Shin Megami Tensei
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Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor getting enhanced 3DS version
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is one of the best unsung RPGs on Nintendo's current-gen handheld -- which might have something to do with the fact that it's not the easiest game to find in stores. Fortunately, our chances of getting the hands on the game will likely improve later this year, when Atlus releases Devil Survivor Over Clock, a 3DS update of the original 2009 title, in Japan. In addition to a couple of extra titular words and a third dimension, Over Clock will expand the game's seven-day-long plotline by an additional day. This extra 24-hour period includes 20 new summonable demons, new maps and additional difficulties. The game will also now be fully voiced this time around, which should make some of its more over-the-top dialogue infinitely more entertaining. An Atlus representative remained tight-lipped when we asked about the game's U.S. release plans, but we've got our fingers crossed for news on the horizon. For now, check out Famitsu for a handful of screens from the spruced-up 3D RPG.
Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers receiving fan translation
Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is a game originally released back in 1997 for the Sega Saturn in Japan. It was a sequel to Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner, itself a game within the same Megami Tensei universe inhabited by the Persona series. Publisher Atlus has tried a few times to bring the title to the states, but Sony hasn't yet allowed it, so a group of fans calling itself "Devil Hackers" is working on a fan-made translation of the title, playable on the PSP. You can watch a "teaser trailer" of the translation after the break -- but someone needs to translate the word "teaser" for the Devil Hackers, because it's thirteen minutes long. Assuming things work themselves out, fans interested in playing the game in English should get their chance soon.
Free for All: Five popular cash-shop item types
Over the next few weeks, I would like to take a look at cash shops. Despite many good experiences I have had with them, even my referring to a cash shop can conjure up not-so-happy images for many players. For myself, a cash shop gives me a sense similar to a visit to a toy store -- a toy store where everything is dirt cheap. Good cash shops can not only make you want to spend money, but give you an item or experience that was well worth your cash. Before getting into the heavy-lifting topics, I will go over five of my favorite cash-shop item "types." Bear in mind that there is always some game that features some variant of each of these types. Also remember that there are always more categories, but that these represent what I think are the most popular and make the most money. Feel free to suggest any categories that you think do something similar, or correct me where you think I'm wrong.
Rise and Shiny recap: Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online (longest. name. ever.) is perfect for Rise and Shiny: it is unusual, makes some people uncomfortable, free-to-play, and more "indie" than "AAA." I've played it off and on since its release but never found the time or desire to really push into it. After all, the combat in the game takes patience and knowledge, something that requires, well, patience and knowledge. Over the last week I decided to dive right in, changing my normal procedure of blindly downloading, playing, and socializing. I broke my habit of ignoring the wiki and the information from the playerbase, and I have decided to actually immerse myself into a week-long college course on whatever game it is I am playing at the time. The effort paid off big. The combat became more enjoyable, and the game made more sense. I met some very nice community members, and even found myself wanting to go through an epic hour-and-a-half dungeon experience. The game is not without its frustrating moments, of course. Starting out can feel like a pretty overwhelming experience. While there is a great beginning tutorial to help players understand the complicated combat system, many areas of the game require information that is so hidden that you must simply look it up in a wiki.
A look at Aeria Games and their social network
When I was asked to do a write up about Aeria games, I smiled. Not only do some of my favorite FTP games come from the developer, but I have always liked how they present their products. While social networks are anything but brand new and uncommon, Aeria does theirs in a way that makes you want to play their games and to dive into their world. I decided to take a broad look at the two major areas: First, I wanted to try out the social network area of their site. It's standard stuff, really, but works well and is fun to fill out. I also wanted to try out some of their mini-games that are hosted on the site itself. Next I wanted to look at one of their games, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online. There are a total of 16 titles to choose from, so I decided to go with one that I had enjoyed the most. It's been fun so far, and I'm glad I am going to be able to shine a little light on one of my favorite publishers!
Atlus replacing Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey soundtrack CDs
The nice thing about launch copies of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey -- aside from the fact that they allow you to play Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey right now -- is that they include soundtrack CDs. The not-so-nice part is that said CDs don't work. Atlus acknowledged the manufacturing error responsible for the issue, and has instituted a replacement program for the discs. You can click here to sign up for a replacement CD, and you'll be bobbing your head to the sounds of demonic invasion in two to four weeks. Check here for more detailed instructions.
