We've introduced Muramasa The Demonblade briefly in the past when publisher XSEED relinquished the license rights to the game to Ignition Entertainment (I am sure XSEED staff members are kicking themselves). Having played Muramasa for the Wii when it was initially released in Japan, we had considered visiting Vanillaware several times in the past for an article, though nothing to the extent of Play Magazine's 18 page feature. Probably the first jaw dropper is the cover of the September issue featuring one of the game's playable characters, Momohime gorgeously painted battling one of the game's secret boss. The image is a bit risque and definitely can't be missed at newsstands (we have included a detexed scan inside). Play also included a 13 page interview with Director George Kamitani and Lead Designer Yoshio Nishimura. If you are a true fan of the game, I would highly recommend picking it up.
Look forward to our review coming soon!
A quick gaming update for the Nippon Ichi fans, Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy for the Playstation 2, and Phantom Brave: We Meet Again for the Wii have both been released in the United States while the Playstation Portable port Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days will be released on September 8. We'll have reviews for all 3 games up soon, so stay tuned.
Record of Agarest War, a strategy RPG from Idea Factory, Red Entertainment, and Compile Heart, will be coming stateside soon according to Aksys Games' teaser site here. The site only has a teaser image for fans at the moment. Already released in Japan and confirmed for release in Europe, Record of Aagarest War seems to be coming to the US a little late. The game features a battle system like Cross Edge, where players will use AP to attack and must gain SP to use special attacks. The game also features a "Soul Breed" system, where players can engage in romantic relationships with other characters to create new characters. This process can also be repeated. We'll update this with more information as it trickles through.
A reliable source has informed us that the new Sakura Wars game coming to the United States will be packaged in a 2 disc set, with one disc dubbed, and the other will be subbed with the original Japanese voices. Players will be essentially getting 2 copies of the game. There apparently are also talks of a releasing the game in a premium bundle. We should have official confirmation very soon.
(Edit: Confirmed, see inside!)
Page 96 of 105