@Knuckles Thanks, I've been interested in buying Snake Eater on Japanese 3DS for a while but between the limited edition 3DS and a retail version. Both options were too expensive for me to jump on just yet.

Bandai Namco also wised up with digital availability with Digimon World Re:Digitize Decode last week and Tales of the World this week... I bought both despite not caring much about Digimon and already having Abyss' European release. >_> My wallet hates you too.

@Dreamcaster-X In a sense yes. The Attack on Titan game outdates Freedom Wars but both feature a lot of weapons and traps (though you aren't going to combo a titan or anything in AoT) while it also has the option to recruit generic characters with your funds or streetpass recruits who can die for good.

It was the First Print, so once I got a copy secured I didn't have to worry about a thing.

@Seanmyster6

Probably M for Mature. The Japanese game was rated D (which is frequently but not always a good match), Japan's second highest rating. When you get eaten by titans, the detail isn't high fidelity and it doesn't even show your limbs thrown about like the fan game...

Play that if you can't get permission to play this: http://fenglee.com/game/aog/

However, there is still more blood that a T game would probably get and you can behead the smaller titans in the 2013 version as well as remove limbs from bigger ones. Even if they aren't human, this sort of detail isn't going to be overlooked by the ESRB.

@ModernMARVEL

Both types of crawler are troublesome, but mostly for their spin attack which they can combo you and your allies with before grabbing and eating ya. They are the hardest 1 hit kill enemies in the 3DS version, but nothing on the fan game equivalents unless you are in a tight space.

@polivar4

There is a point with the "multi-platform" notice in the rating for Australia but I'll stick to assuming it will be released for the lead platform as that was the exclusive platform for the December 2013 release and we are just over a month away from Japan getting the Dec 2014 upgrade without a word about other platforms.

I suppose it could be on more platforms but people will probably not receive the presentation very well even if MH3U did fine and it isn't a looker.

@Spoony_Tech

So we have a full handful of em as recent or soon upcoming releases. A real trend we have here.

@Shotgunryugan
I've played over 100 hours of the original game but probably spent less than 4 minutes as a titan. It is a temporary power up in World Mode (good idea) and a permanent form in some short story missions, so you won't get to use it much for it to really bug you.

You use it when you want to get through a fight more easily or for contrast. The main course is everything else.

Glad to see this come to more regions, but I'll still import the Japanese version. Enjoyed the 2013 version a lot.

@Shotgunryugan

I would like titan fights to be more interesting but what can they do?
Being able to swing over and around architecture, dress up as a ninja, use a knife and fork as blades, have grenades + mines + traps as support tools and such is much more interesting. We aren't going to get a God Hand, The Wonderful 101 or Bayonetta level beat em up out of what in most fights is closer to a Dynasty Warriors experience with normal titans being fodder.

@Spoony_Tech

Bravely Default.
Senran Kagura.
Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai
Attack on Titan (probably)
Monster Hunter 4

I'm sure there are more games which come with the definitive version first.

@snoox
Well the full game of The Wonderful 101 gives you a good but quick introduction in the mechanics of the game as well as offering two easier difficulties from the get go, though I recommend in advance that you buy the block and dodge moves.

You can learn and unlock everything little by little in both Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101 (even learning in failure or after tons of playthroughs) since they share a lot in common. Just because the camera here looks more traditional, it doesn't mean it won't be just as merciless.

That said, jump on Bayonetta 1 + 2 and give TW101 a look for cheap while being patient and you'll be surprised how well it clicks.

@WanderingPB Yeah, you are correct I intended it for @kereke12 instead since he literally said "Yet Bayonetta sold only a few thousands of copies in Japan."

I generally agree to an extent since I care a lot more about good games existing and good games being available than console warfare, but the sales of Bayonetta 2 aren't going to pick up much on the "second week/first full week" since most sales tend to be on the first day/week (look at your life time sales total and compare them to the first week) anyway and it will be overshadowed by over a dozen games next week which release for the first time when it had last week to itself (New games wise).

I can see a case that Bayonetta 2 did outsell a lot of games (outsold The Wonderful 101 7 times over), but even if they were funded by Nintendo and it will sell more in the west, all of the prior games were C or D for sales: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-17-platinum-games-president-rates-its-sales-as-a-c-or-even-a-d

Also, shipments are a good sign of reasonably estimating demand, not whether a game made the money back. Stores will only accept as many copies as they expect to sell.

