Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation coming to Steam

Not only is Neptune traveling across dimensions –now she’s traveling across platforms! After its PlayStationVita/PlayStation3 release in Summer, Hyperdimension Neptunia. Re;Birth3: V Generationwill get a Fall 2015 release on steam!

Story
It’s time to Nep-Nep like it’s 1989. Neptune’s been sucked into an alternate dimension of Gamindustri! In order for her to escape from this late ‘80s world, Neptune will have to collect enough shares to open up the path to her own dimension. Sounds easy enough –except a nefarious alliance called the Seven Sages wants to rid Gamindustriof all CPUs, including Neptune!

Forging cross-dimensional friendships, will Neptune be able to defeat the Seven Sages, save this alternate dimension and get back to her own, or will she be stuck in the ‘80s forever?

Key Features

You Can Tell From the Pixels With a fantastic 1080p resolution, experience the two dimensions like you’ve never seen before! Every slash, stab, and stomp will look better than ever!

+1 to Combos! Customize attack combinations with up to five moves, opening up a whole new array of ways to defeat your enemies!New Story! Play through new story and scenarios when someone else joins the Console War fray and refuses to play by the rules!

Bring a Dungeon Buddy!Stella’s Dungeon is back, and this time she can bring friends! Each is equipped with special skills that lend their support to Stella in her items quest, so choose wisely!
Remake in your Image!Modify the world of Gamindustrito your liking by creating “Plans” that alter dungeon treasures, enemy difficulty, and more!

Get Crafty!Customize powerful equipment that can unlock the true power of the CPUs, opening up a world of new skills for them to use! Luxuriate in all the fourth-wall-breaking comedy you’ve come to expect, with a fine polish of 1080p graphics!

For more news on anime, cosplay, games and Japanese culture follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Aisha Anime ^_^

Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Review

Title: Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters

Publisher: Aksys Games

Developer: Arc System Works

Genre: Visual Novel,Puzzle, RPG

Platform(s): Vita, PS3

Release Date:10th Mar 2015 (USA) 13th Mar 2015 (UK/EU - NIS America)

Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters is a visual novel that follows a group called the Gatekeepers who hold the facade of website of the occult and creepy but are actual mercenaries for hire to exorcise demons. You play the unknowing college student baffled by girls and already deemed a weirdo by the student council president an extreme hottie. When a fellow classmate in a wheelchair asks if you believe in ghosts things begin to unravel.

This game struck me a beautifully presented JRPG but coming from Arc Systems Works I knew there would be more tot his game than meets the eye. You are a generic guy but you enter all your stats at the begging ie name, star sign what club you want to join - I joined Tea because I loathe sports and so should my character but hey that doesn't affect the fact you are now a ghost hunter.

Me and not impressed student president are recruited by the Gatekeepers and Shindo shows us the ropes, since he is confined to his wheelchair he normally contacts us via walkie talkie while we do all the hard grafting. Once at the HQ you use the pc to see requests and pick which ever ones you like these vary in difficulty and maps. 

Maps are important as you are introduced to a quirky shop owner who sells us items to help us on missions, the quicker we catch the demons the more bounty we receive. Certain items can be placed on the maps to prevent ghosts entering rooms or push them in a  certain direction for us to trap them in a corner. 

These items can be household objects like table salt, ghosts cant walk over it and you have more complex traps that push the ghost away from you. But the layout of the room are important as any electricity sockets can move the ghosts around to other rooms which can be frustrating.

You have a certain amount of turns before you fail your mission, it's different for each map. Also you can bump into random demons as well as your primary target, the second you exterminate your mission is over.

You have advantages such as the cat Seecloar she can sense ghosts and also lights up areas at random. She sometimes comes on the map to help. depending on the equipment of your characters as default you have two teams with the EVP gear to sense ghosts nearby so the third team you need to save up money for to get it as you have time constraints and running around in circles is not an option. Shindo from time to time gives clues to where the ghosts are hiding in certain areas or near certain items. 

