Author Archives: InTheSky

Sega and Atlus’s Tokyo Game Show 2014 Lineup Announced

1 Reply

We now have confirmation about Sega and Atlus’s lineup at Tokyo Game Show 2014, and which titles will be playable. This article will cover games that are not under the banner of Segalization’s localization requests and will simply present the entirety of Sega and Atlus’s offerings.

Please be aware that Sega and Atlus will also be holding stage events and broadcast streams throughout the weekend of Tokyo Game Show, which you can find near the end of the article! Italicized games are titles that currently have localizations planned for them, for reader convenience, but keep in mind that localization status is still a tentative thing. Here is a list of what can be expected:

Playable from Sega:

  • Phantasy Star Nova (Vita)
  • Puyo Puyo Tetris (PS4, One)
  • Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax (Vita, PS3)
  • Hero Bank 2 (3DS)
  • Sonic Toon: Rise of Lyric (Wii U, known as Sonic Boom in the West instead of Sonic Toon)
  • Sonic Toon: Shattered Crystal (3DS, known as Sonic Boom in the West instead of Sonic Toon)

Promotional Trailers from Sega:

  • Phantasy Star Online 2 (PC, Vita)
  • Phantasy Star Nova (Vita)
  • Yakuza Zero (PS3, PS4)
  • Shining Resonance (PS3)
  • Puyo Puyo Tetris (PS3, Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PS4, One)
  • Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax (Vita, PS3)
  • Hero Bank 2 (3DS)
  • Sonic Toon: Rise of Lyric (Wii U, known as Sonic Boom in the West instead of Sonic Toon)
  • Sonic Toon: Shattered Crystal (3DS, known as Sonic Boom in the West instead of Sonic Toon)
  • The World End Eclipse (PC, Vita, iOS, Android)

Promotional Trailers from Atlus:

  • Etrian Odyssey II Untold: The Knight of Fafnir

Stage Events from Sega and Atlus, scheduled according to Japan Standard Time:

  • Phantasy Star Nova presentation (9/18, 12pm)
  • Yakuza Zero presentation (9/18, 1pm)
  • Hatsune Miku Project new title presentation (9/18, 3pm) (update: this was Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai Deluxe, an expansion of Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2)
  • Phantasy Star Online 2 presentation (9/19, 3:30pm)
  • Phantasy Star Nova live demo playthrough (9/20, 2pm, different from recently released Battle Demo)
  • Atlus presentation (9/20, 2:30pm)
  • Shining Resonance live gameplay presentation (9/21, 3pm)

To speak for myself, the lineup that Sega is presenting is especially strong this year. A sizable portion of their prominent active franchises in Japan are being represented with Phantasy Star, Yakuza, Shining, and Hatsune Miku. We are also seeing a push for Sonic Boom in Japan too. Besides the representation for major IP’s, newer franchises such as Hero Bank and The World End Eclipse are being promoted. In addition, Puyo Puyo Tetris and Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax should have broad appeal: the former for its accessibility and crossover novelty and the latter for being a crossover fighter featuring popular characters. The real wildcard here is Atlus and their presentation on the 20th. Hopefully they will have more to offer regarding Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem! I am also excited to finally see what Shining Resonance looks like in action.

Kudos to this Gematsu article and this NeoGAF thread, and additional thanks to the topic creator of the NeoGAF thread for translated descriptions and scheduling of stage events. Kudos also to the PSUBlog for the entry linked in the description on the Phantasy Star Nova live demo presentation.

Update, 9/18/2014: Edited to reflect that there is very likely no additional Hatsune Miku game announcement besides Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai Deluxe.

Shining Fan Festa 2014 Coming November 2 in Japan

Leave a reply

BeastNote wrote about the announcement of the annual Shining Fan Festa series this past July, but seeing as I did not cover it here I would like to take the opportunity to introduce Shining Fan Festa to this site. It is a convention for fans similar to the Phantasy Star Kanshasai or the Tales of Festival for fans of Bandai Namco Games’ Tales of series. The first Shining Fan Festa took place in 2012, and the festival returns for this year. That a series of fan gatherings exists like this is a testament to the enduring popularity of the franchise in Japan, and the existence of a fighting game featuring various characters in Blade Arcus only adds to that notion.

This year will feature a live original drama and a preview of Shining Resonance, which seems opportune since the game releases in December. Voice actors will be present, including Nobunaga Shimazaki (Yuuma Irvan), Asami Seto (Sonia Blanche), and Saori Hayami (Kirika Towa Alma). There will be a concert segment, and some of the confirmed performers include Asami Seto and Saori Hayami. They will probably perform the Shining Resonance OP.

Tickets for the event go on sale this weekend, on September 13! The event will take place at the Makuhari Event Hall, which also houses the annual Tokyo Game Shows. It may be worth enjoying this spectacle if you’re in Japan!

Credit for the featured image goes to BeastNote.

