Pre-orders for Final Fantasy XIII are on the verge of opening throughout Japan.
The announcement comes indirectly by way of a Lawson convenience store, which indicates reservations are set to begin September 9th.
The terminals indicate the game can be reserved for a staggering $83, and will likely be released on November 7th.
Optimistic attempts to reserve the game ahead of time meet with failure…
Via Gigazine.
Just why this “MMORPG refugee” has eight simultaneous connections to the same game is a mystery we might perhaps be better off not knowing the answer to.
It appears with such a setup he could run an entire guild by himself…
Xbox 360 and PS3 breeding ero-RPG Agarest Senki, to be known as Agarest: Generations of War in its European incarnation, clearly had too much in the way of beautiful anime art for the publisher, who decided to change it to something unrecognisably manly.
The protagonist as he originally appeared:
The Japanese version was rated a C (15+) on Cero’s scale, being packed full of banana fellatio and bikini service, whereas the European cover here is given a PEGI “12” rating, so it seems probable the game has been completely Bowldlerised, with all the juicy banana licking scenes removed.
However, a visit to the game’s homepage reveals that for the past several months they have had this charming image as their header:
“COMING soon” indeed.
It seems nothing will disavow international publishers of the notion that games including creepy Chinese cartoons need to be given manful CG art, as seen recently in CG Tales and international Star Ocean localisations, though it is clear this only serves to alienate actual anime and JRPG fans, whilst having questionable impact on the store-going general public…
Via Hachimaki.
Acclaimed PS2 RPG Persona 3 has been given a surprise adaptation to the PSP, along with some interesting changes.
The port is due November 1st 2009, and will feature a number of changes, the most notable of which is that the protagonist will be a female instead of the previous male.
Additionally, an entirely new character is promised, looking to be a male version of Elizabeth; some gameplay additions in the form of new difficulty levels are also promised.
Whether this will incorporate the Fes expansion is not clear…
Panchira hunting RPG Monster Hunter 3’s release has rapidly turned into a disaster after a reasonable start and the distinction of a full 40 point score from top gaming rag Famitsu. However, now the game is already selling for 60% off its starting price, and industry sources are saying this is “a once in 5 years” flop.
Though reviews have been favourable, the million copies apparently shipped to distributors have proven to be wildly optimistic, with some retailers able only to sell half of their stock, leading to the fantastic (and for retailers, highly depressing) discounts seen now.
Just why this game, capable of getting a full score in Famitsu, is resolutely failing to sell is a matter of some speculation.
Curiously, of recent releases several titles have seen similar treatment, though these are now acknowledged to be overhyped rubbish:
Via Hachimaki.
The female cast of Persona 4 cavort on the beach in a variety of sexy swimwear, which a Photoshop maniac has seen fit to deprive them of below.
Full sized images reside here.
Velvet, Odin Sphere’s most buxom princess, has received a splendid and, at 25cm, large figurine rendition sure to find favour amongst fans of the game with its careful recreation of her revealing attire and alarming posture.
The figure itself is a non-scale recreation of the vaguely Arabian themed doomed princess, by Yamato. Yamato also produced the recent figure rendition of cheeky faery queen Mercedes, which was well received if lacking in oppai charms.
Velvet is available for pre-order now, and will be available January 2010.
Sharp-eyed observers can’t help but notice that upcoming blockbuster RPG Final Fantasy XIII’s graphics seem to have suffered a substantial degradation since the first promotional shots were released.
Now shots of the game are looking distinctly polygonal…
Originals are above, later shots below:
Of course, nobody believes promotional images for games, but even so this is slightly disappointing. Fans can take solace in the high quality of female anatomy on offer…
The game is due in Japan in the winter, as a “PS3 exclusive.” The delayed international release will include an Xbox 360 version.
Via Hachimaki.
In its glorious 20 year history, Square Enix’s Dragon Quest series of RPGs has captivated RPG fans the world over, mostly on Nintendo platforms. Just how much each title has captivated fans is visible in the ranking below, based on an online survey of Japanese gamers.
The results of the survey:
1. Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e…
2. Dragon Quest V: Tenkū no Hanayome
3. Dragon Quest III: Soshite Densetsu e…
4. Dragon Quest
5. Dragon Quest II: Akuryo no Kamigami
6. Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi
7. Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi
8. Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshi-tachi
9. Dragon Quest IX Hoshizora no Mamoribito
Hopefully nostalgia and not any decline in quality is responsible for the high positioning of the older titles…
Ero-RPG Rorona no Atelier has some splendid artwork to its credit, and this has proven too good an opportunity to pass up for an anonymous Photoshop master.
You can see them bereft of swimwear below:
The game is of course available now.