Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice
This week’s issue of Famitsu has some additional details to share about Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice. The magazine sheds light on the Apollo vs. Phoenix face-off, as well as the DLC episode. The new information is rounded up below, summarizing what Court-Records got out of Famitsu.
When it comes to the Apollo vs. Phoenix’s court battle, a certain piece of evidence causes the two characters to clash. Blackquill is called as a witness in a trial (unknown if these two incidents are one and the same). After finding the spectator’s seats too “boring”, he hops behind the defense’s desk to act as support.
Famitsu also details the DLC episode Turnabout Across Time, which consists of the following:
– Larry introduces Phoenix to his bride-to-be, Shizuku Ootsube, a maid working in the Haguruma household
– Shizuku claims that just after she was married, she was attacked and nearly killed, only to travel back in time at the critical moment
– She now finds herself the suspect instead
– Shizuku also says Larry’s got his head screwed on backwards as usual, since she’s getting married to a man named Raito, the blue-haired mechanic shown in the scans
– Phoenix and Maya meet both Raito and Edgeworth when they head to the scene to investigate, and soon find themselves going up against Edgeworth in court
You can find a new batch of screenshots in the gallery below, reflecting the events mentioned above.
Capcom also published a new commercial for the game, which you can find below:
Monster Hunter Generations
Capcom has posted its second Monster Hunter Generations localization blog, where it touches on the project as whole, and then focuses more on specific monsters like Astalos, Maccao and Great Maccao, and Larinoth. You can read it over here.
Monster Hunter Stories
Capcom TV recently showed an extensive amount of gameplay from Monster Hunter Stories. You can find the recording of the episode below:
https://youtu.be/cnAcy-y8KXM
Siliconera took the opportunity to translate all the new information about the game from this episode of Capcom TV. Below, you can find a roundup of all the details.
World Background, First Ten Minutes, and Character Customization
– Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter share the same world
– The story revolves around people who learned to develop bonds with monsters
– Riders never had reason to venture into the hunter’s world until a growing darkness pushes itself into their village
– The game begins as three friends – Lilia (female rider), Shuval (possible rival), and the protagonist – head to the mysterious woods to search for Wyvern Eggs
– Lilia mocks Shuval for being a scaredy-cat
– The language used is the same as other Monster Hunter games, so Tsujimoto jokes that the voice actors understand the language and they even own a dictionary detailing the Monster Hunter lexicon
– You can customize your character once the group finds an egg
– Lilia mentions that you have to introduce yourself to the soon-to-by Myvern before it hatches
– You can customize your facial expression, mouth, hair, eyes, eye/hair color, skin tone, and voice
– Voice 1 is the voice actor from the game’s accompanying anime
– A baby Rathalos hatches from the egg, and lunges at Shuval, but nuzzles with the main character
– Next you return to the village, and Dan gives you a stern lecture
– Dan is the riders’ overseer
– You go see the village elder, who reconsiders punishment after discovering you’ve made a bond with a Myvern
– The village horn then sounds to signal that a monster is attacking
– A Nargacuga attacks the rider village, crushing Shuval’s home and supposedly killing his mother
– The Rathalos comes to your aid, but it takes a strong hit from Nargacuga’s tail, causing a scar on its left eye, and then it tumbles off the cliff into the darkness below
– Meanwhile, Nargacuga leaves
– A darkness awakens in Shuval as he grips his mother’s treasured mirror and vows to stop this evil
– The world map features a number of villages, including ones situated in snowy mountains (Talju Heights), a desert (Kuba Desert), a volcano range (Twin Peaks), the coast, and a mysterious island called Naobaku Island
Myvern Abilities, Hunting Horn, and Finding/Hatching Eggs
– Another part of the footage shows the snowy mountain area of Talju Heights
– Monster Caves can be found on the overworld and vary in rarity (ex: grey are average, gold are rare)
– Better tether genes and stats vary with rarity
– The player needs certain monsters to reach some of the caves
– For example, Qurupeco can’t swim, so they switch to Lagiacrus to cross a freezing lake
– You can carry six monsters in your party, and switch them at any point by pressing a button on the touch screen
– Each Monster fills a unique niche
– For example, Lagiacrus can swim, but it can also roar to scare small monsters off so you don’t have to fight them in Monster Caves if you’re short on time
– At one point during the gameplay session, they reach a Khezu’s nest
– Each egg has a different pattern on it that should make it easy to see what monster it will be, and you can re-gather eggs as long as the monster is asleep
– They manage to exchange their egg four times, but on the fourth draw, they are too slow and are ultimately caught by Khezu, initiating a battle
– The Hunting Horn uses Power, Speed, and Technique attacks that will earn you a note of that color
– After completing a song, the player will auto-play the buff/de-buff after the final attack, which is sort of like a free hit
– The tether gene system is shown, and it’s like a Bingo Board
– Align three of any color to awaken an ability in a Myvern, or line up three of the same color to make it more powerful and possibly change its appearance (black Zinogre, red Lagombi, etc.)
