July2018
Feature Rocking Out With Gal Metal Producer Tak Fujii
“What is music about? Is it just pressing a button and turning knobs?”
While the Switch’s region-free setup means it’s easier than ever to sample experiences from across the gaming globe, Nintendo’s new policy can’t help us overcome the language barrier involved in imports — and that’s one reason we were so excited to see the...
May2018
News Drum Roll, Please - Gal Metal Is Coming To Western Switch Consoles This Year
Axe to grind
Long-time fans of the site will know that we've carried a torch for Gal Metal for some time now; we've covered the Japanese release of the game, spoken to the man behind it and kept out fingers crossed that it would hit a wider audience at some point soon. That time has come as XSEED and Marvelous Europe have confirmed that...
April2018
News Senran Kagura Reflexions Brings The World Of Japanese Massage To Switch
You'll never look at your Joy-Cons the same way again
The mainline Senran Kagura series has never shied away from the obvious sexual overtones of its female 'fronted' games - even creator Kenichiro Takaki refers to them as 'busty brawlers' - so it's hardly a shocker to see this new spin-off taking an equally adult route. Known as Shinobi Refle:...
Hands On Welcoming New Neighbors In Story Of Seasons: Trio Of Towns
The more the merrier
About a year ago, Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns brought more farm sim action to the 3DS, making several improvements on the original release and carrying on the spirit of Harvest Moon in a meaningful way. We absolutely loved the original release, but there was DLC released only in Japan shortly after launch that notably...
May2017
News Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is Coming to Nintendo Switch
We got our wish
WayForward announced today via Twitter that its newest Shantae platformer, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, will be receiving a Switch port this Summer. WayForward will be handling the digital release, while XSEED takes care of physical distribution. Details are scarce, but so far they've confirmed that the Switch version will support HD...
April2017
News Japanese Release Of Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star Comes With English Subtitles
Thank goodness for region-free gaming
The fact that the Switch is region-free is good news for JRPG fans, it would seem. We already know that the Japanese version of Disgaea 5 Complete is fully playable in English, and now the Amazon Japan page for Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star has confirmed an English language option for that game, too: Supports...
February2017
News XSeed Announces Story of Seasons DLC Localization Plans for the West
A happy ending
As some of you are no doubt aware, the latest entry in the "true" Harvest Moon series launches tomorrow as Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. Though this will be the game's debut in the west, it actually came out last year in Japan, and has since received a decent amount of DLC. For a while, XSeed seemed hesitant to bring this to the...
December2016
News Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Retail Edition Heading to Wii U on 27th December
Still hits the eShop on 20th December, though
Shantae, WayForward's tentpole IP that's developed an audience on Nintendo portables in addition to other systems through remasters, is getting its next title very soon - Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Crowdfunded and a decent amount of time in the making, we're now just a couple of weeks from playing it. A...
November2016
Video Get a Good Look at Exile's End in Its Wii U eShop Trailer
Retro cool
Already out in North America and out this week in Europe, Exile's End is an intriguing release on the Wii U eShop. Localised by Marvelous USA and XSEED (depending on your region), it adopts a neat retro aesthetic and seems to have some fantastic music. We're still working away at a review, but an eShop trailer for the EU release caught...
October2016
Capybara plushie shown off as pre-order bonus for Trio of Towns
The 3DS library covers a broad range of genres and game styles, and includes some gems that may be considered 'niche' in some respects yet find success on the portable. Two examples are Story of Seasons and Rune Factory 4, which have hit solid sales landmarks in North America...
September2016
News Corpse Party is Coming to the 3DS in Europe
And…exhale
For those of you out of the loop, Corpse Party made its initial debut on the PC back in 1996 as a project produced in RPG Maker. Since then, the game received a few ports to different platforms – most notably on the PSP in 2011. When the game was confirmed to be coming to the 3DS, fans in North America rejoiced, but similar news was...
June2016
Interview Yoshifumi Hashimoto talks us through Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns
"Deep down, everybody has times when they just want to relax"
Somewhere above the Los Angeles Convention Centre, the Harvest Goddess was smiling over this year's E3; along with Natsume's in-house-developed Harvest Moon: Skytree Village, XSEED brought a farming-fan-favourite in Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns — the latest game in the long-running...
First Impressions Working the Lands in Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns
Meanwhile, back at the ranches
This year's E3 was notable for many reasons, but for farming sim fans the bumper crop of 3DS agricultural adventures on display was one of the best. Along with the internally-developed Harvest Moon: Skytree Village at Natsume's booth, there was also the latest game in the Bokujō Monogatari series (formerly localized...
