This past weekend saw the arrival of Wonder Festival 2016 Summer and a large haul of promotional images for SEGA, Atlus, King of Fighters, and Kantai Collection-related garage kits. We’ve included an exhaustive list of relevant announcement/work-in-progress images below. Please be advised that some of the garage kits and/or their source links are NSFW.
Video game industry analyst ZHugeEX tweeted out sales results for the first month of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE. According to ZHugeEX, the game has sold around the 50k mark in retail sales in the US in June. Which is neither good nor bad, and actually more than what it sold in Japan. Nintendo also released a new DLC Introduction trailer for the game, which details the contents of the various DLC packs (excluding the Hot Spring DLC, which isn’t available in the West). All of the DLC was included in the game’s limited editions, but can be bought separately as well. You can view the video and ZhugeEX’s tweets below.
Atlus has released plenty of new Persona 5 details and footage from the game following their recent “Take The Treasure” live stream. Most notably, Atlus has uploaded a video featuring the first 18 minutes of the game. This video has already been translated with English subititles, courtesy of dominationkid w. Below you can find our writeup on the recent videos.
Today is the release date for The King of Fighters XIV’s demo! If you’re sick of waiting and watching other people play, this is your chance to get a taste of the game. Additionally, this week’s trailer features Team China, featuring Tung Fu Rue, and two new characters. Shun’ei of Team China will be available in the demo. Below, find Atlus’s press statement, and the team trailer.
In a little over a month, The King of Fighters XIV will release around the world. The wait is drawing to a close.
Hopefully our anxious King of Fighters fans got to enjoy The King of Fighters XIV at EVO2016! Grand Finals concluded with fighting game expert Xiao Hai taking the victory – congratulations to him. If you missed out, then check out this archived twitch.tv broadcast.
A demo for The King of Fighters XIV was also announced at EVO2016 this past weekend! This PSBlog entry from John Hardin announces the news and offers some nice tips in terms of a brief character overview of the seven characters available. We’ll also attach a story trailer and a trailer for the new villain Antonov, alongside new screenshots (look at the PS4 theme!) and an Atlus press statement below – if you were watching the EVO2016 games on Sunday, then you might remember the story trailer!
Famitsu published an article disclosing the initial wave of DLC to be made available alongside Etrian Odyssey V: The End of the Long Myth when it launches in Japan on August 4th. To begin with, five different character skin options will be available, at 300 yen each. These are: the “School Uniformed Boy”, “Sailor Uniformed Girl”, “Sweater Wearing Girl”, “Etrian Odyssey 1 Paladin New Illustration”, and “Etrian Odyssey 1 Medic New Illustration.”
Besides character options, there are also extra quests to check out. Both priced at 300 yen, Adventurer Training Plan yields an accessory that triples experience points per battle, while the Adventurer Good Luck Plan yields an accessory that boosts the yield rate to 100% for materials that don’t have drop conditions (kill by Petrification, by Ice, in one turn, etc.) from enemies.
You’ve probably seen our article about the FM soundtrack option. Priced at 800 yen, this item and a sixth Etrian Odyssey character skin (or pack?) option will be dated and detailed at a later time.
Source: Gematsu by way of Famitsu
By the way, the Famitsu article linked for this writeup mentions that the July 28th issue of Weekly Famitsu will contain a special Yuzo Koshiro (composer for many games, and the Etrian Odyssey titles) interview and a “Aeolian Coloring Book” themed by Etrian Odyssey V.
SEGA fans will most likely know about Yuzo Koshiro for his work on the soundtrack for the Streets of Rage games, but he’s also the composer for the Etrian Odyssey series. In regards to Etrian Odyssey V, Atlus has revealed that they will be releasing an FM (frequency modulation) version of the game’s soundtrack as paid DLC. The DLC will replace the standard background music with its corresponding FM version. If you’re wondering what that means, it’s basically what you’d expect to hear if the soundtrack were designed for a classic 8 or 16-bit console. Atlus have uploaded a sample of the FM version of the game’s main battle theme on Youtube, which you can listen to below. Let us know what you think!
This week’s The King of Fighters XIV team trailer features Team Mexico! It features two returning characters who haven’t been around in some of the recent games: Ramon and Angel. It also features a newcomer in the King of Dinosaurs. It all makes sense.
Check out AtlusUSA’s description and the new team trailer below! Keep an eye out for KOF XIV at EVO2016 this year, two weekends from now.
As we’ve been introducing the teams that are going to be in THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV, we’ve come to realize an issue: None of those teams have a GIANT DINOSAUR MAN on their team! Well, thanks to Team Mexico, we’ve fixed that right up!
The tyrannosaur-man is known as the King of Dinosaurs and he’s ready to lead Team Mexico to fame and glory. To be honest, not much is known about the mysterious KOD, but we do know he’s a professional wrestler with a mysterious past, who’s fighting in the tournament for a personal matter. Seriously though, when you’re dressed like a dinosaur, is backstory really all that important? All you need to know is that he’s literally a giant man in a dinosaur costume who bites, claws, and tosses his opponents around like a rag doll. Since the Dinosaur can’t win the tournament alone, he’s enlisted the help of the fiery Angel and mighty Ramon. Angel is a former assassin of NESTS who boasts superhuman strength that allows her to deal some devastating damage. With a vicious combination of Muay Thai strikes and astounding pro wrestling moves, it’ll be tough to outshine her in the tournament. Well, unless you’re the legendary luchador Ramon a.k.a. “The Mightiest Tiger.” The confident Ramon wants to compete for the love of the “sport,” and wants to assist the King of Dinosaurs in his personal quest by throwing down some of his signature moves in the ring.
