Greetings, doods! I hope you’ve all been well! Chris King here, dropping by to let you know that our JRPG title, Mugen Souls, is set to release on PlayStation Network on Tuesday! I’d like to briefly go over some of the game’s awesome features and mechanics for those unfamiliar with the game, and will gladly answer any questions you might have for us! Let’s get started!

The story contains all the over-the-top humor and zaniness you’ve come to expect from NISA. You’ll enter a small galaxy in the universe containing seven worlds, shimmering in seven colors… These worlds exist and act independent of one another. This has allowed them to develop and nurture rich, unique cultures. Then one day, a decree was sent out… “I’m gonna make everything in each of these worlds bow to me!” What a bold statement! But by whom, you ask? None other than the multiple-personality-having, naively egotistical yet strangely adorable Chou-Chou! Your goal as Chou-Chou is to conquer the universe by uniting these seven worlds, and force everything and everyone to become your loyal peons! An undisputed God at her finest!

The gameplay system is a nice little mixture of turn-based and free movement on the battlefield. When you want to deal some hardcore damage, get ready for some zany fun! You can initiate group attacks, similar to the Disgaea series, where you might find yourself transported into army tanks and shower explosives all over the enemies. You might also find yourself merging with your teammates, forming an awesome character-windmill, slicing and dicing your enemy for some massive damage. The creativity of how you attack is in the palm of your hands! When you aren’t conquering worlds, you will be traveling the universe in your ship, known as the “G-Castle.” Be sure to level up your ship and gather plenty of peons – you’ll need them when you enter ship-to-ship combat battles!

In order to enslave enemies to become your peons, you must use the unique system mechanic known as “Moe Kill.” To perform this skill, you first must match your personality to your enemy. Once you’ve done that, you will need to use short phrases to coincide with the mood of the enemy. After successfully completing this a few times, the enemies will bow down as your new peons! More peons for the win, dood!

Another awesome feature is the “Mugen Field,” which operates very similarly to “Item World” in the Disgaea series. It consists of a dungeon with multiple floors, where you can level up your weapons to a hilarious degree. Take on enemies in a series of consecutive battles and earn tons of EXP! Get ready to grind out those levels to create the perfect Undisputed God of the Universe!

Aside from the Mugen Field, Mugen Souls contains several elements from the Disgaea series, including Disgaea artist Takehito Harada’s unique character art, as well as a soundtrack by Disgaea composer Tenpei Sato. Mugen Souls provides a refreshing JRPG experience, so definitely give it a try on PSN next week, dood!

I want to kick things off with our big announcement from this year’s press event! Coming this summer, NIS America will be publishing Time and Eternity in North America and Europe! Time and Eternity was developed by IMAGEEPOCH Inc. and licensed by NAMCO BANDAI Games, and is a very exciting title for us, as it is a brand-new style of RPG using hand-drawn animation! Time and Eternity places you in a serene kingdom where everyone is ready to celebrate the imminent marriage of their princess to a valiant knight. However, when a group of assassins appears during the ceremony, the glorious day is brought to a screeching halt as the knight is mortally wounded in the ambush. As a last resort, the princess reveals her long-hidden secret—there is a second soul living within her, and together, they have the power to travel through time. But can they act quickly enough to reverse the course of history and find out why their wedding ceremony was crashed? All shall be revealed this summer, dood! This title will feature dual audio voicing and DLC, as well!

Disgaea fans rejoice! Nippon Ichi Software Inc.’s Disgaea Dimension 2: A Brighter Darkness will be illuminating your lives this fall! This title is a direct sequel to the original Disgaea, starring the fan favorite characters Laharl, Etna, and Flonne! Story-wise, Laharl is back and has settled into his duties as a full-fledged Overlord. However, he isn’t getting the respect that he wants from the locals, so he sets off on a journey to get the respect he feels he is owed! Expect the same awesome Disgaea craziness, with new characters and old friends, and new demons ready to punchasize your face! Fans will definitely enjoy the new Master/Pupil system, where the player chooses the master and the pupil, as well as which skills to pass on! Benefits include new skills and higher weapon proficiencies for the pupil, while the master gets a stat boost for being a rad teacher! On top of that, character customization is back with a vengeance! It all will hit later this year for PS3 with dual audio voicing and a bunch of planned DLC!

Last but not least, we have another awesome PS3 exclusive title from Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. titled The Guided Fate Paradox! Some folks may remember that way back at the end of 2010, I came onto PS.Blog to talk about our rogue-like title Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman for PSP. The Guided Fate Paradox is actually the spiritual successor to Z.H.P. – so rogue-like RPG fans across the world should rejoice!

