All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2 Trailer

Here's the first trailer for the upcoming All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2 for the PSP and Nintendo DS from Bandai Namco Games.

Following last year's All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation, Rider Generation 2 kicks off with more playable Riders added such as Kamen Rider New Den-O, Skull, Accel Trial, Kaixa, Garren, G3-X, Gatack, Meteor, OOO Putotyra and Fourze's Fire, Elek, Magnet and Cosmic States. We'll also get to fight new bosses such as Kamen Rider Eternal, King Dark, the Hopper Brothers, Kamen Rider Ouja, King Dark and Kamen Rider Core.

All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2 will be released on August 2 for Nintendo DS and PSP.

Buy All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2 (Nintendo DS) at Play-Asia.com
Buy All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2 (Sony PSP) at Play-Asia.com

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Final Fantasy III (PSP) Trailer

Final Fantasy III will be having its port for the PSP (This is one of my favorite FF games... and I no longer have my DS so... yay!). Originally released for the NES back in 1990 and after previously being remade for the Nintendo DS in 2006 and for iOS recently, this will be the first time Final Fantasy III will be ported to a Sony system.

Final Fantasy III will be available for 3,800 yen ($48) in stores or 3,300 yen ($41) as a PSN download on September 20. This port will have enhanced graphics, an option to play with the original NES music, and an auto battle mode, which would make leveling up jobs easier. It will also include a bestiary and other in-game data libraries.

Here's a few screenshots...

Source: Siliconera

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Persona 3: Film Adaptation Confirmed

It was confirmed that Persona 4 the Animation -The Factor of Hope- ends with a footage wherein the protagonist of Persona 3 will be seen pointing an Evoker (device used to summon a Persona in P3 which resembles a gun) up to his head, firing it then saying that the production of a theatrical film version of Persona 3 has been green-lit.

The announcement did not explicitly say that the Persona 3 film will be an anime, although the Persona 3 protagonist in the footage was animated.

Buy Persona 3 Portable (PSP the Best) (Sony PSP) at Play-Asia.com
Buy Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2) at Play-Asia.com

Source: Hachima-Kiko (Japanese) via Anime News Network

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Persona 2: Innocent Sin Playtest

Being a Shin Megami Tensei enthusiast myself, when this month came in I've always looked forward to playing this game. Not only that it's directly connected to the first game but this is also it's first time to be released in English.

Yes, It's the new Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 - Innocent Sin. It's a remake of Persona 2: Innocent Sin, originally released for the PlayStation in 1999 and the first part of the sequel to Shin Megami Tensei: Persona.

The story begins with Tatsuya Suou and Lisa Silverman from the Seven Sisters High along with Eikichi Mishina from the Kasugayama High, the three of them getting involved in summoning the Joker. It is rumored that if you perform the "Joker Charm" by dialing your own cell phone number, Joker will appear and grant any wish. Lisa and three of Eikichi’s subordinates call themselves, but the Joker wasn’t as friendly as they hoped. He wipes the ideals from Eikichi’s henchmen leaving only shadows behind. The Joker also has a strange connection to Lisa, Tatsuya, and Eikichi. He happened to know and hate them. Philemon gives out the power to summon Personas to Tatsuya and Lisa (yep, the masked guy from Persona 1, remember him?). The group, then, ran off to Seven Sisters High where the school’s emblem is rumored to be cursed...
 

Innocent Sin received major changes, such as new character portraits and cutscenes added, an updated user interface and a new set of BGM's. The battle system is overhauled and based on the one used by the game's sequel, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. In other aspects game's original gameplay system was retained. Lastly, the Sumaru Climax Theatre quests were also added, it features sidestories written by various other authors from Atlus. The stories are quests worth hours of gameplay. Additionally, players can make their own quests.

