We snap our shots manually from the Weekly Famitsu magazine

Thanks, Weekly Famitsu magazine

And here are some new scans from this week’s Famitsu:

Sources: Weekly Famitsu Magazine, PlayStation University

Source: Famitsu

Chapters
Resonance of Fate is broken up into mission-based gameplay contained within chapters. Each chapter will contain at least one story-related mission, several option missions, and at least two cutscenes bookending the chapter. All chapters begin and end at your home base, and after the chapter-ending cutscene, the game will ask if you would like to proceed to the next chapter. It gives you fair warning: missions can not be returned to, so get what you want to done before moving on.

The World Map
Resonance of Fate takes place all over a giant tower called Basel. So really, the “world map” is more of a tower map. It consists of many hex-tiled maps of floors all strung together and connected by elevators. The hex tiles that can be explored are very limited at first; hexes are blocked off and must be unlocked with puzzle-shaped pieces, which consist of four hexes put together in various shapes like straight lines, diamonds and crescents. Most hexes are plain white, but some are colored, which require special colored hexes to unlock, controlling whether certain areas can be accessed during a chapter or not. Hexes are acquired from story sequences, treasure boxes, and fighting enemies.

Using hexes to unlock pieces of the map is useful because, aside from advancing the amount of explorable area, treasure boxes might be hidden under locked hexes. This treasure can be everything from medicine and grenades to costumes .

Some parts of the map have colored hexes built in, but a way to start a specific color of hex going is to lay down an Energy Station. Energy Stations serve as world map save and heal points, as well as portals to warp back to Ebel City if the whole floor that they are place on is unlocked. Just as importantly, Energy Stations can start a group of specific colored hexes in an area that they might not be in naturally, and may be placed on any high-energy hex (a hex that is brighter than the others indicating how much power is in that part of Basel).

Once a colored hex is laid down, adjacent hexes can be converted to that color also (given enough colored hex pieces), the grouping of which is important for powering Terminals. Terminals require a certain number of connected colored hexes to power themselves, and once activated, provide bonuses for all fights on those hexes and within dungeons on those hexes. Terminal powers might include things like “Experience up,” Fire damage up,” and “Rare item drop up.”

All of these puzzle-laying mechanics may be done without taking a step, but when you choose to start moving about the world map, time begins to pass. An indicator in the top-right of the screen shows the time cycle as it passes from dawn to day to dusk to night and around again. The time cycle is important, because certain NPCs and missions are only available at night, and some areas may only be entered at night.

The world map also contains both random and fixed-location battles. Random battles have a chance of occuring on any hex that isn’t designated “safe,” like ones around certain towns and on the upper floors of Basel, while fixed battles are red-glowing hexes that may be walked over without initiating the battle. Pressing the confirm button on a battle hex will start the battle.

Dungeons

Dungeons are placed on the world map, but some of them are laid out like miniature world maps themselves, with individual sections of the dungeon that may be entered (several battlefields strung together to make a location, which I referred to as “dungeon pieces” in part 1). Controls here are similar to the world map, but it isn’t necessary to unlock the hexes within a dungeon. Menus may only be accessed in a dungeon in the overall dungeon map, not within a battlefield.

Towns
Any screen that isn’t a dungeon or the World Map is a town (or town-like) screen. It usually features the ability to walk around freely with one of the main characters, a fixed camera, and the ability to open the main menu. Time passes when moving between town-like screens , and when entering and exiting them from the World Map; often this time passage is signaled by a change in music.

In a town-like area, unlike battle screens, the camera can not be controlled, but sits on a rail, following the lead character where appropriate. The types of interactions available here are what one would expect from an RPG: using the Confirm button, various objects and people can be interacted with after moving around. Dropped items show up as occasional flashes of light, and can be picked up.

Only one of the three main characters may show up on the screen at a time, but the shoulder buttons can be used to toggle who specifically is in front. This actually makes a difference in Resonance of Fate: NPCs will react differently to each character, certain treasures can or can’t be picked up, and certain exits can or can’t be used.

Some towns have Guilds, where like-minded Hunter squads (Private Military Firms in the Japanese version) can go to accept missions and gain information. Each Guild has characters who offer up useful combat advice and tips about monsters, and a man that allows players to trade in colored hexes for Energy Stations. The Guild in Ebel City also has a man who explains the function of Guilds, the flow of missions, and rewards from the Guild.