The story for this title in particular is quite unique – imagine you are at the mall and you are forced to enter a raffle they are running inside… and you win! Congratulations, you winner, you! Your prize? You get to become God! Now that you are God, it’s your beeswax to go through the mysterious Fate Revolution Circuit and guide the fates of those who have prayed to God for help! You won’t be alone, though—you will also have a heavenly host of cute maid-angels and hot butler-angels to help.

“But wait,” you may shout shoutingly, “Ryan, go back to the rogue-like part!” Sure thing! This title takes the seemingly masochistic genre of rogue-like RPGs and makes it more approachable and fun for RPG greenhorns! Already a rogue-like veteran? Not to fret, as you’ll appreciate not only the awesome randomly generated dungeons, but also the insane combinations of items and gear you can use! Tank treads or a Prinny car for legs? Bat wings or robotic helmets? It’s all there, along with some over-the-top Disgaea-like special attacks. Also, look forward to customizing your character, equipping your angelic companions, and delving into dungeons so deep, you might end up on Hell’s doorstep! It’s coming this fall for PS3 with dual audio voicing!

That’s all for now, doods! We’ll be back in a few weeks to get everyone excited for the launch of Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory for PS3, which is set for later this month in North America and Europe! Thanks again for all your support, doods!

Howdy, doods! I’m dropping by today to briefly talk about our upcoming RPG title Mugen Souls, developed by Idea Factory and Compile Heart. Mugen Souls is set to release next Tuesday, October 16th, so I’d like to go over a few of the game’s awesome features and game mechanics. Afterwards, I’ll recap a few of the announcements we made at Tokyo Game Show 2012 a few weeks back. Here we go!

Story-wise, in Mugen Souls you can expect the typical humor and zaniness you’ve come to expect from NIS America titles. You’ll enter a small galaxy in the universe containing seven worlds, shimmering in seven colors… These worlds exist and act independent of one another. This has allowed them to develop and nurture rich, unique cultures. One day, a decree was sent out… “I’m gonna make everything in each of these worlds bow to me!” This reckless statement came courtesy of the egotistical, yet strangely cute, “Chou-Chou.” As Chou-Chou, it’s your mission to travel to these seven worlds, conquer them, and make everything and everyone on them your peon! Worldly domination for the win, dood!

Mugen Souls plays out in a turn-based fashion and with free movement on the battlefield. For a visual reference, the free movement side of the battle system resembles that of Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 for PS3. When it comes time to do some damage, there are many ways to make it happen. Players can experience group attacks inspired by the Disgaea series, where once triggered you and your party, for instance, are suddenly transported into green army tanks and begin raining explosive rounds on your enemies. Or, you can merge with your teammates to form a giant spinning character windmill, which allows you to fly around all fancy-crazy while racking up a bunch of damage on your opponent. If that isn’t enough, you can always launch your enemies into the crystals set in each battle to watch them bounce around like pinballs, or if that still isn’t enough, you can launch them into the air and knock them around for even more damage! When you aren’t conquering worlds and making enemies into your peons, you will be on your ship, known as the “G Castle,” which serves as your transportation between worlds. While traveling, you will also encounter ship battles against enemies, so make sure you have plenty of peons to help out!

One of the most noteworthy and important mechanics of the game is called the “Moe Kill.” Essentially, in order to bolster your G Castle, you will be using the Moe Kill to enslave enemies into being your peons. It’s performed during battle against enemies, and the way you do it is by changing Chou-Chou’s personality to match that of the enemy. After that, depending on that enemy’s mood, you’ll have to use small phrases that coincide with their mood. Successfully doing this a few times should make enemies your peons! On top of the Moe Kill, another important game system is called the “Mugen Field.” If you’re familiar with Disgaea’s Item World, you should feel right at home. The Mugen Field is an area consisting of multiple “floors” where you go to level up your weapons to help aid in conquering worlds. Much like the Item World, the Mugen Field allows you also to unlock upgrades for your character and customization as you progress through it, and clearing it will challenge even the most hardcore RPG fans.

Again, we’re really excited and hopeful that everyone will enjoy this title! It has a lot of great elements from both the Disgaea series (Disgaea artist Takehito Harada provided the art for Mugen Souls, and Disgaea composer Tenpei Sato created the soundtrack) and from standard turn-based JRPGs in general, so definitely give it a try next week on October 16th, dood! Keep your eyes peeled for a lot of DLC also, as we have big plans for the near future!

Lastly, a quick blurb on some new announcements from Tokyo Game Show 2012! First off, we are happy to announce that we’ll be bringing Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory exclusively for PS3, to North America and Europe this spring! Also, we will be launching Generation of Chaos: Pandora’s Reflection for PSP (via PSN) in early 2013! Lastly, we are super happy to announce that we will be bringing Persona 4: Golden for PS Vita to Europe, dood! I’ll be back to touch more on all of this in the future.

