I’m tempted to turn this publication into a 24/7 vigil following every tidbit of info on the DeathSmiles localization, but I’ll control myself and continue to recap a wide selection of obscure gaming news. For now. So read up, until I’m no longer able to control my shmup-centric tendencies!

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Just when it looked like things were solidifying, more shenanigans regarding the release of Ketsui X – while people have been receiving confirmations of the date from retailers, two recent blog posts from one of the guys involved with the troubled 360 port apparently says that the April release date mentioned last issue is not accurate. Arrgh, I give up…also, the long-awaited patch for DoDonPachi Dai-ou-Jou Black Label X, which was supposed to be out by now, has apparently been delayed yet again.

On a brighter note, we’ve got another trailer for the 360 port of ESPGaluda II to drool over before the game is released later this month – be sure to note the footage of “Arrange” mode, with the dark red bullets. Famitsu has apparently also revealed the presence of a separate “Omake” mode, though how it works has yet to be revealed. There’s also an achievements list, though only Japanese readers can make much sense of it.

As readers already know, the US is getting a localized version of DeathSmiles which includes the “Mega Black Label” DLC for free – Japanese gamers don’t have to be too sore, though, as they’re getting a “Platinum” version of the game which is not only reduced in price but also includes that same DLC. Late adopters, you’re once again running out of excuses!

Now here’s a rarely-seen shooter concept, from Tecmo of all people (haven’t seen you boys in this genre for awhile) – the company’s upcoming DSiWare title, aptly dubbed Reverse Shooting, puts you in control not of a lone star fighter, but of all the opposing space baddies, and tasks you with stopping the hero (who can be controlled by Player 2 if you’re in a competitive mood). Heck, it even tells you to actually flip the DS upside-down to play – by the time you read this the game should already be out in Japan, I’ll keep an eye open for any possible localization news.

NG:DEV Team, the guys behind Last Hope are releasing another Neo-Geo shmup project, this time a vertical scroller titled Fast Striker. Check out some magazine scans (in German) here and here – there will apparently be both a full-fledged arcade version and a “consumer” edition, each boasting three modes with different scoring systems a la Mushihime-sama. Opinions on Last Hope are somewhat mixed – hopefully they can appeal to a wider audience this time around.

I don’t have a link for this one, but word on the street is that Raystorm HD has finally received a release date of February 24th – will post confirmation when/if it shows up.

No actual gameplay footage to be found here, but you’ll still end up watching this exceedingly manly Cho Aniki Zero: Muscle Brothers promotional music video.

Unless my memory fails me the Tribune featured an item on XBLA Indie shmup Shoot 1Up a few issues back, but now the front page has an item on it as well, so, um, look at it again!

Last issue I posted a link to the first shmup-centric episode of podcast “198x” – lo and behold, if you head over to their site the second and third parts of the series are now up and ready for download, as they move into to the genre’s modern era and pontificate about the future. On the local front, Jedah Doma posted his latest episode of “Substance TV”, which includes a review of Mushihime-sama Futari.

A couple of Tohou figures over at Tomopop that I was a bit late in spotting – a cheerful-looking Marisa and a chibi-style Sakuya.




Make sure to follow the link in this article to a translated Capcom blog post which goes into the process of finalizing Street Fighter IV’s overall art style, one character at a time. Some interesting stuff in there, take some time to have a look. There are also a dozen more screens of the game to check out, mostly featuring Rose and Sakura.

Here’s one I probably should have been keeping a closer eye on, but better late than never – in case you hadn’t seen it before, take a gander at an in-progress doujin (I think) 2-D fighter called Yatagarasu. It still looks a bit rough at this stage, but supposedly at least one former SNK staffer is on the development team, so hopefully it’ll turn out well.

Last issue linked readers to a bunch of spruced-up screens and such for the 360 port of NeoGeo Battle Coliseum – this issue, you can have some more.

You already knew that Dead or Alive Paradise would probably end up with an “M” rating, and could likely take a good guess at the basic sort of write-up that the ESRB would give it – you might not have figured, however, that they’d go so far as to include the words “creepy”, “bizarre”, and “misguided”, among others. (DToid coverage here.) Apparently neither did some of the higher-ups at the organization, as the description was soon taken down. (DToid coverage here.)

I mentioned XBLA puzzler 0D Beat Drop around these parts some time ago – why am I bringing it up again here in the “fighters” section, you ask? Because the game is getting some BlazBlue skins as DLC, that’s why. Also, while I doubt that anyone thought a home port of BlazBlue:Continuum Shift was coming at some point, it looks like one may have been accidentally announced.

Any of you remember Photo Fighter X, that weird little DSiWare thing that lets you turn photos of yourself and your friends into playable (if rough) fighting game characters? Well, you might be able to pick it up without importing, as Nintendo’s seemingly planning to bring the title overseas under the title Photo Dojo.

Wry Guy’s revamp of his King of Fighters “Love Letter” posts continues, with a spit-and-polish job on the KoF ’95 feature. Read these, dammit!

Probably in anticipation of the new stick being released for Super Street Fighter IV Amazon is discounting MadCatz’s first batch of Tournament Edition joysticks, to the tune of about one-third off.

Two issues ago, the Tribune mentioned a prototype “Lightning Blanka” statue that was being auctioned off, with the proceeds going to relief efforts in Haiti – this article at Tomopop includes a link to said auction, which has by now ended, and raised nearly $2,700 in the process. Good show, everyone!

Perhaps not entirely fighting game-related, but still neat enough for an item here – a group of fans has released a trailer for a Final Fight movie project they’re working on, and it actually doesn’t look too bad at all. Definitely worth the time it takes to watch it. (DToid coverage here.)



The official site for 3D Dot Game Heroes has gone live, as has an ironically short trailer extolling the virtues of “natural sword enhancement”. Looks like someone will need to make a facsimile of “Smilin’ Bob” in the game’s character creator to complete the cycle. (DToid coverage here.)

A bit more info on some new features being added to the PSP port of Knights in the Nightmare – aside from the new graphical touches, there are tutorial missions to ease newcomers in, as well as the ability to store and view past conversations with your Knights later on. Of course, most people are more concerned with how they’ll get the basic mechanics to work on the new system (DToid coverage here). In other Sting-related news, Atlus is still working on getting the official site running proper, but in the meantime the first official blog for Hexyz Force has gone up on the forums if you want a look into some of the plot.

This should still probably go in the “misc.” section instead, but whatever – the important thing is that Disgaea Infinite, the visual novel/mystery offshoot of the SRPG series, is being localized by NISA, and should be available by May. I’m tempted by this, but as I’ve said before I’m too stupid to actually succeed at any of these titles…(DToid coverage here.) NIS had better hope that the thing sells well, considering that its operating profit is down to the tune of 97.5 percent of late.

A few small items on the pair of Wii RPGs first mentioned here last issue – first off, it turns out that the decision to rename Monado: Beginning of the World to Xenoblade was actually Nintendo’s, not developer Monolith’s. Supposedly it was to “honor” one of the creators, but I still say we’re looking at strained plot tie-ins. Also, it’s been stated that the “theme” of Mistwalker’s The Last Story is “the universal theme of human emotion”. Err…okay!

Ar Tonelico III released in Japan recently, and received the country’s equivalent of a “T” rating, much as its predecessors had – judging by what’s on display over here, though, one might wonder if the ESRB would think along the same lines if the game is localized, especially considering the above- mentioned ratings rant for Dead or Alive Paradise.

Some time ago, it was reported that an upcoming Natsume DS release titled Witch’s Wish might be a localization of a Japanese “witch training” game known as Majo ni Naru – well, it appears that those who guessed this was the case were correct. Little is still known (to me) about this title, but I get vibes of the Atelier games from it – hopefully THAT guess also turns out to be right.

Tokyo Mono Hara Shi, aka “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Persona!”, has received a release date of April 22nd in Japan – no word on whether anybody else can expect to see it.

I’m not a big MMO person (even if the sprites are cute), but I’ll still link you to the front page’s latest item on Ragnarok DS, which includes a trailer.

Click here for a trailer for the PSP port of Ys: Oath in Felghana – immediately thereafter, begin hoping that it turns out better than the system’s iteration of Ark of Napishtim, and thereafter comes here! Along with that combo pack of Ys 7 and the Book 1 + 2 compilation mentioned at the end…

Speaking of “let’s hope this turns out well on a portable system”, another trailer has come out for the Lufia II remake on the DS – boy, if it plays as good as it looks…

NIS’s Classic Dungeon is going to have its own character creator, wherein you can cook up and save up to 64 pixel-y critters at a time…of course, the samples given in the article are the usual Disgaea suspects.

