Thursday 31 July 2014

Persona 4 the Golden Animation Episode 3 "I Have Amnesia, Is It So Bad?" Review

Best. Screenshot. Ever.
Now that the "New Game Plus" context has been confirmed, this episode's preview including beach scenes made me worry that Episode 3 was going to be a 'filler' episode full of fan service and not much plot. These expectations quickly vanished during the full episode, where we see the beginning of Marie's desire to grow as a person despite her memory loss. Partnered with the ever wonderful cast of Persona 4 and "I Have Amnesia, Is It So Bad?" ends feeling like the most significant episode we've seen so far, full of many great moments that are both touching and humourous that Persona 4 fans won't want to miss.


After Marie's poetry scene (which I'm assuming there will be a new one each episode) and the opening, the Persona 4 gang suggests going to the beach and bringing Marie along for the trip. Like when Marie appeared inside the TV in the first episode of the animation, Marie has been inserted into the beach scenario from Persona 4 Golden the game for the purpose of developing her character and showing Persona 4 Golden's special events simultaneously. Some fans may not enjoy the inconsistency between these scenes in the game and in the anime, but considering this is an anime and requires a lot more screen time than your average social link in Persona 4 Golden, it's understandable Marie has to be put into scenarios she wasn't in before as she requires more character development than the rest of the characters. I also can't help but think the beach scenario was probably considered as a prime opportunity to get some Marie fan service in, but hey, I don't see anyone complaining.


The beach offers opportunities more than just fan service by including some comical scenes and some actual plot development. My personal favourite scene from the beach scenario this time was the hilarious scenario involving Kanji and "the birth of Venus". I love that during these scenarios the Persona 4 group always stick together to try and help each other out, even if there's no getting out of the problem. Marie's presence adds the opportunity for some character development, with the other character's natural curiosity to her becoming daunting due to her memory loss. This causes Marie to question her normality and while Marie's reactions in this scenario probably weren't the most mature, they needed to be done to kick off her personal growth.

But the highlight of this episode is really Marie posing the question to each of the main characters of Persona 4 what it's like to have faced themselves. Facing yourself is at the heart of Persona 4 and the scenes involving Marie asking the cast questions on this provide some humourous moments that are very typical to each character. More importantly, we see some heartfelt lines that really portray the different kinds of strength in each character perfectly. This scene is a great reminder for fans about why the Persona 4 series is special and will also be good for fans of the anime as it shows how the last series' events have helped them grow into the happy and strong characters we see this time around. Partnered with fire crackers, smiles and laughter, it truly is this season's most heartwarming moments so far and is probably my favourite scene from both of the Persona 4 Animation series.


Notably, I found the animation in this episode to be much more consistent in quality than the last few episodes, which was much appreciated. I was very happy to be focused more on the actual story this time around than distracted by the shows production!

With Marie's growth evident in the last few moments of the show, the promise of finding her memories feels as though it is the true start to the series. After a touching episode. Persona 4 the Golden Animation ends with Episode 3 feeling like it's finished it's preparations and is ready to hit us with Golden's true plot properly in the next few episodes. I'm excited for the next one!

Score: 8.5/10
This series has managed to improve episode by episode so far, with this one providing a wonderful balance of humourous and heartwarming scenes.

Episode 3 of Persona 4 The Golden Animation is available now to members of Crunchyroll's Anime Streaming Service. If you're not a member, you can either wait less than 12 hours to watch the "The Perfect Plan" or purchase an ad-free monthly membership.

Persona 4 The Golden Animation is also available to stream via AniplexHulu and Daisuki.

Read more about Persona 4 on JRPG Jungle!

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Want to share your opinion? Comment below! Or you can tweet @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com with your thoughts or constructive criticism.

Wednesday 30 July 2014

A General JRPG Jungle Update!

Hello everyone!

First off, thank you always for reading, especially if you're bothering to read this post. If you don't read this post, that's also fine. I understand if you're here for the gaming content and not any of the behind the scenes or personal stuff - more power to you in fact! But after debating whether or not to even write about this at all, I decided that I want JRPG Jungle to be a blog that you can trust. And trust involves transparency, so here I go.
(Oh, that line about 'trust' felt a little heavy. This isn't a big, scary announcement. You don't even need to be sitting down for it.)

