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Atlus bringing 2D fighter AquaPazza to US
Japanese 2D anime fighter AquaPazza: Aquaplus Dream Match is being localized for a North American release, publisher Atlus has announced. Titled simply AquaPazza for its western release, the game will launch on the PlayStation 3 in both physical and digital flavors sometime this holiday season for $29.99. The localized version will be based on AquaPazza's most recent Japanese arcade build (version 2.01), and will maintain all of the original Japanese voice dialogue. AquaPazza is a crossover fighter featuring characters from different eroge (read: erotic) visual novels/romance simulators developed by Leaf, a subsidiary of Japanese publisher Aquaplus. Despite this, AquaPazza is a normal, non-adult anime fighter with relatively tame visuals, especially when compared to something like Dead or Alive 5. While the game has no ESRB rating as of yet, last year's Japanese PS3 release was approved for ages 12 and up by Japan's Computer Entertainment Ratings Organization.
Arcana Heart 3 coming to North America as PSN download
Aksys did two things today to maintain its status as a favorite publisher among fighting game nerds: (1) announced that it's localizing Arcana Heart 3, the third game in Examu's bizarre anime-girl 2D fighting series; and (2) in that announcement, said that the game is being released on PSN in North America. In doing so, however, the publisher also did one thing that might incite a bit of rage among some fighting game nerds: Aksys is only releasing the game on PSN (for PS3) in North America. In Japan, the fighter was released on disc for PS3 and Xbox 360. While it might be a loss for Xbox players, we're going to assume PS3 owners will be able to pick up the digital release for a bit less than it would cost them to import the disc version -- which sells for ¥7,140 ($86!). If you're unfamiliar with the series, Arcana Heart 3 is a hand-drawn 2D fighter featuring a cast of 23 female combatants, who can be paired with 23 different "Arcana" spirits to augment their abilities. Arcana Heart 3 includes three characters new to the series: Weiss, Eko and Scharlachrot, as well as a new, optional simplified control scheme for new players. It'll be available this spring; and a trailer is available right now, after the break.%Gallery-116622%
All-girl PS2 fighter Arcana Heart coming to North America
When it comes to the PlayStation 2, publisher Atlus USA is certainly not afraid to point out where its loyalties lie. The company indicated as much when we spoke to them last month, as Atlus PR front man Aram Jabbari called Sony's venerable console "a viable platform," adding that "there is no reason to abandon a veteran system just because it isn't the newest thing around." What this translates to is that players can expect to continue to see Atlus' unique brand of niche Japanese titles coming stateside for some time. The latest to be confirmed of which is Examu's all-female fighting game Arcana Heart, which promises PS2 owners all the girl-on-girl 2D action they can handle when the game drops in North America on April 8. With 11 different customizable gals and a budget price of $29.99, Arcana Heart certainly has all the markings of a game worth picking up, though given Atlus' history, we expect that it will become near impossible to find at retail just hours after it's released.
