Atlus Announces Radiant Historia

With Nintendo's 3DS set to eclipse the soon-to-be-outdated DS sometime this year, you might think that developers will be moving their games to the new handheld. Well, apparently nobody told Atlus about this, as they have just announced a new original RPG for the old DS.

Titled Radiant Historia, the game is being headed by many key members of tri-Ace and Square Enix's charming little PS2 RPG, Radiata Stories. (Hence the game's title?)

Radiant Historia takes place on the warring continent of Vancoor, where 5 countries are all vying for dominance over the others, and follows the story of a spy for the country of Alistell, named Stokk. During a mission with companions Rainie and Marco, the party is ambushed by an enemy unit, and Stokk is badly injured. However, upon regaining his senses, Stokk finds himself in a strange place where space and time twist around him called 'Historia.' Here, Stokk is granted the ability to move through time and space by some mysterious children, and is told that the world needs his power.

The game's battle system is played out on 3x3 'grids,' and seems to combine SRPG elements with basic turn-based conventions (which, as I currently understand it, plays out something similar to Enchanted Arms).

So far, the story seems like an interesting idea, but I can't say I'm sold on the graphics or the battle system right now.

...And Atlus really needs to make an RPG on a non-handheld someday before this console gen is over. Seriously.

Radiant Historia will be available for Nintendo DS on November 4, 2010 in Japan.

You can check out the Famitsu.com reveal via the link below to see screens of the game in action.

[Famitsu]
[Radiant Historia Official Site]

Atlus Announces Persona 3 Portable for North America

Just in case you haven't played Persona 3 enough yet, Atlus has revealed that they will be bringing their PSP port of the rather successful little (actually quite large) RPG to North America.

For the uninitiated (and just what is wrong with you if you haven't played Persona 3 yet?!), Persona 3 follows a group of Japanese high school students who awake to the reality of a "hidden hour" everyday in which demons roam our world freely searching for humans to feed on. Using the mysterious power known as 'persona,' these teenagers seek to unravel the secrets of the 'Dark Hour' while balancing their school and social lives.

The PSP port contains various additional features to the original game, the most significant of which is the ability to play as a female protagonist in order to build different social links and romances.

She has a pretty cool character design, but I don't know how interested I am in hitting on dudes. Just a personal preference.

Persona 3 Portable will be available in North America for PSP via traditional UMD or downloadable via PSN on July 6, 2010. It is already available in Japan.

As much as I love Persona 3, I just can't see myself going out of my way to pick this up again. I bought Persona 3 FES, and honestly never touched it. But if you like to game on the go and missed out on this the first two times, might as well go for this one.

[Persona 3 Portable Official Site]

Old News: Atlus Announces Hexyz Force for North America

Some readers may recall that Atlus acquired Knights in the Nightmare and Dokapon Kingdom developer Sting last year. Since Atlus has published most of the developer's titles in recent years, the acquisition was not entirely surprising.

The newly acquired studio's first joint game with Atlus was a turn-based RPG for the PSP released last year in Japan known as Hexyz Force. The PSP title is based in a world divided into two - Light and Darkness - each with its own main character, Cecilia and Reivant, respectively. The game promises different story and characters depending on which protagonist you choose to play as.

Atlus announced that it would be bringing the game to North American PSPs on May 25, 2010.

[Hexyz Force Official Site]

Atlus Announces Etrian Odyssey III

Another week, another DS RPG announcement. After around 3 years of this, you'd think I'd be used to it.

Anyway, Atlus has announced their latest RPG, the third installment of their neo-retro first-person dungeon crawler Etrian Odyssey series. Sekaiju no Meikyuu III (lit. Labrynth of the World Tree III), EOIII doesn't appear to deviate from the formula of the previous installments much, though there are a few editions. For starters, ocean levels are now available, as are a few new character classes, such as Princess, Phalanx, and Pirate.

Sekaiju no Meikyuu III will be available for Nintendo DS on March 4, 2010 in Japan.

[Famitsu]

Atlus Announces Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

As many of you already know, Famitsu has indeed cut the waiting game short on Atlus' recent teaser site, revealing Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for Nintendo DS.

Strange Journey sees a formal return to the main Shin Megami Tensei series, and returns series veteran Kazuma Kaneko to a central role in the game's development.

Strange Journey takes place on Earth around the time when the human population on the planet has exceed 7 billion. A mysterious dark matter appears on the planet's South Pole. A subspace that continues to expand, reducing all it contacts to their basic particles, this phenomenon has been labeled the Schwartzverse by the United Nations.

In hopes of ultimately stopping the expanding Schwartzverse, the UN creates the Schwartzverse Research Squad, which is to obtain as much data on the phenomenon as possible, and ultimately find a way to eliminate it.

SMT: Strange Journey returns the series' 3D dungeons and demon conversation. Series staple demon fusion will also be returning.



Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey will be available for Nintendo DS on October 8, 2009 in Japan.

This is sort of a bittersweet announcement. On one hand, I'm glad that Atlus has returned to the main series, and the game certainly looks interesting, but on the other hand, I'm disappointed that the game will be another handheld title. 7th gen has brought a lot of disappointment in that regard, and this announcement just proves the console gamers are in for a lot more heartache.

Scans open for translation requests.

Atlus Announces Hexyz Force

The second game coming from the new Sting/Atlus merger is an original IP called Hexys Force. A turn-based anime-style RPG, Hexyz Force doesn't appear break any new ground in the RPG genre, but does look attractive. I'll keep my fingers crossed for at least a good story.

Anyways, the scans are rather difficult to see clearly, so I don't have any real details for the game (besides what I told you above). I like the artist that is in charge of the character designs (you may remember him from recent DS Summon Night games), so I have to say that the game is at least visually appealing.

Hexys Force will be available in Japan on November 12, 2009 on PSP.

Atlus Announces Yggdra Unison: Seiken Buyuuden

I don't know if you heard, but Atlus acquired/merged with obscure developer/publisher Sting earlier this year. And now we get to behold the first fruits of their labours: a new Yggdra Union spinoff! Yay?

Announced via the recent issue of Weekly Famitsu, Yggdra Unison: Seiken Buyuuden (lit. Holy Sword Martial Story) is a 'what if' tale from the original title. The game remains a sort of SRPG, and retains the look of the original GBA game. I wasn't aware that Yggdra Union was the most popular of this series, but it appears that it is.

Anyway, Yggrda Unison SB is set to launch on Nintendo DS sometime this December in Japan.

Any fans of the original stoked about this?

Atlus Teases a New Shin Megami Tensei Title?

Teaser sites? Yeah, Atlus likes them as much as any company. They just recently threw a brand new teaser site up for their next game. There's not much there besides the bottom of a planet (presumably Earth?) covered in disappearing squares. Occasionally clues or quotes from the game will flash across the screen in Japanese, like "We are 'Hope'!" (私たちは「希望」だぞ！)

The opening line talking about an unavoidable fate, and the hint about the South Pole (which has a giant hole in it in the picture) are probably the most telling sections of the teaser, and certainly point to a post-apocolyptic title (a favorite subject of Atlus' flagship Shin Megami Tensei series).

Reportedly, some internet matlocks have discovered from the site's source code that the game will be titled Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. Also discovered were some numbers that may suggest a release date: 10.08. These could point to August 8 (a Saturday, so not too likely), October 10 (another Saturday), or August 2010 (pretty far off to be getting a reveal now).

I haven't substantiated any of this myself, so I'm going to leave it all as a RUMOR until the game's official announcement on July 24 (next Friday). Or until Famitsu spoils the fun early, as usual. ;)

Currently no title, platform, genre, or anything else has been officially confirmed. Is there anything you're dying to see from Atlus?

[Atlus New Teaser Site]
[Destructoid (Matlocking)]

Atlus Dates Demon's Souls for North America

Sony and FromSoftware's Japanese WRPG, Demon's Souls, has been available for the PlayStation 3 since early this year in Japan, and has even been available in English in other Asian regions. But a version that North Americans can finally call their own will be available this Fall from Atlus.

That's a long time to wait, you say. I mean, wasn't the Asian version in English? Why don't I just import it? you ask. Well, Atlus understands your dilemma, and in order to try and make the decision easier for you has offered to include a bunch of extra stuff with the game.

Demon's Souls deluxe edition will be available on the same day as the regular edition, and will include an art slipcase as well as a strategy guide. Many places are also offering a limited art book for customers who pre-order on top of that.

Demon's Souls will be available for PlayStation 3 on October 6, 2009 in North America. It is already available in Japan and Asia.

I suppose these are nice additions, but I have to wonder why it took so long to localize a game that already had full English included. Was it really that bad?

Atlus Teases a New Persona? UPDATE

UPDATE: As pointed out on Destructoid, this image is from last year's Persona Music Live event, likely indicating a disc release of the concert (see below image). My hopes were up for a second there.

Atlus, choosing not to deviate from their current MO, has taken out a teaser ad in the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu in Japan in order to tease... something Persona-related.

The ad in question (viewable below) depicts the main characters of the most recent Persona iterations: the main character from Persona 3 (Minato Arisato in the official manga), Shin Kanzato from Persona: Trinity Soul, and the main character from Persona 4 (Souji Seto in the official manga).

On the side of the page, "全ての人の魂に捧ぐ..." is written, which roughly translates to "an offering for the souls of all people..."

Other than that, there is no mention of a website, a possible reveal date, or anything else. Some have speculated on a new PSP enhanced port of an existing Persona title, but given the fact that the ad features the newer protagonists rather than any nostalgia pieces, I would imagine we will see something new.