You may have noticed a post increase on this blog, specifically including JRPG news. In fact, our news coverage may possibly be the reason you found JRPG Jungle. More posts are great! It gets you more content, it improves my writing skills immensely (I'm proud to say I can see a difference between my early reviews and my current ones) and importantly, it keeps both me and you up to date about what's going on in the Japanese world of video games.

This post is mainly to notify anyone who reads this site that you may notice a post decrease. I've just taken up full time work for the first time, meaning I now have 3 less days a week to work on this site. This change to my schedule won't affect my reviews at all however, it does mean I have to rethink the way I do things on JRPG Jungle to adopt a 'work smarter, not harder' strategy when it comes to getting news and new releases onto the blog so we can continue to be a reliable source. I really want JRPG Jungle to be one of the most (if not the most one day!) informative Japanese gaming sites around and I will continue to work hard to achieve this as much as I can as a single person.

I am also toying more seriously with the idea of eventually including video content for JRPG Jungle and an official website (away from Blogspot). These are still ideas at this point, but if you have any ideas or suggestions for what you would want to see on your ideal Japanese gaming website, your input would be very much appreciated!

Otherwise, I'm going to get back to working on my review of the latest P4GA episode. Thanks for coming by and please stick around!

-Tara

Monday 28 July 2014

This Week's New Releases in Localised and Importable Japanese Games (28/7/14)

From Soni Pro
Each week, a lot of new games come out. At the start of the week, I read through all of the new releases I can find and find the weekly new Japanese games and post them for your convenience. This list includes descriptions and links to both English localised games plus the new release games you can import.

Here are this week's finds!

Localisation

These are this week's newly released games that we can expect to see in stores or digitally this week.

28th July 2014
(Australia)
Sorcery Saga - Curse of the Great Curry God (PS Vita)



This game's coming to my own country this week, so I had to give it a mention! Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God (which you may have seen on PSN for quite some time) tells the story of a suspended Magic Academy student who takes an interest in an old curry recipe book. This results in a quirky dungeon crawler RPG game to find the rarest of rare ingredients to make the finest curries!

Pre-Order/Buy now (in Australia): JB Hi-Fi

28th July 2014
(Australia)
Hometown Story (Nintendo 3DS)




Another one for Australian gamers! From the creators of Harvest Moon, Hometown Story has you taking over your Grandma's shop. You can arrange it how you like, eventually expand and make friends with a bunch of people for your hometown in the game.

Pre-Order/Buy it: JB Hi-Fi

Import

For people who know Japanese, are learning the language or don't mind playing a game in a foreign language, here are Japan's new released games for this week.

31st July 2014
Kaihou Shoujo Sin (Liberation Maiden Sin) (PS Vita)



A port of the original PS3 game, Kaihou Shoujo Sin adds visual novel elements in the sequel to the original game (which was a shooter). The story focuses on Kiyoto Kaidou, a boy serving under President Shouko (the original game's main character) who can read minds. On top of mind reading, the game is set to include "Mechs, beautiful women, maybe some space aliens" (Quote found here). Neat!

Pre-order/Buy it: Play-Asia


31st July 2014

Fate/Kaleid Liner: Prisma Illya (Nintendo 3DS)

Based on the manga and anime series, the Fate/Kaleid Liner game revolves around an elementary school student called Illyasviel, who is also selected to become a magical girl.
For more about the game, you can watch the trailer here.


Pre-order/Buy it (Standard Edition): Play-Asia
Pre-order/Buy it (Limited Edition): Play-Asia

31st July 2014

Happiness Charge Precure! Kawarun Collection (Nintendo 3DS)

HappinessCharge PreCure! is based on the original anime series and promises to include dancing, clothes, baking, battles and more. Fans of the show can also look forward to eight new story scenarios.
(Game info from Siliconera)

Pre-order/Buy it: Play-Asia


31st July 2014
Soni Pro (Nintendo 3DS)



Another game based of an anime series, the popular character Super Sonico gets her own Idol Simulation game this week. You play as her producer who will train Sonico in an original story scenario. Expect outfits, music and photoshoots and the cast of the Super Sonico anime.