First thing about the gameplay, it's great that they eliminated the first-person dungeon crawls, like that one in this game's predecessor. The aspect of prowling dungeons or buildings in Persona 2 is presented in a 3D map with an overhead perspective which is cool but the controls, when using the joypad, it's over-responsive! I mean, you move your joypad to the right by just a little bit and your character moves too fast you'll end up missing your destination. You can use the D-pad as an alternative but it's a bit uncomfortable.

Now moving on to the battle system, I think it's also one of this game's weak points. Once you know what spell or weapon to use, you'll keep using that when you face the same monster. This is where the "Auto-Battle" option comes in handy, it hastens up the pace but you'll be stuck seeing the same animations again and again. The battle animations and the Persona summons does get boring over time (based on experience, ugh!) To speed up further battles, the "Skip" option comes in. The skip feature replaces battle animations with flashing enemies and number of damages done.

The gameplay complaints aside, Innocent Sin still has it's strong point and that is it's story. It takes place three years where Persona 1 took off. If you have played the previous game, you will immediately see the connections unlike the latter sequels. The unique line-up of characters is just great, it makes the game a different take on 90's Japan and just like any Megami Tensei game, as you progress on the story, you could get, somewhat, pulled in the game's universe. Reaching the end of it really takes a lot of effort.

So there you have it. Innocent Sin will show you the missing link of evolution between Persona 1 and 3. It's strongest point is it's story. Most people may find it boring but it's up to you to decide if you want to check out what the "Lost Persona game" is about.

I'm still checking the game out myself, just curious on how the story goes...

Buy Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 Innocent Sin (Sony PSP) at Play-Asia.com

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New Suikoden Game Announced For PSP

Konami have announced a new Suikoden game for the PSP. It will be titled Suikoden: The Woven Web of  a Century and by the looks of it, it won't be related to the main series. A spin off to the Suikoden series like Suikoden Tierkreis for the Nintendo DS.

The announcement was made while Konami discussed Frontier Gate at Tokyo Game Show but there's no release date or price specified yet. A preview site was opened for the upcoming game.

Suikoden is a role-playing game series originally created by Yoshitaka Murayama. The first game was released in 1995 for the PlayStation. The game series is loosely based on the classical Chinese novel, Shui Hu Zhuan by Shi Naian and Luo Guanzhong. Each individual game in the series center around relative themes of politics, corruption, revolution, mystical crystals known as True Runes and the "108 Stars of Destiny" — the 108 protagonists who are loosely interpreted from the source material.

Source: Siliconera

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PlayStation Vita to launch on December 17

The president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, Hiroshi Kawano, confirmed at his company's press conference that the new PlayStation Vita portable system will be launched in Japan on December 17. SCEJ also revealed 26 titles that are planned to be released on the platform's launch date. Titles include: 

• BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend
• Project N.O.E.L.S. (working title)
• Browser Sangokushi Touch Battle (working title)
• Fish On (working title)
• Ultimate Marvel vs. CAPCOM 3
• Shin Sangoku Musou NEXT
• F1 2011
• Army Corps of Hell (Jigoku no Gundan)
• Lord of Apocalypse
• Shinobido 2: Sange
• Power Smash 4
• Uncharted -Chizu Naki Bōken no Hajimari- (Uncharted: Golden Abyss)
• Sawari Ma Cool!
• Minna to Issho -Friend Network-
• Minna no Golf 6 (Everybody's Golf)
• Yūsha no Kiroku (working title)
• Monster Radar
• @field
• Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru: 11-nin-me no Suspect
• Dream Club Zero Portable
• Nico Nico
• Makai Senki Disgaea 3 Return
• Dark Quest: Alliance
• Katamari Damacy no Vita
• Ridge Racer (working title)
• Michael Jackson The Experience HD

Pre-order PSVita (Wi-Fi/3G Model) at Play-Asia.com now.
Pre-order PSVita (Wi-Fi Model) at Play-Asia.com now.

Source: 4Gamer via Anime News Network

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Black Rock Shooter PSP game, North American release

NIS America, the anime and game distributor responsible for such titles as Disgaea and Prinny, acquired the rights for the North American release of the Black Rock Shooter The Game for the Playstation Portable.