That’s all for this time, thank you again for all your support! I’ll be back in a few months to chat, I promise, dood!

First off, I’m sure a lot of you are wondering about the origins of the name Legasista. Well, the name is derived from combining the words legacy and sister.

You see, the main character, Alto, is looking for a way to save his sister, who was turned into a crystal by a curse. He discovers that the artifact that can do it lies in a ruin called the Ivy Tower. While searching the tower, he meets Melize (an ancient weapon), Leina and Shout (a witch and another ancient weapon that was rebuilt from junk parts), Mimily (a dragon-human hybrid), and Volks (a justice-loving thief).

Now that we’ve covered some of the characters, let’s jump right into a few of the noteworthy game features. Legasista utilizes a roguelike dungeon-crawling action/survival RPG battle system. You make your way through dungeons floor by floor, killing monsters and grabbing loot. Beware the poison traps, though, as there are a full dozen different symptoms you can come down with! There’s also a Ran-geon (Random Dungeon) system where you can get better equipment drops and fight stronger enemies to level up faster, but the dungeons delve deeper and you have a higher risk of dying. However, dying isn’t all that bad. Sure, you lose all the equipment that you would’ve looted from that dungeon, but you still get to keep half of the experience you earned from fighting. And you can try again, only you’ll be slightly stronger this time!

One of the awesome points about the game is how much character customization is available. You can create your own characters by choosing their Name, Job, Personality, Voice, what they look like, and more. Once you create your character, you can head into Edit Mode to personalize them even more! You can also export your character’s graphic template, load it into your favorite image editing software on your computer, draw your character precisely how you want it to look, and then import it back into the game (digital photos are fair game too). You can even edit your weapons’ appearances! Not only that, you can trade your characters with your friends to spread the madness! Whew, I got a little excited there…

We’re definitely stoked for Legasista to launch tomorrow on PSN, and our European fans will be happy to know that Legasista will be available for download on PSN in Europe this Wednesday! With a ton of customization, loads of dungeons to crawl through, and awesome action-RPG elements, we really hope RPG fans all over the world will really enjoy what Legasista has to offer!

Before I leave today, I also wanted to provide everyone here on the PS.Blog with an exclusive battle trailer for our upcoming PS3 title Mugen Souls! Hitting store shelves soon, Mugen Souls is a turn-based RPG that touts the ability to do billions of points of damage, has tons of quirky characters bent on world dominance, and features the beautiful art of Takehito Harada (Disgaea series).

This trailer should help you get acquainted with the flow of battle, which plays out in a turn-based fashion and with free movement on the battlefield. Notice how you can knock your enemies around the battlefield like sentient pinballs to break item crystals and get extra items!? You’ll also see the awesome “Moe Kill” command in action, where Chou-Chou turns her enemies into subservient peons. Did we mention the gigantic spaceship battles!? We just did, dood! Thank you for reading and be on the lookout tomorrow on PSN, as Legasista will be available for purchase! We’ll be back in about a month to go a bit more in-depth on Mugen Souls! Later, doods!

Howdy everyone! Ryan from NIS America here, dropping by to talk about our upcoming PS3-exclusive title Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland! Due out May 22nd in North America, this is the final game in the Atelier Arland trilogy and we are super excited for its US debut.

For those new to the Atelier series, they are RPG games that revolve heavily around adventuring and using alchemy to synthesize items, weapons, and armor. In order to make items with alchemy, you will be out leveling up your characters and gathering materials in various areas. Although Atelier Meruru is the third title in the Arland trilogy, the story itself is independent from the previous two titles, so you can totally pick it up and enjoy it without having previous knowledge of the backstory. For those who have played the other two Arland games, you can definitely look forward to seeing familiar characters from the previous two titles!

The story itself takes place in the tiny kingdom of Arls, located on the northeastern border of the Arland Republic, which Princess Meruru calls home. Ever since she was exposed to alchemy by famed adventurer Totori Helmold (Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland, 2011), all she could think about was becoming an alchemist. With Totori’s guidance, Meruru sets out to develop her kingdom using the power of alchemy. On her way, Meruru will encounter new adventures, obstacles, mysteries, and friends, and discover what life is like outside the castle walls. How you choose to guide her through the advancement of her land will determine the final outcome in the tale of Atelier Meruru.