New Yakuza Zero Screenshots Uploaded to Official Website

Leave a reply

Recently Sega has been updating the websites for some of their upcoming games. Yakuza Zero is one of them, seeing an update to the game’s official website that adds some screenshots that act as profile pictures of characters to be featured in the game. Visit the “Characters” section of the website to check them out. The two playable characters taking up opposing halves of the “0” meant to symbolize Yakuza Zero is a nice touch, and the faces for the added characters seem quite detailed.

The website divides the characters into a section for Kazuma Kiryu and another section for Goro Majima, likely showcasing who will  show up in whose scenario. The character scenarios, according to this Gematsu writeup, will also be centralized on the two locations being featured in the game; Kiryu’s scenario will take place in Kamurocho and Majima’s scenario will take place in Soutenbori. It will be interesting to see how the two characters’ first meeting and the early part of their relationship unfolds. The first Yakuza game already presupposed Kiryu and Majima’s strange and unique dynamic, so it will be up to Yakuza Zero to establish it.

Credit to the above-linked Gematsu writeup for the screen capture.

New Shining Resonance Antagonists Detailed, Website Updated, TGS 2014 and NicoNico Presence

Leave a reply

Recently Sega has been updating the websites for some of their upcoming games. Shining Resonance is one of them, and the game is generally receiving quite the promotional boost as of late. The Shining Resonance website has received a major overhaul, with the main page featuring a compact display of viewable character bios, while teasing two yet-to-be-revealed characters. To sample the new information that came out, check out the break!

Continue reading »

Phantasy Star Nova Playable at Sony Booth during Tokyo Game Show 2014, Atlus Speculation?

Leave a reply

Sony’s lineup of their booth’s playable games for Tokyo Game Show 2014 was recently revealed. Continuing from its recent demo opportunities, Phantasy Star Nova for the Playstation Vita will be available for attendants to check out. Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, a fighting game developed by Sega and featuring various Sega shoutouts in the form of stages and a Virtua Fighter character team, will also be available for demoing. Though previously only available in arcades, it is being ported to Playstation 3 and the Vita.

It is possible that other Sega games will be present in some form, even if not playable. Yakuza Zero was given a trailer at the SCEJ TGS Press Conference, and with the release of the Shining Resonance opening movie, perhaps the Sega booth (they do have one this year) could put those videos on repeat for attendees. It is curious that Sony is still featuring demo-able PS3 games on their booth (Kingdom Hearts 2.5 and Tales of Zestiria) and yet a Shining Resonance demo is not present. Shining Resonance releases in December, and with no media of the game in motion currently available this would have been a great opportunity to show it off. With the announcement of Puyo Puyo Tetris on PS4 and Xbox One, it is also strange not to see the game available for either version.

On the Atlus front, we can speculate about some of their titles though they have not come forward with a lineup like Konami or Arc System Works have done. The first trailer for Persona 5 premiered at the same SCEJ TGS Press Conference that showed off the Yakuza Zero trailer. That trailer’s premiere is a big move for one of Atlus’s premiere franchises. Personally, I think considering the pace of the information we have received on the game so far it might be too much to ask to see more preview content of the game at the conference, but there’s no harm in hoping. Etrian Odyssey II Untold: Knight of Fafnir is also steadily receiving promotion. Updates on Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem are sorely overdue; while eager fans have been assured that the project is not cancelled, not being substantively updated since the game’s announcement at E3 2013 does nothing good for this unique crossover’s momentum. Perhaps Persona 4 Arena Ultimax may show up, but Arc System Works did not confirm the game’s presence. And Persona 4: Dancing All Night is due for release in Japan during the Fall of this year, so it could not hurt to show off that game either.

Credit to this NeoGAF thread and this Gematsu article for the notification.

Shining Resonance Preorder Bonuses, Opening Movie

Leave a reply

The costumes featured above are special preorder bonuses for Shining Resonance. Sega has styled them as “Marching-Band Style Idol” costumes. Given the game’s focus on music and the “B.A.N.D. System” already named in-game, as Gematsu notes, the costumes make a lot of sense and possess personality. They all look quite nice in the outfits, too. It is another bonus for early adopters, alongside the Limited Edition which comes with a Kilika figurine, for those interested.

Sega has also recently released the opening movie for the game, featuring a song made for the game as is often custom to RPG franchises. The song featured is “Niji no Senritsu”, sung by Saori Hayami (Kilika) and Asami Seto (Sonia). It is reminiscent of the modern Atelier games, which I personally enjoy as far as the soundtrack is concerned. As for the trailer itself, it showcases many of the characters to be featured in-game (even the mystery character featured on the right of the boxart!) in addition to the enemy dragons shown off on the official website. There are a couple of new faces who appear to be antagonists shown off in the trailer, too.

Watch the trailer below!

Continue reading »

Shin Megami Tensei IV European Release Delayed, Late October Release Planned

Leave a reply

Shin Megami Tensei IV’s European release is delayed once again, confirms AtlusUSA PR Manager John L Hardin via a TwitLonger post. The contents of the post are below:

After some unscheduled changes to the SMTIV mobile website raised some eyebrows, a lot of you asked for more details, so I’ll be upfront. We encountered a few last-minute issues specific to the EU version, and we have to fix them. Given the current timelines for production, it looks like SMTIV won’t be out in EU until late October.

