A Certain Magical Index

A Certain Magical Virtual-On digital and physical sales temporarily halted in Japan

by

For Japanese players out there, you might of remembered a video game called A Certain Magical Virtual-On, an unusual crossover between SEGA’s Virtual-On IP and Dengeki Bunko’s A Certain Magical Index IP released in 2018 last year for the Playstation 4 and Playstation Vita. Well for those that still want to try it, you might be much more hard pressed to obtain a copy, as SEGA of Japan has temporarily halted production of physical copies and pulled the game from digital stores for “various reasons”. Though they never specified what these reasons are, the most likely explanation is that contracts with using the A Certain Magical Index IP might be expiring, meaning that SEGA legally cannot distribute A Certain Magical Virtual-On until the situation is fixed.

Though A Certain Magical Virtual-On is being pulled from the market, SEGA of Japan has noted that this will have no impact on the production of both the three Virtual-On ports and the twin stick controller by TANITA. This further adds evidence that the reason for the sudden pull might be copyright related.

[Source: SEGA of Japan / Gematsu]

No Comments

SEGA shows off A Certain Magical Virtual-On box art

by

ACertainMagicalIndexBoxArt

Check out the official Japanese box art for A Certain Magical Virtual-On, an upcoming game being released on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The game features characters from the light novel franchise A Certain Magical Index and SEGA’s arcade franchiseCyber Troopers Virtual-On in a epic cross-over competitive game. 

A Certain Magical Virtual-On Japanese box art features Touma Kamijo (A Certain Magical Index) and Virtuaroid MBV-707/VSL “Temjin 707” (Virtual-On). I think the box art is just OK, nothing special and feel that the art style differences between Virtual-On and A Certain Magical Index really clash on the cover. For example Temjin 707 looks rather 3D while Touma Kamijo on the other hand is a typical anime drawing. As for the game, its set to launch on February 15, 2018 in Japan on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. SEGA West hasn’t announced a western release date as of this posting.

[Via: Gemastu]

No Comments

Check out the opening animation for A Certain Magical Virtual-On

by

On February 15, 2018 SEGA’s Virtual-On series makes its return with A Certain Magical Virtual-On, a crossover between the giant robot fighting series from SEGA and the A Certain Magical Index light novel from Dengeki Bunko. The collaboration began when the two crossed over for a light novel back in 2016 to celebrate Virtual-On’s 20th anniversary. The game is said to be an adaptation of the light novel, and the core gameplay is 100% what Virtual-On fans have come to expect from the series, so don’t worry about this not playing like a Virtual-On game despite the crossover.

Via SEGA of Japan’s YouTube channel comes the game’s full animated intro, seen above, produced by the Japanese animation studio J.C.STAFF. The intro looks great, and reminds me of the days when SEGA Saturn games would launch with their own animated intros. No word yet on a western release, but given how import friendly SEGA of America has been thanks to the Atlus staff I would not rule it out. Still, if you just want to import the game it will be available 2/15 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in special edition releases. You can pre-order both titles now from Play-Asia:

CYBER TROOPERS: VIRTUAL ON X TOARU MAJUTSU NO INDEX: TOARU MAJUTSU NO DENNOU SENKI

PlayStation 4 | PlayStation Vita

No Comments

SEGAbits at Tokyo Game Show 2017: A Certain Magical Virtual-On Hands-On Preview

by

462053-A-Certain-Magical-Virtual-On_2017_09-19-17_001-m

What started seemingly as a one-off (potentially joke) crossover between a popular anime and SEGA’s Virtual-On has turned into a potential resurrection for the much-loved Virtual-On series.

The playable build I got my hands on started with a tutorial, where I got my first experience of A Certain Magical Index. Honestly it’s quite jarring to turn on a Virtual-On game and be met with what looked like high-school students talking in high pitched voices with a long-winded introduction to the game. The characters seem very out of place and different to the usual Virtual-On style and I was initially a little jarring. Thankfully when I got to actually control Temjin, I found the game surprisingly familiar. I still don’t like some of the new designs for mechs, but for the most part it manages to gel nicely with the old games.

Continue Reading ➜

1 Comment

SEGA News Bits: A Certain Magical Virtual-On Announced Reaction

by

Strap into your Virturoids and drop your manga because SEGA has announced A Certain Magical Virtual-On video game, that crosses the popular light novel franchise A Certain Magical Index with SEGA’s Virtual-On. A Certain Magical Virtual-On is set to hit Japan sometime in 2018 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. On this episode we discuss all the released news, speculate what the final product might be and if SEGA can use popular Dengeki Bunko light novel brands to resurrect other dormant franchises. Like always, let us know what you think of the newly announced A Certain Magical Virtual-On crossover game in the comments below. Thanks for watching.

If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us. Give us a sub, if you are already subscribed you can always like the video.

No Comments

SEGA announces A Certain Magical Index / Virtual-On crossover game

by

SEGA has announced A Certain Magical Index / Virtual-On crossover game, which is coming in 2018 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The game is being based on the 2016 light novel ‘Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On’  which was a novel having both franchises crossing over and was created to celebrate Virtual-On‘s 20th Anniversary.  It seems that SEGA loved the idea so much, that they needed to create a full blown game based on the light novel. We don’t know if the actual game will use the light novel’s story, which seems to be highly possible.

Here is the summary for the ‘Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On‘, which seems to be pretty basic in terms of story.  As for what the game will be and how it will play, SEGA has been conservative on those details. If this is just a Virtual-On game with A Certain Magical Index characters playing as the Virtuaroids, I’ll be OK with that. The last Virtual-On game released was ‘Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force‘ back in 2010 on Xbox 360. You can watch the A Certain Magical Index / Virtual-On crossover game trailer above.

What are your thoughts on A Certain Magical Index / Virtual-On crossover game? Do you like the idea of SEGA using in-house properties to relaunch franchises?

4 Comments

SEGA’s Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax shows off console exclusive support characters

by

densupport01SEGA’s new 2D fighter called Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax is coming to Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita in Japan on November 13th and so SEGA has been releasing information on characters that will be available only on the console versions; they previously announced Valkyria Chronicles characters if you missed that.

Japanese website Dengeki Online (which the IPs in this game are based on) has reported the following support characters:

Sadly no western release date has been announced for this game.

1 Comment