Atlus is continuing to create new “game characters collections” via MegaHouse.  The next title to have its characters forever immortalized in adorable phone strap figures is Persona 2.  This is especially relevant with the release of Persona 2 Innocent Sin scheduled for early next month.

There are 8 characters in total (1 of which is secret).  They include (from left to right):

• Jun Kurosu
• Ekichi Mishina
• Lisa Silverman
• Tatsuya Suou
• Trish
• Maya Amano
• Yukino Mayuzumi

I am a huge fan of these little figures, mostly because they are relatively affordable and cute.  However, they aren’t very durable: the body of my Aegis figure broke off from her head recently.  Now I just have a robot head chained to my PSP Go since I am too lazy to track down a glue strong enough to re-adhere it.

For the Persona 2 set, a box of 9 blind boxes can be pre-ordered at Ami-ami for around $42.00 USD.  As shipping goes by weight, you can hopefully get away without paying too much.  You can check out more detailed images of each figure here.  According to MegaHouse, this set is scheduled to be released sometime in November, giving you plenty of time to start Persona 2 Innocent Sin and learn who all these  characters actually are.

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This Saturday I drove into Hartford, the capitol of Connecticut.  This is something I do rarely, especially with something as precious as a weekend.  Parking is always a nightmare, and there is little in the way of attractions worth the frustration.  This weekend, however, was Connecticon, one of the only (and easily the largest) conventions to take place in our state.

I’ve been before, when the convention was young and still experiencing its awkward growing pains.  For this reason my expectations were low.  Still, I donned my Chie track jacket (realizing full well this would be one of the few opportunities beside Halloween I could wear it) and was off.  I was joined by Nutgarden5 and Sarah.  We instantly set about grooming the various shops in search of any must-have merch.  I tried to hold myself back from spending too much and opted for smaller, cheaper, and cuter items.  I would say I nailed it:

The Chie strap cost $9 and I paid $20 for the Kingdom Hearts set.  I promoted Aegis from my iPhone to my PSP Go, since her personality seems more fitting for a Sony device (HACKABLE DEVICE OBLIVIOUS TO SOCIAL NORMS).  It feels pretty awesome to have two gizmos on me at all times of equal size that are both rocking Persona straps.  I guess it’s the little things in life… LITERALLY (DERP).

After blowing some cash, eating some terrible food, and doing a lot of people watching, we met up with a friend who convinced us to try a card game he had acquired at the convention.  It’s called ‘We Didn’t Playtest This At All‘, and is as bizarre as it sounds.  Matches (if you can call them that) are short and fun.  Cards are random and the notions of winning and losing are lost in the general hilarity of the game.  My most advanced maneuver was countering someone’s Hurricane (which would have made me lose in a turn or so) with an Ambush of Puppies.  Figure that one out.  I can recommend it to anyone interested in a fun game to play with friends, but not looking for anything with the crippling commitment of say, Monopoly.

While I was playing, Sarah pointed out some small commotion happening behind me.  There were two dudes holding up a beat up cardboard sign.  Do you want to know what it said?  It said “Monster Hunter”.  I grabbed my PSP Go, abruptly apologized to everyone at the table unaware of my crippling addiction, and approached these unknown hunters.  Soon we were playing together via local ad-hoc, a literal first for me on the system.  They were both G rank — meaning light-years stronger than me — but they agreed to help me slay a few low-rank Rathians.

Our hunts were fast and efficient, and they were both clearly knowledgeable of the inner workings of Monster Hunter.  It felt like I had found people who spoke the same language as me, one which I generally only practice through the distance of the Internet.  ”So this is why people go to cons?” I thought, as it finally dawned on me.  Cosplay makes me uncomfortable, as does the competition associated with the litany of fighting games on hand, but for the first time at a convention, I felt very much in my element.

Soon we packed it up and fought through the traffic to end the night the way all good summer night’s should end: chatting over a burger and a beer at a local diner.  I learned an important lesson about cons and will definitely be in attendance next year with a sign in tow — who knows what it will say by then?

Related Links:
ConnectiCon 2011: Behind the Costume from The Hartford Courant

But I digress.  Uniqlo, quite possibly the greatest clothing producer of our times, has announced a second set of shirts themed after Monster Hunter Portable 3rd.  You may recall the first set coincided with the actual release of the game.  The second set of 9 shirts will be available in Japan tomorrow.  Here they are for all your viewing pleasure:

In my opinion, the first set had better designs.  However, I still want them all.  Realistically, I may peruse the Deviljho (or Evil Joe in Japanese) shirt out of pure fear and respect of said beast.  I also really enjoy the design of the Qurupeco shirt — it’s very fun and simple on the front, however it’s difficult to tell quite what is happening on the back in the small thumbnail.