Yes, I am reporting on an ad. Again. Atlus is pretty good at this teasing business.

Speculations?

E3 2009: Atlus Announces Shiren the Wanderer

Atlus USA dropped word early this morning that they will be localizing ChunSoft and Sega's Fushigi no Dungeon: Furai no Shiren 3: Karakuri Yashiki no Nemuri-Hime (lit. Mysterious Dungeon: Shiren of the Wind 3: The Sleeping Princess of the Mechanical Mansion) for Nintendo Wii as Shiren the Wanderer.

Though the Mysterious Dungeon games have never really gained much of a following in the West, Furai no Shiren 3 is definitely one of the nicer-looking entries into the series, featuring attractive 3D modeling, fully rendered dungeons, and a heavier emphasis on story. The game is still, however, a Mysterious Dungeon game, and will feature all of the Mysterious Dungeon trademark designs you have come to love/hate/be indifferent to.

Originally released in Japan last June, Atlus will be making the title available in North America "sometime" in 2010. I would imagine the game will be on display somewhere at Atlus' E3 booth.

It's nice to see Atlus spreading around the love. Hopefully we'll see more console announcements from them sooner than later.

Atlus Announces Demon's Souls for North America

No rest for Atlus, apparently, as the localization company that isn't content to rest on its laurels has stepped forward to announce their first PlayStation 3 project, FromSoftware and Sony's Western-style RPG, Demon's Souls.

Despite poor reviews in Japan, the English version of the game has been available from China for a while now, and it has earned a following amongst Western RPG fans and some favorable reviews in Europe.

Different from most RPGs coming out of Japan, Demon's Souls allows you to customize your own hero and choose how you want to progress the game's story.

Demon's Souls will be available for PlayStation 3 sometime this fall.

I still think this game looks half-assed. Sort of surprising that Sony didn't want to bring it over themselves, since the game is clearly designed in a Western-RPG style.

Steal Princess gets Delayed Again

Atlus dropped word late last week that they would be intentionally delaying the platforming action-RPG, Steal Princess by about one month.

Originally slated for release in March, then pushed back until mid-April, Atlus decided to hold the title back another month to allow for more people to get informed about the game, insisting that Arpil is a "crowded month." (I honestly don't know what they're talking about. I don't think I even need one whole hand to count the RPGs that are coming out this month.)

I have yet to see them step up any advertising, however. Is this really the reason for the delay?

Steal Princess will now be available for Nintendo DS on May 19, 2009 in North America. It is already available in Japan.

Maybe I'll give the Japanese version a spin to see if this game is really worth an extra month of waiting.

Class of Heroes Delayed

Atlus dropped word on Tueday that their upcoming PSP dungeon crawler, Class of Heroes, would be receiving a significant delay.

Originally scheduled for release this month, Atlus has reported that they encountered a sizable bug in the game during the final testing, and decided to hold the game back in order to ensure the best possible product.

While the delay is disappointing, I have enormous amounts of respect for a company that is not only honest with its fan-base, but also has a commitment to quality, even at the expense of lengthy delays. I honestly wish more companies could take a few pages out of Atlus' book.

Class of Heroes will now be available for PSP on June 9, 2009 in North America. It is already available in Japan as Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono.

Atlus Announces Persona Remake for North America

That was fast.

Atlus has just announced that the PSP remake of the 1996 PlayStation title, Persona, will indeed be making the jump to North American shores later this year as (yup) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona.

The PSP remake is, as previously mentioned, completely remastered from the original, and features new elements, the most apparent of which is the addition of cell-shaded full motion videos inserted at key scenes throughout the game.

The Atlus USA announcement has teased that the new iteration will include "that which was not carried over the first time" (presumably citing the omission of a certain dungeon that was taken out of the original PSX localization).

Atlus also claims that the game has been "fully rebalanced, visually enhanced, and completely relocalized." Good news, as a lot of fans have complained that the original localization was a bastardization of the game, and there have even been talks of fan re-traslation projects.

The game has not been given a solid release date at this time, but is slated for sometime this fall. It will be available for PSP in Japan on April 29, 2009.

Atlus Announces Crimson Gem Saga

Nobody tells me anything, apparently.

Atlus confirmed last week that they will indeed be localizing IRONNOS' PSP turn-based RPG, Crimson Gem Saga, for the North American market this Spring.

Originally developed under the name Astonishia Story 2, the game was renamed Garnet Chronicle in Japan and published by Sega, though it was known as Crimson Gem Saga throughout the rest of Asia, and will also retain that name for North America.

I'm not very familiar with the original Astonishia Story beyond hearing that it really wasn't that good, so I guess here's to hoping Crimson Gem Saga will be better.

