DO NOT TOY WITH MY EMOTIONS, SEGA

When Sega bought Index, everyone had at the very least an uneasy feeling about the whole matter and weren't really all that afraid to voice it.  As someone -not- in Japan who enjoys RPGs, it's got all the potential of being the worst news you could stand to hear, since Atlus (one of Index's main companies) is one of the big last bastions of RPGs and Sega is one of the few big companies that clearly does not give a shit about everywhere that isn't Japan anymore.  Technically, this meant that Sega has the power to decide what came out of Atlus and how and where, but we all really, really hoped that they simply wouldn't exert that authority and would instead just allow Atlus to do what Atlus does which is making money.  Which is likely something Sega would like them to do.  It's what we all want, clearly.

Thankfully, that's what Sega says they're intending on doing.  They say they're going to let Index (which basically means Atlus) operate independently and continue just doing what they're doing.  Which would have meant a -lot- more if it had been stated before the massive Persona announcement event last weekend, but, well, Sega's thing has never really been good timing.  Regardless, it's comforting to know that, beyond Persona Q, Persona Ultimax Suplex Hold or whatever it's called, the strangely convenient Persona:  Dancing All Night that's being co-developed by one of Sega's studios that does rhythm/dancing games and Persona 5 that Atlus will be free and able to do whatever they please.  Which apparently goes on to have an even deeper meaning than it appears on the surface.

You see, in addition to claiming that Atlus has free reign over their own affairs, Sega has basically said that if Atlus wants to take a crack at some old, under-utilized Sega IPs, they're absolutely free to them.  This is the part where rational thought leaves your body and you consider an Atlus-developed Phantasy Star V and somebody has to call over somebody else with a mop.  And then you go "Oh, they actually wouldn't do that because Phantasy Star is just the online series now" and be a little sad.  But then you'll go "WAIT SHIT VALKYRIA CHRONICLES" and start thinking about a Valkyria Chronicles game with S. Links Officer Bonds and here comes the mop again but then you start to wonder if Atlus can nail the specifics of a third-person shooter/turn-based strategy game since that's a little outside of their realm.  So then you just think about Skies of Arcadia 2 and you're cautious now and sure enough, you wonder the same thing about Valkyria Chronicles, but with the Ship-to-Ship combat and such.

So basically what I'm getting at is that it would be pretty awesome, but I don't know how awesome.  I have the utmost faith in their ability to create a compelling story with compelling characters that have compelling motivations and actions with compelling direction, but, well, I've never played a Persona game for the dungeon-crawling.  That may be a sort of blasphemy and I understand that, but I'm well within my rights to be a little wary of the situation because the games in question - Valkyria Chronicles and Skies of Arcadia - are very particular games, and require a delicate touch by those familiar with it, -or- a company that's so damn good at mechanics that they can spoof them well enough while tightening and improving them.  Atlus is probably capable of that!  I just haven't seen it happen, and I can't say that I would enjoy a Valkyria Chronicles 4 if it was any less of a game mechanics-wise than 2 was since it was my last dip into the series.

Still, it's good that Sega is attempting to assuage fears, even if I'm just going to say "Pfft, whatever Sega, you goddamn liars" and reserve my judgment til such a time when Atlus has released their last four Persona games and are working on another one or SMT V or something that concludes 'business as usual' for them.  Or, you know, actually working on a Sega IP even if I'd be biting my nails the entire time it was being developed.  But I'm still mad at you, Sega.  I'm going to be mad for a while because you keep hurting me, and no amount of Persona is going to make up for the Yakuza-shaped holes in my heart and gaming collection.  Though since you have access to Atlus USA, you know you can fix that.  They know it.  They just don't care.

honestly, if Atlus could just remake Phantasy Star I-IV I would buy the ever-loving shit out of it

Persona Persona Persona

The other night, there was all sorts of Persona announcements and it was a pretty great time unless you were actually watching it as it was happening.  Because that was a nerve-wracking experience, I'm told, what with Atlus trolling the shit out of everyone.  On a molecular level.  Which is...admittedly fun to experience after-the-fact as a sort of educational bit of how to endlessly torture someone in the span of the hours the actual event covered during the announcement parts.  Regardless, the important part is the games that they revealed in the event and not so much the means with which they did so.  Even if it was just...just hilarious and fantastic on some schadenfreude-laced level.

