Tag: Nis America - Page 4
E3 2019 Trails of Cold Steel III Arrives on PS4 This September in the West
A release date and trailer
The third chapter in the Trails of Cold Steel series, Trails of Cold Steel III is heading West later this year on PlayStation 4. The game's been available for quite some time in Japan -- two years this September, to be precise -- but thanks to NIS America, it's getting a fully localised release outside of its homeland. You...
News Trails of Cold Steel 3 Trailer Shows Main Characters and Their English Voices
The new Class VII
Hold on a second, we're getting another Trails of Cold Steel III trailer before the second game has even arrived on PlayStation 4? Madness. The timing may be a little weird (although we do need to remember that, unlike the previous games, III is being published by NIS America, rather than XSEED Games and Marvelous), but if you've...
News The Vita's Going to Get a New Game Next Year
It lives
It's time to wheel out all the awful "Vita means life" jokes that you've been saving, because NIS America just announced a new game is coming to the system next year. Vita games in 2020, what a world! The title in question is Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen, a name that we hope we never have to type again. It's a remake of the first...
News Turn Based 3DS JRPG The Alliance Alive Makes the Jump to PS4 Later This Year
Alive and well
The Alliance Alive, a 3DS Japanese role-playing game that launched back in 2018, is being ported to the PlayStation 4 later this year. The news comes via publisher NIS America, but there are no specific details to go on just yet. The title's got a cutesy art style, a twisting, dialogue-heavy story, and turn based combat. The 3DS...
Live Watch NIS America's 2019 Games Showcase
Updates and news incoming
Prolific publisher of Japanese titles here in the West, NIS America has quite a busy year ahead of it, and if you're interested in the company's catalogue, you may want to tune in for its live showcase. The stream is set to begin at 17:00 GMT/09:00 PDT/12:00 EDT, and it'll apparently feature announcements and updates on...
News Trails of Cold Steel III Is Coming West on PS4 Later This Year
The trio should be complete
Trails of Cold Steel fans rejoice, for NIS America has confirmed that The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III will be coming to Western PlayStation 4s in the latter half of 2019. You can catch the announcement trailer above. If all goes to plan, this means that the first three Trails of Cold Steel games will be...
News SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Heading to PS4 in March
Going retro
Retro fans rejoice: NIS America is bringing SNK 40th Anniversary Collection to PS4, and it's not too far away. The collection hits Sony's console on 19th March 2019, as announced via the above trailer. This retro package contains more than 20 early SNK titles, including classics such as Athena, Crystalis, and Ikari Warriors. You'll be...
News RPG Maker MV Goes Back into Development
Release date postponed
RPG Maker MV, the PlayStation 4-based game creation suite, will no longer launch on 26th February as originally planned. The title – which is already available in Japan – is experiencing “ongoing issues with development” according to publisher NIS America. The company wrote: “Until [the issues] are resolved, the...
News Lapis x Labyrinth Brings Cute, Colourful RPG Action to PS4
Danganronpa Trilogy also confirmed
Here’s a game that we’ll never write about again: Lapis x Labyrinth is coming to Western territories, courtesy of NIS America. The whimsical PlayStation 4 action RPG couldn’t look more Japanese if it put vending machine underwear on its head and started screaming kawaii, but we’re sure that it’ll be...
News NIS America Announces Its Last Ever Retail PS Vita Releases
Trio of titles due next year
Sony will cease manufacturing PlayStation Vita cartridges next year, spelling an end to physical releases on the handheld. The device will be supported right through to the end, though, as NIS America has announced a trio of titles that it will be bringing to retail from 19th March in North America. There’s no...
Review Disgaea 1 Complete - Dishing Out 1,000 Damage Never Looked So Good
DOOD! What a remake!
Walk in the shoes of Daemon Prince and antihero Laharl as he awakens after the passing of his father in hope of fighting for the title of Overlord of the Netherworld. In this remake of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Nippon Ichi Software spoils us with reworked graphics and a new 'Etna Mode' all carefully intertwined into the same...
Review Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk (PS4)
Tractie-cal warfare
Nippon Ichi’s latest release Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is a first-person dungeon crawler where you play Tractie – that is, the Tractatus de Monstrum – a mysterious book with a soul trapped inside, able to communicate by filling out its pages. Tractie is under the control of a witch named Baba Yaga, or Dronya as...
