RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland has been set for a North American release date of May 22. I swear I’m going to get to these games one day, they just look so pretty and colorful.

Source: Joystiq

Reminding people that Final Fantasy XIV is still running, Square Enix has launched a pair of promotional campaigns for the game. The first is for legacy players, those who have paid for at least three months since January, when billing began. Eligible players will be contacted via email and receive a discounted subscription ($9.99 for 30 days), along with 40 character slots at a maximum of eight per world. With the launch of 2.0, these players will also get an exclusive chocobo mount and may have their names listed in the update’s credits.

The second promo is the Welcome Back campaign, aimed at luring players with inactive accounts. Players can reactivate for free between May 9 and May 20, coinciding with updates to the job system and Seventh Umbral Era content.

Source: Joystiq

On the off chance you’re curious, Square Enix has announced that North American preorders for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy will include a custom stylus and character stickers. These include most of the well-known characters – Cloud, Squall, Lightning – and vastly superior ones like Shantotto. Don’t even act like she’s not the best thing Final Fantasy has produced in a long time.

As a reminder, Theatrhythm hits US retailers starting July 3.

Source: Joystiq

The latest batch of Etrian Odyssey IV screens have revealed further gameplay tidbits. Apart from character-specific skills, party members have access to shared Burst Skills, which you learn from books along the way and are set in open skill slots. Their effects range from special attacks to party-wide buffs, for instance raising everyone’s attack strength for that turn. A Burst gauge governs the use of these skills, and naturally is depleted with each use. Additionally, players can create and customize their characters through the guild, and can store up to 30 characters in total.

Source: Andriasang

A sequel to the Level-5/Studio Ghibli title Ni No Kuni is possible, though, according to Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino, it will depend on how well the game does outside of Japan. Speaking with Famitsu, Hino appeared confident the game would do well worldwide, adding that the localization director tapped for the project has considerable experience; this will, however, be their first project with Level-5.

The PS3 version, subtitled Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, is expected to release in the first quarter of 2013.

Source: Andriasang

Level-5 has recruited tri-Ace to develop Little Battler eXperience W, a PSP follow-up to last year’s Little Battler eXperience. It was announced alongside its 3DS counterpart (subtitled Explosive Boost), though little else is known at this time.

Source: Andriasang

Via Famitsu, further details about Final Fantasy XIII-2‘s Snow-centric DLC have been unveiled. Aimed at clearing up some of the mysteries behind the coliseum, the content will also reveal Snow’s mission as an L’Cie. Valfodr shows up in the second half of the episode, serving as a recurring nemesis who grows stronger each time you defeat him.

The content will be available on May 15.

Source: Andriasang

Dungeon crawler Class of Heroes is getting a more RPG-like adaptation, innovatively titled New Class of Heroes. Little information has been given, but the PSP title is set for a July 19 release.

Source: Andriasang

Still more Persona 4: Arena information has been release, not the least of which is a release date of August 2. Reportedly, the home version’s story mode will initially allow access to four characters – the main character, Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko – with others unlocked through gameplay. Preorders will also get a soundtrack CD as a bonus.

Source: Andriasang

Over on the Playstation Blog, Atlus PR Manager Aram Jabbari announced that Atlus has assumed the role of publisher for Dragon’s Crown. With the transfer of publisher, Vanillaware’s 2D fantasy brawler is planned for a 2013 release. Additionally, some Atlus staff will now be assisting with production.

However, Jabbari did state that the game will retail north of $29.99. “We don’t know where that price point came from,” he writes, “but it is a logistical impossibility. We’re all gamers and we all wished it could be so, but it would have essentially destroyed any chance for profitability.”

The post in full can be read here.

In a recent interview regarding Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, Tetsuya Nomura dropped a few stronger-than-average hints that there may be more The World Ends With You to come. In particular he said the character Rhyme, who had only reaction voices with no actual dialogue in TWEWY, was given voice casting for KH3D “out of consideration for the future of The world Ends With You series.” Nomura ended the interview by adding that, “Regarding The World Ends With You, I can’t say anything at present… but there probably is something.”

