Earlier this week Sega of Japan released a hefty amount of interesting information on Shining Resonance. From music, to weather, to battle, there’s a lot to digest. Hit the jump to learn more!
Author Archives: InTheSky
Etrian Odyssey 2: Knight of Fafnir’s Protagonist Gets Ugly, Plot Premise Outlined
After Etrian Odyssey 2: Knight of Fafnir’s initial reveal, Famitsu has released a little more information on the game. Like the original Etrian Odyssey II, the game takes place in the world of Lagaard. Gematsu shares the details in their writeup. The plot starts with Princess Arianna (pictured left) of the Duchy of Caledonia traveling with a party to Ginnunga, a land of mysterious ancient ruins, for a special centennial ritual. Soon after arriving at their destination, the protagonist appears to be stricken with some sort of ailment, prompting him to transform. His eyes go red, his skin hardens, his colors change and his sullen countenance takes on more of a demonic face. This was an ability initially given passing mention in the game’s initial reveal, and it seems that not only will the ability be available early on, but it could perhaps be a central plot point in this essentially newer story.
The plot is supposed to be an “expanded story” of sorts based on many of the elements already present in the original Etrian Odyssey II. Etrian Odyssey Untold added quite a lot compared to the first game, so it will be interesting to see how this second enhanced game turns out.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Americas Release Date Announced, Margaret Not Yet Confirmed
The release date for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax in the Americas was recently revealed. Siliconera writes that the game will be out on September 30 for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Rise (Persona 4) and Ken+Koromaru (Persona 3, as one unit) are new characters added to this iteration, and Marie and Adachi, both from Persona 4, will be available as free downloads within the first week after the game’s release.
Interestingly, Margaret from Persona 4 was also revealed as an addition to Persona 4 Arena Ultimax’s roster, but thus far we are only aware that she is going to be available in Japan as post-launch DLC. No word yet on Margaret’s addition to the game outside of Japan. In battle, Margaret will use multiple Persona’s in battle; you can check out this Gematsu posting for some screenshots previewing Margaret in-game.
No word yet on the Madcatz-developed and PS3/PS4 dual-compatible Persona 4 Arena Ultimax arcade stick’s release date yet either, for those wondering.
Etrian Odyssey 2: Knight of Fafnir Announced!
Gematsu reports that Famitsu has officially revealed Etrian Odyssey 2: Knight of Fafnir – a remake of the second Etrian Odyssey game (Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard) as Etrian Odyssey Untold: Millennium Girl was a remake of the first. The second Etrian Odyssey game follows an adventurer’s guild as they traverse the Yggdrasil Maze, a forested labyrinth rising upward, to reach a mysterious castle In The Sky and obtain the “Grail of Kings.” The official website for the game is already up and you can check it out here. There isn’t really anything going on there, but you can check out the earlier mysterious teaser websites used to hint at this game if you click the scrolling arrows on the sides. The actual Famitsu announcement hosts character art and the game’s first screenshot (which teases the protagonist’s ability to transform?) so be sure to check it out!
Atlus is planning to release this game in Japan at the end of this year, which is a noteworthy feat considering that they released the remake of the first game last year and have been working on multiple Persona titles. A list of voice actors have also been announced for the game; among other names, Hikaru Midorikawa will voice the main character. Readers may recognize him as Akihiko Sanada from Persona 3, but he has also contributed to other Sega titles such as Phantasy Star Zero, Shining Force Neo, and Skies of Arcadia (as Ramirez!) Animation studio Madhouse will reprise their role as anime sequence producers.
To get a glimpse of the promotional trailer airing for the game’s announcement, hit the break!
Phantasy Star Nova Demo Coming to Japan August 12 (Updated)
Gematsu reports that the battle demo will be available in Japan on August 12. The demo will allow for multiplayer (up to four players) ad-hoc play. It will feature one Gigantes to be battled, named “Agrios”, and will also feature cutscenes for limited insight into the characters alongside limited exploration of the planet Machia as we’ve written about before. The size will be one gigabyte – be sure to have a sizable memory card!
Update (August 6, 2014): Siliconera writes that character creation and story progression are not features available to the demo. A helpful note for anyone wondering!
Atlus CEO Hints at Company’s Next Plans, Talks of Relationship with Sega
This week’s issue of Famitsu contains an interesting interview with Atlus CEO Naoto Hiraoka teasing some of the company’s future projects. After some talk about Atlus’ recent focus on the Persona series with Persona 5, Q, and Dancing All Night (alongside other media highlighting the franchise’s presence like Persona 4: The Golden Animation and Arc System Works’ expansion title Persona 4 Arena Ultimax), Hiraoka mentions that Atlus will perhaps be ready to announce “that title” soon, and in addition also have a stand-alone new IP in the vein of Catherine or Dragon’s Crown in the works.
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Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode 3 Details
Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode 3 is coming out on August 27 in Japan. Sega recently broadcasted one of their regular livestreams for Phantasy Star Online 2. Some of Episode 3’s more notable introductions include a fourth accessory slot, a new character class and a new planet, but Sega is also planning a slew of balance adjustments, gameplay experience changes, and new content in conjunction with Episode 3.The PSUBlog detailed many of the incoming changes for this next episode: here is a sample of some of them.
Shin Megami Tensei IV Coming to Europe in September 2014, Price Announced
Atlus recently announced additional details for their European release of Shin Megami Tensei IV. The game will be made available on the eShop at €19.99 or £17.99 sometime during September 2014. It was also noted that all of the game’s downloadable content, with the exception of an armor set made available in North America as exclusive preorder content, will be available for download in the game’s European release, too.
Phantasy Star Nova Release Date Announced, Information on Classes
Just Push Start announced through Sega that Phantasy Star Nova’s release date is November 27, and will retail at 5,980 yen. Also worth noting is that the game is compatible with the Playstation TV, or as it’s known in Japan – the Vita TV.
I’d like to take this opportunity to go over the recent class and demo information released this week. This week’s issue of Famitsu gave more insight into the classes available for the game; Siliconera writes about the new classes here. There are four classes currently planned that we know of. These classes will have stat growths specific to themselves but each class will also be able to wield different kinds of weapons. Each class will also have a special ability available to them within the demo.
Phantasy Star Online 2’s Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka Concert
You are all invited to Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka’s next concert! No price of admission – all you need is one Phantasy Star Online 2 account with access to the Japanese version of the game. It’s going to be a short performance, featuring just one song: Living Universe, better known as the opening song for Phantasy Star Portable 2.
Where: ARKS Lobby
When: July 23
Free goodies promised for attendees, including two hour rare drop, money, and experience boosts. The concert is meant to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the Project DIVA series, as the first Project DIVA game was released in July of 2009.
Credit to Siliconera , the PSUBlog for the image
note: by the way, according to the PSUBlog, Phantasy Star Online 2 is now fully operational and is working as it was prior to the recent server attack. Apparently compensation of sorts was doled out for those who were unable to play due to the DDoS attack, available to characters made prior to a certain date.