Probably the second-most high-profile announcement of the night was that of Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth which will release on the 3DS in June of 2014.  Details were scarce at the time of announcement, but we've since learned a few more bits about it.  First, there was a trailer (linked to the page, not the video itself) that showed off a good bit of the gameplay alongside some words in the actual page itself that seemed to suggest, yes, the SEES Team from Persona 3 and the Investigation Team from Persona 4 will be crossing over, but not in some sort of free-for-all.  Which...is kind of weird to say when the actual video shows Yu, Yosuke, Mitsurugi, Yukari and Aigis in the same All-Out Attack, but they basically mean for story purposes.  Which is precisely the wrong way to approach a cross-over game, but, hell, what do I know, I suppose.  Not like I wanted Brosuke and Junpei to brofist and thus uncreate the universe through a Bro-Singularity or anything awesome like that.

Of course, there were even more details meted out since then, but they're fairly sparse in what's actually being revealed.  The game takes place in Persona 4's school though there seems to be a Persona 3 Tartarus theme to it since there's a clock tower that just sort of appears out of nowhere and is rumored to usher in the death of all who hear it ring.  You know, normal stuff.  Of course, it also seems like there will be Day/Night sections to the game, as the page mentions school events as things that will happen that allow the P3 cast and P4 cast to have some limited interaction.  Honestly, that means that it really just sounds like Persona 3 at Persona 4's location with both teams....which is fine by me.  The same dudes on Persona Team seem to be handling the game as well, though perhaps not in their usual roles.  Still, Shoji Meguro will be producing the soundtrack which means it's going to be awesome.  Certainly something to look out for.

Probably the most....special announcement of the night was that of Persona 4: Dancing All Night for the Playstation Vita.  If you were wondering just what would come of the recent buyout of Index by Sega Sammy, well, here's the first proper product of it.  Dingo, the developers of the Hatsune Miku:  Project Diva games are the folks behind this, so if you bought either of the versions of the game that Sega decided to localize over, you know, any fucking other game at all, then you'll know exactly what you're looking into here.  From what I can tell, there's only Yu Narakami, Rise Kujikawa and a new character who has a Megidoloan Cute smile and a name I can't quite parse nor do I care to google for because ehhhhhhhhh.

I'm not really sure what I think about this game.  I see the 3DS getting what essentially looks like a proper Persona game that's a cross-over of P3 and 4, albeit with an unpleasant art style for me, and then I see the Vita getting...a rhythm game.  A rhythm game that only pulls from Persona 4 in music, and only has three announced characters that might not actually get more characters.  I'm hoping there's going to be more to the game than what we've seen, but I'm just not seeing -how-, and that coupled with the knowledge that it'll still release at full price (as in likely $40) just seems to drag my potential mirth for the game to below sea levels.  Especially since it's all but dashed my dreams of seeing Kanji do a righteous step to Mass Destruction.  That's right.  Tell me you don't want to fucking experience that now so I can call you a goddamn liar.

Persona 4:  The Ultimax Suplex Hold (I don't know either) is getting the highly-expected Playstation 3 port next year to match the Arcade release of it.  Uncle Dojima's partner Adachi was revealed as one of the new fighters in it, alongside Yukari and Junpei who were announced months back.  That's...uh...

Yeah, that's about that.

So really, there were some assorted announcements and they ranged from pretty interesting to "okay", but overall it wa-

Oh, right, there was one other thing announced.  Some little thing that you might not even really care about called Persona 5.

Persona 5 was announced for the Playstation 3 and will release sometime in "Winter" 2014 in Japan, which most likely means Winter Quarter which is...you know, the tail-end of the year.  Which means we probably won't see it on American shores until 2015 and what part of 2015 is very much up for debate.  After the other announcements, I'm sure you can guess, but there aren't very many details out there about the game except for a few tidbits released later.  Tidbits that are, apparently, the only ones we'll see during 2013 which is kind of disappointing, but it only further serves to feed the hype-machine which is...what they want, after all.