I imagine these tees will be available at the Uniqlo in Soho, NY in the near future.  Naturally, I will post an update when this happens.  If I have any readers in New York who frequent the area, please keep your eyes peeled and let me know if you spot them!  For information on how to order from SoHo Uniqlo if you live in the US, but not near New York, please read my previous post concerning the first set of Monster Hunter tees.  I am sure there will be sites offering imports as well, but generally at a premium.

Ah, playing dress up.  It’s my favorite thing to do in the make believe world of Monster Hunter, but these shirts make it nearly as much fun in real life.

Wow, it’s been a while since there was a toy I felt compelled to write about! This set of 6 mini strap figures comes from MegaHouse, the same team which brought us the equally exaggerated Persona and Etrian Odyssey III figures.

The most recent collection is made in honor of Vanillaware, one of the greatest developers and designers of the past few generations.  The top three figures are from Princess Crown, a game which sadly has yet to grace the West.  The bottom three may be more recognizable: Gwendolyn, Velvet, and Mercedes from Odin Sphere.

After having recently acquired Aegis from the Persona set, I can confirm that I love MegaHouse’s Game Characters Collection.  They somehow pack a lot of quality into such a cute and tiny size.  Any fan of Odin Sphere who is interested can buy a box of 12 random blind boxes over at Ami Ami for 4,300 yen, or around $53 USD.

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I haven’t talked about Monster Hunter on the site for a while — as I am sure most of you are probably thrilled, my addiction has subsided considerably. However, after seeing the Monster Hunter Portable 3rd x Uniqlo mashup I can be quiet no longer!  There are a total of 22 shirts, all of which will be available in Japan on Decemeber 1st, the same day as the game’s release.

You can even get a cellphone strap of a Felyne wearing the same shirt, so you can match!  Be still my heart:

The t-shirts will be going for 1,500 yen,which is about $20 USD.  No confirmation on the felyne charms, but I would assume that they are around the same price.

Getting Uniqlo merch in America can be tricky.  Through a bit of effort I managed to get a Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker shirt from them this year without even trudging out to Soho.  The trick?  You can call them and make orders over the phone.  The process isn’t always smooth, but it’s really your best bet unless you want to go through a third party and pay more.  Here is their number:

1.877.4-UNIQLO

You should know the size, style and color you want before calling.  Also, you’ll probably want to wait until there is some word on the t-shirts coming to the States.  This should appear in the form of a press release — yeah, they really make you connect the dots for fashion.  But it will be worth it when everyone knows that you are gunner.

Megahouse, the same team behind those adorable Persona 3 & 4 mini-figures have made a similar collection featuring characters from Etrian Odyssey III. The set consists of the 10 figures shown above as well as two secrets. The jobs included are as follows:

• Princess
• Zodiac
• Monk
• Warrior
• Shinobi

Each of the aforementioned jobs comes in two different colors, so if you suspected you were seeing double don’t worry. Here is another pic if you are interested.  You can pre-order a box of 12 blind boxes from Ami Ami for 3,640.

At first I was pretty excited to see some Etrian Odyssey merchandise since it’s been a while.  Sadly I think these figures kind of do a disservice to the great design of each job’s outfit.  After they are so exaggerated you’re pretty much just left with a head and a bunch of colored blurs.  Generally I am happier with smaller figures but in this case I would have preferred larger figures like those released for the second game.  Maybe the problem is just that the images don’t do justice to the details, either way I will wait until I can see more.

Speaking of seeing more, someone on the Atlus forum was nice enough to post detailed images of the set of Persona 3 & 4 mini-figures including the secret characters!  Here are the two secrets along with a link to the gallery:

SOURCE

I didn’t realize these figures are actually made to be attached to a cell phone.  I was hoping they came with a stand or some way to display them.  Still, by the looks of the gallery this set is very nicely detailed and designed – a Persona fan’s mini-dream.

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I am not entirely sure when, but recently the official Japanese Square Enix online shop updated its layout and introduced some new items. Among them is the first set of Final Fantasy XIII trading arts figures which includes:

• Lightning
• Hope
• Sazh
• Serah
• Colonel Nabaat

Each figure is about 4-5 inches tall and one order of 6 random boxes will run you 6,000 yen, or around $60 USD.  If you take a look at the close-up photos of the figures linked above you can see that they are extremely detailed.  My only complaint is that the transparency of each character’s hair is not captured very well.  Using a solid paint with a bit of shine to it just doesn’t get the same result.  Still, not a bad set, and much more affordable than going after all the Play Arts figures, depending on how lucky you are (or aren’t)!  I wonder who will be in the next set?

