It looks like fans of the Valkyria Chronicles games may not have to worry about whether or not Valkyria Chronicles Remaster is going to be localized. You see, Sega‘s English branch has released two teasers now hinting towards an announcement this week, with a video teasing news and now an image directly tweetedfrom the company stating it is a puzzle for fans to solve and that the answer will be revealed on Monday.
As you can see in the image, it is easy to decipher that the picture is of the Valkyria Chronicles tank, meaning that fans are quite eager to hear some good news tomorrow. While the game is set to be released in Japan on February 10th with a demo included for Valkyria: Azure Revolution, fans have been hoping that the seemingly easy to localize title would be making its way West shortly after. Of course we have to wait until tomorrow to see if these hints are pointing towards a localization.
Koei Tecmo has released some new details regarding Dead or Alive Xtreme 3‘s new “Owner Mode.” In this mode players will be the owner of Zack Island and their fate will depend on how happy the girls will be with their time there. This means players will need to maintain various levels of happiness with girls and increase their satisfaction levels while also unlocking exclusive items, features, and other elements.
This includes the ability to have a girl change her swimsuit right then and there, with players having the option of trying to peek at the risk of losing favorability. The company also released a trailer showing off some gravure scenes and part of Owner Mode in action as well as a handful of screenshots including the ability for players to use the PS Vita version’s touch screen and the first print bonus costumes for both the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita versions of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3.
I have been a big fan of Naruto since I was in high school and while the anime and manga were always awesome, my real passion for the franchise has always come from its video games. The Naruto Storm series of games have always managed to capture the epic battles of the Naruto-verse in ways that no other adaptation has ever been able to. Sure most anime gets its own video games, but Naruto Storm seemed to just feel so authentic and more true to its source material than any of its competitors.
I guess that’s why I felt a little bittersweet when I sat down to try out the story mode for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Storm 4. With the manga wrapping up not long ago and the anime not far behind, Storm 4 is the last game in the franchise, and in my two hours with the game I faced epic challenges, laughed, held back tears and just genuinely had an absolute blast that I cannot wait to revisit.
Since this is the last game in the Storm series, Storm 4 focuses on the last few arcs of the Naruto story, mainly those related to the Great Ninja War. The story opens up with a flashback to the past where Madara Uchiha and Hashirama are facing off against one another. This provides a great introduction to the game itself and you learn some of the new mechanics (which I will discuss shortly). Following this, the narrative shifts between the past and the present, exploring in detail the life of series antagonist Obito Uchiha and his parallels with Naruto himself. We get little info on Naruto’s story, since it has always been done before in previous games. This is a bit of a double edged sword as the focus on the latter parts of the Naruto story means the game isn’t overly accessible to newcomers. That being said however, as a long time fan of the franchise I loved seeing the colossal battles from the end of the manga without having to worry about all of the filler and stuff I have seen before.
When Storm 3 was released a few years ago the anime and manga were still ongoing so instead of leaving the story on a cliffhanger an ending was created specifically for the game. The ending that was presented was thematically inconsistent with the source material and where the writers of the manga were taking it, so it left a bit of a bitter taste in many people’s mouths. Thankfully this time around the story is actually complete so what is presented is actually pretty damn close to the original manga conclusion. This means there are a few spoilers for whose who haven’t caught up but at the same time the game serves as almost a cliff notes summary of the plot, meaning there is still a lot to enjoy from the anime/manga.
I was able to breeze through the game’s story mode in under a few hours, but for those of you who are worried about the single player component being too short, you needn’t worry anymore. Not only are there alternative missions and branching story paths for you to follow, but each battle has a set of alternative objectives like “use your Jutsu 3 times,” or “Complete the battle with 70% Health.” These objectives add a lot of replayability to stages and actually give you something to aim towards in future attempts.
For those who have played a Naruto Storm game before then you will feel right at home here. Like its predecessors, Storm 4 is a third person fighter where you use your selected ninja’s attacks and Jutsu to take your opponent down. Being the lady game in the series, Storm 4 has the most robust character selection of any Narutom game and includes characters as far back as the original Naruto all the way through to 10 Tails Jinchuriki Obito. The wide gamut of characters means that there is certain to be something for everyone. Many characters retain their special abilities and moves from previous instalments too, so you don’t have to change your main just to stay competitive in this game.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is the first (and I guess last) Naruto Storm game to be made for and released on next-gen consoles and it really does show. Every single thing in this game looks absolutely stunning, from the character models, to the battle animations and particle effects all the way through to the locals themselves and the amazing cell-shading and lighting. This is one of the best looking anime games to date and Namco and CyberConnect2 have managed to nail the look and feel of Naruto.