Source: Andriasang

Nothing quite like a sales binge to pick up on games you missed, especially when it reminds you how expensive some of them are. Hey, dude selling Suikoden V for $100: I hope your parents hated you, because I do. Also, a heads-up: I’ll be in DC next week starting Sunday, so no podcast while I’m away. See you all the following week! With that said, here are this week’s headlines:

• Rumors swirl that EA may be laying people off, though even if they’re true there may be a plausible explanation.  Or EA’s stock could be dropping, it could be that too.
• That said, Zynga appears to have gone off the deep end, with more OMGPop-style pricey acquisitions in the future.  OMGPop, incidentally, may have peaked the very day of its acquisition.  Get some popcorn, folks.
• Two of the Big Three schedule their E3 conferences, prompting a rehash of speculation.  My take: Microsoft offers no surprises, Sony needs to explain themselves, and Nintendo will steal headlines whether it wants to or not.
• Speaking of Sony, the New York Times offers a revealing look on where the electronics giant stumbled.  Short version: departmental tribalism, right down to war paint and scalping.
• Wired’s Chris Kohler asserts the existing publisher-hardware-retailer model is broken and we don’t really need it.  I agree, but scrapping it all seems premature.
• Namco-Bandai may avoid using GFWL for the PC version of Dark Souls.  On bended knee, I beseech Bamco to do the right thing and serve the Newell.
• A rumored meeting between Apple and Valve is debunked, Saints Row DLC may have saved THQ, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – The Future Needs More RAM’ »

Seriously, where the hell did Teddie get that bow tie?

Continue reading ‘Mass Media 04/21/12’ »

Internally referred to as “Project Adam,” Bethesda’s Kinect additions to Skyrim are planned to launch “during the week of April 23.”

Source: Joystiq

Really wanted a couple more ‘d’s to close that with. Anyway, Dragon’s Dogma will have a downloadable demo in North America and Europe. The demo goes live starting Tuesday, April 24 in North America and the following day in Europe.

Source: Joystiq

In a Famitsu interview, Namco Bandai’s Kensuke Tsukanaka, producer of Project X Zone, spoke about the unusual collaboration between his company, Capcom, and Sega. Reportedly, Namco Bandai got the ball rolling by approaching Capcom first, with Sega joining the discussion later. Characters have their signature moves and will often fight in teams – Ryu and Ken, Jill and Chris, etc. – though there are exceptions. The character list is not yet finalized, and confirmed characters include the following:

Continue reading ‘More Project X Zone Details Emerge’ »

Speaking with Dengeki Playstation, Falcom CEO Toshihiro Kondo briefly brought up the Vita entry in the Ys series, Ys Celceta: Sea of Trees. The game has “evolved greatly” from its TGS 2011 showing, and more details will be released following Nayuta no Kiseki. Sea of Trees is expected to launch sometime this year.

As for Nayuta, Kondo indicated the game has no ties to past games in the Legend of Heroes series, hence its absence from the title. Further details were also revealed: the game world has boundaries and is not spherical, as no one knows what lies beyond the sea; the aforementioned mysterious girl, Noi, emerges from one of the ruins falling from the sky; gameplay and battle systems have been adjusted in response to feedback about prior games’ slow pacing; and boss fights were apparently one of the first things the staff designed.

Source: Andriasang

Via Coro Coro Comics, we have some additional details about Pokemon Black and White 2. Four additions to the cast were listed: a childhood friend currently dubbed Rival; a mysterious Pokemon researcher named Akuroma; and two additional gym leaders, Homika and Shizui. A June 23 release date was also confirmed, with both versions of the game to be priced at ¥4,800.

Source: Andriasang

Level-5 recently unveiled Little Battler eXperience Explosive Boost, a 3DS redux of last year’s PSP entry, Little Battler eXperience Boost. Apart from adding touch controls and updating the interface for the dual screen, Explosive Boost will feature wireless play for up to six players, which is new to the series.

The title is set for a July 5 release date, priced at ¥4,400.

Source: Andriasang

A recent media update has given us further information about Atelier Ayesha. In particular, the cast now includes the treasure-hunting Regina Curtis, and fellow alchemist Keithgrif Hazeldine. Regina is apparently one of Ayesha’s friends, while Keithgrif is a traveling scholar of sorts.

As for the alchemy system, it reportedly keeps most of the basics from prior games, with players gathering materials and selecting recipes. In a twist, however, you can now combine items during the fusion process to change the effects.

Source: Andriasang