Mognet Central has a pair of links to a 4Gamer feature on Absolute Hero Modding Project that includes a batch of screens and artwork. Two random thoughts on the “pirate woman” shown near the top of the first link – 1) She reminds me a lot of Shark from Gunbird 2, and 2) Why does it seem that no female RPG character since FF7’s Yuffie ever seems to remember to button her shorts up all the way?

I know nothing about this PSP RPG that the following link doesn’t tell me, but just for the title alone I had to mention Legend of the Legendary Hero: Legendary Saga. Is this a promotional tie-in with Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire?

You should have bought Half-Minute Hero back when it first came out, but you didn’t, DID you? Well, if you’re only semi-evil as opposed to irredeemably evil you can now pick the game up at Gamestop for 20 bucks, as the store just dropped the price. Get on that!

Speaking of Gamestop, the “Really Naughty Edition” of Record of Agarest War is now up for pre-order there – no sign of a “regular” edition as of yet. Now, of course, the question becomes, “are you brave enough to pick up that thing in public?” Well, I’ve already thrown down the gauntlet for that one and reserved a copy – now to prepare for the disapproving stares.

Recently the Tribune made mention of a new figure of Valkyria Chronicles’Selvaria – even more recently, Tomopop featured a full-fledged review of it.




So, Dr. Nick received some Muscle March briefs in the mail, and is giving them away to one of any number of people willing to pose in their own underwear and post it. You have no idea how conflicted I am right now.

Atlus’ “walkthrough” video series for Trauma Team marches on, with the latest installment focusing on the Orthopedics segments. Some bad news comes along with it, though – the game’s release has been delayed a month. (DToid coverage here.)

Just in case you, y’know, haven’t noticed all of the really obvious graphics and stuff on the site, allow me to confirm that yes, Mr. Destructoid himself is guest-starring in Raskulls. He must be rather happy about it, as he’s somehow bent his metal mouthpiece into a smile, after all!

The Tribune featured a brief item on Ivy the Kiwi?, a puzzle-platformer for mobile phones, a little while ago – back then, I hoped out loud that the game would make it to the DS or some other more game-centric platform. Well, it looks like those wishes may well become reality, likely on DSiWare and WiiWare.

Atlus continues to build some hype for Xeno Clash: Ultimate Edition, posting another video showcasing some of your character’s new moves, as well as a roundtable interview with some of the game’s developers on their forums. (DToid coverage here.)

I thought that the Qix-esque Patchwork Heroes sounded like an interesting PSP proposition, and was glad to hear it announced for Western release – if you’re in the same boat, check out some early impressions of the title.

If you haven’t had the chance to play gravity-flipping platformer VVVVV, you might be interested to know that someone’s made a bite-sized Java version, titled VVVV – it’s free to play, so follow the download link in the article if you’re curious.

Not sure how obscure The Behemoth is at this point, but I’ll mention this anyway – as the front page says, they’ve finally revealed the title of their upcoming project as Battleblock Theater, and have offered up a trailer as well.

Not sure how obscure team Ico is these days either, but anyways there are some new screens up, along with a link to an official site, for The Last Guardian, so look now and wonder about the appropriateness of this placement later. (DToid coverage here.) You might also be interested to know that an announcement regarding the game is probably coming during one of the big shows later this year. (DToid coverage here.)

Over at the RosenQueen store, they’re having fans vote for their favorite of two possible Prinny-centric t-shirt designs – if you want to do your part to influence the evolution of nerd apparel, head over there and cast your ballot.

New c-blogger FunWithBonus informs us of a pinball tournament in Pennsylvania that’s going down tomorrow – proceeds go to the local Humane Society, so drop by if you’re in the area. Even if you can’t make it, check out the post for the pair of videos from last year’s event – some nifty machines in there! On the forums FWB has also posted up some footage of a different pinball tournament he attended back in 2008 – not exactly contemporary stuff, but I still thought it was worth sharing. Head to this page, where it’s embedded.

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Back to the vigil…and of course, once that one’s over it’ll be on to waiting with bated breath for the next Gust localization. Until then, thanks for reading and keep gaming obscurely.

Whilst I continue my quest to write the site's first zero-comment front-page article, here’s this week’s ample selection of offbeat gaming news items:

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If Amazon is to be believed, it looks like April 22nd (or thereabouts) will be when Ketsui X for the 360 is finally released – fingers crossed that it’s really ready (I’ve had the freakin’ thing on reserve for over a year now)! Also, while I don’t have a link for this one, supposedly Famitsu has revealed that there will indeed be a “limited” edition of the game which will include an arranged soundtrack featuring music from both this title and DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou. On the local front, Gamefly has Aksys’ localization of DeathSmiles dated for July 1st, though that one might just be a placeholder – more concrete is this article, which appears to confirm that the “Mega Black Label” content will indeed be on the disc (yay!) and also hints at a possible LE.

UFO Interactive, meanwhile, continues to dither on the US localization of Illvelo for Wii – Amazon, which previously listed a February release date, now slates the game for April. And who knows whether that one will even come to pass…

In the meantime, the trial version of doujin shmup Crimzon Clover has been released, so go here to get it – the Shmups Forum is raving about this one, so make some time to try it out! As you can see from this video, there are echoes of Kamui, another popular homebrew, which was itself influenced by Taito’s Layer Section - the final version should be available by the next Comiket event in August. Rumor has it that the title was created by noted shmup pro Clover-TAC, but that’s probably false.

While a lot of shmups that are called “impossible” or “unfair” really don’t deserve it, this video of DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu Black Label’s hidden extra boss might be one of the few that revels in the notion. Is it even possible for human reflexes to keep track of all that?

One of the more recent shmups to appear on XBLA Indie Games is Lethal Judgment – any of you out there had the chance to try it?

In older doujin shmup news, a Linux version of Bullet Candy Perfect is now out if you roll penguin-style.

The Tribune made brief mention some time ago of Gravity Crash, a downloadable shooter for the PS3 – well, now it looks like fans will soon be able to get a fix on the go, as a PSP version is in the pipeline.

Over at Gamer Limit, reviews have recently appeared for You Will Die and Death By Cube. Shooter names sure have been getting depressing lately…also, if you’re wondering why the latter title only appears on the 360, see what the game’s director has to say about that topic.

A trio of interesting items for rail shooter fans – first off, I’ve been a bit remiss in covering After Burner Climax, but in case you hadn’t seen it already the game is coming to us on PSN and XBLA this Spring. On a similar note, a press release linked in this article confirms that Sin and Punishment 2 is set to release here sometime in the first quarter of the year – first update we’ve had on that in some time. Finally, Q Entertainment is considering releasing Rez HD on PSN – Sony players, keep your fingers crossed! (DToid coverage here.)

A little ways back I mentioned that efforts were under way to revive the Shmup Database portion of Shoot the Core – well, it looks like someone is in the process of doing just that, at the site’s original location. It’s a work in progress so everything’s not up yet, but it looks like the download links in the Database are working, so feel free to browse through if you’d like.

I’ve commented before that I don’t often listen to podcasts, but the latest edition of 198X is worth a listen, as it features a bunch of guys going on for nearly an hour and a half about shmups (and there’s more to come!). See how many of the background music tracks you can recognize!

This week’s “Reserve or Regret” segment at Tomopop mentions a new Reimu figure, striking the “Marilyn Monroe pose”. Also, from the c-blogs over there, these two videos should have been in last week’s issue, but since I just found them, well, here they are.

This issue the Tribune’s “proto-shmup kitsch” quotient is filled, as usual, by Space Invaders, specifically a car commercial (click here to download it) – however, it’s brought a friend along this time, in the form of some Asteroids cookies.




Street Fighter IV players beware – a particularly crafty Gen player has discovered a way to exploit his stance shifts in conjunction with focus canceling to give him a de facto “parry”. Wonder if this’ll move the old geezer up a tier or two? In related news Super Street Fighter IV has been officially dated for April 27th (if it’s not delayed again; DToid coverage here) – you can also check out its box art (DToid coverage here). On a related note, a hint as to the “something special” for the game’s release that the Capcom rep quoted last issue mentioned might be found over here, along with an anime trailer of Juri hurting stuff real bad (DToid coverage here). For a more “normal” trailer (y’know, in case you haven’t seen enough already) click here.