The visual novel aspect is beautifully done, you have seamless cut scenes that morph into an almost 3D dimension feel and you can re watch the sequences in the scrap book at the HQ. Sometimes you are faced with decisions and this is the confusing part, you are given the icons: mouth, ear, hand, nose. I automatically thought mouth was to talk- apparently not my character within the first five minutes of the game tries to snog the student president. Awkward. This probably the only thing that lets the game down no quick tutorial in game or instruction Manuel of how to use the icons. I don't think these decisions really change the game but affect the script but otherwise you follow the story in a  linear fashion.

Other things you can get up to in the HQ include mini games if you fancy a break from the ghost hunting and main story. Also when you leave for a mission you get to select tracks to listen to in the car and on the mission. A lot of details has been put into making this game a great experience. i worry about playing it whilst travelling as I can get very immersed and miss my stop.

As a horror fan I really enjoyed the ghost aspect of the game, you get a loose story about each ghost and the art compliments it so well. the level of artistry used to do the movie sequences makes it feel like your part of a movie. Apart from the lack of instructions on how to manovere the emoticons, a sold game with great soundtrack, composed by Nobuo Uematsu famed for Final Fantasy.

Definitely a 4 and a half out of 5 I loved freaking out the girls in this game, makes it more entertaining.

More info on the game on the Official NISA website and listen to the awesome soundtrack there too.

Buy it on amazon now!

For more gaming news, reviews, and convention reporting follow me on Twitter and Facebook  ^_^

Aisha Anime

Review: Fantasy Life

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Level 5
Genre: Adventure, RPG
Players: 3

Release Date:
27th Dec 2012 (JPN)
24th Oct 2014 (USA)
26th Sep 2014 (UK/EU)

The best way to describe Fantasy Life is a real time action RPG from level-5. This came was supposed to come out 2009 in Japan but was delayed and kept in development till 27th December, 2012. This mean't they had to enhance the specifications for DSi to 3DS quality. 

Playing Fantasy life is a different experience from a JRPG and resembles Animal Crossing but with more story and depth to the game - also the online capabilities differ greatly. Missing out the art and CGI counterparts of the Japanese RPG the game has a lot of big Japanese names involved.  In addition to Level-5, legendary character artist Yoshitaka Amano (Art of Final Fantasy) and Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy composer). Most notably, Fantasy Life is the final game developed by Brownie Brown — before changing name to 1-UP Studios  a company that favoured by most JRPG fans’. 

The game is set in a medieval setting, where among a dragon threatening the land, you work with a a new race called 'Plushies' (not cuddly toys apparently)  to expand your skills as an adventurer. In addition to gaining XP and earning 'Dosh' (the in-game money) for vanquishing monsters and cows, each Life has its own series of tasks which make you a wholesome character.

When enough stars are earned, the player ranks up in the Life they are currently living and gaining access to new skills, presents (awarded by a butterfly) or recipes that also mostly remain usable when a character switches Lives which is key to the game's point. You can pick the job of a warrior, seamstress, farmer, carpenter, blacksmith, mage and more - the full experience of Fantasy Life lies in developing your craft 

The gameplay isn't especially difficult and great for new RPG gamers and retro, button presses are used to attack and likewise to use skills. I chose seamstress/tailor as my first life and to complete clothes tasks i simple moved left or right and press 'A' consecutively within a time limit. 

Fantasy Life is more of a customisation game and you don't heavily rely on numbers and statistics. Super cute Gear can be attained from Nintendo codes which they post up on twitter regularly.  

Part of the main story you complete your skill tasks to obtain 'Bliss' which unlock special prizes, part of the main plot was stumbling across a talking butterfly 'Flutter' she is the one who measures your bliss and awards you prizes from pets to more space in your inventory and I highly recommend making your bag bigger - as you end up picking up lots of items to trade.

Fantasy Life’s art has a hand drawn cartoon which works well with the 3D There is a minor visual issue with the perspective, which is midway between a top-down and a side view — combined with the relatively low resolution of the 3DS — means that details lose high definition but I am happy to enjoy the environment art.

