Bravely Second: End Layer
The official North American website for Bravely Second: End Layer is now live and you can access it here.
Nintendo has also released a new trailer and commercial for the game, and you can watch them below:
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3
Square Enix has made available another commercial for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3, which launched in Japan last week. You can watch below, followed by some gameplay footage from Denjin Getcha’s most recent episode.
With the recent release of the game in Japan, Famitsu also sat down with Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 producer Taichi Inuzuka for an interview. In it, Inuzuka talks about how the game came to be, theme and elements the team used, challenges in implementing new mechanics and ideas, among other interesting topics.
Nintendo Everything summed up the main points of the interview, so check out their summary over here.
Monster Hunter Stories
Capcom held Monster Hunter Festa 2016, a convention focusing on Monster Hunter, earlier this year in January. The company has now released some direct feed footage from the games they showcased there, including the upcoming 3DS game Monster Hunter Stories, which is to be released in Japan later this year. You can find the 15 minutes of footage below:
Mega Man
The latest episode of Nintendo Minute was dedicated to the history of the Mega Man franchise, with Kit and Krysta talking to Tim Turi from Capcom and Frank Cifaldi from Digital Eclipse while playing some Mega Man Legacy Collection. Check it out below:
Speaking of Mega Man Legacy Collection, Capcom included a link to a survey in the Japanese version of the game, where two questions in particular stand out a bit.
At one point in the survey, Capcom asks consumers if “you would like to play a new entry in the classic series (like Mega Man 11)”. A third section pertains to possible future collections, and asks which past series (X, Zero, Legends, Battle Network, ZX, Star Force) fans would like to see in a package.
I think it will be interesting too see if something will materialize out of this survey’s results.
On another note, Inside-Games recently talked with some staff who worked on Mega Man Battle Network in celebration of the series’ 15th anniversary. During said interview, Masakazu Eguchi, Kouetsu Matsuda, and Hayato Kaji recall how the project surprisingly started out as a horror game.
Here’s the excerpt in question, as translated by Mega Man Battle Network 3D:
Now that you mention it— It was a launch title, wasn’t it? Even though EXE was of the first generation (of GBA titles), it already gave an impression of perfection.
Eguchi: Actually, the team’s first game was a horror game.
Oh? What do you mean?
Eguchi: It started with, “what should we make for the GBA?” It had us making a game that links to your heartbeat with a wearable device. The theme was “having fun while your heart pounds”-horror game.
Matsuda: I went to Expoland’s haunted house for research.
Kaji: You remember it quite well, huh? (laughs)
Eguchi: Thinking that now… how did that become EXE? (laughs) I wonder…?
Kaji: Certainly, the mechanics became quite difficult to handle.
Matsuda: After that, card games gained popularity around that time. We wanted to reap the trend while upholding Capcom’s pride.
Ace Attorney 6
Last week, I posted the Ace Attorney 6 anime prologue, but since is was in Japanese and the english translation was automatic, it might not have been of great help. That said, MegamanNG has made the video available with English subtitles, so check it out below:
Resident Evil 20th Anniversary
Capcom is currently celebrating Resident Evil’s 20th anniversary with an eShop sale.
On 3DS, Resident Evil: Revelations and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries are down to $4.99 each. Both games normally go for $19.99. Revelations has also been brought down to $9.99 from $39.99 on the Wii U. These deals are valid until March 29.
There’s also an official interview with producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, which you can watch below:
Dragon Ball: Fusions
ShonenGames has managed to translate the full scan of Dragon Ball: Project Fusion from this month’s issue of V Jump. The game now has a new, final name. It’ll be called “Dragon Ball: Fusions” from now onwards.
We had already covered three of the possible fusions before: Pillin/Pirilin (Piccolo x Krillin), Gollin/Gorilin (kid Goku × Krilin), and Krigohan (Krillin x kid Gohan). Also, characters who fuse without the wristband, which doesn’t involve EX fusion, will gain the same fusion costume that can be seen on Pillin.
Players will be able to make their own character in Dragon Ball: Fusions. It will be possible to choose between Human, Saiyan, Alien, Spirit Worldian, and Namekian races.
Finally, as far as the story is concerned, the player and Pinich make a wish to Shenron/Shenlong to create the strongest Budokai in the universe. In turn, the world of Dragon Ball is fused together to participate in the Jikuuichi Budokai.
You can find the translated scan below for a round up of the details mentioned above:
My Hero Academia: Battle for All
Bandai Namco has shared a new batch of screenshots from My Hero Academia: Battle for All. Check them out in the gallery below:
7th Dragon III Code: VFD
Last week, SEGA revealed on Twitter that players will able to acquire 7th Dragon III Code: VFD starting July 12 in North America.