By now Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is out, but there’s still a truckload of stuff to read about it - take a gander at DToid’s official review and a look at what didn’t make it, as well as an nice interview with the game’s producer and another chat with Seth Killian. Also have a look at Mr. Holmes’ adventures on the pre-launch event’s floor, check out MellowBunny’s own photos and impressions from there, and absorb nilcam’s thoughts, a review, and a challenge. LK404 also manages to get a few words in. Whew!

Last issue you got a still-picture look at some of the redone sprites featured in the upcoming XBLA version of Neo Geo Battle Coliseum – now you can take a gander at things in motion, courtesy of the front page.

Looks like the USA is indeed getting Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny, courtesy of XSeed – moreover, like Rising Star is doing in Europe, the subtitle is being shortened to Sen. No release date has been announced as of yet – dare we hope for improvements in the interim? Doubt it, but…

BlazBlue: Battle X Battle for the DS should be out in Japan by the time you read this – still waiting for any word on whether or not to expect it a bit closer to home. Also, some of you might have heard about a leaked version of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift floating around on the internet – if you’re tempted to snap it up, the Aksys crew (courtesy of matty125’s c-blog) has a message for you. (Front page item here.)

At long last, Wry Guy’s “Fatal Destructoid” King of Fighters ‘98 tournament has begun! Stay tuned for updates on how badly I’m getting beaten to a pulp! For any fellow competitors, Wry has kindly bundled most of the technical stuff you need to know into this post – for all of us, he’s also put up a revamped version of his original “Love Letter” segment devoted to KoF ‘94..

Elsewhere on DToid, Jesus H. Christ wants you to join his latest Street Fighter IV competition – so does Senisan82. For tournies of a slightly more in-the-flesh variety, last issue Everyday Legend let us know that his previous meetup down in Florida was a success – this time, he gives us notice that next month he’s doing another one.

If you’ve been keeping up with the Dead or Alive figure scene at Tomopop, you might have seen a certain unpainted Ayane kit a little ways back – now you can have a gander at it in glorious Technicolour! (DToid item here.) Also, another trailer for DoA Paradise (though if you can actually list the differences between these things, you’re a more astute observer than I am).

Fact: Hollywood never learns. Proof? Another Mortal Kombat movie!



Remember that bit of mysterious character art that Gust had sent out a couple of issues back? Well, its origins have been revealed – the company is porting Atelier Judie, a Japan-only PS2 entry in the alchemy-centric series, to the PSP, and the girl depicted in the artwork is a new character they’re adding in. Dare we hope that NISA localizes this one? I sure hope that Atelier Annie on the DS sold more than a handful of copies…

If Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey fans are willing to journey so far into the dark side as to reserve their copies at Gamestop, Lord Lucifer (and Atlus) will reward them handsomely, with a mini-poster pre-order bonus. (DToid coverage here.)

Gamespot has two new videos related to Sakura Wars: So Long My Love – first up is a new trailer that offers a bit of further explanation about the relationship and combat systems. The latest “Today on the Spot” segment also features a bit on the game – it starts about three and a half minutes in. Be sure to watch it, as it also displays a couple of codes that can be entered in-game to unlock some small extras.

The 360’s physical release of Record of Agarest War just got a little more physical – just in case you thought Aksys couldn’t take its, um, theme any farther, gaze upon the Really Naughty Limited Edition (and the accompanying video, featuring The Return of The Porn Guitar), which includes not only a soundtrack CD and extra outer box, but a pillowcase (the one used to smother someone in the afore-linked Continuum Shift video, in fact) and a “well-endowed” mouse pad. The package will retail for 60 bucks – does this mean that all first-print copies will include this, or will there be a cheaper “regular” edition? Either way, you can’t fault Aksys when it comes to sheer marketing chutzpah. (DToid coverage here.) To their sorta-credit, they do make an attempt to explain some of the actual in-game action – oh, and also mention that PS3 players who can’t get the RNLE will be getting lots of free DLC.

Absolute Hero Modding Project has received a new trailer – lots of interesting stuff happening therein. Oh, and the hero dies a lot. Heck, he even gets run over by a car. (DToid coverage [url=http://www.destructoid.com/nippon-ichi-s-new-dungeon-rpg-has-a-lot-of-replay-value-161555.phtml[/url] here.)

Shiren the Wanderer is coming to our shores soon – if you’re still a bit scared of it, check this article on some of the ways the developers are making things a bit less intimidating for the not-so-battle-hardened. Atlus has also managed to squeeze out one more trailer that offers a general overview of the proceedings.

Glory of Heracles has been out on the DS for a bit now (not like anyone noticed), but in case you want to hear some talk about the game straight from one of the assistant producers from Nintendo, feel free to have a look.

If you read the press release linked to the Sin and Punishment item above, you might have noticed the names The Last Story and Xenoblade up in there someplace – as it turns out, the former is the latest project from Mistwalker (aka “the Lost Odyssey guys”), billed as a “new form of RPG”, whatever that means (especially coming from a company famous for doing things by the book). The latter is the new name for Monado: Beginning of the World, which was announced a little while back and is being developed by Monolith. Hmm…it looks like they might be trying to tie the new title in with their previous “Xeno” games – wonder if they’ll utilize some really sketchy, out-of-place story elements like Square did in Chrono Cross? (DToid coverage here and here.)

More Super Robot Taisen OG Saga EF Exceed screens ahoy, mostly featuring MOMO and Fighter Roar.

Also, more Phantasy Star Portable 2 outside references/promotions – with the release of Valkyria Chronicles 2 pending, players can now get ahold of some costumes inspired by the latter game. Wonder how they’d look with that infamous pizza box shield accessory?

As a general fan of the Wild Arms series (though not so much the most recent entry), I had to note that series developer Media Vision is in cahoots with Square-Enix for their latest RPG project – unfortunately for me, it’s on the iPhone, so even if we see it on our shores I’ll be stuck hoping (aside from “please be a decent title this time”) that it gets ported someplace else.

To add another layer of regret to the “dangit, stop making me want an iPhone” proceedings, it’s really only an RPG in a loose sense, but you should still check out Gamer Limit’s look at Sword and Poker, a one-dollar title which mixes tic-tac-toe and poker in with some RPG elements for an interesting-sounding experience.

The Tribune’s RPG section makes a relatively rare appearance in figure-land, via this rendition of Selvaria from Valkyria Chronicles – oh, and a new Teddie plushie as well as some other stuff from Persona 4. (DToid item here.)




Agent North has a preview of the Forensics section of Trauma Team up on the front page – Joystiq has some additional impressions. Cheer up indeed, busty emo kid! The game’s official site also reveals a new featurette focused on the graphic designers and the visual choices that led to the game’s look.

Over at Gamer Limit they claim that “chances are you missed” a previous trailer of upcoming Wii platformer Flip’s Twisted World – yep, they’re absolutely right, in my case at least. Thankfully the site has a new video up which shows both some gameplay footage and some commentary from the game’s developers – it’s kind of weird to think that character-based platformers qualify as “obscure” these days, but this one looks good so far, and hopefully it’ll live up to its promise when it releases over the next few months.

Classic collections ahoy – first up, a new batch of screenshots for the Wii’s Data East Arcade Collection. Second, the ESRB has rated SNK Arcade Classics 0, and moreover seemingly confirmed that it will be on the PS2 as well as PSP – still waiting for a hard-and-fast game list, though (not to mention a bona fide Arcade Classics 2 with some better games on it).

NIS’s latest publishing expedition is Viral Survival, a WiiWare title touted as an “escape action” game. Basically, the idea is to sweep around an arena, collect some fellow DNA units, and avoid getting smushed by meanie viruses (including occasionally doing some smushing yourself). The critters are indeed reminiscent of Patapon, though the gameplay is more of an odd Snake-Geometry Wars hybrid – hopefully it turns out well. Check out the official site for more.

NISA also just started up an Employee Blog, though not much is up there yet – you need to be registered at the site to see it, but that’s not a big deal. The RosenQueen store has apparently also restocked some PS2 and PSP titles from the past few years, so if you missed out on Atelier Iris or Ar Tonelico the first time around, now might not be a bad time to get up to speed.

Last issue it was mentioned that Marvelous Entertainment had sold its stake in European publisher Rising Star Games – our gaming cousins across the pond need not fear, however, as RS still has the rights to publish Marvelous’ games over there, so if you were looking forward to a particular Marvelous release it’s still coming. Meanwhile, the top execs at Marvelous are taking pay cuts after a disappointing year, the CEO having his pay docked by nearly three quarters – hats off to them for spreading the pain rather than firing the rank and file while giving themselves bonuses.