Like Persona 3 and 4, Persona 5 will take place in a high school setting, though the theme of the game is a bit different.  Instead of facing the miserable truths of the universe ala Persona 3 and facing the miserable truths of oneself ala Persona 4, Persona 5 will be about 'being restrained by modern society' and the breaking of those bonds.  They also claim that it's going to have a different 'mood', but it'll still be familiar and reassuring for the fans.  Which...I cannot even really fathom what it's going to mean.  Between Persona 3's sometimes-overly-depressive narrative and Persona 4's always-upbeat-even-though-we're-tracking-a-serial-killer tone, they've covered a rather wide swath of moods, but I suppose there's still ground to be broken, though just where it is, I'm not sure.

So basically there was just so much Persona announced which is good for us fans, since, well, more Persona is always a good thing.  Just what titles we'll end up seeing in the west and when are up for debate, but the big one is definitely coming over so that's what matters.  Still...the wait is going to be painful.

I can pretty much just list a bunch of Persona 3 songs that I want Persona 4 characters to dance to, goddamnit Sega

Just So Much Persona

There's just so many screenshots that I've taken of P4G.  It's that good.

Lately, if I've been thinking about anything it's been...well, it hasn't been Persona 4, but if it's been the -second- anything, it's been Persona 4 Golden.  Which is to say that it is effectively second-place in what I've spent all my time thinking about, which is to say that I have been spending a lot of time thinking about Persona 4.  It is not unwarranted, of course - Persona 4 is every bit as amazing as I've been lead to believe it was, which is nice.  For once I go into a game with everyone telling me it's going to be great and then it is.  I don't have to wonder if there's something wrong with everybody, something wrong with -me- or just if there's just something that has gone awry with matters entirely as I have wondered in the past.  Since it is a valid concern to have, I imagine.

Come Game of the Year time, using the thing I go by, I won't be able to vote for Persona 4 Golden as a Game of the Year since it is a remake of a game from years past.  That restriction, not being able to include remakes or re-releases, has never been a problem for me until this year and specifically because of this.  P4G is every shade of wonderful, and if I'm being honest, it would have a very real shot of being in my top 5 list were it able to be.  It's honestly going to be a little painful to not be able to give it that recognition that it actually deserves, but I'll suffice for using this post that is gushing about it to do that.  It is close enough, at least, I should say.  Since there is honestly not a negative thing I could say about the game - even the parts of it I don't care for (the dungeon crawling, basically) are manageable at worst and I'm completely indifferent to their issues as a standard (the last dungeon I was in began to grate on me...then it was over.  So that was good.) so it's of no concern.

In fact, Persona 4 Golden is so good that it's in fact making me like Persona 3 (Portable, since that's all I played) even more than I liked P3P when I was playing it and beat it.  Admittedly, I took issues with some things in P3P, but it's a solid game overall, and like I said I'm being reminded of that by playing P4G.  I am retroactively liking P3P more and more as I play P4G.  You can ask me how that works, but my response will be "I have no idea" because I really don't; I just know that it is a thing that is happening.  As I'm playing P4G, I find myself thinking about P3, thinking about the characters and the story of it and it's all just fantastic.  Admittedly, part of it is me comparing the games to one another which is an unfair thing to do, but a lot of it is just good old fashioned reminiscing and it honestly is probably enhancing my playthrough a little bit because of it.

I think the thing about P3 that has stuck out the most as a result of all of this is probably what I like most about the game and is one of the only things I think it does better than P4, is the characters.  Now before you start, just hear me out, alright?  I haven't beaten P4G yet, nor do I think I'm that close - at the most I'm 3/4ths of the way through - but by this point in P3, the characters had all developed entire arcs, changed dramatically before the players eyes, and that was all done in the main story.  That is not to say that P4 doesn't do that, but if you take the likes of Junpei from P3 and Yosuke from P4 (the obvious equivalent) and put their character arcs (main story only) side-by-side it's no comparison.  That might be an unfair example, however, as I've considered that they sort of...well, not have the same arc, but really similar ones, but they're told in entirely separate ways over the course of the game.  Both have a loss aspect to their arcs and while Junpei's has a build to it, Yosuke's loss is almost immediate and the rest of the game is the after-effects of that, where Junpei's loss is his endgame.  So perhaps it's being able to see Junpei for so long before it, see what he's like before he deals with that, that makes it so different and so dramatic a change, but it's there nonetheless.