Send humans to investigate this Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey trailer
For some of us, Final Fantasy XIII over on those big systems will be little but a distraction -- because real role-playing games take place in dungeons. Or, for others, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey will be the perfect game to play during cutscenes. In any case, Atlus is dropping Shin Megami Tensei on an RPG-crowded market on March 23, and sent out the above trailer to remind us all of that fact. If you're ready to launch an expedition into a game about an expedition into a mysterious demon-filled vortex in the Antarctic, bundle up and check out the trailer.
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey poster with GameStop pre-orders
The pile of stuff you can acquire with your copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is steadily growing. Atlus has already thrown a soundtrack CD in with every copy in the first printing, and now it is offering a "mini-poster" with copies of the DS role-playing game pre-ordered through GameStop. In the press release announcing the bonus, Atlus's Aram Jabbari extolled the somewhat more tangible nature of the poster than the CD, calling it "a bonus item that you can feel, something you can caress gently and hold against your face, something you can take a big whiff of and enjoy." You are, of course, welcome to just put the poster on your wall and look at it occasionally.
Persona 3 Portable coming to North America on July 6
Atlus is bringing an English-language version of Persona 3 Portable to the US. The PSP version of Persona 3 isn't a direct port of the original PS2 RPG. Instead, it streamlines the experience for handheld play and adds a new playable female character, with her own "Social Links, special events, and unique romantic opportunities." In addition, P3P adds a few cameos from Persona 4, and introduces five difficulty settings, ranging from "beginner" to "maniac." The battle system has also drastically changed, with players able to directly control teammates. The UMD version will be available at retail on July 6th, with a PSN version expected soon after. Check out the box art after the break.%Gallery-83530%
Amazon.co.jp lists Shin Megami Tensei for PS3
A new listing on Amazon's Japanese site suggests that a new entry in Atlus's long-running Shin Megami Tensei series could be headed to PS3. The listing is for a game with the temporary title Shin Megami Tensei. Even if this is real, of course, the Shin Megami Tensei series seems impossibly diverse, and could mean anything from first-person dungeon crawlers to MMOs. While many of the spin-off games called Shin Megami Tensei in America -- like the Persona series and Devil Survivor -- don't carry the Shin Megami Tensei name in Japan, there's still a staggering variety of games that could fall under the label, given that the Devil Summoner series, the recent Strange Journey, and, yes, Shin Megami Tensei Imagine (the MMO) have been branded with the "main" series title. Basically, there are a ton of spin-offs, and some of them include Shin Megami Tensei in their name. For its first appearance on a next-gen system, though, chances seem a bit higher that this will be the "real" followup to Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne. Whatever it is, it'll probably involve demons. And cool character art. [Via Siliconera]
Persona teams reunite for new project in 2010
After the completion of Persona 4, the team responsible for the game at Atlus split in two, with one half tasked with creating Persona 3 Portable, while the other half got to work on "an original new game." According to a translation by Andriasang of the P3 Portable creator's blog, that first game is "nearing completion," and the two teams will re-form [insert Voltron reference here] in 2010. Persona 4 producer Katsura Hashino says that the re-unified team will work on "an even bigger title" in the coming year, though no details have been formally announced. We'll just have to giddily think about the impending release of 3D Dot Game Heroes in North America, while we wait for Hashino to dish. [Via Andriasang]
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey launch copies to include bonus soundtrack
At some point, people are going to get spoiled by Atlus's (coincidentally named) "Atlus Spoils" program, in which the company includes some kind of bonus item with pretty much every game it releases. When the publisher doesn't release a game with an artbook or soundtrack or figurine or something, somebody out there is going to be irritated to buy just a game. That won't happen with Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, though. Atlus announced today that every launch copy of the first-person RPG will include a soundtrack disc. You'll have to wait a bit longer to get that launch copy: the publisher also announced that the release date has moved from the March 10 date found on Nintendo's Q1 schedule to March 23. %Gallery-77527%
Shin Megami Tensei password system lets your demons make Strange Journeys
Atlus revealed a password system for its upcoming Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, through which players will be able to trade copies of their customized, leveled-up, fused demons. In addition to being able to generate your own passwords to share your awesome demons with others, Atlus will release passwords for some rare creatures.In addition, the updated box art image shows an M rating. Clearly, demon hunting is serious business, to be left to the big kids! As Siliconera notes, there are only ten DS games with M ratings, out of 1,366 total releases.