Pre-order/Buy it: Play-Asia


31st July 2014
Enkeltbillet (PSP)



This visual novel focuses around Midori, who has been working part time to go on a graduation trip to Europe with her friend Saki. Once Midori get's to Europe, she runs into various troubles and finds herself alone. The story revolves around her personal growth and the people around her while exploring a foreign country without knowledge of the language.
(Description with thanks to Otome-Jikan)

Pre-order/Buy it: Play-Asia

31st July 2014

Mune Kyun Otome Collection Vol. 1-5 (PSP)





I couldn't find a bunch of information on these, but basically if you're into Otome games, here are five new PSP games for you!

Pre-order/Buy it: Play-Asia

31st July 2014
Majoou (PSP)



Another one for Otome fans I couldn't find much information about! I can tell you that I found it listed as a Visual Novel on a few sites though.

Pre-order/Buy it: Play-Asia
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Did I miss something important? Or maybe you found one you think fellow JRPG fans would enjoy? Comment below, send a tweet to @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let me know!
Want your JRPG style game included in this list? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com with a link to the game and anything else you'd like to tell us about for consideration!

Saturday 26 July 2014

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Trailer Time! Japanese Marie Trailer + The First English Trailers: Yukari, Junpei and Rise


This week in Atlus's Persona 4 Arena Ultimax trailers, Marie takes the stage in this week's Japanese trailer. We get a look at her attacks and her Persona Kaguya in action below.
(There may be some slight out-of-context spoilers for Marie for any Persona 4 Golden fans who haven't finished the game!)


You may have noticed I specified that this was the Japanese trailer. This is because AtlusUSA posted it's first round of English character trailers for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Complete with English voice acting and translations, here are the trailers for Yukari, Junpei and Rise. Let us know what you think in the comments!







Pre-order Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (out Fall 2014): AmazonPlay-Asia

Pre-order the Japanese version of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (out August 28th 2014): Play-Asia


See the other trailers on our Persona 4 Arena Ultimax posts: Elizabeth and TeddiePromo VideoNaoto Shirogane and Kanji TatsumiChie Satonaka and Shadow LabrysGame TrailerYu Narukami and Tohru AdachiSho MinazukiYukiko Amagi and Yosuke HanamuraKen Amada and Koromaru (at the bottom of the linked post), Labrys (at the bottom of the linked post), Junpei Iori and Rise Kujikawa. For some reason I didn't do a post on Yukari's Japanese trailer, so here's her trailer on Youtube.

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Have something to say about this news article? Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle!

Have a story about a Japanese game or something else you think we should cover? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let us know!

Thanks To Fan Demand, Freedom Wars Will Receive A Physical Release In Europe


Freedom Wars was originally announced as a digital only release for European fans, which was better than nothing. But for a game release such as Freedom Wars, the decision to not release a physical copy of the highly anticipated game seemed a bit like an oversight. Fans seemed to agree with this and told the official Playstation Blog how they thought. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe listened to this feedback and has responded with this statement from their Blog Manager Fred Dutton announcing that thanks to fan feedback, European fans can expect a physical release for Freedom Wars too:
"As many of you are aware, earlier this month we announced that Japan Studio’s forthcoming action RPG Freedom Wars would be a digital-only release when it arrives here in the SCEE region later this year. Since then you’ve let us know here on PlayStation Blog, on forums and on social media that you really wanted to see a full title card release for the game. And we’ve been listening. Duly, today I’m happy to confirm that Freedom Wars will now be made available as a full physical edition as well as a digital release, from day one."

Freedom Wars was released in Japan earlier this year. The game's US and European release dates are yet to be announced.

Pre-Order Freedom Wars (Europe): Play-Asia
Pre-Order Freedom Wars (US): AmazonPlay-Asia

Buy the Japanese version of Freedom Wars: Play-Asia

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Have something to say about this news article? Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle!

Have a story about a Japanese game or something else you think we should cover? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let us know!