News The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince Make Quite the Double-Act on PS4
A mutual misunderstanding
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince – yes, that is its real name – sounds like something alright. “In it, you control a wolf, disguised as a princess, who guides a blind prince through a perilous forest in search of a witch capable of restoring his sight,” the press release reads. “The forest is home to a...
News Create Your Own Adventures with RPG Maker MV, Coming to PS4 Next Year
Control your fate
NIS America has announced that its RPG creation game, imaginatively named RPG Maker MV, is heading to Western PS4s in 2019. The trailer above doesn't feature much in the way of gameplay, but it hints at some of the variety you'll be able to tinker with. The RPG Maker series does exactly what it says on the tin: it allows players...
Put the kids to bed
The first twenty minutes or so of The Lost Child set up an intriguing mystery, but once the game settles into a comfortable rhythm things become decidedly less compelling, and at times, an outright slog. The game begins in a Tokyo subway station with an investigative journalist who specialises in the occult named Hayato looking...
News Disgaea 1 Complete Is Coming West This Fall on PS4
Darkness returns
The original Disgaea is being remastered for PlayStation 4, and it's heading to North America and Europe this Fall. Titled Disgaea 1 Complete, it'll feature enhanced graphics and a new 'Etna Mode' which stars new characters. It'll also support both English and Japanese voice-overs. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness launched on the...
News NIS America Apologises for Comments About PlayStation
President had insinuated Sony doesn't care about company
NIS America president Takuro Yamashita probably said a touch too much in his interview with MCV, where he claimed that Sony isn’t “friendly with small publishers like us”. The suit has issued a public apology to both SNK and PlayStation, retracting the comments in a hasty attempt to...
Review The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 (PS4)
A witch's curse
A year after its Japanese release, The Witch And The Hundred Knight 2 has finally made it to Western consoles. Following the story of sisters Amalie and Milm, you play as the Hundred Knight – a doll brought to life by witchcraft to do the evil bidding of the young witch who has taken over Milm’s body after she contracts Witch’s...
News NIS America: Sony Isn't Friendly with Small Publishers Like Us
"They just care about big Japanese companies"
NIS America, the publisher of franchises such as Disgaea and Danganronpa, does not appear to be all that happy with Sony at the moment. Speaking with MCV about a range of subjects – including its partnership with Nintendo on SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy – president Takuro Yamashita...
Review The Longest Five Minutes (PS Vita)
You can pack a lot into five minutes
Become a hero, face down the origin of all evil, and try to cope with the crippling loss of all your memories and abilities. This is the unique concept of The Longest Five Minutes – a new Vita adventure from NIS America. There's something really engaging and accessible about this old school Japanese RPG,...
News The Lost Child Is a JRPG Set in Modern-Day Tokyo That's Coming West This Summer
New English trailer revealed
NIS America has released a new English trailer for its upcoming Japanese role-playing title, The Lost Child. Set in modern-day Tokyo, The Lost Child was announced for a Western release on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in September of last year. The publisher has also revealed a Limited Edition of the game on...
A heavenly kingdom?
Republished on Wednesday 31st January 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Grand Kingdom is a good looking turn-based battle-'em-up that sees you getting to pick and command a group of mercenaries in...
Review Tokyo Tattoo Girls (PS Vita)
Tattoo nightmares
Tokyo Tattoo Girls is definitely a strange game. If you’ve taken a look at any of the trailers for it then you can be forgiven for assuming that it’s going to be some kind of JRPG – even the opening cutscene feels like typical JRPG territory. But ignore your initial preconceptions, Tokyo Tattoo Girls is actually a...
Review Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle (PS4)
Touhou want to fight?
If you’ve ever wanted to make super cute anime girls beat the living daylights out of each other for fun but balked at the Dead or Alive series, then NIS America has just delivered what you’re looking for with Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle. This is a twist on the arcade fighting games that gives you guns as well as swords...
Review Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (PS4)
Bear with me, I’ll think of a pun soon
The Danganronpa series is known for being delightfully dark and twisted while at the same time wrapped in a layer of light-hearted eccentric silliness. The main crux of the series centres around Monokuma and his ‘killing game’, where a group of students are forced to live together and the only way to...
