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Styluses at the ready, Etrian Mystery Dungeon hits in April
Atlus crossover Etrian Mystery Dungeon welcomes map-makers and roguelike-ramblers on April 7. as shown in yesterday's news-stuffed Nintendo Direct. It's $40 for the pleasure of more chartwork, and Atlus is chucking in a free soundtrack with pre-orders and a "limited first-run printing." The new due date applies to North America's retail shelves and eShop, and there's no word yet on a European release. To see how Etrian Mystery Dungeon fuses its franchises, check out the latest trailer below the break. The 3DS game draws character classes and skill trees from the Etrian Odyssey series, while the randomly-generated dungeons and the top-down monster-mashing have a distinct Mystery Dungeon flavor. It's still an Etrian game, however, so you can expect to scribble out some maps on the 3DS' bottom screen.
Danganronpa Unlimited Battle brings tap-heavy havoc to iOS
The latest game to join the violently dysfunctional Danganronpa family is Unlimited Battle, a co-op action affair coming to iOS next month in Japan. As Gematsu reports, it's a free-to-play game starring the protagonists of visual novel Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and in it players slingshot the chibi cast across the screen to attack enemies. Unlike other Danganronpas, Unlimited Battle supports four-player co-op as well as single-player. If you're aware of Trigger Happy Havoc's story of entrapment and murder mystery, you may share our confusion as to how Unlimited Battle fits within the series' narrative. Then again, maybe that's misplaced worry. After all, we are talking about games starring a sociopathic robotic bear who masquerades as the principal of a high school...
The best game about depression stars a homicidal toy bear
Whether it's because you can't afford to give the gifts that society says mark you as a good person, or because you're missing someone who used to be at your celebrations, or even just because it's cold and dark, depression can hit particularly hard during the holidays. One of the biggest problems with depression is trying to explain it to people who've only ever experienced the transitory kind that everyone faces at some point in their lives - the kind that hits after a breakup or a loss. They tend to think that depression means you're sad and just need a good cheering up. If you're suffering this holiday season, rather than suffer through another round of suggestions that you "shake it off," consider handing your well-intentioned friends a Vita and copies of Danganronpa:Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa: Goodbye Despair and let Monokuma explain how depression really feels. I'm as surprised as you are that a game starring a homicidal mechanical bear would be a good instructor on the nuances of mental health, and I rather doubt it's what the developers had in mind, but Danganronpa does a surprisingly elegant job of conveying what it can be like to live with depression. In case you're not familiar with the games, they involve a group of exceptional students who are kidnapped, have their memories erased, and are forced to kill each other if they ever want to return home. Admittedly, it's a situation that just about anyone would find depressing - murder someone or never see your loved ones ever again - but the most important part is the villain of the games, known as the Ultimate Despair. Every one of the students is the Ultimate Something-or-other - baseball player, programmer, swimmer, traditional dancer - but the villain's speciality is making people feel despair on such a deep level that they lose all hope. In that state, they become part of the Ultimate Despair's terrorist network because, really, why not? When you don't see the point in anything, does it really matter if you destroy entire cities or kill yourself? Nothing's ever going to get better anyway. It's an extreme depiction that serves the over-the-top nature of the game, but it's a pretty apt description of what it's like to live with depression.
Fan-made Persoronpa Q mash-up looks beary interesting
This fan-made recreation of the Persona Q opening with Danganronpa characters is a little old and it's also quite spoiler-ish, but we figured it's still worth highlighting because, well, it's fantastic. Also, since it's apparently open season on crossovers in Japan, maybe it will nudge Atlus and Spike Chunsoft in the right direction, hmm?
Etrian Odyssey's next crossover maps out Mystery Dungeon
Just as Persona Q hits the West, Atlus revealed that another Etrian Odyssey crossover is speeding rather than crawling its way onto 3DS. Etrian Odyssey and the Mystery Dungeon sees the map-making dungeon crawler series mix it up with Spike Chunsoft's long-running roguelike, best known in the West for the recent Pokemon spinoffs. The portable mash-up will be in Japanese hands in just a few months' time, starting March 5, 2015 to be specific. As Tiny Cartridge notes, the last time Mystery Dungeon broke out of its Pokeball was some six years ago, when Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon trotted onto Wii. As per the recently-unveiled Etrian Odyssey 5, details are scant at the moment beyond a new trailer, which you can check out below the break. That includes word of a Western release, but both series have traditionally found their way abroad in recent years. Plus, there's some English text right at the end of the video: "Dungeon RPG is forever. This is the new origin."
