Pictured above is a special Phantasy Star Nova-themed companion pouch for Vita systems. Siliconera writes that this item will be available when Phantasy Star Nova releases in Japan (November 27) and priced at ¥2,280. It’s sold separately, and sure to be in extremely limited availability, so this will surely be a collector’s item in the future. Have to love the satin-y, royal blue interior.

Besides that, first print copies of Phantasy Star Nova will feature three special bonuses attached. The bonuses are all codes. There is one code contains a recipe set enabling the player to make costumes for male and female characters of either race, in addition to ten 200% experience point multipliers for items. Another code contains a variety of fun miscellany, including a music CD with the Phantasy Star Nova main theme for your character’s room, an assortment of costumes, and a couple of tickets whose full purpose has not been outlined yet.

One code in particular is especially noteworthy – if you share this code with friends, it will allow them to purchase the digital version of Phantasy Star Nova, with all of the first print bonuses in tow. The discount itself is quite generous (Japan recently enacted a VAT hike, in addition) but the inclusion of the first print bonuses makes this a pretty compelling and provocative bargain.

Perhaps if Sega were to localize this game in Western territories, a move such as this would entice a sizable amount of buyers, especially those looking for something to add to their Vita library and open to the suggestions of friends. In its own right, this third bonus code is a pretty aggressive yet generous move. It’s hard not to notice, speaking both for myself and as someone who loves buying only physical copies of games.

In any case, the PSUBlog contains great images previewing the costume content contained in the bonus first-print codes, so be sure to stop by. Also there will be some Phantasy Star Nova and Phantasy Star Online 2 cross promotion going on, with PSO2 characters Zeno, Afin, and Echo available as accompanying party characters if you have PSO2 data from the Vita version on your memory card! A look at the characters below:

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.