Izuna developer Ninja Studio is working on something for the DS…though at the moment we have no idea what it is. (DToid coverage here.)

pseudo hero seems pretty excited about an XBLA Indie title called Soul – check out the game’s official page for a brief trailer, as well as a spotlight article over at Gamer Limit. There’s also a demo out, if paying a buck for the full game outright is too risky.

In case you haven’t tried Psychonauts yet, Insomniax wants you to know that it is (or, rather, was) really cheap on Steam right now (front page item here – the front page also puts the word out that Portal: Still Alive has been reduced as well. If you’re more likely to be in a (cheap) buying mood next week, Splosion Man will be five bucks for that duration.

By the time you read this a patch for Critter Crunch should be out – your rainbow-barfing experience just moved that much closer to perfection.

On a final note, his games make me feel like a complete idiot as it is, but now Professor Layton can make me feel inadequate in a whole new way. The dude’s got moves! (DToid item here.)
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Off to Digital Press again tomorrow – I thought that other DToiders went there occasionally, have you all been in stealth mode? Anyways, thanks as always for reading, and keep gaming obscurely.

Yay, another nice round number!

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The US publisher for DeathSmiles has been revealed – it’s Aksys! Moreover, it looks like we’re getting pretty much everything the Japanese release got, in one form or another – the “Mega Black Label” mode (which was DLC in Japan) will be available to us as well, though it’s unclear as to whether it’ll be offered via the same format here or will be included on the disc. Again, assuming that the localization job is good, for God’s sake put aside some cash to buy this! (DToid coverage here).

King of Fighters Sky Stage officially released in Japanese arcades today – for those of us halfway around the world, there are some more screenshots.

The lead designer for Death by Cube has been interviewed by Siliconera – if you’re interested in the sort of mindset mindset that gives birth to a whole bunch of robots and blood (sorry, “red oil”), give it a read.

This interview with the executive producer at PM Studios, the crew behind the Gunbird 2 PSP remake, seems to suggest that the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the new character artwork has been heard, and that the original assets will be used instead. I’ll take that as good news.

While the invaluable doujin database site known as “Shoot the Core” sadly went down some time ago, one shmup forumer is slowly rebuilding some of the links originally found there in this blog – if you’re itching for a finger-twitching download or two you might want to keep an eye on it.

The dynamic duo of Tomopop and Touhou strike again, with the announcement of a release of some recolored figures.

Yup, we’ve got yet another Space Invaders-inspired t-shirt design on our hands…and this one’s a crossover!




Recently it was announced that the upcoming European version of BlazBlue would be able to link up and play against challengers from other regions – by the time you read this a worldwide patch should be out which allows this to happen, and also fixes a few other issues (and adds some new DLC).

According to Capcom, the “2.5-D” approach that it’s recently taken with Super Street Fighter IV and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom has worked out pretty well, so in the foreseeable future we should probably expect more of it from them, in some form - also thanks to the respectable performance of TvC, we may be getting more stuff from Capcom based on Tatsunoko licenses…or perhaps even a whole new “versus” game (DToid coverage here).

Some additional footage of the shooter minigame in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is also out in the open – moreover, in case you were planning on attending, check here for a few additional details about the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom pre-launch event in NYC, which should be happening tomorrow. On a final note, if you’re one of those people wondering why Capcom didn’t put the Samurai Pizza Cats in the game, well, you can at least be assured that they tried (DToid coverage here). At least you might get a DLC character or two…

Still no word on the fate of Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny in the USA – Europe, however, is another story, as Rising Star Games has picked up the publishing rights for the game over there. No potential release date has been revealed, but the title will be renamed Samurai Shodown Sen, closer to its original Japanese moniker. By the way, speaking of Rising Star, Marvelous Entertainment, a former 50% shareholder in the company, has just cashed out. Coincidence?

Unless I misremember, it was announced a little while back that Neo Geo Battle Coliseum would be coming to XBLA – more than that, though, it’s just been revealed that the game’s artwork and sprites will be getting a once-over as well. Not looking too bad overall, in my opinion.

While it’s only rumors at this point, word on the street is that some sort of “special” edition of Super Street Fighter IV might be in the offing…stay tuned.

Could a gal named Rio be the next permanent Dead or Alive cast member? While originally created for a pachi-slot offshoot, she’s also going to appear in the upcoming different offshoot, DoA Paradise – this is how Lisa/La Mariposa got her start, so we’ll hafta see if Tecmo decides to give her a chance to beat on some people in the future. There are also some new shots out of an Ayane figure announced a short while back. Of course, in an effort to get most of you to actually read this, I’ll also include some screens and a trailer for Paradise. Oh, and by the way, the game is being localized.

If you haven’t yet signed up for Wry Guy’s “Fatal Destructoid” King of Fighters ‘98 tourney, perhaps his showcase of prizes will entice you. Y’know, just in case the fact that KoF ‘98 is awesome isn’t enough for you.

In a bit of rather grisly news, the Japanese voice actor for Dead or Alive’s Bass, Soul Calibur’s Edge Master and Tekken’s Heihachi, among many others, died on Sunday after being spotted wandering in the street with a wound on his arm. Suicide is suspected, but nobody’s sure what happened as of yet. (DToid coverage here.

On a similar but slightly more uplifting note, a recent outpouring of support for the family of a SRK member who died suddenly is nice to see – feel free to get in on the effort yourself if you’d like.

Not to be outdone by the Touhou gals or Ayane, a new Juri sculpt from Street Fighter IV also makes an appearance on Tomopop. On a similar note, a one-of-a-kind Blanka prototype statue is being auctioned off to raise some relief money for the Haiti quake victims, so if you’re looking to snag a rare collectible and help a worthy cause while you’re at it make sure to have a look! (DToid item here.)

Capcom-Unity visitor BigMex shows us some concepts and sketches for an imaginary remake of the original Street Fighter. Apparently our very own Jimbo makes a guest appearance (not really, but it sure does look like him!).

Wry Guy’s most recent King of Fighters “Love Letter” post (which you’d better have read by now) was recently mentioned over on Orochinagi – congrats!

Everyday Legend, meanwhile, had been working to build up some hype for a small fighting tournament he was involved with – looks like he’s had some success.



There were already some rumblings as to the next big thing coming out of the Shin Megami Tensei team over at Atlus, but now we’ve got a preliminary listing for a PS3 SMT game on Amazon Japan. Not a whole lot is known other than that, but it appears that this is probably not Persona 5 – keep an eye out for more info as it comes! (DToid coverage here.)

Here’s another one you probably saw coming – Persona 3 Portable is headed to the USA, with Atlus aiming for a July release date. Check out the first trailer and decide how many times you’re ready and willing to buy this thing. (DToid coverage here.)

The final Official Blog entry for Shiren the Wanderer on Wii is out, this time featuring some of the bosses which will do their best to pummel you into oblivion. The game is out next month. (DToid coverage here.)

We’ve still got a few months to wait before Atlus brings 3D Dot Game Heroes to our shores, but we do already have some localized screens to tide us over until then. The Flame Temple is full of fire? Good to know!

Well, if you’re gonna play a Japanese game with “relationship elements”, you can expect some rather direct remarks concerning mammary glands and other such specialized anatomical bits…as the ESRB write-up for Sakura Wars: So Long My Love affirms. Well, at least it’s been rated, so hopefully all the delays are finally finished for good.

The Tribune has been a bit remiss in covering Last Rebellion, but it will call a bit of attention to a pair of guest characters that will appear therein – you might have expected to see our ol’ pal Prinny pop up in there someplace (which he does), but you’ll also be able to battle Mikan, a cat from one of NIS’s jigsaw puzzle games, as a hidden boss as well.

In case you were planning on importing Etrian Odyssey III from Japan, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer than first expected – the title has been pushed back from early March to early April. On the c-blogs, matty125 updates us on a few other related items, most notably the soundtrack.

Moar delays, moar, MOAR! Fate/extra, originally due out in March overseas, has also been pushed back, though no specification has been given as to exactly how far.

I guess it was always kind of a foregone conclusion, but now it’s official – the Agarest full-body pillow is a go. Japan-only…for now.

I said last issue that I was hungering for some impressions of Sands of Destruction – Son of BaconSandwhich has offered a couple. Gamer Limit also published a full-fledged review.




Atlus has posted its second “walkthrough” video for Trauma Team, focused on the endoscopy portion.

I’d only heard of Japanese PSP title One Million Ton Bara Bara in passing, but it looks like we’ll get a closer gander at it soon – the title is being localized as Patchwork Heroes, and will be available as a downloadable title in the Spring. If you haven’t seen the game before, check out the Japanese trailer – the object is to cut or blow off pieces of airships without getting picked off, it actually reminds me of Qix. (DToid coverage here.) In case that wasn’t interesting enough, in Japan this game and Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! are being cross-promoted – Badman 3D will contain a demo for Patchwork, and the latter game will include a Badman-esque level.

