Dragon Quest VIII
Nintendo has announced that Dragon Quest VIII is going to be released in North America and Europe on January 20.
This new version of Dragon Quest VIII features two new playable characters and additional side quests. Also included is a new Quick-Save function and a “Speed Up” feature to increase battle speed. Players can even take photos, customize them, and share them via StreetPass or by copying them from the SD card.
You can find Nintendo’s announcement below, followed by a trailer and various screenshots from the game.
REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 3, 2016 – With the new year comes new quests and great adventures, and 2017 will be no different when the DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King game comes to the Nintendo 3DS family of systems on Jan. 20. This handheld retelling of the classic RPG will be back and bigger than ever, with two new playable characters, more side quests and the ability to battle monsters on the go.
The story begins when a jester, Dhoulmagus, comes to Castle Trodain and steals the King’s sceptre. He then uses its power to turn his majesty into a troll, the Princess into a horse and the castle inhabitants into plants. The only one left unscathed from this attack is a castle guard who escaped the curse and must now step up to save the kingdom he’s sworn to protect. Only by traveling the lands, recruiting allies and following the trail of destruction that Dhoulmagus leaves in his wake will The Hero be able to retrieve the sceptre in order to restore Trodain back to its former glory.
As players dive into the rich story of DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, whether they’re visiting for the first time or coming back to relive the adventure all over again, they can enjoy full voice acting in all plot-important cutscenes, and new story content that will provide more back story about The Hero and the villainous Dhoulmagus. Further additions include additional quests to complete and dungeons to explore, and even a new alternative ending.
Returning heroes may also find that elements of DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King have been streamlined for this hand-held outing. The new Quick-Save function allows players to save and exit the game at any time. And for warriors in a hurry, battling foes is also much faster with the introduction of the “Speed Up” feature, allowing heroes to cut their way through each encounter with much greater haste.
Those who wish to capture mementos of their quest to restore peace to the land will now find it’s easier than ever before, as at any time outside of battles and cutscenes players can pause the action and take a photo of their adventure thus far. These photos can be customized in a variety of different ways, including allowing The Hero and his companions to perform special poses, adding stickers and filters, or putting a frame around the image to add a personal touch to their memory. Once the player meets Cameron Obscura in Port Prospect they’ll also be able to unlock Cameron’s Codex, where they’ll be rewarded for taking pictures of certain subjects, monsters and situations.
All of these images can be saved to the SD card and shared to other DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King owners via the StreetPass feature. Once these photos have been shared, other players can give them a thumbs up, and the more of these the image earns, the higher the chance of receiving a new item.
Dragon Quest XI
Square Enix has announced it will be hosting a special Dragon Quest 30th Anniversary celebration program on NHK on December 29, at 10:00pm JST.
The program will reveal more news and details about the latest entry in the series – Dragon Quest XI – as well as the series as a whole.
Series creator Yuji Horii, composer Koichi Sugiyama, and other staff members will be present, and Japanese actor and singer Takayuki Yamada will be making a guest appearence.
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 Professional
Square Enix has now opened the official Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 Professional website which can be found over here.
Thanks to Gematsu we have a roundup of the newly revealed information, which can be found below.
– The game features 700 monsters, 200 more than the original game.
– Monsters from newer titles like Dragon Quest X and Hoshi no Dragon Quest will appear in great numbers, together with completely original monsters.
– Until now, ridable monsters had good fields and bad fields where you could use them, but in Joker 3 Professional that no longer applies. For example: before you would have to ride a monster that lives in the water to dive into the bottom of a lake, but now every monster can be used to swim.
– You can now ride giant monsters, which lets you enjoy the adventure as if you’ve transformed into a huge monster. You can attack enemies as usual, but also make use of their large size to trample monsters wandering about.
– New areas have been added that only those aiming to be the strongest can enter, and new adventures await players in these new areas.
– Somewhat different monsters from what we’ve seen so far wander about the savage lands of the planet.
– Nochorin, who lives with the Nochora Clan in Break World, will become the player’s “partner” and travel with him on this adventure. He not only provides a variety of help in the field, but he’s also a reliable partner who participates in battle.
– Various elements have been added to the system side to make things speedier.
– Story Shortcuts – The basic story of Joker 3 Professional is the same as Joker 3, but there is a now a shortcut function that lets you advance the story to specific scenes, ot take a look back at story scenes through a synopsis.
– Speedier Movement – Compared to the original game, the movement speed on the field has significantly increased.
– Make Battles Faster – Speed battles were in the original game, but now you can also use the feature during Wi-Fi and local battles.
– You can import your monster data from the original game, with a maximum limit of 10 monsters a day at any time. Your monsters’ skills, size, and even their coloring will be imported.
