In February this image was posted in the career section of SCEA’s website. Around the same time, this advertisement was posted in Famitsu weekly magazine:

it reads:
『ICO』、
『ワンダと巨像』制作チームによる
PS3タイトルの
新プheェクトスタッフ募集

いまさら募集ですかｗ
出来上がるころには
PS3はどうなってる？
おせーよハゲ

_{image credits:jeux-france}

Basically the ad is saying that the team who produced Ico and Shadows of the Colossus(ワンダと巨像) is working on a new title for the PS3. Team ICO is hiring people for the project. According to the ad on SCEA’s website they are looking for game planners, animators, artists, and effect designers.

It’s probably a good idea to be fluent in Japanese if you are planning on applying, which I assume you aren’t if you’re reading this. But really, it’s just exciting to know a new project is in the works from Team ICO. So far this team has brought us only two games–Ico and Shadows of the Colossus, both of which were extremely groundbreaking for their time. The team’s head hanchos Fumito Ueda and Kenji Kaido have expressed their interests in creating a new title, with similar elements or themes as their previous games. You can read some interviews with them at TIG Magazine.

Combining their talents with the power of the Playstation 3 should reap one powerhouse of a good game. Sorry to those who don’t plan on purchasing a PS3, team ICO works for Sony, so whatever they make will be a PS3 exclusive.

Roy action, Team ICO 0 comments

DISCLAIMER

The following are conclusions I have reached after spending much too much time with the Persona 4 PV DVD included with this week’s Famitsu magazine. I do not intend for any of this to be taken as absolute fact since no one can either confirm nor deny my predictions. With that said, read on:

Again I do not attempt to pass any of my theories off as truth. I simply offer them to stir up discussion and encourage the exchange of ideas between fans of the series. If anyone agrees or disagrees, feel free to leave a comment.

Related Articles:
All other Kotowari entries on Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 can be found here.

Roy atlus, persona, preview, ps2, rpg 2 comments

So Crisis Core comes out for the PSP today in the states. I gotta say, I have mixed feelings about it. I keep hearing that is has an outstanding story, which accents Final Fantasy VII. For this reason I am very excited. However, I don’t know how I feel about the addition of some new bad guys who are supposedly as bad-ass as Sephiroth… I guess I will wait and see what everyone thinks.

To celebrate I want to explain the underlying elements of Japanese thought which are persistent throughout the game. Before getting into it, this post assumes the reader has played Final Fantasy VII and is familiar with its themes and major events which occur in its world. If you have NOT played the game, reading on may spoil parts of the game and be a tad confusing.

Let us start with Makou, or Mako energy, a substance which is contained in all life on the face of the planet (including the planet itself). Bugenhagen, Red XIII’s “father” explains that when a creature dies, its mako returns to the earth, and is transferred into a new living being. Unlike most energies, it is extinguishable when consumed by Shin-ra’s reactors AND there is a limited amount of it.

The cyclical aspect of mako “life”, is very similar to life as seen in eastern religions such as Buddhism’s idea of samsara or reincarnation. Life does not have a clear beginning and end like it does in the west. There is no heaven and no hell,–just transition. In addition to Buddhism, mako also has characteristics of nature seen through Shinto, Japan’s native folk religion. According to Shinto all elements of nature have a kind of energy and purity to them. Therefore tampering with nature, effectively destroys this purity or energy.

The fact that mako is consumable by Shin-ra’s reactors is where things get a bit more complex. Japan began modernizing rapidly during the Meiji restoration, and going on until the Taisho era. This time period marked an increasing dependence on industrialization. The earth was scoured for resources, forests were cleared, and enormous factories were constructed. The Japanese government was the main force pushing these advances, and part of the force behind the government were Zaibatsu, or mega-corporations, which existed since the early Meiji period.

Shin-ra can be seen as one of these Zaibatsu or mega-corporations, advancing the world of the game with their industrial technology, the mako reactors, by consuming mako, or the planets life-fource. While these parallel events were taking place in Japan, there was a sense that this advancement came at a cost. A character in the village of Kalm explains her feelings to Cloud:

“Mako energy’s made things a lot more convenient…..”
“But it seems like a lot of plants and animals have been
disappearing at a rapid pace.”
“I think the old life was better.”
“Don’t you think so?”

_{credits to Little Chiba}

The world of Final Fantasy VII was once home to the ancients, a race of nomadic people who could speak with the earth and understand its deeper workings. As time went on, some members of the ancients stopped wandering and began settling down, losing the ability to communicate with the earth. These individuals are who became the populace of the earth, and eventually the ancients all but died off. As the situation on earth becomes more dire, the characters in Final Fantasy VII turn to their ally Aerith, the last remaining ancient for guidance.

In modern Japan the ancients would be those who mastered a craft hundreds of years ago and whose teachings have been passed down for generations. These crafts can be anything from gardening to knowing how to put on a kimono properly. The more people keep up their busy lifestyles, the more these trades are forgotten, thus the ancients are still dying in Japan today.

Modern Japan regrets what it lost during the process of modernization. For this reason many forms of Japanese pop-media portray this struggle between convenience and losing touch with nature as well as a longing for simpler times. To those who get their hands on Crisis Core: do you notice any of these themes?

Roy history, japan, square enix 3 comments

Hey all,

We’ve been really happy to see an influx of visitors to Kotowari who are as enthustiastic about games as we are.  Roy puts a lot of hours into making sure you get the latest in Atlus news and translates a lot of stuff that isn’t out there for English-speakers yet.  The stuff on this blog is free (and always will be!), so if you have a chance please consider donating to help keep this site running.

Donating will not just help out our site, but those who donate over $10 will receive a gift as well!

Click here to donate.

You can choose from the following:
- 1x 10-Pack of Persona 3 Series 1 Trading Cards
- 1x 10-Pack of Persona 3 Series 2 Trading Cards
- 1x 10-Pack of Persona FES Series 1 Trading Cards
- 1x 10-Pack of Persona FES Series 2 Trading Cards
- 1x Puchi Eva Toy

(Note: Since these are all sealed, please keep in mind that the cards/toy you will get will be random!)

For every $10 you donate, you can select another option, i.e., $20 you can pick two options, $30 you can pick three, etc.

When you donate, please specify the item you would like to receive and the address it should be sent to. The items are coming directly from Japan so it might take about a week for those who live in the U.S.

This offer expires on May 30, 2008, so donate now if you want to receive a gift!

Foxes 0 comments

Atlus has officially unveiled the Japanese website for Persona 4. It’s pretty sparce right now, but you can check it out here. The site has a TV theme to it, playing off of mayonaka TV. Right now there are only 2 active links, both go to short articles concerning Persona 4. Atlus is working on a website about Persona 4 news for mobile phones which should launch possibly later this week.

Related Articles:
All other Kotowari entries on Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 can be found here.

Roy atlus, persona, preview, ps2 0 comments