Top 7 JRPG Trailers and Announcements from Sony's Pre-TGS 2015 Conference

Tokyo Game Show 2015 has come and gone and has left us many souvenirs in the form of all the wonderful game announcements that have me counting down to 2016 already. While many announcements were made throughout all four days of the show (Persona 5 anyone?), some of the best announcements from TGS were made during Sony's Pre-Show Conference. There were many noteworthy announcement during the conference, including some cool JRPGs, so I made a top 7 list of my favourites from the conference. This is a ranked list, although it was extremely difficult to choose the right ranking (particularly between the last two games) and I definitely want to pick up all of these games at launch. Enjoy the list!

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7. Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna

Since the announcement of Square Enix's Tokyo RPG Factory studio during E3 2015, I've held a little curiosity about what they would do for their first title. Their goal of creating JRPGs like the magical ones that a lot of people grew up with is something I think a lot of people can get excited about, especially fans of long-running JRPG franchises.

Enter Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna, Tokyo RPG Factory's first revealed title for 2016. According to a translation from the game's website (courtesy of Gematsu), the game is promising towns to shop, challenging enemies and a touching ending. The trailer for the 'pure fantasy' RPG resembles a more graphically modern looking version of older fantasy RPGs and I'm looking forward to hearing more about the game's story soon.

You can pre-order Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna at Play-Asia.com now.

6. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

The latest installment from Vanillaware (the developers of Dragon's Crown and the visually stunning Muramasa series) is Sentinel 13: Aegis Rim. Not much information is available other than this trailer, but the trailer shows lots of mechs, a gorgeous art style and a high school setting.

You can pre-order 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim at Play-Asia.com now.

5. Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness 5

I can't say I've ever ventured into playing the Star Ocean series, but every trailer I've seen of Star Ocean 5 has caught my attention and this new trailer is no exception. The colourful characters, beautiful looking galactic-meets-fantasy looking world and action-packed combat make for an interesting looking game.

You can pre-order Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness 5 at Play-Asia.com now.

4. Danganronpa V3

Spike Chunsoft has unveiled Danganronpa V3, the next installment to the main story of Danganronpa. This trailer curiously features mostly bears, meaning this will either be a very beary title or perhaps they're placeholders for other characters. Either way, this will be the first Danganronpa game for home consoles with the game coming to PS4, but it will also come to PS Vita as well.

You can pre-order Danganronpa V3 at Play-Asia.com now.

3. World of Final Fantasy

An extended look at World of Final Fantasy was shown during Square Enix's conference during TGS, after the initial announcement of the game at E3 2015. World of Final Fantasy revolves around a brother and sister making their way through the worlds of various Final Fantasy games, which include characters such as Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, the Warrior of Light from the original Final Fantasy games and favourites from throughout the series such as Cactuar, Chocobos and memorable summons such as Ifrit and Bahamut. The game's chibi art style, all of the familiar enemies and the various worlds make this trailer look like a fun experience for fans of the series and new fans discovering the series for the first time.

You can pre-order World of Final Fantasy from Play-Asia.com now.

2. Gravity Rush 2 and Gravity Rush Remastered

Technically these are two different games, but they're from the same series and were announced at the same time, so I'm gonna to put them together!

The original Gravity Rush (known as Gravity Daze in Japan) was released in 2012 a little after the release of the PS Vita. The Action JRPG took advance of many of the tilting features of the Vita, along with having a comic book-esque story that was complete with the ability to fly. The game was met with plenty of praise, especially in Japan (Famitsu gave it a 38 out of 40) and was surprisingly announced at the Sony Conference that it will be remastered for PS4 (possibly to raise hype for Gravity Rush 2). I loved the game on PS Vita enough to platinum it because of the fun 360 movement and the way travelling through the world felt, so I'm excited to play it on PS4 again. However, I am of course even more excited for Gravity Rush 2.

