OK, seriously, I am just tired of talking about Atlus at this point.  They are just dominating this year – especially when it comes to the Nintendo DS.  I haven’t really touched mine since I became bored with Disgaea DS, but I will definitely need to dust it off for these 2 upcoming Atlus titles:

First, Devil Survivor was announced with a May 12 release date.

Why I am excited:

Devil Survivor is being called the first MegaTen game for the Nintendo DS.  If that weren’t unique enough, it is also a tactical/strategy RPG, a genre that many companies attempt to do well, but often fall short.  MegaTen games are already highly tactical in nature, especially when it comes to all the different elemental affinities. Combining this with a classical SRPG is a recipe for a challenging game.

The story is very unique while still remaining in the vein of a classic MegaTen game.  It has a much more modern, almost futuristic feel to it which I appreciate. Also, what I have heard of the music I really like.  In a game with simpler graphics, I think music is very important.  Here is a video taken from the official Japanese website which may give you an idea of what I mean:

[flash http://movie.atlusnet.jp/ds/ver2_pv_story.flv w=320 h=240]

I found this trailer much more informative and interesting to watch than the one Atlus sent out with their newsletter.

Next, yesterday Atlus announced Knights in the Nightmare for a June 2nd release.  I have been interested in this game since it came out while I was in Japan last year.

Why I am excited:

Knights in the Nightmare is episode four in the four part Dept. Heaven series created by Sting.  Part one being Riviera and part two being Yggdra Union. The third episode is currently unknown.  While the connections between games (if they exist) are lost on me, I really enjoyed the previous titles.

However conventional Devil Survivor is in terms of providing a traditional MegaTen and SRPG experience, that’s how unique Knights in the Nightmare will be.  Everything from the complex battle system to the ability to play from both points of view (antagonist and protagonist) ensure that this game will not be boring to anyone.

I guess I will just have to suffer through the next few months until I have something to play.  Come May (which is also the month Devil Summoner 2 is released) the floodgates will open and I won’t even know what to play.  I can’t wait!

*UPDATE* I just noticed Amazon.com pulled Devil Survivor.  For those of you who have already ordered it, I suggest you contact them to make sure that your order went through.  Keep checking back here to be the first to know when they have it back up.

Related Entries:
A list of all Kotowari articles on Knights in the Nightmare can be found here
A list of all Kotowari articles on Devil Survivor can be found here