Persona 5 Concept Art?

Yes, I said it. A month ago, I announced that Persona 5 is set to be released Winter of 2014. Well, some pictures are circulating the web that are under the suspicion of being the concept art of the new Persona 5. Is it? I have no clue, but the pictures look pretty cool. They're drawn by the same people who did Persona so it is a possibility.

Always Guree

Bravely Default Demo Impressions

Hello guys.
So Square Enix released a game called Bravely Default: Flying Fairy some time ago and the U.S. finally got it as a demo a few days back. (Jan. 2 to be exact).

I was purely a skeptic when the game came out. Most RPGs have lost their shine for me and I've recently sold a dozen or so of them back to GameStop.
Now I've watched a bunch of walkthroughs and trailers with this game and the more I watched, the more skeptical I got. It seemed too typical of an RPG. Same old save the world hosh posh with a team of four who just happens to be able to do it. Don't get me wrong, I used to love those type of scenarios when I was in high school, but as I got older, my tastes seemed to have become more defined and constricted to certain genres. Now the most RPG I can seem to get is Pokemon and Fire Emblem(Fire Emblem Awakening was a beautiful game that was a crowning achievement in RPG for me), and the rest of my gaming library is sadly/proudly, Harvest Moon (with a couple oddballs here and there like Luminous Arc, Animal Crossing, Persona and Golden Sun/Final Fantasy X for nostalgia sake).
But I'm curious, and I'm greedy and I wanted my nitty gritty hands on a new game since I'm too poor to afford a Wii U or a PS3/4 right now. So I downloaded the demo and took it for a whirl.

The game was not amazing. I'll say it. It's still the same old hosh posh that I had feared it would be. The demo itself had absolutely nothing to do with the actual game storyline and plot and it was just an experimentation with the game's various mechanics and gameplay for future or prospective buyers. But it did it's job and I'm 100% sure I want to buy it. So sure that the next day, I hopped onto my white Honda Civic named Missy and drove her to Gamestop to order not just the game but the collector's edition with the art book (the art is amazing for this game even though the graphics in-game is meh).

Why?

Simple. The game was fun. It had what I liked about RPG that is evident in the games I like, namely Harvest Moon and Persona. I'll admit, at first the game was really confusing and after the first ten minutes, I wanted to chuck my system out the window in frustration and boredom. Why does my avatar run so slow, why is the game's graphic so smudgy for 3DS? Why why why why why?!?!?

Here are the four main heroes of this story. 

In game graphics. 

But I was stubborn and kept at it. It was a good thing too because now I'm 50 some dollars poorer and a new game (that's coming) richer. For a gamer, that's a good thing!
At first, when I stepped out of the town to do the first random meaningless quest that the villager gives you, I died. I went too far, up to the cave up in the north-west, and the monsters there killed me in one go. I watched my little big hipped heroes get beaten up and sadly pile into unconsciousness on top of one another.

But after finding out the games invisible "Don't go here, you'll die" boundaries the hard way, I started training up my little guys and that was when I realized the game was fun. At first, I had no idea what to do with the Brave and Default options. It took me about 5 minutes to tinker around with it and figure out what was going on. Once I mastered the basics, I realized that this game made one of the most tedious things about RPGs (grinding, or leveling up) easy to do. You just select your actions, brave or default it, and then let it rip. You can just run around and watch your characters do all the previously set fighting techniques set up by you (in auto mode. I used auto mode a lot). It was so easy. No more repeatedly pushing attack. They did that for you. If you want to change the strategy, just opt out of auto mode with a push of a button.

On top of the that, getting the jobs new skills and playing around with them was incredibly fulfilling as well. I'll admit, I'm the kind of gamer that likes organizing, planning, and collecting, I mean you can tell from the games that I like! This game had that. You could collect spells, level up your characters, level up their jobs, and switch around to level up some more all the while collecting new skills and items to equip. It was absolutely amazing! The demo only had a select handful of jobs offered, but the the actual game has so much more. That made it an absolute necessity for me to get the game. Before I knew it, I had spent nearly two hours with the demo alone and that was when I decided I should be saving my precious game-hours for the actual game and not a 30 tries demo.

^^^ The different outfits with different jobs.

I really hope the game works. I'm personally very excited for the easy way to level and the nifty jobs that are available for this game. What did you guys think when playing the demo? Did it inspire you to buy the game?

Always Guree

P.S. Here is why I think the art is amazing for this game.