Monster Hunter Generations
The monthly free DLC for Monster Hunter Generations is now available.
This time, the items and quests are based on popular manga and anime, including Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magi, and Baki the Grappler.
As usual, to access the DLC, you’ll have to download it on the menu and then talk to the appropriate NPC in the game.
Below you can find a list of the DLC content and a trailer showcasing the various Special Collaborations for Monster Hunter Generations.
Regular Quests
Quest: Yu-Gi-Oh: A Beautiful Wyvern
Objective: Slay a Shagaru Magala
Rewards: F Dark Meowgic Set
Quest: Magi: Rescue from the Fall
Objective: Hunt a Hyper Gore Magala
Rewards: Amol Saiqa, Aladdin’s Wand
Quest: Baki: Biggest vs. Strongest
Objective: Hunt a Hyper Gammoth
Rewards: Chivalry, Baki Combat Jutsu, Demon Visage, Bristling Mane, Ultimate Garb, Ultimate Pleats, Champion’s Set
Quest: The Exploding Flame King
Objective: Slay a Teostra
Rewards: Exploding Blades, Zodias Set (designed by Hiro Mashima, known for Fairy Tail and Monster Hunter Orage)
Quest: DMC: The Seltas Queen’s Cry
Objective: Hunt a Hyper Seltas Queen
Rewards: F Dante Set
Quest: Capcom: Brilliant Orchestra
Objective: Hunt a Hyper Najarala
Rewards: F Melodic Set
Quest: Capcom: White & Black
Objective: Hunt a Hyper Mizutsune and a Hyper Nargacuga
Rewards: Felyne and Melynx
Quest: A Golden Moon Rises
Objective: Hunt a Hyper Gold Rathian
Quest: Moonlit Tryst
Objective: Hunt a Silver Rathalos and a Gold Rathian
Quest: Retreat Run-in
Objective: Hunt a Hyper Royal Ludroth, a Hyper Plesioth and a Hyper Lagiacrus
Quest: The Untamed Mountains
Objective: Hunt a Duramboros and a Gammoth
Quest: The Hammer and the Pike
Objective: Hunt an Uragaan and an Agnaktor
Quest: The Formless One
Objective: Slay a Chameleos
Quest: Volcano Item Delivery
Objective: Obtain 7,000 Wycademy Points
Prowler Quests
Quest: Catch a Rathalos by the Tail
Objective: Sever Rathalos’s tail
Extras
19x Guild Card Titles
6x Guild Card Backgrounds
Special Palicoes
Morgiana
Nekojiro
Monster Hunter XX
New information about Monster Hunter XX has been revealed via the latest issue of Famitsu. Thanks to Gematsu’s translation we now have a round up of the details below.
Monster Hunter XX introduces two new hunting styles.
The first is the new Brave Style, which focuses on continuous attacks. However, you can only equip one hunter art when using this style. The style’s biggest feature is the Brave State, which you achieve by filling a Brave Gauge through parrying the attacks of monsters. While you are in the Brave State, the Brave Gauge gradually decreases again, but continuously attacking and parrying will keep it from falling further. The Brave Style is intended as a “sharper” style which is easy to grasp.
When in the Brave State, the player’s evasiveness with certain weapon types increases and he’s able to use powerful link attacks and special techniques. Here are some examples of these special attacks:
- “Strong Charged Moving Slash” (Great Sword): a charged attack while moving
- “Step Shot” (Light Bowgun): shoots a special bullet while moving
- “True Charge” (Hammer): two extra strong charged attacks following the regular charged attack
The other new style is the Renkin Style, which is supposedly intended for people who want to “vigorously enjoy hunting”. Not much else is known about it for now.
The magazine also confirms that the Meowstress’ little sister will appear in the game.
The magazine also features an interview with the developers, where a few more details were shared.
The director of the game is Daisuke Ichihara and the main planner is Takurou Hiraoka, both of which were planners on Generations. Generations’ director, Yasunori Ichinose, is overseeing the work flow and provides concept supervision for XX.
The team decided not to add a “G” to the title this time because “X” (Cross) is a special character, and since it’s a special game, it gets a special name.
Balfark is described as an ancient dragon type monster that lives at a really high altitude, and will incorporate elements you wouldn’t expect. Both it and Ouma Diablos are connected to the main story.
Many new elements are being prepared for the game, including more than what has already been shown. Development on the game is currently 70% complete.
Meanwhile, Capcom posted a tweet featuring a brief video of the new barrel-using Renkin Style, and released a new batch of screenshots and artwork via 4Gamer. You can find those below.
