See Tales of Xilia 2's trailer before Xillia 1's even out

2 hour ago - 2:00 PM on 10.28.2012   |   Josh Tolentino

If you've ever had reason to raise your fist and shake it angrily at some injustice wrought by the heavens, here's one you can add to your list: Namco Bandai have streamed the launch trailer for Tales of Xillia 2, above, starring a tubby polygonal cat, a dude with hair and suspenders, and some loli. 

What's the injustice, you ask? Well, the first Tales of Xillia game isn't even out yet in English, dated for some time next year on the PlayStation 3. Which, naturally, makes watching a trailer for its direct sequel, one of the only ones for a mainline Tales title ever made, kind of unfair and/or pointless.

As a way of compensating, we've embedded the two considerably more attractive, Ufotable-animated opening movies to Tales of Xillia below. 

Interested in Xillia? I am, though I'm still just a little bit sore Namco chose the end of the console cycle to begin reviving the franchise's presence overseas, rather, than, say, releasing that enhanced edition of Tales of Vesperia they were sitting on a couple of years ago.

Fafner: Heaven and Earth is now being streamed officially

3:00 PM on 10.27.2012   |   Salvador G-Rodiles

If you are actually there, then you are one of the lucky people that will get to see FUNimation's dub of Fafner: Heaven and Earth on Youtube. In case this is your first time hearing about the anime's sequel, Fafner: Heaven and Earth takes place two years after the ending of the original series as Kazuki encounters a mysterious character that's connected to Soushi's whereabouts. 

Not only does the movie follow up on the original series, but viewers are also treated to some higher quality battles between the Festum and the Fafner units. 

And before you consider holding out on watching this stream, keep in mind that it will vanish at the end of this weekend, since its purpose is to promote the Blu-ray/DVD combo for the movie. In order to make it easy for you guys, you can check out the FUNimation stream of the entire movie in the section after the jump. 

[via ANN]

Go West! Week Thirty-Three: Visual Novels for all

12:00 PM on 10.27.2012   |   Elliot Gay

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another massive edition of Go West!, your weekly column about Japanese games that will probably never get released out west. 

This week saw a whopping bajillion visual novels hit store shelves, a few of which are quite high profile. Former Xbox 360 exclusives make their way to the PS3, and one classic gets a remake. Fans of idols also have plenty to be excited about, which four titles ready to worm their way into your hearts. Violently.

With that said, follow me after the break as I take deep breaths and try not to pass out from visual novel overload!

Japanator LIVE Episode 10

8:00 PM on 10.26.2012   |   Josh Totman

[UPDATE: We are going live NOW! Drop on by to hang out and ask a few questions!]

It's about that time again boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, otoko and onna. Time to bring it to you live in color!

Remember a couple of episodes ago when I had a bad week and wanted everyone to bring something funny for a laugh? Well with the newest update to Spreecast, we can now share online content live on the show! So instead of just clicking a link to go to a new webpage you can see it on a new popup window within the live show. This is really exciting that we can share even more during the podcast like Sal head wound pics, Marcus's wonderfully awful You Tube clips, or the drunk antics of Hiroko. Anything is possible!

Bring whatever you want to share with the group by putting it into the ask a question section of the site. You can even start putting in questions and content right now on the site from the RSVP link below. While there, you can also RSVP for the even and even follow us so you know the exact moment I create a new show. All the cool readers are doing it. Why not you?

Date: Friday, October 26th
Time: 6pm Pacific
RSVP

Friday Night Fights: Roa vs Castlevania's Dracula

6:00 PM on 10.26.2012   |   Salvador G-Rodiles

*ding, ding, ding* 

After a long hiatus, the J-tor Arena is open again for Friday Night Fights. And until things move on to the next phase, JT has left me in charge of picking out the participants for each new fight. Before we introduce our new contenders, let's go over the results from the last fight. 

Lupin may be the one of the luckiest guy around, but Spike manage to get him into a corner with his Jeet Kune Do. Afterwards, Spike brings Lupin to Zenigata as he collects his bounty for accomplishing his job. While Lupin lost to Spike's fist, the master thief was able to escape from Zenigata's grasp once again. Spike wins! (16 > 11) 

Getting into the spirit of October, we are going to have a battle between two vampires that refuse to stay dead. In the Type-Moon corner, we have Roa the Serpent of Akasha. And in the Konami corner, we have the Lord of Evil known as Dracula. Will Roa be able to take down the one who represents true evil, or will Dracula turn Roa into a miserable little pile of secrets? Only your votes and persuasion will determine the fate of this battle. 