New Bachelors/ Bacholorette for Harvest Moon Connect to Worlds

Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Super Mario 3D World, Mario Party Island Tour, XBox One Release Date! PS4 sells Millions

Yup, my title is really long for a reason! As you video game fans must know, all of the above mentioned games have been released for November 22 2013. It's quite a year for video gamers with the PS4 released just a week earlier on Nov. 15 and now all of these huge titles from Nintendo and the next generation console from Microsoft released all within weeks of each other. Are you guys as excited as I am about all these news?

We'll start with Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for the Nintendo 3DS that got released just last Friday on November 22, 2013. This game takes place in the same Hyrule as the old classic Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. All of you older gamers will get those waves of nostalgia as you travel through the same grounds as you once did in A Link to the Past. In fact, the game is played in the classic Zelda Top Down view!

The gameplay includes some new features such as the ability to become a drawing on a wall! Bringing 2D Zelda in a 3D world... ironic huh? But doing so allows you to go to a whole new world call Lorule where you have to save that world along with Hyrule. Man, our hero Link has a lot of work to do for such a young man.
The game is also being known for your ability to borrow and swap all available tools right from the start, thus making it much more up to the player in the order they will unlock the dungeons. The reviewers are loving it all around! (Metacritic, Kotaku, Destructoid, and IGN)

Here's Link with his drawn version!

 Our iconic Princess Zelda at the right and the princess of Lorule at the left!

To finish off are some more images of the game, and a video walk through from Youtube! Will you be purchasing this game for the holiday season?

The Let's Play :D

 Random Artwork that I found beautiful. I believe this is the Kingdom of Lorule!



Below, I believe,  is the storytelling version of the game. Don't take my word on it though. Experience the game and you'll find out for yourself!

Now for Super Mario 3D World. This game was released alongside the Zelda game on November 22 2013 for the Nintendo Wii U. This game is along the lines of the Super Mario 3D Land that came out for the Nintendo 3DS about two years earlier (and it was such a hit!). Nintendo is placing a lot of hopes on this one, they believe that it will help push the Wii U sales that have been sadly suffering the past year since its launch. This game is classic Mario in 3D and if you have played the 3D Land version for the 3Ds, you won't have much surprises. The biggest thing about the game, is that Mario is now in HD! Yes, his overalls and his mustache are all in High Definition for you to play with! 

Other things have been added as well. As you can see in the image to the left is the adding of the cat power in the game. Its quite a handy power as it lets you climb up walls and scratch your enemies into oblivion. Other things added would be little houses that you can grab powers and lives in the game as well as the cloning double cherries. Unlike the 3DS version, you'll also be able to travel outside the levels in a beautifully designed world and go from place to place examining new secret entries and watching the trees and bushes shake and dance to the happy Mario tune!

Now for the reviews! This game is a hit with the critics! (Metacritic, IGN, Kotaku, Joystiq) Some are claiming it to be the reason you should be owning a Wii U. Very similar to what has been said about its 3DS predecessor Super Mario 3D Land. Rather see the evidence than read about it? I'll show you the Let's play below from Youtube!

Level Cleared! loll

A special level where you ride a dinosaur that swims in a racing game like stage!

Now for the final Nintendo game that was released! Its Mario Party Island Tour for the 3DS!

To be honest with you guys, I'm not too familiar with the Mario Party games. I do know that they are immensely popular and very fun to play with friends and family alike! 

If you guys are a fan of the Mario Party series, feel free to check it out! I believe it isn't the most celebrated version, but it probably promises as much Nintendo fun as Mario Party tends to offer! For more information check out this Let's Play below and .... get ready to party?

Okay, finally onto Microsoft! Their heavy hitting Next Gen Console the Xbox One is finally here for all of you Microsoft fans! The price is around $100 more expensive than the PS4 but is said to include the Kinect device and a few other things that the PS4 does not seem to have! Here is the unboxing for you to see and debate if you want it! 

This console has been selling faster than a person can sneeze and sad to say. Gamestop already declared this console as sold out (along with the PS4). Over 1M already sold! Wow...But if you fans want it when it restocks, the pricing will be $499. 

With both the PS4 and the Xbox One out, it'll be a slew of new games that will be coming with better graphics and hopefully more inspired gameplay! Will you be picking up the already existing Wii U from Nintendo with their list of games that are coming this holiday season, or will you stake out and wait till the restocking of the PS4 or Xbox One. This is a very exciting time for gamers as the next generation of gaming is about to take off! 

Always Guree

Persona 5 is Announced for Winter 2014

Hey guys! It seems that the popular and niche game Persona 5 is finally announced for release in Japan in Winter 2014. Now does that mean it will be the early winter in January/February or will it be the next coming Christmas? It will most likely be Next Christmas but this is exciting news for Persona fans all over, me included. It seems like now I finally have a real incentive to buy a playstion 3....

