I assume many of you are heading back to school/work this week after some time off. I, myself, have been working for the majority of the Winter Break, so it doesn't really phase me much. Kinda sucks that rush hour is back though...
Anyways, if you were hoping to console your working self by buying a new RPG this week, I'm afraid you may be a little disappointed...
The following titles are shipping out to retailers this week (January 5 - 9, 2009):
North America (none)
Japan Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (Platinum Collection) - BlueSide, Microsoft - Xbox 360 Trusty Bell: Chopin no Yume (Platinum Collection) - Tri-Crescendo, Namco Bandai - Xbox 360
Europe (none)
Yeah, so the only games out this week are budget re-releases of a couple of fairly mediocre titles on the 360 in Japan. I suppose if you live in Japan and haven't played either of these, you can grab them on the cheap. Trusty Bell is very pretty, though the story is lame at best, and KUF is fun if you like hacking and slashing. However neither is really a must-play.
Everyone else is rather out of luck this week. Such is January.
According to French gaming blog, Widgamer, Softmax and Banpresto (Namco Bandai) RPG, Magna Carta 2, is still in development for Xbox 360, and has been renamed to Magna Carta: Crimson Stigma.
According to what I understand from the post (my French is terrible), the game's development is still underway, but the developer will not be announcing a tentative release date until they are happy with the game's development course (implying that there have been some bumps in development up to now). The developer also alledgedly released the two screens below from the game.
Announced back in 2005 as one of the first RPGs for the Xbox 360, Magna Carta 2 has been silent for so long I had assumed that the game was epically canceled. Guess not.
As a note, I can't confirm where this blog got its info from, so I have to label it as a RUMOR for the time being. If it's true, I hope the battle system is much better than the PS2 Magna Carta...
Like Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Tales of Vesperia, and The Last Remnant before it, Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope is receiving a limited Xbox 360 bundle pack in time for its release.
The announced bundle will contain an Xbox 360 Arcade console, a copy of the game (obviously), a select soundtrack (the same one that comes with Japanese pre-orders), and a limited edition Star Ocean 4 faceplate for 24,800 yen (roughly $250). All in all, quite a nice deal if you don't mind settling for an HDD-less console.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that the 360 included in this bundle is the newest "Jasper" model Xbox 360 which includes the smaller chipset and 256MB internal flash memory.
The limited console is to go on sale in Japan at the same time as the game, February 19, 2009.
I'm using this as an excuse to finally pick up a Japanese 360. ^^;
Namco Bandai has recently released two new trailers for their upcoming Wii exploration RPG, Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki no Haikyo. Both offer some slightly new scenes and gameplay, but don't ultimately offer anything that will surprise you.
Watch them below.
I really love the concept and aesthetic behind this game, but I don't know if these trailers are going to change anyone's mind about it one way or the other. I guess they're just confident with it. And that's cool.
Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki no Haikyo will be available for Nintendo Wii on January 22, 2009 in Japan.
Nippon Ichi loves to milk their Disgaea franchise, no doubt about it. The newest victim of the never-ending port treatment is none other than 2006's Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories.
Currently titled Makai Senki Disgaea 2 Portable in Japan, the game will be making its way to PSP in March with additional content, including a scenario, additional units, and some additional skills.
The new scenario (apparently the largest addition to the game) features the character Axel as the protagonist, though details on what kind of quest he will undertaken are not yet completely clear.
In addition, several characters that were unplayable in the original PS2 version will be recruitable in the PSP port. Currently revealed additional characters are Zeta, Demon Lord Prier, and Mid Boss (sorry if the Englishizations are wrong, I translated them directly from Japanese as I haven't played enough of the English version).
Interested parties can check out some of the new stuff over at the official Japanese site.
Disgaea 2 Portable will be available for PSP on March 26, 2009 in Japan.
FromSoftware and Sony Computer Entertainment have recently revealed a new trailer for their upcoming hack-n-slash PS3 RPG, Demon's Souls. Give it a watch below.
While I really dig want they've done with the CG movies and music in this trailer, the gameplay still looks rather unremarkable. I guess we'll all know how it turned out soon, though.
Demon's Souls will be available for PlayStation 3 on February 5, 2009 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.
I assume many of you are heading back to school/work this week after some time off. I, myself, have been working for the majority of the Winter Break, so it doesn't really phase me much. Kinda sucks that rush hour is back though...
