With 10 days left to go until the American release of The Last Story, this is definitely an exciting week for Operation Rainfall followers!
The August issue of Nintendo Power had two pieces about the game including their review (where they gave it an excellent “9.0”) and an interview with Takuya Matsumoto, who served as Director and Senior Manager at AQ Interactive and oversaw development of the game.
In addition to celebrating the upcoming release of The Last Story, this past week also saw some pretty incredible news for RPG fans.
First off, a bunch of pre-order and limited release goodies were either announced or launched this week, including Ni no Kuni, The Last Story, Kingdom Hearts 3D, and Harvest Moon: A New Beginning, along with the US release of Growlanser 4. XSEED Games has announced a release date for Way of the Samurai 4, and Electronic Arts has announced the Star Wars: The Old Republic will go free-to-play later this year.
Square Enix released the fourth demo for Bravely Default on the Japanese eShop this Wednesday, this time showcasing a bit more of the game’s battle system.
In addition, Square Enix officially opened up their website for the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy and announced that information will be coming soon regarding the next project in the Final Fantasy XIII series. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is getting another batch of DLC. This week saw the Wii launch of Dragon Quest X in Japan, along with a ton of new screenshots. We hope to have a bit more on the title this coming week.
ATLUS CEO Shinichi Suzuki will be stepping down, but not before getting preparations ready for his successor, Naoto Hiraoka, who currently serves as Head of Business at INDEX Digital Media, the parent company of ATLUS.
The developers behind the upcoming Ouya android-based console have revealed a few new projects in the works, including OnLive, VEVO, and iHeartRadio, as well as a new limited edition color for those who jump on their Kickstarter during this final week. Also, Square Enix has revealed plans to support Ouya with the first optimized-for-TV version of Final Fantasy III to be released outside of Japan. Adding to the list of games is the upcoming Shadowrun Online.
In anime news, we’ve got a review of Sword Art Online Episode 4, Umineko When They Cry will be coming to America, and Crunchyroll is now available to download on PS3.
Lastly, in a move sure to displease Roger Ebert, Katamari Damacy becomes part of the Museum of Modern Art. Progress is oh so sweet.
Be sure to check out our brand new series “Operation Rainfall Origins”, a new feature where our staff write about the one title that made them become passionate about video games. Also coming soon, our review of Kingdom Hearts 3D.
What headlines caught your eye this week? Did we miss anything? What do you think of this new Weekly Rain format? Be sure to let us know in the comments below, and we’ll see you next week!