One last thing I want to talk about is the dynamic actions that can happen during a battle. As you fight, clothes can be torn, fires can be started, armour pieces chattered and weapons even deposited into the arena. All of these work in unison to create a really fluid and dynamic battle field that just feels alive and real. It is the little touches like this that make Storm 4 feel like the best game in its class, and one that I absolutely cannot wait to play more of when it releases on February 5th
This week’s issue of Famitsuhas revealed that Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator will be released in Japan on May 26th for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 and with this reveal also comes the reveal of a brand new character for the title. Those who buy launch copies of Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator in Japan will be given a code to download Kum Haehyun, a rather deceptive character that is the head of the Kum family.
You see, the reason this character is deceptive is because while it does look like it is a muscle-bound old man, it is actually a girl controlling a human cyborg that she has named Jonryoku. A few screenshots showing Kum in action can be seen below, including one that shows her true face when the cyborg is hit, as well as an image of the enhanced training mode and a new story element.
I am a sucker for clever marketing and this new one from Paramount Pictures is definitely up there. To celebrate the upcoming Zoolander 2, now you can play “Find the Panda.” Similar to “Where’s Wally?” Find the Panda has you searching through the black/white image below and trying to locate the panda.
Check out the photo and let us know in the comments how long it takes to find it. Remember that Zoolander 2 is set for release on February 11th so make sure you,stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the news that is so hot rig now, as it becomes available.
Arc System Works has announced that they are planning on updating the arcade release of BlazBlue: Central Fiction on January 28th and with this update comes a brand new playable character. To be fair, she isn’t brand new exactly as the character is Hades Izanami, a character that has appeared often in previous titles as an NPC or boss character but this does mark the first time that Izanami will be playable.
You can check out the debut trailer for Izanami in BlazBlue: Central Fiction below where some of her fighting style, that appears to be a floating style with a few different forms, is shown off.
If you avoided picking up Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky when it was originally released then you now have the ability to pick up an enhanced version of the game for the PS Vita. Koei Tecmo has released Atelier Escha & Logy Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky in both North America and Europe and anyone who purchases the game within the first month will be given free costumes for the cast with Escha being given a Striped Swimsuit, Logy a “Last Resort” costume, wedding outfits for both Escha and Logy, and an administrator outfit for Nio.
You can check out a launch trailer for the game as well as screenshots showing off the free costumes below.
While there are plenty of English eroge being released that are little more than visual novels with plenty of sex scenes in them, there have also been a handful that include actual gameplay elements and MangaGamer has announced a release date for another one of these types of eroge. The company has announced that Beat Blades Haruka from Alicesoft will be released on February 23rd and can currently be pre-ordered(18+ Only) at the discounted price of $31.45.
Beat Blades Haruka follows the story of a boy named Takamaru Ikusabe who has been having a relatively peaceful life trying to pursue his love for the landlord’s daughter. That all changes when he is suddenly attacked by a mysterious group of ninjas and saved by a kunoichi that immediately captures his heart.
Her name is Haruka Takamori and she informs Takamaru that he is the young master of a heroic ninja clan called the Crescent Moons and that in order to put a stop to evil ninjas that are invading Japan, he must raise his forces by providing them with special powers by performing sexual acts with them.
When released for PC, Beat Blades Haruka will offer over a hundred and fifty different sex scenes as players take part in this raising simulator that contains scenes ranging from simple vanilla sequences to kinky sequences of all kinds, including tentacles, futanari, and much more.
Overview Since making their debut back in mid-2014, Winged Cloud has made a name for themselves by releasing visual novels with some outstanding character designs but these graphics usually come at the cost of a poorly planned storyline. This winter Winged Cloud partnered with MangaGamer to release a holiday themed game Sakura Santa. The question here is whether or not Sakura Santa will offer more than just some eye candy this time around.
Story Koji is a young college student who moved away from his home in order to further his studies. Despite being settling into his new apartment nicely, Koji’s focus has been entirely on his schoolwork which means that he has made no friends while away from home. To make matters worse, Koji’s parents and brother both already have plans away from the country as they are all spending the upcoming Christmas season taking trips.
As such, poor Koji finds himself alone on Christmas break with no one to spend the holiday season with. In an effort to shake off some of his loneliness, Koji decides to visit the town and to avoid all the happy couples, he ventures to an unpopular shrine where he ends up making a small wish, to find someone to spend the holidays with. After making the offering and assisting the old priest with some maintenance, it seems that Koji’s wish is about to come true as he soon finds himself encountering three girls who fall head over heels for him in an incredibly short time.
Before leaving the shrine he encounters Akina, a cheeky fox spirit whose perverted actions are a perfect match with Koji’s perverted mind, who promises that she will fulfill his wish. Shortly after this Koji encounters an old friend that moved away in Middle School. Her name is Itsumi and although she hasn’t seen Koji in years, she quickly recognizes her childhood friend and is more than willing to show off her shameless side to him. Finally the third girl that stumbles into his life is none other than a blond girl named Santa who declares herself as the real deal despite her sexy costume and proves it with some holiday knowledge that only the Claus family could know.
