Lord of Magna: Maiden Heavenis now available in North America at retail, where all launch copies include a soundtrack CD, and digitally through the Ninendo 3DS eShop for $39.99. To commemorate the launch of the title XSEED Games has released a new trailer for Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven with the focus being on showing off how each of the faeries players will encounter in the game stack up against one another regarding attack range, damage, speed, and movement range.
As for the game itself, it tells the story of a young innkeeper named Luchs whose peaceful innkeeping days became numbered once he discovered a bracelet known as “Lachryma.” Suddenly accosted by strange fiends, he’s saved by a mysterious faerie encased in crystal whose memories are spotty at best. Luchs decides to help her recover these memories and, in doing so, encounters numerous other faeries just like her, each wielding unique powers and remembering a little more about their storied pasts as the entourage grows.
In case you missed it, Koei Tecmo has announced that they will be releasing Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence in the West for the PlayStation 4 at retail, and on the PlayStation 3 and PC digitally on September 1st in North America and September 4th in Europe.
As such, now that the game is set to be released in the West Koei Tecmo has announced that gamers can obtain specific pre-order bonuses depending on where they want to pick up the game. Those who pre-order Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence will be given the ‘Rise of the God of War’ pack while those who pre-order from Amazon or Best Buy will obtain the ‘Oda -Tokugawa Alliance’ scenarios. Details about these scenarios can be found below as well as a new trailer for the game and some character portraits.
‘Rise of the God of War’ tells the tale of Kagetora Nagao, fourth son of Tamekage Nagao, who replaces his weak brother as head of the Nagao clan. When the liege lords of his clan are unwilling to recognize such a young and inexperienced youth he must force them into submission and prove his superiority as a commander. This is the origin story of Kenshin, the general who became known in Japan as the ‘God of War.’
‘Oda – Tokugawa Alliance’ follows the stories of two young men, Takechiyo Matsudaira and Kipposhi, who grow up to be two of the most significant figures of their time, Ieyasu Tokugawa and Nobunaga Oda. This scenario explores their time growing up together and sheds some light behind the forging of their strong alliance and friendship.
While it may not have the same following of other trading card games, the Pokemon TCG has been around for a good while now and we are midway through Championship season. Today, Pokemon International announced the finalists that may be able to partake in the big event in Boston come August. Of course it isn’t all about cards though, as players can also bring out their 3DS and play Pokemon Alpha Sapphire or Omega Ruby to gain that title as well.
Here are the details along with the winner’s circle of sorts:
This past weekend saw intense battling and sportsmanship demonstrated at the UK National VG Championships and TCG Championships in Manchester. The winners now have a greater chance of earning invitations and travel awards to participate at the exciting event this summer and go head-to-head with other players for the crown of World Pokémon TCG or VG Champion.
The 2015 Pokémon TCG and Video Game National Champions:
2015 Pokémon Trading Card Game National Champions—Junior Division
1st: Adam Balela
2nd: Vanshay Bhucher
3rd: Marcus Palmer
4th: Robin Waters
2015 Pokémon Trading Card Game National Champions—Senior Division
1st: Adam Gregson
2nd: Kyle Guest
3rd: Joshua Toulmin
4th: Luke Campbell Lowe
2015 Pokémon Trading Card Game National Champions—Masters Division
1st: Oliver Fennelly
2nd: Alex Dao
3rd: Jamie Serhan
4th: Karl Blake
2015 Pokémon Video Game National Champions—Junior Division
1st: Enzo Tigroudja
2nd: Rhys Stevens
3rd: Lisle Costard
4th: Charlie Taylor
2015 Pokémon Video Game National Champions—Senior Division
1st: Jack Durrand
2nd: Joseph Richardson
3rd: Jan Tillmann
4th: Mark McQuillan
2015 Pokémon Video Game National Champions—Masters Division
1st: Markus Stadter
2nd: Arash Ommati
3rd: Eugenio Discalzi
4th: Baris Akcos
The 2015 Pokémon UK National Championships took place at Event City in Manchester for the second year running. Trainers battled in three age divisions—Junior, Senior, and Masters. Video game competitors used the latest Pokémon video games, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Pokémon TCG Trainers battled with decks built using cards across multiple Pokémon TCG expansions.
Qualifiers from North America, South America, and from more than 30 countries around the world including Australia, Africa, New Zealand, Japan and Korea will also be sending qualifiers to the 2015 Pokémon World Championships. Rather interesting news if you follow the pro circuit for either league, as we are now just two months away from the big event.
Dragon Quest fans, we have a date! Today Square Enix confirmed that Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below will be hitting the Playstation 4 on October 13th. Yes, that is a long name – but Dragon quest always has a knack for adding a bit to the title.
The Day One Edition will feature five free Slime-themed in-game equipment items for those who pre-order, including: Slime Sword, Gooey Gloves, Goomerang, Squishing Rod and Gungenir.
