Those who were concerned that they may have another massive wait on their hands for the third Utawarerumono game will be happy to hear, courtesy of Gamer.ne.jp, that Aquaplus has announced during the 20th anniversary celebration for the series that the third and final game in the series, Utawarerumono: The Two Hakuoro, will be released in Japan on September 21, 2016.
Despite making the announcement, Aquaplus did not state what platforms the title will be released on nor did they state how the game will play, though it is worth noting that the title has switched from being a PC eroge visual novel strategy RPG to a more standard visual novel strategy RPG with Utawarerumono: False Mask‘s release on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita.
Today Koei Tecmo has announced that the Omega Force developed Attack on Titan video game will be released in Japan sometime in February 2016 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita. Alongside this announcement came news that all launch copies of the game will include early access to “Erin and Levi’s Cleaning Costumes” as well as the “Duster Blade” weapon.
To top that off the company also released their second official trailer for the Attack on Titan game, which is still waiting for an official name. It is worth noting that Attack on Titan’s game has already been announced for Western release sometime in 2016.
With Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition set to be released on consoles in Japan in a little over two weeks Sega has decided to release a new four minute long trailer showing off the many playable characters in the game. The majority of the video is spent showing off characters that were already available in the original release but the second half focuses on introducing the four new playable characters in Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition.
This includes Kuroko Shirai, Emi Yusa, Quenser Barbotage, and Tatsuya Shiba as fighting characters as well as a number of support characters that are being added in the form of Floretia Capistrano, Uiharu Kazari, Miyuki Shiba, Iritya Kana, Tomo Asama, and Zero.
Koei Tecmo have revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu that Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea will be released on the PlayStation Vita in Japan on March 3rd. Like many of the other titles that have been given the same treatment, Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea will include all of the downloadable content released for the first game but there will be far more added this time around.
It has been revealed that an older Ayesha, from Atelier Ayesha, and Logy from Atelier Escha & Logy will be included in the game and will be able to fight in battle with new scenarios being added to the game to not only reconstruct the main conflicts of the game but also to provide various explanations regarding the “Dusk” that had been left vague when the trilogy ended.
Atlus and Vanillaware have released a new combat trailer for Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir and this time around they are focusing on showing off Velvet, the surviving princess of the destroyed Kingdom of Valentine. To hide her identity she has fled to the forest of Elrit and became known as the Forest Witch. She pieces together the prophecies foretelling the end of the world. Though usually serene and composed, she is now desperately trying to find a way to prevent armageddon.
You can check out the combat trailer below and be sure to keep an eye out for Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir which is set to be released sometime in North America in 2016 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita.
It comes as something of a welcome surprise that MangaGamer has announced their partnership with the English visual novel developers Winged Cloud. Winged Cloud is behind the popular Sakura series that has been appearing on Steam and by partnering with MangaGamer their titles will not only be able to be purchased through a separate site, but will also be taking a bit of a naughtier turn.
To kick off the partnership an adult version of Winged Cloud’s Sakura Swim Club has been released on MangaGamer. This version which is now Adults Only features a number of sex scenes that were previously not included in the original release. Those who wish to download Sakura Swim Club’s Adult Version can do so here for a currently discounted price of $7.46.
The company has also announced the development of a new PC game called Sakura Dungeon that follows the tale of a knight and fox girl who must work together to clear a dungeon of monsters as players make use of a combat system featuring various skills, attacks, and plenty of girls to bring into your party. Sakura Dungeon will be given an Adults Only release through MangaGamer while an all-ages version will be available through Steam sometime in early 2016.
As for a little something for everyone, it has been announced that an all-ages game called Sakura Santa will be released in December, both through MangaGamer and Steam, and will focus primarily on holiday romances. Those who wish to pre-order Sakura Santa can currently do so at a discounted price of $8.45 through MangaGamer.
A new teaser trailer for The King of Fighters XIV has been released by SNK Playmore as a pre-PlayStation Experience treat and in it we see that Andy Bogard will be returning as a playable fighter when the title is released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 sometime in 2016.
Andy Bogard now joins the previously announced roster of Leona Heidern, Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, and Chang Koehan and you can check out his reveal in the video below. The company also announced that the first playable version of The King of Fighters XIV will be demoed during PlayStation Experience on December 5th and 6th in San Francisco.
Idea Factory International has released the first batch of English screenshots for Megadimension Neptunia VII and with it comes a look at the combat system, the Formation Attack System that allows for players to unleash devastating attacks when they have an enemy surrounded, a number of signature skills, and of course a look at the newest CPU to the game, Uzume Tennouboshi and her transformed form of Orange Heart.
