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Persona 4 X Pokémon Profile Art

Roy — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:09:26 +0000

I never thought I would see the day when a post would require me to use both the “Persona” and “Pokémon” tags. Well, that day has come. While browsing Pixiv I stumbled upon a user named Elle (エル), who is not only a prolific artist but happens to love Persona 4. Amongst their work I found this collection of Persona 4 X Pokémon profile art. Not only does each image perfectly capture the stylish menus of Persona 4, but the skills and elements of each pokémon are likewise translated into the world of Persona.

For instance, Gardevoir, pictured above, is weak to mudo or death skills, which we can relate to the dark element in Pokémon. Her skills are a blend of healing (recarm, sama recarm), hama skills, and almighty (megido, etc.) Stats-wise she is as much a glass cannon in the world of Persona as that of Pokémon — her agility and intelligence are off the charts while endurance is very low. Finally, she is of the Temperance arcana generally associated with healing and angels. Bravo to Elle for his/her artistic eye and creative, RPG-driven mind. If any gifted individuals wish to continue the trend, I humbly request the following pokémon: Kecleon, Shedinja, Crustle, and Emolga. Here are the remaining profiles with some bits translated. Enjoy!

Pokémon: Milotic
Arcana: Priestess
Elements: Strong against ice, normal, and fire. Weak to electricity.
Skills: Bufudyne, Mediarahan, Boost Ice

Pokémon: Togetic
Arcana: Justice
Elements: Strong against light, weak to electricity…
Skills: Garudyne, Megidolaon, Brave Zapper

Pokémon: Hydreigon
Arcana: Death
Elements: Strong against normal, fire and electric. Repel dark. Weak to light and water.
Skills: Mudo Boost, Agidyne, Devil’s Smile

Pokémon: Chandelure
Arcana: Hermit
Elements: Immune to normal, absorb fire, strong against dark. Weak to ice.
Skills: Mahamudon, Agidyne, Mudo Boost

Pokémon: Jolteon
Arcana: Star
Elements: Weak to normal attacks. Absorb electric, strong against wind.
Skills: Ziodyne, Electric Boost, Maha Sukukaja

~~Pokémon~~ Gym Leader: Flint
Arcana: World
Elements: Absorb normal, strong against fire. Repel light and dark. Weak to ice and electric.
Skills: Die for Me, Morning Star, Ragnarok

Peachi’s Persona 4 Comic Part 3 Available

Roy — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:41:27 +0000

Today Peachi added the next installment of her ever entertaining Persona 4 comic series. The third chapter spans both Kanji and Rise’s dungeons, whose unique err… atmospheres make for some humorous reading. I also appreciate the exaggerated wrath of Dojima and the scenes from the camping trip. If I didn’t already have a bajillion games to play, I would say the nostalgia this comic drummed up would have me playing P4 all over again.

If you have a LiveJournal account be sure to leave some love for the author!

Peachi’s Persona 3 Comic: Ryojiventures

Roy — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:29:13 +0000

There are few updates on the web that I savor as much when Peachi updates her Livejournal with a new Persona themed comic. On January first, the most recent comic appeared switching from Persona 4 to Persona 3. As you can see, this part of the story centers around Ryoji. For those of you who have not played Persona 3 yet, I strongly recommend saving this comic until AFTER you’ve finished the game — there are some major spoilers within!

Anyway, this comic is a bit short, but surely won’t disappoint any fan of the series. It certainly helped to brighten my day at work! Someone really should be paying her to do this…

Peachi’s Persona 4 Comic: It’s Funny Because It’s True

Roy — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:38:52 +0000

This may be old news to most, but I can’t help being intensely amused by Peachi’s most recent comic parodying Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. The comic covers the first few hours of game-play and the main plot ideas. Be aware if you have not played the game that there are a few spoilers. Also you should be ashamed of yourself.

I admit I was unaware of Peachi’s LiveJournal, titled hiimdaisy, until Foxes pointed it out to me recently. Perhaps this is because I am not a huge fan of comics. Now I find myself spending WAY too much time at work reading through all her work. I have read all 4 parts of the Snake Eater series, which I found equally hilarious.

I guess the Persona 4 comic in particular has been receiving a lot of press, so consider me an extension of the echo chamber that is the internet. If you haven’t checked it out, definitely do so and enjoy a hearty guffaw.

