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.
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.
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 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.
According to Siliconera, a tipster dropped them a line and a screenshot (posted at the bottom of this post) to say that Atlus has at least 5 more portable RPGs in the pipeline due before summer.
The info allegedly comes from an Amazon.ca listing, showing off Super Robot Taisen OG: Endless Frontier, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor in Japan), Knights in the Nightmare, and Dokapon Journey for Nintendo DS, and Crimson Gem Saga (Garnet Chronicle in Japan) for PSP.
If the leak is true, Dokapon Journey is the closest title, with a listed release of April 14, while Devil Survivor is the latest, supposedly scheduled for June 23.
The listings are (of course) no longer up on Amazon, and Atlus has yet to comment on the authenticity of the listings.
Yeah, but, they're probably all true. Poor Atlus just can't catch a break with these announcements. :P
In ultra shocking news, Atlus has just announced that they will be localizing the latest MegaTen Devil Summoner PS2 title, Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. We had no idea this was coming!
Each launch copy of the game will come in a special bundle pack that will include a special Raidou-themed Jack Frost plushie, however, it should be noted that Atlus has announced that the game will be printed in limited quantities and available only for a short time.
Basically, if you don't pre-order it, you aren't getting it. (Usually a good rule of thumb with Atlus titles anyway, but what can you do.)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon will be available for PlayStation 2 in North America on May 15, 2009. It is already available in Japan.
Welcome to 2009! Here's to another year of great RPGs!
To get the new year started, Aeria Games announced on December 30, 2008 that Shin Megami Tensei: IMAGINE has now graduated to open beta status, and is welcoming any and all gamers interested to sign up for your own account.
IMAGINE remains free to play, though there are some special items within the game that need to be bought using real money.
Anyone interested in giving the beta a go should visit Aeria's IMAGINE site here.
If one of your new year's resolutions is to stop playing MMOs so much, I apologize for the temptation.
Atlus, always the tease, has taken out another teaser ad in this week's issue of Famitsu, though it isn't as cryptic as the last time they did this. They even gave us the title of the game, so there will be no speculation on that: Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor.
Before you wet yourself in excitement, please be aware that the game is officially confirmed for the Nintendo DS, so you can likely expect poor graphics, sub-par storytelling, and tacked-on touch screen functionality (everything I hate about the DS). Hey, maybe I'll be totally wrong and it will be the best MegaTen game yet. For those interested in some trivia on Megami Ibunroku (roughly: Goddess Alternate Record) and the MegaTen series in general, here is a short history lesson from a confessed MegaTen obsessor:
The title Megami Ibunroku is likely unfamiliar to you unless you are all kinds of obsessed with MegaTen (*raises hand*). As a quick and dirty history lesson, the original NES games were all titled "Megami Tensei" meaning roughly "Goddess Reincarnation." These games were later remade for the Super Famicon with the likely familiar "Shin" prefix attached (literally meaning "True" - a play on the character of the same sound with meaning "New" that happened to stick). Since then, "Shin Megami Tensei" (lit. True Goddess Reincarnation) came to be the main series' official title, but several spinoff series began to appear, including Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei (lit. Old Testament Goddess Reincarnation), and Majin Tensei (lit. Demon Reincarnation).
One subseries that also appeared on the original PlayStation was Megami Ibunroku: Persona, which the diehard MegaTen gamer among you will likely recognize as Revelations: Persona (the first Persona title).
The Persona series lost the Megami Ibunroku title after its first iteration, and Persona has become its own (and actually more popular) subseries in the MegaTen family.
So what does that have to do with this new game? Probably nothing. I just thought you'd be interested to know that Devil Survivor, whatever it turns out being, has been given the same subseries title that the original Persona received. Interesting info or useless trivia? You decide.
We will receive official information regarding Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor via next week's Famitsu.
Aeria Games, a Western publisher primarily focusing on localizing free-to-play Asian MMOs, has announced via their official forum that they will be bringing Cave and Atlus' PC MMO Shin Megami Tensei: IMAGINE to North America and Europe.