What’s new for this Atelier game? First and foremost, there is a new “development” system that allows you to actually develop new areas in Arls in order to gain access to new lands to explore – doing this will also change the physical appearance of areas and facilities within the game. Another new addition is that you will can pick up quests and interact with NPCs outside of town while you are out gathering and adventuring. The previous titles used the main town as the quest hub to undertake and hand in all your quests, so this is a nice new feature for this series. Alchemy is back with a vengeance, with plenty of new items to make, and of course be on the lookout for the Homs, who will gladly gather and synthesize items for you while you’re out adventuring!

We’re greatly looking forward to the launch of Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland next month on May 22nd exclusively on PS3. If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment and I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Thanks again!

Greetings everyone! I’m dropping by to have a quick chat about Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention as it will be hitting both PSN and retailer shelves on April 17th, dood! Let’s jump right into it and talk about some of the brand-new features for its PS Vita debut!

For newcomers, Disgaea is a turn-based strategy RPG where players can move and arrange their characters using a grid-based system to perform special attacks, or team up to do millions of points of damage (often in very comical cutscenes) against their opponents. Disgaea is also known for its wacky cast of characters, one being NIS America’s awesome mascot, Prinny (highly disposable peon penguin demons that explode), all of which are illustrated by Takehito Harada.

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice first landed on PS3 on August 2008, and along with it came an extensive amount of DLC featuring a lot of characters from the Disgaea universe. We are extremely happy to let everyone know that all of the aforementioned DLC is already included in Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention for PS Vita, on top of the entire Disgaea 3 game!

We’ve also implemented PS Vita functionality, so now you can control your point of view on the map, zoom in and out, and scroll through menus using the front touchscreen and rear touchpad of the PS Vita. Another great feature included is GPS functionality (for 3G/Wi-fi PS Vita owners) that essentially tracks how far you travel while you are physically playing the game, and translates the distance into an in-game stat boost called “Honor Quotient.” Your Honor Quotient can still be increased by defeating monsters and clearing stages, so you Wi-fi PS Vita users can also take advantage of this new stat feature.

We’ve also added a ton of new story content to the game. First off, we’ve added two new characters, Stella and Rutile – both of whom feature in a brand-new two-episode side story. On top of that, Disgaea 4 fans can look forward to seeing two familiar characters, Desco and Fuka – this time as bosses!? More new stories that have been included revolve around Evil Academy’s first culture fair, Raspberyl’s first love, and the battle for the Aptitude Test. Good stuff!

Skill-wise, we’ve added a new tier of magic called the “Tera” level. These super-special attacks feature cameo characters from various Nippon Ichi games drawn by guest artists. Item-wise, we’ve added the ability to customize the visuals of your favorite item. Basically, this allows you to choose an item graphic from a predefined list and transfer stats from another item over to it. This allows players to make their own original weapon with the visuals of their choice. Previously, Disgaea allowed players to max out weapon stats, but not customize the visuals, so this is a plus for hardcore fans.

Thank you all for taking a gander at what Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention has to offer. With a ton of content jammed inside, on top of the Disgaea series’ infinite replayability, we are confident that Disgaea players new and old will find a ton of fun in this new edition for the PS Vita!

We sat down with NIS America Producer Jack Niida to learn more about each of the new titles. Enjoy, and leave your thoughts in the comments.

Legasista for PS3 (PSN)

This post-apocalyptic 2D-styled dungeon crawler — NIS America is describing it as a “survival action-RPG” — takes place in a far-flung future where science has been forgotten and technology is treated with superstitious awe. The gameplay and concept will be familiar to fans of the ClaDun series, but Legasista ups the ante by enabling you to customize your weapon and skills, creating “thousands of attack combos.” This PS3-exclusive RPG is scheduled to release in August 2012 on PSN. Below, we discuss first details with NIS America Producer Jack Niida.

PlayStation.Blog: Legasista is set far in the future, after society has somehow forgotten the nuts and bolts of science. What kicks off the story?
Jack Niida, Producer: It’s set a couple of thousand years in the future, after the world mysteriously ends. A structure called the Tower of Ivy is the only remnant of the past, and is filled with artifacts from the high-tech civilization that has since vanished. The main character is an adventurer named Alto, and after his little sister becomes petrified by a curse, he heads to the Tower of Ivy to try to find a cure. Of course, along the way he’ll encounter enemies and rival adventurers, but little by little Alto will build a team and progress through the Tower.

PSB: So far, Legasista’s cast includes an android and, perhaps most intriguingly, an intelligent bean sprout. What’s their deal?
JN: NIS is always known for its weird, quirky characters and comedic elements, and Legasista is partly inspired by NIS games such as the Disgaea series. The bean sprouts are basically part of an experiment that was conducted ages ago…and they just kept evolving and growing as time went on. Now they have a mind of their own! They are a type of NPC that can help you, showing up in the storyline and leading you to a randomly generated dungeon within the Tower of Ivy. So you can focus on the main story, or explore as much as you want – and the rarest, best items are found on these bean sprout stages.

