Old News: Record of Agarest War Zero Xbox 360 Port Confirmed

In further evidence of the extinction of 3rd party exclusives, Compile Heart's prequel to the steamy SRPG that could, Agarest Senki Zero, has been confirmed to be getting an enhanced Xbox 360 port sometime this year.

Agarest Senki - recently released in North America as Record of Agarest War - is a typical Japanese SRPG with a twist: the girl that the player chooses to romantically pursue will change the next generation's hero.

Zero returns to this system - which they call 'Soul Breed' - as well as introduce new functionality to the game, including interactive costume changing, and changes to girls' appearances as their feelings for the hero grow.

The Xbox 360 port will reportedly have new costumes and costume changing modes, new CG scenes, and a gallery mode for different event scenes.

Agarest Senki Zero: Dawn of War will be available for Xbox 360 on July 29, 2010 in Japan.

[Famitsu]

Sega Announces Neptune

If further proof was needed that the PlayStation 3 has taken the curious position of 'niche RPG console' of this generation, look no further than small Japanese developer Compile Heart's latest RPG offering, titled Neptune.

Though still little is known about the game, it appears to be sort of a 'meta-game' (i.e. a game about games), taking place in a world known as the 'Geimu-Gyoukai' (the Japanese word for the video games industry) which is split between the four worlds of Platetume, Rinbox, Lasdition, and Ruwii, each ruled by its own goddess, Purple Heart, Green Heart, Black Heart, and White Heart, respectively. (Certainly by looking at each, you should be able to figure out what they represent, though I'm still not sure what the purple one is supposed to be).



The game is reportedly Compile Heart's first fully 3D title, will be co-developed with Nippon Ichi, Gust, and Idea Factory, and will be published by Sega for the PlayStation 3, though no release date has been mentioned yet.

Well, it definitely sounds... unique. Oh, and the 360-tan they have made for Green Heart is hot.

[Official Neptune Teaser Site]
[All Games Beta]

"Really Naughty Limited Edition" Planned for Record of Agarest War

So, I don't remember if I've truly covered Aksys' decision to bring Compile Heart's 'Soul Breed' SRPG, Agarest Senki to North America.

For those who don't remember this slightly obscure title, the game is basically a classic Japanese SRPG, complete with gridded fields, turn-based strategizing, and anime-style still art taking the place of cutscenes. Really, nothing specular there. Where the game sets itself apart is in the 'Soul Breed' system, which allows the player to choose a wife to bear his posterity for several generations. Which girl the player chooses to (ahem) procreate with will determine certain traits of his successor.

Along with this admittedly 'mature' subject matter comes the obvious fanservice - arguably the game's true selling point.

The original title was released in Japan in 2007 on PlayStation 3, then ported to the Xbox 360 in 2008 as Agarest Senki: Reappearance, and contained different and bonus content.

Aksys games has been known for some time now as the North American publisher for the title, but it was pushed back several times to allow for the 360 version to launch simultaneously here. With that, Aksys has claimed that the PS3 and 360 versions are now identical for the NA release, though it is still unclear whether that means the extra content was added to the PS3 version, or stripped out of the 360 version.

Though Aksys claims that this prevents rampant fanboyism over the title, they have chosen to release the PS3 version exclusively through PSN, while the 360 version will receive a classic hard copy, destroying any fanboy peace they may have been striving for.

To further the gap, Aksys has recently revealed a limited print edition (yes, only for the 360 version) that will include a soundtrack disc, a mousepad with boobs wrist rest, and a saucy pillowcase (pillow not included) for, er, more private encounters (I guess?), all wrapped up in a fancy collector's art box.

If you have the choice, I would imagine most gamers will prefer the hard copy, but maybe that's just me. I admit that the special edition sounds like the best deal (and a lot of swag) for $59.99, but I would never get it past my wife. Regular box edition will have to do for me. :P

Record of Agarest War will be available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (via PSN) on April 27, 2010. It is already available in Japan.

[Kotaku]

Compile Heart Announces X-Edge Dash

Ugh, here we go. Compile Heart announced via the recent issue of Weekly Famitsu that they will be bringing their lame cross-over RPG X-Edge (pronounced 'Cross Edge' and released as such in North America) to the Xbox 360 later this year as X-Edge Dash.

