Phantasy Star Zero, Dynasty Warriors: MultiRaid, and Dissidia Final Fantasy Magazine Ads

Note: Articles in the “Ads” category are scans of magazine ads from Japanese game magazines. They give you a brief look at what is being released in Japan and how they are being advertised.

Phantasy Star Zero

Here’s a two page ad for Phantasy Star Zero from V Jump magazine:

Sega’s Phantasy Star Zero will be released on the Nintendo DS in Japan on Christmas. It will cost 4800 yen (5040 yen with tax).

Dynasty Warriors: MultiRaid

Here is a two-page ad for Koei’s Dynasty Warriors: MultiRaid, from the same magazine.

Koei’s Dynasty Warriors: MultiRaid for the PSP will be released in Japan on February 26, 2009. It will cost 4800 yen (before tax).

Dissidia: Final Fantasy

Here is a one-page Dissidia ad, again from this month’s V Jump.

Square-Enix’s Dissidia: Final Fantasy has already been released here in Japan. It costs 6090 yen (tax included). If you grab it with a special edition PSP, it costs 25890 yen (tax included).

Links:
Phantasy Star Zero Official Site
Dynasty Warriors: MultiRaid Official Site
Dissidia: Final Fantasy Official Site

New Phantasy Star Zero Scans

Today’s Weekly Famitsu had a little two-page article about Phantasy Star Zero. Here are the scans:

Intro

Just one week away from the release of Phantasy Star Zero. The people at Famitsu got to play the sample ROM. They mention how the game really comes alive in multiplayer because of the pictures and messages you can send back and forth.

Difficulty

As you advance the story, you will be able to select Hard mode. In this mode, enemies’ strength and attacks become more fierce, and rarer items appear. Not only is there a Hard mode, but also a Super Hard mode.

You select the difficulty at the Quest Counter. You can also choose difficulty when playing with friends.

In harder difficulties, the monsters are much tougher, but they drop rare items!

These difficulty settings will allow you to continue your adventuring even after you finish the story.

Character Creation

You make your hero yourself. As a member of the Hunter’s Guild, you will help resolve problems that occur on the earth and moon. There are 14 character types in all. Incidentally, you can use the same character in all modes (story mode, wireless, wi-fi).

You choose different parts and colors for your character based on character type. When naming your character, it looks like you can use katakana, hiragana, roman characters, numbers and symbols.

Human

Humans are the sole surviving race from the Great War. As a whole, their abilities are balanced and they can manage any type of job well.

Cast (Androids)

After the Great War, these man-made life-forms were left sleeping all around the land. They can set traps and automatically recover Hit Points.

Newman

Raised on the moon, the Newmans were forgotten and left behind. They are good at Techniques, and their Photon Points (needed to perform Techniques) regenerate automatically.

Three modes of play

Phantasy Star Zero has three modes of play: Story Mode, Wireless Play Mode, and Wi-Fi Mode. Multiplayer is more difficult than Story Mode and some quests can only be accessed in multiplayer. There are also monsters that a single player couldn’t possibly hope to defeat, so gather your friends and kick their ass together.

Story Mode

In this mode, you band together with some NPCs and adventure. Depending on your character’s race, your story and NPC party members will be different. Many fascinating characters make an appearance.

Sarisa

Sarisa has a docile personality and doesn’t hide her feelings. The story starts when you meet her.

Kai

A big brother that the main character and Sarisa can rely on. He’s rough and doesn’t care about fine details.

In the textbox, Kai says something like: “You have amnesia, but the way you move… movements that your body knows well are not easily forgotten. They are a big deal.”

(The amnesia refers to the Newman story, where you crash land on earth and lose your memory.)

Anime movie scenes are done by GONZO.

Wireless Mode

You can play with up to four friends who are near you. The places you can go in your adventure are determined by the host. Players can only go to places that the host has unlocked in Story Mode.

Key Points
1. Friend codes are automatically exchanged in wireless play.
2. Visual Chat is enabled
3. Item Trading is allowed

Wi-Fi Mode

Using the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection you can connect with faraway friends and adventure with people all over the country (doesn’t mention the world, but who knows what’s really possible). Wi-fi Mode has three modes itself.

1. Wi-Fi Friend Mode.

   If you exchange Friend Codes ahead of time, you can play with friends you get along with. It’s basically the same as Wireless Mode, without the distance restrictions.

   

   Visual Chat. Make your own pictures or download someone else's.