Of course, there's a trade-off to all of that too.  Persona 3's strength is in its characters, so much so that it overshadows the narrative, but Persona 4 does not have that problem.  Persona 4's main story is all about that and it's a compelling ride because of it.  It's a give and take thing as I sort of inferred because I don't think P4's characters are quite as developed as P3's, but they're entertaining all the same and their real development comes, unsurprisingly, from spending time with them one-on-one in the social links.  Because of that, I cannot say fully that they're not done well, nor would I suggest it, but I'm just saying that, well....I think you know what I'm saying, really.  Persona 3 was character-focused, Persona 4 is story-focused and they're both great.  It's all about build, about tension and drama and it's all about development in either case, so it's subjective to say the least, but to me, both games are just really good at what they attempt to do in their respective approaches.

In any event, playing P4G has been nothing short of a pleasure from start to where I am now, and I doubt that that is going to change in any facet.  I look forward to seeing the story continue to unwrap as I honestly still have no real idea of how it's going to end and that alone intrigues me.  I suspect it's either going to be a situation where I go, "Well, I couldn't have guessed that" or I'll say, "Oh well, -now- it makes sense!" instead of dreading that it will turn out one way and being frustrated that it did.  Because, usually, when I figure on where a thing is going and I'm right, I'm a little disappointed because as we all know, I am pretty bad at predicting things.  So if -I- can predict it, it's probably not all that strongly written.  Maybe I'll be able to develop theories closer to the end, but so far I've really got nothing and I like it that way.  No matter the case, I'm having a hard time imagining P4G leaving my Vita for the rest of the year (okay yeah, it's not that long but still) and that's saying something.

Okay, awesome, I made it the whole post without saying I miss Yukari

wait shit

Persona 3 Portable - I Beat It

Studious readers of not only the blog, but the sidebar twitter might realize that I actually beat Persona 3 Portable a few days ago, but those same people will understand that I was trying to wait until I could talk to my buddy Haplo who is whom I turn to for Persona matters.  Unfortunately, I assume he's been busy with school or something and hasn't been on, and in the meanwhile, this has been eating at me and I just can't write anything until I write this one out.  As with my Thoughts So Far post a little while back (not a link in this portion because spoilers), I am going to be, well, spoiling things, so I don't want to catch people unawares.  Considering I've beaten the story (and taken a peek at the story for The Answer since I'm not hunting my copy of FES down to play it), I have a pretty good stock of what happened.  So, without much further ado, let's get this goin', yeah?

As warned, thar be spoilers after the break.

Persona 4: Golden, Officially Coming Out This Fall in NA

It's official, Persona 4: Golden (apparently formally dropping the "The") will be hitting western shores sometime this Fall which isn't as specific as we all might hope for, but it's at least a little better than "sometime in the future".  Yes, it's a port, an enhanced one at that, and as I've discussed before, we're apparently to hate any of these types of things, but hell, it's Persona 4.  Nobody's going to hate it based on being a port of itself for a handheld (especially given that it doesn't seem anything's being cut from the original), and if they're going to hate it for anything, it'd be over how they didn't like the original.  Though, I seem to see even more praise for 4 than I do 3, which I imagine is saying something.  I say this, that I see the praise, for the simple fact that, like Persona 3, I haven't fully experienced Persona 4 yet despite owning it on PS2 and this portable version will be my first exposure.

Excessive?  Yes.  Entirely too much so, considering I bought my copy of Persona 4 brand new at $40 years ago and barely even opened the case to read the manual.  Seriously, I didn't actually realize that my copy came with the Soundtrack CD until just now when I checked to see if my copy was still shrink-wrapped.  Because it honestly could have been.  Of course, the reason for not playing Persona 4 was because the battle system was apparently so improved that it made going back to Persona 3 difficult.  Is that true?  I don't know.  I honestly probably won't know because I don't intend on throwing Persona 3 regular or FES in my PS2 and playing it out, and Persona 3 Portable reportedly has a lot of influences from Persona 4 in it, system-wise, so I won't be able to properly judge.  So long as the story is as entertaining as Persona 3's, I'm sure I honestly won't care too much.