Gravity Rush 2 has been rumoured for awhile, but I had forgotten about the game long enough to be gobsmacked by the actual announcement of the game. The trailer didn't detail a lot about the story, although it did show some of the landscapes, combat and returning characters. Gematsu's recent translation of the Gravity Daze 2 website's said that the story would be featured in a new world after a gravitational whirlpool sucks the main characters away from the first game's setting, Hekseville.

You can pre-order Gravity Daze (Remastered) and Gravity Daze 2 (both Japanese editions at this point in time) from Play-Asia.com now. 

1. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue

It may not be Kingdom Hearts 3, but Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue will be the first Kingdom Hearts game in awhile to give a brand new piece of story to the series. The game will feature a remake of Kingdom Hearts - Dream Drop Distance (which I'm particularly excited for, as it was released on 3DS and not Playstation) and Kingdom Hearts Unchained X, which Polygon has said is to be connected to the mobile title. The most exciting part of Kingdom Hearts 2.8 is Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-, which is a new playable story sequence that will be told from the perspective of Aqua. The story takes place after Birth by Sleep and is meant to link with Kingdom Hearts 3. While the last few Kingdom Hearts remastered games have been on PS3, Kingdom Hearts 2.8 will be the first Kingdom Hearts game to hit PS4 in 2016.

You can pre-order Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue from Play-Asia.com now.

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If you think I missed a super important JRPG from the Sony conference, feel free to leave it and your favourite other TGS trailers in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by and make sure to follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter for updates on content and random, shorter musings on JRPG news and games!

Note: This article does contain an affiliate links to Play-Asia to help support this site. You can read our Affiliate Link Policy here.

This Week's PSN EU/AU PSN Releases, JRPG Style! (11/9/15)

Omega Quintet

Why hello! Welcome to this week's edition of Europe and Australia's new PSN releases, which pulls each week's PSN additions related to the JRPG genre and other Japanese games into one post for your convenience.

Pick of the week!: Both deals are really good this week! Ah!

At the moment, I'm playing the Japanese version of Omega Quintet, however I'm playing it at a snails pace because it's in Japanese. It has plenty of funny character banter so far and I'm always up for an Idol JRPG. J-Stars Victory does also look cool to play with friends though, I've never played it but I want it because of the crazy roster of characters!

I'm currently trying to jump on the PS4 train right now, so I definitely recommend both of these games if you're a Japanese game fan struggling to find games to play.

Let me know what your pick of the week is in the comments below or by sending a tweet to @JRPGJungle. Happy gaming!

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DLC

Onechanbara Z2 Chaos

Paid

• Beast Hands
• Bunny
• Cool Short 'Do
• Cowboy Hat
• GaGaGa Ribbon
• Long Ponytail
• Ponytail Wig
• Rider Belt
• Rider Scarf
• Straight Pigtails
• Volume 2 Bundle
• Voluminous Ponytail

One Piece 3 Pirate Warriors 3

Paid

• DLC Pack 1

Deals

• J-Stars Victory VS + Digital Edition (PS4, PS Vita, PS3)
• Omega Quintet (PS4)

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Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter for updates on content and random, shorter musings on JRPG news and games!

This Week's PSN EU/AU PSN Releases, JRPG Style! (4/9/15)

Lost Dimension

Why hello! Welcome to this week's edition of Europe and Australia's new PSN releases, which pulls each week's PSN additions related to the JRPG genre and other Japanese games into one post for your convenience.

New releases! Three of them! After a pretty quiet last week on PSN, Lost Dimension, Onechanbara Z2 and One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 grace the store with quirky Japanese game goodness. I've had my eye on Onechanbara since Kotaku posted about some of it's funny English lines and it just seems like an action packed, completely inappropriate game that I want to play when I need a good laugh. Another game I'm interested in is Lost Dimension, a new Atlus RPG that combines elements from popular, recent Japanese games into it's own tactical experience and I love a good whodunit, so I'm hoping it's enjoyable. All of these games also boast a bunch of DLC and to top off a good week, Crunchyroll has made it's way to the PSN internationally. Good week is good.