DJ Max Fever, which came out on UMD a little under a year ago in the US, is now on the PSN for download. Also check the link within the Gunbird news item in the “Shmups” section for a bit more DJ Max information.

Mr. Devore apologizes for missing this trailer for Closure – guess I owe you the same apology, because this thing looks pretty neat. It appears to use light in the same manner as Echochrome used perspective – if you see it, it exists, but if you don’t, it doesn’t.

And the latest extra character confirmed for Super Meat Boy is…Flywrench! Yep, this may well be the first time that a bent line has qualified for a “special guest” designation. Also, Mr. PerLee has a “Life and Times” article up about the history and personalities behind the upcoming title.

Genki-JAM will kill you if you don’t give new XBLA Indie game Tobe’s Vertical Adventure a try. Offhand it doesn’t look to do anything too different platforming-wise, but it still looks pretty fun, especially for three bucks.

Next door, Joystiq conducts an interview with the big cheese over at Nicalis, which is working on the Wii remakes of Cave Story and La Mulana, among other titles.

By the time you read this Muscle March should be available locally for the Wii – and should only be priced at five bucks. The link also has yet another goofy-as-ever movie to watch...though the launch trailer leaves even that in the dust.

After all this time, Braid is getting an honest-to-goodness disc-based release for the PC before the month is out – oddly enough it’s being marketed as a “casual” title, but whatever. (DToid coverage here.)

The Tribune already mentioned that a Kenka Bancho movie was in the works – now, check out a few pictures of the goings-on. Still no sign of eye lasers or banana outfits, unfortunately.

Toys R Us is clearing out some of its gaming shelves, and one of its deals is snagging Valkyria Chronicles for 20 bucks when you buy MAG or Mass Effect 2. Of course, the game’s already 20 bucks new by itself at Gamestop, but hey. You might also scan this listing for some other price drops – if you haven’t picked up Henry Hatsworth or Soul Bubbles yet, I WILL FIND YOU. (DToid coverage here.)

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Still working on That Big Thing I’ve Been Promising Forever, in case anyone’s wondering. ‘Til next time, thanks again for reading and keep gaming obscurely.

Posting this issue a little later than usual…with good reason, though, as there’s plenty to cover this week! As such I’ll shut up and let you get to it -

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To all of those who responded to my pleading and imported Mushihime-sama Futari, it looks like your efforts might have paid off, at least for the moment – it looks like one of the company’s other recent shooters, DeathSmiles, is coming to the USA! While it’s not quite as impressive as Futari it’s still both accessible and excellent – at this point we don’t even know who the publisher will be, but the only thing you need to know is that (assuming that the localization is good) when it comes out, you need to BUY IT!!

In other Cave news, Asada’s latest blog post states that the company will have a pair of new game announcements ready over the next two months, and that the “Mega Black Label 1.1” content for DeathSmiles will be available by the end of April. Perhaps Dai-Fukkatsu will have its 360 port confirmed? Or maybe Muchi Muchi Pork? Doubt it, but we’ll see.

Two new movies have appeared on the King of Fighters Sky Stage official site – I think I saw a quick glimpse of Shermie in there someplace, though I definitely saw Rugal. Anyways, the arcade version should be out next week, and the XBLA version is slated for sometime this Spring.

Most of the best shmups on the PSP are ports, but I can’t honestly say that The Flying Hamster doesn’t at least have my attention – it is kind of hard to ignore said flying hamster destroying things with flame-thrower breath. Fingers crossed that this one turns out better than its console-exclusive brethren…

There’s also a new vert-scroller called Eclosion coming out for several systems – the features list doesn’t reveal much about how the thing actually works, so I guess we’ll need to wait for some more on that. There’s a bit more info about for Border Wars, a “notebook paper-style” side-scroller that lets you draw your own ship.

The guys behind Duality ZF are also putting out the four-player Decimation X, which looks like Space Invaders except that both you and the aliens have a boatload more firepower. If you’re interested, it’ll be one whole dollar on XBLA Indie Games. Another indie shmup titled Akujin was also recently released, but impressions of it so far have been less than positive…

Though most of the impressions I’ve heard of the game have been decidedly “meh”, Otomedius G for the 360 is getting a Platinum Hits re-release, so if anyone curious about the game was holding back due to the price, this might be your opportunity to finally surrender (and possibly regret it).

In case you’ve been keeping an eye out for the 360 port of Senko no Ronde DUO, the (Japanese) release date appears to be set for April 28th. Considering how poorly the localized original was received here (not without reason, IMO), methinks you’ll probably have no choice but to import the sequel…

Hot on the heels of their recent publishing announcement, Atlus has posted the official English trailer for Metal Slug XX. (DToid coverage here.) Also check here for some info on DLC character Leona and a few more screens.

Agent Chester offers a quick item on the front page about Death By Cube – and yeah, I’ve never heard of red oil either.

What’s the latest place that the Space Invaders aliens have popped up in? A pair of really tight pants, it would seem.




First things first – if you haven’t read Wry Guy’s latest King of Fighters Love Letter, do it right now. I mean it. Seriously, there are animatronic singing fighting game characters in it. I am not joking.

DToid’s coverage of Super Street Fighter IV continues – on the front page Mr. North posts some CES impressions, while on the c-blogs Everyday Legend links to a video showcasing pretty much every new Ultra featured in the game. Elsewhere, if you’re looking forward to trying Juri in particular, this early spin of her by one of the Kotaku editors might be of some interest to you, while a trio of “walk-through” videos for the Alpha characters should whet your whistle in that department.

Speaking of Guy and Cody, all of you have pretty much certainly heard of Final Fight: Double Impact by now, despite the Tribune’s lack of coverage (it’s kinda-sorta a fighter, but…), though at this point I can no longer hold back from mentioning it – in anticipation of the release, Capcom’s holding a coloring contest! After all, no two things go better together than repeated beatdowns and pretty colors!

Of course, the locals certainly aren’t letting much Tatsunoko vs. Capcom stuff sneak by them either – Mr. North offers some similar (if shorter) CES coverage, while nilcam unboxes Mad Catz’s accompanying joystick (off to the side, Mad Catz has apparently been doing well enough on this front lately that they’re looking to expand operations into Japan). Oh, by the way – one of the semi-new minigames in this version of TvC is a shmup! (DToid coveragehere.) Also check out this commercial if you haven’t already seen it (c-blog item here). Finally, if you’re in NYC the Saturday before release, you might want to check out the pre-launch event at the Nintendo World Store. (DToid coverage here.)

If you’ve been considering importing BlazBlue Portable for the PSP, you might want to hold up – if Gamefly is to be believed, we might be getting a localized version of it as soon as March. Also, the upcoming European version of the “original” BlazBlue has been delayed a bit – it’s also gotten some new cover art, which if nothing else isn’t as bad as what almost happened to Agarest. Also, the PSP port of the game has been officially announced for a US release, on both UMD and as a downloadable title.

Two more worthy fighting-related c-blogs: first up, Blindfire turns into The Hulk whenever he has to unlock stuff in fighting games (well, maybe not that, but he blogs irately about it). Also, Macarratti posts a brief tribute to a handful of bottom-tier fighting game characters, including the king of them all, Dan Hibiki – I mockingly shake my arm in solidarity with his cause (de BLOO kinda-follows up here).

Assuming that a) You want to play the “Campaign” mode in Tekken 6, and b) Someone else out there wants to play it too, next week both of you will get the chance to share your passion, as the promised co-op patch (which includes one or two other tweaks as well) will finally be out. (DToid coverage here.)

Of course, I’d be even more impressed if you managed to find two people eager to see the upcoming Tekken movie – in any event, here’s a new trailer. It’s the People’s Choice! (C-blog coverage here, front page item here.) On a related note, in the Biggest Surprise of This Issue, Rotten Tomatoes has officially awarded Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li its “worst of the year” title. This bodes well for the upcoming Razzies!

The extra-obscure fighting game news just seems to get weirder by the month – in case some of the crossovers the genre’s attempted in the past weren’t wacky enough for you, apparently Aquaplus is putting together characters from a handful of eroge titles for an upcoming fighter. I guess it’s not the first time this sort of situation has come to pass (does that honor technically go to Melty Blood?), though I think this might send things to a whole new level of “who thought this one up?”

The front page continues to teach me things I never knew – who’d have thought that the Mortal Kombat ninjas were Rock Band aficionados?