Speaking of P3P, I feel like I should share the amusing little coincidence I experienced - I beat Persona 3 Portable this morning at 6 something AM (because endgame means forget about time) and after the ending finished, I promptly conked out.  By the time I woke up and got around to checking my LiveTweet on the Vita, Persona 4: Golden had officially been announced for the US ala above.  As I stated elsewhere (at Penny Arcade) it's like they were waiting for me.  Which means that I have to apologize to you all for not finishing the game much much sooner, but, well, you've played it I'm sure, so you know how it is.  I just wasn't sure that I'd be able to swing it since I couldn't kill The Reaper and went on a little grind-a-thon after I worked the courage up to do so with Odin, Raphael, Loki, Gabriel and Horus.  And....other Personae that I can't remember at the moment.

But P3P is a topic for another post, so I don't want to steep too much of this one in it.  I mentioned how Persona 4: Golden will be an enhanced port and, from what I've seen, that's exactly what I mean.  While P3P had to make a lot of sacrifices for the PSP as the platform of choice (namely the ability to traverse the world in-model, instead seeing everything as a blip on a map), P4G seems as if it will have to make none of those sacrifices and will, in fact, have additional content on top of the original game in its entirety.  I'm....not quite sure what it all means, of course, having not played Persona 4, but I'm sure the list, which will follow here, will make sense to those who have played the game.

• A bike that lets you travel to another town
• Revised background graphics
• A winter event
• New Personas for the main cast
• Team Attacks
• Rotating TV shows (including a quiz with Teddie)
• A brand new character
• 1.5 times the amount of voiced dialogue

Again, about the only one of those that I can make sense of are the last two which are pretty self-explanatory.  I can't find information on whether this new character will be a party member, a social-link, both (perhaps) or just 'story-important', but she's new at least.  Also more voice acting which apparently makes people all groany because it's mostly likely, 99% probably going to be English-only.  Which is....uh, a bad thing, apparently.  I am not, nor will I ever actively participate in the "Sub vs. Dub" conversation beyond saying that there's a time and a place for both, and will instead say that the voice acting in P3P was pretty good, so I don't mind it whatsoever.  Of course, those are just the pieces of info that they're actively sharing with us, though it's also probably the only bits that really matter.  But, I mean, I hope we can hope for another in-game nod to a future title ala Vincent explaining his situation from Catherine in P3P.  (That was so neat to stumble across, mind, and I think it was P3P only?)

I kind of hate that "the Fall" (sorry, I had to do it) is so far away, but I'm sure I can keep myself entertained until then.  Resistance:  Burning Skies is coming up and at the very least, P4G is skipping June by a wide margin.  Regardless, in the meanwhile, I have New Game + and/or "Girl Mode" on P3P to keep me busy for those moments when I don't have anything else, as well as a whole other RPG that I haven't even touched.  (Legend of Heroes:  Trails in the Sky)  My point is, I have everything at my disposal to be patient for this which is fairly rare, and not something I'm going to take very lightly.  Still, it will be oh so sweet when I finally get my hands on that (presumably) gold and blue case.

Goddamnit, Atlus, I Don't Have Money or Time

While the actual content of the Playstation Store Update today is a little lackluster (Unless you like MMA, or are interested in Closure), it did bring with it the above Atlus price drops on virtually all of their PSP games which have, as you can see, hovered around full price for a while now.  Being a Price Drop event, it certainly means that we shouldn't expect the prices to go back up, as if it were a sale, but at the same time, these are fantastic prices for really good games and I want them.  Like all of them.  Maybe.  Definitely the Persona games (I might, in fact, bite on P3P tonight since I still have $20 in my PSN Wallet after buying Final Fantasy 7, 8 and 9 on sale last week in preparation for PSOne support on the Vita) and the allure of "Kenka Bancho Badass Rumble" is strong, what with being likely the closest I'll ever get to a Yakuza game on PSP (and Vita for now).  Since it is a brawler in at least a similar vein, I believe, or at least that's what "Badass Rumble" would suggest to me, along with seeing a bit of it back in the day.

In all honesty, though, now that I think about it, the only games I really know anything worth measuring about are the Persona ones, Kenka Bancho, and a little of Class of Heroes where the rest might as well be a complete mystery to me.  For some reason, I think I remember holding Knights in the Nightmare in my hands a few times because it came with a free digital copy of a game (Might've even been Yggdra Union), but I never bit and I guess this would be why.  Also the fact that I think it coins itself as a Bullet Hell SRPG, which I don't even....I can't really grasp that.  Really something of a "Not sure if want" situation and maybe if I find myself with a surplus of cash, I'll jump into it, but I don't foresee that happening, so it will likely go as an unknown quantity to me for a while yet.

