Idea Factory International is ringing in the new year with some brand new screenshots showing off the new transformation forms that will be available in Megadimension Neptunia VII. As previously detailed, Neptunia, Vert, Noire, and Blanc now have the abilities to transform beyond their standard CPU forms into NEXT forms, allowing them to become NEXT Purple, NEXT Green, NEXT Black, and NEXT White.
Megadimension Neptunia VII is currently slated for release on the PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe in early 2016 and this title not only supports the aforementioned NEXT transformations but also features a number of new characters, three storylines, three worlds, and a number of additions to the battle system.
With the new year and new month come a new batch of digital Viz Media manga announcements as well as some deals for those looking to buy a large amount of a digital manga series at a discount.
Before we get into those announcements, the aforementioned deals will be running all month and will offer the entire eight volumes of Godchild for $20, Kimi ni Todoke Volumes 1 through 10 for $40, the entire series of Kimi ni Todoke for $77, and three Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan bundles in the form of $40 for volumes 1 through 10, $52.50 for 1 through 15, and $75 for the entire series.
As for the new licenses, Viz Media has announced that they have saved the licenses for Mario Kaneda’s Saving Life manga series as well as the manga Kannazuki no Miko, both of which were previously released by TokyoPop before the company went under.
Both of these series as well as Honey So Sweet, another new license from the company, will have their first volumes released this month. Alongside these series new volumes will be released digitally throughout the rest of the month for sixteen other continuing series from Viz media such as Nisekoi, Terra Formars, and more.
Sekai Project is back on Kickstarteronce again and this time around they are looking for funding to bring Takumi Nakazawa’s Root Double- Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition out to English speaking audiences. Originally developed by Regista and published by Yeti and Lemnisca the project is seeking $135,000 total in funding with the minimal backing tier sitting at $30 for a digital PC copy of the game when localization is complete.
There are a few stretch goals already set, with $180,000 in backing earning backers a fanbook, $250,000 netting the translation of a six episode drama CD “Beyond * BEYOND” based off of in-game magical girl anime, and sitting last at $300,000 is the translation of the Xtend Edition audio drama “Before Days” and drama CD “After Crime.”
Sekai Project has already placed Root Double- Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition onto Steam Greenlightand has provided a story summary and nine minute spoiler free interview with the writer, Takumi Nakazawa, and you can check both of those out below:
The year is 2030. Business is as usual in the isolated research city of Rokumei–that is until several explosions suddenly go off in the nuclear research facility known as “LABO.” The city sends in “Sirius,” an elite rescue squad, to deal with the situation. But the situation only gets worse when LABO’s nuclear reactor melts down, sending the facility into lockdown–with members of Sirius and survivors still trapped inside. With lethal radiation leaking everywhere and not enough anti-radiation medication to last until lockdown lifts, the survivors make more and more grim discoveries. In their struggle for survival, in a deathtrap full of fire and radiation, they learn that doubt is their greatest enemy, and trust their greatest asset.
The story of Root Double features two different protagonists: Watase Kasasagi, a rescue squad captain who has lost his memories in the hours after the incident, and Natsuhiko Tenkawa, a student piecing together the clues in the six days before. The only key to survival lies in the player’s hands with the Senses Sympathy System (SSS). Unlike traditional visual novels, Root Double does not have clear cut “choices,” but rather, the game uses SSS to allow the player to manipulate the story based purely upon emotion. Your emotions projected upon the characters, particularly your trust in them, shape the progression of the story. Only with effective use of this system and completion of both protagonists’ stories can the player piece together the truth and hope to discover a way out of the facility.
You may forget that outside of the standard Assassin’s Creed games, that Ubisoft was also still working on that Assassin’s Creed Chronicles set and they are now prepared to release their next entry in the series after China was released in April of last year. This one happens to be called Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India and will be released on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC as a digital download next Tuesday on January 12th.
To go along with this announcement Ubisoft has released a gameplay trailer for Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India as well as a brief introduction to what will be happening as players find themselves in India, 1841, where tensions between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company are escalating quickly. Taking control of Arbaaz Mir, a Master Assassin, players must rescue his love from the clutches of his sworn enemies and recover what was stolen from the brotherhood.