Missions appear on the bulletin boards in Guilds. All missions are exclusive to a particular chapter, though some unlock only after other missions from that chapter have been completed. Every mission has an objective and reward, and most have a character that must be spoken with to trigger the mission; all of this information is available on the bulletin boards, including where the trigger character may be found. That character will have an exclamation point above his head to signal the availability of the mission, though missions must be learned about on the bulletin board before the exclamation point will appear.
Mission objectives range from talking to certain characters, to defeating monsters, to finding certain items, to changing clothing. The mission menu always will display what stage the mission is in and a recap of what the trigger character said about it. Some missions require other information from talking to that character or other characteres.

Hunter Points (PMF points in Japanese) are a ranking system within the Guild, and are awarded at the completion of any mission, including story missions. For every 100 Points collected, the Guild will mail you a prize, up to nine times throughout the game.

The Enemy Library can be accessed within Guilds, and also at home. It contains all information about enemies previously encountered, including where they are found, dropped items, weaknesses, and the defensive strength of each piece of armor.

The Boutique, Changing Rooms, and Clothes
In Ebel City, a thriving boutique has clothing and costumes for all three main characters. As the game progresses, more and more new outfits and accessories appear in this shop. Boutique clothing has no effect on characters stats; it’s only for appearance’s sake. The boutique’s interface allows the player to view new pieces of clothing on the character before buying, and includes a modeling interface that lets the camera zoom, pan and rotate to show many angles on an outfit.

Each character comes with two outfit groups: the A group that all start with, and a B group that unlocks later in the game. Each has different types of clothing. For example, Leanne’s A outfit consists of a full body coat and ribbon, but her B outfit is made up of a short skirt and shirt instead.

In the Boutique, and in various other places around Basel, you can find changing rooms that store all the outfits acquired so far. Here, they can be changed at will, and an extra interface allows “sets” to be saved, favorite combinations of outfits and accessories that can be reequipped by simply selecting the set.

Shops
There are three different kinds of shops in Resonance of Fate. Most of the shops on Basel will gain new stock as the player progresses through chapters.

Regular shops may sell anything from weapon components and medicine to ice cream. They take Rubies, currency of the land, in exchange for items or vice versa.

Dismantling shops will, for a fee, take apart any items (good or bad) and give you back their individual components. This is the only place to make good use of all the miscellaneous junk found while exploring Basel, as some broken guns have still-usable materials hidden inside of them. The right window of the shop will show all the components that would be received for dismantling the selected item.

The opposite of Dismantling shops, Customizing shops will take components and put them together to make useful accessories for customizing weapons with. Customized accessories usually require some sort of base piece bought from a regular shop, plus a component of some sort to improve it: for example, making Fire Bullets might require an empty powder shell plus a piece of scrap metal and a fire stone. The items necessary for creating customized accessories are the same that would be received by dismantling that accessory, so work done at a Customizing shop can always be undone at a Dismantling shop, though it would cost some hard-earned Rubies.

Customization
At any time within the menu, you may customize the guns currently in possession by attaching different pieces, such as scopes, barrels and extra magazines. Bringing up the menu starts with a list of parts that are available, as well as a grid that the gun body is placed on. Each gun has different shaped slots that matching pieces may be attached to (which may, in turn, have their own slots for attaching more and more pieces). Some parts like barrels and magazines may only be attached to a specific type of gun (Machine or Hand Guns), while scopes and other accessories may be used on both. The goal of customization is basically to fit as much onto the gun as humanly possible without overlapping anything on the grid and without making the gun too heavy and exceeding the weight limit of the characters, who can only carry so much at a time.

Each customization part adds weight to the gun and improves or decreases an attribute of the gun. There are five attributes: the charge stacking time (as a percentage) affecting how much faster each subsequent charge will fill; the range, affecting how fast the gun charges from how far away (guns typically charge more slowly from further away, so this lengthens this distance before a gun becomes ineffective); the Gauge Crack rate, affecting how often the gun will Gauge Crack the enemy (see: Part 1: Gauge Cracking); the attack power, which affects how much damage the gun will deal; and the bullets, which increases how many shots are fired with each attack.

The Arena
The Arena, located just outside Ebel City, is a place of battles, tutorials, and soft ice cream. It is open in every chapter, and as chapters advance, more extra battles are available for fighting, offering money and coins for prizes. Also in the Arena is a board that tracks statistics for the game, including how many Tri-Attacks have been executed, how many fights have been escaped from, how long each character has been controlled, and more.