News You Can Give Action RPG Ys VIII a Try with Free PS4 Demo
Adol mind if I do
Head over to the PlayStation Store right now and you can download a playable demo for Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. The hectic action role-playing game scored an 8/10 in our review, so we reckon you should definitely give it a fair shot. The demo weighs in at around 800MB, and for some reason, it's misspelled on the PlayStation...
Review Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (PS4)
We’re going on an adventure
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is the follow up to Ys: Memories of Celceta. It’s an action RPG which at its heart is all about adventuring and exploration. Ys is a long-running series that has been around since the 80s, but you don’t need to be familiar with any of the previous games to understand what’s...
News Have a Despair-Filled Weekend with Danganronpa V3's Playable Demo
Pupupu
Up for trying something new this weekend? If so, then giving the Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony demo a shot seems like a decent idea. The playable demo is available on both PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, and promises a quick look at the upcoming release. The finished product is due out at the end of next month, on the...
Review God Wars: Future Past (PS4)
God loves a trier
God Wars: Future Past is a strategy RPG developed by the makers of Natural Doctrine. Whereas Natural Doctrine attempted to do too many new and different things and ended up becoming overly complex, God Wars has taken a more traditional route and thanks to this, it definitely feels like a much more solid game. Events kick-off with...
News Penny Punching Princess Pockets Your Money in 2018
Get cash
That’s a good pun: Penny Punching Princess instead of penny pinching because… It’s, y’know, a beat-‘em-up typ—oh, forget it! NIS America has announced that the action role-playing game known in Japan as The Princess Is Money Hungry will launch on the PlayStation Vita on 20th March in North America and 23rd March in Europe. As...
News The Longest Five Minutes Attempts to Remember Everything in 2018
Take your time
The majority of Japanese role-playing games begin with an amnesiac hero, but what if the lead character forgets everything at the end? The Longest Five Minutes aims to explore exactly that, as you attempt to recover your memories on the PlayStation Vita in 2018. “As the story unfolds, the conversations you have with your party and...
Review Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! (PS4)
Katana and mouse
Cladun Returns: The Is Sengoku! is a fast and sometimes fun little dungeon crawler. The sprite-based title serves up stages that can each be completed in just a few minutes, and there are plenty of ways to enhance your character, resulting in a surprisingly rewarding experience. For quick stints of exploration and action you can't...
Basket case
The Silver Case is one of the early titles developed by renowned auteur Suda51 and his studio Grasshopper Manufacture. Unsurprisingly, the ticks and quirks that have come to define his recent output are present in abundance. Indeed, this is a profoundly strange game, and one that – for both better and worse – often feels...
Review Birthdays the Beginning (PS4)
Life finds a way
Birthdays the Beginning is a pretty strange title for a pretty strange game. It’s a god game in which you manipulate a cubic world in order to create new lifeforms. As far as elevator pitches go, it doesn’t sound terribly interesting, but it does just about enough to hold your attention – if only for a short time. You...
Review A Rose in the Twilight (PS Vita)
The rose beyond the wall
Nippon Ichi certainly knows how to tell gruesome tales featuring adorable looking young girls! The creators of Yomawari: Night Alone have returned with a brand new puzzle platformer, A Rose in the Twilight. It's a tale of innocence, friendship, and blood. A young girl with a thorn upon her back awakens in the rubble, deep...
Review Touhou Genso Wanderer (PS4)
Boo-hoo
Rogue-like role-playing release Touhou Genso Wanderer follows the story of adorable protagonist Reimu Harukei. Reimu becomes entranced by the 'golden sphere' that soon-to-be antagonist Rinnosuke Morichika is holding, and tries to steal it from him. Clearly under the sphere's spell, Rinnosuke fights back, and Reimu soon finds herself away...
Review Danganronpa 1&2 Reload (PS4)
The kids aren't alright
The Danganronpa series is built around a deliciously gruesome premise: a bunch of high schoolers are held captive - in a school in the first game, a tropical island in the second - and they're told that the only way they'll ever be allowed to go back to their normal life is if they kill one of the other members of the group...
News Mental Shooter Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls Panics on PS4 This Summer
Puhuhuhuhu
Previously a PlayStation Vita exclusive, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is bringing an army of evil bears to the PlayStation 4 later this year, publisher NIS America has announced. Unlike the main Danganronpa games, this spin-off fuses its visual novel roots with action and adventure, as you steadily shoot your way...