   Key Points
   1. Friends of your friends can play, even if you don’t exchange Friend Codes with them
   2. Visual Chat enabled
   3. Item Trading allowed

2. Wi-Fi Free Mode

   Play with anyone in the country. Select a stage and a difficulty and the system will automatically match you up into a party. There is an Evaluation System in place too.

   Pre-made message chat is in Japanese and English, so you can communicate with people around the world (makes me think the note about playing “country-wide” is only half of the story).

   

   Pre-made messages are bilingual.

   Key Points
   1. You play in one area
   2. Chat with pre-made messages available. (see my previous post on PSZ)
   3. Item Trading prohibited

3. Wi-Fi Single Mode

   Play Single Mode will logged in. If a friend logs in, you can form a party, so this mode is good for hanging out and waiting for friends to come online.

   You can play the difficult multiplayer quests on your own in this mode. You will find it quite challenging.

   Key Points
   1. You can play Multiplayer-specific quests by yourself
   2. You can check Friend Info

Famitsu Game Reviewer’s impression

Here is what Reviewer Fukami had to say:

First I tried Story Mode. The voices and animation were a nice touch! I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t get into too much detail, but in addition to the main quest, you will have to manage subquests and along the way you will face some really hard fights.

Once you finish Story Mode, Hard mode and then later Super Hard mode open up, so really finishing the game feels like you just crossed the starting line. I went through Phantasy Star Portable’s Story Mode pretty smoothly, but this time the harder modes really made an impression on me.

When you make a party in Wireless Mode and Wi-Fi Mode there isn’t any lag at all! In Visual Chat, if you make shortcuts beforehand, you can communicate really quickly. When you go it alone, checking the Friend Ranking feature is pretty badass. When you make friends and play with them, the game keeps track of who does what and ranks you. Getting messages like “This guy collected more weapons than you…” and “You should practice some more before you play next time!” really motivates me because I hate to lose. And I think its cool how the rankings automatically update the next time you play together.

Also, just as advertised in the commercial, there will be Visual Chat art drawn by famous people and in-house designers. You can download beautiful illustrations and use them in Visual Chat! You can also use pictures that your friends draw. Since I suck at drawing, I was really happy to find this out! Man, I can’t wait to play this on Wi-Fi when the game is released to the public!

If you suck at drawing pictures, no problem!!

Conclusion

That’s it for this update. If you want to stay up-to-date on the latest Japanese game news, please subscribe to my RSS feed.

Phantasy Star Zero will be released in Japan on Christmas. It will cost 5040 yen.

Links:
Official site

Yakuza 3 - Play Spots

A new issue of Weekly Famitsu comes out tomorrow, so today I’ll translate one last article from the current issue. This one is about Ryuu ga Gotoku 3, aka Yakuza 3 for the PS3. Here are the scans:

Yakuza 3 will take place in Tokyo in the familiar Kamurocho as well as Ryuukyuu town in Okinawa. 27 real companies cooperated in making the game and you will find their buildings and wares in the game, adding to the realism. This article highlights “Play Spots”, or places you can go to have fun. Think minigames.

Ryuukyuu Town

Ryuukyuu town is in Okinawa. It has a lively market and a monorail that runs above the city.

Golf

In Ryuukyuu town you can take the monorail to the golf course. Here you can play full rounds of golf, putting contests, etc.

Pool at the Bar

You can play pool at an Okinawan bar.

You can play under several different sets of rules and you can also play around with the Cabaret/Hostess girls. The article mentions that models from the (real) fashion magazine Koakuma ageha make an appearance as Hostess girls.

Massage Parlor

You can go to the massage parlor “Love in Heart” and get an oil massage.

Getting a massage will help you recover. But be careful not to use too much, or you will fall asleep on the table and lose its benefits. The girl in charge of giving you massages is actually a famous transsexual fashion model in Japan by the name of Tsubaki Ayana. Lots of cameos in this game. (Theme music by famous rock musician Yazawa Eikichi).

Karaoke

In both Tokyo and Okinawa, you can take Haruka or a hostess to the Karaoke bar to sing!

To play Karaoke ingame, you have to hit button combinations with perfect timing. Think Parappa or Guitar Hero with the PS3 controller. Looks like the game will keep track of points here and you can get on the ranking board for Karaoke.

Fishing

Finally, you can go fishing!

Put food on your line and throw it into the sea. You can use the fish you catch as items, or sell them.

Conclusion

That’s all the new info in this article. Looks like there are some cool mini-games in Yakuza 3 to keep you busy.