Though the game has not received an official release date at the moment, Aeria has revealed that the game will be available in English, French, German, and Spanish.
Having been a member of the Japanese version of IMAGINE since its Beta-testing days, I can safely say that the game is quite fun if you are a fan of Megami Tensei, and fans who wanted to play the game but couldn't leap the language barrier should be quite excited.
I am currently not sure if this is the rumored MMO that Atlus has been hiring for or not, but I will keep my ear to the ground for any info regarding that rumor.
The new game website for the upcoming PS2 RPG from Atlus, Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The King of Abbadon has just launched this Friday.
The current website has information on the characters Kuzunoha Raidou, the blonde young man, the Black Masks, and the Red Mask. It also confirms the Japanese release date of October 23, 2008, as well as a special edition that will include a re-release of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniacs Chronicle Edition.
So by now you all know that Atlus' teased game is a PS2 action-RPG, Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The King of Abbadon. You also know that the game is the direct sequel to 2006's Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The Soulless Army. Well, I've taken upon myself the daunting task of translating the entire 6 page behemoth of an article, and am bringing you the details of the game right here.
First off, as any avid MegaTen fan will have already noticed, is the return of Kazuma Kaneko as the game's character designer and art director. Having been MIA on Atlus' two previous MegaTen games (Persona 3 and Persona 4), we now know what he's been up to (or at least some of what he's been up to). He takes a moment in the article to emphasize the inclusion of more demons to befriend and talk about a much bigger game world for Raidou to explore this time around, with an ever-deepening plot that will take him to various places outside of the Capital.
Next, the game's director, Kazuyuki Yamai, chimes in to assure players that DS2 (as I will call the game from here on out) will feature a darker world than its predecessor, and more depth in the story and gameplay. He mentions, however, that the game is still very accessible to newcomers, so no one should feel left out.
DS2 features many of the same characters from the previous game, including Raidou Kuzunoha the Fourteenth as the game's silent protagonist. It also heralds the return of his familiar Gouto, his "boss" at the detective agency, Shouhei Narumi, and the slightly ditzy, but ever resourceful "ace" reporter, Kichou "Tae" Asakura.
Set during the 20th year of the Taishou era (which doesn't actually exist, in case you wanted to know. The Taishou era lasted only 14 years. If it did, that would make it roughly 1931.) in a small, behind-the-times kind of backwater village called Kanson (also likely a fictitious place). The Narumi Detective Agency (which Raidou works for) receives a missing persons case, and Raidou, Narumi, Tae, and Gouto all make the trip to investigate. During the investigation, Raidou learns of a new disaster threatening to befall the Capital...
Battles in DS2 will work similarly to Soulless Army, functioning completely in real time. However, some changes over DS1 include the ability to summon two demons at once, the ability to steal MAG (the substance used to summon) from enemies when their weakness is exploited, and the return of the much-clamored- or Demon Negotiation (where the player is forced to convince the demon to help him or her out). Additionally, Raidou will himself be able to make use of special moves in coordination with his summoned demons (which is a nice addition considering how little Raidou could do in DS1). Finally, the player will be able to tweak his or her demon's AI, telling them when they should heal, how they should attack, and so on (which really should have been a standard feature in DS1, imo).
There will also be a few extra additions to the battle system, including the ability to spam your special skills after continually exploiting an enemy's weakness. This suggests that the combat will be much more challenging in DS2. (This is probably a good thing, as most fans agree that DS1 was just too damn easy.)
Demon Negotiation is back in full swing, and looks very much like Demon Negotiation in many of the other MegaTen iterations: answer questions or make comments, and based on each demon's personality, they may agree to help you out in some way (joining you being only one of many possibilities), they may get scared and run away, or you might piss them off, making them attack you (usually stronger than they would have been normally).