The company also shared a new timelines trailer for the game. In 7th Dragon III, the protagonist and his/her team will need to utilize time travel technology in order to rid the earth of the diabolical dragon menace.
You can find the trailer and the different timelines and areas players will venture through below, coming straight from SEGA:
– Present-day Tokyo – The year 2100 in Tokyo is your first stop in the game. The city is an urban jungle filled with hazardous areas like the subway line and landmark giant tower. However, if you need to take a breather from hunting dragons, Nodens Enterprises HQ is located here.
– Ancient Atlantis – So naturally, you’ll depart Tokyo and step back in time to the mythical ocean kingdom of Atlantis. Be warned, the capital city of Atlantica, royal palace, and Cladeon lower wards are rife with danger. Oh, but the blacksmiths of Atlantis are renowned for forging great weapons, so definitely worth a visit.
– Futuristic Eden – The futuristic collection of states known as Eden will be the last time and place you’ll explore. You can visit the Kazan Republic, the ruins of Preloma, or brave the mysteries of the sealed tower. However, it would be wise to remain vigilant as dragons and enemies haunt your every step. The future is definitely bleak, so don’t be surprised if some people from that time period are sympathetic to your cause.
Etrian Odyssey V
Atlus recently released a new batch of details and screenshots related to Etrian Odyssey V.
Thanks to Gematsu’s translation, you can find a roundup of the details below, pertaining to the story, races, classes, character creation, and other gameplay mechanics.
Story
– Arcadia, the setting of the game, is a land dominated by swords and magic.
– A huge tree from ancient times called “Yggdrasil” exists here and is to be the reason that peace visits the world.
– There is a legend about that World Tree that says that if you can manage to reach its untrodden summit, your dreams will come true.
– “The power to dominate the world.”, “The most powerful.”, “The world’s mysteries.”, “Expensive treasures.”
– Each of the 4 races has a different legend, but no person has been able to confirm them.
– From the city “Aeolis” at the bottom of Yggdrasil, official orders are issued.
– In pursuit of the legend, courageous adventurers who will challenge Yggdrasil gather in Aeolis.
– Players take on the role of one of the adventurers in response to the official orders, and challenge the labyrinths while aiming for the top of the World Tree.
Form a Party from Four Races and 10 Classes
– Form your own party from four, newly prepared races and 10 classes.
– Classes are different per tribe, so you must consider party balance.
– You can pick your favorite character illustrations.
Races
– Earthrun (Human-like): Arcadia’s most prosperous race. It has four possible classes.
– Lunaria (Elf-like): A tall and lean race that strives in the study of magic. It has two possible classes that excel in magic.
– Therian (Kemonomimi-like): A short and friendly race that loves nature. It has two possible classes that focused on the power of nature and pharmaceutics.
– Bronie (Dwarf/Gnome-like): A warrior race said to draw the blood of beasts. It has two possible classes that focus on power and agility.
New Skill: Race Skill
– There are Race Skills tied to each race, in addition to “Character Skills” for each class.
– By training both skill types, you can enjoy even deeper character development.
Classes
– Fencer (Earthrun): A class that wields a sharp sword.
– Dragoon (Earthrun): A class that boasts a dragon-like hard defense.
– Cestus (Earthrun): A class that cuts through the fight with its well-trained fist.
– Reaper (Earthrun): A class that harvests opponents with its death-inducing sickle.
– Necromancer (Lunaria): A summoner class that controls spirits.
– Warlock (Lunaria): A sage class skilled in attribute-based attacks.
– Masurao (Therian): A warrior class that wields four swords.
– Hound (Therian): A hunter class that commands a falcon and hunting dog.
– Herbalist (Bronie): A healing master class that uses medicinal plants.
– Shaman (Bronie): A class that supports its comrades with a mysterious power
Aim for the the top of the World Tree!
– The player’s goal is to get to the unexplored summit of the World Tree.
– The inside of the World Tree is a complicated labyrinth, and its shape changes based on whether it’s day or night.
– The monsters that appear also change, so you should pay attention to the passage of time during your exploration.
The Flow of Exploration
– Party can be made of 10 unique classes.
– Take on the tricky labyrinth by drawing a map with the stylus while exploring, and move forward using that map as a guide.
Character creation
– Customize the class, name, and outward appearance for a max of five party members.
– In addition to each of the four different appearance options for the 10 classes, you can also customize hair color, eye color, skin color, and voice (or set it to no voice).
– Hair color: 12 basic colors, freely customize via RGB.
– Skin color: 12 basic colors.
– Eye color: 12 basic colors, or freely customize each eye via RGB.
