Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth Demo Hits 3DS eShop

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If you have been waiting for Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth for the Nintendo 3DS, it seems you can now play the demo since it has hit the Nintendo eShop.

The Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth demo will let you create a party with every character and class available. The only limit imposed in the demo, compared to the full version is that it only lets you reach level 10 and explore until the third floor in the tree dungeon. But if you like Etrian Oydssey V: Beyond the Myth demo and you buy the full game, your demo data will transfer over to the full release. Pretty cool and worth giving the franchise a try, if you haven’t already.

Etrian Odyssey V Beyond the Myth will also have a launch edition as shown above that will come with a 24-page art book, six track music CD and an outer box. SEGA fans might also like to know that Etrian Odyssey franchise features music by Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Revenge of Shinobi), which to me is a huge selling point. Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth comes out in North America on October 17, 2017 only on Nintendo 3DS.

Dragon’s Crown for PlayStation 4 Leaked Early by TGS 2017 Banner

AyNdgm6It seems that SEGA/Atlus can’t catch a break from these early leaks, at least lately. Just the other day the Bayonetta/Vanquish double pack and Shenmue I & II HD Remasters got leaked via retailers. Now it seems that Atlus has a port of Dragon’s Crown in the works for PlayStation 4.The game was leaked via the banner below that was posted on Atlus’ Tokyo Game Show 2017 NicoNico Live steaming page and was was suppose to be promoting a ‘limited edition’ version of Dragon’s Crown for PlayStation 4.

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Obviously Dragon’s Crown came out for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita back in 2013. So this will probably be a port of that game. Not surprising considering that Atlus and Vanillaware also brought the then PlayStation 2 exclusive Odin Sphere to modern Sony consoles.  I’m sure a beat ’em up game like Dragon’s Crown would do well on the PlayStation 4. What are your thoughts on this leak? Would you buy Dragon’s Crown on a current generation system?

[Via: Siliconera]

Atlus sets up European publishing division

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Atlus has confirmed that they are setting up a European publishing team to handle their in-house published titles in the territory. In the past Atlus and SEGA have had to work with third-party publishers to release their console titles, such as Deep Silver and Koch, while SEGA Europe stuck with handling PC releases.

This move is part of being acquired by SEGA. The team will feature commercial director Simon Inch. The new Atlus Europe division still has to announce who the PR manager and product marketing manager will be. It has been confirm that they will operate out of the SEGA Europe offices in London.

“It is a strong example of the growth we are experiencing as a company. Publishing in Europe is simply the next step for us. What this means initially for fans is a parity for launch and premium editions. From a business perspective, we’ll be better positioned to address the needs of each market in which we release our titles.” – Jacob Nahin, senior PR manager at Atlus USA

Atlus says this move will help them give European fans better support with special edition products and stuff that they offer to the US market. I will assume once Atlus is finish setting up shop, that all SEGA and Atlus console games will be handled through Atlus Europe for release in European markets. This is obviously good news, since it seems a lot of SEGA and Atlus fans aren’t too pleased with Deep Silver handling in-house games. What are your thoughts?

[Source: GamesIndustry.biz]

Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth releases October 17, check out the new Fencer trailer

Atlus has announced that Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth releases October 17 in the Americas, and as previously revealed Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth will have a launch day edition which will include extras like a physical 24-page art book, six-track CD and a outer box to hold all your goodies including the game. Amazon has the game for pre-order, if you have Amazon Prime the game will cost you $31.99.

In addition to the release date, Atlus has released a new trailer showcasing the Fencer and included the following description:

It just wouldn’t be smart to traverse the Yggdrasil tree without someone who is pretty handy with a blade, so why not have an Earthlain Fencer watch your back when exploring? The Fencer is master of both rapier and shield, and let’s just say that during fights they really like to get straight to the point. Quick on their feet, Fencers excel at evasion, stabbing, initiating defensive buffs, stabbing, chaining together attacks with other party members, and stabbing. They can further specialize in their agility by sacrificing unnecessary equipment for speed or go all in with their swordsmanship to become a whirlwind of pain.

Etrian Odyssey V launch edition comes with soundtrack and art book

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Atlus USA has begun teasing the Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth launch day edition which will include extras like a physical 24-page art book, six-track CD and a outer box to hold all your goodies including the game. Like always, these ‘Launch Day’ editions cost the same as the regular game. Amazon has the game for pre-order, if you have Amazon Prime the game will cost you $31.99.

The 24-page art book will have art by series artist Yuji Himukai who has also done artwork for Persona Q and Fire Emblem Heroes. While the soundtrack CD only has six tracks, but they are composed by Yuzo Koshiro who composed the Streets of Rage series, The Revenge of Shinobi, and many more. Etrian Odyssey V is set to come out this fall.

Is the Etrian Odyssey V launch day edition juicy enough to get you to pick it up? Where you planning on getting it anyway? Let us know in the comments below.