Motorbikes, alchemy, and demon friend quests now in Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine
Demon Busters in Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online are now enjoying a fresh content update, which includes motorbikes courtesy of the Shinjuku Babel mechanics. This new mode of transportation in the game allows players to travel between zones quickly and in first person perspective. Atlus has also introduced alchemy, a crafting system where players can create new objects with unusual properties. Runes that boost abilities for your demons or potions that augment your own abilities are a few possibilities with the new item mixing system. They've also released more PvE content in the form of demon friend quests, provided your friendships with the infernal powers-that-be are at the appropriate levels. Perhaps the biggest content addition to Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online is the Team Battle system. The title's publisher Aeria Games writes: "Gather your allies and friends to crush your enemies in fast-paced, high intenseity group versus group combat for glory and god-like gear. Choose to fight solo in sided matches against other solo players, or combine your strength with others to demolish the competition in team versus team battle."
Latest Shin Megami Tensei game taking a Strange Journey to North America
Well, okay. Maybe being localized by Atlus isn't that strange for a Shin Megami Tensei game. In fact, we'd say it's pretty normal these days! Atlus announced today that it will bring over the first-person DS RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey in Spring 2010 (of course). The game features the demon negotiation that SMT fans associate with the series, in a new storyline involving a mysterious black hole opening up at the South Pole. It looks like the kind of thing that would appeal not only to fans of games like SMT 3: Nocturne, but also to people who enjoy the DS's dungeon RPGs like Etrian Odyssey, to which it bears a strong resemblance. Journey into our gallery for screens and art. %Gallery-77527%
ESRB rates Shin Megami Tensei MMO for US
The ESRB website has posted a listing for Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online, an MMO where "players fight against or alongside demons in the post-apocalyptic (fictional) outskirts of Tokyo, Japan." The remainder of the description pretty much fits the MMO bill, as it mentions dungeon crawling, a multitude of weapons and spells, and real-time combat.The game sounds like it's a bit on the mature side, too -- the listing mentions arterial spray, pools of blood and female demons "scantily clad, hovering in bondage-style outfits, half-open blouses, or the tightest of short-shorts." Hey, underworld, get with the times! Short-shorts haven't been cool since the Nixon administration.Head past the break for a trailer from the Japanese release, courtesy of Aeria Games.
Persona 3 Portable features Persona 4 cameo
The upcoming PSP version of Persona 3 features a nice easter egg for fans of the franchise. According to Siliconera, Inaba, the town featured in Persona 4 will be a playable locale in the upcoming port. You must play as the female lead in order to visit the Amagiya Inn -- two years before the events of P4. There, you'll be able to meet a younger version of Yukiko. Certainly, it's not the biggest news surrounding the game, but it gives us an excuse to post this video. P3P hits Japan next month.
Persona 4 team performs a postmortem
You would assume, perhaps wisely, that a Persona 4 postmortem would refer to performing an autopsy on a poor soul who died of old age while trying to finish the epically long RPG. But all we've got for you today is the game's creators discussing the highs and lows of development with Gamasutra. As is usual, the "lows" are actually just the difficult parts of designing the game rather than what didn't work about the title, but it's still worth a read to see how Atlus tackled the Herculean task of creating a 100-hour game that at least some of you lived to see the end of.
Japanese gamers want Persona 4, Phoenix Wright anime series (and so do we)
Japanese gaming pub Dengenki recently polled its readers on what series they'd like to see translated into anime form. The Top 10 list looks nearly exactly the same as our own wishlist: 1. Persona 4 2. Phoenix Wright 3. Okami 4. Kingdom Hearts 5. Idol Master 6. Metal Gear Solid 7. Yakuza 8. BlazBlue 9. Persona 3 10. Atelier Rorona Atlus' PS2 RPG Persona 4 tops the list, managing to beat out some big names like Kingdom Hearts and Metal Gear Solid. Perhaps the success of Persona: Trinity Soul reminded readers that the franchise works in serialized TV format? While we'd certainly like to see another Persona anime, an adaptation of Phoenix Wright seems like a no-brainer. Capcom, are you reading this? [Via Andriasang]
Persona 3 coming to PSP with new female character
Atlus just isn't quite done with remaking Persona 3. A new issue of Famitsu has hit Japanese newsstands and one of the most notable entries is an advertisement for Persona 3: Portable. While details are slim, the ad prominently shows a new female character standing aside the nameless main character of Persona 3 and Persona 3: FES. The ad proclaims the game will be available on November 1st, which, honestly, seems rather sudden. (No Q1 slump for Japan?) If it follows the model of the PSP port of the original Persona, we're bound to see a ton of extras remixed into the game. [Via PS3Nation]
