Huge Western sequels like BioShock Infinite and Batman: Arkham City made headlines at E3, but Japanese developers and publishers have an intriguing lineup of all-new IP on the horizon. See what’s in store from out East now.
Catherine
Platform: PS3, 360
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Release: July 26
This “adult-themed” puzzle game feature loads of deftly animated cutscenes interspersed with multiple choice questions and block puzzles. Who knows ifs this will all stack up to a quality experience, but at least it’s branching out to strange new territory.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
Platform: PS3, 360
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Developer: Ignition Entertainment
Release: July 26
This out-there third-person action title is almost out and we can’t wait. The visuals stand out from the pack and the combat looks tight and challenging. Plus, designer Takeyasu Sawaki has worked on Devil May Cry and Okami so El Shaddai has plenty of pedigree to back up Ignition’s relatively unproven dev house.
Rise of Nightmares
Platform: 360
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Release: September
Sega’s actually making what looks to be a real game for Kinect rather than a fitness sim or minigame collection. The company’s certainly got a history for arcade horror with House of the Dead, and this melee-focused take has a chance at joining the shortlist of good titles for Microsoft’s peripheral.
NeverDead
Platform: PS3, 360
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Rebellion
Release: Winter
Konami’s team-up with Western dev Rebellion looks just crazy enough to work. Immortal hero Bryce is unable to die due to an ancient curse. All those centuries of life have given him quite the attitude and the ability to roll himself back together when he gets severely damaged. A kooky cast of characters and wild enemy designs could push this into cult classic status.
Heroes of Ruin
Platform: 3DS
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: n-Space
Release: Early 2012
The developer known for porting the Call of Duty games to DS is finally getting a shot to work on a fresh new franchise. Sure, n-Space is an American developer, but Square Enix’s touch will be all over this. This strategy RPG fully embraces the 3DS’ StreetPass and SpotPass features, allowing for item trading with friends and daily challenges from the creators.
Dragon’s Crown
Platform: PS3, Vita
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Developer: Vanillaware
Release: Spring 2012
If you’ve played Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade, you know that Vanillaware creates some of the most breathtaking 2D visuals in gaming. Now the developer is creating a 4-player co-op, RPG-style, Golden Axe-influenced take on the brawler genre. Should be incredible.
Asura’s Wrath
Platform: PS3, 360
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: CyberConnect2
Release: 2012
The developer that’s brought us countless Naruto: Ultimate Ninja games finally gets to prove itself on a non-licensed, new property. However, it seems that the over-the-top influence of the anime series is on full display. The player’s six-armed hero, Asura, seems capable of anything, even beating back a giant’s finger that’s large enough to crush a city.
Dragon’s Dogma
Platform: PS3, 360
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release: 2012
This open-world third-person action game shows impressive graphical fidelity when considering the promised size of the environment. This looks a lot more focused and fun than Capcom’s other beast battling franchise, Monster Hunter. Definitely color us curious.
TBD
Much has been made recently of three new-IP JRPGs that Nintendo is publishing everywhere but North America. Nintendo crushed hopeful fans saying that there are “no plans” to bring these games to the U.S. Read on to see what we’re missing out on.
Xenoblade
Platform: Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Monolith Soft
Release: September (Europe)
Monolith Soft, known for its excellent Xenosaga trilogy, finally put out a new RPG and we don’t get to play it. The battle system's Final Fantasy XII/MMO style shakes up the standard turn-based approach and the art looks cool.
The Last Story
Platform: Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Mistwalker/AQ Interactive
Release: 2012 (Europe)
Hironobu Sakaguchi knows RPGs and this is his studio’s latest. Mr. Final Fantasy (and Chrono Trigger) re-teamed with FF composer Nobuo Uematsu for the soundtrack. Famitsu gave it two 10s and two nines. C’mon, Nintendo!
Pandora’s Tower
Platform: Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Ganbarion
Release: 2012 (Europe)
Okay, so Ganbarion hasn’t really done that much great stuff. It’s mostly known for some One Piece games. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get a chance to play this Castlevania-style action/RPG.