mana-khemia
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Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy coming to PS2 this Fall
The PS2 keeps on chugging along. NIS America has announced yet another RPG for the PlayStation 2: Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy. Once again, players will play through a Harry Potter-esque adventure through a magic school. This time around, players take control of two different characters, each with their own stories. Razeluxe is your typical emo hero, disinterested in the art of alchemy. Ulrika is an over-enthusiastic girl that'll most likely work her magic on said emo hero. Get it? Work her magic. Never mind.Item creation is, once again, at the core of Mana Khemia's battle system. Players will have to search the world for ingredients to create over 1000 different items. Fall of Alchemy will be available on PS2 this Fall.%Gallery-63018%
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Mana Khemia: Student Alliance delayed until Spring 2009
Those looking to play NIS America's upcoming RPG game for PSP, Mana Khemia, will have to wait a bit longer. Originally planned for a January release, the publisher has said it will be making "further improvements to increase the final quality of the game." The added development time will end some time next month.Mana Khemia is the fourth game in the Atelier Iris series. It has you joining an academy, going on quests trying to unlock the mysteries of alchemy. New screenshots in our gallery:%Gallery-42806%
Mana-Khemia set for release in January
Mana-Khemia: Student Alliance is a port of the PS2 game released earlier this year, but there are so many differences between the two. The PSP version substitutes regular multiplayer with adhoc multiplayer, and it also includes a "Jump Start" install feature on your memory stick for quicker load times. Couple that with new bosses and a widescreen presentation, the PSP version sounds worlds better than its PS2 counterpart. It sounds like if you waited for the PSP version, you've gotten the better end of the deal. That deal comes to fruition in two months time, January 2009. In the meantime, check out that box art above.[via press release]
Mana-Khemia promo trailer reveals classic JRPG action
Coming in October, NIS America's upcoming release of Mana-Khemia looks to bring some very standard JRPG fare to the PSP. It's been a while since a traditional RPG has arrived on PSP, especially so shortly after a Japanese release. We're keeping an eye out on this one, if only because there are so few games to actually look out for in the immediate future.[Via PSPHyper]
Characters galore appear in this Cross Edge trailer
It's time to get your translating hats on, everyone. A Japanese trailer for Cross Edge has hit the airwaves and we have no idea what it's saying. We see a ton of cast members, from Darkstalkers, Disgaea, the Atelier series (including Mana Khemia) as well as Ar Tonelico, doling out some voice-acting skills and massive damage. We're not quite sure what the game is about or how all these characters end up fighting alongside the main characters of the game, but the battles seem frenetic and entertaining. We're itching to see more because 2D is far from dead. [Via Siliconera]
Yep, Mana Khemia is making its way to PSP's outside of Japan
Even though it saw release on the PlayStation 2 a few months ago, NIS America has confirmed the rumors that Mana Khemia is making its way onto PSP's in the US. This enhanced port will feature the core game, plus some new multiplayer support options. You can also choose to install portions of the game onto a memory stick to reduce load times. This enhanced port will make its appearance this September.[Via PSPHyper]
First Mana Khemia Portable screens
So a couple days ago we heard about Mana Khemia getting ported to the PSP. Today, take a look at some screenshots from the game courtesy of Jeux France. Judging from the screens, Mana Khemia looks like it's getting that nice widescreen presentation the PSP is so well known for. Couple that with the new bosses and a co-op multi-player mode, and then perhaps picking up the soon-to-release PS2 version might not sound so great. Then again, waiting for an English PSP version is going to be quite gamble. Let's see, option one: get the game at the end of the month for PS2, or option two: wait for an English PSP version that might never exist. Hmm, it seems we've reached an impasse.
Mana Khemia gets PSP port
It looks like PS2 RPG Mana Khemia is getting ported to the PSP after all. Following speculation based off a retail listing at Play-Asia, PSP Hyper suspected that the title would be heading to the portable system. Today, a scan from this week's Famitsu (pictured above) pretty much confirms those suspicions to be correct.According to Jeux-France, the port will have additional content such as new bosses and an all new co-op mode for two players. The title is slated for a Japanese release sometime in Q3 2008. While a North American announcement will be far off at best, NA gamers can get a taste of Mana Khemia on the PS2 once it hits retail shelves on March 31.
Joystiq interview: NIS America talks PS2 love, Mana Khemia details
With most of civilization abandoning the workplace in order to converge on local shopping malls for those last-minute gift ideas, the gaming world seems to have all but shut down. However, in between trips to Kohl's and Barnes & Noble we did manage to grapple with NIS America's marketing dynamic duo, namely Jack Niida and Nao Zook. While they kept eying the exit behind us, we asked them a number of questions, including the publisher's opinion on the aging PlayStation 2, as well as some specifics on NIS America's latest PS2 RPG, Mana Khemia ~Alchemists of Al-Revis~, which they both go into after the jump.
NIS confirms Atelier Iris 'spiritual sequel' for PS2
NIS America threw us a curve ball last month when it announced its intentions to make a name for itself as a gentler, more casual publisher, a stark contrast to the studio's decidedly niche role-playing roots. Thankfully, like a distant relative returning home for the holidays, the company has not forgotten where it comes from, as NIS has announced plans to bring yet another Japanese-style RPG to the PS2 early next year with Mana Khemia ~Alchemists of Al-Revis~. Set for release on March 18, NIS describes the game as a "spiritual sequel" to the Gust-developed Atelier Iris series of strategy RPGs -- something of an unknown quantity here in the US despite it having garnered a considerable following in Japan since the late-90s. NIS also calls Mana Khemia a "campus sim style RPG" in which players play as both teachers and students in order to complete "academic quests." Reading this, we can't help but be reminded of last June's GrimGrimoire, also published by NIS and one of the best titles this year that nobody played, though honestly we're just thrilled knowing that we'll still having something new to look forward to playing on the never-say-die console well into the first quarter of 2008.