For those who have worked hard to forget this game, I'm sorry to bring it back to your memory. The game features characters from Idea Factory's Spectral Souls series, Nippon Ichi's Disgaea series, Gust's Atelier series, Banpresto (Namco Bandai)'s Ar Tonelico series, and Capcom's Darkstalker series, (which of these things is not like the others?) all utilizing a graphical style reminiscent of old PS1 games.

It is expected that X-Edge Dash will have added features, though it is unclear at this time what those may be.

Though X-Edge is certainly nowhere near as popular as Tales of Vesperia, meaning that there will be less rage over this title going timed-exclusive, I still feel that timed-exclusives are incredibly rude to the game's original fans, especially when the company springs it on everyone. Bad form, Compile Heart. Bad form.

X-Edge Dash will be available for Xbox 360 on October 1, 2009 in Japan. Since NIS America (who has expressed that they will not be working on the Xbox 360) published the PS3 version in North America, I would be very surprised to see it come over here.

Compile Heart Announces Agarest Senki ZERO

In 2007 Compile Heart released a quirky PS3 SRPG called Agarest Senki, and later a 360 port of it called Agarest Senki: Reappearance. It was a standard Japanese SRPG affair, with grid turn-based battles and talking hand-drawn artwork in place of cutscenes. Nothing really revolutionary there.

What made the game stand out, as it were, was the inclusion of a system they called "Soul Breed," which allowed the player to choose his wife, and thus affect what his offspring would look and play like for several generations.

It also had some risque ecchi-like scenes. Not hugely revolutionary, but probably noteworthy to many fans.

Well Compile Heart decided that they just couldn't quit the Soul Breed thing, and have returned with Agarest Senki ZERO, a prequel to the original title.

ZERO will reportedly take place 1000 year prior to the events in Agarest Senki, and will retain the Soul Breed functionality, as well as the naughty moments.

It is being developed again by RED Entertainment, and is scheduled for a June release on PlayStation 3 in Japan. (Is it just me or is everyone blowing their load in June so far?)

Also, soft porn has ruined bananas for me forever. :,(

NIS America Announces Cross Edge

NIS America has officially announced that they will be bringing cross-over mash-up PlayStation 3 RPG X-Edge to North America this spring, renaming it to Cross Edge (which is how the original Japanese name was intended to be pronounced).

The game features characters from Nippon Ichi's own Disgaea franchise, Gust's Atelier series, Capcom's Darkstalkers games, Namco Bandai and Gust's Ar Tonelico, and Idea Factory's Spectral Souls, all smashed together in some kind of fanboy dream/nightmare (depending on your view of cross-overs).

I, for one, am horrified at this ungodly hellspawn, and will be avoiding it like the plague whist trying to convince myself that it doesn't exist. You, however, may want to embrace it with every fibre of your being. It takes all kinds, you know?

Cross Edge will be available for PlayStation 3 sometime this May in North America. It is already available in Japan.

Agarest Senki Reappearance Website is Open

Though initially only announced through some random retailers' listings, Compile Heart has opened the official site for Agarest Senki Reappearance, confirming its release. You can check it out here (may be slightly NSFW).

The game is set for release on November 27, 2008 in Japan. There is no word on a North American release at this time.

Xbox 360 to get a Record of Agarest War

Any of you who follow the Japanese RPG scene obsessively (as I do) are probably already aware of an obscure PlayStation 3 SRPG called Agaresuto Senki (Record of Agarest War) from Compile Heart and RED Entertainment. Okay, so it's half SRPG, half H-game (minus the explicit stuff), kind of like Tears to Tiara.

The game looks like your average SRPG/H-game hybrid. Really, nothing special going on here. Battles are fought using a grid system, and cutscenes are handled with talking character art, with some risque shots thrown in during "important" scenes to keep the decidedly male-centric audience interested.

What Agarest War has tried to do differently is provide some consequences for your little near-erotic escapades. No, you don't get STDs. Depending on which girl you hook it up with will determine your posterity.

The game lasts for several "generations" of you ultimately deciding how your geneology is going to look, and probably to a lesser extent, act.

I'm not going to get really down and dirty with all the details (you can read my intial impressions of it here if you're really interested). Really, I just wanted you to have a bit of background on this game, as RED Entertainment is apparently planning a "complete" version of the game on Xbox 360 this November (in Japan, of course), featuring all of the bonus downloadable PS3 content, as well as some other extras.

Titled Record of Agarest War Reappearance, the game will supposedly land on November 27, 2008. No word on a North American release, and really, you shouldn't expect one.

Thanks to XNEWS for the tip.