– Myverns can inherit tether genes when brought to Denji, an old man in the rider village
– You can gain many abilities this way, so they urge players to collect as many Myverns as possible
My House
– The player has a home village like in regular Monster Hunter games, where they can switch their armor and Nabiru’s outfit from the item chest
– Outfit changes only impact your appearance
– You can change your hair, hair color, and eye color from the box at any point, and choose to have your armor’s helmet off during a cut-scenes
– It’s also possible to view cut-scenes from the item box
– Pre-ordering the game will get you a Rathalos outfit for Nabiru
– Having Monster Hunter Generations save data will land you a Glavenus outfit for Nabiru, and a Glavenus weapon (sword and shield) for your main character
Online and Local Battles, amiibo
– Players can battle with friends locally or online
– It’s possible to bring items, armor, and the Myverns you’ve raised into the battle
– The battle theme is inspired by Zinogre’s battle theme
– The communication system works by using stickers of Nabiru with various messages
– Each players have 3 hearts
– A heart is taken away every time a monster or player faints
– After a monster faints, it will reappear on the battlefield with full health and you can use it again
– You earn egg shards through battles
– The winner receives more shards, but the loser gets some as well
– Collecting shards allows you to put together eggs and collect new Myverns
– The Boy and Girl Monster Rider amiibo will cost 1800 yen
– The Nabiru amiibo will cost just 1200 yen
– Diorama scene for the Monster Hunter Stories amiibo will be 1,500 yen
Besides the info above, we now know that the eCapcom store is taking pre-orders for a limited edition version of Monster Hunter Stories. This will include a copy of the game, a 24-page book featuring art, developer messages, and other items, a soundtrack selection CD, a Kizuna Stone necklace, and a special box.
The first official images of the Monster Hunter Stories amiibo were also shared, including the new diorama. You can find those in the gallery below:
Dragon Ball: Fusions
Bandai Namco has recently updated the Dragon Ball: Fusions website with a look at some of the characters in the game. The new screenshots and artwork showcase Broly, Gohan, Goku (young), Goten, Gotenks, Great Saiyaman, Krigohan (EX-Fusion between Gohan (young) and Krillin), Majin Buu, Mr. Satan, Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku, and Trunks (young). You can find these in the gallery below:
Lost Reavers
Lost Reavers has recently received a big new update. The game has been updated with a new level, weapons, events, costumes, and bug fixes. The update is 1,340MB.
You can find some footage of the new content below:
Taiko Drum Master: Dokodon! Mystery Adventure
Taiko Drum Master: Dokodon! Mystery Adventure, is now available to pre-download in Japan, as the game releases on June 16th. The game takes up 3,674 blocks (459.25MB) of space. Finally, you can find some new screenshots in the gallery below:
Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice
SEGA has announced that Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is getting a Launch Edition. Along with a copy of the game, a DVD with three episodes from the animated series will be included in this pack. This includes fan-favorite episodes “Chili Dog Day Afternoon” and “It Wasn’t Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog” which features an appearance by Metal Sonic, and the season one finale “It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog” which includes the infamous Shadow. This marks the first time said content will be available on DVD in North America.
Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice will also be playable for the first time at E3 2016, where attendees can find a demo at the SEGA/Atlus booth in the West Hall.
Etrian Odyssey V
Etrian Odyssey V was once again featured in the latest episode of SEGA Raw. During the stream, menu navigation and character customization were shown. You can find a recording of that in the video below:
Story of Seasons: Cherished Friends of Three Towns
The latest issue of Famitsu contains a new article on Story of Seasons: Cherished Friends of Three Towns. Most is a recap of information that was previously-known, but there are a few new details.
In this coverage the player’s family is shown. You have a dad named Darius, a mom named Marina, and a younger sister named Lynne. Initially, your father was against you being a farmer while your mother was supportive of the move. Lynne said she would miss you.
The game begins when you head to the farm town with your family. Frank lives here, and is your uncle and Darius’ older brother. Frank will guide you through the basics of farming, since he’s known as a well-experienced farmer.
Famitsu also briefly touches on house upgrading and decoration, which are returning. It’s entirely possible to decorate your house as you see fit.