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Despite your feelings of Final Fantasy XIII as a game, you have to admit it had some great character design.  Lightning is just plain awesome, and who at this point doesn’t know about afro-chocobos?  Still, I never thought in a million years that the Kingdom Hearts Avatar Mascot series I write about so frequently would ever choose the characters from Final Fantasy XIII for their next series.

The character included in this set are:

• Lightning
• Serah
• Vanille
• Sazh
• Snow

The estimated release of this set is late October but you can pre-order each for just shy of $10 USD on Ami Ami.

They are certainly cuter than these rather frightening King Mickey from the last volume which I never got around to writing about — you’re welcome.  That can’t be unseen by the way.  So which figure(s) will you be ordering?  In addition to Mickey or course.

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Well, you guys didn’t come through for me last year: no one offered me a place to stay in Tokyo, nor a ticket to see Persona Music Live 2009. In your defense, that was a tough year, what with the economy and all.  Those of us who couldn’t attend can still enjoy watching or listening to the show — it’s probably the closest most of us will ever come.

On Wednesday two different DVD sets and a CD of the event were released in Japan.  There is both a standard and special edition of the DVDs.  The special edition includes a CD (not sure if it’s the same as the one sold individually) as well as some fancy packaging.  As an added bonus, those who purchase the limited edition bundle will also receive a coupon for first dibs at purchasing tickets for the 2010 Persona Music Live event.  For most of us, this will sadly never be redeemed.

• Persona Music Live 2009 — Velvetroom in Wel City Tokyo DVD
  • [Limited Edition] = $46.90
  • [Standard Edition] = $41.91

I couldn’t find a reliable tracklisting for the DVDs yet, just a few conflicting ones.  It is important to note that these DVDs are of course region 2.  That means they most likely won’t play in a standard DVD player.  However, most laptops can have their region changed a set number of times, and most laptops can be plugged into an HDTV with a VGA cable — that’s what I do, anyway.

I have the tracklising for the CD sold independent of the DVD, but again I am not sure if it’s the same as the one in the limited edition:

• Persona Music Live Band = $28.71

1. 全ての人の魂の戦い (The Battle for Everyone’s Souls)
2. Burn My Dread
3. Mass Destruction
4. Soul Phrase
5. 霧 (Fog)
6. Heaven
7. Time
8. Soul Drive
9. Breakin’ Through
10. Reach Out To The Truth
11. キミの記憶 (Memories of You)
12. 全ての人の魂の宴 (The Battle for Everyone’s Souls)

Odds are pretty good that the bonus CD included in the limited edition DVD is not the same, but probably just an encore or something — as was the case with the 2008 DVDs.

If you are a huge fan of the music of the Persona series, this is a great opportunity to experience it in a new and different way: performed live by the artists and composers.

Related Entries:
Persona Music Live 2009: Tickets Sold Out Already
Persona Music Live: Velvet Room in Akasaka Blitz DVDs

The second volume of Dissidia Final Fantasy figures have been revealed on Square Enix’s official Japanese online shop.  The second set nearly completes the side of Cosmos (with the exception of Shantotto and the Onion Knight — but who wants figures of them?), and for the first time immortalizes a character from the side of Chaos.  The characters in the set are (from left to right):

• Cecil — Final Fantasy IV
• Terra — Final Fantasy VI
• Bartz — Final Fantasy V
• Firion — Final Fantasy II
• Sephiroth — Final Fantasy VII

As with the last set, these will only be available in a set of 6 “blind boxes”, meaning you could end up with 6 Sephiroths, or no Sephiroths at all.  The price per box of 6 will be 5,280 yen or around $60 USD.

If I had my pick of the bunch I would want Terra.  Final Fantasy VI was historic and as far as I know this is the only figure from that title.  I also like her design and welcome a female Final Fantasy figure to my repertoire.  Still, I am sure initially the Sephiroth figure will sell for the highest.  Once the dust settles after the initial release you can probably expect to pay 10-15$ per figure.

As with the last set, the figures look great and their low price individually means even a struggling hobo like myself can dream of picking one up down the road.

**UPDATE**

These figures are available for pre-order at Play-Asia.com for $9.90 each blind box.