Danganronpa 2 trailer is 219 seconds of madness
A new trailer for Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair claims to offer a "simple explanation" of the class trial. And it's true, we can't say it doesn't explain the game's Survivor-like twist on its Ace Attorney-esque gameplay. That said, it's also utterly bonkers. Suffice to say, here's a warning if you don't like talking rabbits getting thumped by talking bears, or NSFW content (Teruteru, man, what's up with you?) Anyway, Spike Chunsoft's Vita game hits North America on September 2 and Europe three days later. If you'd prefer something a bit lighter, below the break there's another NIS America trailer for Vita platformer The Firefly Diary, which is due on PSN this fall.
Goodbye despair, hello class of Danganronpa 2
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair arrives hot on the blood-soaked heels of the original, and the Vita game is locked in for North America on September 2 and Europe three days later. Pre-orders for the limited edition are now open stateside, with the $60 box chucking in a soundtrack, art book, sunglasses and other Dangdan-doodads. Like the first entry released in February, Danganronpa 2 pits you and your classmates in a twisted game orchestrated by a ever-so-slightly unstable bear called Monokuma. The Danganronpa series adds a Ace Attorney-like trial system to Spike Chunsoft's murderous formula, albeit one that's just as chaotic in its own way. Danganronpa 2 takes the series away from Hope's Peak Academy to Jabberwock Island, an exotic former tourist resort and the new home of a school trip gone wrong. Maybe the first mistake was inviting Monokuma along, even if he did bring a ukulele. [Image: NIS America]
Rumor: Attack on Titan 3DS game may come to North America
Japanese developer Spike Chunsoft is pursuing a North American release for its Nintendo 3DS adaptation of the popular manga series Attack on Titan, Siliconera reports. According to an unnamed employee with the company, Spike Chunsoft currently seeks a partner company to publish the game stateside. Previously, Spike Chunsoft partnered with publisher Aksys to produce English localizations of the Nintendo DS adventure game Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and its multiplatform sequel Virtue's Last Reward. Spike Chunsoft's Attack on Titan game (titled Shingeki no Kyoujin: Jinrui Saigo no Tsubasa) launched in Japan in December, selling almost 100,000 copies in its debut week, according to Siliconera. [Image: Spike Chunsoft]
Europe gets due dates for Conception 2, demo out now
Europe, we've got some news to share with you. Please, sit down. In two weeks' time you're going to be a father! Yes, to an army of battle-ready babies when RPG Conception 2 hits digital storefronts on May 14 for 3DS, and May 15 for Vita. We know it's a shock, but there's a demo available now for you to try out, so you can get a feel for our new lives as parents. Don't fret, your progress transfers to the full game, and you get some bonuses if you do that. So that's good, isn't it? Europe, why are you sweating so much? Look, we'll get you some water, and for now why don't you just read this review? According to Joystiq's Susan Arendt, "the look and feel of Conception 2 encourages you to explore this world and its strange blend of magic and science, but what you discover along the way isn't satisfying enough to be worth the effort. Pursuing relationships with your classmates, forming more and more powerful teams of star children and the attractive art style will be enough to keep some players happily moving forward, but overall Conception 2 fails to deliver on its few intriguing ideas." [Image: Atlus]
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Conception 2 coming to Europe in May
European role-playing game fans will be able to enjoy Spike Chunsoft's Conception 2 in May, publisher Atlus has revealed. Though Atlus has yet to solidify dates, an email blast revealed both a demo for the game and the official release will come to the region next month. "If you pick up the game, but haven't played through the demo, you may want to give it a shot! Your save data transfers over, and you'll get a set of free goodies," the promotional email noted. For the first month of release players can download the Disciple Weapon Pack DLC for free, which offers five weapons for players to distribute within their game's party. Additional quests will be released as free DLC in May, Atlus says, with more content rolling out each week. Conception 2: Children of the Seven Stars launched in North America yesterday for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita. The Joystiq review said of the game, "none of its elements manage to rise above a general feeling of mediocrity." [Image: Atlus]
Conception 2: Children of the Seven Stars review: If you love a baby, set it free
A game doesn't need to be perfect in order for you to keep playing it, so long as there's some kind of tradeoff that provides something good in exchange for the bad. Maybe the voice acting is iffy, but you can deal because the combat is fast-paced and exhilarating. Perhaps the level design is pedestrian, but the story is enchanting enough for you to overlook it. In the case of unusual 3DS and Vita turn-based RPG Conception 2: Children of the Seven Stars, that exchange never quite happens. Although it contains some genuinely interesting ideas and even some charming weirdness, overall Conception 2 is disappointing and disjointed. The situation is a familiar one: A select few are given the power to fight an invading evil. In this case, the Star God blesses certain teenagers with his energy so that they might slay the monsters spewing out of dark portals across the land. It's pretty standard gather-your-party-and-sally-forth-into-the-dungeon stuff, reminiscent of series like Pokemon and Shin Megami Tensei, except some of your party is made up of Star Children, which you create by "Classmating" with the other students at the school where you've been sent to hone your combat abilities. As "God's gift," a nickname you're given because the Star God has given you an astonishing amount of power, it's your obligation to Classmate as much as possible to improve humanity's odds for ridding the world of darkness. You're the world's most important pick up artist.