Thursday 24 July 2014

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth US Release Date Announced + Opening Movie


Atlus have released a video on their Youtube which is the Opening Movie of Persona Q. This is basically the same as the Japanese version we saw last month (after all, there's no voice acting in the opening or anything that would have needed translating), although it does reveal the release date for the western release!

The game will released in the US November 25th 2014. Persona Q is set to be a dungeon RPG game featuring a new story with the cast of Persona 3 and 4. You can watch the opening video for the game below.



Pre-Order Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (Special Edition): Amazon
Pre-Order Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (Regular Edition): Amazon, Play-Asia

You can also import the Japanese Region version of Persona Q at Play-Asia
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Have something to say about this news article? Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle!

Have a story about a Japanese game or something else you think we should cover? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let us know!

This Week's PSN EU/AU New Releases, JRPG Style! (25/7/14)

Photo from Ragnarok Odyssey Ace
More tumbleweeds in PSN's Japanese gaming land this week, at least in the new releases section. The most notable thing on the Playstation Store for fans of Japanese games this week is Ragnarok Odyssey Ace, which is part of the store's Deal of the Week promotion. I've only played about five minutes of the demo, so I don't really have a recommendation yet but you can decide if you like it or not by playing the free demo. 

Let me know in the comments if you pick it up! In the meantime, here are this week's finds:


DLC
  • Mugen Souls Z - Various Free and Paid DLC

Deals
  • Ragnarok Odyssey Ace (Bonus discount for Playstation Plus members)
    Don't know if you'll like it? The free demo is still available on PSN.
Price Drops
  • Tales of Graces f - Knight Edition
  • Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers
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Did I miss something important? Or maybe you found a game on PSN that you think fellow JRPG fans would enjoy? Comment below, send a tweet to @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let me know!

Persona 4 the Golden Animation Episode 2 "The Perfect Plan" Review


"I JUST HAVE TOO MANY SOCIAL LINKS!"
If you ever thought this while playing Persona 4 Golden, Yu Narukami proves that he feels it too. A light-hearted chaotic afternoon in the latest episode of Persona 4 the Golden Animation allows us to comically see just how Yu deals with managing his time with friends and will be completely charming for those who ever intensely planned their Persona 4 social links. Through this scenario we are also treated to a much appreciated softer side to new character Marie, making "The Perfect Plan" a satisfying feel good episode.
I believe this is what anime fans call 'tsundere'.
The show begins in the Velvet Room, with a scene that is another tribute to the events of Persona 4 Golden, specifically Marie's unique poems. This scene shows a bashful side to Marie, which serves as a good introduction to the way she acts in the episode. In fact, 'innocent' is the word I'm left with to describe Marie by the end of the episode. The things she says are usually miscalculated, but she always justifies them with kind intent and a beautiful curiousity to the world in a way that never feels cheesy. Her misguided observations of the world made me smile and I would argue she comes across much more kind-hearted in the anime than she did in Persona 4 Golden.

This episode also features what we can probably expect to be the permanent opening for this series. This new opening is very similar to the opening of Persona 4 Golden; fans of the show will recognise the kaleidoscope and silhouette themes immediately, as well as the overall style theme and it's choice of colours. This opening also shows something very important and frankly needed to establish context for the show; Yu Narukami's 'stats' (watchers of the first anime and players of the game will recognise this) are maxed. Considering the pace of the last episode's story along with this one (the show skipped an entire month and Kanji's dungeon!), this pretty much confirmed to me that the show is a 'New Game Plus' run through of the original anime/game. This means for new fans of the show you may end up lost if you haven't watched the original series or played either version of Persona 4. I mentioned this in my last review as well - I recommend going back to either of those (or both if you're keen - I'd recommend the game more though!) before watching this in order to get the maximum enjoyment out of the show.

"The Perfect Plan" has a brilliant scenario including Narukami's double booked plans going haywire. This reminded me of one of my favourite things about both Persona 4 anime, which is watching the characters deal with Yu grinding his social links. In the Persona 4 Animation, we saw Nanako go on her own investigation to reveal why her Big Bro was out of the house constantly. This time we see Yu Narukami unable to turn his friends and Nanako down and his efforts to try to please everyone, along with Marie charming people with the seemly strange things she says. Partnered with the still lovable characters from Persona 4, I was laughing out loud at all of the comical moments in the show. Some of the moments in the Up Close and Personal plan were seriously priceless.