The fact is that I'm going to buy the Persona games.  Not all at once, not right away, but eventually.  After Eternal Punishment comes over along with Persona 4:  The Golden, I, like many others, dream to have a Vita that is full of every Persona title in the series.  If just because it's a possibility, rather than a practicality.  But the fact that they're all very good games in their own legitimate ways certainly helps, of course.  It may be a little excessive, especially when I question my ability to play the titles before 3 since their gameplay is apparently....aherm, 'dated', considering how old they are, but I do plan on giving them all a fair shake.  Being that I've already given Persona 3 a shake, technically speaking, it should be easy enough to do the others since I liked P3 minus the OCD that came over me, making me want to get the best of everything on the first run which, as we know, is a fool's errand.  -I- even know it, but it didn't stop me from trying like crazy, mind you, and ultimately souring the game for myself a bit in the process.  Hopefully with P3P's different take, it won't be so bad and I'll be able to actually relax with it some.

The real wrinkle here is that, like so many other PSP games, it seems Persona 1 and Persona 3 Portable are just not in the Vita's version of the Playstation Store.  Apparently, if you buy it on your PS3, you can check your download list and download at least P3P right there (likely the same with Persona 1 as well, since it seems as if there was just a delisting error with the price change with those two as several people have claimed both games were on the store prior to today) on your Vita without having to deal with the work around a good portion of PSP games require in downloading the game to your PS3 first and then transferring it over.  Of course, this is something that can be remedied and likely will be eventually, but for those that don't have the convenience of owning a PS3, it's a rather large hurdle, so large that it is in fact impassable.  Which is terribly unfortunate.

Still, as I said, the wording of "Price Drop" seems to indicate that these are, indeed, the new prices for the games from this day forward, thus not necessitating any form of a rush.  There's no subtext, no asterisks, nothing pointing out that it's a limited time deal or anything of the sort, so for the folks who can't really capitalize at the moment aren't missing out too badly.  Of course, if they want to play Persona 3 Portable right now, or one of the other similarly inaccessible titles, they're fairly out of luck for now, but again, here's hoping that that's cleared up swiftly, if the rumblings of the games actually being on the store before today were correct.  The question for me, however, is whether or not I have the fortitude to resist buying anything included, because I have entirely too many other games to focus on currently.  My window for completing Yakuza:  Dead Souls is...looking pretty good, actually, as the temperatures don't look all too hot for the coming week.  But it won't last like that for long, and once that closes off, I still do have three Vita games to keep me busy, technically.  With more coming in the next few months, even.  The point is, as I've made it several times before, there are simply too many games this year.

Couple Bits of Japanese Handheld News

Today just seems like one of those news days, since I do have two pretty-big (well, decently big, depending on your perspective) game announcements to throw out here.  I like these days, even when they're just about games I'm interested in, and don't have proper experience with, which is both of these games this time unfortunately.  The first, which is directly related to the above screen of 999:  9Hours, 9 Doors, 9 Persons, is that the sequel for the game, or at least spiritual/semi sequel to it, is getting a release outside of Japan, specifically to North America.  Both the 3DS and Vita versions (Retail and digital for the latter) are heading this way sometime this fall, but beyond that the details on the specific date are a little sketchy.

The details that -aren't- sketchy, however, is that the game will offer both the English and Japanese audio tracks for those who really just hate dubbing, or want to give it a listen in glorious Nippon stereo.  Even if you don't care for audio beyond the region it's released in, I think we can all agree that just having the -option- should be vital.  Especially when it directly impacts the capacity in which it can be released which I am still totally not bitter about at all or anything, nope.  Beyond that, I don't know what all there is about the game, as I never played the first, and haven't really kept up on the game since the Japanese name, "Extreme Escape Adventure:  Good People Die" just never caught me because I thought it was something completely different, regardless of the fact that it's on the Vita, which as you know will draw my attention right quick.  The new name, Zero Escape:  Virtue's Last Reward, lacks that punch of "Good People Die", but is also a little better sounding regardless.

