see more of the world than just Japan this time around. There’s also talk about a mysterious subway accident which hasn’t been resolved. Aside from the usual dungeons and Persona summons that fans of the series will be familiar with, we also see some interesting gameplay elements, such as the characters entering into paintings where the gameplay then shifts to 2D side-scrolling.