There are rarely any cinematic moments in the game which is a shame, any there are used to advance the game's story. The game ios light hearted and has lots of humorous one liners in the game and lovable characters. 

It should also be noted, though its level of attraction will vary, that this isn't an exclusively single-player adventure. Fantasy Life’s multi-player allows players to get together locally or on-line in groups of up to three and accomplish the same tasks and challenges as in single-player mode (although it is not possible to advance the main story in multi-player). With the variety of Lives to live and the range of tasks to perform, any trip to any kingdom with just about anyone is sure to be productive in some way — and you might just get the right help to finally defeat that challenge monster that’s spent far too long in your Life list.

On-line facilities include  StreetPass to have new friends enter your land carrying gifts which you can only obtain after talking to them several times (they are in different areas of the game). Link mode also allows you to send your on-line friends messages (both group-wide and private) whilst not playing the game together.

Final Thoughts

Fantasy Life is a break from Animal Crossing, doing mini games and tasks which has some plot to follow kept me more engaged than I expected. Learning new aspects such as capturing mercenaries and handing them in for bounty. I recommend you choose a fighting type to begin with or else collect money gets a bit challenging. The art is charming coupled with a great soundtrack to make a Westernise RPG with anew concept making the game playable more than once.

7/10 

For more game news check out my Twitter & Facebook ^_^ 

@aisha_anime

~Aisha Anime~

Hyper Devotion Noire: new JRPG from Hyper Dimension Neptunia series!

Hyperdevotion Noire

Idea Factory International is excited to announce today that Hyper devotion Noire™: Goddess Black Heart, the very first strategy RPG in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, will be coming to North America and Europe in early 2015! This is something to make all JRPG enthusiasts happy, especially myself :-)

Console:  PlayStation Vita handheld
Formats: retail and digital formats 

EU Release: 20th Feb 2015

Story

Moe Army

Unlike previous Hyperdimension Neptunia games, HyperdevotionNoire is not set within the world of Gamindustri, but instead within a similar, but separate, world known as “Gamarket”. The CPUs of each of the four nations are locked in heated battle against one another for dominion over this world. Just as Noire is one step away from complete domination, the CPUs are suddenly robbed of their powers by an unknown force. Now in order to save the world from destruction, the four CPUs must unite Gamarketand defeat the onslaught!

Key Features

A Moe Army Awaits! You ain’t never seen the CPUs like this! Lead them in their first-ever foray into strategy RPG gameplay, taking on enemies in a whole new way. You’ll fight off hordes of enemies in turn-based strategy, dodging laser beams and flaming pits, and using dangerous environments against your enemy.Link up with the “Lily System” The more often characters are in battle together, the higher their bond becomes. Activating the “Lily Boost” grants special stats and abilities, while “Lily Points” can be used to activate ultra-special moves and even goddess transformations. Don’t be shy to build up those battle relationships and seal it all with a kiss!

Check your Status!

All kinds of funky things can happen in the heat of battle and characters can be hit with status ailments that are both boon and burden. You can get pixelated, zombie-fied, or even turned into a block of tofu! Some status changes come with their own benefit and cost, so keep this in mind during a fight.

Item Customization!

You’ll get tons of replay value with so many ways to boost your gear’s stats! The more enemies you defeat, the more items you can get to customize your gear in whatever way you see fit. Let the great experiment begin!

Livin’ the Noire Life!

Life’s not all about grid-based battles. Sometimes Noire just wants to relax at home, and with the “SimNoire” mode you’ll be able to do just that! Customize the place by buying furniture and accessories with in-game points, and make Noire feel like the goddess she is. She’ll also get to go out with friends and build up her social level!

More game updates on Facebook and twitter.

~Aisha Anime~

Yippee Suikoden I and II available on the 4th of February on EU PS Store!