In terms of non-battle gameplay, Raidou will be expected to find clues and solve puzzles just as before. Cases will be solved through listening to information provided by townsfolk and demons alike, searching for clues, and sending your demons out to investigate areas Raidou cannot access. This sounds all very Soulless Army-ish, so here's hoping there aren't as many pointless fetch quests...
The game promises to feature many new characters that will take an active role in the ever deepening mystery. Of particular mention in this article are three people who are apparently foreigners to Japan. One, a strange woman with pale blue eyes, encounters Raidou and Narumi just outside of a deep forest, telling them that she has been waiting for them in order to offer a warning... Another is an old man with long white hair who speaks with English mixed into his Japanese. The third is a young man with blonde hair who continually crosses paths with Raidou, offering mysterious and deep words for our heroes.
For those who played DS1, you will probably remember the "dark" version of many of the places you visited. These were basically the same locales, but full of demons instead of people. In DS2, instead of visiting this Dark Realm, you will be exploring demon-filled dungeons.
Another interesting point about DS2 is the existance of different endings. Depending on your actions throughout the game, your route to the ending, and indeed what ending you get, will change. This is fairly common in most MegaTen games (like Chaos vs. Law in Nocturne), but was not present in DS1. It is unclear at this time exactly what choices you will make that will affect the outcome, but rest assured that they are in there.
Finally, the article shows off the Black Masks. Wearing black masks (duh), carrying strange lanterns, and wielding katanas, the Black Masks are somehow involved in the mystery surrounding Kanson. We don't yet know what their objective is, but we do know that they are very keen on preventing Raidou from advancing in his investigation. Possibly acting as their leader, there is one man among them who wears a red mask and keeps a pet(?) bug, also wearing a mask. Oooo.
(Phew) Long article was long. You can check out the scans throughout the article courtesy of Gamekyo.
Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The King of Abbadon will be available on PlayStation 2 in Japan on October 23, 2008. No word yet on a North American version.
Continued proof that countdowns to game announcements lead to disappointement, word broke this morning via some scans from the latest Weekly Famitsu that Atlus' mystery game is in fact another Kuzunoha Raidou game for the PlayStation 2. This isn't that big of a shocker, as many MegaTen fans predicted a new Kuzunoha Raidou game, due to the cat on the teaser's bright green eyes (a trademark of Raidou's "sidekick" familiar, Gouto). What is disappointing to me, is the target platform. More on that in a bit, but first, the release details are below:
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The King of Abbadon is the latest game in the Shin Megami Tensei overarching series, the fifth game in the "Devil Summoner" subseries (I think), and the direct sequel to 2006's Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The Soulless Army. The game will retail for PlayStation 2 in Japan on October 23, 2009 (just in time for Halloween).
Now, don't get me wrong here, I love my PS2, and games like P4 and AT2 are proof that there are still titles to be excited for on that platform. But frankly, I'm a little disappointed. I enjoy my HD gaming so much more these days, and I have less and less faith that PS2 games are going to make the jump to North America, that it's hard for me to really get worked up for this game. Especially since I consider the previous Kuzunoha Raidou game the weakest MegaTen game of the previous generation. Sure, it's a good game by its own standards, but compared to Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga, and Persona 3, it is noticibly lacking in many areas.
Now, I suppose, I should address the inevitable questions regarding this game:
Will it be good? Of course. Not as good as P4 imo, but good nonetheless.
Will it make it to North America? Most likely.
When? My guess would be Q1 2009 (February-ish).
How will it play? Just like Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The Soulless Army. It is clearly running on the exact same engine as its predecessor (which is probably a big reason it is on PS2).
Will I buy it? You bet your ass I will.
Will I be happy about it? Yes and no. Happy for more MegaTen, unhappy for no 7th gen.
Is this the game we expected? No, the help-wanted ad specifically mentions development on hardware like Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (doesn't necessarily mean it will be on one or both of those platforms, just that programming is for those kind of engines. It could be an HD PC game. We just don't know). That announcement is apparently further off.
