You know one thing that companies don’t mess around about, that’s their money. According to the latest Koei Tecmo’s financials presentation, it was listed that Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers would be coming to North America and Europe for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The issue? No release window announced.
While Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers was published by Atlus in Japan, it was developed by Koei Tecmo’s studio Omega Force.
Would be interesting to see if Koei Tecmo or Atlus publishes this title.
Shin Megami Tensei V was a huge deal to fans when it was announced as a exclusive for the Nintendo Switch all the way back in January 2017 during a Nintendo Direct. We learned that the game was also being developed Unreal Engine 4, which the team said would help with development and lead to less trail in error. I don’t know what happen since then, but the team has been silent until today’s Nintendo Direct Mini.
We also got a new trailer, showing more footage of demons and our team we will be playing as. Atlus has also confirmed that it will get a simultaneous world wide release, meaning we will get it day one with Japanese audiences. Very huge announcement.
“The time for creation has come, follow your will and decide the world’s fate. The newest entry to the classic RPG series from Atlus, Shin Megami Tensei V, arrives exclusively on Nintendo Switch as a simultaneous worldwide release in 2021!“
It looks at least we got a release window for Shin Megami Tensei V, I’m more excited for it. Now, can we get a release YEAR for Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4?
During the Nintendo Mini Direct earlier today, Atlus and SEGA announced that they will be making a HD remaster of Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne which originally came out on the PlayStation 2 back in 2003.
From the game description:
“Nocturne follows the Protagonist, a high school student in modern-day Tokyo, as he is transformed into a half-demon after the world undergoes Conception, an apocalyptic event triggered by a sinister cult to trigger the world’s rebirth in a new form. With Tokyo transformed into a Vortex World filled with demons, the Protagonist becomes instrumental to the schemes of the Reasons, beings who seek to remake the world in their image, and Lucifer, the lord of demons. The gameplay uses a turn-based battle system based on exploiting weaknesses, and a Demon recruitment system allowing the player to recruit demons found in the Vortex World to fight alongside them. “
I like that Atlus is getting more open to re-release some of their past games that weren’t really popular in the West, now that Atlus and Persona has become a brand name, it seems that Atlus are focusing on selling their older games that might have been overlooked. The game will also get a limited edition release in Japan.
During the Aniplex Online Fest which was held during the Fourth of July weekend, we found out that we will soon be getting the Persona 5: The Animation Complete Blu-Ray Set.
If you have been waiting for the physical release of the anime, the Blu-ray will include all 26 episodes and two specials. This version will also have the original Japanese track and include a brand new English dub. The box set will also come with 12 art cards featuring the main characters. But all this will cost you $298.98. Yeah, expensive.
Here are also the voice actors for the English dub:
Ren Amamiya: Xander Mobus
Ryuji Sakamoto: Max Mittelman
Ann Takamaki: Erika Harlacher
Morgana: Cassandra Lee Morris
Yusuke Kitagawa: Matt Mercer
Makoto Niijima: Cherami Leigh
Futaba Sakura: Erica Lindbeck
Haru Okumura: Xanthe Huynh
Goro Akechi: Robbie Daymond
You can pick up Persona 5: The Animation Complete Blu-Ray on September 29, 2020.
Persona 4 Golden coming out to anything outside of the PlayStation Vita is a huge deal, since it was exclusive for so many years. Not only that, this port is on a platform not owned by Sony, which might come to a shock to long time Persona gamers.
Pixelbuster on Twitter has found the following SteamDB listing for Atlus’ acclaimed PlayStation Vita exclusive Persona 4 Golden. We first got the news that Atlus opened up a Steam page and confirmed that they will be showing off new products at PC Gaming Show 2020. We do know that Atlus used to have a rule that if they ported a game to another console, that they would have to add new features. Seems that this has been dropped with the release of Catherine Classic on PC. It seems we might be getting even more ports of older Atlus classics if Persona 4 Golden gets announced soon.
At this point it would be a huge missed opportunity not to just release Persona 4 Golden on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch as well. Why not? The PC Game Show 2020 will air on June 13th, so we will probably get this confirmed really soon.
Catherine, the cult puzzle game by Atlus, is finally coming to the Nintendo Switch in July 7th. Notably this is the “Full Body” re-release that includes extra content, such as a third love interest in Rin and 5 more endings possible.
Like before, you take on the role of Vincent Brooks, as he gets involved in an affair with Catherine, with the encounter causing Vincent to experience warped nightmares every night. These nightmares play out like a sliding box puzzle, where the objective is to climb to the top of a tower and escape, and doing it fast enough to avoid getting swallowed by the nightmare below.