Enjoy the games and happy gaming!

New Releases

• Lost Dimension (PS3, PS Vita)
• Onechanbara Z2: Chaos (PS4)
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 (PS4, PS3, PS Vita)
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 - Gold Edition (PS4, PS3, PS Vita)

DLC

Lost Dimension (PS3, PS Vita)

Free:

• Free Gift: Medical Gift A
• Free Gift: VP + 1
• Sho Special Costume 'White Regelia'

Paid:

• Boost Bonus Set
• Costume Set (Includes 9 Costumes)
• Extra EN x5
• Extra Exp
• Extra Exp x3
• Extra Exp x5
• Extra Gift-EXP
• Extra Gift-EXP x3
• Extra Gift-EXP x5
• Forced Vote
• Forced Vote x2
• Forced Vote x4
• George Special Costume 'Fallen Samurai'
• Gift-Exp +1
• Gift-Exp +2
• Gift-Exp +4
• Himeno Special Costume 'Sweet Teacher'
• Icon of Trust
• Icon of Trust x2
• Icon of Trust x4
• Level All +1
• Level All +3
• Macro Special Costume 'Kitty Costume'
• Mana Special Costume 'Dream Fighter'
• Mind Limiter
• Mind Limiter x3
• Mind Limiter x5
• Nagi Special Costume 'Risque Oiran'
• Tranquilizer set A
• Tranquilizer set B
• Toya Special Costume 'Dapper Socialite'
• VP + 1
• VP + 2
• VP + 4
• Yoko Special Costume 'Shining Idol'
• Zenji Special Costume 'Bad Boy'

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos (PS4)

Free:

• Bande Dessinee
• Black Rose

Paid:

• Amazonic Paint
• Cutie Marine
• Fizzy and Dizzy
• Golden Kagura Pigtails
• Golden Saaya Ponytail
• Golden Saki Pigtails
• Golden Wavy Long 'Do
• Japanese Iris
• Jet Spanglette
• Red Swan
• Strawberry and Banana Surprise
• Volume 1 Bundle

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 (PS3, PS4, PS Vita)

Paid:

• Story Pack

Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment (PS4)

Free:

• DLC Pack

Apps

For JRPG fans who also are fans of anime, Crunchyroll is now available on the PSN App store internationally (finally!) on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita for free. Using the free membership from Crunchyroll, you can watch a huge selection of anime directly on your Playstation device (which will be especially awesome on Vita I bet).

For fans of HD streaming, simulcasts and ad-free viewing, you can go to Crunchyroll's website and purchase a monthly subscription that will give you all those things and more. My boyfriend and I used the subscription back in Australia (at the time with Chromecast) and I loved being able to watch titles like Persona 4 Golden the Animation and Sailor Moon Crystal right as they came out fully translated. Couldn't have watched or reviewed the first few episodes of the P4G Animation without it, so I highly recommend it.

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Pick of the week: I'm going with Onechanbara Z2 Chaos because it looks ridiculous and Lost Dimension for being a whodunit with some of my new favourite game elements like class trials.

What's your pick of the week? Will you be picking up anything from the PSN this week?

I love hearing your thoughts, so please comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle and follow to keep up with the content we post. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Please note the content available is subject to change by region and the content listed in this post is based on the European/Australian PSN at the time of writing.

Note: This article does contain an affiliate link to Crunchyroll that does help support this site. You can read our Affiliate Link Policy here.

Persona 4 Dancing All Night (JP) - An Extended First Impression

When Persona 4 Dancing All Night was first announced with a slew of Persona games such as Persona 5, Persona Q and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, you could be forgiven for thinking that Persona 4 Dancing All Night was the most bizarre edition to the series of the bunch. But as Persona 4 Arena has proven, the Persona 4 series can do anything, even when venturing out of it's usual JRPG territory. Persona 4 Dancing All Night is a legitimate rhythm game, with some seriously good rhythm game mechanics, a killer soundtrack and meaty story that the Persona series is known and admired for. Even for those who have never ventured into the rhythm game genre, the exciting story and the quality of gameplay that the series is known for all contribute towards a fun, new experience for the Persona 4 franchise.

