Author Archives: Draikin

7th Dragon III Code: VFD DLC Heading To Europe And All PAL Regions, Demo Now Available

Draikin November 17, 2016 Leave a reply

Deep Silver and Sega of America have announced that the DLC for 7th Dragon III Code: VFD, which was already released in the Americas, will also be heading to Europe. In total there are seven additional DLC quests which grant you XP, money boosts, unlockable characters or a post-game boss challenge. You can find a detailed list of all of the DLC along with its release date below, taken from Deep Silver’s press release. Note that the DLC requires progression through the game before it will be available to play. A demo of the game for Europe has also been released on the Nintendo 3DS eShop, and it’s worth noting that transferring the save data from the demo to the full game will grant you several bonuses.

Persona 5 Delayed Until April 4, 2017 for the West, But It’s Getting Free Japanese Audio DLC (UPDATED)

Draikin November 16, 2016 Leave a reply

During the “Let Us Start the Game” live stream, Atlus U.S.A. announced that the game will be delayed until April 4, 2017 for the Americas and Europe. On the plus side, they also announced that the game will be getting free dual audio. It’s a much requested feature from the fans given the strong Japanese voice cast, so it’s good to see that they managed to include it in the game. On their PlayStation blog update, Atlus PR manager explains that adding the Japanese audio was took a “herculean effort from just about every division of Atlus”.

Rez Infinite and The King of Fighters XIV Nominated for The Game Awards 2016

Draikin November 16, 2016 Leave a reply

The list of nominees for The Game Awards 2016 has been revealed, and while there’s no game developed by SEGA or Atlus on the list, there are still two games that have some link to the companies. First of all, Enhanced Games’ Rez Infinite, the enhanced port of the original Dreamcast game, is nominated in two categories: “Best VR game” and “Best Music / Sound Design”. The VR port of the game has received very positive reactions, particularly for its new Area X, a new mode specifically designed to take advantage of the PS4 hardware. Having played the game, I can say that it certainly deserves the nominations.

New Persona 5 Trailer Explores the Game Mechanics

Draikin November 16, 2016 Leave a reply

Deep Silver, the European publisher for Persona 5, has released a new Game Mechanics trailer for the game. The trailer shows those parts of the game where the main character goes through his daily routines as a young student in Japan. These activities include going to school, hanging out with friends, getting a part-time job, eating meals, training in the gym and much more. You can watch the video below!

Keep in mind that Atlus U.S.A. will be holding a Twitch live stream later today at 12PM PST, where they will show more of the English version of the game.

SEGA of Japan Is Asking Fans Which SEGA Work They Want to See Revived

Draikin November 15, 2016 15 Replies

SEGA of Japan has launched a survey where they ask fans several questions. In particular, they want to know what you think is SEGA’s “Most memorable work”, the most memorable character and which SEGA creation they would like to see revived (it needs to be product that hasn’t received a new release since January 2014. Not that this work doesn’t necessarily have to be a game franchise, basically anything SEGA created is valid. Some of the choices in the first two questions do appear somewhat random (for example, Erica Fontaine is the only Sakura Wars character listed there). While the survey is in Japanese, this guide by Phantom River Stone offers an English translation of the poll.

Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live 2nd Stage Review (PlayStation VR)

Draikin November 15, 2016 Leave a reply

After reviewing Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live’s 1st Stage, it’s now time for my review of the 2nd Stage. Given how much overlap there is between the 1st and 2nd Stage, I’ll only be talking about the differences compared to the 1st Stage here. As such, you may want to read my first review before this one if you’re not familiar with the game.

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone Will Be Released in the Americas and Europe on January 10, 2017

Draikin November 15, 2016 3 Replies

SEGA of America has officially announced that Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone will be released in the Americas and Europe on January 10, 2017 on the PlayStation 4! This announcement confirms what we basically already knew, given that the game had received a rating in Germany. You can watch the game’s first teaser trailer below, as well as the first screenshots. Like in Japan, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone will be a available as a digital download on the PlayStation Store. The base game, a free download, will contain two songs. Players will be able to purchase the “Colorful Tone” and/or “Future Sound” packages individually for $29.99 or as a bundle for $53.99, which combined offer no less than 224 songs and over 340 unique modules.