Despite having no previous knowledge about mystical beings, Koji only briefly questions the idea of a fox spirit before accepting her as more than an enthusiastic cosplayer while Santa requires actual demonstrations of her abilities before believing her. After these introductions are taken care of, Sakura Santa is about as straightforward as a visual novel of this type can get. The three main girls are rather cookie-cutter when it comes to their personality types and actually selecting which girl to pursue is as easy as can be.
For a few days prior to the arrival of Christmas Koji is given three different options of what to do with his day. This generally means either visiting the shrine occupied by Akina, traveling into town to see Itsumi at her work where she is generally always wearing a new lewd outfit, or staying around the apartment and being visited by the clumsy Santa. Choosing which of these girls to pursue simply involves selecting their activity repeatedly until the ending appears or mixing things up to aim for a harem styled ending.
The girls themselves are indeed charming in this game and do have a decent bit of personality, though they rarely move past their basic character elements while interacting with Koji and their storylines aren’t handled much better. Akina is the mischievous flirty girl with powers that she uses primarily to mess with Koji as the two grow closer, Itsumi flaunts her body and aggressively pursues Koji in the pursuit of a childhood romance that never got off the ground due to her moving away, and finally Santa who uses her abilities to try and cheer up those around her and bring festivities into Koji’s life while making numerous mistakes along the way that the two work together to fix.
All three of these storylines feature standard moments of drama near the end where something comes between the chosen girl and Koji but these moments lack any real impact since they are resolved incredibly fast and lack any type of punch due to how light-hearted the interactions between the cast are throughout their storylines. This means that there is some comedy to be had here, especially if you take the “lucky pervert” aspect of Koji always landing himself in perverted situations with the girls as humorous, but for the most part these routes all feel incredibly routine.
Only the harem route seeing any form of interaction between the girls in any type of format, since they are locked into their own routes otherwise, and it is when they interact with one another that we actually see them come to life a bit more, something that ultimately is lacking in Sakura Santa’s straightforward presentation and storylines. Usually in a visual novel, harem endings pay off in other ways but in the case of Sakura Santa it pays off by delivering the best actual storyline of the four on offer.
Gameplay As mentioned previously, Sakura Santa is about as straightforward as they come with visual novels. There is one early choice that makes a small dialogue difference near the beginning but plays little role into the way the story unfolds as these choices all depend on which girl they wish to visit. This means that throughout the game’s roughly three hour long run time depending on your reading speed, it is possible to see all different versions of the game’s ending and unlock every CG with very little trouble.
The title supports the most basic of extra features by allowing players to view previously seen CG art and unfortunately that is really all there is to it as there isn’t even an option to listen to the game’s background music, though more on that in a moment.
Visuals & Audio One of the best aspects of the Winged Cloud titles are the way they handle the girls in the series are handled and that remains true in Sakura Santa as each of the girls are incredibly well drawn and highly attractive. Of course the entire cast is large busted so those looking for a bit of variety there will be disappointed but there is a lot of variety present in the outfits worn by the cast as we see plenty of sexy santa costumes, lewd poses featuring a fox girl, and a variety of outfits from the cosplaying childhood friend. This means that the game is indeed a treat for the eyes as the CGs are impressive while the background artwork is also handled nicely with certain wintery elements and holiday decorations popping up when appropriate.
On the other hand, Sakura Santa completely drops the ball on background music. Despite being a holiday themed title, there isn’t an ounce of holiday spirit found in the game’s soundtrack. While not off-putting, the background music throughout this title would easily have fit in with any standard visual novel and considering there is no voice work, the addition of at least some type of Christmas styled sound effects or similar sounding music would have been nice.
Overall Sakura Santa tries to offer a festive themed experience in a rather strange package. While it certainly delivers the yuletide spirit with Santa, both Akina and Itsumi are handled in a manner only vaguely related to the holidays and feel as if they could easily have been placed into any other work. As such what we have here is a visual novel that, while enjoyable for what it has to offer in the way of gorgeous character art, doesn’t really deliver much in the way of memorable storytelling or even character development since even the smallest amount of drama is solved within a minute.
As such those who are looking for something really memorable from Sakura Santa will find themselves disappointed while those simply looking for a bit of good fun will still find Sakura Santa a run of the mill experience with some holiday fluffing. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Ok, well maybe “plop” is bad wording. How about release? Bandai Namco have released (much better) a demo for their upcoming sequel Project X Zone 2, which looks to be a fitting follow-up to the ultimate team up that we first saw a few years back.
There isn’t a whole lot to say about this news other than you can download it from the eShop on the 3DS and that it will probably wet some taste buds before other people make the plunge later this month. I personally loved the first title and need to beat it again to get a refresher as if any title was a breath of fresh air, it was X Zone for the 3DS.