PSB: Poison and cursing also seems to be a big focus, with some poisons even helping you. How does that work?
JN: It can be a little confusing! There are different classes of poison and ailments that you can take on from enemy attacks or traps. You might get a different effect depending on the combination of poisons; some poisons might just kill you quickly, others might put you to sleep or make you take more damage. But some combinations can actually help you; one combination will cause you to hallucinate and see other traps or hidden objects you normally couldn’t see. So in some cases, you may want to deliberately poison yourself.

PSB: There’s also a big emphasis on creating custom characters, including the ability to import your own artwork…
JN: You can actually load up a painting program in the game and create your own artwork pixel-by-pixel, if you want to, and it’ll animate in the game. If you’re not a great artist, you can import images from your PS3’s hard drive and the game will morph the art into a character. A photo of an environment won’t work so well, but a simple cartoon-type image should work well. You can also edit existing photos using the painting program in the game.

Mugen Souls for PS3

Due out on Blu-ray Disc this fall, Mugen Souls is notable for combining NIS’s traditional turn-based combat with free-roaming movement (i.e. it’s not grid-based) and for enabling you to seduce enemy characters to your party using “moe kills”, resulting in some 1000 playable potential party members — and even more, if you create your own. The main character is also able to switch between seven different personalities, each with different strengths and weaknesses.

PSB: What’s the general concept of Mugen Souls? Why would I want to play it?
JN: If you’re a fan of strategy RPGs like Disgaea, Makai Kingdom, and Phantom Brave, Mugen Souls is a game you’ll want to pick up. The game itself is heavily inspired by other NIS properties; it uses a turn-based battle system that allows you to roam freely on the battlefield. That means it’s not grid-based, you can move wherever you want when it’s your turn.

It’s somewhat old school compared to real-time strategy games, but turn-based games have that chess game element — it gives you time to think. If you want to sit down and take your time, Mugen Souls is definitely the one. It’s also got an amazing list of characters and a lot of comedy.

PSB: The lead character seems interesting, especially since she has seven different personalities. What’s her story?
JN: The main character is a little girl, a demonic little brat who wants to take over the seven different universes in the game. She has seven different personalities, and every time she changes into a different personality, her appearance totally changes — think Sailor Moon and you’re not too far off. You can transform whenever you want, and her stats and the way she fights changes. Depending on your team, you may want to change personalities accordingly.

PSB: You can also enslave enemies. How do I know how to enslave different enemy types?
JN: Once you begin to weaken an enemy, you can charm them instead of killing them. If you see an enemy who may benefit you, there’s an option to make them a teammate. You do this by uttering a series of seductive phrases; if those phrases matches the enemy’s personality, they’ll get charmed and they’ll join your side. So against a more aggressive, hyper enemy, you might want to use softer, kinder, praising phrases. Other enemies prefer to be overpowered or dominated a little, so you can choose those phrases too.

The Witch and the Hundred Knights

From the team behind the Prinny games and the designer behind Disgaea and Phantom Brave comes this intriguing action-RPG set for Blu-ray release in early 2013. In a major departure to NIS’s RPG tradition, the game is set in a fully 3D environment and features real-time RPG combat. What’s more, the darker, mature presentation is a serious deviation from the silliness of Disgaea.

PSB: This game is a serious departure for NIS. Why make an action-RPG when the company’s legacy resides in more traditional JRPG design?
JN: NIS is definitely known for its RPGs and strategy RPGs, but our team wanted to try something new. Compared to a full-blown action game, an action-RPG is a smaller leap for us; NIS is always going to be known for our RPG expertise, so we didn’t want to hop into a first-person shooter or anything! It’s probably better to build on what we’re good at instead of doing something completely different. So that led to the premise of The Witch and the Hundred Knights.

But we wanted to make it unique, so rather than focusing on a single character or a traditional RPG party, why not have 100 units and see what we can do? So that’s where the 100 knights come from. They’re a bit like the T-1000, they don’t have a true body and can morph into anything they wish. You can morph a knight into a tesla coil to zap enemies, or into a weapon, or a shield, and other objects and characters. So that’s how the 100 knights help you.

PSB: The storyline premise sounds interesting. Can you touch on this war between the Swamp Witch and the Forest Witch?
JN: There are two witches that have been going at each other for hundreds of years. The Swamp Witch, who is seriously evil, decides to destroy the Forest Witch once and for all. She stumbles upon the remains of a legendary dark knight who died hundreds of years before, resurrects him and enslaves him. So the Swamp Witch is your master and you have to follow what she says.