Persona 4 Dancing All Night is predominately a rhythm game, with most of the game's features (other than story mode) being related to the rhythm game portion of the experience. The rhythm game incorporates three buttons from the D-Pad and three of the shape buttons to hit the notes and you can use the joysticks to get bonus points for swiping when rings get larger on the screen, unless of course you opt to use the touch screen instead. The touch screen can feel extremely satisfying and kind of like dancing with fingers, but in the end the D-Pad seemed to be better at providing the precision needed to clear some of the harder difficulties. What I loved about each of the songs was how well the gameplay used the screen - there's always a button of the other side (both top or bottom) of the screen and there's always a scratch to hit between beats, no matter what difficulty. I found myself constantly preparing for the next note, which kept me on my toes and completely immersed in each song.

There are four difficulties in Persona 4 Dancing All Night, ranging from the 'my first dance game' Easy mode to the unlockable, highly involved All Night mode for up for a serious challenge. While most rhythm games score a song as cleared or unclear based on the overall score, Persona 4 Dancing All Night scores on consistency instead. This means you can get a perfect score throughout the whole song, but if you lose your rhythm during just one section of the song, you can still lose. On top of this harsher grading system, you can only clear a song by being in the two highest health statuses (green or rainbow), with three other health statuses meaning you don't clear the song (white, yellow and red), meaning there is technically more of a chance of losing each song than winning. This might sound like a really harsh grading system, but it reminded me of arcade rhythm games with the way it encouraged me to want to master each song instead of just clearing it. Clearing a song unlocks more songs the first time playing through, plus gives you in-game money to spend on the cool and hilarious costume and accessories options, along with items to make songs easier or even harder if you want even more of a challenge, offering many insane and diverse ways to play. Thanks to all of the different modes, DLC (which I couldn't try on the Australian PSN store unfortunately) and trying to win with different debuff items, there's always a new challenge waiting around the corner.

Apart from the great gameplay, there are many small reasons to love the dance portion of Persona 4 Dancing All Night. If you've played Persona 4 Golden, along with recognising the tracks from the game, you'll notice how the Persona character's songs and the way they dance relate closely to their personalities. For example, Yukiko dances with grace and to songs such as the one that played during winter in Persona 4, which matches her graceful but sometimes cold demeanour. In contrast, Chie's dances incorporate all those kung-fu moves she loves to practice on top of appropriately high energy music. This kind of attention to detail is what the Persona series is known for and as a fan, I really appreciated that even in a rhythm-focused game, the characters were the still same one's I'd fallen in love with in Persona 4 Golden.

And of course, the killer soundtrack from all of the Persona 4 games (including Persona 4, Arena and Persona Q) shines with during the rhythm game, coupled with cool new takes on the familiar music in the form of remixes that often completely change the feel of each song, but in the best way. Rock, Jazz, Pop and Dance music are the main genres featured in the game, so there's something for almost everyone to enjoy. Each song is fun and catchy and has given me plenty of reason to regret not buying the soundtrack edition of the game (previews of a few of the songs are now available to listen to on AtlusUSA's Youtube channel and I highly recommend doing so if you're trying to decide between the standard or soundtrack edition of the game).

For those importing the game and with a low or no level Japanese ability, the story naturally will be the hardest thing to digest as it is in visual novel form, meaning the game relies on text and only a few key cutscenes and photos to tell it's story. Like the Persona 4 Arena games, the story is divided into chapters and incorporates the Dance gameplay at random intervals where shadows appear in the story. Admittedly, the Japanese was a little too difficult for me to fully capture the intricacies of the story that Persona is known for, but I can say that even skipping through the story, I was able to grasp that the game subject matter features the journey towards accepting one's true self (a Persona series staple) and all characters, new and old, that appear in the game will play an active role in solving the mystery at hand.

