Author Archives: InTheSky

New Shining Resonance Party Member Announced

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Famitsu announced a new Shining Resonance party member this week: Lesti Sera Alma, an elven Dragoner and elder brother of Kirika. He projects a composed and icy veneer but is also prone to brooding, and being overprotective of his sister. He fights using the above pictured halberd, stylized (and roughly translated) as the Dragon Fang Halberd Fang Root. Perhaps true to his personality, one of his screenshots show him using ice-themed attacks.

Within the world of Shining Resonance, Lesti is the commander of a group of elven troops. He will be voiced by Yuichi Nakamura, who is coincidentally also the voice of Kurt Irving from Valkyria Chronicles III.

Outlets reporting on this recent news say to expect more from Famitsu later this week on Shining Resonance, on such topics as a weather system unique to the game and a costume that Kirika can wear in-game.

Credit to RPGFan

Phantasy Star Nova Demo Soon to be Released, Early Play Opportunities at PSO Special Celebrations

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Sega and tri-Ace’s Phantasy Star Nova will soon have a gameplay demo made available to the public. Titled “Battle Demo”, it will allow users to take on one of the game’s signature Gigantes creatures, and explore planet Machia. It will also feature some character cutscenes. The demo will arrive sometime in August on Japan’s Playstation Store.

…however! There will be other, earlier opportunities to play the game if you’re in Japan, such as the Phantasy Star Online Kanshasai. There are two separately scheduled events: one at the Sapporo Convention Center in Sapporo and another in Port Messe in Nagoya where the above mentioned demo will be available for public playing. The Sapporo event takes place on July 26 and the Nagoya event takes place on August 3 – it seems these will be opportunities to play the demo before its wide release. This year’s Jump Victory Carnival, though an invitation-only event, will also feature the game demo on July 19 and July 26.

Shining Resonance’s Battle System Detailed

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4Gamer recently published an article offering more details on some general combat mechanics and some character-specific tidbits within the battle system. Siliconera offers some translated help.

Once you approach close enough to a monster or a party of monster, the game will seamlessly transition into battle mode. It’s not immediately clear, but it’s possible that battles will take place within a bounded arena à la the modern Tales games – so there are seamless transitions like Xenoblade, but perhaps not with the ability to evade freely. You also have the option of issuing quick, general commands to your A.I. allies helping you in battle.

The 4Gamer article seems to promise unique attacks for each character and combo possibilities specific to certain pairs. It also speaks a little more regarding offensive mage types – they are called Dragners, who use their instruments to attack with various powers of nature. It seems Rinna most readily identifies with wind elemental powers while Agnam identifies with fire, but that isn’t to say more elements won’t be available in the future. Most surprisingly, it seems that there’s a certain risk to Irvan’s dragon form; apparently the risk of Irvan going berserk increases the longer he is in his dragon form!

Phantasy Star Nova Cutscene Videos

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It’s a veritable supernova of media!

In the past few weeks Phantasy Star Nova has awoken from its post-announcement slumber. Gematsu reports that Sega broadcasted three cutscene videos from Phantasy Star Nova on Nico Nico. These voice-acted cutscenes serve to establish the three lead characters’ personalities. Lutia comes across as an excitable cheeseball (why is she posing before attacking the Gigantes?), but adorable. Phildia means business. Seil was not as prominent but seemed like an inoffensive, well-meaning and inviting goof.

The first video is a slice of life interaction video. The second one shows off a new and rather unique-looking Gigantes. The third video shows Phildia taking on the horned, quadrupedal Gigantes first revealed in early promotional materials for the game. Check out the videos after the break.

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Next Yakuza Title in Development

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Gematsu reports that a recent Famitsu article reveals the development of the next Yakuza title to the public. Series director Toshihiro Nagoshi and producer Masayoshi Yakayama spoke about the next game in an interview with the magazine. Details are scant as of this article’s writing, but apparently the interview mentions auditions for the game’s hostesses. Whether this title is a mainline entry or a spinoff, this next game could mark the Yakuza series’ departure from the PS3, even if major titles like Persona 5 are yet to be released. What sort of Yakuza game do you want to see, and where do you think it will end up?

It bears repeating that the Yakuza franchise is sorely absent in the West, with both Yakuza 5 and Yakuza: Ishin remaining unlocalized.

edit: As an aside, It should also be noted that Yakuza 5’s localization was foregone in favor of focusing internal resources on Yakuza: Ishin. Toshihiro Nagoshi has gone on record several times saying that the script for Yakuza 5 is significantly large in comparison to previous Yakuza titles. Ishin’s development was public knowledge a few months after the fifth title came out; if the localization was to be handled in-house and by select Yakuza team developers in Japan, there would be conflict. Some fans noted that localization rumors for the third game only began to circulate six months after that game was released in Japan, giving some merit to the idea of waiting out an announcement.  With more than a year since 5’s release in Japan, and with a possible sixth entry in development, if Sega does indeed prefer to handle localizations in-house the West risks falling further and further behind on Yakuza titles.

Shin Megami Tensei IV Coming to EU as an eShop Release

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After a year of anxious and uncertain waiting, Shin Megami Tensei IV for the 3DS was announced for a European eShop release this past week at E3.