PSB: Are there wrinkles in that story? Do you have to work for here, or can you turn against her?
JN: That’s all up to the player. You can be as evil as you want by pillaging villages and killing innocent NPCs, or try to help them and solve their problems. There are two different paths, and it’s all up to the player.

PSB: Is this part of a bigger push for NIS to try new and different things?
JN: Absolutely. We’re known for our RPGs, but there are a lot of gamers out there who love different styles of games. So we want to listen to what they’re saying and cater to these different audiences. Action-RPGs seems like a good place to start!

So, NIS fans — what’s the verdict? Sound off in the comments!

ClaDun x2 will be available only on PSN at the end of August. I don’t have the exact date just yet, but please look out for ClaDun x2 when it pops up on the PlayStation Store. You can also sign up for our Prinny Bomb newsletter at our website to get all of our announcements and news straight from us!

If you played ClaDun: This is an RPG, you might feel like this will be just another run-of-the-mill sequel. But don’t jump to conclusions too quickly! ClaDun x2 returns with tons more customization—more Magic Circles, more artifact types, more classes, more everything!

So how does this game work? Here’s a quick rundown: at its heart, ClaDun x2 is an action RPG. There are two parts to the gameplay; first comes the preparation, where you strategize your battle formation, then comes the dive into battle. Victory is heavily based on the preparations you make in your Base before you head into the dungeons. Customizing Magic Circles with your characters and artifacts, which boost your stats and grant different abilities, is the most crucial part of this game. Each character class has its own specialties and weaknesses, which you’ll have to take into consideration when forming your Magic Circle. When you’re ready, you can head into a dungeon to battle deadly enemies. As you go through the story and level up, you’ll gain more Magic Circles, more gear, and more artifacts! This may sound easy-breezy, but it will actually require a lot of strategy and thinking! Here are some screenshots from the Magic Circle system.

In ClaDun x2, there are 10 classes. Some of the new classes include the Swordmage, which strikes the perfect balance of spells and melee attacks, the Shaman, which is an expert magic user and wielder of powerful Magic Circles, and the Ninja, which excels at sneak attacks and even has a Magic Circle that allows them to fight alone in battle! There are more classes to discover, and as I mentioned above, each class has different abilities and specialties. I’m sure you’ll have a blast exploring them all!

ClaDun X2 has also gotten a major boost to its editing system. This time around, you can add facial expressions for when your character is walking, running, and even dying… Yes, sad I know, but it’s a pretty cool system. And of course, you can also customize your weapons, armor, and even background music. I hope you’ll all pick up the game when it releases on PSN and dip into this super addictive dungeon RPG! You can also check out our official website for more information!

Let’s talk about Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland! This is the highly anticipated sequel to Atelier Rorona, which was released in 2010. And here’s some good news for our Rorona fans out there; Rorona will return in Atelier Totori! Rorona appears as Totori’s teacher, and she’ll help Totori grow as an alchemist and become a great adventurer on Totori’s quest to find her mother. Supposedly, Rorona is a responsible, grown-up lady now, but I’ll leave the final judgment on that to you. Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland will be shipped to retailers on September 27th! The Premium Edition of Atelier Totori will come with a full-color art book and soundtrack!

Atelier Totori features a hugely expanded world map setting, and there are some new features as well. One of these new additions is the “Adventurer’s License” system. The higher Adventurer’s License rank you get, the more places and lands throughout Totori’s massive world you can unlock and explore. In order to get higher ranks, you’ll need to accumulate points by defeating strong monsters, helping the citizens of Arland with quests, creating rare items through synthesis, and so on. Your ultimate goal in the game is to help Totori find her missing mother, and this task will require you to explore the entire world of Atelier Totori. Dust off your adventurer’s hat, and get ready!

It sounds really exhausting to do all that by yourself, right? Not to worry! You can get up to five Homunculi to help you gather ingredients and synthesize items while you’re doing more important things out in the world. They’re very helpful, but they’ll need some extra time to synthesize at first. And in order for them to stay happy and healthy while they work, you’ll need to provide them with delicious pies. Yes, pies! But pie is a small price to pay for such great helpers, right? Here are some screenshots of your helper Chims (That’s how Totori calls them!) Ahhh, they’re so cute!

I know you guys can’t wait to get your hands on Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten! Very soon, your Disgaea needs will be fulfilled… Disgaea 4 will be shipped to retailers on September 6th! The Premium Edition of Disgaea 4 will come with a full-color art book and a Fuka figurine.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the trailer for Disgaea 4 already, but I wanted to post it here once again, in case anyone missed out. I think this trailer perfectly explains what Disgaea 4 is all about. “One copy in every home!” Ha ha ha Here you go!