For those who are not yet familiar with Black Rock Shooter, it is a 50-minute OVA is based on the song of the same name by Supercell.

The story takes place in 2032 AD after Earth has been assaulted by aliens for 19 years. A battle android named BRS is created solely for the purpose of saving Earth, but she comes to find that only 12 human beings are left on the planet.

By the way, here's a trailer for the game:

Not all anime game titles get an official English release, Thanks to the BRS's popularity, Non-Japanese fans can get to experience and enjoy the game in full. In addition to the game, the OVA has also spawned two manga series.

No release date has been announced yet so we'll just have to stay tuned.

Source: NIS Press Release

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Final Fantasy Type-0 Trailer

A 5-minute long trailer has been released for Square-Enix's upcoming PSP game: Final Fantasy Type-0. The theme song will be titled "Zero" and will be performed by the band BUMP OF CHICKEN.

Final Fantasy Type-0 (originally titled back then as Final Fantasy Agito XIII) will go alongside Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII to make up the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy compilation. It follows the quests of the students of Class Zero from the Suzaku Fiefdom of Rubrum as they organize Operation Apostle, a covert mission to recapture their nation's crystal and to defeat their enemy, the Milites forces. The gameplay will be similar to those of Crisis Core and Final Fantasy X-2.

Final Fantasy Type-0 will be released on October 13 in Japan and will cost 7,700 yen.

Source: Hachima Kiko via Anime News Network

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Legend of Heroes Anime

A trailer for the anime adaptation of Nihon Falcom's best selling PSP Role Playing Game, Eiyū Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki began streaming on their official site last Thursday.

The game was released in October 28, 2006 in Japan and March 29, 2011 in North America under the title Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, Sora no Kiseki follows the adventures of Estelle and Joshua Bright as they join the Bracer's guild of Liberl Kingdom. The story progresses as normal Bracer's guild quests unveiling the dark side of the government, a faction of the army that decides to overthrow the old queen.

Further updates can be checked on their Official Site.

Nihon Falcom will also be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. 

Source: Moon Phase via Anime News Network,

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Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection review

One of the few new PSP games that I grabbed recently. Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection is basically a compilation of enhanced ports of Final Fantasy IV (SNES, PSX, GBA, Nintendo DS) and it's sequel Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (Nintendo Wii, Mobile) plus an additional story which is an Interlude between the two games.

Just a quick summary. Final Fantasy IV follows the quest of a young Dark Knight named Cecil, commander of the Red Wings, which is the airship squadron of the kingdom of Baron. After leading an unprovoked attack to a nearby village followed by the theft of it's crystal, Cecil began to doubt his loyalty to the kingdom and his way of life. Voicing out his concern didn't go well with the king of Baron's apparent new personality disorder. Cecil had his rank stripped off and was sent off to a delivery routine to re-establish his worth for the kingdom.

To prevent further spoilers I'd just say that the mission didn't go well. That started Cecil's quest to atone for his mistakes as a Dark knight and to determine the reason behind Baron's thirst for power and the unusual monster attacks as well.

Interlude is set roughly a year after Final Fantasy IV to bridge the first story with The After Years.

The After Years takes place 17 years after Final Fantasy IV. Cecil survived in the story of the first game, he is now a hero, married to Rosa and now has a son named Ceodore. It starts with Ceodore's test to become a part of the Red Wings like his father. After succeeding in his trial, he and the Red Wings returns triumphantly  to Baron but they were attacked by monsters on their way.

The After Years is divided into 11 Chapters following the stories of each new and returning characters as they solve the mystery of the return of the Second moon and the return of sudden monster attacks.

Overall:

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection was well presented. The gameplay graphics are based on the GBA version, enhanced for the PSP's screen. The FMVs look good just like any other new gen Final Fantasy game. For the audio, You can select the original musical score as you play for a bit of nostalgia or you can select the new arrangements.
The gameplay is the same as the original games. It still implements the Active Time Battle (ATB) system on battles and a top view perspective as you explore places.