In our previous article, we also pointed out that Atlus U.S.A. was listed as the publisher. In their press release, SEGA of America points out that this is indeed a SEGA-published title, contrary to what’s stated on the German ratings board. Producer Sam Mullen has also clarified that the game won’t have English subtitles. It’s understandable, as translating song lyrics is particularly difficult and with 224 songs this game far exceeds the 30 or 40 songs that we typically find in a Project DIVA games.

You can also find the full press release below for more information.

Catherine Is Now Available on Sony’s PlayStation Now Service

Draikin November 12, 2016 Leave a reply

Sony has recently announced 25 games that will be joining the PlayStation Now service, and the list includes the puzzle platform game Catherine from Atlus. Catherine is a rather unique game, and was one of the rare games that was oriented towards adults not just because of its (ultimately tame) suggestive themes. but rather its characters and setting. The game was arguably somewhat of a social experiment, exploring where the players stands on topics regarding marriage and commitment, which are rarely explored in video games. If you haven’t played the game yet, I recommend giving it a try if you get the chance.

If you’re wondering what PlayStation Now actually is, it’s comparable to streaming services like Netflix, but for PS3 games. Instead of using a local console, the actual game is being processed on a remote server. All you need is a fast Internet connection, a Dualshock controller, and a device compatible with the service. Subscribing to PlayStation Now, or paying on a per-game basis, allows you to stream PS3 games to various devices, including the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation TV, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Samsung and Sony TVs. Aside from Catherine from Atlus, a number of SEGA games are also available on the service. We compiled the list of games for the US here:

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X, VR Future Live, Valkyria: Azure Revolution and Yakuza 6 Will Be Enchanced on PlayStation 4 Pro

Draikin November 11, 2016 Leave a reply

In a recent article, Yakuza Fan points out that Yakuza 6 is on the list of games that will support the PlayStation 4 Pro (illustrated by a “PS4 Pro Enhanced” label), rendering the game at 4K. It’s unclear at this point if it’s native 4K or if they’ll opt for some form of upscaling from 1800P.

However, aside from Yakuza 6, the list also includes three other SEGA games: Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X HD, Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live and Valkyria; Azure Revolution. From what I can gather from the remarks on the list, the update for Project DIVA X HD was actually already released in Japan. It’s unclear what benefits the games will get from PS4 Pro, but we can at least assume an increased resolution on 4K TVs, and improved anti-aliasing on 1080P TVs by means of downsampling. At this point it’s not clear if Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X received an update in the West, but we’ll update the article if or when we learn more.

UPDATE: more details on Project DIVA X HD and VR Future Live enhancements were posted in an update on the official SEGA feat. Hatsune Miku blog.

Project DIVA X HD Enchancements on PS4 Pro

By connecting to a 4K compatible TV, you can enjoy at a resolution of 3840 × 2160 (unclear if it’s native or not).
The quality of the 3D models has been enhanced.
The image resolution of screenshots taken in “Photo Studio” will support 3840 × 2160.
VR mode now has a 90hz mode. This is interesting, because typically games run at 60fps and are converted to 120fps via “asynchronous reprojection”. This involves a process similar to interpolation, that inserts new frames that were created based on information from the previous ones. However, it’s not a perfect solution compared to native 120fps output. The 90hz mode is a different mode that doesn’t use asynchronous reprojection, delivering 90 fps of “real” frames rendered by the game. I don’t have a Playstation 4 Pro at the moment, but I’m interested in comparing the 120Hz mode to the 90Hz mode and seeing which looks better. From what I imagine, 120Hz will be smoother, while 90Hz will offer better image quality.

Project DIVA: VR Future Live Enchancements on PS4 Pro

Also supports a 90fps mode.
The quality of the 3D models has been enhanced.

Upcoming Yakuza 6 Demo Will Allow You to Transfer over Save Data to Full Game

Draikin November 11, 2016 Leave a reply

SEGA has announced that they’ll be releasing a demo for Yakuza 6 in Japan which will allow people to play the first chapter of the game. You’ll also be able to visit some of the play spots in the game. In addition, the demo will allow you to transfer the save game data over to the final game when it’s released on December 8, 2016.

It’s interesting to see SEGA release more demos of their PS4 games in recent times (Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X, Hatsune Miku: VR Future Live, Valkyria: Azure Revolution and Yakuza 6), as it’s a practice that had all but disappeared in recent times.

Source: Hachima via: Siliconera