So, Disgaea has returned with some awesome hi-res graphics. The adorable characters move around the map smooth as silk, and they flawlessly capture the illustrations of character artist Takehito Harada. When you think of Disgaea, one of the many elements that comes to mind is customization. In Disgaea 4, you can customize characters, items, special attacks, character personalities, battle voices, and more! Not to mention, you can rocket your characters up to level 9999! And your attack damage can go over 10,000,000,000!!! Oh my gosh, seriously!? Yeah, that’s pretty much how I reacted when I found out.

The game’s developer, Nippon Ichi Software, wanted you all to enjoy and focus on the gameplay, so they made sure that there would be no load times during battle. You also have the choice to skip the (incredibly awesome and hilarious) battle animations, as well as other shortcut options. Personally, I love the battle animations so I like to leave them on, but for those of you who want to just go go go, this is definitely a cool option to have!

The main story is all about friendship, promises, and love (gotta have that, right?) in the Netherworld! This time around, the story is based on political power and balance, so you get to have your own cabinet, influence the Senate, and so on. There are 10 chapters in the main story, along with multiple endings. Just playing through the main story is plenty satisfying, but NIS knows that no true Disgaea fan would be content if things ended there! So what did they do? They added even more stories for you to unlock after you finish the main story, of course! In these special stages, you will battle against more than 10 hidden bosses. These bosses are…just ridiculously dangerously powerful. The final boss in the main story is maybe level 100, but the hidden bosses are…well, I think you guys should find out on your own. But you’ll see lots of familiar faces, so it will be a treat! (I am sure some of you can already guess who they are…)

For those who really want to spend the next year or two, or three, with Disgaea 4, try to find items called Promotionhell Tickets, which you can use to unlock the X-Dimension. In this world, you’ll get to play some really super duper hard battle maps. Even if you clear the main story, these stages will still be challenging. So good luck!

There is so much more to talk about for Disgaea 4, but I think I’ve kept you here too long already. So I’d better get going, and hopefully I can come back again soon!

Bleach: Soul Resurrección

First up is our brand new title, Bleach: Soul Resurrección for PS3. We are really excited because a lot of us in the office are fans of the anime and manga. Soul Resurrección is the first Bleach game to reach the PlayStation 3, and we’re excited to host its big debut! Soul Resurrección’s plot places you as the main protagonist in the series, Ichigo Kurosaki, closely following the current story arc unfolding in the anime/manga, in the land called Hueco Mundo. Along with your friends, it is your job to stop the evil Aizen who threatens the peace of both the Soul Society and the World of the Living with his army of evil Arrancars. It’s up to Ichigo and the rest of the Soul Reapers to destroy the Arrancars and bring a stop to Aizen’s evil ambitions. That’s really all I can say about the story so far. I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you all!

Bleach: Soul Resurrección is a hack-and-slash action game. It features beautifully cell-shaded graphics that helps maintain the anime feel of Bleach we have come to know and enjoy. Within the game you will find various modes including the main Story mode that will allow you to play as various characters from the Bleach universe as the battle against Aizen unfolds. In total there are 21 selectable characters, so needless to say, the game is jam-packed! Each character his or her own unique combo moves that can be performed both on the ground and in the air to inflict crazy amounts of damage on the Arrancars! As you defeat Arrancars and bosses, you will also collect “Soul Points” that can be used to upgrade your character by using a character upgrade map system. This upgrade system is unique to each character, so there is plenty of replay value to level each character to their fullest potential. Be on the lookout for Bleach: Soul Resurrección exclusively on PlayStation 3, coming this summer! Don’t forget to check out the official trailer too!

Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland

Atelier series fans! We are happy to announce that Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland will make its English debut on the PS3 this fall. For those new to the Atelier series, Atelier games are RPG-style games that focus on adventuring and alchemy. Atelier Totori is the latest installment of the series, starring a girl named Totori. Young Totori decides one day that she wants to become an adventurer, so she decides to open a small workshop (“atelier”) to fund her quest. Along the way you encounter a bunch of brand new friends to help you in your adventure and you’ll notice a few familiar faces (as the story takes place a bit after Atelier Rorona) from previous Atelier games that will appear to help.

One of the new features included in Atelier Totori is the incorporation of MP (Mana Points) for Totori and party members during battle sequences. In the previous Atelier game, Atelier Rorona , players’ special moves relied solely on HP, which would deplete the corresponding amount from your health pool. This time around, players can look forward to having access to both MP and HP, and we hope players will appreciate this change to the turn-based combat system. It wouldn’t be an Atelier game without alchemy, so you all can look forward to hundreds of synthesizable items! Since Totori is bent on becoming an adventurer, a lot of the game’s focus is pointed toward exploring new areas. You will gain licenses to access different areas — most brand new, a few familiar. Lastly, like the previous Atelier games, you can look forward to multiple endings depending on your actions during the game. Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland is set for release this fall. Check it out, dood!

