RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki Evolution, the PS Vita redux of Zero no Kiseki, has been given a release window of August. An exact date was not specified.

Source: Andriasang

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance will reportedly feature a system that recaps the series story to date. Under a ‘memoirs’ submenu (which includes tutorials and game hints), players will be able to read summaries of previous games – Birth By Sleep, 358/2 Days, even the first Kingdom Hearts – to bring them up to speed.

Source: Andriasang

Note to self: if Recettear is any indication, EasyGameStation’s Chantelise is worth a look.  It’s never too late to enjoy indie RPG goodness.  But I ramble, this isn’t about me and my compulsive Steam purchases, it’s time for the news!  Here’s what we’re covering:

• SCE’s Shu Yoshida explains why the Vita stumbled in Japan, and how for the US/EU release this time shall be different!  We examine why it probably won’t be different at all, Steve.
• Jack Tretton confirms we won’t see any PS4 developments this year, freeing them up to wait for Microsoft to release their specs focus on the Vita.
• Meanwhile, EA plans some unusual marketing schemes for Mass Effect 3, including launching early copies of it via weather balloons into the stratosphere.  Quoth Sarcastic Hawke, “What could possibly go wrong?”
• Brian Fargo of inXile Entertainment announces a Kickstarter plan to fund production of Wasteland 2.  And here I figured it’d take months to test the limits of Kickstarter’s power.
• The Guinness Book of World Records crowns, by popular vote, Call of Duty: Black Ops as the best videogame ending ever.  I wish I were kidding.
• One of BioWare’s more accomplished writers strikes out on their own, Bobby Kotick gets elected to Coca-Cola’s board of directors, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Step One: Secure 3Gs’ »

Hiya, folks! John here, and I’m afraid I must be the bearer of bad news. Tragedy most foul has befallen us, tragedy of the sort that makes people come over for dinner and makes Recettear unexpectedly addictive. There may have been some Idolm@ster involved as well, we’re still sorting out the details. To make a long story short, What Happened This Week will be uploaded tomorrow instead of tonight. My apologies, folks! Rest assured, beatings will be administered as punishments, and by beatings I mean beer.

I have to say that it’s a good thing Chie wears those shorts underneath her skirt in combat, especially now with the addition of bikes.

Continue reading ‘Mass Media 02/18/12’ »

As announced in Famitsu, Fire Emblem: Awakening will retain the series staple of permadeath for characters defeated in battle. However, as in the DS remake of Hero of Light and Shadow, it will be a menu toggle for players to disable or enable as they choose.

Awakening is set for an April 19 release.

Source: Andriasang

Via Famitsu, more info about Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC has surfaced. In particular, bonus costumes for Noel and Serah will be available in late February, priced at ¥300/240MSP. Sazh’s content, which somehow drops him in Xanadu with a couple new table games, has a set date of February 28 and a price tag of ¥600/400MSP.

Source: Andriasang

Care of Twitter comes the news that Hironobu Sakaguchi – Final Fantasy‘s creator and Mistwalker founder – is currently working on iOS titles, plural. Little is known other than he plans to make three of them.

Source: Andriasang

Capcom announced that Dragon’s Dogma will see a Limited Edition release. Priced at ¥11,990, the LE comes in a special box and includes a 16x24cm monster statue with the game. Separate from this, select retaliers will also throw in bonus cards with the purchase.

Source: Andriasang

Yes, I’m late to the party on Recettear.  But it’s never too late to make money through overpriced goods!  Anyway, hello everybody!  We’re back from break and ready to tackle the news, and what a couple weeks it has been:

• Facebook files for its $5 billion IPO, appearing every bit a giant of the tech sector until people start asking how much one would really pay for social networking.
• In the process we learn that Zynga makes up about 12% of Facebook’s earnings.  As a reminder, Zynga is currently looking for ways to survive without Facebook.  Happy filing, Mr. Zuckerberg!
• Kazuo Hirai formally assumes his role as President and CEO of Sony, to which his exact words are “Holy s***, now what?”  Truer words have rarely been spoken.
• Double Fine’s Kickstarter project succeeds far beyond expectations, suggesting a viable path for small-to-midsize developers outside the usual publisher song and dance.  I wouldn’t hold my breath for a rash of publicly-funded games, however.
• Amazon plans to open a retail store in Seattle, apparently in a bid to corner the market on physical depictions of irony.
• THQ faces a slew of financial difficulties, from shedding 175 jobs to a potential delisting on the Nasdaq.  They should’ve rolled the North Korean taco truck around some more for Homefront.
• Square Enix posts a decent profit for 2011, a man named William Fourkiller (OK state rep) wants to tax violent games, Ubisoft’s always-on DRM schemes backfire, and more!