If you can't wait for the rhythm game part of the game, Persona 4 Dancing All Night is worth importing. The menus are easy enough to navigate as they are mostly in English and I managed to skip through the story to unlock the extra rhythm game features without many hurdles. If you're importing Persona 4 Dancing All Night for the story only because you can't wait any longer for the September 29th release date (or later in some regions), unless you have some serious Japanese chops, I would recommend waiting for the translated version because of how lengthy the story is and Atlus' tendency to give a detailed story. I'm the kind of person who wouldn't want to miss a single detail of the story so if you're the same, waiting one month of the game will probably be worth it to enjoy the game to it's highest potential.

For fans of rhythm games and the Persona series, Persona 4 Dancing All Night is an absolute treat. The characters are portrayed well with the lovable personalities that Persona fans have come to love, both on and off the dance floor. The rhythm game portion sets a new high standard for rhythm games and I love the unique scoring system that gave a more involved gameplay experience that kept me on my toes (and thumbs) for over 30 hours and I never got bored of both the remixed and familiar versions of the Persona 4 series' soundtrack. In imported form, fans can experience the gameplay early but if you're in it just for the story, you may as well wait until the end of September. Whether you buy it now or not, Persona 4 Dancing All Night isn't just a rhythm game - it's earned it's right of passage as a legitimate addition to the Persona 4 series and a serious addition to the rhythm game genre.

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Whether you can wait for the end of September or not, you can buy the Japanese edition or pre-order the US edition (in English of course) at Play-Asia.

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Will you import or wait for Persona 4 Dancing All Night? What's you opinion on dancing bear suits?
Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle and let me know! Feel to follow if you want to keep up the content posted here. Thanks a bunch for stopping by!

Note: This article does contain an affiliate link that helps to support this site. You can read our Affiliate Link Policy here.

This Week's PSN EU/AU PSN Releases, JRPG Style! (27/8/15)

Amensia: Memories

Why hello! Welcome to this week's edition of Europe and Australia's new PSN releases, which pulls each week's PSN additions related to the JRPG genre and other Japanese games into one post for your convenience.

Now that the Winter Sale is over on the Australian/European PSN store, it feels like something is missing this week - JRPGs. The PSN seems generally quiet this week, but if you enjoy otome visual novels, the game Amnesia: Memories is out for PS Vita and has an interesting sounding story about a girl who awakens without her memory one morning, with the only clue to her past being her cell phone. Other than that, there's a deal for Toukiden and some Yu-Gi-Oh! DLC and not much else, meaning I'll be continuing to grind to beat the final boss in Final Fantasy IX.

Have a good week and happy gaming!

JRPG Content

Deals

• Toukiden: Kiwami (PS4)

Japanese/JRPG-Related Game Highlights

New Releases

• Amnesia: Memories (PS Vita)

DLC

Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist (PS4)

Paid:

• ARC-V Gong v. Kit
• ARC-V Sora and Dipper
• ARC-V Yuto v. Sylvio
• ARC-V Zuzu v. Julia

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Pick of the week: I've never played an Otome game, but the story for Amnesia sounds very interesting, even without the romance elements.

What's your pick of the week? Will you be picking up anything from the PSN this week?

I love hearing your thoughts, so please comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle and follow to keep up with the content we post. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Please note the content available is subject to change by region and the content listed in this post is based on the European/Australian PSN at the time of writing.

This Week's PSN EU/AU PSN Releases, JRPG Style! (20/8/15)

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Why hello! Welcome to this week's edition of Europe and Australia's new PSN releases, which pulls each week's PSN additions related to the JRPG genre and other Japanese games into one post for your convenience.

No new JRPG releases this week, but luckily there are still some great games such as Persona 4 Golden, Danganronpa and Steins;Gate on sale. This is the last week they're on sale, so pick them up soon if you want them!

