Winter may have arrived in southern Japan, but the trees are still playing catchup. Many are still green-ish, with the leaves just beginning to turn brown. There are two types, at least, who are with the program and ending the year with more decorum: the kaede and the ichou.

The kaede, or Japanese maple, is every bit as colorful as its western cousins, with vibrant reds and oranges. It's much more dainty than other maples, with thin branches and tiny leaves that could be hidden under a silver dollar or 500 yen coin.

The ichou, better known by its Chinese name of gingko, adds a much different color to the winter palette. Its broad, fan-shaped leaves turn a bright yellow. As gingko trees tend to grow up more than out, they're very popular as decoration along city avenues. The way they brighten up the cold months almost makes up for how bad their nuts smell in summer, when they're always being crushed underfoot.

Dissidia Final Fantasy is in stores next week, and after the Cloud / Sephiroth showcase two weeks back, I didn't expect to find much new promotional material in Famitsu -- a game guide, perhaps, or a retrospective of previous articles on the game. Then I find this in my latest issue:

It looks like the side of Order or Chaos (not sure which) has one more champion, bringing the number of champions for one side or the other to XI. My first reaction is, "Who the heck is Shantotto?" Obviously, I've never played Final Fantasy XI, nor do I play many games online, for that matter. Fortunately, Square Enix realizes that not all its prospective customers would know who Shantotto is, and so they provided a little information.

This conceited little fellow is one of the three great researchers of magic in the land of Windas -- the self-styled Magus of Destruction. As I said before, I can't tell which side of the conflict he would be on, but his description in the article leads me to imagine him as morally ambiguous. The screenshots show him beating up on Butz, Garland, Zidane, Golbez, and Terra, so that's not much help either. I think he just likes blowing stuff up.

With the release of a big game like Dissidia, S-E is pretty much obliged to market goods related to it. When the release coincides with the 20th anniversary of the series, then the swag gets really nice. The Dissidia special box takes things to the limit, however. For 25,980 yen (about $240), gamers can not only get the game, but also something to play it on.

That's right, the Dissidia special set comes bundled with a PSP -- and not just any PSP, but an original design model with the Chaos God and Cosmos Goddess imprinted on the back, and S-E's 20th anniversary logo on the front. Is it worth it? To the right person, I guess.

So, we have a game, we have a machine to play it on -- what's next, refreshments?

Why, yes! S-E is once again marketing their special Potion™ soft drink, this time in pretty Dissidia-themed cans. Same as last year, thanks go to the wonderful ladies at Family Mart, who let me take all these pictures. I wasn't able to get them all on camera, unfortunately. I think I'm still missing four.

'Tis the season for premium packs, it seems. Dengeki Academy - Cross of Venus, the crossover game based on light novels, has its own special swag offer for 10,290 yen (about $90). This particular deal nets you the game and cute little figurines of four of the game's more popular characters: Shana, Taiga, Kino, and Index.

If collecting oddly proportioned miniatures is your thing, then Atelier Annie has a few more for your consideration.

As it turns out, when Atlus names a game something like "Devil Survivor", they're quite serious about the survival part. There's a time limit in effect, and the clock is ticking. If the heroes can't win in seven game days, then it's not just the game that'll be over. I'm assuming each day counts as one chapter of the game, though if you look at the menu screens, you'll notice that the day and time feature prominently. It remains to be seen if the player can actually waste time, but in any case, the pressure is on.

There are two more characters to help the hero, at least. Keisuke Takagi is an old friend of the hero, and the "quiet kid" at his high school (and you know what they say about the quiet ones...). Midori Komaki is 15, and a self-styled "Cosplay Queen." Both of them have a demon-compatible COMP unit, but that's hardly surprising as every other character in the game seems to have one as well.

In Devil Survivor, each character heads a battle unit consisting of a human summoner and two allied demons. When an enemy unit is engaged on the field, a single turn of battle is fought out, which resembles a classic MegaTen game. To make things more interesting, may new abilities are available for use.

It's almost Christmas-time in Japan, so if you have any holiday-themed questions on your mind, feel free to write in! In Japan, the Christmas season is over almost before it starts, so time's a-wasting.

And that's the news from Hi-no-Kuni,

Your man in Japan,

Gaijin Monogatari