You can check out the screenshots below and as for the game itself, currently Megadimension Neptunia VII is set for release on the PlayStation 4 in North America and Europe sometime in early 2016.
Following the events of season four, the monks of the Church of the Black Klok sing a prophecy stating that one person must die before everything is over. Toki and Abigail are being held prisoner by Magnus Hammersmith and the masked assassin. Offdensen and the Klokateers try their best to locate Toki, but in the end, it is up to the four remaining members of Dethklok to save the day.
Story
The members of Dethklok are more interested in partying than saving Toki and Abigail. However, Nathan is still experiencing emotions and laments over the abduction of Abigail. All that came from the attempts to find Toki is a video on a USB drive featuring Magnus with his two prisoners. The subject matter is mostly serious, but there is still humour to be found throughout the special. The use of humour during certain musical numbers is effective and gives the special a bit of the same comedic feel that the early episodes had. The members of Dethklok feel as if there is no way they can save the day. Their attempts to perform without Toki fail, however, so they eventually decide to follow the clue given in Magnus’ video and find him.
Although Toki has been kidnapped and emotionally, if not physically, tortured, he is the star of one of the most emotional scenes in the special and the series as a whole. It was previously revealed that Toki was not originally a part of the band, and it is now revealed how Toki came to be a part of Dethklok. Toki may not always be as brutal as his band mates are, but this flashback shows just how important friendship and a sense of belonging are to him. The theme of sacrifice is also prominent in a couple of scenes, and is used to show just how much the members of the band, and in particular Nathan, have grown since they first met.
By the end of this special, the majority of the plot points have been concluded. It almost ends positively, but the story has not been fully told. It ends on a sinister note with only a couple of clues as to what is going on, so the series will not be complete without another television season. As of the writing of this review, the status of the potential fifth and final season is unknown.
Visuals
Brendon Small stated in the “Making of” extra that he wanted the animation to look theatrical. To achieve this, he asked the animators to add heavy lighting effects. The difference this makes can be clearly seen in the video. The animation has always been decent, certain special features notwithstanding, but the bar of quality has been significantly raised in this special. If the runtime was doubled, The Doomstar Requiem could easily pass as a theatrical feature. The special is comprised of a series of connected song sequences. Accompanying the song “Givin’ Back to You” is a fantastic parody of the music video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” This dance sequence is well-coordinated, and the level of effort that has gone into the making of this entire special is impressive. Relatively limited animation is suitable for other North American animated series, so rarely does any western 2D animated production look this good.
Audio
As stated in the “Making of” video, it makes perfect sense for there to be a Metalocalypse opera. The score of the Klok Opera was written entirely by Brendon Small and performed by a 50-piece orchestra. The music has been excellent throughout the series, but this score is theatrical from start to finish. A wider variety of musical genres are featured in The Doomstar Requiem, and although the tone of the series has well and truly changed, the choices made are effective in creating a musical score that never becomes dull or repetitive. “The Doomstar Orchestra,” an instrumental song included only on the CD, is an excellent theatrical piece and a fantastic addition to the soundtrack. Strangely, the swearing is censored on the DVD release even though the songs are uncensored on the CD.
There are multiple occasions when the main characters’ singing parts are not sung by their regular voice actors. Toki’s style of speech is retained, but his singing parts are sung by Mike Keneally. Keneally is able to replicate Toki’s voice to a certain extent, but the change is noticeable. Pickles’ singing voice sounds significantly different to his normal speaking voice as well. It is mentioned in the “Making of” video that one of the hardest things for an actor to do is to sing, but Brendan Small’s direction helps make the most of the singing voices sound natural. The decision to change Toki’s voice actor for the singing parts may upset the more dedicated fans, but even though the changes are somewhat jarring, they do not significantly detract from the quality of the special overall. The vocals are also almost impossible to hear at certain points, but the audio mixing could be worse.
Extras
Included on this release is the “Making of” video discussed above. This video features clips recorded during production, such as shots of actors recording their voices in the studio and interviews with the creative team. The physical bonus included with this release is a CD containing the full opera plus an exclusive song produced for this CD. A skull mug is also included with the limited edition DVD and Blu-ray releases of this special.
