Welcome back.

Starting, as I frequently do, with shooter news, the 360 port of Cave’s second side-scrolling shooter Death Smiles, whose release date was noted last issue, is now up for pre-order at NCSX and [url=http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-77-1-49-en-15-death+smiles-70-3428.html ]Play-Asia[/url] – moreover, the contents of the Limited Edition release (preorder here or there) have been revealed as a remixed soundtrack CD and a 12-page artbook. As much as I love my Cave shooters I’ll have to stick with the regular edition this time around, as those items just aren’t worth the extra 30 bucks to me – heck, in this country (or any outside of Japan, really) I could probably be arrested for having that artbook in my possession. If you’re not sure why, check out the section for this game on Cave’s website – oh, and while you’re there, note that the Death Smiles 2 page has been updated, and that the second game will have a Christmas theme, as opposed to the Halloween ambience of the first. Finally, also in connection with the 360 port, the previously-mentioned themed joystick is also pre-order-able.

Continuing on the Cave tangent, Ketsui X on the J360 has a listed release date of April 30 at YesAsia, but considering that their release date for DoDonPachi DOJ Black Label X is wrong, it’s likely just a placeholder. It’s also listed for pre-order at Play-Asia, but with no release date specified. In non-Cave shooter news (which there is far too little of these days, unfortunately), R-Type Dimensions is out if you’re interested in a pseudo-remake of the first two games in that series, and the OST for upcoming doujin Dreamcast offering DUX is finished – the game itself is supposedly not far behind.

While we’re talking about doujin stuff, let me direct your attention to a MUGEN project known as Card Sagas Wars – you can peruse the official site, check out the newest trailer, and visit the devArt of a (the?) sprite-maker behind the project. In a nutshell, you’ve got a roster of home-made SD sprites from…well, just about everywhere, beating the living daylights out of each other. I’m not a MUGEN aficionado, but this still looks interesting – maybe someone more into the scene (and fluent in Spanish) could reveal more about what’s really going on. If you’re more into shooters than fighters you can check out Golden Pearl, a weird (but nice-looking) side-scroller where you play as an otter (yes, an otter). Or, if you don’t think enough video game females lose their clothes upon taking damage (why should Arthur have all the fun?), feel free to check out this preliminary concept.

Recap time, mostly Atlus-related – first and foremost, the PSP remake of the original Persona is real – moreover, you can check out a cool-looking [url=http://www.destructoid.com/persona-fans-you-will-be-very-pleased-with-this-persona-1-trailer-120800.phtml ]trailer[/url] and start hoping for a Western release. Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier is also on the way to local DSes, though there are also a bunch of unfortunate release delays to contend with on other fronts. Far less interesting to me personally are the launch of Atlus Online as well as Dokapon Journey, but I’m sure there are plenty of people who feel differently.

On the other hand, if you’re not interested in the latest set of media for Muramasa (frontpaged shortly afterwards), I don’t know what to say (more accurately, I know what to say but will restrain myself). Also be sure to stop in and check out new media for Fragile and a preview of Eduardo the Samurai Toaster, as well as the review of Big Bang Mini.

Thanks as always for reading, ‘til next time.