Have a good week and happy gaming!

DLC

Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess (PS3, PS4, PS Vita)

Paid

• Humiliating Trap: Octopus Arm
• Rachel Pack

Deals

• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (PS Vita)
• Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (PS Vita)
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse (PS3, PS4)
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse: Time Travel Edition (PS3. PS4)
• Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed (PS Vita)
• Persona 4 Golden (PS Vita)
• Sayonara UmiharaKawase + (PS Vita)
• Steins;Gate (PS3)
• Ys: Memories of Celceta (PS Vita)

Avatars

Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines

• Akaneko Onatsu Avatar
• Akeboshi no Oji Avatar
• Onmyoji Ataru Avatar
• Tokasen Avatar
• Yazaka Gozumaru Avatar
• Yatsude no Osumi Avatar
• Avatar Bundle (includes all of the above avatars)

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Pick of the week: Persona 4 Golden, the Danganronpa series and Steins;Gate. Loved the Persona and Danganronpa games and I want to play Steins;Gate because of how great the anime was.

What's your pick of the week? Will you be picking up anything from the PSN this week?

I love hearing your thoughts, so please comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle and follow to keep up with the content we post. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Please note the content available is subject to change by region and the content listed in this post is based on the European/Australian PSN at the time of writing.

Battle of the Personas! Konohana Sakuya Figure Face-Off (Bandai vs DX)

If you're a fan of the Persona series, then you probably love the games' characters. All the characters have great stories and well-rounded personalities that make them relatable and they're a huge part of the reason why I've spent hundreds of hours playing through the series so far. But there's a group of characters that often get overlooked next to the main cast, yet the main cast need them to survive in all the dungeons that need to be crawled. I'm talking about where the series gets its name, the Personas - the monsters who fight for the characters.

Konohana Sakuya is Yukiko's elegant Persona that boasts gorgeous looking fans and uses fire attacks. Yukiko's my best girl when playing Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, so I was really excited to find a figure of her and the Bandai version of her Persona in Akihabara. Recently though, I found a bigger version of Konohana Sakuya in the form of the DX version of this figure pre-owned for a reasonable price.

Left: DX Konohana Sakuya figure Right: Bandai Konohana Sakuya figure

When I started my figure collection, I said to myself I wouldn't be the person to have multiple figures of the same character, but it happened because both figures are so stunning. Because of this, I thought I'd do a figure face-off style review to decide which figure should take up more shelf space and to help those who are trying to decide between the two.

(A quick note: I did buy both of these pre-owned. To me, they look as good as new, but it's worth noting in case anyone is seriously looking at purchasing one of these that yours may be less faded or something if you buy them!)

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Round 1: Colour

Left: Bandai Konohana Sakuya figure  Right: DX Konohana Sakuya figure

Looking between the figures and a photo of Konohana Sakuya, you can see that both figures are accurate in colour to the original character photo. Both figure's colours feature the vibrant rose pink colour of the Persona, but I would say that the Bandai figure is richer in colour than the DX figure whereas the DX figure is just a little lighter than the photo (on my monitor anyway).

It's interesting to see that both figures opted for a different gold accent tone, with the DX figure using a green-based gold colour and the Bandai figure opting for a yellow-based gold. While the vibrant gold is very eye catching, looking at a photo of Konohana Sakuya, the green gold is more in line with the actual colour of Konohana Sakuya's gold accents.
On the subject of the gold colours, both figures opted to change the colour of the figure's eyes to a different gold shade. I don't understand why, as looking at Konohana Sakuya in photos and the game, I really don't think her eyes are a different colour to the rest of the gold on her. I almost wish I could swap the Bandai and DX eyes so the eyes were consistent to the rest of the figure, but this is a very minor complaint, so I'll survive.