Finally, if you’re up for yet another Street Fighter: The Movie mashup with a whole bunch of swear words in it, click here.




I was kinda expecting this, and kinda not…while it certainly wouldn’t be the first time that Sting has ported one of its games from a separate platform to the PSP, if there was one of them I thought would be “immune” to that sequence it was Knights in the Nightmare. I was wrong. Considering that the title was seemingly tailored for the DS I’m curious as to how well it’ll translate…in any case, check out a few screens and some additional comparisons. (DToid coverage here.)

More front page goodness on Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey – be sure to follow the link to Atlus’ latest Production Diary for the game, which contains some interesting tidbits regarding the text translation.

We recently learned that Mimana Iyar Chronicles would be coming to local PSPs within the next few months, but now we also know that early adopters can snag some extra stuff – not only will a soundtrack be included with first-print copies, but you’ll also have access to a septet of voicemail recordings done by the game’s VA’s in character. Impress your friends!

Well, while we’re already well aware of the myriad disrobings that the females in Ar Tonelico III will have to go through, at least the developers subscribe to the mantra of “what’s good for the goose”, as they say – looks like some of the guys will be stripping down to their skivvies at some point as well. A bit of this can be seen in a new trailer, which jumps around all over the place.

Rejoice anew, our European brethren – not only is 3D Dot Game Heroes confirmed to be headed your way, but it should be arriving at around the same time there as here in the US. Unfortunately you guys don’t usually get such a break when it comes to waiting for localizations, so make sure to savor this one! (DToid coverage here.)

Over at Siliconera, one of their crew has had the chance to play through the first bit of Sakura Wars: So Long My Love – he hasn’t hit any battles yet, but he does offer some intriguing impressions of the story/character interaction parts of the game, so be sure to check it out if you’re (like me) constantly starving for more info on this thing.

It remains to be seen how much of it will see daylight on our shores once the game comes out here, but if you’re interested in the sort of DLC that Sega’s going to be offering for Valkyria Chronicles 2 in Japan over the next few months, here’s a summary of everything from extra missions to Puyo-Puyo decals.

The latest (lengthy) video for the Super Robot Taisen OG Saga sequel shows off even more of the characters’ super moves (and cleavage, of course) – it also reveals even more support characters and such, including Kos-Mos’s compatriot MOMO from Xenosaga.

While Platinum Games has had its hands plenty full recently with Bayonetta, it doesn’t want you to forget about its upcoming DS RPG, Infinite Space, and posted a new trailer of its own to make sure you don’t. I’m still somewhat on the fence with this one, though…

Atlus’ latest official blog about Shiren the Wanderer for Wii is up, this time focusing on the characters and story, which will apparently be playing a larger role than usual here. (DToid coverage here.)

A pair of brief gameplay movies have also popped up for the not-quite-out-yet Glory of Heracles – some of the stuff I see I like, other things sorta put me off. Guess I’ll be waiting for some impressions before saying much else. Though I can state that this Trojan Horse promo item is pretty neat!

Yeah, I know, another Shadow Hearts game is never happening, but I still felt obligated to report that Feelplus, which contains several former Nautilus/Sacnoth crew members, is possibly developing another RPG for the 360. It probably won’t contain monster morphing or flaming gay shopkeepers, but oh well. (DToid coverage here.

In case you’ve been keeping an eye on Nippon Ichi spinoff Disgaea Infinite, while the game was originally a download-only title it’ll be getting the UMD treatment in April. Still no word on a localization, however.




My obligatory Jim Sterling mention for this issue comes in the form of a pair of nifty “Developer Walkthrough” for Raskulls, focused first on the single-player game and then the multi-player aspects after that. Check out the kooky design aesthetic and Mr. Driller-meets-Mario Kart elements at work.

Check out the “Featurettes” section of the official Trauma Team website to read a set of remarks from the game’s director, touching on a wide range of topics.

The full list of titles to be featured in the Data East Arcade Classics collection is up – nothing too unexpected, but at least it’s out there now. I’m just worried that they’ll use the inferior English-language version of Magical Drop III…

Heaven only knows when we’ll finally get some plain ol’ straight talk on this, but the latest comment from Ubisoft regarding the status of Beyond Good and Evil 2 seems to confirm that the game still exists in some form, though who knows when (if ever) we’ll actually get to experience it. Come on guys, throw us a bone here! (DToid coverage here.)

The Tribune first made mention of gravity-switching platformer VVVVVV a little ways back – now it’s out, and Anthony apparently kinda likes it.

Over at GamerLimit their most recent “Indie Spotlight” feature was on another 2-D platformer titled EmberWind – if running around and blasting things as a gnome sounds interesting to you, check out the official trailer.

Though I don’t know much about it aside from the fact that it’s yet another 2-D platformer, just for the title alone I have to make mention of upcoming PSP Minis title Monsters Probably Stole My Princess.

Time for another round of gaming-related confectionary, including a set of candies inspired by Scribblenauts.

Finally, in the “apparel that managed to make me chuckle” department, there’s this gaming-themed “Coexist” shirt.

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That’s all for now – between this issue and the next one I’ll probably spend most of my time searching for more than one review for Sands of Destruction, which everyone else apparently forgot existed. Anyways, until then, thanks for reading and keep gaming obscurely.

I’m still not used to putting “10” at the end of everything I’ve dated lately, but thankfully I don’t have to bother here – as long as my basic counting skills remain intact, the Tribune will remain semi-organized! With that pleasant thought in the back of your minds, please proceed to the latest batch of offbeat gaming news:

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Some possibly intriguing bits on the upcoming (and long-overdue) 360 release of Ketsui. For one thing, YesAsia lists its release date as March 31 – as of now no official announcement of this sort has been made, but hopefully this is a harbinger of one to come. Second, if you check Amazon’s Japanese site, there’s a listing for a “limited edition” of the game – I haven’t seen it anyplace else, and there are no details provided as to what might be included, so this may be a mistake, but I’ll be keeping my eye on it just in case.

Getting a little ahead of myself here, but why not – someone out there recently posted some progress in an effort to emulate Cave’s 2005 shooter Ibara. As the page mentions any possibility of actually playing this in such a fashion is many years away, so for the time being we’re stuck with the so-so PS2 port of the game, but hey, if more people eventually get to try it out, so much the better. Also, on The Guru’s site, the January 5th update has some early screens of ESPGaluda II running on MAME – considering that there’s been no announcement yet regarding the region-coding status of the upcoming 360 port, this’ll probably serve a similar function sometime (way) down the line.

After several different updates, Version 1.0 of x.x’s freeware shmup Eden’s Aegis is now available – head to this link to get it!

Now here’s an interesting development. Recently the Tribune mentioned several signs that Ignition would no longer be serving as publisher for SNK’s titles in the West – well, guess who appears to be picking up at least some of the slack? That’s right – Metal Slug XX for the PSP is now listed as being distributed by none other than Atlus, who apparently still don’t have a full enough plate around here. Heaven only knows what else they can afford to take on at this point, but I certainly wish ‘em the best, whatever it is (except this, anyway). Subsequent articles revealed that XX will feature two-player mode, an extra DLC character (Leona), and some other extra stuff – also, there will be no downloadable version of the game, and the UMD will retail for 20 bucks. Be sure to check out the official site as well as an opportunity to win a pair of those boxer shorts mentioned here some time back. (DToid coverage here.

While 0 Day Attack on Earth has received most of the press lately, Square’s “other” downloadable shooter, Death By Cube, has just received a concrete release date on January 20th. If nothing else, it probably features the most bleeding robots you’ve seen since you last watched Evangelion. (DToid coverage here.)

A fellow shmup forumer recently linked me to this gallery of nifty unofficial Ikaruga CG renders – check ‘em out if you haven’t seen them before. Also, for the figure-centric sorts, a new “Shooting Historica” set is coming out soon, featuring models from Xexex, Metal Black, Twinbee and others – a few pics can be found here.

Before now I’d never heard of 7th Deadly Beats, a rhythm/shooter game for the iPhone that looks something like FreQuency or Amplitude – as such, I know little else about it, but it does seem that Falcoon, who’s done work on the King of Fighters series and other games, is contributing some artwork. Credit to Mognet Central for the link.

On other musical fronts, the latest batch of “VGDrums” videos features a short medley of the first few songs from the SNES version of Gradius III, so I had to least make mention of it here.




A combination of Famitsu scans and a GameTrailers video further show off some of the new stuff on the way in Super Street Fighter IV, including new costumes (including The Return of Mecha-Zangief!), super moves, and “rival” battles – also be sure to check out this page (via Mognet Central) for additional screens and sketches (C-blog coverage here, front page item here). Two short clips of Adon and Cody in action are on this page (DToid coverage over here).