It appears that Majesco Entertainment might have been aiming for something of a surprise release when it comes to their upcoming title. You see, although announced a few months ago and given no release window, the company has released a new trailer announcing that A Boy and His Blob remake is heading to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC and it will be coming out in a little under two weeks on January 19th.
A Boy and His Blob‘s release on current platforms will be a high definition version, handled by Abstraction Games, of the title that was originally released in 2009 for the Wii by WayForward. You can check out the trailer for A Boy and His Blob below.
It looks like the timed exclusivity for Rise of the Tomb Raideris going to last a few months as Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have announced that the game will be released for PC on January 28th. The PC release of the game will support 4K resolution and will be available as a digital download through Steam and many other online retailers with the standard edition priced at $59.99 and a “Digital Deluxe Edition” that includes the game’s season pass priced at $89.99.
Those who want to opt for a real special version of the game can pre-order a Collector’s Edition through Square Enix’s e-storefor $149.99 where they will be given the Digital Deluxe version of the game, a 12 inch Lara Croft statue, a replica of both Lara’s journal and her necklace, and finally a steel case. Currently the upcoming PlayStation 4 version of the game has not been given a release date.
You may remember that, back in November 2014, Atlus announced that development on Etrian Odyssey V had begun. Since then we haven’t heard a single thing about the game outside of the initial teaser trailer that was released alongside the aforementioned announcement.
So now that over a hear has passed, we finally have a bit of news courtesy of Games Talk and this week’s issue of Famitsu where the series director Shigeo Komori stated that the game is nearing the final stages of development. Currently no platforms for Etrian Odyssey V have been announced but we can likely expect some more information on the game to come out in the next few months.
If you were looking forward to playing Scalebound in 2016 then you better be prepared for plenty of other delays this year, as it has been announced that Scalebound has been delayed to 2017. In an update from Platinum Games, the company announced that the Xbox One exclusive needs more time to deliver on the ambitions of the team since, despite development “going well” that this is one of the team’s “biggest games.”
They did state that they are still planning on talking more about the game later on this year but for now you can check out their full statement below:
As we enter into 2016, we want to provide you with an update on Scalebound, the upcoming Xbox One-exclusive action-RPG that lets you fight alongside a fearsome dragon named Thuban.
Development on the game is going well and we’re really happy with how it’s coming together. Scalebound is one of the biggest games PlatinumGames has ever created: an epic adventure filled with exploration and fantasy gameplay, inventive multiplayer, and action-packed battles on an unbelievable scale – all set in a beautiful and evolving world. It’s the game our team has always dreamed of making.
In order to deliver on our ambitious vision and ensure that Scalebound lives up to expectations, we will be launching the game in 2017. This will give us the time needed to bring to life all the innovative features and thrilling gameplay experiences that we have planned.
We know you’re excited to see more and thank you for your patience. Scalebound is a truly special project that’s been several years in the making, and we are very proud and inspired by all the work our team has done so far.
We will be sharing more about our vision for Scalebound later this year and can’t wait to give you a closer look at the world of Draconis and the incredible creatures and experiences we’re building.
With the Shenmue series finally being revived last year after a very long wait and well on its way into development after a very successful funding campaign, Ys Net has recently revamped the official website for the game and with it came a New Years message, an update regarding a poll for certain backer types, and a short video showing off how a certain hut in Bailu Village will look in the game.
Currently Shenmue III is being developed for release on the PlayStation 4 and PC. As for that New Years message, you can check it out below:
Thanks to Shenmue fans everywhere, 2015 saw the start of Shenmue III. 2016 will be a year with noses to the grindstone to make the next installment of Shenmue worthy of the expectations you have entrusted with us. We would like to again ask you for your support and cooperation for all that lay ahead this year.
The sequel to the popular PC visual novel NEKOPARA will be coming out quite soon, at least in Japanese. NEKO WORKs, the developers of the game, have released the opening video for NEKOPARA Vol. 2 and with it comes the announcement that the Japanese version of the game will be released in February 2016.
The second volume has already begun English translation, though no release date has been set for this version, and as you can tell by the opening theme, this volume will primarily focus on Coconut and Azuki while still including Chocola and Vanilla with the rest of the cast, outside of the main character, likely playing more of a background role this time. It is worth noting that upon release the Japanese version of the title will feature sexual content but similar to the first volume, it will later be released in English in All-Ages format and in Adult format.