I applaud the use of music in this episode and the way it fit with scenes, but I can't say I feel as positively about the animation at times. The animation quality seemed to drop occasionally to Persona 4 the Animation's less detailed style. With all of the high grade animation we see in usually scenes with Marie, it would be nice if the other characters received the same treatment and consistency.

Also, I had nowhere to write about this awesome outro. This was great.
Now that the show has confirmed itself as 'New Game Plus', I feel safe saying that viewers who are experienced with the Persona 4 series will enjoy this humorous take on the game's characters and social scenarios. Even with it's sometimes inconsistent animation, the episode shows multiple sides to new characters and uses what's great about the characters we know and love to make a strong second episode to Persona 4 the Golden Animation.

Score: 8/10
I laughed out loud many times while watching this. Fans of the game probably will too.

Episode 2 of Persona 4 The Golden Animation is available now to members of Crunchyroll's Anime Streaming Service. If you're not a member, you can either wait less than 12 hours to watch the "The Perfect Plan" or purchase an ad-free monthly membership.

Persona 4 The Golden Animation is also available to stream via AniplexHulu and Daisuki.

Read more about Persona 4 on JRPG Jungle!

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Want to share you opinion on the episode? Comment below! Or you can tweet @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com with your thoughts or constructive criticism.

Monday 21 July 2014

Deals Ahoy!: Play-Asia's Weekly Special (Includes Tales of Graces, Conception II, Bravely Default and more!)

I posted my first 'Deals Ahoy!' post and then more amazing deals appeared on Play-Asia. Pro tip: if you like JRPGs, check Play-Asia every Monday/Tuesday (depending where you are in the world) for their weekly deals. There's always something I want and for us English speakers, it usually involves localisations!

Here are the deals!:

Eternal Sonata
(Playstation 3 - English)


Price: $19.99 US
Save: $10.00 US

Buy Eternal Sonata for PS3: Play-Asia

A JRPG using and based on the music by famous classical composer Chopin. The story revolves around a dream that Chopin has on his death bed involving a girl with a terrible fate and the boy who is trying to save her.
(Fun fact - I have the Xbox360 version of this. I don't own an Xbox. If anyone wants an Xbox version and wants to do a game swap, email me: jrpgjungle@gmail.com)

Tales of Graces F
(Playstation 3 - English)


Price: $29.99 US
Save: $13.00 US

Buy Tales of Graces F for PS3: Play-Asia

Tales of Graces F is a remake of the original Wii game. The story revolves around Asbel who makes friends with a girl called Sophie who has amnesia. He witnesses her death , but then years later, he meets her again when she protects him from an attack. Once Sophie is healed, her memories return and her motives are revealed.

Demon Gaze
(PS Vita - English)


Price: $34.99 US
Save: $10.00 US

Buy Demon Gaze for PS Vita: Play-Asia

Demon Gaze is a dungeon crawling JRPG that revolves around Oz, who holds the power to seal demons. He awakens in the land of Misred, which holds labyrinths full of demons and treasure. Playing as Oz, you will go between dungeon crawling in labyrinths and building relationships at the inn.

Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars
(PS Vita - English)



Price: $33.99 US
Save: $13.00 US

Buy Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars for PS Vita: Play-Asia

Half dungeon crawler and half dating sim, Conception II revolves around the new students at a school that specialises in creating Star Children to battle the threatening monsters in Dusk Circles. You happen to play as 'God's Gift', which basically means you are the most likely student to create and battle with strong Star Children. The game will having you going back and forth between bonding with girls and battling in a fun turn-based battle system.

Read my First Impressions/Demo review for Conception II here!

Atelier Escha and Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky
(Playstation 3 - English)



Price: $36.99 US
Save: $16.00 US

Buy Atelier Escha and Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky for PS Vita: Play-Asia

In Atelier Escha and Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky you can choose to play as Escha, who deals with the day-to-day alchemy activities or as Logy, who deals with more complicated situations from the world.