Here is the trailer that Atlus has released.

As the trailer mentions: You are slave. Want emancipation?
Who will know what it means, but the game is meant for release 2014 of Winter on the PS3.
Despite the fact that PS4 has just been released, it will be on the PS3 that the game will be coming to. Are you part of the many that are anticipating such a game? I am :D

Always Guree

Harvest Moon Connect to New Worlds

Hello guys! There is now the existence of a new Harvest Moon Game!
It's tentative rough translation seems to be Harvest Moon: Connect to New Worlds or something along those lines. What the final translating company will do with the title, we'll see if it gets a North American Release!

So for this game, it seems to be that the game's focus will be that you can trade with farmers from around the world (we have yet to find out what that means) and sell your produce to them.
There also seems to be a Safari system in which you can raise new and what I find a bit odd and strange animals. It seems all of these animals do exist outside of the Harvest Moon world and Marvelous has gone to .. animating them.

Here are some screenshots that the Japanese Gaming Magazine Famitsu has released.

Also from Famitsu the strange exotic animals you can allegedly befriend: 

Don't Ask what they are, cause frankly, I have no idea! :D

According to various web sources and fan forums that I've been.. stalking.. it seems that customization of your farm is back from A New Beginning. But all of the actual building will be done by the blacksmith! Here are some images of you purchasing such construction items and organizing your home:

All taken from Famitsu Website

 You can customize your own character, your farm and even your own farmhouse this time. As for customization for the town, I'm 50% sure you can. It can swing either ways. They have also implemented rival farming. Apparently two of the rival farmers have been released. Famitsu has posted their pictures which I will post here. 

How she will farm in that dress, beats me. She probably wouldn't even fit through the far door.. personallly.

I personally thought they looked a little young, but what they hey! So do our characters! Speaking of our characters, these will be the main characters you can play. A gamer can choose between a girl or a boy and as I believe I mentioned above (or not) character customization is possible. The customization now includes hats and glasses and maybe other types of accessories. Apparently up to three is allowed to be worn at the same time. Kind of reminds of Harvest Moon Animal Parade no? For a girl like me, it just sweetens the deals and makes me hang at the edge of my seat to get my gritty greedy hands on this game.  The default design is here taken from the official Japanese website of the game: 

The girl which I think is adorable! I wouldn't want to customize that cutie pie!

The default Boy: I personally still love Jack's design.. but the times are a changing and this guy is pretty cute too

Image of you customizing:

So now we know how our virtual faces will look like while we're picking up turnips and brushing cows, but how will our future spouses and children look like??!?!?! Well, all of the information for that hasn't been released yet, but so far we have two bachelors and two bachelorettes that have been released for this game. Here they are!  Taken from the official website and cropped to better show the details, comes the wedding candidates! 

The Bachelors So Far

So this beautiful guy is a waiter/chef. His name seems to spell Ren or something like that. (My Japanese has gotten very shabby over the years). His dream is to open his own restaurant or is running is own right now (can't remember to precisely). His personality is serious but kind and has random moments of humor!  

Speaking of Beautiful, here's the other guy. In Japanese is something like Klaus. He's personally my favorite so far because he doesn't't look like a little kid (and I'm not a little kid anymore hehehe). Now he has a very strange but perhaps lucrative job of making and fusing perfumes. Such a strange occupation for a dashing man, but his job makes it debatable among some Harvest Moon Fans that perfumes will play an important role in this game.

Now the Lovely Ladies

I think my bad Japanese says her name is Ririe. She's supposedly the older sister to a famous newscaster. She's super friendly and loves children and animals. Sounds like the average good girl down the street no? 

This lovely lady's name sounds something like Angie (not sure). But she's the nurse for the town and younger sister to who looks to be the mayor for this town! (Yikes! Don't play this young girl's poor heart or you'll be tossed in jail!)

Whats a village with only potential marriage candidates and rival farmers? A place filled with chaos is one (slighted lovers and rivals.. eeps!). So there are villagers too. So far, there is only mention of one and she's a nice old lady who's image was on Famitsu: 

Seems friendly enough. 

Now of course there is also the aforementioned mayor? Of this town. This time she's a woman, and she looks like she means business! No more soft-nosed Theodore! 

Now that's all the information that I've found browsing the web and the ones that I can remember from the back of my mind. This game is due to be released sometime in 

February 2014 in Japan (they always get it so early -pout-) and for us American gamers, we can hope and dream that Natsume will cut to the chase and release it within the following year! 

I'll post more information as it comes so keep posted and come back!

Always Guree