Koei Tecmo and Square have been working on this beast for a while in terms of a translation, and we also now have a new trailer and information on the Day One Edition, which will come with five slime weapons (pictured above). I am quite ready to hop back in the world of Dragon Quest myself, and yet again, we see that we have a very busy release season later this year. Watch the new trailer and be happy.
Recently Nintendo held a “Nintendo Direct Micro” that contained quite a few announcements despite being a relatively short showing. The full video for the Nintendo Direct Micro can be found below but as for the actual announcements, quite a few Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games were announced for release in the West this year and in 2016 as well as some add-ons for the recently released Splatoon.
Some of the biggest announcements come in the form of Bravely Second End Layer being confirmed for release in the West in 2016, bringing the sequel to Square Enix’s surprising hit to fans who have been eager for the announcement, as well as the localization of Little Battlers eXperience, Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash, Dr. Mario Miracle Cure, and more.
A full rundown of everything that was announced and detailed can be found below from Nintendo as well as some screenshots and artwork for a few of the titles:
Nintendo 3DS
Bravely Second End Layer: The sequel to Square Enix’s hit role-playing game, Bravely Default, is coming to Australia and New Zealand in 2016, complete with a new storyline and more strategic battles to get stuck into. In this sequel, set in a time long after the events of the previous game, follow the path of main character Yew as he embarks on a quest to save the kidnapped Agnès Oblige from evil forces.
Little Battlers eXperience: Just like the popular anime and toy line, Little Battlers eXperience lets players build, customize and battle robots using more than 130 models and more than 4,000 in-game parts. Up to six players can connect via local wireless to battle it out and see whose robot emerges victorious when the game launches in Q3 2015.
Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash – Everyone’s favourite little robot is back, this time in a side-scrolling action game! In Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash, Chibi-Robo must swing his plug to whip enemies, reach far-off platforms and solve environmental puzzles, as well as collect upgrades to extend his plug for getting hard-to-reach collectibles and uncovering hidden areas. Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash will launch exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems in November.
Chibi-Robo amiibo – Launching at the same time exclusively in a Chibi Robo!: Zip Lash bundle is a new Chibi-Robo amiibo figure. This new amiibo transforms Chibi-Robo into the all-powerful Super Chibi-Robo in certain stages in the game. In addition, players can level up this Chibi-Robo amiibo to acquire a variety of in-game collectible figures by saving their scores at the end of each stage. More details about this amiibo will be revealed in the future.
Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure – The classic Dr. Mario puzzle game play that players have grown to love over the years returns in this new game, but with the addition of a game-changing new Miracle Cure item. This cure-all item activates a variety of capsule- and virus-eradicating powers. Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure is coming exclusively to Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS on 12th June.
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon: This recently revealed new installment in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series finds players becoming Pokémon to explore randomly generated dungeons in a land inhabited only by Pokémon. In addition to the 20 Pokémon players can choose to become and also pick their partners from, every known Pokémon, all 720 of them, are in the game! Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon launches for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems in early 2016.
Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition: With their mix of exciting role-playing battle action and match-three puzzle fun, both games offer a host of hidden surprises fans may not yet have discovered since the games launched together on 9th May. In Puzzle & Dragons Z, those who have tackled the game’s story will get access to an entire second continent filled with challenging gameplay. Meanwhile, players who complete the main game in Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition will unlock a further 8 extra worlds, meeting new helpers and playable allies such as Rosalina, Peach, Bowser Jr., and Bowser’s Minions.
Wii U
Project Treasure: A new trailer highlighting gameplay in this four-player co-op action game from Bandai Namco Entertainment was revealed alongside the Nintendo Direct video on Nintendo of America’s YouTube channel. Take down enemies, evade traps, and escape with spoils from the deepest of dungeons.
Splatoon: With this ink-tastic shooter game now available on Wii U, new content is coming from midday today (AEST), when aspiring Inklings will be able to power up their gameplay with the rapid-fire N-ZAP ’85 weapon, and get their tentacles stuck into a brand new stage called Port Mackerel! Alongside these additions, Splatoon’s Ranked Battle mode will also become available for characters level 10 and above.
Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games: All of your favorite Mario and Sonic characters are ready to join the fun in Rio, the host of the Olympic Games in August 2016. Take the rivalry on the road with supercharged Olympic events like Football and Table Tennis in the Nintendo 3DS version, or see if you’ve got what it takes to hang with the best in the Wii U version, with all-new events like Football, Rugby, and Beach Volleyball! More details about the games will be announced in the future.
Warner Bros. Interactive has released new information for their upcoming title LEGO Dimensions. The Simpsons, Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Portal, Jurassic World, Midway Arcade, LEGO Chima and Scooby Doo will be joining the lineup of available franchises, bringing the total number of confirmed franchises to 14.