【MHXX】公式サイトでは新たな狩猟スタイル「ブレイヴスタイル」を紹介中！また、タルを振るようなこの新狩猟スタイルの名称は「レンキンスタイル」。詳細は続報をお待ちください！https://t.co/kHxWo0xclw #MHXX pic.twitter.com/4JU1rUZrb1
— モンハン部 (@CAPCOM_MHB) 3 November 2016
Dragon Ball: Fusions
Bandai Namco has released a new commercial for Dragon Ball: Fusions promoting the upcoming update.
You can watch it below alongside some new screenshots and artwork featuring Trunks and Goku Black.
https://youtu.be/XMlT67JnTpk
3D Power Drift
3D Power Drift was originally included in the SEGA 3D Classics Collection but, in Japan, SEGA has just released it on the Japanese 3DS eShop as a standalone title.
This version of 3D Power Drift is similar to the one included in SEGA 3D Classics Collection, but features one major exception. Players can now select and play as several SEGA characters in one of the game’s modes. It’s also an entirely new features that wasn’t in the original release too.
The following characters are playable:
Harrier (3D Super Harrier)
Binsbein (3D Super Harrier)
Warrior Beat (3D Altered Beasts)
Flagman (3D Out Run)
Shinobu (3D Shinobi III)
Dralimflore (3D Fantasy Zone)
Axel (3D Streets of Rage)
Blaze (3D Streets of Rage)
Adam (3D Streets of Rage)
Mr. Hang-On (3D Super Hang-On)
Galaxy Lady (3D Galaxy Force II)
Alex Kidd
You can find some images below showing these characters, followed by some gameplay footage courtesy of NintenDaan.
Yo-kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki
Level-5 has recently released another pair of commercials for Yo-Kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki. Check them out below.
Beyblade Burst
CoroCoro has released a new video showcasing new footage of Beyblade Burst. You can watch it below.
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
Inti Creates recently shared new information about Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 during its 20th Anniversary Fan Festa event . The company has now confirmed that DLC is in the works for the title.
The Additional Mission Pack consists of special missions taking place in new high-difficulty maps and has members of “The Seven” appearing as bosses. The first pack will consist of Merak and Carrera, as you can see in the screenshots below.
Blaster Master Zero
Also announced at Inti Creates’ 20th Anniversary Fan Festa event was their new upcoming title, Blaster Master Zero, a new entry in the Blaster Master franchise coming to the 3DS eShop in Spring 2017.
According to a blog post, the rights for the original Blaster Master on NES were obtained from Sunsoft. After this, the team began working on the latest title in the franchise.
Here’s what Inti Creates had to say about Blaster Master Zero:
“Using the original Blaster Master game as a base, we are setting out to create a fully 8-bit experience in a way that both hearkens back to the golden age of the NES and uses the current generation hardware to optimize and power up the game for the players of today. This of course includes new areas and bosses, and new gameplay elements such as extra sub-weapons, improved gameplay when battling outside of your SOPHIA 3rd tank, a more robust scenario, refined and expanded exploration mechanics, and more.”
You can also find and overview of the game, and some screenshots, below.
In the near future on planet Earth…
Many kinds of creatures once coexisted on this verdant planet, but after countless wars and untold environmental destruction, the planet was plunged into an ice age, and humanity was left with no choice but to migrate en masse underground.
When the ice age finally came to an end, humanity begin developing methods while they were living underground to one day restore their planet to the lush green landscape it once was. During this time, a large mysterious comet fell to the earth, but the progress of restoring their lost ecosystem was coming along well, and humanity was eventually able to live on the surface once again.
Several hundred years have passed since then.
Enter a young man named Jason Frudnick, a genius in the field of robotic engineering. One day, he came upon a creature he had never seen before. No records of this creature existed, so with his interest in this mysterious creature piqued, Jason named it “Fred” and began to observe it closely. But, after some time had passed it found a way to escape.
Jason gave chase, and before he knew it he had stumbled into the subterranean world where humanity once resided. A large vehicle awaited him there.
Almost as if this vehicle with the name “SOPHIA 3rd” on the side was inviting him in, the door the cockpit opened up. In order to bring Fred back, Jason hopped into SOPHIA 3rd and set out on his adventure.
Harvest Moon: Skytree Village
Natsume has shared another official video from Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, this time showing the terraforming feature. Check it out below.
Yooka-Laylee
GameXplain recently captured some off-screen footage of Yooka-Laylee at Day of the Devs in San Francisco. You can find it below.
Minecraft: Wii U Edition
The Campfire Tales Skin Pack was added to Minecraft: Wii U Edition as DLC, so Nintendo Impact Gaming! has recorded a video showcasing the new content. You can watch it below.
Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers
Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers is now out in both North America and Europe. Below you can find some gameplay footage of the game thanks to NintenDaan.