When will that game be announced? I have no idea. Atlus seems to like to announce their games fairly close to the release dates (a smart tactic, in my opinion). My guess is the game will come out sometime mid to late 2009, so don't hold your breath for an announcement any time before May. (But, of course, anything could happen, and we could get an announcement at TGS. Just don't expect one.)
Remember that the above are nothing more than my opinions on the game based on my own experience, and my predictions should be taken as educated speculation, not fact.
Now, perhaps you think that Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The Soulless Army was the best MegaTen iteration of this or any other generation, and there can never be enough Kuzunoha Raidou. I can respect that opinion. And if that's the case, then I hope Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The King of Abaddon is everything you hope it to be. I'm not trying to hate on this game or its announcement in any way. I'm just a little disappointed.
There were, of course, scans provided with this announcement, and I will include them and a translated summary in a subsequent post (probably later today).
Okay, so this is probably old news for most of you, but since Ar Tonelico II just got announced, I thought I'd put a plug in this morning in case anyone who reads this blog didn't know this yet.
A few relatively rare PS2 RPGs recently got the reprint treatment and are going for pretty reasonable prices at various spots on the internet.
The games in question are Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga, and NIS America's Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia, and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness.
Disgaea has already seen a few reprints before, and besides the existing PSP port, it is also on its way to DS this September, so we're pretty confident that you'll be able to get yourself a copy of it somewhere if you really want to play it.
The other three games, however, all saw very limited printings, and people who didn't pre-order them probably had some trouble tracking down copies. (I personally paid $100 on eBay to nab my copy of Digital Devils Saga a couple of years ago. Luckily, I pre-ordered Ar Tonelico, and was able to find Nocturne for a reasonable price.)
Each game is available on Play Asia for a measly $44.90. Additionally, Ar Tonelico is also available via Rosenqueen for $19.99.
Note that none of these reprints come with the same premium boxsets, etc. that came with the first printings, but honestly, they are still very much worth their prices.
So, anyone miss out on these games and planning on picking up a reprint?
Since we have no official word on this juicy tidbit, we are going to have to classify this as a "rumor," but on Atlus USA's job postings is an ad for a position with the company as a Game Producer who will reportedly be "responsible for overall game performance of a significant MMO title including revenue, game content, and community growth."
Additionally, the position is asking for someone who has experience with MMOs and/or PC game titles, so it seems likely that whatever game is forthcoming is for the PC.Atlus Japan currently has 2 MMOs in operation: Megami Tensei Online: IMAGINE and Perfect World, an original IP set in a high-fantasy world. Both games are free to play for Japanese Windows users, but generate revenue through special items that can only be bought with real money.
Megami Tensei Online: IMAGINE was developed by Cave and published by Atlus. I've personally had an account on IMAGINE since it started its Beta, and for the time that I did play it, I had a fairly enjoyable experience. The game allows the player to customize their character who will roam post-apocalyptic Tokyo, making contracts with and summoning demons ala most MegaTen main series titles like Nocturne. The game is constantly getting new updates (like new items and dungeons) and having events (I should know, the emails about them flood my inbox every other day).
Perfect World is actually a Chinese-developed MMO (developer: Beijing Perfect World) that is published by different companies all over the world. MK-Style, apparently somehow related to Atlus Japan, publishes the game in Japan. Further, it seems that Perfect World has already found a North American publisher (Cubinet Interactive), so it seems unlikely that this is the game Atlus USA is hiring for.
What do you think? Is Atlus USA bringing IMAGINE over to North America? Perhaps they are bringing a different game altogether? Or, maybe Atlus parents an MMO company that is already running an MMO? What do you think?
If I get to make a wish list, I'm gunning for IMAGINE. The game is fun in Japanese, but there's a limit to how much I want to play since most of the Japanese people I know don't play MMOs. Also, since it is a wish list, we is can have a 360 and PS3 version too?