Furthermore, the magazine says that material makers are now a part of placeable farm circles. There’s a total of nine maker types in the game. Three of these include the Cloth Maker, the Milk Maker, and the Seed Maker.
Besides these new details, Marvelous also released a new promotional video and a couple of new commercials, which you can watch below:
https://youtu.be/LpvpJ1ppMrQ
https://youtu.be/N3I4cOOpd2A
https://youtu.be/N3I4cOOpd2A
Harvest Moon: Skytree Village
Natsume recently announced that Harvest Moon: Skytree Village is in development for 3DS, and will be playable at this year’s E3.
You can find Natsume’s official announcement of the game below:
Burlingame, CA. – June 1, 2016 – Natsume Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, unveiled today Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, an all-new Harvest Moon title for the Nintendo 3DS! Harvest Moon: Skytree Village will be one of several Natsume titles playable at E3 2016, taking place June 14th – 16th 2016 in Los Angeles, South Hall booth #513
“After the evolutionary Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and a successful jaunt to mobile platforms with Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories, we are really excited to share everything we have learned with our fans,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume. “Our community is very important to us, and their feedback and input has been taken into account a great deal in the development of Harvest Moon: Skytree Village! We hope they will see and feel their contribution in this new game!”
Times have changed in the land known as the Oasis of the Harvest Goddess. Many people used to live in Skytree Village, and the land was lush and green. However, the power of the Harvest Goddess gradually began to wane, and the land became parched and dry.
It’s up to you revive the seven Skytrees in order to give the Harvest Goddess her power back, and, in turn, bring life back to this desolate land!
“We’ve revisited each and every part of what makes a Harvest Moon game, and are excited at the end result,” said Taka Maekawa, Producer of the Harvest Moon series. “We are looking forward to seeing players try the game during E3 2016.”
Along the way, players will meet a new cast of characters (with a few returning faces!), alongside a brand new art style, new character models, and more.
With user-friendly tutorials, players will immediately be able to jump into the thick of things, customizing their farm by raising and lowering the land, creating rivers, ponds, and more. Upgraded tools will assist farmers in shaping the land more efficiently, and afterwards they can kick back and relax in their boat to do a spot of fishing! It won’t be long before they’ll need to weigh anchor to care for their newest herd animal: the Poitou donkey!
Key Features of Harvest Moon: Skytree Village –
Play as a boy or a girl, woo bachelorettes and bachelors, and start a family!
Completely new story with tons of interesting new characters.
New crops and flowers to discover.
New fishing mechanics: expand waterways and catch rarer fish.
A full town with many residents, each with their own personalities and quirks.
Yo-kai Watch 3
Level-5 has shared two new commercials for Yo-kai Watch 3, showing off the new battle system and the Yo-kai themselves. Check them out in the gallery below:
Zero Time Dilemma
Zero Time Dilemma’s release date keeps drawing closer, so Spike Chunsoft has posted a retrospective trailer for the entire series. The video does contain spoilers for both 9 Persons, 9 Hours, 9 Doors and Virtue’s Last Reward, the previous two games in the series, so don’t watch it if you haven’t played those yet and are interested in doing so. We also have a few new screenshots from the Steam version of the game. You can find the retrospective video and screenshots below:
Kouenji Joshi Soccer 3
Kouenji Joshi Soccer 3 will soon be launching in Japan, so Starfish has posted the game’s opening movie online. You can watch it below:
Mighty No. 9
IGN has posted some minutes of Mighty No. 9 footage covering the game’s opening stage. Check it out below if you are interested.
RISE: Race The Future
VD-Dev has announced its next project, called “RISE: Race The Future”. The game will be released in Winter 2016 on Wii U and 3DS, and an NX version can be expected next year.
Here’s what the studio has shared thus far:
RISE: Race The Future is a racing game set in a near future where a new kind of wheel technology will let you race on all type of terrains and especially on water.
The racing style is arcade oriented and based on mastering extreme drifts. One of the clear inspiration is Sega Rally.
In addition to the arcade mode, a history mode will allow the player to unlock the futuristic cars exclusively designed for the game. Throughout the progression the enigmatic sci-fi scenario will also reveal the real purpose of RISE: Race The Future.
VD-Dev is working with professional automotive designer Anthony Jannarelly on RISE: Race The Future. Jannarelly designed a couple of supercars for W Motors: the Lykan Hypersport and the Fenyr Supersport. He also produced the “curvy retrofuturistic roadster named Design-1 whose evolutions will appear in RISE: Race the future”.
A teaser trailer for RISE: Race The Future can also be found below.
