KH 358/2 Days Storefront Trailer

Obviously, this trailer is in Japanese but this is what I've gathered.
-The black haired girl is Xion.
-There is much existencial angst to be had all over the place.
-I see Sora (Yes, not Roxas. Sora.) somewhere in a screen there. Playable in Multiplayer mode, perhaps?
-I feel much Axel abuse from yours truly. Hm.
-Final release date for Japan is March 30, 2009.

In my honest, unbiased, Squeenix skeptic, KH hating opinion...
This game looks like an interesting ride. For a fandom I've billed as nothing but bull and fanservice, my interest has been piqued. I want to see how they'll pull this off. Maybe after this game, I won't hate the franchise so much...
Maybe.

EDIT: Thanks to the people over at Nico for the subbed version of the video. Sorry about the lack of news, people. Slow news week. Who knows though. When the Japanese version of KH 358/2 Days comes out, I might post a little preview here...
When June comes along, though, things are going to be WAY more lively.
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In other news:
Ace Attorney Investigations has been rumored for a release by Winter in America. (Possibly around Q4)
Here. Have an English trailer.



Miles Edgeworth gets his hands dirty by going to the crime scene and digging in dumpsters! Alright, maybe he doesn't... but he does go to the crime scene.

-Players will interact with witnesses and dig around for evidence.
-There's a new Logic system which makes you piece two pieces of information together and combine them to create new clues.
-The new character's name is Kay Faraday and she seems to be a phantom thief of sorts.
-We get to see actual crime scenes... with bodies.. and blood.
-The trailer soundtrack is pretty kicking and the last few seconds on the trailer = major lolz.

Interestingly enough, Miles runs around the screen rather than the first person POV that was used during the past 4 Ace Attorney games. I still see some sort of defense part is present in play but instead of being in court, you go face to face with the criminal?
Either way, we'll see come Q4.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Updates!

In this entry, I bring you a somewhat long rant... and a couple of pages of translated Fanmitsu scans!


Page 1
Page 2

Other information:
- Roxas is shown using the Bond of Flames keyblade
- Xion was the only member not appearing in the multiplayer select screen
- Donald and Goofy made appearances


- The style graphics have changed since Jump Festa like:
- Addition of names under character's face icons
- The limit gauge

- Scenes concerning Xion's connections are replace with ones reflecting her character
- At the Castle That Never Was, Xion picks up a seashell like that of Destiny Island and puts it to her ear, saying she can hear the sounds of the ocean
- In the back alley of Twilight Town, Hayner, Pence, and Olette gather at the side of Axel and Roxas
- Axel and Xion talk in the Castle of Oblivion, was Roxas there too?
- At the Castle That Never Was, Xion hangs her head low and says, "I... I'm not me..?"
- In the white room of the mansion in Twilight Town, Xion faces Namine and asks, "What should I do?"
- Xion appears to be crying in her bed at the Castle That Never Was
- Xion and Axel appear to be be looking for something on a computer then they both collapse
- Only Xion rises and leaves Axel behind
- Xion places a pebble/shell beside Roxas who is sleeping and then leaves silently
- After that, a scene where Xion encounters and speaks with Riku in Twilight Town

Taken from Heartstation.org

There is no specific release date as of late but there have been rumors of a Japanese release come September 2009. Of course, when a date has been officially announced, you can bet I'll post it here.

IMHO, I'm a bit skeptical about this. It smells like a large chunk of steaming fanservice fodder like most of Squeenix's productions as of late. Yes, I'm not a big fan of the Kingdom Hearts franchise. I think after the first game, the sequels have been nothing more than cheap attempts to produce a game that is nothing more than a collection of HOMG CUTE BOIZ and POPYEWLUR CHARAKTURS WHO CAN BE GHEY FOR EACH OTHUR.
Yes. I don't like it.
HOWEVER!

I will gladly review this game when it comes out in the most unbiased manner possible. Looking it over as an adventure/RPG game, it does sound quite promising. I'm curious as to how they'll manage to port a PS2 game over to the DS.

Review: Kuroshitsuji Phantom and Ghost

One hell of a butler... and pretty much one hell of a game, too! Alright, maybe I was fishing for a connection to Sebastian's catchphrase there but it's a pretty good description for this game!

First Impressions:
Mhmhmm... Kuroshitsuji as a DS game. Might not be too interesting seeing as it's a Japanese visual novel. Peh. I suck at reading Japanese. But then... it is a rather epic anime an I do like my chibi-centric mini-games... Let's check it out, shall we?

Storyline:
Alright. This is what I garnered from VERY bad Japanese vocabulary and basic knowledge of the anime. Ciel Phantomhive is the young earl of the Phantomhive house. They own a candy/toy company and seem to be pretty influential around England. Ciel needed to strike a deal with a demon in order to avenge his parents' deaths and find the killer. This game has you going off to some manor or something off in the countryside in the company of the Rose family. Somehow, there is a curse and a ghost named Stella who posesses Ciel's rabid fiancee, Elizabeth. There is much lulz to be had somewhere along the way.
Typical Kuroshitsuji fare, I'd like to think but quite enjoyable nontheless!
TL;DR: There's a mystery and Ciel's been called on to investigate for the queen again.

Gameplay:
As with any Japanese visual novel, this one is CHOCK FULL of dialogue. You have your audio clips every now and then (which... kind of help) but no full motion videos or completely voiced over scenes. In each chapter, you get to choose Ciel or Sebastian's point of view. Picking a certain POV at a certain time will net you key items and mini games. Between scenes, there is also a Tanaka Search mode where you can go looking for the chibified senior citizen in certain rooms of the manor. This can net you other items and sometimes, you'll be able to unlock sound clips and CGs for your collection.
As far as I know, there are around six minigames to unlock: a mouse catching minigame, a dancing minigame, a dish washing one (This one had been revealed before), a battling...kind of first person shooter where you use knives.. and... this:



I... was actually stuck because of this blasted game. Good thing you can actually skip it if you make the right dialogue decision. I'm still trying to figure out how to win. I think you have to get rid of all those red pieces.
Anyway, post game, you unlock the CG gallery, the audio gallery, the minigame gallery and a special chapter. It'll take a few playthroughs to actually unlock everything so there's plenty of replayability there especially if you want to replay your favourite minigames and if you happen to be a fan of the anime.

Last Words: It's a Visual Novel. Expect a lot of text and groping in the dark. You'd probably appreciate this game if you're a fan of the series... or a fan of victorian era costumes at any rate. Wouldn't reccomend it to someone who knows nothing of the series. All in all, the minigames are pretty fun and a good reason to try and unlock em all. After that, though, there's not much else to be done for the non-Japanese reading crowd... but like I said. It's a visual novel.

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Rating:
Graphics: 4/5
Typical graphic novel fare. Characters are static pictures which change every now and then in attire and emotion. The look is close to the anime and the backgrounds are nice and crisp.

Gameplay: 4/5
Stylus clicks through dialogue and is used for the various minigames. Those are pretty fun and are a good reason to play the game.

Soundtrack: 4/5
Fitting for the scenarios. Some lines of dialogue are voiced.

The Look and Feel: 5/5
It's a fun, short VN with sprinklings of minigames. Unlocking the minigames and the CGs are a good reason to keep playing.

Rating: 8/10