Anyway, I messed up and replied to you by mistake. You can have your fun with Hyrule Warriors, I'll spend my time with Senran Kagura 2.

@snoox
Bayo 1 first. I haven't played either one and next to no one here has played or seen much of Bayo 2 (Japanese importers of Wii U or playthrough watchers), but playing in order will let you recognise all of the improvements or changes that Bayo 2 makes and any nods to the prior game.

If you want to try out a game with technical action and fantastic design, this should be your cup of tea. It is challenging, has a high skill ceiling and makes you work for unlocks even if it gives you plenty to do, but it is a great pick.

If you have a Wii U, you should look into The Wonderful 101 as well. It has the same director as Bayo 1 (Kamiya is still supervising Bayo 2) and a lot of shared design choices with Bayonetta as well as Devil May Cry (same director), Okami (same director) and Viewtiful Joe (same director)

@Drawdler Yep, even if I don't have a Japanese Wii U, that is still preferable assuming that I would want a Zelda scarf and all of the goodies that the treasure box had.

I just wanted the game to have all of the preorder costumes (excluding DLC is okay) from the get go, no jumping through hoops for that and I would desire it more.

@Artwark
The "word that can replace the number" is the text in the review, nobody who complains about a score reads it... or at least no one reasonable will complain about arbitrary numbers or indications at the end of a review when the reviewer tells us how it is and it turns out to be worth a buy/miss.

I guess a "Worth a buy", "Worth a rent", "Worth missing out on" may be more direct, but those don't drive up traffic, get them onto Metacritic/Gamerankings (which as awful as they are - still are important for sites getting exposure) and change much at all if readers are ignorant.

@WanderingPB

38K is a "a few thousands of copies" in the first week (well two days, but week)? Sure...

@KillScottKill
I get that feeling as well when anyone says that Famitsu are harsh, their highest scored games at 39 or 40/40 include some real paragons of design, but also an anime licensed fighting games with microtransactions and poor balance and Final Fantasy XIII.

Just goes to show that scores alone aren't helpful and even more crazy... well it is to be expected but different writers have different tastes or personal feelings on scores (on top of the different sites having different feelings). I recall seeing a GameSpot or IGN livechat where the staff were disagreeing at large with a fellow writer responsible for a review.

@Marr_the_Great
I was able to remap the A, B, Y, X, L and R buttons in my Japanese version as well as disable Up on the Circle Pad being Jumping, but I left the controls as the default and have managed with them.

Sadly, you can't have the D-pad handle movement, but at least you will be happy. Sakurai is a friend of yours, clearly.

If he was a friend of mine, Wonder Red would be in (hope he and others have a trophy in the 3DS version - it could be as close as I get to a portable SRPG based on the license).

@hybridseed While I'm also an owner of a Japanese 3DS with E.X. Troopers + Gundam the 3D Battle and also appreciate that Nintendo's store supports English debit cards, they missed out on the chance for me to both own a system earlier as not being able to ever own all of the games you could want even if you have the money is a huge miss and the chance of me buying limited edition 3DS from all regions since I need to gauge whether that American, Japanese or European library is actually worth my time.

To date, I have only have one 3DS (bought in 2013 even) and would have jumped on earlier, bought some more limited edition systems and more games if I could be certain that my games will work.

If importers are a minority, importers who buy multiple systems despite their games only running on one/few of them are a greater minority.

@BensonUii Circle Pad only on the Japanese version, I doubt they've changed anything so if you are lucky a patch will give you D-Pad support.

I have the full Japanese version and can clarify on points if you ask, but I'm a sleepy fool. You have been warned.

3rd place sounds good, but Platinum's Minami commented that all of the other Platinum releases would be a C or D for sales in this article (Revengeance probably doesn't count): http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-17-platinum-games-president-rates-its-sales-as-a-c-or-even-a-d

That includes the original Bayonetta game which reached one million worldwide across two platforms with time. Fortunately, Nintendo footed the bill and it still exists for us to enjoy.

@Tritonus Digital sales tend to be 10% or less of any retail video game's sales unless there are significant deals for a digital copy, it is a game which sells out but still has demand and/or it is a game that someone can and would like to store with their system 100% of the time.

Animal Crossing, Tomodachi Life and Smash Bros meet much of this criteria. Almost any console games misses out because there is less storage or reason to not get it on a disc especially if they have preorder bonuses or other specials.

@CaptainToad A first print of 15,600 copies selling out could be more of a sign of demonic resellers than genuine interest. I've got my first print and will never sell it, but it is a small number.

@Nintenjoe64 This game sold over 7 times as well as The Wonderful 101 in Japan first week which got around 5K.

@Punished_Boss I'm not sure how many people knew about it on Week 1, but since the PS3 port was abysmal and probably the 360 version had notable marketing even if there isn't exclusive content that could be why the 360 version did so well back then.

More than a little late given that the 3DS is the lead platform for the game, nice to have a review of it still.

We are going into an Hate/10 phase before the main course which none of us have played comes around? Ignore the score, everyone knows this is one of the genre defining action games of the last generation and perhaps the best around.

Focus on the points that the reviewer uses to clarify this and whether not that the reviewer used a different number even if they feel just as strongly about the game good or bad. If the points are focused on objective factors and true, no problem even if the score left something to be desired.

Subjective stuff? Well more discussion may be good then.

I have a Japanese 3DS and also find it very tempting to get all of the free software and demos at once on top of the digital sales, my 32GB SD card isn't enough with the behemoths Bravely Default, Inazuma Eleven 1-2-3 and Senran Kagura Burst to get to 300 but I definitely have well over 100 software spots taken up.

I imagined there was a cap and don't really think 300 spaces is a problem, but I hope the cap gets removed or rather increased to the point where it is near impossible to be full all the same.

Don't think the Hyper Japan sales will be recorded by ChartTrack UK but the boost in awareness with the 50% off sale and it being a great family event will probably lead to a nice uptick in interest which may be reflected in future weeks.

@Einherjar

They want it to succeed that's why.
Yokai Watch had an anime which made the game series blow up and now the sequel is using variants on the anime's opening song for the two versions. The original Gaist Crusher has MH4 nods, Sengoku Basara 4 nods, a Gaist by the artist of One Piece, a Gaist by the artist of Dragon Ball among other things. Pretty much any game will try crosspromotion, especially with internal series as that is cheaper to organise.

Gaist Crusher God is here as they don't want to give up and perhaps had some ideas they were hiding like MH4U was. >_>

@AVahne

You need to sell your soul and have an earlier firmware on your 3DS to do so, but it is possible according to a number of January 2014 articles... I just bought a Japanese system instead.

@Cobra This game was developed by Ganbarion, who developed tons of previous One Piece games (Unlimited series, Grand Battle series, Gigant Battle series, Jump Superstars + Ultimate Stars too) as well as Pandora's Tower.

The lack of a dub is tied ultimately to what Bandai Namco feel like doing, given that most of the fans are followers of the Japanese voice cast and it is cheaper not to focus on getting both. They made this call for every One Piece game since Unlimited Adventure in 2008.

@BakaKnight
Yeah, it may be more of your jam even with the faults and unnecessary changes. If you pay $30 for it on the 3DS, you don't have much to lose as well.

@Samuel-Flutter
The 3DS is the lead platform, don't hesitate to get it for the platform that has a good user interface though I'll admit that the Wii U has drop in, drop out multiplayer in almost all modes even if the second player loses as much health as Tails from Sonic 2 because they didn't make an effort when porting the thing.

I'm sure it is clear that Holding X with Luffy leads to him doing that opposite attack but maybe the game didn't explain it as it gives you all of the attacks at once.

@BakaKnight

This game is considerably more linear to the point you don't even unlock combos and have less attacks though everything flows in a more traditional sort of way.

I think it is the worst Unlimited game yet, but given what you are asking for maybe it will be your favourite.

Brilliant news, I felt a little bummed buying it for my little bro's 3DS and finding out there was an improved version for the Vita (and potentially more platforms), it may be a wait but if it is a free update. I'll be pleased to see it.

I hope they can look into partnering with a Japanese publisher (Intergrow ) so the Japanese 3DS and Wii U can get the game as well.

@unrandomsam

I don't see any reason to argue that Nintendo are worse than any game company for censorship, aside from publishing and funding some projects directly like Devil's Third, Bayonetta 2 and never stepping into third party games (see BMX XXX) unless the rating system has an issue.

I suppose Fire Emblem Awakening was a thing, but between everything else and given that God of War and The Last of Us were censored in Europe too, I don't think it sticks out that much.

I do appreciate your response making the purpose of the rating system in North America clear, though unfortunately some rating systems are more intrusive than others... And to be honest, I find how video games or television shows (mainly focusing on DVD releases, I understand watersheds) get so many restrictions when other media are free to be equally or more graphic without a glance to be irritating.