If you have been waiting for more Atlus goodness on the Nintendo Switch, we might be getting Catherine: Full Body since it was rated by the Game Rating and Administration Committee in South Korea. This is pretty big considering that SEGA and Atlus released ‘Catherine: Classic‘ on PC, while the updated Catherine: Full Body was only on PlayStation 4. It seems it won’t be exclusive for long.
According to the listing it was submitted on January 16, 2020 and finalized on January 22, 2020. Unsurprising the game got a 18+ there. It will be interesting to see if Atlus adds new content to this version of Catherine: Full Body, but we shall see.
This also fits with a survey that Atlus ran for Japan where they asked fans if wanted Catherine: Full Body on Nintendo Switch.
The western release date for Persona 5 The Royal has been revealed for March 31st 2020. This updated version of Persona 5 keeps the base game, but expands on it with new content. This includes a new party member called Kasumi Yoshizawa, a new area of Tokyo to explore, new Social Links, a new story arc, and more. It will be exclusive to the Playstation 4.
In addition, Atlus has revealed a new special edition of the game, officially called the Phantom Thieves Edition. This Phantom Thieves Edition will come packed with the game, Joker’s mask with a stand, steel book, soundtrack, collector’s box, art book, and a dynamic Playstation 4 theme. However the regular prints will also include the steel book and dynamic Playstation 4 theme too. You can pre-order the standard or the Phantom Thieves Edition below from Amazon, priced at $59.99 and $89.99 respectively.
Persona 5 Scramble, the Atlus and Koei Tecmo collab loosely based on the Dynasty Warriors series, has recently gotten a major update with need footage, screenshots, and artwork. Unlike similar “musou” collabs for IPs such as for Dragon Quest and The Legend of Zelda, Persona 5 Scramble acts a direct sequel to the original Persona 5. Set roughly six months after the events of Persona 5, the Phantom Thieves are enjoying a summer vacation, until mysterious events across Japan start to shake things up, with the Palaces seemingly returning to cause more havoc. Now the Phantom Thieves must figure out what is causing this sudden influx in Palace related cases.
The game itself mixes elements from both Persona and games like Dynasty Warriors, where players can explore Tokyo and interact with NPCs, but adapts the musou style of combat games like Dynasty Warriors are famous for. Players have the option to use any of the Phantom Thieves during these combat segments, each with their own moves, and like musou games players will be using them to slaughter crowds of enemies to reach an end goal.
Currently, Persona 5 Scramble is slated for a release date on February 20th next year in Japan, for the Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Currently an international release is unknown.
Atlus has streamed the first 11 minutes of Persona 5 Royal‘s gameplay during the latest “Let’s Players Gathering! Persona 5 Royal Newcomer Preparation Special” broadcast. Yeah, that’s a mouthful.
While its been awhile since I played Persona 5, the game obviously didn’t feature new character Kasumi Yoshizawa, which is now present in the prologue gameplay. Its odd that they had her appear so early, so we’ll see how they weave her into the game’s story.
Persona 5 Royal is set to release in Japan on October 31, exclusive on the PlayStation 4 and is heading West sometime in Spring 2020. The gameplay starts at 1:52:39 to 2:03:50, if it doesn’t autoplay at the start.
Atlus has now released the opening movie for the upcoming Persona 5 Royal. They have also confirmed that they will also have Persona 5 Royal playable at the SEGA / Atlus booth at this year’s Tokyo Game Show 2019 from September 12 through the 15th.
If you live in Japan, you’ll be able to play Persona 5 Royal on PlayStation 4 on October 31st; the rest of us have to wait until Spring 2020.
The annual event Tokyo Game Show is only a month away, and as usual SEGA and Atlus are planning to attend the 2019 event. Now SEGA has released their official website detailing what they are planning. The website at the moment is missing details, such as their lineup of merchandising and their stage schedule, but it does confirm the following titles will appear:
Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games The Official Video Game
Project Sakura Wars
Persona 5 The Royal
Note that this isn’t the full lineup, as SEGA/Atlus is likely going to announce more titles these upcoming days and during the show. Tokyo Game Show 2019 is planned for September 12th to September 15th at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.
If you have been waiting to give Catherine: Full Body a try, maybe because you missed the original release or because you just missed the franchise, the demo is on PSN now in the Americas and Europe. The demo is 4.97GB in size.
Catherine: Full Body is set to launch in the Americas and Europe on September 3rd only on PlayStation 4. Who’s picking up a copy?
Although the game has already been out worldwide, Persona Q2 is one of the last games to be released on the Nintendo 3DS. SEGA and ATLUS usually has a demo every year to promote a title that may not get a whole lot of recognition. And while Persona is one of the companies’ fastest growing series in terms of popularity, I would be easy to miss this title on a dying handheld system. However, Persona and RPG fans alike should dust off their 3Ds’s one more time to check out this unique adventure. Click the jump to find out more about the 5-minute hands-on demo.