Author Archives: Draikin

Yakuza 5 Gets 2nd Place in “Best PS3 Game” Category of the 2015 PlayStation Blog Awards

Draikin January 12, 2016 1 Reply

Sony has revealed the results from the official 2015 PlayStation.Blog Game of the Year Awards, and Yakuza 5 has ranked in the top three in two categories. It got 2nd place in the “Best PS3” games category (behind Metal Gear Solid V) and 3rd place in the “Best Digital Release” category (behind Rocket League and Life is Strange). Yakuza 4, which fans could also vote for as “Best Free PS Plus game”, unfortunately didn’t get enough votes to rank in the top 7. On the side of Atlus, Persona 4: Dancing All Night managed to rank 3rd as “Best PS Vita Game”.

It’s certainly nice to see Yakuza 5 getting recognition from the gaming community, despite being released this late in the PS3’s lifetime! With this, and Yakuza 0 also confirmed to be localized for the West on PS4, things are starting to look up for the future of the Yakuza franchise in the West.

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir Will be Released in the Americas on June 7th

Draikin January 12, 2016 Leave a reply

Atlus has just announced that Odin Sphere Leifthrasir will be released on June 7th in the Americas for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita (as both a digital and physical release)! A new website has also been launched alongside the announcement, containing more info on the game’s world and its characters. For a limited time, purchasing the standard version of the game from select retailers will get you a 64-page softcover art book. The premium “Storybook edition”, exclusive for the PlayStation 4 version, includes a hardcover version of the art book, a special Potion Recipe t-shirt, a metal slipcase for the game, an art print, and premium outer packaging. More info on the retailers can be found on the official website.

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir Demo Released in Japan, New Game Modes Revealed

Draikin January 8, 2016 Leave a reply

Atlus have launched a demo for Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, the HD remake of the original Odin Sphere on the Japanese PlayStation Store. The demo was made available simultaneously for PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. It doesn’t feature any content from the actual story mode of the game. Instead, it lets you play through various stages with the five main characters, and fight the boss “Belial” at the end.

For those interested, we downloaded the demo and uploaded the game’s opening sequence in 1080P to our Youtube channel. The game looks gorgeous in 1080P and 60fps on the PlayStation 4, so it’s well worth a look. You can find the video after the break!

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Chain Chronicles V Starts Sega Hard Girls Campaign in Japan

Draikin January 7, 2016 Leave a reply

SEGA have announced that Chain Chronicles V, the PlayStation Vita version of their hit mobile game Chain Chronicles, will be running a Sega Hard Girls campaign for the following five months. Starting now until January 31st, the character Robot Pitcher will be made available for everyone on the PlayStation Store.

Additionally, those who own a Japanese PlayStation Plus subscription will get access to the characters Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast until January 31, which can’t be acquired in any other way. Each month, players will also be able to download some bonus items to use in the game.

New Yakuza Kiwami Video Shows More of the Game’s Storyline

Draikin January 6, 2016 Leave a reply

In December, SEGA aired a live stream to promote Yakuza Kiwami, and it’s now been uploaded to their Youtube channel. Toshihiro Nagoshi was present to show a bit more of the game’s footage, Rather than in-game footage, this video focuses more on the in-game cutscenes, including new story elements that weren’t included in the original game. Also shown was the Yakuza 6 trailer, which was revealed near the end of last year. You can watch the video here:

Shenmue 3’s New Website Could Use Some Optimizations

Draikin January 4, 2016 Leave a reply

The latest Shenmue 3 update reveals a completely redesigned website, but people quickly reported problems trying to view it. While one may expect that this was due to the amount of people visiting it, that’s not actually the main reason. In fact, the website just hasn’t been properly optimized. I’m pointing this out in the hopes that someone working on the website can make the necessary changes to address some of the main issues. As we’ve seen with the initial reveal, a major news update that draws a lot of traffic could lead to the server being unable to manage all the incoming requests. Below, I’ll go into more detail on the exact issues with the website. The following explanation may get a bit technical at times!

Shenmue 3 Update: PayPal Backers Won’t Receive Kickstarter-Exclusive Rewards (UPDATED)

Draikin January 4, 2016 Leave a reply

UPDATE: Ys Net have responded to a question from one of their backers, explaining why they made this decision. You can read it here.

The latest Shenmue 3 update delivers the results of a recent poll, where backers were asked whether or not the Kickstarter-exclusive rewards should in fact remain exclusive, or should also be given to those backing the Slacker Backer campaign via PayPal. Around 31% of the backers answered “Yes”, while 27% voted “No”. The rest of the 15,110 people who voted answered “either way is fine with me”. While this means that almost three out of four people who voted had no objection to making the exclusive Kickstarter rewards available for PayPal backers, Ys Net decided not to make the rewards available to PayPal backers due to the strong response from people voting No.

Persona 4: Golden and Persona 4: Dancing All Night Discounted on the EU PlayStation Store

Draikin December 31, 2015 1 Reply

Sony has recently launched their January sales, including a long list of PS3, PS4 and PS Vita games. However, the list posted on their blog appears inaccurate, as it lists Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Resonance of Fate, neither of which appear to have been discounted (though at £11.99/€14,99, they’re already at a low price). For an accurate list, it’s best to check the PlayStation store directly. The sales do include two PS Vita games from Atlus, namely Persona 4: Golden and Persona 4: Dancing All Night. Both games are compatible with the PlayStation TV, and their discounted price lasts until January 21st. You can find the new price and the links to the games on the PlayStation store below! For those interested, several of the Hyperdimension Neptunia games have also been discounted. Sony promises to add more games to the list on January 7th, so we’ll let you know if more Atlus or SEGA games are added later on.

The Contrast Between SEGA’s Efforts to Localize Games for Asia and the West

Draikin December 30, 2015 3 Replies

We already knew SEGA was increasingly interested in making their games available in Asia, given how much potential for growth the market has. Even so, I was surprised to find how fast and determined SEGA apparently is to release their games there. For the English market, SEGA always seems hesitant, perhaps even reluctant, to localize their games. For example, the localization for the original Project DIVA F almost didn’t happen. Only an official Facebook poll, asking fans if they really wanted to see the games localized, drew enough interest to give the localization a green light. Similarly, it took them years to localize Yakuza 5, and it only happened with the help of Sony’s Third Party Productions. Phantasy Star Nova and Shining Resonance, both available with Chinese subtitles in Asia, were never even localized in English.

Sentai Filmworks Licenses “Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation”

Draikin December 29, 2015 1 Reply

Sentai Filmworks have announced that they have acquired the licensing rights for Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation. The anime is scheduled for a January 2016 broadcast in Japan, and will be part of Sentai Filmworks’ winter 2016 anime season lineup. They plan both a digital and home video release.

Meanwhile, it’s not clear if the PC version for Phantasy Star Online 2 will ever be released in the West. Initially planned for 2013, it’s becoming more and more doubtful if SEGA will ever release the game. We asked SEGA for more information earlier this year, you can read their response here.