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Shipping this week: Now with more Yoda edition
This is it folks, this week officially marks the release of Soul Calibur IV. You may recall SCIV as the weapons based fighter that features not only ridiculously proportioned female fighters but also Yoda. The Playstation 3 version gets Darth Vader himself, though he may be Force choking his way to the 360 if rumors are to be believed. Also on the release this week are Spectral Force 3 and Summer Athletics The Ultimate Challenge. Spectral Force 3 is a Japanese strategy RPG and Summer Athletics The Ultmate Challenge is ... well, honestly, we have no idea. Looking at the title, we'd say someone is looking to cash in on the Olympic Games.[Via Joystiq]
Spectral Force Genesis hits Japan tomorrow, box art unveiled
And this little game that nobody loved -- turned out to be totally awesome. As the Japanese release date draws closer (like, tomorrow) we've stumbled upon some new screens and the final box art for the mucho-grando strategy RPG, Spectral Force Genesis.The crafty importers among you should be looking out for these shady characters when ordering the next shipment from Japan. You'll be a bit lost if you can't read Japanese, and the ultra-eccentric anime art style isn't going to attract anyone who isn't an established fan. Only the powers of the English language and North America can do that, and at this stage it's somewhat unlikely. Two new screens follow after the break, so order this bad boy if you just know it's a winner.
Don't expect Spectral Force Genesis from NIS America
During his interview with NIS America president Haru Akenaga, Spencer Yip made a point to inquire about the company's plans for many specific games, including those from companies with whom NIS has worked in the past. Spectral Force Genesis, the new SRPG from Idea Factory, came up. With unexpected candor, Akenaga confirmed that a localization of that or any Idea Factory title was unlikely:"We have a relationship with them, but unfortunately our mission is to release quality titles. Their titles are good, but not good as we expected. That's our reason. They always ask us to localize their titles, but at this moment we answer with 'we're sorry'."Atlus, Mastiff, O3 (who did the amazing localization of Idea Factory's Chaos Wars) and other small publishers are still a possibility, but NIS definitely doesn't have interest in working with the company. Which is good, because that particular bridge is pretty well toasted.
Spectral Force Genesis is a force to be reckoned with
Since localization can be a cruel, unsatisfying mistress, most of us haven't gotten a taste of the Spectral Force series. That will all change when Spectral Force 3 comes out for the 360, but people without Microsoft's console are still out of luck. That's why we're hoping that Spectral Force Genesis, which is featured in the trailer above, sees the light of day outside of Japan.After the two minutes of introductory fodder, the video shows us two minutes of (tiny) gameplay. The size of the screens and Japanese writing makes it difficult to tell exactly what's going on, but we like how the stylus seems to be utilized. We also know a bit of what to expect from the gameplay already.If this does get localized, the mostly likely candidate to do so would be Atlus. Aside from the fact that Atlus is bringing Spectral Force 3 to the 360, the company has a good track record on the DS, so we're going to have faith in Genesis. For those of you who can handle Japanese without a problem, though, the game releases in the Far East on June 19th.[Via Ruliweb]
We've warmed up quickly to Spectral Force
Another Japanese SRPG is making its way to the DS, known as Spectral Force: Genesis. If you haven't heard of the Spectral Force series, it's probably because the games usually don't get released outside of Japan. With the exception of Innocent Rage, an Xbox 360 game that's being brought to North America by Atlus, most Spectral Force titles don't get localized. There is hope for Genesis, though; since it's coming out for the Nintendo DS, aka "the system that a lot of people own with a lot of niche titles," it's not impossible. We're pulling for it, at least. Yes, we say that about almost every game released in Japan, but we really mean it! If you read this far, you're probably wondering right about now why we're so intrigued by this Idea Factory game.
New PSone games hit Japanese PlayStation Store
Sony has made a new batch of six PSone games available for download (and subsequent PSP play) from the PS3's Japanese PlayStation Store. As usual, all titles are priced at ¥525 (US$4.30). Two of the games released yesterday have already been available in North America for some time -- namely, Crash Bandicoot and Rally Cross -- but the remaining four titles are exclusive to Japan. They are: A.I.V. Evolution Global (city railway management from Artdink) Logic Mahjong (a mahjong game by Nippon Ichi) Spectral Force (the first game in Idea Factory's strategy RPG series) Vampire: Legend of the Bloodsuckers (an isometric action-RPG by Artdink)
New PSone games available for Japan
Six new PlayStation One games are available for Japanese PS3 owners. They include:
