It's the last column of the month, and so we have another installment of Hiroyuki Maeda's Lovely Lady Lab series of fan-art.
First is everyone's favorite kung-fu girl, Chun-Li, looking poised and confident in a floral print kimono as she celebrates Chinese New Year. Our other lovely lady for the month is O-Ryuu, femme fatale of Shiren the Wanderer 3 for the PSP.
Just next week, Keroro RPG - The Knight, the Warrior, and the Legendary Pirate hits the shelves, and that's just enough time to have one last look. From what we've seen before, all of the non-amphibious cast members have at least one doppelganger in the fantasy realm, and each of them helps Keroro and Co. in different ways. Healing, slashing, localized Armageddon... well, just see for yourselves:
Not surprisingly, these aren't the only tricks that the Sarge has up his slimy sleeves. What's surprising is just what Bandai-Namco and the Tales Studio have thought to include in the arsenal.
I can only put names to a few of the things that Keroro can summon. DigDug, Pac-Man, Klonoa, the battle ship Andor Genesis from Xevious, the Taiko no Tatsujin mascot, and the little dude from Katamari Damacy all make an appearance, though.
And just when I thought they couldn't make the game any whackier, they added an in-game CCG. A parody of the Pokémon CCG, KeroCa! cards can be purchased from various stores in game and there's no lack of opponents, it seems. While it's no Triple Triad, it should make for an interesting diversion.
End of Eternity (or Resonance of Fate, if you prefer) went on sale at the end of last month here in Japan, but Tri-Ace has just now made a few things available to the fans. Here are some screenshots of the new custom themes available from PSN and the XBox Store.
PS3
Xbox 360
While we're on the subject of downloadables, the singing sensation sim game Idolmaster SP for the PSP has some interesting new items available. The main reason I'm mentioning it is the source material.
Fans of Idolmaster and Tales of Vesperia can now cosplay their bevy of beauties as Estel, with a custom top (1000 yen), rod and shield (200 yen each), and a choice of 12 songs from ToV (150 yen each).
For big RPG collectors, it's all about the swag. What special items, art, or whatnot are available with each title? For two new releases, at least, we have some images to share.
First up is the Limited Edition package for Endless Frontier EXCEED, which went on sale just this Thursday. Included in the set are a spiffy box, a 6-cartridge DS case, two discs of soundtrack, a dramatic CD, and an art book.
The second game we're looking at is Etrian Odyssey III. Its special item set includes a 10-copy set of illustrated clear files, a calendar poster, the requisite soundtrack, and a collectible phone card (they're strangely popular over here).
So, is it worth the extra price? That's for the gamers to judge.
Like Cookies for Chocolate
So Gaijin (hmm... maybe I shouldn't call you that given the general connotation)...
Anyway, you mentioned that you received several Valentine's gifts from your students this last week; given the tradition in Japan to follow up Valentine's Day with White Day in March, are you still obligated, though you're their teacher, to return a gift on March 14th? Or is White Day only obligatory for return of 'expressions of love' rather than gift to a favorite teacher?
Laters,
MagRowan
Gaijin
Eh, gaijin can be used in a derogatory manner, but I never mind. It's not like it isn't 100% accurate in my case. And I did choose my own username.
As for White Day, I am not obligated to give anything back. That doesn't mean that my kiddos won't all be getting cookies that week anyway. I'll probably just tie it in with my usual Easter stuff.
Thanks for asking, though!
And that's that for this week. Not much more to add down here.
And that's the news from Hi-no-Kuni,
Your man in Japan,
Gaijin Monogatari