I'm definitely going to be interested in this now, since I've been clarified as to just what it is.  I've always wanted to give 999 a shot, but, wouldn't you know it, a niche game for the DS is impossible to find in 'the wild' as it were.  I'll still keep my eye out for it, but short of a re-print, I'm not too hopeful on my chances.  I believe I spent all of that luck when I found The World Ends With You (which I have yet to see what the big deal about it is) and Ghost Trick:  Phantom Detective which I thought was fantastic as you might remember.  My only exposure was playing the browser demo that was available way back when and I thought it was pretty great.  With any luck, I'll be able to find it before I can get my hands on Zero Escape, but again, I'm not putting my chances up too high.

Working off the "only mostly related" theme I've got going with screenshots, the above shot of Persona 2:  Innocent Sin should give you an idea as to what the other bit of news is.  If you're not quite there, however, I'll just come out and say it:  Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is getting a PSP-release, rounding off the Persona collection by being the final one to get a PSP version.  (Minus 4 which is getting a Vita version.  Same thing.)  The japanese text in the picture is appropriate as well, since there's no specific North American release mentioned but, c'mon.  It's Atlus.  We know these guys, we trust these guys.  They'll get us the game.  Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they make a special edition out of it that includes a digital copy of the game if you buy it for UMD just to make sure everyone with a Vita will look into it as well.  I certainly will.

Once again, my only real exposure to the Persona series here is Minimal and that's probably for the best, considering the wealth of options that are theoretically available at this point.  With Persona 1, both 2s and 3 on PSP (and thus, will be on the Vita eventually if not already, via digital BC) and 4 on the Vita itself, it's possible that one could have -all of the Personas- at once.  Digital versions of all of them, or Digital of the first four with 4:  The Golden as a card in your Vita, which is likely the route I will go.  I can only hope Atlus does some sort of package deal so I can pick them all up in one fell swoop and just -have them- for whenever I feel like playing an RPG.  Which is often, of course, and certainly not an issue on the PSP.  Looking through the PSP catalog on my Vita has proven dangerous, as I've already just started thinking about grabbing PSN cards at random to just throw at games that I don't have time to play.

It's great to see that these Japanese-centric games and studios are giving us all a chance, regardless of their permanent 'niche' seat.  For all the praise 999 has received, the sequel will no doubt be fantastic as well, and I look forward to grabbing it before it becomes too rare to find.  (Even though I could just download it just as easily, since it'll be on the digital store.)  And with Persona 2:  Eternal Punishment being a Persona game, well, there's likely good times to be had there as well.  It's all a matter of just getting them and getting the time, as always, which seems to be a running theme of this year moreso than previous.  And I love it and hate it simultaneously for times just like this.  Times that make me wonder why the hell some of this stuff couldn't come out last year.  Because goddamn this year.

And More Atlus News

After September 20th, screens like the above of Pesona 2:  Innocent Sin for PSP will be available in English as the game has been officially announced for North American release.  Which, given it's Atlus, isn't so much a surprise, but it's nice nonetheless.  Shin Megami Tensei:  Persona 2:  Innocent Sin:  Colons for PSP is a remastering of the original game of (mostly) the same name that was previously unreleased in North America because of one of the antagonists because I don't know.  So to have a version of the game finally in America-land will be pleasant for Collectors and people who just enjoy good games alike.

I....can't really say much for this news other than it's pretty cool.  As I've discussed previously, my wadings into the Shin Megami Tensei franchises haven't been very deep, but with the whole of the main Persona series soon to be playable on the Vita (y'know, when it comes out) I may just very well catch up on them if I ever find RPG time.  Since, well, with the Vita line-up, I might be stuck in the same situation I am with my PS3, in that there will be just too much to play and I won't be able to rush through everything to get to the next thing.  Especially since I'm not the type to say "Okay, gotta beat this game in (this timeframe) so I can move on!", since I prefer to, y'know, enjoy my games.

Honestly, I can't say too much about anything tonight.  Not to derail this post into something else, but I had a rather bad issue with anxiety earlier and have been thrown off ever since, as is usually the case, so I've just been trying to relax some since.  And there really hasn't been a lot of news to bring up aside from this and the fact that my interest in One Piece just shot up dramatically in recent days.  Granted, before that, my interest in One Piece was basically non-existent but anything to get more Beat-em-up goodness.