As the game progresses, more battle levels open up, generally containing enemies from that chapter’s dungeon but sometimes showcasing new enemies as well. Levels are split into sublevels, like 8-1, 8-2, and so forth, and each previous sublevel must be beaten three times before moving on to the next one. When selecting a level, a certain number of Rubies must be paid, and the payout upon winning is a ratio that increases with each win. So the first level pays out at a rate of 1.1, and gradually builds up to be financially worthwhile. Each level also pays out a number of battle coins, which come in three types: bronze, silver and gold. Higher levels pay out better coins. The Arena has a shop where different amounts and types of coins may be exchanged for rewards.

Your Questions

Q. Airman asked “Is there a costume abilities system? (like anti-freeze, better resistance, that kind of stuff)”

A. Nope.  Costumes are aesthetic only.  Might have been kind of cool, but that would defeat the purpose of accessories, some of which do provide better resistance, anti-freezing, and so forth.

Q. Airman asked, “Are there specific missions with the day/night system?”

A. Sort of.  Not all missions are time-specific, but the characters that show up in town areas have a schedule (ie. some only show up at night), and some enemies and events can only trigger at a certain time.  Some missions are completely time-independent, though, and can be found and completed at any point in the time cycle.

Q. Airman also asked, “Is there a bonus dungeon, like the classic Seraphic Gate?”

A. This one is sort of a spoiler. If you care, get out of here.

…

On the world map, there is a black hex that can’t be opened up with any Energy Hexes.  It’s an elevator to the bonus dungeon, but it only opens up at the very end of the game, directly before the final boss.

…

Q. Aurian asked “How much character customization is there?”

A. Aside from the purely aesthetic costume customization, characters can equip two weapons or kits and an accessory, and the weapons themselves can be modified with parts to mold how effective they are.  Beyond that, there isn’t much customization of the actual characters.  In Resonance of Fate, it’s the weapons that are really the most important part to concentrate on.

And with that, that’s it.  It’s been a lot of words (particularly Part 1, by far the most complex part of the game) about Resonance of Fate, but I hope these two pieces have served as a nice preview/heads-up to a game that has done a great job at flying under the radar.  RPG Land’s import review of Resonance of Fate (End of Eternity) is here, but check back for our review of the localized version.

Source: Kotaku

Image Source: Famitsu

Metal Max 3:

Spectral Force Genesis

Megaman (Rockman) EXE: Operation Shooting Star

Sources: Dengeki, Gpara

Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver were released today.  Heading over to Toys R Us and buying a copy can net a bundle with accessories, a t-shirt, and a $5 gift card; all Pokemon-flavored.  Buying a new DS Lite or DSi will get an accessory kit and a $20 gift card.  The bundles are limited and are first come first serve.

Actually, both Pokemon games are $40 everywhere you turn.  Amazon has them for around $35.  It saves $5 and it’s free shipping if you don’t mind a wait.

Best Buy had some nice price drops on DS RPGs in their bargain bin.  The titles were $15 apiece:

• Avalon Code
  
• Dragon Warrior V
• Valkyrie Profile

There were a couple of other decent non-RPG  titles such as Legend of Kage 2 and Bangai-O in there, but the rest are hazy because I was too busy drooling over an awesome HDTV.  My apologies for not remembering the extra titles – it is a nice TV, and it displays FFXIII fantastically.  You know.  On my TV stand.

(I bought an HDTV)

Amazon has Nostalgia for the DS at $20.  It actually ships from J&R Computer World, so there will probably be some shipping added on to the price.   When J&R is our of stock, the game sells for about $25 – $5 to $10 of its regular price.

GameStop is starting their Game Days sale on March 26.  So far the titles look like crap, but I’ll keep you updated with what I find.

The tips I’ve written about through past columns (mostly check end caps) can be applied to several other hobbies.  Yeah, I’m happy about my new TV, and to make it happen I researched the hell out of it and found one on clearance which matched my required specifications.  I saved nearly $200 off the asking price.  Best deal ever?  No.  But it was the same price as a lesser model I was planning to buy, has a lot more features and five more inches of screen.

Happy Hunting.

Disclaimer: Deals may not be available in all stores. Prices in each store may differ. You can try different stores to mitigate this, and always ask if a store has it before writing them off. You might be able to get a raincheck. A lot of these deals are in-store only, except where specified.