Already imported the limited edition of this and it had both the Japanese and English versions... Maybe I would be interested if it was a physical release, but as a digital release, I'll pass and continue collecting all of the DS installments. >_>

I suppose a lot of people already played AA123 on the DS, but I sorta expected a physical release for this one still. Curious whether some of those folks who didn't want to buy AA5 because it was digital only have caved in, it was a full fledged sequel, so missing out isn't ideal.

@Starwolf_UK
Downloadable game size constraints is a lie. I guess as a Brit, I can't know how big this download is as a remake of a DS game but can it be bigger than Senran Kagura's two huge plots (14,626 blocks) or the "Inazuma Eleven 1-2-3" 3DS collection which has 6 versions of the Japanese games in the name (14,615 blocks).

Glad to see all of you folks are interested, but as a importer of the original I have a few things to say. Even if some of you like @Aaronzord disliked the older Cruise games, this game is more streamlined in how you access bosses and more of the story even if I like it a lot less than the older Unlimited games (even if it is better than Romance Dawn) for a dozen reasons including the fact that they made fishing and bug catching more boring that @BulbasaurusRex could have even anticipated. >>

On that note, don't exist any costumes for Nami or Robin which AREN'T somewhat skimpy or decent options for them otherwise, even if they make the cut out DLC available, BulbasaurusRex.

@RennanNT

The remake (Unlimited Cruise SP) was localised, but just not in North America. >>

Woah, this is still going a day after... I intended to address a bunch of comments before but will settle for addressing the soapbox itself.

First off, the title... I'm not convinced that the objectification of women in games... is a problem to begin with. The approach that many have with claims like this are that adults, otherwise of age individuals, younger individuals and unstable individuals are going to be pushed into being desensitized individuals who hate/disrespect women, drive recklessly and kill hundreds for no reason.

Since GTA V managed to sell over 32.5 million copies by February 2014, managing to reach every primary school gamer I've chatted to and features not only some abhorrent characters, torture and all sorts of crimes... In addition, it isn't the first GTA or video game to reach beyond the age rating in tens of millions and we have so few... or even no murders or crimes connected in a substantial way to Rockstar's Bully, Red Dead, GTA and Manhunt series or heck mass media in general. I don't see an issue. Younger gamers "might" play this? Younger viewers might switch on the DVD player and find the Human Centipede.

People can separate fictional works or constructed works from reality for the most part, even when it is the children you want to hide from whatever. In addition, works which portray or allude to insensitive content aren't necessarily at fault for doing so, Senran Kagura plays with a number of tropes some have some loathing for but still has a solid story, a cast of fun characters who never feel "exploited" (debatable) unless you count up to 10 skippable seconds in every mission or if you are the type to pan cameras for interesting views in Smash Bros...

The question of whether Nintendo Life or other sites should take a stance on the games on not... I wouldn't mind a writer or few having an opinion for their opinion pieces and reviews, nor to be honest a site deciding to focus in a specific field like this one focuses on Nintendo games and GamesIndustry gives us a good deal of analysis and numbers. Just know that people are going to find it odd when you dismiss Senran Kagura, but promote Dead or Alive, Bayonetta 2, Fire Emblem (which with the last installment is more of a dating sim game than most of my library), The Wonderful 101 or any game with a playful sense of sexuality.

I think there were two problems with the exchange on Twitter, one is that you didn't have any sort of "SFW" standard for when you posted on Twitter as even if it is a playful game or whatever... The other one is that the woman who responded was unnecessarily sensitive in their response (maybe?) and overlooking the work itself despite how it was marketed. Senran Kagura as you say is a fairly good brawler and also one who a fun cast of characters (Bonus points for over 24 girls in the main installments and only one guy without it going for a harem direction? Or not?) and sound story.

I don't think the recent Tomb Raider should be seen as a sign of how far the industry has come. Every year we have sleazy H-games, brilliant carved H-games, games with poor female protagonists/no female protagonists (exchangable to a number of you), games with more developed female protagonists. Get what you want and keep an eye out for games which play with something you don't like on the surface being good...

I'm going to have a lot of comments to read later on and expect to be repeating dozens of points...

Nearly forgot to address it, but many games exist to "objectify" men in a similar sense (VitaminX, VitaminZ, Kuroko no Basket 3DS, Sweet Fuse, Hakuoki, Starry Sky, Fire Emblem Awakening and so on), not that few of them tend to be localised. Their equals in other industries could be called Twilight, Magic Mike, Fifty Shades of Grey among others.