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Warner Bros. Entertainment has released yet another LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens character vignette, this time for BB-8, the lovable astromech droid and loyal companion of Resistance pilot Poe Dameron. You can watch it below:
Skylanders: Imaginators
Activision has recently announced the next entry in the Skylanders series, following a number of rumours surrounding it.
Skylanders Imaginators will launch on October 16 for Wii U and other platforms. This time around, there’s no sign of Wii and 3DS versions though.
Skylanders Imaginators will let players make their own Skylanders for the first time, due to a new elementally-aligned toy type called the Creation Crystal. Moreover, Skylanders Senseis are being introduced.
You can find the official announcement below, followed by the first trailer, screenshots and artwork from the game.
Santa Monica, Calif. – June 1, 2016 – Since the launch of Skylanders®, kids around the world have sent Toys For Bob, the pioneers of the toys-to-life category, hand-drawn Skylanders with one special request – please bring my Skylander to life.This October, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) will make that wish a reality. For the first time, Skylanders® Imaginators will empower Portal Masters to unleash their imaginations by giving them the freedom to create their own Skylander.
“Since we launched the very first Skylanders game, we have received countless letters and drawings from kids all over the world sharing their vision for their own Skylanders. No matter how in touch with our ‘inner kids’ we might think we are as adults, nothing comes close to the endless creativity that springs from the mind of an inspired kid,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “We’ve turned this year’s game into the ultimate blank canvas for kids’ imaginations so they can create and play their own Skylanders.”
Skylanders Imaginators gives players immense possibilities — including appearance, powers, abilities, names, catchphrases, musical themes and much more — to create the wildest Skylanders imaginable. The amazing depth of the creation system could allow for more than a googol distinctive characters.
With the evil Kaos on a new quest to take over Skylands, it’s up to Portal Masters everywhere to create their own Skylanders – known as Imaginators – using the new elementally-aligned toy type called the Creation Crystal. Creation Crystals allow players to transport their Imaginators to consoles at anytime, anywhere!
Skylanders Imaginators introduces Skylanders Senseis, all-new heroes who represent 10 powerful Battle Classes such as Knight, Sorcerer, Bowslinger, Brawler and more. Skylanders Senseis help train created Imaginators by offering a range of benefits including unlocking super-cool Imaginator weapons, providing access to special areas in the game, as well as bestowing Secret Techniques across the Battle Classes. Senseis also have their own unique benefits including the extraordinary ability to unleash Sky-Chi – the ultimate Battle Class super move. There are a total of 31 Senseis, which include some fan-favorite villains who have been reformed and now fight for good!
“Skylanders consistently delivers on innovative gameplay experiences. With customization a dominant trend in the consumer market, the fact that Skylanders Imaginators will allow kids to bring their own creations to life is a game changer and one our customers will enjoy,” said Richard Barry, Global Chief Merchandising Officer, Toys”R”Us, Inc. “We are proud to continue to serve as a marquee Skylanders destination, and look forward to fans’ excitement when the new Skylanders Imaginators game arrives this holiday season.”
To celebrate imaginations coming to life, Activision is kicking off the “Skylanders Art-to-Life Contest.” Starting today, Portal Masters are invited to submit drawings of their own created Skylanders for a chance to have their characters represented in the Skylanders Imaginators game at launch! To participate, fans simply draw their imagined Skylander and submit it via Instagram or Twitter with the dedicated hashtag#SkylandersArtContest, or to us directly at SkylandersCommunity@Activision.com.
The judging panel will include Toys For Bob who will determine a grand prize winner. For more information, including rules, visit: Skylanders.com/SkylanderArtContest.
Starting today, fans can pre-order Skylanders Imaginators Starter Packs which include two new Skylanders characters, a Creation Crystal, Portal of Power®and the full AAA game. Skylanders Imaginators will be available on Xbox 360™ and Xbox One™video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 and PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment systems and Nintendo’s Wii U™ system.
Developed by Toys For Bob, Skylanders Imaginators supports all 300+ Skylanders toys from previous games. The game will be available on October 16 in North America for the suggested retail price of $74.99. For more information, fans can check out the debut of the Skylanders Snapchat channel or watch the story unfold here and here.
Minecraft: Wii U Edition
Minecraft: Wii U Edition has recently received a new update that takes up 143MB of free space.
Moreover, just like in North America and Japan, Europe will be getting Minecraft: Wii U Edition at retail. Nintendo has shared a release date of June 30 on its Twitter page. It is coming to retail in North America on June 17, and the Japanese version is set for June 23.
Virtual Console
Below you can find some trailers for games recently released on the Japanese Wii U eShop for Virtual Console.
Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis (SNES, Atlus)
Granbo (GBA, Capcom)