Ten Games Japanese Gamers Reccomend

Following up on that article from Kotaku I mentioned in my Dungeon Travelers 2 post, I can agree on most of their recommendations.  Aside from Dungeon Travelers 2 I've also played Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus and DmC.  Those are really fun games and they play really well (ignoring Senran Kagura's excessive fanservice).  I'm surprised as with most people that the Japanese loved Far Cry 3, which I haven't gotten my hands on yet but am looking for it to be on sale during the Steam Summer Sale.

Demon Gaze and 7th Dragon 2020 II are some RPG's I haven't really heard much of, but they do like like excellent games.  The 7th Dragon series has never and localization and probably never will, but as Demon Gaze is a new IP, I'm hoping one of the niche developers here in the US like Atlus, Aksys, NIS America, or Xseed will pick it up.

NIS's The Guided Fate Paradox is coming over sometime in the Fall and I am looking forward to the spirtual sequel to Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman.  That was a fun spin on the roguelike RPG genre and had quite a few cameos from Disgaea and various manga/anime.  Hoping Guided Fate Paradox will do the same.

Soul Sacrifice is out right now but I haven't the opportunity try it out/ buy it, but the reviews have been positive.  Macross 30 is something the states will never see but as new Macross fan I'll believe the Japanese to its quality.

[Nintendo 3DS ]Atlus bringing Etrian Odyssey IV to the US next year

Originally slipped under my radar but Atlus announced a few weeks back that they will be bringing the latest in their new school old-school dungeon crawler RPG series Etrian Odyssey IV.  The newest improvement they've done with the game is giving the game new 3D graphics for the monsters over sprites like they used to.  They've scheduled a release for sometime in 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS. No word yet on whether they will bundle a bonus item like they've done with most of their recent releases, but here's hoping theres another artbook like Etrian Odyssey III.

Today Atlus Faithful subscribers have just received the first batch of screenshots and an explanation about their font choice for the game.  The fact that Atlus cares about what font they put into their games is just amazing. 

Atlus' Etrian Odyssey IV website

[Nintendo 3DS] Code of Princess Unboxing

I just got my order of Atlus' new 3DS game Code of Princess, a side scrolling beat-em-up with RPG elements, and features, 50+ playable characters and 4-player co-op and versus, local and online ranked matches.  Atlus has packed in bonus content with a sound and visual CD/Artbook inside a neat boxed package.  These are only for the first print copies so down the line you will only get the game when you purchase.  Without further ado here's the pictures of the unboxing!

 And here's Atlus' launch trailer for the game.

NIS America's TGS 2012 Announcements

NIS America's recent Prinny Bomb Newsletter has revealed that NIS America will be releasing Hyperdimenion Neptunia Victory in spring of 2013.  They've also got an iPhone Neptunia app in the works. Wonder what that will be? 

Next, they got Generation of Chaos: Pandora's Reflection for the PSP via the PSN.  I'm not all that familiar with the series but I'll check it out as it looks interesting.  They expect it to be released sometime 2013 as well.

Lastly, they will be publishing Atlus' Persona 4 Golden in Europe for release in spring 2013.

Persona 4 Golden's release date confirmed

Atlus has officially confirmed Persona 4 The Golden's release date for November 20th.  A little farther than I hope as I initially though it was going to be released in October. Can't wait to play through it again with all these new features.

Persona 4 Golden just got more Golden with an Extremely Limited Edition

From the Atlus Faithful newsletter sent out just last night, Atlus has announced the extremely limited Solid Gold Premium Edition for Persona 4 Golden with only 10,000 copies.  Alongside the announced pre-order bonus of the skin, this premium set includes, a Hori Hard pouch and face cover, and a set of stickers all for $30 more than just the game by itself.

Persona 4 Golden is scheduled to come out some time this Fall.

[Review] Persona 4 Arena

What do you get when you mix Arc System Works, the creators of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue, with a popular franchise from Atlus like Persona 4?  You get one awesome fighting game and a well written but lengthy story mode.

Set two months after the ending of Persona 4, our originally unnamed hero, Yu Narukami, returns to Inaba for a Golden Week break.  Upon his return, he and his friends discover that the Midnight Channel has returned.  This new broadcast is stranger than the ones they've seen before however, as Yu Narukami and his friends are all featured in what appears to be a fighting competition labeled the P-1 Grand Prix.  Yu and his friends all join up to reform their Investigation Team to solve this new mystery.

Persona 4 Arena comes with a handful of game modes typical of modern fighting games such as Arcade, Versus, Training, Network, Score Attack, and a Lesson Mode for beginners.
The story mode originally starts with four members of the cast, but will expand as you complete them, further unlock more characters stories.  You will be spending most of your time in story mode reading through dialogue with only a few fights in between.  It's definitely a more enjoyable and immersive experience if you have played the original game before so I recommend it if you haven't.

The gameplay in Persona 4 Arena is slightly different from other fighters.  There is an automatic combo mechanic which if you continue pressing the light attack button it will create a basic combo.
Whats also unique is in the fact that every one of the 13 playable character has their own Persona that is controlled independently.  Personas though should be sent out cautiously as they can be rendered unusable for a limited amount of time if they get hit too much, leaving you to fight at half strength.
Each character has a very unique play-style and no one plays like each other.

Online play features ranked games and custom lobbies that can hold up to 8 players.  Each match is recordable and replayable from the gallery.  A neat little feature is the ability to create you own title that is displayed by your online username by putting 3 different phrases together.

The game has a wonderful soundtrack and includes both Japanese and English audio dubs.  The game includes a lot of the soundtrack from Persona 4 with a few from Persona 3 as well, with a handful of new songs for the game.  One note though for fans of the original Persona 4 dub is the replacement of Chie Satonaka and Teddie's voice actors.  Though we will miss their original voices, the new actors still do a great job bringing them to life.

Since Persona 4 Arena is developed by Arc System Works, you can expect sharp, 2D HD character sprites similar to BlazBlue on a 3D background environment.  There's loads of well made animations, flashy moves and effects, and the color scheme of game fits well into Persona 4 with all the yellow menu screens and in-game HUD.

Persona 4 Arena is a wonderful package and a must buy for fighting game enthusiasts and for fans of the original Persona 4 who want a worthy sequel.

Atlus offers Persona 4 Golden PSVita cover with pre-order

Seems like a pretty awesome bonus considering the only way to ever get a skin like this for your PSVita would be to import it from Japan.  Persona 4 Golden is due out this October

Source: From the Atlus Faithful Newsletter. 

Atlus Huge 50% off PSN Sale Ending Soon

One of my favorite game publishers Atlus USA had a huge 50% off sale for many of their games on PSN including the popular Persona series and Catherine during the entire month of July.  The sale will end next week and this is a good chance to get these really great games and JRPGs for a really good price.  I myself have bought their Dept. Heaven series from this sale, and may be thinking of grabbing another game before the sale ends.