Update: 04/01/15 Suikoden 1 and 2 are avialbale to download from PSN today, both are individual games at £3.99 each in the Uk playable on PS3 and Vita only (currently). Support cult classics such as this being brought to the UK by buying the game :-)

Konami Europe announced at 09.55 today on twitter that #Suikoden I and II will be available on the 4th of February on the EU PS Store! As a fan and playing the original series on PSOne and having seen the Sega Saturn version i am thrilled to play this game again and complete all the endings - since I'm hardcore like that :-p

More information on the legendary series here:

http://aishaanime.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/suikoden-i-ii-releasing-on-vita.html

For more information on the Suikoden Revival Movement who sent numourous petitions to Konami Japan to re-release Suikoden go here:

http://aishaanime.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/suikoden-revival-movement.html

Cosplay: Viki

Series: Suikoden

Cosplayer: Aisha Anime

https://www.facebook.com/aisha.anime.ahmed

MH Community event: Special Guests!

Capcom hosted a community event in anticipation for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate release. They invited 100 people to the office who all received an exclusive demo code for the game and a chance to meet the Executive Producer and Series Director in the flesh!

After much excitement in the queue we were all led upstairs at 12.30 after being ticked off the VIP list. We were then stamped and received our demo. Next panic ensued as too many people using the Capcom HQ wifi was not a good idea but thanks to Jake's quick thinking who ever could turn their phones into hotspots got to play and relieve the poor wifi connection. All was saved ! Praise be to Jake (community manager)!

This event was about community spirit talking and fighting with fellow hunters and it was amazing to see a few ambassador 3DS's floating about !

One of the main features of the game were the two new weapons and people were happy to play co op or on their MH3 games or just street pass. It was all relaxed atmosphere and there was even a pop up shop to purchase Japanese figures ! You WERE ALLOWED to come and go as you please to pick up snacks or get cash to buy things.

Then the star guests arrived Ryozo Tsujimoto (Executive Producer) AND Kaname Fujioka (Series Director) accompanied by a massive Cat in Kirin armour. People were allowed to get one item signed (personal) or a provided poster. There were a lot of unusual items including a hip flask, meat plushie and leather pouch - they were shocked to see I had a MH4 Ultimate bag, which I got free for playing the game at Tokyo Games Show last year ^^.

In the spirit of the hunt and with my Birthday coming up, my code didn't work, so I've decided to give it away to a lucky Monster Hunter fan, all you have to do is answer the question - What armour was the cat warrior wearing at the event? Comment on my facebook page, Like 'Aisha Anime' on fb and share the post. Competition ends Friday 23rd midnight (London Greenwich mean time).

Good Luck fellow Hunters ^^ Aisha 

https://www.facebook.com/aisha.anime.ahmed

Update: I would just like to add Capcom contacted me regarding my code not working due to the internet and they have given my another, cannot express how much these guys look after there community. Thank you so much Jake ! I'm back in hunt tonight guys :D

Guided Fate Paradox Review

Being such a big Disgaea fan I had to try out their jrpg title Guided Fate Paradox playing on historical events retold and having to fix them.

Using thr lottery to pick someone to inherit the power of God to rectify the event blips, the unlikely hero is given a group of angels to guide and aid him on his quest.

Review: Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks

After much badgering from my fellow anime nerds I was obligated to try the Inzuma Eleven series of games since I was hearing more good things than bad - but the anime was so contrived I found it hard to take the game series seriously.

Inazuma Eleven was originally an anime released in 2013 using a combination of football (we're British we call it football not soccer)with magic. Starving to get into the championships. Overall not a favourite anime. However shortly after the first IE game came to DS. After a friend urged me to give this 3DS version a try after saying the magic world JRPG, this clearly is not an average sports game.

I half expected the game to be a mini Fifa but with anime cut scenes and Japanese VO. Being the first IE game on the 3DS I expected some sort of summary of the game or the story thus far, that doesn't happen you meet the man character and loads more across the world.


 Story wise your in the future, your the main character's grandson you bump into Team Ogre it’s here that we are suddenly thrown back to the present where the main character Mark Evens is training for the world cup after “his most recent victory” that is never elaborated upon.