So yeah, that is today.  Anxiety, Persona 2 for PSP in America and punching dozens of nameless pirates(?) with an anime kids extraordinarily long arms.  Just a normal Friday.

Mmm, Yummy Atlus News

Andriasang got their hands on an issue of Famitsu for this week and spared no detail in delving into the delicious, delicious information within, as far as it concerns Atlus.  And they're all Persona-flavored which, depending on your tastes, may just be the best flavor.  While my dips into the pool that is Persona and, well, Shin Megami Tensei in general have been shallow at best, more Atlus news is always good, as Atlus is always good to us.

The first, and possibly most exciting announcement of the bunch, for me at least, is that Persona 4 is getting the portable treatment like Persona 3 before it, but unlike Persona 3 Portable Persona 4 will be a Vita title.  Now you see where the excitement comes from right?  Right, of course you do, because I am pretty damn transparent and am not at all mad at the fact.  But it also does come from a place of genuine curiosity as well, since, well, I haven't played Persona 4.  I own it, in possibly one of my few instances of gaming excess, but I have yet to start it since I have been told on numerous occasions that playing Persona 3 after Persona 4 is, for all intents and purposes, less fun than to do so in the proper order.

Of course, that would suggest that I have to play Persona 3 to completion, which I just haven't done yet.  Despite owning one of the first run of Persona 3 prints, what with the art book and CD that came with it, as well as FES, which I found at a garage sale from a nice middle-aged couple who had simply exhausted it for themselves, I just have not sat down and played Persona 3 from start to finish.  Mostly from crippling Game OCD, since I know that there is an incredibly hard-to-get Persona towards the start of the game that you have to follow a stringent set of activities in which to obtain.  After trying to follow said set of activities, I quickly burned out and burned hard and drifted off to play something else.

With my PS2 time almost non-existant, I'm forced to look towards the PSP/Vita time for playing versions of these gems, so I imagine at some point I only have to purchase Persona 3 Portable and play it that way since I'm sure I'll find it much more manageable that way.  Which.....seems a little strange and/or irresponsible but oh well, this is why I like the portable market since I can play it whenever I'm not playing consoles proper.  Which....ends up being a lot of time, honestly!  If I could rig up one of those handy portable console deals to play PS2 on whenever I wanted, I would be all over that, but instead I'm just having to rely on the generosity of developers to sell me their games on multiple platforms.

That said, the information on Persona 4 Portable, actually titled Persona 4 - The Golden, is fairly light.  We know kind of what's going to be included, but details like if the game will be more like Persona 4 proper and less like Persona 3 Portable (basically in regards to losing the non-battle maps and, as such the barest of free-roaming aspects) haven't been really clarified.  Then again, this is the first piece of information put out there about the game.  Still, what we know is that, in true re-release fashion for the Persona series, there will be a new character, a girl named Mary as well as more voice-acting, new movies, some more elements that "fans of the original have heavily requested" whatever that means, and a neat-sounding wireless feature that will let you call out to your friends (nearby only?) to save you from certain peril in the dungeons.  Somehow.

Also of note from the Famitsu information is that Atlus has decided to team up with Arc System Works (makers of the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue games, the latter pictured above) to work on a 2D fighter (surprise!) starring characters from both Persona 3 and Persona 4, taking place after the events of Persona 4.  It's going to hit arcades first (surprise!) and then hit PS3 and 360 later on, but in what form, I'm not too sure.  I'm....imagining they can't get many characters for a game, and as such I don't know if they'd do a disk version, but maybe they'll manage to flesh it out enough to make it worth that rather than a PSN/XBLA release.  This, of course, might be showing my fighting game ignorance as well.

The article closes with the tidbit of information that Persona 5 is in the starting stages of development.  That's.....about all that's been said about it, really.  The usual Persona team is working on it, which is comforting, but no details on the game itself, platform(s) or anything else of the sort have been said.  Just that a Persona 5 is indeed on the way.  Honestly, do we need much more than that at this point?  I mean....that alone is pretty sweet.

Update!:  Siliconera has some screenshots of Persona 4:  The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena, which is the above-mentioned but never-named fighting game Atlus is working on with Arc System Works.  They look rather nice, I must say!  (I would embed one in here, but Siliconera links always go down and I am far too lazy to rehost it.)