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]

Idea Factory Announces Jikan de Fantasia

Following the success of the indie game gone PSP, Yuusha 30 (known as Half-Minute Hero in the West), Idea Factory has announced their own time-attack portable RPG, known as Jikan de Fantasia (Fantasia in Time).

Though the scan is too blurry to read well, the game appears to sport pixelized sprite-based graphics, and has players working against the clock to finish their epic quest, which Idea Factory is positioning as an RPG for your commute (again, the comparisons to Yuusha 30 should be obvious).

Further details will have to wait until a legible scan surfaces, but this should come as welcome news to those who wanted more games like Yuusha 30. And, frankly, I always like to see experimental RPGs on handhelds, as I think that is really where they are experienced best.

[All Games Beta]

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]

Idea Factory Announces Dungeon Maker Girls Type

This headline is a little misleading. Idea Factory actually announced a new game called Date ni Gametsui Wake janee! Dungeon Maker Girls Type. This translates horribly into something along the lines of I'm Not Greedy Just for Show! Dungeon Maker Girls Type. Yeah. Wow.

As you may have inferred from the title, the game is a new Dungeon Maker Game (get quests in the city> make a dungeon > explore it > rinse > repeat) with plenty of conversation events with dreamy boys.

This appeals to some people, apparently.

Oh, and in case you wanted to know, it is being developed by Global A (they made the other Dungeon Maker games too).

I don't know what else to say about this game, so I'll just tell you when it will be released and then never speak of it again. (Probably.)

Date ni Gametsui Wake janee! Dungeon Maker Girls Type will be available for Nintendo DS on October 1, 2009 in Japan.

[Famitsu]

Idea Factory Announces Spectral Force Legacy

Via the recent issue of Dengeki PlayStation, Idea Factory has announced that it will be bringing its Spectral Force SRPG series back to PSP in Japan this year with Spectral Force Legacy.

Fully titled Itsuka Kono Te ga Kegareru Toki ni: Spectral Force Legacy (lit. Someday When These Hands Become Soiled). But seriously, that's way too long to type out every time.

For those who are avid Spectral Force fans (anyone?), you will be pleased, I'm sure, to see that Hiro is returning to the spotlight as the main protagonist of SFL. Impressively, she still hasn't changed her clothes throughout the entire series so far. ;P

Details are still a little sparse at this time, but the game is scheduled for Japanese PSPs later this year. Certainly good news if you were feeling hungry for a new SRPG on the go.

Itsuka Kono Te ga Kegareru Toki ni: Spectral Force Legacy will be available for PSP sometime this Winter in Japan.

Idea Factory Announces Trinity Universe

Great. Here we go again.

Idea Factory recently announced that it will be publishing a new turn-based RPG for PlayStation 3 this summer in Japan. So far, I don't have a problem, nay, colour me interested, even. However, this is no ordinary turn-based RPG, oh no. This is a cross-over RPG with characters from Gust's Atelier series and Nippon Ichi's Disgaea series.

The game follows either the Battle Goddess Rizelia or the Dog Demon Lord Kanata (no, I'm not joking, he really is a DOG Demon Lord). Both characters have their own stories, and depending on which you choose will play a large role in which of the cross-over characters will influence your quest.

As you can likely guess, Nippon Ichi's Disgaea fits in rather well with the Demon Lord side of the story. Meanwhile, somehow the Atelier series' characters are sided with the Goddess side. Whatever, I guess.

Ultimately, we have on our hands another large advertisment that gamers are expected to pay for. Woo.

Look, game devs. I didn't like Kingdom Hearts for this exact reason. I have tried to not to be so fussy over games like Chaos Wars and Cross Edge, but you've got me backed up against a wall here. Occassional character cameos? Awesome. Fun references to other games? Great. Blatant whoring out of game franchises to sell mediocre games? No No No No No x1,000,000!



For those of you into this sort of thing (you don't have to tell me about it), Trinity Universe will be available for PlayStation 3 sometime this August in Japan. And don't worry, I'm sure some company like NIS will pick it up eventually for those of you with too much money here in North America, too.

Idea Factory Announces NUGA-CEL

Chock another one up for RPGs that will never leave Japan. Idea Factory has just announced Nurture Garment Celebration, or NUGA-CEL, for the still-not-dead PlayStation 2 through their Lupinus label.

NUGA-CEL follows a group of young girls in the land of Tokyo-23 as they, er, change their clothes. Yep, that's about it.

The game fuses SRPGs and traditional turn-based battles, and adds a hefty helping of cosplay and young girls changing to create the ultimate RPG of this or any other generation. Your strange Western tastes cannot appreciate how revolutionary this game is, which is a big reason that you'll never get play it.

NUGA-CEL will be available for PlayStation 2 on July 30, 2009 in Japan.

[Dengeki]
[NUGA-CEL Official Website]

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.