No one likes delays. Our fans in Europe have been waiting for SMTIV for a *very* long time, and it pains us to have to move the release date back even further. I have talked to a few of you on Twitter, I’ve seen the angry posts on Reddit, NeoGAF, Facebook, etc., and wanted to be as direct as I could. We truly feel awful having to say “wait a little longer” for a game you’ve been so zealously patient for, but there is no other recourse. We’re doing everything we can to get the game out in Europe as fast as we can, so please bear with us.

Shin Megami Tensei IV is receiving an English-only digital release in Europe, and the game was released in July 2013 for North America. Personally, I feel it has to be appreciated that a representative of the company is reaching out and notifying fans of the situation with the game’s delayed release, but at the same time the large difference in release dates and the unknown reason for the delays are puzzling. The circumstances are so abnormal and stressing for fans that it perhaps merits some clarification. A release such as this could lend itself to reinforcing the trend of poor commercial reception for Atlus titles in Europe, and thus limited Atlus presence.

Perhaps it would be preferable if Sega could take on a more active role in the future…

Shining Resonance: Antagonists Spotlight, Additional B.A.N.D. System Details, Boxart!

2 Replies

Behold! Pictured above is the cover art Shining Resonance. It’s quite simple – the cast of characters against a white background. The presence of the white-haired character of the right is puzzling, however. We have no indication that this character is a party character based on news released this far. What will become of her throughout the course of the game remains to be seen.

Gematsu also recently published a writeup of Shining Resonance with new information.  Some of the information has already been covered in our previous writeup for the game, but there are some new interesting tidbits – namely Sega’s expansion on the Center unit in B.A.N.D. attacks. Placing Kirika as the Center will decrease the damage your party characters receive and protect you from status ailments, while placing Lesti as the Center will boost your defensive capabilities even further than the bonuses that Kirika gives you, though this wasn’t explained in detail. Sega also mentions that the length of the filled B.A.N.D. gauge functions as a timer for the effect boosts.

Readers who are interested in Shining Resonance may have seen artwork for two antagonist characters recurring in recent articles from outlets covering this game. Sega produced their own character bios for them and Gematsu translated those bios. To learn more about them, hit the break.

Continue reading »

Sega of Europe to publish Persona 4 Arena Ultimax for EU, Sega also Publishing for Australia

1 Reply

This NeoGAF topic uncovered the PEGI classification for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax in Europe. It shows that Sega of Europe will be publishing the game in Europe. Zen United had been handling publishing of a few Atlus games in the past, including Rune Factory 4 and the first iteration of Persona 4 Arena. However, in May it was confirmed via Siliconera that Atlus had taken over distribution rights from Zen United for Persona 4 Arena in Europe, following the game being pulled from PSN in the region.

Worth noting is the fact that only a Playstation 3 listing shows up in the PEGI database as of now, while a multiplatform (Xbox 360 and Playstation 3) release is scheduled for Australia and North America. Ultimax is already out in Japan.

It is suggested in the above-mentioned NeoGAF thread mentions that that Germany-based media distribution and marketing company Koch Media could be distributing Persona 4 Arena Ultimax in Europe. Sega of Europe and Koch Media have overseen European distribution of some Sega games since the 2012 restructuring of Sega of Europe that saw the closing of several Sega offices, initially announced here. With Atlus now a part of Sega, they can now benefit from Sega’s resource network which includes their partnership with Koch Media in Europe.

The fact that Sega is publishing a title that is an IP of newly-acquired Atlus comes across as one of the most notable public displays of Sega and Atlus working together, and it recalls the earlier suggestion made by Atlus once Sega acquired them that Atlus could benefit from Sega’s “circulation network” and large company size.

On a related note, it seems that Sega will also be publishing Persona 4 Arena Ultimax in Australia, as well.

Yakuza Zero Trailer, Release Window and Remote Play Confirmed

Leave a reply

A new trailer for Yakuza Zero debuted at this year’s Tokyo Game Show during the SCEJ 2014 Press Conference. The trailer focuses on giving insight into the brutality of Kazuma Kiryu’s early life working in the Tojo Clan. Against a bloodied client’s apologies and pleas for Kiryu to stop, Kiryu continues to rough him up.

Siliconera remarks that Nagoshi spoke a bit on the game after the trailer’s reveal. He talked again about the game’s setting during the late 80’s in Japan, “a period of time that was characterized by rapid acceleration of asset prices and overheated economic activity, with uncontrolled money supply and credit expansion.” This is a time that would eventually lead into the “Lost Decade”, which marked a cultural and economic shift in Japan.

In any case, Siliconera’s headline also confirms remote play between the Vita and PS4 – a feature present in Ishin that will again be present in Zero. Also, Gematsu reports that Sega has announced a Spring 2015 release window for Yakuza Zero.

Check out the trailer below!

Continue reading »