The general jist is we follow him and his group of friends as they try to become the best players in the world, while also trying to save football against the antagonists. They are a team from 80 years in the future called 'Team Ogre' and come with the mission of destroying the Raimon Soccer Club. The game assumes that we the player are aware of the complex story and all of the character connections hates and friendships. Nope, so from what little details I remembered fro the anime I played clueless-ly to all the references. It's a shame since it's a JRPG and the crux of the game is storyline and talking.

I really enjoyed the game-play there is none other like this it's comprised of playing football and solving tasks, talking to people, finding items similar to Pokemon just no monsters! Also it's a 2D game and it's surprising easy on the eye and I liked that quality and I'm glad it wasn't 3D. Enjoying their over the top hair in chibi form! It was also cute that we could customise the equipment like we could in battles for other games, instead this is for stars to help football.


The main bulk of the game is the football matches play out with the typical rules of footie with a mix of 4v4 and 11v11 games, the player starts with the ball and uses the touch screen to control the players by dragging and tapping the screen. If the carrier comes into contact with a member of the opposite team, the game pauses and allows the player to choose their next action from a menu, they can try to dodge / charge, or they can perform a super move that will drain their SP. Every time a move is selected the game shows a short cinematic of the characters performing the action with a little number by each player showing their stats. I think it's a combination of stats and skill on the stylus.

Looking at the previous titles, not alot has changed in the game play mechanics. It's a an RPG but with spurts of football rather than fighting so it would be  an excellent game for the pre-teens to get some non violent gaming ingrained into their brains. The controls aren't easy well they are, the 3DS doesn't always interpret them the right way. So I'd say layer up your screen with a few protectors you don't want to rage scratch your precious 3DS.

I can see that Level-5 RPG had incorporated all the anime sequences well like the Professor Layton games but sadly IE did lack in other departments. The failure to integrate previous story-lines did leave me disorientated but I got the jist f what i needed to do and looked past story references and looked more towards graphics and strategy. Mixing sport with an RPG - who would of thought the unlike two could pair up to make something so fluid and enjoyable.  8/10 ~Aisha Anime~

Writing for Anifest

I totally missed the fact Anifest have added an introducing article on me on their team website.
They recently asked me to be on the team and I was ecstatic, will be nice to have a website hub again. I miss Animepicks immensely.

Hopefully will be able to bring lots of great content to Anifest- more interviews, anime reviews, music reviews, game reviews and what not XD

WHAT IS UKANIFEST ?

 UKAniFest is an anime and Film event on an epic scale, like grind house for all things asian!!

We will  incorporate everything that the avid cinema lover / Asian film lover would want at a cinema festival...

Three films that incorporate how Asian, Korean and Japanese film has finally landed to the U.K.

WHEN AND WHERE??

This will be held in a small 'arthouse' venue in 2013 and at a major London cinema in 2014.

We will showcase one anime film, one anime to live action film and one movie premiere in 2013 and 2014 will see a premiere.

We also hope to have a dealers area in the cinema so you can purchase all your figures, anime and film related merchandise!

Video Review: Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness

My casual Fuka Cosplay

I'm pleased to announce the doods from my previous IGN pub quiz article, see their mug shot here.
Josiah, Cheryl, Arfaaaaaaaan and a few more cool peeps are working on a games website, well I say 'working on' Josiah is the mastermind behind building the site, the rest of us contribute. It's nice we can all bounce off ideas of each other and one member is even Australia.Here's my first game review off my favourite Japanese role playing game series Disgaea <3 p="">
In Parallax Play 's debut video review, Aisha Anime (aka me) checks out Disgaea D2 for PS3 from NIS America, Inc. Doooood! I like the series so much I even cosplayed as Fuka the protagonist from Disgaea 4 :D

http://parallaxplay.com/video-review-disgaea-d2-a-brighter-darkness/

Fuka from Disgaea 4

Find my detailed review on Animepicks.co.uk  here -
http://animepicks.co.uk/2013/10/game-review-disgaea-d2-halloween-special/

Podcast went Visual

Alex, myself and Orun

The podcast I've been hosting since April has now reached 33 episodes and to mark this 33rd one we went visual. Yeah we're blank voices no more we're loud and proud at the Playnation Games studio ^_^ Well it's the games room but we turn it into a makeshift studio !