Conception 2 ultrasound reveals giant robots, March 25 demo
Atlus' game about birthing an army of battle-babies, Conception 2: Children of the Seven Stars, may not be due until April 15, but that doesn't mean eager would-be adoptive parents can't get a sneak peek ahead of that date. An ultrasound demo is scheduled to hit Vita and 3DS on March 25. Those who download the demo will be able to transfer their save file to the full version of the game when it releases, while those who complete it will also earn some in-game bonuses. Atlus also released new screenshots for the game, showing off the game's giant robots. Because of course there are giant robots. [Image: Atlus]
Dead teens and a fiendish bear highlight Danganronpa launch trailer
Like the unholy offspring of Capcom's Ace Attorney series and Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale, newly-released Vita murder mystery Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc pits teens against one another in a supernatural trial that is legitimately of life and death importance. [Image: NIS America]
Atlus bringing Conception 2 to Europe as a digital-only release
European RPG fans looking forward to birthing an army of children will have to turn to digital means to do so - Conception 2: Children of the Seven Stars will reach Europe in Q2 of 2014 only on the Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Network, publisher Atlus announced in a press release this week. Conception 2, the series' Western debut, will follow a young man capable of fighting demons that come from the Pandora Labyrinth. Vanquishing monsters will involve making "star children," and since teenagers can't reproduce by budding, players will need to befriend the heroines of Conception 2. It appears each star child's aptitude in battle will also be affected by their mother's weapon of choice. Unfortunately, this means European fans won't be able to get in on the music CD included with the first run of Conception 2's physical copies. Still, digital-only is a better option than importing, as is the only choice for Rune Factory 4. [Image: Atlus]
Atlus' creepy ultrasound site spawns Conception 2 unveiling
Last week we reported on an eerie ultrasound website Atlus had created seemingly as a teaser for a new game. Appropriately, that teaser has given birth to the announcement of Conception 2: Children of the Stars. Developed by Spike Chunsoft, Conception 2 marks the series' first English-language entry. It stars a young man gifted (or cursed?) by the special ability to fight the monsters currently plaguing his world. This makes him a Disciple, and these Disciples are highly in demand as the source of these monsters, the Pandora Labyrinth, has begun churning beasties out at an alarming rate. Luckily, the Labyrinth isn't the only element of the game prone to procreation. Disciples fight these monsters by creating "star children," and just in case the game's title didn't give away the glaring subtext, the process of creating your squad of combatants "brings a new meaning to the phrase 'after-school activities,'" as Atlus puts it. Atlus will publish Conception 2: Children of the Stars on both the 3DS and Vita handhelds in "spring 2014." Each version will be priced at $40. Further information can be found on the game's official website and a litter of screenshots can be found below.
999 unlocked on iOS in Japan minus puzzles, English version set for autumn
Spike Chunsoft released 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors on iOS this week, and the room escape thriller is fleeing onto iPads and iPhones in Japan. However, it's not a complete port of the DS game which came to North America in 2010. Spike Chunsoft chose to remove the puzzle gameplay on iOS, placing the focus on the story as a visual novel. In the puzzles' stead, the iOS version offers a comic book-style presentation (see below) and a new flowchart, similar to the one in sequel Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, that lets you jump to different points within the plot. While the iOS version is currently Japan-only, 999 lead writer and director Kotaro Uchikoshi said on Twitter that he thinks an English version "will also be released by autumn." There's no official word from Spike Chunsoft as yet, but given how both 999 and Virtue's Last Reward made their way west, a successful breakout across the ocean looks promising. %Gallery-189656%