First Impressions Cowering in Fear in Corpse Party on 3DS
The kids aren’t alright
With Shantae and Story of Seasons filling XSEED's E3 booth with so much colour and cheer this year, there was one title that stood out starkly with its bloodstained logo and bleak look: Corpse Party on the 3DS. This inimitable Japanese indie horror game has been scaring people silly in various forms since 1996, and is now...
E3 2016 XSEED Bringing Japanese-Style Action Adventure Exile's End To Wii U
A "cinematic platformer" made with Japanese artists
During our US team's walk around the showfloor at this year's E3 it has been discovered that XSEED is bringing the indie title Exile's End to the Wii U eShop. Created by one-man studio Magnetic Realms (in reality Japan-based Australian Matt Fielding), Exile's End takes inspiration from a wide...
News Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns is Coming to North America in 2017
Harvest Moon, just under a different name
The tale of the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons saga is a slightly confusing one. The developer, Marvelous AQL, has been making the games for several years, but the publishing rights have primarily rested with Natsume, which incidentally owns the IP. In recent times, Natsume has decided to continue producing...
April2016
News XSEED Unveils Corpse Party 3DS Details, Including a 'Back to School Edition'
The horror is coming this Summer
Earlier this week it emerged that XSEED was planning to bring mature horror title Corpse Party to North America, thanks to an ESRB rating. As previously mentioned this is actually a remastered port of a sequel on PSP, Corpse Party: Blood Covered ...Repeated Fear, but is being rebranded to make a splash in the West...
News Corpse Party Looks Set to Bring Some Mature Horror to the 3DS
XSEED secures rating for North America
Occasionally we receive messages asking whether certain genres are going to be catered to on Nintendo hardware, and a recent example was a query about mature horror games. The system in question was the Wii U, yes, but it's actually the 3DS that's going to deliver on that score. An ESRB rating has popped up...
November2015
News Story of Seasons Hits Europe on 8th January, Australia the Next Day
The Not-Harvest Moon finally arrives
The story behind Story of Seasons is a rather strange one. While it may be a Harvest Moon title in Japan, XSEED Games had to change the name in the West due to licensing. So, it's a Harvest Moon in every possible way, but it just can't be called that over here. The situation is complicated further, then, because...
October2015
Translation, triple audio, and true romance
When we got our first hands-on time with Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale at E3 earlier this year, we were very impressed; this quietly charming little JRPG ended up being a highlight of the 3DS' lineup at the show, and we were eager to see more. Thankfully, at a preview event in San Fra
News XSEED VP Talks About the Future of the Rune Factory Series
"Marvelous knows fans are clamoring for a sequel"
For those of you that aren't aware, Rune Factory is an interesting RPG that aims to merge elements of Harvest Moon with more conventional fantasy themes. While a large portion of the game does revolve around tending crops and building relationships with fellow villagers, there's also dungeons to...
August2015
Rumour XSEED Less Than Happy With Nintendo's About-Face On Publishing Devil's Third
The devil is in the detail
Devil's Third has endured a tortured route to retail, losing its original publisher THQ to bankruptcy and being picked up by Nintendo after years of development, but one of the most unusual twists was that it very nearly got dropped by Nintendo of America only to be picked up again when the company performed a...
July2015
First Impressions Heading Back to the Farm in Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale
Of Cabbages and Kings
Nestled snugly between Senran Kagura's bountiful bosoms and the Cold Steel of the latest Legend of Heroes chapter, Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale occupied a relatively unassuming spot at XSEED's E3 booth last month, but it certainly left quite an impression. This upcoming 3DS title is a crossover that...
Interview Senran Kagura Producer Kenichirō Takaki Bares All
“I love games, I love girls, and I love sexy stuff”
The Senran Kagura series famously - and perhaps apocryphally - began life when its creator, Kenichirō Takaki, decided that the Nintendo 3DS' stereoscopic display was destined to display one thing over all else: breasts. Setting to work to fulfill his dream, Takaki-san produced two tales of...
News Multiple Sources Point to Nintendo of America U-Turn on Publishing Devil's Third
Lots of whispers make a lot of noise
Today we've shared our first impressions of Devil's Third, which aren't particularly positive. Focused solely on the single player campaign for now, we've highlighted concerns with performance, design and a range of factors. In some respects it's silly fun, but there are a number of issues hindering our enjoyment...