Bravely Default
(Nintendo 3DS, US Region - English)

Price: $34.99 US
Save: $10.00 US

Buy Bravely Default for the US Nintendo 3DS System: Play-Asia

Bravely Default provides the essence of old school JRPGs with new mechanics such as the Brave or Default system and a charming story. With over 20+ jobs to explore, Bravely Default is perfect for anyone looking for a beautiful game that stands up to the quality of classic RPGs.

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Did you find some good deals you'd like to share? Comment below! Or you can tweet @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com

Please note: This post does include affiliate links. To read JRPG Jungle's policy on affiliate links, please read our 'About' page.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Vs. The Fan Translation - Kotaku Reveals Some Details From Behind The Scenes


It was recently announced by Sky that the Final Fantasy Type-0 fan translation that him and his team had been working on had been removed due to legal threats. Game site Kotaku has published an article that delves much further into the drama behind Final Fantasy Type-0's fan translation and the HD remake.

The article mentions that Square did have an official translation in the works in 2012, however it was never announced and completed due to business decisions surrounding the end of the PSP console. Shortly after, SkyBladeCloud and his team began working on the translation. The translation was scheduled for an August 2014 release, but Sky pushed it forward without notifying his team as after legal conversations with Square Enix, he had a feeling that Square Enix was going to announce their own Final Fantasy Type-0 translation.

I'd really like to applaud Kotaku on this one and urge anyone interested to give it a read. Their article is full of much more detail than I can give and gives some much needed insight on what would usually be swept under the rug. You can read their article on the matter ("Final Fantasy Fan Translation Has Become A Fiasco") here.

Pre-order Final Fantasy Type-0 HD for PS4 and Xbox One: AmazonPlay-Asia

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Have something to say about this news article? Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle!

Have a story about a Japanese game or something else you think we should cover? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let us know!

Deals Ahoy!: Youkai Watch 2 Ganso/Honke and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

Sometimes we can't all afford games the day they come out and that's okay! That's where deals come in. Check out these deals I found to help you get the games you want at a better price:

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Youkai Watch 2 Ganso/Honke
(For Japanese 3DS consoles only!)

Price: $49.99 US
Save: $19.99 US

Buy Youkai Watch 2 Ganso: Play-Asia
Buy Youkai Watch 2 Honke: Play-Asia

Youkai Watch 2 is the latest in the Youkai series and is a game that revolves around taming ghosts. The original Youkai Watch was a big success in Japan, with a popular anime and with the first game in the series selling over one million copies. Youkai Watch 2 is set to reveal the secret origin of the Youkai Watch and will involve the game's main characters travelling back in time to the Japanese Showa Era in the early 20th Century.


The game adds new features, including bike races and the ability to climb trees to find more ghosts. Players who cleared the original Youkai Watch will also have the opportunity to bond with returning characters from the game.

The game was released in two editions - Ganso and Honke (Both are on sale!). The gameplay is the same in each, but each game will include it's own unique medal. The sale is on for a limited time, so pick this one up quickly!

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
(Playstation 3 Version)


Price: $29.99 US
Save: $20.00 US

Buy Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII for PS3: Amazon

While Final Fantasy XIII wasn't the most popular series in the franchise, it does tell the story of the strong and heroic Lightning. Watch Lightning strive to save humanity within 13 days, plus revisit all of the characters from the series.


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Did you find some good deals you'd like to share? Comment below! Or you can tweet @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com

Please note: These links do include affiliate links. To read JRPG Jungle's policy on affiliate links, please read our 'About' page.

This Week's New Releases in Localised and Importable Japanese Games (21/7/14)


Each week, a lot of new games come out. At the start of the week, I read through all of the new releases I can find and find the weekly new Japanese games, then I post them here for your convenience! This list includes descriptions and links to both English localised games plus the new release games you can import.

Here are this week's finds!

Localisation

Yet again, I have no new localisations to report! :( I know there's some stuff coming next week though, so look forward to that!

Import

For people who know Japanese, are learning Japanese or don't mind playing a game in a foreign language, here are Japan's new released games for this week.
July 24th 2014

Corpse Party: Blood Drive (PS Vita)


Corpse Party: Blood Drive on PS Vita is the sequel to Corpse Party: Book of Shadows. The game is set two months after Book of Shadows. Not long after being discharged from hospital, Ayumi meets a strange man who tells her that if she gets the Book of Shadows, she has a chance of reviving her friends who died in the Heavenly Elementary School.