Persona 5 has shipped over 1.8 million units world wide

persona-5-listing-thumb-01-ps4-us-30jun16SEGA’s Toshihiro Nagoshi confirmed that Persona 5 has shipped over 1.8 million units world wide during he’s latest Sega Nama broadcast. The last time that numbers got reported, the game did 1.5 million back in April. Persona 5 was also released in Korea on June 8th, so that could have given the game a bit of a boost in sales.

Persona 5 is now the best selling game in Atlus’ history and has also critically acclaimed. We even gave the game a positive review, so if you haven’t jumped on the Persona 5 ship, I highly recommend picking up a copy.

[Source: Gemastu]

Persona 5 voted best RPG of all time by Famitsu readers

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The Japanese magazine, the Weekly Famitsu held a survey which asked readers what they consider the best RPG of all time. I can see why you’d assume the reason Persona 5 won ‘best RPG of all time’ in Japan by readers is because it just came out recently and that point is valid.

The survey gathered 2,295 votes which had 56% male and 43% females (with 1% not have a specific gender). Out of all these votes only 9% where from teenagers, 36% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 16% in their forties, and 1% where in their fifties. The voting took place between June 22nd and June 28th, which is less than a year since Persona 5 came out in Japan. Hit the jump to see all the JRPGs that made Japanese readers favorites list.You can see a great write up by DualShockers here.

Blazblue Cross Tag Battle announced featuring Persona characters

If you are a big fan of Aksys System Works and have been looking forward to their upcoming tag team game Dragon Ball FighterZ, you might have to add yet another tag based game on your shopping list. Aksys System Works has announced BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle at this year’s EVO which will feature a ton of franchises that Aksys Games worked on over the years. So far the announced characters are:

  • agna the Bloodedge – BlazBlue
  • Yu – Persona 4 Ultimate Arena
  • Hyde – UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH
  • Ruby Rose – RWBY

You can check out the debut trailer above, teasing the upcoming BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle game. Below we have images by Arc System Works’ illustrator Konomi Higuchi showing off the characters. Like a lot of people online have been pointing out, Arc System Works are re-using a lot of 2D sprite assets on creating this game, but personally don’t mind as its something that companies have done since the early 90s. As long as this cross over has a fun fighting system, looks great (and these sprites still look amazing) and its a full featured package then we should be fine. What other Persona 4 Ultimate Arena characters do you wanna see in this title? Let us know in the comments below.

SNK to reveal “new Classic NEOGEO project” at Atlus/SEGA’s EVO 2017 booth

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[EDIT: It seems that the project is actually Samurai Shodown V Special being done by Code Mystics (who has a bad track record) for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The game will be playable at the booth in its beta form.]

SNK tweeted early this morning that they have a secret, unannounced “new Classic NEOGEO project” to show at this year’s EVO 2017 and will be shown off at Atlus/SEGA’s booth. They even ask in the tweet what it could be. Well, lets talk about what it could be. Lots of SNK fans are thinking this is a new entry into a old ‘NEOGEO IP’ because they teased it as a new project, making them think this is a brand new game from the ground up based on a IP that appeared on NEOGEO hardware.

The thing is that SNK had a premier line up on NEOGEO hardware but I’m leaning that this could be a new Garou: Mark of Wolves, considering it was revealed that SNK was working on Garou: Mark of Wolves 2 before they started up King of Fighters XIV. Not to mention, it will be shown off at EVO 2017, which is a fighting game tournament. But SNK also has Samurai Showdown and Art of Fighting brands, so it can be anything. The other reason this is making me think its a big, boxed title is because its being shown at the Atlus/SEGA booth and Atlus published King of Fighters XIV in the United States. But then again, that is jumping on conclusions and they could only be sharing Atlus/SEGA’s booth because of their prior relationships and because they will be showing off King of Fighters XIV stuff there anyway.

Another big theory is that this is just going to be newly emulated NEOGEO classics being added to current generation consoles, but I have my doubts since they have already released a ton of them on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and even Nintendo Switch without making such teasers. What do you think this “new Classic NEOGEO project” will be? What do you hope it is? Let us know in the comments below.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux trailer shows off graphical upgrades

Atlus Japan has released a two minute gameplay trailer for the upcoming Nintendo 3DS port of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux, which compares the field graphics to the original released on the Nintendo DS back in 2009. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux won’t just update the graphics but also promises new story content, additional endings, a new dungeon, and more surprises. It would seem that Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux is the definitive version of the 2009 Nintendo DS game.

You can check out the trailer to see if the upgraded graphics on the Nintendo 3DS version of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux is worth the upgrade (that’s if you played it back in 2009). While the Nintendo 3DS doesn’t feature incredible in-game graphics, the jump from Nintendo DS to Nintendo 3DS is quite large.  Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux hits Japan on October 26 and hits the West sometime in 2018. But what is your opinion on Atlus re-releasing older titles on Nintendo 3DS?