This Game is Creatively Called “Wizardry Online Mobile”
We’ll start this week off in Japan, where closed beta testing of an MMORPG based on the long-running Wizardry series just went live. Western gamers shouldn’t get too hopeful for seeing a local version of this, as it’s only for cellphones. The test goes until March 24. Below are screens:

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica
German developer Bigpoint will be teaming with NBC to launch a browser-based MMORPG based on the hit series Battlestar Galactica. Details aren’t much, other than that and a lot of PR fluff and “we’re excited to be working with so-and-so” comments. The game’s eventual debut will happen on Syfy.com.

No Fat Chicks
IncGamers’s Jeff Hollis has written a pretty interesting column, “My Life As An Undesirable Girl,” in which he details his experiences handling distinctly unsexy female characters. You’ve probaby had a handful of conversations yourself on the topic of female characters getting all the community help, but Jeff takes it from a different angle: the lack of attention a less attractive one may get. This first one is part of an ongoing series that seems pretty interesting so far.

The Old Republic to be EA’s Biggest Project Ever
Per report by Eurogamer, chief banker of Electronic Arts Eric Brown said that its upcoming Star Wars-themed MMORPG will be the “largest ever development project, period, in the history of the company.” Figures tossed around say that Blizzard’s World of Warcraft cost over three times as much to develop as the average EA game — $100 million compared to $30 million. EA is aiming high with this one, and could easily hit that same figure with Star Wars: The Old Republic. It hopes to release the game about one year from now, though that estimate stands a decent chance of changing between now and 2011.

Information Conflict Between Famitsu and Square Enix
Janelle just wrote a big thing on Final Fantasy XIV right here. It includes new information and Famitsu scans, and within the writeup, she spots a slight info conflict in which Famitsu says a skill does one thing, but Square’s newly updated website says another. Oho, hard-hitting game journalism, baby! Check Janelle’s detailed report for that and much more. Here’s 6-pack of screens:

Free Realms GetsHuge, Pets
Sony Online Entertainment sent notice that Free Realms has grown to more than nine million players. SOE president John Smedly said the success comes mostly because, “we’ve been able to reflect the needs and wants of our players by keenly listening to their suggestions and feedback.” The company is now adding new pets.

“Patch notes,” quick stories and links:
-Aion patch 1.9 was launched last week, featuring a big list of changes.
-Free-to-play MMO Runes of Magic recently celebrated its first anniversary. Congratulations!
-Conquer Online, meanwhile, is hitting its seventh anniversary, and is celebrating in the form of an expansion.

Much as I’d love to do a featured game and some screens and then close with something awesome, I’m appropriately tired from the recent goings-on. Uuugh.

Seeya next time.

Be a part of MMORPGLand by sharing your stories, questions, and screenshots. Email Heath at nr@rpgland.com, or become a fan and send a message on our Facebook thing.

Gladiator

Masters at wielding any kind of blade you can think of, from daggers to broadswords, Gladiators use their techniques to slay enemies, and their bucklers to protect themselves or other party members. Because of the wide range of defensive equipment available to them, Gladiators are useful in protecting the party, as well as dealing capable strikes and drawing the attention of foes away from party members. A Gladiator can fall into a wide range of roles within a party, and is flexible both in offensive and defensive positions. A player controlling a Gladiator must take into careful consideration the
comparative advantages of both slashing and stabbing attacks.

Abilities and Weapon Skills:
Rousing Provoke: Taunts the enemy, drawing attention and blows.
Cover: Protects party members in the rear by absorbing damage.
Rampart: Raises physical and magical defense.
Still Precision: Lowers the user’s evasion in exchange for increased accuracy.
Aegis Boon: When used, the damage of any blows blocked by a shield will be converted into HP for the user.
Phalanx: Immediately after defending with a shield, slashes and angers the enemy.
Red Lotus: Fire damage against opponents increases.
Shield Bash: After landing a successful hit, an additional blow with the shield interrupts the opponent’s casting of magic.
Spinstroke: Uses a feint to deal additional damage after a slash.
Circle Slash: Slashes all the surrounding enemies in a wide circle area.

Lancer
Lancers are a long-distance melee class. Though commonly a type of fighter that specializes in stabbing enemies from beyond their range with long spears, Lancers can also equip a wide variety of polearms allowing for slashing and blunt striking attacks, as well as throwing javelins.

Lancers are a half-attacking, half-supporting class. Because of their long range,they can execute many attacks from a relatively safe distance. In
the confusion caused to foes by an ally party, a Lancer has a chance to prepare key attacks.

