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.