[Via: Siliconera]

Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy could be a PS4 game hints job listing

Project-Re-Fantasy-01512If you guys didn’t know Atlus launched a new in-house studio named Studio Zero which is being lead by veteran designers. The studio will have big heavy hitting names like Persona series producer and director Katsura Hasino, Persona artist Shigenori Soeijima, and even composer Shoji Meguro will be working on the studio’s first game going by the code name: Project Re: Fantasy. Outside of that, Atlus has been pretty hush on the game but now we have more clues as to what console Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy might debut on. If you guessed PlayStation 4, you where right. Congratulations! The website Levtech Creators posted a job listing for a PlayStation 4 with the description: “the production of character motions in a newly in-development PlayStation 4 game.”

Oddly enough the position is for a series that is ‘popular worldwide’ and that one entry has sold over 1.5 million copies. This makes me question if this job listing is for Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy because it hasn’t had a entry yet and for sure hasn’t sold 1.5 million copies. Though we do know that the Persona series, specifically Persona 5 is a world wide hit that has sold over 1.5 million units. Though a lot of veterans from Persona 5 are working on Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy, so many they are using Persona 5’s success to hire talent for this new studio. 

The ‘last’ bit of info confirms that Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy will be a “traditional RPG”, which won’t surprise Atlus veterans considering that is what their bread and butter is. Are you guys excited for Atlus’ Project Re: Fantasy? Do you think we will see more official news come Tokyo Game Show 2017?

[Source: Gematsu]

SEGA and Atlus E3 2017 lineup revealed

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SEGA and Atlus have officially announced their lineup for E3 2017, and while there are no major surprises there is a diverse lineup of great looking games! Yakuza and Sonic take center stage, with Yakuza 6, Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces on display. Atlus, meanwhile, will have 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Etrian Odyssey V, Radient Historia: Perfect Chronology and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux to play. SEGA Europe also has a booth, where they will have Total War: WARHAMMER II and additional Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces kiosks.

Worth noting, the upcoming Valkyria Revolution and Yakuza Kiwami appear to have no representation at this year’s booth. Valkyria Revolution makes some sense, as the game is due out in just three weeks, but Yakuza Kiwami is due out in two months. A kiosk for the game would have been nice, but it appears SEGA wants to focus on 2018’s Yakuza 6 which is a bigger game for the company.

SEGAbits writers will be attending E3, so expect coverage from us from the show floor. After the break, check out the full press release!

Survey: Tell us your favorite Persona 5 character

We’re running a special survey for Persona 5 to find out what characters are fan favorites! All you need to do is start the survey, seen above, and make one selection or write in a character from the game that is missing from the list. The survey will run until this Friday, but we ask those who want to take it to take it sooner than later.

So what are you waiting for? Take the survey already!

Persona 5 sold five times more than Persona 4 in the USA

Persona5v4salesAtlus has shown that you can turn a cult classic game into a massive world wide selling IP if you stick with the franchise and continue making quality releases each time. According to the USA game tracking company, NPD, Persona 5 sold five times more copies than Persona 4 in its debut month in the USA. Its not surprising considering that Persona 4 seems to be one of those titles that got popular due to word of mouth and became one of the best selling titles on the PlayStation Vita. While Persona 5 sold more than ever, April also saw an increase in software sales in the United States compared to last year. An increase of 6%. The reason for the sales increase are due to the massive popularity of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Persona 5 and strong second month sales of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. “The industry drove the highest April hardware dollar sales since April 2011,” said NPD group in their report. Oddly enough all top three huge selling titles are Japanese developed games.

NPD groups’ top ten selling games for April 2017:

  • Mario Kart 8
  • Persona 5
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • MLB 17: The Show
  • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  • Grand Theft Auto V
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda
  • NBA 2K17
  • Overwatch
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Its no surprise that Persona 5 is a massive success for Atlus and SEGA, considering all the rave reviews, fan hype and those dank memes hitting social media. Persona 5 is available now on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Persona 5 sold five times more than Persona 4, did you guys see that one coming? Did you guys pick up a copy? Time for the Persona 5 spin-offs?

Atlus shows Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2 Japanese box art

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Atlus is now showing off the box art for Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2, this box art is for the standard edition of the game. Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2 was announced back in March, when they detailed that there would be two versions: standard version and the ‘Etrian Odyssey 10th Anniversary Box Limited Editon’. The cover is illustrated by series veteran Hiroshi Sasadzu with the cover featuring Kenkaku, Buccaneer, Alchemist, Monk, and Farmer. All classes you’ll be able to play in Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2.

Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2 comes out exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on August 31st. Atlus USA has been pretty silent on releasing Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2 or even last year’s Etrian Odyssey V over here in the West. Maybe they have given up on the franchise? I hope not, since the games feature fantastic music by Yuzo Koshiro and you know I love me some Yuzo Koshiro music. What is your thoughts on the game’s cover art? Let us know in the comments below.