For the record, I grabbed this game for The After Years and the Interlude (I have finished Final Fantasy IV on the DS). I was a bit disappointed with the plot of The After Years, some scenes and events just repeat itself and it's not very challenging. Well it's not bad enough to be labelled as Electric Boogaloo so I'm still thankful. I'm happy with how Interlude goes so far.

So for Final Fantasy fans out there, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection would be a sweet addition to your collection. It's always good to have a full saga in one game.

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Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (Revisited)

Title Frame

I know the English version was released like a couple of years back. For some reason, I got drawn into playing this game in full.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, A 2009 PSP remake of the first game in the Persona series which was initially released in 1996 for the PlayStation as Megami Ibunroku Perusona (or Revelations: Persona in the US), respectively. Despite the game receiving (mostly) negative reviews, having redundant dungeon designs and an annoying control scheme in some parts, I decided to give it another chance since I'm also curious of how the story goes in this game since I haven't played the original version.

The Main Character and the gang encounters... her for the first time.

Imagine going through these same passageways for hours.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona centers around the (unnamed) protagonist and his classmates at St. Hermelin High School in Mikage-cho. Hidehiko Uesugi talks all of his friends into playing a game called "Persona", which is played much like the ritual game "Bloody Mary". While playing, the students lose consciousness and meet Philemon, who gives them the ability to summon reflections of their personalities, which are known as Personae.

A short time later, the protagonist and several of his friends go to visit Maki Sonomura, who is ill and bed-ridden. During their visit, they discover that the town is changing and demons are roaming the streets. More unusual events occur in Mikage-cho afterwards...

Battle Screen

Oh, Hi there, Igor.

Okay, as far as gameplay is concerned, The first-person dungeon crawler was good but it gets boring later on because of the repetitive, empty designs. You just walk through passageways with the same walls and ceilings with no one there. The directional movements when inside rooms can also get confusing for first timers. The battle system's fine. It's just your regular, 5-person party turn based battle, common in JRPG's. The 'Auto' function is quite useful when you need to do the same attacks over and over again. It's just the limitations of the attack ranges that somewhat bugs me.

For graphics and audio, well, most of the graphics are the enhanced versions of the PS1 version. The added animated cutscenes were also well made despite the not-so-good voice acting. Shoji Meguro did a good job on the new soundtrack, especially the battle themes. It really heightens up the mood when playing.

Can we get something if we replay after beating the game? Definitely. Just like any other Megami Tensei game, you'll have additional quests in Persona. You can play three additional quests here: first is the Snow Queen Quest, an alternate route that you can take wherein a different story will take place. Second is the The Depths of the Mikage Ruins which can be obtained after beating the main story of the game and third is the Summit of Devil's Peak which can be accessed after successfully finishing the Snow Queen Quest. All in all, it's still 20 or more hours of gameplay, you'll also get stronger Personae and it really is worth checking out if you want to see how everything in the story fit together.

That's the shortest summary that I can say for now. Somehow, Persona is still enjoyable. If you are a fan of classic Shin Megami Tensei games or curious with how Persona's story goes just like me, I'd suggest to try this game out. Otherwise, save your money up for Persona 3 Portable or the upcoming remake of Persona 2: Tsumi

An excerpt of the town map.

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Final Fantasy IV The Complete Collection

As a follow-up for the remakes of Final Fantasy I and II for the PlayStation Portable, comes Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection. (So, Square-Enix really is not doing a Final Fantasy III remake on a console other than Nintendo, huh?)

Final Fantasy IV The Complete Collection is set to be released in March 24, 2011 in Japan and April 19, 2011 in North America and Europe. It will feature two games: Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IV The After Years as one continuous game. It will also feature 2D graphics like those of Final Fantasy I and II for the PSP.Yay! I never really liked how Cecil looked like in the Nintendo DS remake.