This is the final game announcement we were anticipating from the Amazon leak a while back, so now I guess Atlus is in the clear for a while. ....At least until the next leak. :P

Crimson Gem Saga will be available for PSP on May 26, 2009 in North America. It is already available in Asia.

Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon Gets an English Trailer, Website

MegaTen diehards should be pleased to hear that Atlus' upcoming Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon has received an official English website full of new details on the game, and a brand new English trailer to go with it.

Check out the trailer below.



The game definitely looks like an improvement over Soulless Army. Despite it's flaws, I actually didn't mind Soulless Army, so I'm happy to pick up King Abaddon.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon will be available for PlayStation 2 on May 12, 2009 in North America. It is already available in Japan.

Atlus Announces Knights in the Nightmare

So, I think this is the second last of the Amazon leaked Atlus titles to finally get an official confirmation, but Atlus has just dropped word that they are indeed localizing Sting's Knights in the Nightmare for Nintendo DS.

Knights in the Nightmare is the third game in the Riviera SRPGs from Sting, and follows a Valkyrie named Maria who guides a Wisp that can gather the souls of fallen knights and recruit them for battle. It has been described as a turn-based RTS, though I'm not entirely sure what that means.

Anyone familiar with either Riviera or Yggdra Union will likely be aware of Sting's different approach to the SRPG genre, and KitN looks to continue to try some new things.

Knights in the Nightmare will be available for Nintendo DS on June 2, 2009 in North America. It is already available in Japan.

Some Publishers Hint at their 2009 360 Lineups

The latest issue of Famitsu Xbox 360 had a chance to chat with some publishing companies and ask them about what they can expect in 2009. Some had favorable things to say, some did not. I've gone through and picked out the comments that I thought were the most relevant to RPGs and have translated and listed them below.

Take a look.

Microsoft
-More 1st party titles on the way – Not quite 10 titles, but more than are announced (for your reference, currently announced 1st party titles are Halo Wars, Halo ODST, Ninja Blade, and Ninety-Nine Nights II – 4 titles. A new Mistwalker title possible? See next.)
-Microsoft Japan Game Studios have titles being prepared for release (Mmm… Mistwalker)
-Last year’s theme was RPGs. There is a theme this year too, but it won’t be announced until later. (The RPG theme was announced in May 2008)

Namco Bandai
-Very pleased with how well Tales of Vesperia sold (they didn’t expect it to sell as well as it did)
-Despite the worldwide financial recession, Namco Bandai sees this as a chance to get their games out worldwide
-Namco Bandai has been putting out 5-6 Xbox 360 titles per year, and they intend to continue the trend this year. All games being prepared for this year are “high-end,” “big titles”

Bethesda
-Plan to release Oblivion Game of the Year Edition this year (2009) in Japan, though Fallout 3 DLC takes priority
-Working on a surprising “big project”
-Plan to have 2-3 big titles out during 2010

Q Entertainment
-Have been working on Ninety-Nine Nights II now for roughly 2-3 years
-Tetsuya Mizuguchi is involved with N3II, but will not be as prominent as he was with the first game
-N3II will definitely be out in full force in 2009

Sega
-One more big title planned for this year (besides Bayonetta)
-It’s a multiplatform game, but users should be happy with it (possibly Shining Force Gear?)

Atlus
-Currently developing a yet-unnamed high-profile title for Xbox 360

Marvelous
-Currently looking into planning an Xbox 360 project (other than Rainy Woods, which has been put on hold)

There were other companies that commented (like Capcom) that I didn't think had anything really to mention about RPGs, so I left them out.

However, out of the above comments, I would say that Microsoft, Namco Bandai, and Atlus are definitely the companies to keep an eye on this year. The prospect of a new Mistwalker game has me especially interested, and I'm curious to see what this "high-profile" title that Atlus is working on is. As for Namdai, I would assume the only RPG we'll get out of them this year is Magna Carta 2, but I would love to be pleasantly surprised.

Marvelous was pretty weak sauce on their comments. I wouldn't expect them to announce anything beyond more Wii titles this year.

Square Enix and Tecmo were noticeably absent with their comments, though we know that Square Enix, at least, has something else up their sleeves.

It's too bad that there are no better hints than these, but it's at least reassuring to know that companies are still developing HD titles despite the current economy.

Thanks to XNEWS for the article summary.

Any speculation?

Atlus Announces Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

Right, like you didn't see this coming.

Atlus dropped word late last week that they will indeed be bringing their first DS MegaTen interation Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor to North America early this summer as Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor.

Devil Survivor follows several young people who become trapped in Tokyo after a series of strange events that bring malicious demons into the world, and threaten to end the world in 7 days.

If you'd like to know more in depth about the game, you can check out my hands-on impressions of the Japanese version here. You can also check out Atlus' official English website site here (though there isn't much there at the moment).

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor will be available for Nintendo DS on June 23, 2009 in North America. It is already available in Japan.