Weirdly enough for podcasts the sell by date is by episode 15, we've doubled it and changed platforms, I don't know if that's good or bad. One of my friends said he listens as a podcast is convenient for him to download to his ipod and then listen to on his journey to work so he may stop listening when we go video
-_-

What does one do? We'll we recorded a mini teaser video taster and hopefully the listeners approve? Check it out for yourselves, please feel free to send suggestions on how to improve it!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnimeUkShow?ref=hl
Twiiter: @animeukshow
Latest ep on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgbBcHW6KWo&feature=youtu.be

Review: Disgaea D2

Disgaea is celebrating it's 10th anniversary and company Nippon Ichi Software's 20th anniversary this year with the release of it's new game Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness. Following the story of much loved Demon overlord Laharl from the first game. He carries on forcing his supremacy on all the demons of the underworld who frankly don't take him seriously.

Based several years after the first set of games, the demon crew have grown older and outfits are skimpier, but Laharl remains power hungry. Little does he know he will not win the favour of his subjects with brute force only. He is determined not to live in the shadow of his father's legacy. We begin with Flonne ranting as Laharl and Etna crash in her flowerbed, a celestial Yuie flower blooms despite not supposing to in the netherworld. The main plot revolves around this flower.

Now the rebellion gets involved, Grosso pointing the finger at Laharl for having relations with Celestia after the flowers op up at an alarming rate around the netherworld. We have new villains and with that a new demon type; Sea Angel - cute but deadly at the same time. Of course you have to fulfil certain requirements to obtain certain classes which is part of the fun.

Gameplay in Disgaea D2 remains loyal to the original Disgaea mechanics. There is however a new Monster Mounting feature that replaces Magichange from Disgaea 3 and 4. This allows humanoid characters to ride on top of a Monster allowing the humanoid character to attack on top of the monster while the monster takes damage from opponents, acting like a shield. Characters can also build relationships with each other and their compatibility is determined by a heart scale of one to five. It also affects the strength of collaboration attacks used when Monster Mounting depending of the relationship established between a humanoid character and a monster character.

The graphics are still 2D animation but you can change the camera angle now in the newly renovated Overlord castle. Instead of being confined to three rooms you have a labyrinth of place you can explore and talk to the amusing demon vassels under Laharl's command. The soundtrack is fresh but with original tracks following the original characters bringing nostalgia.

Cameo in the game include past favourites Asagi, returning from previous games. The game's trophy list also revealed that most of the Disgaea 4 cast (Valvatorez, Fenrich, Emizel and 'Vulcanus') will return, along with Axel and Petta (who actually uses Zetta from Makai Kingdom in his Book form as a weapon).

You are also given a new weapon type - a book which seems to act as a second magic based weapon and allows users to summon spirits to damage their targets. The game also features a new Demon Dojo that allows players to train the individual stats of their characters; this is great if you want to train your healer as she fights with a book, which makes her attack better.

Disgaea D2 is a beautiful sequel to the original Disgaea series with lots of great dialogues, cameos and improved graphics. Essentially the same dynamics but with new game mechanics, seamless blending of character movement on the map not just animated sprites. A great addition to the Disgaea series - it would make any JRPG fan or demon happy.

Interesting facts

• This is the first Disgaea game to be a direct sequel in terms of plot.


• You can change the colour of the main characters.


• It is the second game that does not use the series' signature logo.


• It is also the first Disgaea game without an "Ultimate Class" for reasons unknown


• It is also the first game in the series where it solely uses HD sprites so the graphics have developed but kept to the original style


• The same skull and chair have switches behind and open a hidden door.


• American’s got DLC when pre ordering ie. Fuka, Desco: Two main characters from Disgaea 4, Overlord Zetta: The main protagonist of Makai Kingdom, Adell: The main male protagonist from Disgaea 2 and many more.

For more adventures into anime, cosplay, gaming and events follow me on Facebook and twitter. 

^_^ Aisha Anime