Abilities and Weapon Skills:
Comrade in Arms: In exchange for using TP, party members recover TP after attacking a foe.
Ferocity: Sacrifices a little HP to make the next strike extra-powerful.
Invigorate: Sacrifices a little HP to increase the user’s TP.
Collusion: Diverts the enemy’s attention to other party members after a strike.
Life Surge: Lowers the enemy’s evasion, and absorbs some HP.
Overrun: At a time when foes haven’t noticed the Lancer, using this skill quickly closes the distance to the target and with a powerful stab, increases the user’s TP.
Feint: After evading an attack, uses a stab that increases the precision of the following stab attack.
Leg Sweep: A low blow hitting a fan-shaped area, it strikes foes’ legs and stops their movement. No effect on flying opponents.
Moonrise: Uses a slash to stop the enemy’s TP from increasing.
Skewer: While stabbing the enemy, it becomes slowed. Hits other enemies between the Lancer and target.

Pugilist

A very traditional type of fighter, Pugilists use their training in martial arts to fight with their fists. However, for maximum protection and added power, they can equip gloves and knuckles.
Pugilists have low range and defense, trading those for high manouverability and tricky techniques. Stances dramatically affect the ability of Pugilists, and the effect they have on the battle. Stances become more powerful the longer they are maintained, but their power resets when the Stance is changed by the user. It’s crucial to judge when to maintain a stance, and when it would be more beneficial to switch for the benefit of the party.

Avilities and Weapon Skills:
Mocking Provoke: Attract the attention of the enemy.
Blindside: Deals extra damage when successfully hitting from behind.
Chakra: Consumes some TP to recover HP.
Steal: Steals an item from the targeted foe.
Featherfoot: A one-time sharp increase in evasion.
Jarring Strike: After evading an attack, land a striking blow that restricts the enemy’s actions and draws its attention.
Victimize: Delivers slashing attacks, the user’s critical hit rate increases.
Haymaker: When the enemy successfully evades an attack, delivers a powerful strike.
Shoulder Tackle: Closes distance to the enemy very rapidly, delivers a striking blow.
Seismic Shock: A long distance earth attack; does not affect flying foes.

Marauder

Marauders are warriors that wield giant axes, smashing shields and other defenses to smithereens with their violent attacks. They can wield both single and double-bladed axes.

Marauders are a powerful, hard-hitting class. In a battle with many enemies spread over a large area, they can sacrifice some power in favor of more hits. Though they greatly outstrip other classes in offensive ability, their accuracy is a little low. Some of the Marauder techniques must be performed without moving, so the player needs to judge when to stop and when to keep moving.

Abilities and Weapon Skills:
Bloodbath: On the next strike, recover HP from a percentage damage dealt to the opponent.
Murderous Intent: Increases the rate of critical hits at the expense of TP gain.
Defender: Sacrifices attack power to raise the user’s defense.
Disorient: Decreases the enemy’s evasion.
Enduring March: Enables movement even when hit with a paralysis-inflicting spell.
Skull Sunder: Delivers slash attacks in a fan-shape, stores up damage over time.
Trunksplitter: A wide slash attack that is particularly effective against plant-type enemies.
Fracture: After blocking an attack, delivers a strike attack that seals foe’s Weapon Skills.
Brandish: Slashes the enemies in the surrounding area.
Iron Tempest: Hits opponents with a wild Wind-elemental swing, affecting a doughnut-shaped area away from the body.

Archer

Sniping from afar with their bow and arrows, Archers are a long-distance class that needs to pick an advantageous position. They can use all kinds of bows, and special arrows with elemental attributes, but even a simple rock is powerful in the hands of an accurate Archer.

Archers have a huge role due to their ability to strike preemptively at foes from a long range. Where to stand and what techniques to use are important,
because their defense is so low that they can’t afford to be targeted by the enemy. They need to be able to view and judge the whole battlefield to be effective. Picking the correct arrow can help Archers not just deal damage, but affect the enemy’s status.

Abilities and Weapon Skills:
Replenish: Fire several arrows at once.
Chameleon: Hides the user’s presence from foes.
Quickstride: Covers a lot of ground in a short time.
Retrieval: Sacrifices a bit of HP to gather up arrows.
Hawk’s Eye: Increases the accuracy of the next shot.
Shadowbind: Stops the movement of enemies.
Wide Volley: Shots hit a wide area around the targeted enemy.
Quick Nock: Quickly fires many arrows one after the other, in a fan-shaped area.
Scouring Strike: Cancels a foe’s magic buffs with an arrow shot.
Shrieker: Causes enemies to flee.