Overall
The creative team has managed to pack a large amount of content into a relatively short runtime. This might sound like a bad thing, but the pacing does not suffer because of the ambitious endeavour. Although there are some issues to be had with the audio, The Doomstar Requiem is one of the greatest musical events on television and a fantastic addition to the Metalocalypse series. It is clear that this was never meant to be the end of the series, so one can hope that Small’s plans for a final season are approved so that this story can be told in its entirety. Metalocalypse may not be for everyone, but those who have not seen the series before and are looking for an unorthodox series to watch might enjoy this series.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Dethklok has produced a new album. It is shipping around the world on water, an analog format that carries a higher quality sound according to the band. The master copy of the album is destroyed along with all retail copies of the album, forcing Dethklok to record a new album underwater. Tensions rise during the month of recording before the conspiracy surrounding Dethklok is finally revealed.
Story
This season marks the return to the 11-minute format that has been used throughout the majority of the series. A lot happens in this short season, including a significant amount of plot progression and even some unexpected character development. The members of Dethklok act nastily towards each other most of the time, but they have rare moments of compassion. The show was entertaining before when it was almost entirely satirical, but it is more engaging now that the writers have begun developing the main characters.
Despite the the increased amount of drama, satire is still present. The opening episode features an over-the-top satire of what can happen when a fan dates a hugely successful celebrity, while at the same time grossly exaggerating what fan obsession is like. Events become strange and overly dramatic as this situation comes to a conclusion, but the dark humour does not end there. Accusations of racism come into play in another episode, and that episode has an even more shocking ending than the last. Terrorist threats are even parodied just for the sake of shock value. The writers seem to be trying to outdo the dark humour with each episode, but they avoid turning Metalocalypse into a show that is just about shock value, which is exactly what has happened with many other North American animated series over the years.
Tensions have often been high between members of the band, but they rise to a fever pitch towards the end of this season. They may be unaware of the conspiracy surrounding them, but the individual band members have their own problems to deal with. Having to spend a month recording with just one woman in their company, the band’s new producer Abigail, drives some of them mad. Unsurprisingly, two of them compete for her attention with predictable results. As the season draws to a close, the series finally beings to show its emotional side. It ends on a major cliffhanger, but the plot is now well and truly underway.
Visuals
There is a reliance on visual humour in this season. Unlike with season two, however, the visual humour is based on shock value rather than pop-culture references or in-show references. There are multiple sex scenes, as well as visual references to the Ku Klux Klan and Adolf Hitler. One episode also satires the popular trend for people to get plastic surgery in order to ‘improve’ their appearance. This has predictably disastrous and grotesque results. There is still a lot of blood and gore, so fans who particularly enjoy the violent aspects of the show will continue to find a lot to enjoy even as the story gradually moves towards its dramatic conclusion.
Audio
The music is as the same as ever, but there are less Dethklok songs featured than usual. This is not just because of the smaller length of this season in comparison to previous seasons. It is also because Nathan has writer’s block and because of the issues that the band has during and after their month of recording. Those who particularly enjoyed the musical elements of the series may find the significant shift in tone towards the end of season to be a disagreeable change, but this season ultimately does not suffer because of its relative lack of Dethklok songs.
Extras
This set does not contain any hidden extras. Nathan Explosion’s reading of Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors can be found in the special features menu on the first disc. Several extras can be found in the special features menu on the second disc. These include: “Pickles Flyby,” “StaresDown” Parts 1-3, “MurderThoughts,” “The Prophecy,” “Dr. Rockzo’s Greatest Hits,” “CFO Raps,” Dethklok fan art and “The Dethgame.” As always, the entertainment value of the extras will vary. It would have made more sense for the fan art to be included as a gallery instead of as a video, but viewers can pause the video if they want to look at a certain image more closely. The previous videos featuring Nathan Explosion reading Shakespeare’s plays have been somewhat entertaining and interesting despite the limited animation, but even the most dedicated fans will have issues with this fourth reading. It is monotonous and extremely tedious to watch; the PAL version has a runtime of over 84 minutes. This means that it is technically a feature film according to the scrolling text at the end. If the production did not seem so poorly planned, then the length might not have been a problem, but the final version could have several whole minutes cut out of it and not suffer at all. Sounds and even whole dialogue segments are looped for minutes at a time. This extra features an attempt at humour through repetition, and although it is successful on a few occasions, the repetition is taken so far that it seems as if the existence of this extra is a cruel joke. The scrolling text in all of Nathan’s Shakespeare readings may sarcastically suggest something to that effect, but this time around, it is difficult to believe that this was produced sarcastically.
Overall
This season is significantly shorter than the previous ones. In spite of this, however, the satire is as clever as ever. The two story arcs in this season are well-paced and well-written. It is difficult to see how the series could conclude with just a single television special, but it will be worth finding out what happens next.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
