I hope no one minds that I am posting about the same game twice in a row, but I have some exciting Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? developments.  NIS released this image recently, which I stumbled across on Dengeki’s website.  The picture shows the Prinny hero being confronted by an unknown individual.  The caption reads, “This Sweet Hunter [REDACTED] will wipe the floor with ya!“  While the image may be mosaic-ed, I have a pretty good guess who it is: ASAGI!

It began to dawn on me: how pissed would Asagi be to find out that a NIS game was created with a lowly Prinny as its main character?  The answer, of course, is extremely.  Judging by the quote, it sounds like Asagi is taking it upon herself to beat the Prinny when it comes to hunting down Etna’s sweets – a worthy adversary indeed.

According to Dengeki, “by collecting certain items in the game, the player can unlock a new path which intersects with this mystery individual.“  What these items are is, of course, unknown.

If this doesn’t satisfy your desire for Prinny news, you may be interested to learn that as of November 28th, the Prinny hero from the upcoming PSP title is available as downloadable content for Makai Senki Disgaea 3 at the Japanese Playstation Store.

He comes complete with his trademark red scarf and patented hip attack.  He is also free – get on this NISA!  Total North American Disgaea 3 DLC = 0. Unacceptable!

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Hero Prinny	Big Sis Prinny	Laharl Prinny
Price = 1,890 Yen ($19.00)	Price = 2,980 Yen ($30.00)	Price = 1,890 Yen ($19.00)

In celebration of the Japanese release of Nippon Ichi Software’s Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero?, some new merchandise has appeared on the Japanese NIS online store.  Included in the new merch are three different plush prinny forms, each with significance to the Disgaea/Prinny universe.  The Big Sis Prinny is 4.5 cm taller (17 cm total) than the other two, which I guess explains the difference in price in case you were wondering.

Along with the 3 prinnies, a PSP case, or “game pouch” will be available to order soon.  The pouch will sell for 1,785 Yen ($18.00).  It’s kinda hard to tell, but you just slide the PSP into the opening on the left side.

When it comes to NIS merchandise in Japan, us Westerners almost always receive it secondhand through NIS America.  It may be a pre-order bonus, it may come in a special edition package, or it may just appear on Rosenqueen Company.  No matter the channel, I am pretty sure we’ll be seeing these goods popping up around the February 17th release of Prinny.  I think the Hero Prinny would be an excellent addition to my desk at work.  His vacant gaze and crimson scarf will be my inspiration to not quit and become a filthy hobo.

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Square Enix announced that the Nintendo DS installment of the ever popular Kingdom Hearts series, 358/2 Days, will be released in a special limited edition package.  The package is expected to be released on or near the game’s Japanese release in February 2009.  In addition to the game, the package includes a Nintendo DSi uniquely designed for the game.

As of yet the price, and appearance of the DSi have not been revealed.  Square, if you happen to be reading this (which is unlikely) I have an awesome suggestion for the DSi.  Make it the color of sea salt ice cream:

I accept a 1% commission on each unit sold, in Japanese Yen only please, the dollar is a sinking ship.

As far as I can tell this may be the first game-specific DSi that will be hitting the market.  If you had planned on purchasing a DSi, and black and white don’t do anything for you, this should interest you.  I estimate the package to cost around $250 USD.

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Flight-Plan, the developers behind the Summon Night series and Eternal Poison have been showing off their newest title in the works for the PS2 entitled Sacred Blaze.  The game is a tactical RPG at its core, but features some pretty unique battle elements and awesome character design.

The player assumes the role of god and at the start of the game chooses whom he or she wishes to guide with their godliness.  There are two choices, each with their own story and supporting characters:

The dashing blonde knight on the right is Aleksheed (アレクシード) and he is on the side of Law.  He is the prince of a territory known as Ojen and he asks for god’s help fighting off the invading forces of darkness.

The raven-haired girl on the left is named Kiyora (キヨラ) and she is on the side of Chaos.  She was a princess of Karashya kingdom, but it was overtaken by the forces of darkness.  She asks god for help in getting revenge and regaining her crown.

Depending on which side the player picks – Law or Chaos – different units will be available to ally with.  For the complete list (including master/servant relationships) check out Famitsu’s page on the game here.

Each story character is a “Master” who is able to command “Servants” which the player, as god, can conjure.  This includes naming the Servants and in some cases adjusting stats.  The Master character receives various bonuses for each Servant he or she has under their control.  Attacks may be executed with up to 7 total Master/Servants for maximum damage.  As god, you control character development in terms of abilities, stats, tactics, etc.

Here Serubina (セルビナ), the white mage on the side of Law, prepares her army of familiar white cats.

Sacred Blaze is slated to be released February 19th of next year in Japan.  Since many of Flight-Plan’s games have been localized for Western audiences, I don’t doubt we’ll be seeing this title next year.  It’s strange to think that PS2 titles will be coming out well into 2009…

I like when games give you some input on how the story will proceed.  It’s safe to say I will be taking up arms with the Chaos side.  I love Kiyora’s character design too much.  In fact I like just about every character, but in terms of the story and the main character, Chaos wins no contest.  Sorry Blonde guy.

Atlus announced yesterday via their Atlus Faithful newsletter that there will be a limited reprint of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 Eternal Punishment.  The reprinted copies will be available exclusively at Amazon.com.  Atlus explains that the reprint is to celebrate the upcoming release of Persona 4, as well as to thank fans of the series for their continued support of the series.

Before I begin my rant, I just want to start by confirming that I love Atlus.  I truly do, if it weren’t for them I may have some semblance of a life.  But to me this is a bit of a slap in the face.  I feel like Atlus is capitalizing off of band-wagon-jumpers who are just recently getting into the series.

Atlus basically assumes that people who now like Persona started with number 3.  So their way of rewarding these individuals is by reprinting the previous game.  While on the surface this appears to be a kind gesture, it completely ignores the fact that the release of Persona 2 was originally flawed.

In Japan the game spanned two titles, the first being Persona 2: Innocent Sin, and the second being Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.  In the Western world, only the second of the two, Eternal Punishment, was localized.  The reason Innocent Sin didn’t make it is unclear, but some people speculate it’s due to some homosexual undertones and an appearance by zombie Hitler.

While the games were partially stand-alone, there was a good deal of confusion among Western players.  There were some story connections that could just not be established without the preceding title.  Imagine playing Final Fantasy X-2 without ever knowing FInal Fantasy X existed…  You would never know who Shuyin is supposed to look like, what the hell a Yevon is or why Rikku is afraid of lightning.

If Atlus truly appreciated the support of Persona fans they would remedy Persona 2’s release by bringing us Innocent Sin rather than pretending the title doesn’t exist.  It seems to me like Atlus is trying to profit off of the hype of Persona 3 and 4 by taking advantage of ignorant new-comers to the series.  Perhaps I am just reading too much into it…

Anyway, you can pick up your copy of the game for the Playstation console here.  Just don’t expect it to make a lot of sense until Gemini finishes his translation of Innocent Sin.  I am happy…honest.

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