Winner: Bandai - While the DX figure is more colour accurate to Konohana Sakuya, I do enjoy the richness and vibrancy of colour of the Bandai figure. The brightness adds to the figure's majestic look and the vibrant ombre effect on the Persona's fans looks stunning when posed well.

Round 2: Durability

Left: DX Konohana Sakuya Right: Bandai Konohana Sakuya

Looking at reviews online, both of these figures have some issues with durability. However in my own experience, there's a clear winner for this round since the only figure I've had problems with is the Bandai figure.

Because of the Bandai figures ability to be posed, lots of parts can be moved into cool poses, which is great. However, this feature of the figure would be much cooler if pieces didn't fall off so easily in the process. Setting up Bandai Konohana Sakuya's fans has a tendency to feel like setting up dominoes - one wrong move and you may have to set up half the pose again because either one of the hands or one or more of the other fans came off. I've also had legs and the actual discs that hold the fans come off. My figure has never broken permanently, but I find a touch it very gingerly because I'm worried about damaging one of the joints. Also worth noting - there is a small bit of damage on one of the discs that attaches the fans. It's thankfully covered up by the fans and the damage was there when I bought the figure pre-owned, but it does add to my fear of damaging the figure.

Winner: DX - Meanwhile, the DX figure is not poseable and therefore doesn't have this problem. The two joints attaching the fan are solid and even as a pre-owned figure, there are no signs of wear and tear on my figure. I have read online (specifically at myfigurecollection.net) that some people have had issues with the DX figure's fans breaking during transit or by accident, so I'd maybe recommend keeping it in safe area (but I would recommend this with most figures anyway). Since my figure is in perfect condition and I haven't had an fear of breaking it so far, DX Konohana Sakuya easily wins this round.

Round 3: Pose

Left: DX Konohana Sakuya Right: Bandai Konohana Sakuya

Between a figure that is poseable and a figure that isn't, one could think there is no argument in this category. Although this is mostly true, I wanted to talk about the pros and cons of each of the figure's poses and poseability.

What I like about the DX figure that is the pose it's in is the pose I originally wanted when I was searching Konohana Sakuya images when trying to re-pose my Bandai figure. The DX figure's pose was my favourite pose I saw, but I hadn't realised these were two different figures yet. Because the DX figure is built specifically for it's pose, every single angle looks perfect and I don't really mind not being able to change her.

The Bandai figure can be posed in many different poses and can look great if you're patient about the process. It's pretty fun to pose after you get over fear of breaking the figure. When I look on Google Images at some of the images of other people's figures, there are some magnificent looking poses that can be achieved with this figure. Looking at those images and my own, I can confidently say that the Bandai figure can really be a standout in a figure collection when put in the right pose. The only compliant I have about this poseability is the way the fans look. Although they're beautiful, because they can be moved around, they can sometimes look more like connected fan or spike clusters rather than one big fan.

Winner: Bandai - Even though I do like the overall appearance of the fans on the DX figure better because of the smooth look, having a poseable figure is a huge advantage, so Bandai has to win this round. Although I'm not personally able to get the fans looking smooth and how I want them, some people have done a great job in making the figure look incredible and it really does look incredible if you spend them time making it look it's best.

Round 4: Stand

Left: DX Konohana Sakuya Right: Bandai Konohana Sakuya

Both figures boast cool stands featuring the Persona symbol, the DX one being clear and the Bandai one being black and white and fully opaque with some extra details. The actual figures themselves are held on their stands in different ways, with the Bandai figure's stand attaching on the back of the torso and the DX one's feet being molded to the stand. Both stands certainly fulfill their purpose of holding the figures up and displaying them well, but there are some significant differences from various angles due to the difference in stand types.

The Bandai stand, like the rest of the figure, is adjustable, which means she can be posed to be slightly elevated and to look like she's flying, which is pretty freaking awesome. The poseable joints on the stand are a little more steady than the body of the figure and hold most poses really well, although can still be a hassle while posing because they look to come off the figure while you adjust it. Because the stand attaches on the back of Konohana Sakuya, the stand is visable when looked at on a 360 degree angle. This isn't a problem, although if you considering displaying her in a spinning case, it's worth noting that the stand will be visible.