XSEED Will Be Localizing The Wizard of Oz: Beyond The Yellow Brick Road

Julius — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:00:23 +0000

XSEED announced earlier this week that they will be localizing The Wizard of Oz: Beyond The Yellow Brick Road (called RIZ-ZOAWD in Japan, which is an anagram for Wizard and Oz) for North American shores. This isn’t very surprising, as XSEED has made their interest for the title quite clear before it was even released in Japan back in December of 2008. Even so, to get official word from XSEED that they will in fact be localizing it makes this RPG fan incredibly happy.

The great thing about TWoO:BTYBR is that it follows the original story of The Wizard of Oz, but only up until a certain point. The story is followed accurately up until Dorothy, along with her new party in the form of Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion, arrive in Emerald City to talk to the Wizard. From that point on, the game gives it’s own imaginative spin on the series and what happens next.

Artistically, everything about TWoO:BTYBR is top-notch. From the colorful and very beautifully 3D rendered game world to the charming, uniquely designed characters. For instance, Tin Man’s design gives him a much more robust appearance which goes perfectly with his job as the heavy hitter of the group. And I really can’t stress enough how beautiful the graphics are for this game. They just might be the best the DS has to offer so far.

As for the gameplay, everything is controlled with the stylus. The player moves Dorothy through the game world with a giant trackball on the bottom screen. There are no random encounters, instead the player must make contact with the enemy while traversing an open field. Once a battle is initiated, it will be carried out in a first-person perspective, much like in the Dragon Quest or Earthbound series. Characters’ abilities are also heavily influenced by their storybook counterparts, i.e. one of Lion’s special abilities is giving your party the chance to flee from battle, which is inspired by his cowardly attitude. Check out the first Japanese trailer, as well as a gameplay video to get a better look at TWoO:BTYBR.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Honestly, after the announcement of this localization by XSEED, I think they might be one of my favorite American publishers of Japanese gaming. Not only are they bringing over one of my most anticipated Japanese games of the past year, but they’ve practically read through my personal wish list of wanted games and are seeing to it that they get a proper release stateside. We have Fragile, The Sky Crawlers, and Ju-on to look forward to by the end of 2009. Not to mention Beyond The Yellow Brick Road is expected for a Fall release here, so we certainly have a great deal to look forward to thanks to XSEED. The only problem they made so far is their choice for the American TWoO:BTYBR boxart… yeah. American publishers really need to learn to just keep the original Japanese boxart:

Hero 30 Gets Web-Manga and Ranking System

Roy — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:50:21 +0000

Despite being released over a month ago in Japan, Hero 30’s campaign of adding extras to the game and official site is going strong. The site now features a collection of classical, 4-panel manga inspired by the game. You can find the collection here. They are obviously all in Japanese, but I figured some of you out there might dig it.

I managed to translate the above comic while at work, but was forced to use paint. I apologize for the less than desirable quality…

In addition to the comics, Marvelous has also launched an online ranking system for Hero 30. While the game is really a single-player title, this ranking system will bring somewhat of a multi-player feeling to the game, adding yet another layer of desire for us Westerners. The ranking login page can be found here.

Rankings are based on certain attributes the player has upon completing the game. The above screenshot shows a ranking based on level, but there is also a ranking for total time left and how much money the player has. Rankings are then divided further depening on what mode the player selects.

This ranking screen totally reminds me of my time spent toiling away in Maple Story… Good times… Those were the days when full time employment seemed so far off on the horizon.

I’m sure this is obvious, but I really hope someone is going to pick up Hero 30 for a NA and/or PAL release. I guess if it is, an announcement should be made soon…. or not.

Final Fantasy XIII Wallpapers

Roy — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:47:33 +0000

I am not gonna lie: wallpapers get me tons of Google hits, so this is a wallpaper post. Square Enix updated their Final Fantasy XIII site with some new crap including two wallpapers featuring everyone’s favorite FF vixen Lightning. I currently have the B version as my wallpaper at work.

Lightning Version A

Lightning Version B

I eagerly await new wallpapers from the series, as they provide one more distraction at work.