As a quick reminder, only one vote per person, and make sure that you add a +1 (Example: Dracula +1) to the fighter that you vote for. The voting session will run from today till Wednesday, with winner being declared on the day of the next fight.

*ding, ding, ding*

Let's get ready to rumble! 

Get fired up with Nintendo's new Charizard 3DS XL

3:00 PM on 10.26.2012   |   Salvador G-Rodiles

Nintendo's electrifying Pikachu 3DS XL may be an adorable piece of a handheld system, but nothing comes close to the fierce fiery goodness that can come from owning a Charizard 3DS XL. Yes, we all know that Charizard is weak against Pikachu's electric attacks, but we all know that Charizard's special attack stat can take out the yellow rodent with one attack. 

Unlike the Pikachu 3DS XL, you can only obtain the Charizard 3DS XL by entering a lottery contest at the Pokemon Center stores in Japan. However, you are not going to win this hot new prize for free. Instead, you are only winning the right to purchase the system at the Pokemon Center. 

The contest will be running from November 3rd through the 26th, and winners will be notified through a postcard sent to their door on December 7th.  Afterwards, the winners can purchase the Charizard 3DS XL at the Pokemon Center on the date mentioned on the postcard, which will be sold for 18,900 yen (around US $236). 

I don't know about you guys, but this is the first time that I've heard about a contest where you don't win a free prize. But at least they are being honest about it, since it would be a mean move to not mention the fine print. On a positive note, if the Pokemon Center manages to have some leftover Charizard 3DS XLs after the lottery, then they have plans to sell them through the Pokemon Daisuki Club (We love Pokemon Club) in the near future. 

[via ANN]

Import Review: Nayuta no Kiseki

1:00 PM on 10.26.2012   |   Elliot Gay

[Warning: this is a review of a Japanese game that has no current English release planned. Also, in the name of consistency, all preceding titles in the Kiseki series will be referred to via their Japanese name.]

In the world of Japanese RPGs, there are few series quite as impenetrable as Falcom's Sora no Kiseki (Trails in the Sky out west). Currently five entries long with no end in sight, each Kiseki game builds upon the last in a way that fleshes out the old characters while introducing new ones and expanding the world. This complexity shouldn't be confused for incoherency however. It's not rare for a character's arc to stretch across three games and two different sets of main characters. While it's certainly not impossible to jump into the series at Zero no Kiseki, the fourth game, I could never really recommend that approach. Like diving into a novel series with the middle book, skipping previous entries in the series would mean missing out on hours of character development and story.

Fans aren't the only ones who have realized this either; Falcom themselves caught on to the problem and set out to create a Kiseki that could serve as an introduction to the series. The end result?

A damn fine game.

Promoted Blog: How to fix Capcom

8:00 AM on 10.26.2012   |   The-Excel

[Community member The-Excel's got quite a lot to say about fixing up Japanese gaming giant Capcom, and a mind to share his thoughts with everyone. If you've got some awesome insights of your own to share that beg to be shared with all and sundry, write something in your community blog, or participate in our regular "Bloggers Wanted" invitations! The best and brightest ones just might get on the front page! - Josh] 

When I read the post on Destructoid about a new game called Rockman Xover, I got a pretty good laugh. I laughed because I totally saw it coming and a lot of people are upset that the all-important silver anniversary of Mega Man is going to be celebrated with what looks to be a trashy cell phone game. I'm usually not one to judge on early appearances, but there's precedent for this one not looking like it's going to be a barn burner, and even the venerable Tony Ponce agrees. I've gone on record multiple times playing devil's advocate for issues like this. This time, I see a solution. Hear me out, because it's not going to be easy.

A lot of commenters on that post and the original source they cited are understandably farty over this announcement, claiming that Mega Man Legends 3 and Mega Man Universe were canned to make room for this and the infamous Mega Man X port on iOS, among other travesties, like they always do when a Mega Man thing is announced that isn't a new game. I think they're wrong, because Capcom made the right call pulling the plug on those projects when their hearts weren't in it. They know that a whole new game is too much for them to handle, so they don't do it. I'd rather have nothing at all if the developers would not have been proud of the result had they continued. For that reason, I tend to side with the developer when a game gets cancelled and I still do in these cases. I know what it's like to abort a project I invested a lot of time and effort into and how much it sucks, so I sympathize with the developer any time they announce a big cancellation. (Update: It's been suggested to me that their hearts actually were in it and it was cancelled because the executives wanted it dead, not the actual coders. If that's true, it doesn't change the points I'm about to make.) 