Capcom also Twittered a small preview of the semi-new joystick to be released around the same time (DToid coverage here). A bit after that, the front page offered up a full-fledged preview from CES – of course, if you can’t afford one, you could always opt for this keychain!

About Freakin’ Time – after months of silence following the initial leak, Yatterman # 2 is confirmed to be in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, ostensibly finalizing the roster (additional screens here, hi-res artwork here, DToid coverage, and a video, here). Second, some time ago it was reported that Gamestop would offer a handful of trading cards as a pre-order bonus for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom – if that sort of thing doesn’t matter much to you, Amazon might be the place for you to get the game, as not only is their default price a bit lower than the MSRP, but they’re also giving you ten bucks in credit that can be used for another purchase later on. Either way, you’re running out of excuses not to get this!

And we’re not done with the TvC news yet – let it also be known that our (and Capcom’s) pals over at Udon have created a whole new set of ending illustrations for Ultimate All-Stars, so comic fans in particular have a bit more to look forward to. Also, the game’s accompanying joystick can now be pre-ordered – if you’d rather wait, it should ship at the same time as the game itself. (DToid coverage here.) The front page has also since posted a video preview of this item as well.

Rumor time – not too long ago it was revealed that a new Dead or Alive spinoff a la the Extreme Beach Volleyball series was coming to the PSP, but believe it or not there are rumblings of an actual series sequel (as in, an actual FIGHTING game) being in production. These days that seems almost novel…hopefully something good comes of it, if anything.

The delay that PAL gamers have had to endure in getting BlazBlue released over there appears to have at least a little bit of a consolation prize attached to it – their version of the game will feature “unlimited” character variations and costume colors not found in previous releases, and should also be able to hook up online with players from other regions. Better than nothing, right?

Yup, it turns out that there’s yet another anime-based fighter coming out that I know pretty much zilch about – if any of you are familiar with Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha you might have some idea of what’s going on in the video featured here (the article compares the action to previous Dragon Ball Z games, though I first thought of Psychic Force). Anyways, if you’re interested in importing, the game’s out on PSP later this month.




JOY! Hexyz Force, the PSP “play two sides of one conflict” RPG by Knights in the Nightmare developer Sting, is coming stateside, courtesy of (who else?) Atlus. While I’m always nervous when a developer known for 2D stuff makes the shift to 3D (see my anticipation of Gust’s PS3 output), far be it from me not to support this effort regardless – the game’s out in late May, in the meantime check out the official site, as well as this preview. (DToid coverage here.)

Some new stuff for Ar Tonelico III, due out in Japan later this month – first things first, we’ve got a new trailer, featuring cutscenes, gameplay, and a whole lotta yelling (DToid coverage here). More interestingly, however, while developer Gust hasn’t exactly been shy about catering to fan fetishes, this game will apparently mark the first appearance of a super-manly muscle woman – weirder yet, the character’s voice will be done by the same squeaky actress who does Pikachu in Pokemon. You never can tell what to expect from this bunch…

On that note, actually, Gust recently sent out a Christmas card with an unknown character on it – a preview of an upcoming game? Guess we’ll have to wait to find out.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. DToid preview. Any questions?

Though some might figure (not without reason) that the recent English trailer for Record of Agarest War said pretty much all there is to say about the game, there’s actually some worthwhile information in this interview with a pair of the big-shots over at Aksys and Idea Factory – aside from questions about the creative process, there are details regarding the translation, extra content, downloadable file size, and a possible collector’s edition.

While I haven’t experienced it myself, apparently some people experienced issues with the DLC for Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days – according to NIS’s newsletter, pretty much everything should be fixed by now, and available on the PSN. Most of the content can simply be re-downloaded if you’ve already paid for it, but it seems that they’re still working on out-and-out refunding people who bought Plenair and Saphire as extra characters.

Just when you thought it was safe to read the Tribune without being linked to yet another Valkyria Chronicles 2 trailer…well, I’ll just link you to this. It’s worth seeing, though – some of the footage is recycled from previous previews, but there’s also a decent amount of new stuff. Heaven only knows how much longer they can keep that up, though! Then again, considering that they’ve also revealed some more information on additional “guest” characters from the first game and how to get them, you never know! (DToid coverage here.)

While most Shiren the Wanderer fans will presumably be picking up the Wii version coming out here in February, a handful of (Japanese-speaking) types might be interested to hear that the game is getting a PSP port – the system’s limits obviously change a handful of the mechanics around, but there’s also some new stuff to chew on. Of course, you could also hope that this version also gets localized at some point…

If you’re curious about the main cast of the upcoming Glory of Heracles, check out a brief rundown of the bunch.

A few more details on the upcoming Fate/Extra – not only can you choose the gender of your player character, but this and other actions will also factor into the “Servant” you’re saddled with. Check the article’s link to a corresponding Famitsu preview for some additional images and such.

We’ve still got a ways to go before Sakura Wars: So Long My Love gets here, but The-Excel is still showing some love to the series in the meantime, mainly by spending lots of money on a box set he can’t/won’t play. Can’t argue with dedication like that!




Atlus certainly can’t be accused of not hyping Trauma Team enough – this week they released another preview video for it, focusing on the “surgery” segments. As you might expect they’re planning similar previews for each of the game’s six specialties, so keep an eye out for those. (DToid coverage here.)

Probably jumping the gun in hopefulness here, but Atlus also recently trademarked the term “Gungnir” (Odin’s spear in Norse mythology) – dare we dream of an Odin Sphere followup via Vanillaware? Probably not, but it’s nice to have fantasies, right? (DToid coverage here.)

Speaking of Vanillaware, recently company head honcho “George” Kamitani posted a bit of artwork, titled “Three Graces”, on the company’s front page. Oh, and by the way, said Graces are lounging around au naturel – no naughty bits are shown outright, but you still probably don’t want to visit while at work. Whether or not this has anything to do with an upcoming game is unknown, but I doubt too many of you care to begin with. (DToid coverage here.)

A short time ago we learned that Hatsune Miku: Project Diva would be getting a sequel, but it looks like Sega’s not done making money off the original game yet, as they’ve been location-testing an arcade version of it. Check the link for a handful of videos, and hope that this gets big enough to see a US release in some form.

The side-scrolling iPhone offshoot of Mirror’s Edge has been delayed – initially expected sometime this month, it’s now listed as sometime in “early 2010”. So long as it’s not cancelled outright…

As the front page notes, the official page for Raskulls has gone live, so if you need a one-stop location for info on this title (aside from Jim Sterling’s recent site postings), you’ve got it!

Perhaps second only to the Phoenix Wright all-female musical in terms of pure chutzpah and unabashed nuttiness, Japan will be putting out a Kenka Bancho movie in March – hopefully it features the latest in eye-laser special effects and banana-suit technology.

Our friends at the ESRB have become more and more frequent guests here at the Tribune lately, and their recent rating for Muscle March appears to ensure that they’ll be regulars here for awhile – prepare for The Return of Flexed Gluteus! (DToid flexage here.) Mr. Zimmerman also recently got his hands on the game and posted a short “impressions” video, so be sure to have a look at that.

Fragile for the Wii has also been written up by the ESRB, but be warned – not only is it not particularly amusing, but it’s rather spoiler-ridden.

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That does it for this week – ‘til next time, thanks again for reading and keep gaming obscurely.

Welcome to 2010 everyone – no mere mortal can tell just what lies ahead for us until we return to this spot in the sun’s orbit, but I’ll certainly be doing my best to recap the weird parts! Anyhow, let’s get this year started off right:

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A full “top route” run-through of Darius Burst (with continues) has been posted on YouTube – technically it’s a video review, so you’ll hear the reviewer talking in the background, but you’ll still be able to see and (mostly) hear what’s going on in the game without much interference. If you want to watch the whole thing here’s part one, part two, and part three. Personally, as much as I like the Darius series’ art direction, the way they play frustrates me, and while this one’s not as nasty as its forebears it still looks little different overall…

Another cell phone video of DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu Black Label has also surfaced.

Additionally, as a follow-up to the magnificent Futari it looks like another Mushihime-sama game is on the way…well, sort of. Mushihime-sama Gaiden: Bug Panic is an iPhone title that appears to play like a cross between Robotron and Every Extend, featuring series heroine Reko on foot (no giant beetle mount this time) tossing bombs to take out as many assailants in one shot as she can. Doesn’t look like anything to get too worked up over, but at least Westerners ought to have access to it.