Persona PSP: Preemptive Strike

Roy — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:48:54 +0000

Atlus has officially announced that Persona for PSP will be released in America, and no leaks this time! To celebrate I have compiled some media on the game. Here is one of the first revamped videos, which takes place shortly after the gang attempt to play the infamous children’s game “persona.” A mysterious transparent girl appears who asks for help. Suddenly electricity shoots through the room, hitting Yukino and later Kei. The quality is really nice though it’s a bit strange seeing somewhat dated character designs in such modern rendering.

“All the Personas started here.”

I have noticed that people really, really like wallpapers and I am all about giving the people what they want. The Japanese site for Persona has been updating pretty rapidly, building hype and all that. They now have a set of wallpapers (seen above) which are pretty cool. You can download them here:

1024×768
1280×1024
1900×1200
480×270 (PSP)

_source

This is my current wallpaper at work, which I guess is silly since the game won’t be coming out in the states on April 29th. In fact, the recent e-mail regarding the game’s localization makes no mention of a date. The wallpaper looks really ugly with Windows, but I highly recommend it for Mac owners.

In addition to the wallpapers, 2 tracks from the game’s new soundtrack have been added to the Japanese website. For your convenience I have surgically attached them to this post:

	Music OPA
	Music 02

I remember very little from Revelations: Persona’s original soundtrack, but these songs seem to fit in well with the sounds of the last few Persona titles, while still remaining unique. It looks like the site will be adding more tracks down the line, so if you’re interested you may wanna bookmark this.

I am truly excited at getting to play Persona in its true untampered form. This is a momentous occasion for MegaTen fans.

Onore no Shinzuru Michi wo Yuke: Character and Story Update

Roy — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:35:04 +0000

_{click for larger image}

I will admit I am not a puzzle-game fan. They annoy me and I generally don’t see a point. Bomberman for instance – everyone loves him, I don’t fucking get it. Anyway, Onore no Shinzuru Michi wo Yuke is a puzzle game which I can appreciate. I think what attracts me to it is the awesome character design, story and appearance of the game.

I now know the name of the game’s iconic parakeet-loving princess: Mana-hime. Her design I find especially interesting. She wears a very elaborate dress, featuring many different patterns and accessories, yet somehow not going overboard. I especially love the details on her legs, which slightly resemble shide, adornments used on Shinto shrines and other miscellaneous holy areas.


Mana-hime	Shipumaru	Mikazuchimaru

It turns out my previous translation of the games story was slightly off. Rather than Mana-hime being wed to another ninja family, she is simply an ordinary princess arranged to marry into another family. She is kidnapped mysteriously and her father hires ninja to rescue her.

The main character is Shipumaru, who can create shadow clones to assist him in his quest. His brother Mikazuchimaru was just introduced. Apparently Mikazuchimaru did something to betray Shipumaru’s ninja organization when he was a member. Because of this, he is now an enemy and despite their bloodline, would stand against Shipumaru. Pretty intense.

Apparently while Onore no Shinzuru Michi wo Yuke is considered a puzzle game there are also Boss battles:

I admit, I don’t fully understand the mechanics of boss battles,especially when it comes to assigning tasks to your shadow-selves. Hoping to learn more soon!

Prinny: Blog Opens

Roy — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:26:52 +0000

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? will be released this month in North America, and to celebrate NIS America has launched an official blog for the game. The first (and only) entry includes the exclusive Penny Arcade comic as well as some images of the official Prinny Scion xB (top). I totally want this car and wonder what NIS is going to do with it a month from now… If you are reading this, NIS, I offer one used 2000 Hyundai Elantra (88k miles), $1000 cash and several bits of string and lint.

The blog’s launch is a bit late, considering the game is released in about a week. How many more posts can they (or will they) make? NIS America has a habit of neglecting their side projects – does anyone even remember Nao and Hiro? I suppose I can be persuaded to take over and change the site to Roy & Stuff.

Today is actually slow at work, so I decided I would enter the little comic contest NIS is holding featuring the Penny Arcade comic. Of course, the deadline was yesterday. Still, my boredom prevails and I made my comic. I guess it doesn’t quite follow the official rules, but I succeeded in entertaining myself.

I know many of you have already pre-ordered the game and I hope you enjoy it! Man, the weather in that image of the Prinny-mobile looks amazing. It is not helping me suppress the urge to pack up and move to California.

Related Entries:
Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? Review