Yakuza 3 will be released in Japan on February 26th, 2009. It will cost 7980 yen.

Links:
Official Site

Phantasy Star Zero: new scans, three online modes, story info and more

This week’s Weekly Famitsu has an article about Phantasy Star Zero for the Nintendo DS. In it they talk about three different Wi-Fi modes, story information for two of the races, special shops and a boss enemy.

Phantasy Star Zero is coming out on Christmas and I want it bad. Not gonna happen this year though as Christmas shopping is all done and money is in short supply. I’m grabbing it in January though. Should keep me busy until the release of Dragon Quest IX in March. Onto the scans:

Online Wi-Fi Play

First they talk a bit about online play via Wi-Fi. There are three modes.

1. First we have Free Mode, which is highlighted in this pic:
   

   Free mode let's you chat with premade bilingual messages.

   In Free Mode, you play with other people online and you can chat with them using premade messages. These messages are bilingual in Japanese and English, so you can play with people around the world without communication problems. Notice the text box says “Switch, please” in both English and Japanese.

2. Friend Mode is where you play with your buddies who you have designated as “friends”. Here is the relevant shot:
   

   In Friend Mode, use visual chat to send your own original pictures and text to your friends.

   This mode is a lot like Free Mode except that it enables you to use Visual Chat. In Visual Chat, you can make your own pictures and text and send them to your friends. This differs from Free Mode, which only allows you to use pre-made (i.e. Sega-made) messages. The reason for the distinction is probably to protect players from getting spammed with porn/ads from people they don’t know.

3. Finally we have Solo Mode. Yes, you can play online all by yourself. Here’s the shot:
   

   Play in Solo Mode to take on extra missions or to pass the time while you wait for your friends.

   You can play with up to 4 people via WiFi, but solo play is also available. Solo Mode has quests that are not available in the normal single player Story Mode, and monsters are tougher. Also, if one of your friends happens to connect while you are playing Solo Mode, a little icon will pop up (the green one with the letters PSO next to it) in the bottom screen to let you know. Solo Mode is a great way to pass the time while waiting for your friends to come online!

   Also, at any time you can check the Friend Status screen to see if your friends are offline, online, playing with another group, playing solo, etc. If they are online, you can jump in.

Story Intros

Phantasy Star Zero has three races: Newmans (from the moon), Humans, and Casts (cyborgs/robots). Depending on which race you choose for your character, you get a different story to play through. This article tells us the opening stories for Newman and Cast characters. Here are the shots:

Cast

You open your cyborg eyes to the form of a young girl. You are in the middle of a vast snowy field. You were in a frozen sleep and the young girl, Sarisa, woke you up. On your way to the city, a fateful encounter with the Hunters awaits you.

The text the girl says is: “I’m Sarisa. I’m from a faraway place. Hey, what’s your name?”

Newman

During the trip from your home (the moon) to the earth, something malfunctions during landing and you lose your memory. You decide to head to a nearby city when you encounter a young girl who seems to know all about you. Her name is Sarisa. With her, you join the Hunters and get your first quest.

Along the way, you encounter an enemy that looks like a giant octopus. You must cooperate with your new acquaintances Sarisa and Kai to defeat it.

First dialog pic is your character. He says: “I can’t believe it. To not only forget about myself, but to also forget such an important thing…”

The next dialog pic is Kai. He says: “Hey you. You can fight, can’t you? In that case, how about helping us out?”

Special Shops

As you advance through Story Mode, you can eventually go under the city and find secret shops. Here’s the relevant pic:

You can get powerful weapons and armor at these special shops.

1. Enemy Collector Shop. When you defeat enemies, you can pick up “raw materials” from them. Take those raw materials to this shop and you can get “Enemy Weapons” crafted for you, for a price. There are lots of badass weapons you can get here, so make sure to bring your raw materials here. Then show off your cool weapons to your friends.
2. Photon Collector Shop. If you search around out in the field, you can find items called Photon Drops. At this shop you can trade your Photon Drops for rare weapons and valuable items.

Humilius

This article also introduces a boss called Humilius.

Two war machines combine to become Humilius, a gigantic robot. He has high attack power and he’ll kick your ass. Take him on!!

Conclusion

That’s it for this article. I was a big fan of the Phantasy Star series when I was a kid, so I’ve been eying this one for awhile. Can’t wait to grab a copy.

Phantasy Star Zero will be released on December 25th, 2008 for the Nintendo DS. It will cost 5040 yen.

Links:
Official Site
Gamekyo (lots of videos and scans here).