AtlusUSA recently announced that The King of Fighters XIV will be featured as a side event for EVO 2016. AtlusUSA will be running their own booth at the EVO venue, at which a tournament for The King of Fighters XIV will be held on Saturday, July 16th. The latest build of the game will be played – which means not all characters will be present, to be sure. There is no entry fee for the event, though it does cost money to sign up for EVO itself, at least as a spectator.
There is also prize money for the top three finishers: $1,400 for 1st, $700 for 2nd, and $350 for 3rd.
Besides this, other promotional events for KOF XIV are planned. On Friday and Saturday, the Atlus booth will host free play stations for KOF XIV all day. On 12:00 PM Saturday, SNK will host an hour-long developers’ panel for the game, followed by a half-hour-long autographing session. The KOF XIV tournament is scheduled from 2 PM to 4 PM, with a special exhibition match and the commencement of Top 8 held afterwards at a time that is to be determined.
To enter, visit the signup page Google Doc linked in the blog post above. It contains the ruleset: stipulations on Dualshock use, structure of sets (best of 3, with the exception of Winners Finals, Losers Finals, and Grand Finals, which is standard for EVO), and only the loser of previous match can change team composition. Importantly, it also notes that the entrant cap for this side tournament is 64.
EVO 2016 is coming up soon! There should be some good matches to watch.
Atlus has published a new press release detailing lots of information regarding Shin Megami Tensei IV Final. You’ve probably seen the news regarding Deep Silver’s partnership with SEGA and Atlus, but this statement also announces a September 20th release date for the Americas-based release of the SMT IV Final. Additionally, the press release offers some character sketches on the partners you find in the game.
Also offering some character sketches is a new trailer published by Atlus USA, which you can find at the bottom of this article. It includes English voice samples.
The press release mentions that Atlus will be running a livestream on twitch.tv/atlususa while playing Shin Megami Tensei IV. It begins at 4 PM PDT!
SMTIVA’s Release Date is Officially Confirmed for Sept. 20!
And Speaking of Confirmed, We Partnered with Deep Silver to Release a Physical and Digital Version in European Territories (Release Date Still TBD)
Don’t let your guard down – the end is nigh! Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse will release in the Americas on Sept. 20. And for our European fans, as mentioned in a separate announcement this morning, SMTIVA will be released physically and digitally in PAL regions by our new partner, Deep Silver. (Release date for Europe is still TBD)
Oh, and if you missed it last week, our two SMT Scrubs…er…newish employees are trying to find their footing through the original SMTIV on our Twitch stream, today at 4 p.m. PDT. twitch.tv/atlususa
Lastly, we’ve got a new trailer for you to peruse:
With Tokyo being ground zero for scheming gods and monstrous demons, only the strongest and craftiest can survive in the former metropolis turned literal hell on earth. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse has a varied cast of characters that players need to utilize properly in order to endure the harsh realities — mostly the very high possibility of death around every corner — of post-apocalyptic life.
Here’s a look at some of the useful partners that players will bring into battle:
- Nanashi – Nanashi is the silent player controlled protagonist who’s trying to become a full fledged member of the Hunter Association. He gets murdered early in the game by a demon, but is given a second chance at life by the god Dagda. In return, he must serve as Dagda’s personal “Godslayer” in the world changing events to come…
- Asahi – The ever optimistic Asahi is Nanashi’s childhood friend/Hunter Association teammate. She’s eager to prove herself in the field, but will need to overcome her doubts in order to become a key member of the group.
- Navarre – This familiar Samurai from the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado is making a return! Well sort of, because Navarre is no longer what we would call “alive.” He’s now a green ghost who can use his ethereal powers to the benefit of the team.
- Nozomi – Nozomi is another familiar character who is the newly appointed Fairy Queen working under the protection of the goddess Danu. She’s a level-headed and mature ally who will provide valuable skills and insight for the party.
- Hallelujah– This young gray haired individual is a member of the Ashura-kai gang, who is ordered to join Nanashi and co. in their journey to “watch” them. Hallelujah is accompanied by his foxlike pet demon Chironnupu, who will support him in battle.
- Gaston – Gaston, or as he likes to call himself Gaston the Magnificent, is the brash and arrogant younger brother of Navarre. He is the leader of an elite squad of Samurai called the Crusaders and will undoubtedly be a useful partner during fights. That is, if players can stand his braggadocios nature, but you know what they say, “no one fights like Gaston!”
- Toki – This mysterious Oni mask wearing girl in black is an assassin for the Ring of Gaea faction. She absolutely does not have an ulterior motive for joining the squad. Nope, totally doesn’t have a hidden agenda or anything like that.
- Isabeau – This steadfast Samurai is the best friend and confidant of the heroic Flynn (the protagonist of Shin Megami Tensei IV). Isabeau is an experienced warrior who will act as a great role model for the younger members of the party.
One finds Beauty & The Beast references in the most surprising locations.