– Voices: 40 voices, or no voice.
– Since you can check skills during character creation, you can consider your party’s balance in addition to your character’s appearance.
– Character creation has the highest degree of freedom in series history.
– The 40 voices are each tied to a number. You can select one to hear a sample voice before choosing and confirming.
– Voice actors include: Shouta Aoi, Satomi Arai, Akira Ishida, Toru Okawa, Ayaka Ohashi, Yoshihisa Kawahara, Misaki Kuno, Mitsuki Saiga, Takuya Satou, Asami Seto, Atsuko Tanaka, Kosuke Toriumi, Joji Nakata, Kaori Nazuka, Natsuki Hanae, Saori Hayami, Megumi Han, Yoko Hikasa, Rina Hidaka, Yui Horie, Ayumu Murase, and Tsubasa Yonaga.
Maps
– Players will advance the spacious, complicated labyrinths, where a number of gimmicks are set, then draw up a labyrinth map with the stylus to create their own labyrinth capture map.
– If you’d rather not draw your own map, you can turn auto-mapping “On”.
Gameplay
– You can get different materials in the labyrinth.
– In addition to mining and gathering spots, there are new fishing spots.
– “Mini-Events” are events triggered in dungeons that each come with their own title and summary.
– In dungeons, there is a place where you can make a fire, and bake and eat the food you’ve obtained.
– Monsters not seen in previous games will stand before you in Etrian Odyssey V.
Field On Enemey (F.O.E.)
– There are many monsters that wander around the labyrinth and plague adventurers.
– You can battle them if you want, but you can also avoid battles by using the Field on Enemy’s movements and habits.
Finally, here’s a gallery with all the new screenshots and artwork:
Story of Seasons: Cherished Friends of Three Towns
Marvelous has released a new introduction trailer for Story of Seasons: Cherished Friends of Three Towns. You can watch it below:
Yo-kai Sangokushi
A trio of commercials and some gameplay footage by CoroCoro for Level-5 and Koei Tecmo’s collaboration title Yo-Kai Sangokushi have been released. Take a look at the videos below:
Zero Time Dilemma
Siliconera recently got a chance to interview Zero Time Dilemma producer and director Kotaro Uchikoshi.
During the interview, he talked about various interesting topics, such as the characters, connections to the other games in the series, the philosophy behind the series, how this game is a more violent experience, and more.
Give it a read over here, if you are a fan of the series.
-CHASE- Unsolved Cases Investigation Division
Arc System Works has released the opening movie for -CHASE- Unsolved Cases Investigation Division, its upcoming Japanese 3DS eShop game. You can find it below:
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
Developer Inti Creates recently announced that the 3DS version of Azure Striker Gunvolt has surpassed 150,000 downloads worldwide, which likely stems from the game’s recent sale. A celebratory piece of artwork was shared, which you can find below:
Meanwhile, if you weren’t very pleased with Azure Striker Gunvolt’s English translation, you may be happy to learn that 8-4, who did the localization of the first game and is also in charge of the sequel, is handling things a bit differently this second time around.
Inti Creates president Takuya Aizu told Skybane the following regarding Azure Striker Gunvolt 2’s translation:
“We are working with 8-4 again on the translation, but as you may know, we got a lot of feedback from the first game in regards to what people thought of its English translation. The team at 8-4 is very much aware of that feedback, so the translation for Gunvolt 2 may vary a little bit from what you saw with the first game. We have the utmost faith in 8-4’s abilities, and have no doubts in our minds that they will produce a fabulous translation.”
Aizu also confirmed that Japanese voices will be included in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2. Furthermore, Inti Creates is still planning on bringing the first game’s Steam update to 3DS which adds Japanese voices and a re-translation.
Another look at some Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 concept art was also shown, giving us a glance at Gunvolt’s new design.
Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus
Aksys Games has announced that Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus is now confirmed to launch in Europe on April 7. The company previously announced a March 31 release date for North America.
Here’s the relevant tweet:
@aksysgames @SakuraHime82 Chronicles of Teddy is out on 3/29 digitally on PS4 (NA & EU) Digitally on Wii U is (3/31 for NA) (4/7 for EU)
— Aksys Games (@aksysgames) 22 March 2016
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Warner Bros. recently published the first LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens gameplay trailer. Check it out below:
Disney Art Academy
Nintendo has started its promotional efforts for Disney Art Academy in Japan with a commercial for the game. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/tjeKR8YZk-Q
The software is also now up for pre-load in Japan. To download the game, players will need 2,589 blocks of free space, or 323MB, on their 3DS.
Virtual Console Trailers
Below you can find the official trailer for the Virtual Console version of Cho Aniki, a game by extreme for PC Engine.