Additionally, more information has been released on how objects built in the real world will translate in the game. Each gadget and vehicle will come with three possible configurations based on the parts provided in the kit. Once built, the item can be sent into the game, then disassembled in real life and rebuilt as the new item.
LEGO Dimensions will launch on September 28, 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U.
Jai Courtney and Arnold Schwarzenegger are coming to Sydney this week. Paramount Pictures Australia has released two new clips from Terminator Genisys to celebrate their visit. The first clip entitled “I did not kill him” features dialogue between Sarah Connor, Sgt. Kyle Reese, and Guardian in 1984.
The second clip features Schwarzenegger’s famous line uttered by Sarah Connor, “come with me if you want to live.” The video features a short action scene set in a clothing store, with Sgt. Kyle Reese being pursued by a dangerous enemy and Sarah Connor driving the delivery truck that will rescue Reese.
Terminator Genisys will hit cinemas on July 1, 2015.
A couple of weeks ago Idea Factory International released the first batch of English screenshots for Amnesia: Memories while also revealing two of the characters that players can pursue and now they have released a new batch of screenshots focusing entirely on one character.
This character happens to be Kent, a man described as someone who values rationality and logic over feelings and it will be up to players to “find the equation to get him to listen to his heart over his mind” if they choose him as their lover amongst the five possible suitors. You can check out the screenshots below and keep an eye out for Amnesia: Memories when it is released for the PS Vita in North America and August and on Steam sometime later on.
Discotek Media has been giving updates on some of their upcoming releases over the last few days. They also posted trailers for Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and IGPX, which can be found here.
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust will be released in early September on DVD and Blu-ray. Discotek’s release will only include English audio, as the licensor will not allow the Japanese audio to be released outside of Japan.
Toonami will be altering their version of IGPX to conform to the 16:9 aspect ratio. This version will be included in Discotek’s upcoming release. Discotek’s release will also include the uncut version, and all-new extras are being produced for it.
Additionally, Discotek uploaded a work-in-progress preview of the cover art for their release of The Little Mermaid, which is featured below.
Today NIS America released a few screenshots and some character artwork for Rodea: The Sky Soldier and with these images came a bunch of new information about the title’s storyline and key characters.
Currently slated for release on the Wii U and 3DS in North America on September 22nd and in Europe on September 25th, Rodea: The Sky Soldier exists in a world where there were once two countries, Naga, the terrestrial machine empire, and Garuda, a floating kingdom in the sky. Before long, the Naga Empire started a war with Garuda in an effort to obtain the country’s crystallized Graviton energy and it is here where the story begins.
A full rundown of the story and character details from NIS America can be found below:
Princess Cecilia, the daughter of Emperor Geardo, ruler of Naga, attempts to flee to Garuda alongside her robot bodyguard, Rodea. Trapped by her pursuers, she entrusts Rodea with half of the Key of Time—an artifact that is integral to the success of Naga’s invasion. Using the remaining half of the Key’s power, she teleports Rodea to Garuda, depriving Naga of the intact Key of Time, thereby preventing the earthbound aggressor from successfully carrying out its invasion.
Since then 1,000 years have passed, and Garuda’s citizens regard Naga’s failed invasion, as well as the Naga Empire itself, as little more than a historical footnote in the pages of history. At a small village in Garuda, a young woman named Ion lives a peaceful life with her grandfather, where she spends her days tinkering with machines and inventing all sorts of odd gadgets. One day, Ion is surveying an ancient ruin when she discovers a deactivated, broken robot—Rodea. Though Ion repairs the damage to Rodea’s body, the damage to Rodea’s memories is too extensive. He remembers next to nothing about his past, save for his mission to save Garuda, and the face of a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Ion.
As for the characters the company has described them as thus:
Rodea – A humanoid robot with flight capabilities. He attempted to flee to Garuda alongside Princess Cecilia, but failed. After Princess Cecilia teleports him to safety, he suddenly finds himself waking up 1,000 years in the future thanks to Ion, who recovered his body and repaired him back to full functionality. With this new ally by his side, Rodea takes to the sky to defend Garuda against the Naga Empire once again.
Ion – An enthusiastic young woman who enjoys tinkering with machinery. Her physical appearance is nearly identical to Rodea’s memory of Princess Cecilia. She finds Rodea, broken and deactivated, in an ancient ruin and restores him to working condition. With Rodea, she embarks on an adventure to stop the Naga Empire’s invasion.
Princess Cecilia – The pure-hearted princess of the Naga Empire. She fled Naga with Rodea in an attempt to stop her father, Emperor Geardo, from invading Garuda. When that plan fails, she teleports Rodea to safety and is never seen again.
Emperor Geardo – Geardo was once a kind father who showered his beloved daughter, Cecilia, with love and affection. It was for her sake and the sake of his empire that he spearheaded Naga’s development into a mechanized civilization. To this end, he has replaced the majority of his physical body with the most powerful technology his empire can produce, further cementing his status as an immeasurably legendary ruler.