This is something of a late post, but I was compelled to make it because it’s something of an unfortunate running joke that European gamers often get the “short end of the stick” with games, whether it be later release dates, different preorder bonuses, or even absence of physical releases compared to North America. The relationship between Atlus and European gamers in particular doesn’t have the best track record: of note recently is Devil Survivor 2 (DS) almost not coming to Europe and Persona 4: Arena’s delays. Shin Megami Tensei IV seems to continue this trend; it’s a happy thing to note that European gamers will have access to the game, but a delayed digital release is a rough trend to contend with.

I had hopefully speculated that once Sega bought Atlus the former could assist the latter with distribution and publishing in Europe. While there is still nothing known about the relationship between Sega and Atlus since the acquisition, hopefully what I and others have speculated about might come to fruition.

Sega Announces Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode 3

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Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode 3 will be available for Japanese players late in August. There is quite a lot of content to be toyed with in this new iteration: a new character class, new weapons, a new addition to the ARKS Lobby, and the new planet pictured above.

The new character class is called the Bouncer. The Bouncer has an affinity for strike weapons and the new equipment being introduced in Episode 3, the Jet Boots and the Dual Blades, are made for Bouncers. Jet Boots allow you to double jump and perform special Techniques, and will enable support effects under certain conditions in battle. I wonder if double jumping will allow access to a special subset of abilities? Anyway, the Dual Blades are strike weapons, and those with Photon Blades attached can absorb PP. Apparently the Dual Blade fighting style is loosely inspired degree by the Kendo art of Nito-ryu, which is fitting considering the new planet Harukotan has aesthetic references to traditional Japanese culture and folklore. Titans abound in this new planet, inhabitated by two warring nations, one “White” and one “Black.”

There are a variety of other additions promised with Episode 3. The ARKS Lobby will see a huge renovation that introduces a Casino, where players can game for Coins, a currency usable only within the Casino. It’s a social experience and players will be able to congregate with their friends and other players. There will also be all sorts of other adjustments, including but not limited to balance adjustments (Classes, Photon Tree), interface retooling, and even a fourth accessory slot.

Check out some trailers below! The first one is a general trailer encompassing everything Episode 3 is about. The second trailer is an in-depth look at the stylistic shenanigans of the Bouncer.

【PSO2】Mission:EPISODE3 【HQ】

【PSO2】新クラス バウンサーPV 【HQ】

Concerning the western release of the game, Sega recently responded to fan requests on Twitter with the following answer:

The game is still delayed. SEGA is currently working on bringing PSO2 to the West and will update as soon as we know more.

Unfortunately this isn’t anything new, but at least it appears they still intend to localize the game.

Special thanks to the PSUBlog’s entry on this new Episode!

Phantasy Star Nova Covered in Newest Issue of Famitsu

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Gematsu reports that the latest issue of Famitsu contains some updates on Phantasy Star Nova, the tri-Ace developed, Phantasy Star Online-inspired game for the Vita made with the intention of being a non-PC and non-online alternative to Phantasy Star Online 2. It’s been a long time since there has been word spoken about the game from the developers, but a 2014 release is still planned.

The seiyuu listing was revealed; all five names are fairly prominent names with well-known characters in anime or games under their belts. When the game begins, you start with almost no accessories or equipment to aid your survival, helping to create the sense of being marooned. But as you progress through the game, options for item crafting increase; considering that your equipment can apparently be damaged, this will be important. The Gematsu posting also notes that this Nova’s world is based off of Phantasy Star Online: Episode I’s world and atmosphere, with a limited number of races and classes. So far, the only characters known are Humans and Newmans.

Phantasy Star Nova’s single player focus hopes to draw attention to its story mode, and to that end players inexperienced with Phantasy Star Online 2 should be able to adjust.

Apparently since the game’s reveal, the visuals have been redone from scratch. The Gematsu article notes this, but anime and gaming writer RyougaSaotome adds an additional comment based on his copy of Famitsu, shedding some additional light:

Basically, the production team was not pleased with the look and visual fidelity of the game. They went back to the drawing board and redid everything, resulting in the 9 month radio silence.

More information on Nova is fast approaching: on June 15, Phantasy Star Kanshasai 2014 is being held and more details are promised then.

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga Coming to EU as a PS2 Classic

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The U.K.-based company Ghostlight announced via a post on their blog that Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga is being brought to Europe as a PS2 Classic, being made available on Playstation Network starting on June 4th (less than a week away!). Ghostlight has been involved in the localization and publishing of a few Shin Megami Tensei games for the European region, from two Persona entries to the Devil Survivor expansion Devil Survivor: Overclocked and the second entry to the Devil Survivor series in Devil Survivor 2. The game is being priced at £6.49, or $10.87 for those curious. We had written previously about Ghostlight pursuing a release of Digital Devil Saga a while ago, and it’s nice to see the game being made more available.

Ghostlight had originally planned to bring the Digital Devil Saga series (1 and 2) to PSN in EU in April of 2012. However, citing technical issues Ghostlight was prompted to delay the release of the Digital Devil Saga games.

Enjoy, EU SMT fans! Hit us up with your thoughts of the Digital Devil Saga series! Click on the article’s title to check out Ghostlight’s promotional trailer for their release of the game.

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