On the other hand, the DX figure uses a unique way of holding up Konohana Sakuya - her feet are molded to the base. This initially freaked me out when I opened the box - I was so scared of her feet breaking off from the base and ruining the figure. However, it seems to be sturdy as I haven't had that problem, even after attaching the fans to her hands. The base of the stand is thick and I like how the clear design doesn't take away attention from the figure - no stand gets in the way of admiring this figure from all angles. An added bonus to the gear-like design of this stand is that it can also slot the DX Izanagi figure to it or it can look cool without. Options are always a plus.

Winner: DX - While the stands of these figures were definitely not deciding factors when I made my purchase, I like the DX stand best because of how the figure can be looked at from every angle, but both are good stands. This will truly come down to personal preference - if you want to make it look like your figure is flying, I recommend the Bandai figure. If you want to put your figure in one of those spinning display boxes or don't like setting stands up, I recommend the DX figure.

Round 5: Quality

Left: DX Konohana Sakuya figure Right: Bandai Konohana Sakuya figure

Both figures are what I would call high quality - both are painted well, are detailed and look really accurate when looking at photos of the character in the game and the anime. These figures are both however made from different materials and handle certain details of Konohana Sakuya a little differently.

The DX figure is very hard to fault for quality. The figure has plenty of attention to detail, from the size scaling, to the fans, to the muscle definition on her torso. The DX figure is made from PVC, which is a fairly strong material, although as mentioned earlier, has sadly snapped for some people on the attachable fans. I would say between the two figures, the DX figure is the most accurate when comparing to Konohana Sakuya - other than the orange gold eyes, I can't notice any differences between the figure and character photos.

The Bandai figure is made from a mix of ABS and PVC. Most of the body feels like it's made from ABS, which is good because ABS is a very strong material and therefore there isn't much need to fear permanent damage. However, I've mentioned many times in this article my problem with pieces coming off while attaching them, which isn't permanent damage but does making posing it a real pain - I find myself trying to get it in the most practical pose that still looks cool and leaving it for as long as possible. The figures details are very beautiful, with the ombre fans looking incredible. On the fan closest to Sakuya's hand though, the Bandai figure looks a little different to the character photo and design of Konohana Sakuya, changing the flower to look darker and rounder, presumably to provide a contrast in colour because of how small it is compared to the rest of the fan.

Winner: DX - It's a tough decision, as I truly am impressed with the quality of both of these figures and both are made from strong materials. I have to go with the DX figure here though, because I've had no problems with it and that speaks most to me when I think about quality. The Bandai figure is made from stronger materials, but the quality of it's attachable pieces make the figure feel secondary next to the DX.

Recap

Round 1 - Colour: Bandai

Round 2 - Durability: DX

Round 3 - Pose: Bandai

Round 4 - Stand: DX

Round 5 - Quality: DX

Overall Winner: Megahouse DX Konohana Sakuya

I love both figures so much and my Bandai probably won't be leaving my shelf anytime soon, but I can't deny the superior quality and easily displayable DX Konohana Sakuya. The figure is bigger, less time consuming and looks beautiful from every angle. If you are looking for versatility in a figure, the Bandai figure can be posed to look amazing for those more patient than me. But for a high quality, tall figure to display somewhere prominent, I would definitely recommend DX's Konohana Sakuya figure.

Bandai Konohana Sakuya: 7/10

DX Konohana Sakuya: 8.5/10

The DX and Bandai Konohana Sakuya figures are available from Crunchyroll brand new. I did manage to get mine pre-owned for a much cheaper price within Japan, so make sure to shop around and get the best deal you can. Pre-owned versions can of course be found many places online, but always make sure you are buying for a reputable seller!

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Will you be picking up one of these figures? What Persona do you want to see as a figure?
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