Pre-Order/Buy it: Play-Asia


Re: Vice [D] (PS Vita)


I hadn't heard of Re:Vice[D] until writing this post and I'm now intrigued by the art style and the story concept! The story covers four Heavenly Kings from the Netherworld who are looking to find the next Demon Lord. Without knowledge of the human world and with only a book to follow, the Heavenly Kings struggle trying to find the next Demon Lord until one day each of the Heavenly Kings find a different candidate who appear to be suitable for the job. In order to determine which of the four candidates is truly suitable, the Heavenly Kings strive to investigate the candidates against the required Demon Lord qualities described in their book.


Pre-Order:
Play-Asia

Soushuu Senshinkan Gakuen Hachimyoujin Ten no Toki (PS Vita)


Not a lot of English information about this one, although I can tell you it is a visual novel. The game before this one (Soushuu Senshinkan Gakuen Hachimyoujin) according to vndb revolved around a boy and girl with lucid dreams who become stuck inside a dream that actually affects history and has the ability to kill people in real life.

Pre-order/Buy it: Play-Asia


Tokyo Shinseiroku: Operation Abyss (PS Vita)


Yet again, not a lot of English information on this one, although apparently the gameplay is similar to Demon Gaze.

Pre-order/Buy it: Play-Asia



Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late (Playstation 3)


Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late is an anticipated fighting game by Arc System Works and French Bread that originated as an arcade game. The game sports the kind of 2D anime fighting characters you know and love from Arc System Works and also boasts many unique characters with different moves and weapons. The PS3 version will also include a new character called Nanase who is described as a high school warrior!

Pre-order/Buy it: Play-Asia

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Did I miss something important? Or maybe you found one you think fellow JRPG fans would enjoy? Comment below, send a tweet to @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let me know!
Want your JRPG style game included in this list? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com with a link to the game and anything else you'd like to tell us about for consideration!

Sunday 20 July 2014

Final Fantasy Record Keeper Revealed



After the Final Fantasy Record Keeper website's countdown finished, the rest of the website for the smartphone game was revealed, along with details about the game.

In Final Fantasy Record Keeper, players can access battles from older Final Fantasy games. Each Final Fantasy game will a feature a world that can be accessed through paintings in the game. After clearing the world's dungeons, you can unlock playable characters from each game.

The game will be released in Japan for smartphones and will be free, but will also feature microtransactions.

Source: Siliconera

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Final Fantasy Explorers Battle Music Revealed


In a four part series by 4gamer on composer Tsuyoshi Sekito's work, Tsuyoshi revealed the regular battle theme for Final Fantasy Explorers, which sounds (in my opinion) really epic! The composer mentioned he believes the piece is versatile and will be revealing his boss battle theme for the game in the next part of the series.


Source: Siliconera

Pre-order Final Fantasy Explorers (Japanese Region) for Nintendo 3DS: Play-Asia


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Have a story about a Japanese game or something else you think we should cover? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let us know!

This Week's Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Trailers: Elizabeth and Teddie


"The Most Lethal Elevator Girl of All Time" Elizabeth from Persona 3 and our resident Persona 4 mascot Teddie get their own trailers this week for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Watch them below!





Pre-order Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (out Fall 2014): AmazonPlay-Asia

Pre-order the Japanese version of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (out August 28th 2014): Play-Asia



See the other trailers on our Persona 4 Arena Ultimax posts: Promo VideoNaoto Shirogane and Kanji TatsumiChie Satonaka and Shadow LabrysGame TrailerYu Narukami and Tohru AdachiSho MinazukiYukiko Amagi and Yosuke HanamuraKen Amada and Koromaru (at the bottom of the linked post), Labrys (at the bottom of the linked post), Junpei Iori and Rise Kujikawa. For some reason I didn't do a post on Yukari's, so here's her trailer on Youtube.

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Have something to say about this news article? Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle!

Have a story about a Japanese game or something else you think we should cover? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let us know!