Info:
Official Japanese Page
Official Page
Final Fantasy Wiki
Pre-Order Now! (Amazon)

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From Russia With Love 007

"This is the BEST bond game I have ever played, Really"

Overview

Graphics: To start with, The cutscenes, It's like those were the actual footages from the film. The gameplay visuals wont disappoint you as well but there are few glitches.

Gameplay: A little complicated at first. Do missions, kill enemies, infiltrate buildings, use gadgets from Q. Yep, feels like playing as James Bond. Unlike other Bond games which were FPS, in From Russia With Love you can see more action.

Replay: Recommended if you want to play again in a harder difficulty, then gain high points and unlock multiplayer skins.

Audio: Now this is what made the game as good as it is. Nice Background music tracks. James Bond was voiced over by Sir Sean Connery himself, the very first James Bond. Plus, the voice actor who played as 'Q' sounded exactly like the late Desmond Llewelyn.

Story: Based from one of the best James Bond films ever made. OCTOPUS conceives a plan to avenge the death of Dr. Julius No. The plan involves the theft of a Soviet encoding machine known as the Lektor with the help of a defecting Soviet agent, Romanova, being used by OCTOPUS to lure Bond into a trap; their ultimate goal is to let him obtain the Lektor and then ambush and kill him. Romanova is sent by Rosa Klebb, a KGB agent who has secretly defected to OCTOPUS. Her immediate subordinate, Red Grant, protects Bond through the first half of the game and attacks him in the second... (I wont be telling the rest now hehehe)

Overall: Am enjoying it, and there's no disappointments in this game.

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Gundam Battle Universe

"Alright! Gundam!"

Overview

Graphics: Nicely modeled 3D Mobile Suits from the Universal Century era (up to F91). and nicely made character portraits.

Gameplay: Same gameplay as Gundam Seed Rengou Vs. Zaft for the Playstation Portable, Go out in a field, kill your opponents and do some tasks, except, this is better. Gundam Battle Universe is more like a simulation in piloting a Mobile Suit and more on using tactics.

Audio: Good BGM's and Voice-overs. Feels just like watching the anime series.

Replay: Yeah, it is recommended to re play the missions to improve your Mobile Suit and unlock a set of new Mobile Suits and pilots. 2 players can also play Co-Op mode via Ad-Hoc to finish some story missions.

Story: Actually, Gundam Battle Universe is the fourth game of the Gundam Battle Series for the Playstation Portable. The Story covers from UC 79, 83 (Stardust Memory), 87 (Zeta), 88 (ZZ-Double Zeta), 93 (Char's Counter Attack) and a set of bonus missions.

Overall: It's all in Japanese but still, this is a must play for hardcore Gundam fans out there.

*I haven't played these other Gundam Battle Series yet, I wish I get to play 'em all soon.
* 1 Gundam Battle Tactics
* 2 Gundam Battle Royale
* 3 Gundam Battle Chronicle

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CRISIS CORE: Final Fantasy VII

Category:	Video Games
Genre:	Role-Playing
Console:	PlayStation Portable (PSP)

"Another Masterpiece from Square-Enix!"

Overview

Graphics: Awesome game for PSP. Very different from the original Final Fantasy 7 plus Cutscenes similar to those in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

Gameplay: The battle system is difficult to understand at the first time. But you can get used to it easily. (I never use the Dodge and Guard Commands except for boss monsters)

Audio: Nicely composed musical scores and voice overs are some of the elements that made the game awesome. ("The Gift of the Goddess... ... Loveless act 1")

Replay: It takes almost 15 hours to finish the main story. The side quests and missions adds another 10 hours or more.

Story: Shows how Zack Fair, a SOLDIER operative, became First Class, how he met Aerith, how he met Cloud and what really happened before he died. Tifa, Yuffie and Cait Sith also made appearance in the game. Very nostalgic for fans of Final Fantasy 7.

Overall: It's a masterpiece and it's quite enjoyable to play.

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