Conjurer

Conjurers can manipulate a variety of elements and attributes, and spend much time in meditation. To cast their magic, they must wield staves and wands made from natural wood. They are deeply in touch with nature and can hear the voices of the trees, so they prefer to spend time meditating in Gridania.

Conjurers can affect wide areas with their spells, so they need to constantly be aware of both friend and foe. They pack offensive, defensive, and recovery magic, so they can be used in many roles. Since every action taken in battle raises TP, including casting spells, Conjurers will be able to use powerful TP moves.

Abilities and Spells:
Profundity: Strengthens spell power in exchange for a longer casting time.
Trance Chant: The next spell cast can not be interrupted.
Spirit Bind: Restricts the caster in order to half MP costs.
Roaming Soul: Enables casting magic while walking.
Purge: Neutralizes the foe’s elemental strengths and weaknesses.
Shock Spike: Creates a field around the body. When foes attack, they are automatically counterattacked with a numbing shock.
Frost: A spell dealing continuous ice damage to the area around the caster.

Additionally, Fire, Cure and Protect, which are now Area of Effect spells, can be cast. They have the expected effects of firing, curing and protecting.

Thaumaturge

Thaumaturges specialize in enhancements and status effects. Unlike Conjurers, their spells affect a fan-shaped range from a closer distance, and the closer they are to enemies, the greater the effect they have on them. As the battles rage on, Thaumaturges slowly drain the abilities of the surrounding enemies, and have many situationally useful abilities. They can cast powerful magic. The key to using a Thaumaturge is to read the flow of battle and adapt, using the most effective skills for any given moment.
Thaumaturges equip scepters and staffs. They can also apparently insert special beads into their scepters to increase their power.

Abilities and Spells:

Blood Rite: Sacrifices some of the caster’s HP to increase magic power.
Dark Seal: Raises magic accuracy.
Punishing Barb: Sends received damage flying back at the foe that dealt it.
Initiation: Connects the spirit of the caster and the party; the party receives the magic effects placed on the caster.
Paradigm Shift: Reduces the distance of attacks in exchange for widening the area of effect.
Sacrifice: Sacrifices the caster’s HP to heal an ally.
Drain: Absorbs HP from all enemies in range.
Siphon [Magic/TP]: Absorbs MP from the target. NOTE: Famitsu (both print and online editions) calls it Siphon Magic and says this one absorbs MP, but the English website calls it Siphon TP and claims it absorbs TP. Maybe one is wrong, or maybe both skills exist.
Gravity: Slows the movement of all enemies in range.
Absorb ACC: Absorbs the accuracy of enemies.

Blacksmith

Anywhere, anytime, Blacksmiths can make themselves useful by crafting, fixing or selling something. They wield hammers, use tools like files in smithing, and are also on the cutting edge of firearm techniques. Things they can create include ingots, sword guards, picks, spears, and blades.

Miner

Whether at cutting stone, or mining fossils, ores and minerals, or doing any other sort of stone work you can think of, miners are experts. In trade, they often partner with Blacksmiths and Carvers. Things they can extract from the earth include bronze and silver ores, saltpeter, silica, and small worms.

Both Blacksmiths and Miners follow Disciplines not highly specialized for combat, but on the battlefield they might have other, complimentary abilities. For example, a Blacksmith might be more powerful against a metal monster, or might increase the drop rate of treasure.

Source: Famitsu

We’ll see if that project actually gets off the ground.  The game has been selling well all over the world, and stranger things have certainly happened.  Time will tell.

The full writeup of Harry Hol’s interview with Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama can be read here.

Yggdra Union, originally release on the Game Boy Advance, once received remake treatment on the PSP, and is now getting a prequel called Blaze Union.  Like its elder, this is being a project by Sting and Atlus, and it’ll use the same engine as the previous game.  Coming this spring to Japan, not officially announced for international release at this time.

Source: Famitsu

Similar to the first game, Joker 2 will feature a system for combining two parent monsters into one child monster that inherits the abilities and strengths of the parents. In this game, the character that performs monster combining is a monster called “Haigona” (a pun on the word for combination). For every two parent monsters, there can be a maximum of three different kinds of child monsters. Below, screenshots show what happens when the player combines a plain ol’ Slime with a Baby Dragon to make a Dragoslime.

The combinations of monster families determine what family the possible child monsters can belong to. Child monsters inherit skills and stats from the parents, so even though all of them start at Level 1, their power can quickly surpass that of their parents.

Source: Famitsu