Review Yomawari: Night Alone (PS Vita)
Horror never looked so cute
Yomawari: Night Alone tells the haunting tale of a girl, seemingly alone, trying to find her sister and lost dog Poro in her small town. As our heroine's adventure beginss, it's clear from the offset that the town is haunted, and she must go on her quest without being caught by the many ghosts that roam the streets...
Review Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs (PS4)
Hits some good notes
Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs is billed as an enhanced version of the original Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters, which was released to Western audiences only last year on the PlayStation 3 and Vita. The story, played out as a visual novel, is developed through chapters, and is a fairly formulaic affair. New...
News Danganronpa and Danganronpa 2 Bring Despair From Vita to PS4 in Early 2017
Cue crazy music
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and its sequel, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, are two of the PS Vita's best games - at least as far as we're concerned - and both titles are heading to PlayStation 4 early next year. The compilation will be titled Danganronpa 1&2 Reload here in the West. Check out the brief announcement trailer...
Review Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors (PS Vita)
I hope that's a PS Vita in your pocket
The original Criminal Girls: Invite Only game was a fun, turn-based JPRG dungeon crawler released on PSP and then reworked for the VITA. Lots was made of the added, er, tactical 'rubbing' of the naughty girls in your party to power them up, which formed a series of slightly dubious minigames alongside the main...
Review Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness (PS4)
Don't worry, be happy
Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness takes place in the same universe as the popular anime show, Psycho-Pass. Set in the year 2112, an always online system named Sybil is constantly monitoring the mental state of the entire population, and pointing out individuals who are psychologically likely to commit a crime in the future. As a...
News Start Building Your Mercenary Squad with This Grand Kingdom Class Trailer
All together now
If you were lucky enough to nab a Grand Kingdom beta code earlier this month, then you'll know that Spike Chunsoft's role-playing release certainly has potential. As the commander of a roaming group of mercenaries, it's up to you to build a reliable squad of warriors, and the title's latest trailer does a good job of introducing a...
News You Better Hope SEGA Publishes Persona 5 in Europe, 'Cause NIS America Won't Be
Uh oh
Persona 5 is probably getting a Japanese release date next month, but the painful wait for any kind of confirmation of a European launch looks set to continue. For years now, NIS America has been bringing Atlus' games to European shores, ensuring that the likes of Persona 4 Golden made it overseas. However, following SEGA's purchase of Atlus,...
News Here's How to Enlist in the Grand Kingdom PS4 Beta
For coin and kingdom
Grand Kingdom, the upcoming strategy role-playing game, is getting a beta next month - and you can enlist right now if you're up for it. Starting on the 3rd May and lasting until the 10th May, the beta will be available in both Europe and North America, but only on PlayStation 4, despite the full release heading to Vita as well...
News Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness Clamps Down on PS4, Vita This September
Mandatory, repeat, mandatory
Announced for a Western release earlier in the year, Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness now has a confirmed launch date on PlayStation 4 and Vita. The visual novel title, which features player choice and multiple endings, takes place during the first season of the critically acclaimed anime, which first aired in Japan in...
Review Stranger of Sword City (PS Vita)
Outsider art
Stranger of Sword City does a great job of living up to its name. Trapped in a weird, rather haunting fantasy world, you're constantly made to feel like an outsider – someone that's stumbled into a series of events that they can't quite comprehend. This is a dungeon crawler with an atmospheric edge, and although it doesn't do a great...
Review The Witch and the Hundred Knight: Revival Edition (PS4)
It's a remastered kind of magic
By the pricking of our thumbs, something remastered this way comes. Yes, Nippon Ichi Software – the developer of the superb turn-based strategy role-playing Disgaea franchise – has decided to polish up its real-time battler The Witch and the Hundred Knight, adding Revival Edition to its already lengthy name on the...
News Take on a Contract with PS4, Vita RPG Grand Kingdom's New English Trailer
Romance of the four kingdoms
Sporting a pleasant art style and promising a lengthy story punctuated with engaging tactical battles, Grand Kingdom sounds like it could be a hit with role-playing game fans. The title's newest English trailer briefly goes over what you can expect from the release, so give it a watch if you're still unsure what it's all...
