Japan News, Japan Features - Page 6 of 27

Welcome to the fantasy zone

Back on November we reported on a rumour that stated SEGA was about to bring some of its classic arcade titles to the 3DS with fancy 3D visuals, and that Space Harrier was set to see release first. Turns out it was more than just a rumour, and SEGA is launching Space Harrier 3D on the Japanese 3DS eShop on December 26th...

River City Ransom sequel is now available on the Japanese 3DS eShop

Footage from Arc System Works' River City Ransom spin-off Riki Densetsu has appeared online, showing off some impressive old-school brawling action. The game is available in Japan now but there's no word on a western release at present. It features series antagonist Riki as the...

Robots in disguise

Square Enix is working on a brand new 3DS title based on its shounen TV series, Gyrozetter. The game, titled Gyrozetter: Wings of the Albatross, is slated for a Spring 2013 release. The actual series itself features cars made from famous manufacturers - such as Toyota - transforming into robots. Sounds awful familiar, doesn't it?...

Nintendo consoles dominating on home soil

Recently we learnt that the 3DS was dominating sales in Japan with the portable console shifting 2.5 times more units than all other platforms combined. It seems this momentum isn’t showing any signs of slowing down either, as this week’s impressive sales have seen it leapfrog a big rival in total sales...

Robot rock

Namco Bandai has released the first trailer for its upcoming 3DS title, Super Robot Taisen UX. Due to hit the portable console on 14th March 2013, the game is classed as a 2D side-scrolling action game based on the popular Japanese series - featuring plenty of anime mech battles with notable characters from the show. To commemorate the...

Developers reveal the ideas that didn't make it into the final game

In this week's issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu, the developers behind the Wii U title Nintendo Land have spoken about its creation in a roundtable interview. Interestingly, they revealed that ideas for potential mini-game settings had to be put aside as development progressed...

New Super Mario Bros. U and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate most popular titles

Wii U launched in Japan on Saturday, a whole three weeks after North America got its hands on the new console. As you'd expect Nintendo's homeland went wild for it, and that's been reflected in the opening weekend's sales. According to Famitsu Wii U sold 308,570 units in just...

Japanese gamers join the party

Western Wii U owners may have noticed in the last few days that there’s been a few Japanese Miis wandering around the WaraWara and Nintendo Land plazas. That’s because it is now official: the Land of the Rising Sun has Wii U. The console launched on Saturday and Japanese gamers flocked to their nearest store in...

Random battles are no more

It was revealed a couple of months back that Dragon Quest VII would be making a return with a remake on the 3DS in Japan. The game will largely stay true to the original, but it’s been confirmed that the random encounters system found in the PlayStation version have been changed to visible encounters on 3DS. Dragon...

Nintendo's handheld outsells all other platforms by more than 2.5 times

The recent release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf in Japan has enabled the 3DS to further increase its dominance in that part of the world. According to Media Create, the system shifted 167,408 units during the week of 26th November to 2nd December, bringing its lifetime sales...

Updated version also allows you to wipe save data

Capcom has confirmed that 3DS title Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is getting an eShop release in Japan, alongside a "Best Price" physical release. The game was an early release for the 3DS back in 2011, and is possibly more famous for its undeletable save data than the quality of its...

Villain Riku becomes the hero

The WiiWare sequel may be on hold, but that doesn't mean that 3DS gamers won't get their fix of River City Ransom in 2012. Arc System Works is launching a spin-off title for the Japanese 3DS eShop called Riki Densetsu. As the title suggests ("Densetsu" means "Legend" in Japanese), the game will focus on series...

Confirmed in Japan, at least

One of the first concepts that was shown off for Wii U, and which made an appearance at various demo opportunities and expo appearances for the system, was Panorama View. It's a relatively simple app that uses real-life video and allows you to view the action from any angle you desire, simply by moving the GamePad. It's...

Covering the Wii U launch in Japan

You may not realise it, but the Wii U hasn't actually launched in its native Japan yet. Us lucky westerners may already be knee-deep in Mario, ZombiU and Miiverse, but in the Land of the Rising Sun the system doesn't hit store shelves until the 8th of December. While the Nintendo Direct presentations for North...

We go hands-on with Max Factory's amazing Figma Link action figure

As much as it pains us to admit it, you never really grow out of toys. And it's pretty much official that toys based on popular video games are the bomb. Don't believe us? Then check out the photos below of the amazing Figma Link action figure from Japanese manufacturer Max...

Optional extra

Are you a bit bummed about the fact that the Wii U Pro Controller isn't compatible with original Wii titles? Do you consider Sony's iconic Dual Shock pad to be one of the best in the business? Well you're in luck - Datel Japan has released an adapter which allows you to use your PlayStation 2 joypad on the Wii U or Wii. All you have...

E.X. Troopers has an underwhelming start

When Animal Crossing: New Leaf was released in Japan, demand was so high that physical copies of the game sold out, while eShop download sales returned some rather impressive results. Subsequent weeks have remained solid, with the latest Media Create results showing that the title has passed the one million...

But not all of its features will be free

Nintendo has revealed that TVii - the application that allows users to merge all of their video streaming packages together and change TV channels - will be available in selected European regions at some point in 2013. It looked as though Japan was being left in the lurch but this is not the case as the Land...

Nintendo Direct delivers the happy news, DLC launched to celebrate

Nintendo Japan released a new Nintendo Direct presentation yesterday in which president Satoru Iwata announced that over 300 billion coins had been collected by New Super Mario Bros. 2 players worldwide. To mark the proud occasion, a DLC level pack has been made available free of...