Continue reading ‘What Happened This Week – Capitalism, Ho!’ »

This week’s Famitsu has revealed that Theatrhythm Final Fantasy‘s DLC tracks will be priced at ¥150 per song. On launch day, February 16, Square Enix will release the following eight tracks:

• FFII – Battle Scene 1 (Battle Stage)
• FFIV – The Final Battle (Battle Stage)
• FFIX – Fighters of the Crystal (Battle Stage)
• FFXIII – Fighting Fate (Battle Stage)
• FFV – Hikari wo Motomete (Field Stage)
• FFVII – Cosmo Canyon (Field Stage)
• FFVIII – Ride On (Field Stage)
• FFX – Someday The Dream Will End (Field Stage)

Further songs will be added every two or three weeks, and will eventually include music from non-numbered games.

Source: Andriasang

Care of the latest Jump are some details about Fire Emblem 3DS, now subtitled as Awakening. Most noteworthy are the following:

• Alongside main character Krom, players will create their own supporting character, setting gender, appearance, and such. A major part of the story concerns Krom meeting this character.
• Free Maps have been featured in previous games, allowing players to freely move across the map in between story battles.
• A Dual system allows you and an ally to enter a battle together, adding special abilities and supporting attacks during the fight.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is set for an April 19 release in Japan. No US release has been confirmed.

Source: Andriasang

Not to be outdone, Namco Bandai has also announced an increase in earnings forecast for the current fiscal year. With prior numbers at 420 mil for sales and 25mil for operating income, the company now expects respective increases to 440mil and 31.5mil. These are owed, in large part, to high sales of Tales of Xillia (760k units) and Gundam Extreme VS (550K units).

Source: Andriasang

Developer Nippon Ichi announced higher than expected earnings forecasts: operating income up to ¥303mil and net income at ¥203mil, up from respective figures of ¥107mil and ¥59mil. The company credited the jump to Disgaea 3: Return selling “higher than expected,” with Disgaea 4 on the PS3 also selling well in North America and Europe.

Source: Andriasang

Apart from the previously mentioned Resident Evil 6 demo, copies of Dragon’s Dogma will also include a companion book. Titled Dragon’s Dogma: The Beginning, the book features development illustrations and an original short story by fantasy writer Ryo Mizuno, perhaps best known as the creator of Record of Lodoss War. Capcom has stated the story will cover an area outside the game itself.

Source: Andriasang

Seeking to clear the air about Final Fantasy X‘s upcoming HD version, Square Enix’s Shinji Hashimoto stated that the game is remastered, but not a full-on remake. The statement was made at the recent Taipei Game Show, with the key difference being a remaster typically does not add extra features, as remakes so often do.

Source: 1UP

With another entry in the Kiseki series (a Legend of Heroes spinoff) already in development, Falcom CEO Toshihiro Kondo announced that still another Kiseki title is also in the works. The upcoming title, Nayuta no Kiseki, is currently being developed for the PSP, and Kondo indicated a Vita version of Zero no Kiseki will follow.

The latter, under the full title of Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki Evolution, will feature full voice acting, additional minigames, animated character shots for conversations, and various new visual effects. Evolution is expected to release sometime this summer for ¥6,090.

Source: Andriasang

Thirty people suffered two hours of continuous whiplash today when a man claiming to be the devil hijacked a roller coaster.

Continue reading ‘Mass Media 02/05/12’ »

Occasionally a game transcends the usual hype train business to become a true event, a shared experience that people talk about for years. For all its changes over time, The Elder Scrolls is an entire series of event games, Bethesda’s self-contained industry of scale-breakingly huge sandbox RPGs. As the long awaited fifth installment, Skyrim is too burdened by old issues for a word as loaded as ‘perfect.’ But there is perfection in the adventure it delivers, which is the distilled essence of everything TES has gotten right over the years.

Continue reading ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Staff Review’ »

With Final Fantasy XIII-2 just now hitting retailers outside Japan, Square Enix has stated they will be releasing downloadable content for the title starting next week. The first batch, available on the 7th for Xbox Live and the 8th for the PSN, will feature a coliseum battle where players can fight and recruit enemies from previous Final Fantasy games.

Further content is planned, namely additional story and scenarios for key characters, though no further details were given at this time.

Source: Eurogamer