Genterprise, creator of Z-One and Wonder Land, is putting out another shmup on DSiWare, a side-scroller called Dark Sprits – like the aforementioned pair of games, this one will retail for 2 bucks. Gonna need a video or two to say much else about it…

If this Facebook posting is legit, then it looks like Thexder Neo will be coming to PS3 sometime next year. Alert Jim Sterling!

In the meantime, if you’re hankerin’ for a homebrew Dreamcast shmup, NG:DEV’s shop has lowered the prices on its stock, so now might be a good time to pick up that copy of Last Hope: Pink Bullets that you’ve been putting off.

Over at GamerLimit they’ve recently highlighted an indie overhead shooter with a horror theme called Larva Mortus – check the official site for a trailer and look around on YouTube for some additional gameplay footage.

Last issue the Tribune linked to an interview with Reisuke Ishida of Space Invaders: Infinity Gene – well, guess what, this issue we’ve got another one by a different site! Guy must’ve had a busy appointment schedule recently…on a related note, someone on the shmups.com forum has unearthed what appear to be some original design sketches for the very first Space Invaders, on humble notebook paper. Wonder what they’d eBay for? Finally, remember that Futurama episode which included a spoof of Space Invaders? Well, the circle is finally complete, as someone has made a game out of that sequence.

Cave’s “Matsuri” festival recently went down in Japan, and while “important” gamer-related news from there tends to be slow to trickle to our waiting ears, the product placement comes fast and furious – Kotaku has an item on some of the merchandise seen there (a bit NSFW). One attendee also uploaded a very short video of one part of the event, in case you want a quick (and rather unremarkable, but we’ll take what we can get) glimpse into the proceedings.

On a similar front, I guess it happens pretty much every week, but Tomopop’s most recent pre-order roundup shows two more Touhou figures that are now available for loaded nerds everywhere. An additional “Nendoroid” “squish-i-fied” figure can be seen here.




Within the confines of a single c-blog s0lesurviv0r does a lot of my work for me, by posting a preview of the fighting games due out for 2010, along with a video or two of most of them. Alongside BlazBlue: Continuum Shift and some other stuff we’d been hearing about for awhile, s0le also makes welcome mention of Arcana Heart 3 (which I didn’t even know existed yet), not to mention that Daisuke Ishiwatari, creator of the Guilty Gear series, is looking to do another entry. I was under the impression that Arc lost the rights to that one and created BlazBlue as something of a replacement, but we shall see! (DToid coverage here.)Thanks a bundle for the article, s0le!

Hot on his heels come two more worthy fighter-centric c-blogs – nilcam challenges the community to approach fighting games with an open mind, while de BLOO sums up some of the most worthy tournament matches of the year. Myself, I’ve got to get back to preparing for Wry Guy’s KoF ‘98 competition…

Looks like anyone in the Vegas area on the evening of January 7th might be able to get an early taste of Super Street Fighter IV, as Capcom will have the game there and ready to play, including a tournament for anyone brave enough to test their skills. Off to the side, there was already a bit of protest from Koreans regarding Juri’s character design – as it happens, some are also displeased with her stage background, claiming it’s not “authentic” enough. As quite a few people have already pointed out, is ANY background from ANY game in the series anywhere NEAR culturally accurate? (DToid coverage here.)

If you’re tempted by Fate/Unlimited Codes for the PSP but hesitate to pay for the localized download-only version, you might be interested to know that the original Japanese UMD release of the game is getting a budget reissue, so you’ll be able to pick up the physical game, albeit in Japanese, for roughly the same price as the digital alternative. As it happens, Japan will also be getting a re-release of BlazBlue in early March.

I don’t know if anyone’s going to put aside Tatsunoko vs. Capcom for this one, but apparently there’s an Ultraman fighting game on its way to the Japanese Wii in late February. It’s been ages since I played Towards the Future on the SNES, but my memories of it aren’t pleasant…anybody interested in how this one turns out?

In case you’re still looking for impressions of the PSP version of Tekken 6, here are a couple of recent submissions to that end.




So, you were like me and faithfully pre-ordered Sakura Wars: So Long My Love from a retailer some time ago, right? Well, you might want to cancel, as the RosenQueen store has once again opened up its own preorders, including an exclusive hardcover artbook (different from the one that already comes with the PS2 version) and charging an extra ten bucks for the package. Unlike the PS2 exclusive stuff, this book will be included whether you go with the PS2 or Wii iteration. They really love to do this to us, don’t they?

If you’re keeping up with Record of Agarest War, you can go here and read a few comments from the game’s director regarding the inspiration behind its signature “Soul Breeding” system…and then you can watch the official English trailer\ and be reminded that none of that stuff is actually worth a flying fig. (DToid coverage here, C-blog coverage here.)

Summon Night Granthese, latest in the series and likely the last PS2 RPG, has a five-minute trailer available, featuring a mix of anime cutscene footage and actual in-game action. Too bad we probably won’t see this one here, I’d certainly be interested in giving it a try…

A bit of the expected and not-so-expected from NIS. We already knew that Absolute Hero Modding Project would include some Disgaea references (like everything else the company does), but now their nature has become clearer – pre-orders for the game in Japan received a code card which opens up a secret Disgaea-themed level, and if you beat it you receive “parts” themed after Laharl and company which can be added to your character either all together or in bits and pieces. That’s not all though – the company has also partnered up with a Japanese “light novel” mag to secure a bunch of anime/manga cameos from Spice and Wolf, Boogiepop Phantom, and several others. Efforts continue to develop the perfect sample of condensed geekdom!

Here’s a quick 15-second commercial for the new Super Robot Taisen OG Saga entry – as the accompanying article points out, it gives us a glimpse of another guest character from earlier in the series.

The ESRB has recently rated an upcoming Natsume DS game called Witch’s Wish, which I’d never heard of before now – a handful of commenters in the linked thread, however, turned my attention to a Japanese title called Majo Ni Naru, which this might be a localized version of. I know nothing of either title except that there’s some sort of “witch training” theme – I could care less about most “training” type titles on the system, but then again this might turn out like Atelier Annie, and instantly have my attention. Guess we’ll have to wait and see…

The Tribune made mention of Square’s iPhone SRPG Song Summoner, which creates units based on the songs loaded onto the device, a few issues ago – if you’re still interested, you can read some impressions of the thing, and wonder if the company plans on ever bringing this one our way.

The Japanese update for 3D Dot Game Heroes which was set to add a handful of features and DLC support was delayed at the last minute, and is now coming next month. This is unlikely to affect the status of the Western release, which is still months away.

Strategy geeks now have another reason to love the Virtual Console, at least in Japan – Ogre Battle 64 will be added to the roster over there some January. The rest of us will have to keep overpaying for beat-up carts for the time being.




This one contains a mixture of “Shmup” and “Fighting” news, so I had to plunk it here – in any event, PAL gamers, your long wait for some of the more recent Arc System games is almost over, as a new publisher called pQube is bringing several worthy titles your way, including BlazBlue, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus, and Castle Shikigami 3. Assuming that they do a good localization job, be sure to give them your support and pick these items up!

Over on the Atlus forums a mini-feature has been posted revealing a few additional details about the various playable doctor types in Trauma Team. Also, apparently giving away free stuff with their games just isn’t enough for these guys, as they’re further “rewarding” a random dozen of their “Faithful” mailing list recipients with prize packages. If you’re already on the list and a resident of the USA or Canada you’re automatically entered, but if you’d like to get in on this sign up for the aforementioned mailer before January 15th.

Mere hours after the previous Tribune was posted, Diverse found true meaning in his life when version 1.1 of Spelunky was released, along with the game’s source code – fan mods ahoy! Looks like you’ve got a good year ahead, sir!

There’s been plenty of talk about MAGFest lately, but I figured I might as well highlight SpeedDemosArchive’s ”Classic Games Done Quick”, event, during which the crew will be speed-running through 70 games over two days for charity. If you’re not at the event to see it live, they’re also streaming it starting tonight.

Not really obscure, but I got too good a laugh out of Bullet William not to put it here.

This has nothing much to do with games at all, but still tugs on the ol’ heartstrings, so here goes – apparently you can now download the first episodes of several old Nicktoons, including Rocko’s Modern Life, for free on XBL. As one of those people who curses Nickelodeon every day for not releasing Rocko on DVD, this might finally give me a reason to connect by 360 to the internet…on a related note, take a trip back in time and realize how stupid Nick Arcade was.

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Guess that’s it for now – ‘til next time, thanks for reading and have an obscure new year!