Square Enix really wants to make Bravely Default 2

6:45 PM on 10.25.2012   |   Elliot Gay

After spending approximately 32 hours with Square Enix's latest RPG, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, I can say with great confidence that this is a return to form for the company. It's everything I've wanted from a Final Fantasy over the past few years, and I can only cross my fingers that the rest of your across the pond will get the chance to try it too. Expect a full import review in the near future.

In the meantime, it looks like Square Enix has a lot to be happy with. The first week sales for BD were extremely good for a new IP, and the game continues to be in demand even two weeks later. My local shops are still sold out, even after receiving a second shipment. 

With folks enjoying the game quite a bit, the official Bravely Default twitter account has been responding to sequel requests left and right. The first tweet stated that "A sequel is of course in the planning stages. In the meantime, here's the new browser game [Bravely Default: Praying Brage]." This was followed up with: "We want to make a great sequel, and that's going to take time. So while we're working on it, we made the browser game so that people could continue to play around in Luxendarc." If that's not a confirmation, I'm not sure what is.

The browser game is set to enter an open beta test next month, so we'll be sure to post hands-on impressions if it turns out to be any good.

And before anybody asks, yes. As silly as the name is, it does in fact have a very spoilerific relevance to the plot.

[via Hachima]

Bathtime Rescue: Discotek picks up Thermae Romae, GTO

6:00 PM on 10.25.2012   |   Josh Tolentino

Discotek Media's moving up in the licensing world, gaining a reputation for rescuing obscure and well-regarded, sometimes non-commercially-viable titles. Their latest acquisitions are time-traveling bathouse anime Thermae Romae, and everyone's favorite bad teacher anime, Great Teacher Onizuka. Good picks, Discotek! Both are scheduled for a 2013 release.

I loved the GTO TV anime, as abrupt as its ending was, and Thermae Romae is certainly an off-the-wall selection.

Discotek's also dropped more info on some previous pickups, including a February 26th date for Lupin III: Mystery of Mamo and...Mad Bull 34, an OVA series I have never heard of in my life. Reportedly Discotek picked up the latter based on demand from fans with an equally obscure taste in early '90s productions. Go figure, I guess.

This might be the last full trailer for Persona 4 Golden

3:00 PM on 10.25.2012   |   Josh Tolentino

Honestly, I don't mean to rain on Atlus' parade here, but given my legal and moral obligation to post any Persona 4-related material I am sent, I'm hoping that I need not continue inundating you, dear reader, with this stuff. More likely than not you've already decided whether you want the game (if you own or will own a PS Vita, you really should), and more trailers are unlikely to convince the undecided voters--I mean gamers.

That said, this is the most comprehensive trailer yet, so if this is to be Atlus' last blast (it probably won't), it'll be the best blast.

Fund(ed) It! Kick Heart gets Kickstart(ed)

12:03 PM on 10.25.2012   |   Josh Tolentino

Hey, remember Kick Heart, Production I.G. and Masaaki Yuasa's (he of Samurai Champloo fame) crowd-funded ten-minute short film of love, nunnery, and professional wrestling? Well, it's happening! The project has officially met its $150,000 funding goal, which means, well, that it's going to happen!

In case you have never heard of such a thing, here's the pitch:

A love story between two people that each have a secret to hide. One a pro-wrestler, the other a Nun. Losing never felt so good.

Well, kick-start my heart, that sounds like something I'd want to watch! Now, with just under a week to go, Yuasa and crew have unveiled their stretch goals for the project. If they can score $175k, they'll add subtitles en Español, and $200k will finance an English dub, featuring, among others, Richard Epcar, the voice of Ghost in the Shell's Batou. The last realistic goal, at $225k, will make a 3- to 5-minute music video of "Oorutaichi", directed by Yuasa. 

The far-off dreams include $400k for 30 minutes of additional footage, and a cool million will turn Kick Heart from short film...to feature film.

While I doubt those last goals will happen, that Kick Heart is happening at all is a relief. Put simply, they don't really make shows like this anymore. Today's industry relies on anime with a guaranteed return on investment, which usually means employing tropes, conventions, and carefully-targeted appeals to the otaku audience. Gems do float to the surface, but by and large, this is the somewhat disheartening status quo.

Kick Heart sounds like a project born of love, even if it did take pitching to the crowd to make this dream an eventual reality.

Get working, Yuasa and Production I.G.! We expect good things!