... Done, spent too much time here.

@Eusine

The first Senran Kagura was released in Japan in 2011. Burst is the 2012 remake/expansion. 3DS owners have been waiting years for another installment and believe it or not they made some significant steps forward between the first SK on 3DS, Burst, Shinovi Versus on the Vita (2013) especially and such.

@Mizore

Considering that we can see no more skin than your Dead or Alive or Tekken or any other SK due to their "humorous" anime-esque self censorship and it is still the same rating in Japan and naked characters (usually the top halves) have appeared in games worldwide before on consoles and such (Saints Row and God of War)... I don't agree.

@CaviarMeths

In Japan, they released the first game in 2011, Burst in 2012 which is an expansion type of deal with double the content and better mechanics NOT Senran Kagura 2 (http://www.siliconera.com/2012/08/28/senran-kagura-2-to-have-overhauled-game-system-says-producer/ ), 2013 had a Vita spinoff which may outdo the whole lot called Shinovi Versus and 2014 has three projects lined up including a rhythm cooking game, a PlayStation Estival Versus and Senran Kagura 2.

@Mizore

Senran Kagura Burst wasn't censored in anyway from Europe and America.
I suppose every successor has a new fetish and steps further into nonsense, but we already had a flat character and all... >_>

@DarkKirby What PS3 version? I would argue that all installments in the Senran Kagura series are around on the same level of lewd from 2011's 3DS game to 2013's Vita game Shinovi Versus. I suppose you could debate about a few things, all of these games are targetting the same market and all of them have the same limit. They can't break into H-games without going onto PC, consoles and portables aren't permitted to do it.

Body pillows sold separately.

@Uberchu

Unless and often even if importing is painless as can be, the amount of people who import should be incredibly small though they will appreciate it and if the game is good praise it to the heavens so much that the game gets a quickly built fanbase in a region regardless of them double dipping (as I did for The Last Story, BlazBlue, Ace Attorney 5 among other games).

This effect has been pronounced positively in the case of Game of Thrones where even piracy was having a positive effect on how the show did overseas. Plenty of anime and manga get pushed hard

It only has a problem in cases where the game is bad (see Time and Eternity, but anyone could google for Japanese reception too) as people are aware they don't want the game months or years in advance or when the game is significantly delayed which may decrease interest immensely if the game is easy to import and the console is going through a phase (Devil Survivor Overclocked had new bugs with a four year wait and DS 2 was just plain late in 2013 for a DS game when there is still a better version coming - Both turned out fine though).

Since you guys keep asking, I'll confirm it. Yes, Senran Kagura Burst is a good game (read: not perfect, not quite great) with an interesting story, solid enough combat mechanics and a lot of content.

Also, these sales are only retail for a good amount of the stores in the UK, not Europe. The game hasn't released in a good number of PAL countries retail wise and even on the eShop (we can't change country now with Nintendo IDs without wiping a ton of data including games if we buy them).

Is 38 a good rank? Depends more on what kind of numbers, Marvelous Europe and Zen United were expecting. When it comes to the high profile games, they usually top the charts in their week (Thief, Lego Movie, ) or hit somewhere in the top 10 (Thief, Donkey Kong) and perhaps continue to do well for months. I can't jump for joy, but assume that they did well on the basis of the Life and Hometown edition at Funstock.co.uk going out of stock fast and only seeing one copy left at my local GAME last Friday.

One thing you can look at for more of an idea of how it did is the 3DS charts, as these charts are combined (even if the games are different like The Lego Movie on 3DS and on PS3), having any system exclusive chart is impressive in a sense.

And... Senran Kagura was the fourth best selling game at retail last week behind The Lego Movie and Pokemon X + Y: http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fsoftware%2Fuk%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=310019&arch=t&lyr=2014&year=2014&week=9

@CaptainSquid
Levi and Sasha's stories (and additional items) are DLC, but free DLC for many months. They were recently extended till February 28th (http://www.siliconera.com/2014/01/16/spike-chunsoft-extends-attack-titan-free-dlc-february ), making it one of the better DLC policies as few people aren't going to buy a copy in the first 3 months.

It would be nice if they just keep the stuff up forever as it is clearly being used as a means to bait us into buying early, even if it doesn't need you to buy the first print or second print. It is just an unlock code as you expect taking up only 2 blocks or so.