ClaDun x2

Last but not least for our newly announced titles, we have ClaDun x2 for the PSP, which will be available exclusively on the PlayStation Network this summer! For those who aren’t familiar with the ClaDun games, they are exciting action-based dungeon-crawling games that also incorporate RPG facets. Graphically, ClaDun x2 has a classic feel to it, as the graphics scheme pays homage to the pixilated characters of old-school 8-bit games. The premise of the game is to progress through dungeons and level your party members, any one of which can take the role of the main character. You know the phrase “You are only as strong as your weakest link”? This phrase in essence sums up a lot of the “leveling” in ClaDun x2. The whole process is facilitated through a “Magic Circle” system. There are various ways to structure your group, and which characters you place in your Magic Circle will determine their strengths (and weaknesses).

In ClaDun x2, expect more dungeons, updated weapons, more items, more Magic Circles, new monsters, and of course new custom character classes. However, there are a few noteworthy changes to discuss, including an updated character edit system: Now you’re now able to edit your character’s appearance even more than before, this time including movement animations, and even weapons! Last, if you enjoyed the “Ran-geons” from the first ClaDun, you’ll be happy to know that they’ve made the transition to ClaDun x2. We are also happy to announce that “Neo-geons” and “Tri-geons” have been included in the new ClaDun. “Neo-geons” allow you to change certain variables within them, such as weapon and item drop rates, monster levels, and more. “Tri-geons” allow players to choose different paths of difficulty within them, and depending which path is chosen, item drops, item rarity, and monster difficulty will change. If you have a PSP and are looking for an awesome “pick up and play” style dungeon crawler, definitely try out ClaDun x2. It’ll be available on PSN this summer!

Disgaea 4 Trailer

Before I sign off here, I want to leave on a strong note: please take a gander at the Disgaea 4 trailer above. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a must-watch for anyone that’s a fan of the series, or for anyone that enjoys humor in general! For more info, check out our Disgaea 4 website.

I’m happy to bring a bunch of presents including the Hyperdimension Neptunia trailer! On top of that, we’re also proud to bring some screenshots of Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle for PSP!

Last time I chatted about the basic story of Gamindustri and how it relates to our four lovely goddesses and their journey to save Histoire and Gamindustri. Today, I’d like to turn my focus to some of the other unique features that throw some good ol’ nostalgia and customization into the game. The first one we see in the trailer is the incorporation of a lot of classic SEGA icons such as Alex Kidd, Shinobi, and Space Harrier. During the course of your journey through Gamindustri, you may come across various dungeon bosses who may drop small “Game Discs” as they’re called.

Upon acquisition, they will allow you to customize your battle combinations to add, for example, an Alex Kidd or Space Harrier special summon attack where you can deal some serious late 80’s/Early 90’s damage to your foe. It’s a really nostalgic feature that a lot of the older gamers will appreciate.

Next in the trailer, we come across the use of the “Emblem” and “R/W Discs”. These two features allow a little bit of customization for your character(s). “Emblem” will become available to you early on in the game and its basic premise is you can put your favorite picture or emblem on your character’s posterior. Next we have the “R/W Disc” that will allow you to create your own personal summon to do damage and show your favorite picture AT THE SAME TIME! All you will need to do both is get your favorite pic over to your PS3 and then upload it via the game’s image editor. Endless possibilities and humor will ensue without a doubt. Our QA team and I have flown plenty-a-roflcopter while using these features.

Lastly, two quick cameo characters are shown, one for GUST, and one for Nippon Ichi Software. These characters can join your party to open up alternate stories as each has their own motivation for wandering around Gamindustri. Word on the street is there may be DLC for them to become playable *wink*, but there will be more on DLC next month

Our last present to give you all this year will be a few quick screenshots of our new Phantom Brave PSP game!! Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle is a port of the Wii version Phantom Brave: We Meet Again – but this time there’s a bunch of new cameos included! Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks we will have a brand spankin’ new website for you all to view along with more screenshots.

Before I take off, I just wanted to let you all know our Holiday Comic Contest is in full swing with “No Joy to the Netherworld, Etna Claus has come!” This time around we are asking our fans to complete a comic starring Prinny and Demon Lord Etna for some awesome NIS prizes. Come check it out on the Holiday Contest Website!! On top of that, Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! is less than a month away from U.S. release on both UMD and PSN, so Preorder Now to get your limited edition Asagi Pin! We only have 500 of these limited edition pins, dood, so no dilly-dallying! Until then, party on, doods!!!

Happy Holidays!