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Demon's Souls director talks difficulty, sequel possibility

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 6th 2009 at 11:30PM }

Perhaps you've heard, but Demon's Souls is a hard game. Like really hard. Like bone-crushingly, soul-scathingly hard. Speaking to Game Informer, Demon's Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki explains why. According to Miyazaki, the difficulty was designed around giving players "a sense of accomplishment," specifically in regard to the soul collecting mechanic. For those who haven't played the game, souls act as currency and you lose all of them upon death. They can be regained, but only if you make it back to your bloodstain without dying twice more. Trust us, it's not as easy as it sounds.

According to Miyazaki, "If the Souls could be recovered anytime, there would be no suspense or sense of accomplishment." He added that he wants players to feel like, "I did it! I made it to my bloodstain!" Of course, Miyazaki fails to mention the sense of utter, despairing failure one feels when they don't make it back to their bloodstain (a frequent occurrence).

Regarding the possibility of a sequel, Miyazaki said he couldn't give a direct answer, but noted that the team learned a great deal on Demon's Souls and there were several things that didn't make it into the game. Given the opportunity, Miyazaki said he would "welcome the chance to create an even better game in the same style." Gluttons for punishment that we are, we'll take it.

Latest Shin Megami Tensei game taking a Strange Journey to North America

by JC Fletcher { Nov 5th 2009 at 8:00PM }

Well, okay. Maybe being localized by Atlus isn't that strange for a Shin Megami Tensei game. In fact, we'd say it's pretty normal these days!

Atlus announced today that it will bring over the first-person DS RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey in Spring 2010 (of course). The game features the demon negotiation that SMT fans associate with the series, in a new storyline involving a mysterious black hole opening up at the South Pole.

It looks like the kind of thing that would appeal not only to fans of games like SMT 3: Nocturne, but also to people who enjoy the DS's dungeon RPGs like Etrian Odyssey, to which it bears a strong resemblance. Journey into our gallery for screens and art.

Gallery: Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS)

Atlus replacing damaged Demon's Souls strategy guides

by JC Fletcher { Nov 5th 2009 at 12:00AM }

Is the print wearing off of the cover of your Demon's Souls strategy guide? It's not entirely because you've been holding it for hours with your sweaty hands, desperately thumbing through the few pages in a feeble attempt to improve your in-game performance. Atlus announced that the cover to the guide, included with the Deluxe Edition of the RPG, is conducive to "unusual cover ink/wear fading."

And because Atlus knows that you've grown attached to your ~~security blanket~~ strategy guide, the company will only ask you to send in the cover and first page if you'd like a replacement, and not the whole book. Full details on the replacement program will be posted here.

Demon's Souls to be even harder on Halloween

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 29th 2009 at 5:15PM }

The land of Boletaria in Demon's Souls will be plunged into "pure blackness" on Halloween for players connected to the internet. Publisher Atlus' announcement about its sleeper hit can be interpreted to mean that all players will have their world tendency shifted to black for the day (or a little longer), which affects enemy strength and player stats. A pure black tendency can mean that new passages and enemies may also exist.

"World Tendency" in Demon's Souls is another aspect of the challenging RPG that has a significant impact on the player's experience. If you're a new player who happens to pick up the game on Halloween ... don't panic. Yes, the game is hard, but it'll be a little bit more so with the entire world black aligned.

Atlus: More Demon's Souls shipping to retailers, deluxe edition discontinued

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 19th 2009 at 6:45PM }

Atlus USA announced today that it's deploying additional copies of Demon's Souls to North American retailers. Those who've been trying get a copy in a local brick-and-mortar establishment have likely noticed the game is pretty much sold out. The company also announced that the "deluxe edition," which included the 160-page strategy guide, will not be "remanufactured" -- good thing there's an official wiki.

Demon's Souls has quickly become one the surprise hits of the holiday season, garnering acclaim from various outlets (yes, even us, for those with reading comprehension skills) and has obviously had stronger sales than Atlus was originally expecting.

Yggdra Unison trailer: welcome back to Dept. Heaven

by JC Fletcher { Oct 19th 2009 at 6:45PM }

Atlus released a trailer for the latest game in Sting's Dept. Heaven series, Yggdra Unison. The most notable, and weird, aspect of the trailer? The seemingly random number-writing. Rather than relating to the amount of damage your characters dish out, it's an odd holdout from the game's first life on mobile phones.

Basically, each of your units is marked with a number, and on the phone version, you'd type that number to trigger that unit's part of the Unison Attack. For the DS version, the keypad is gone, but the numbers are still there. Of course, it has a long way to go before it can out-odd Knights in the Nightmare, a game in which you, as a ghost, take control of your units by possessing them.

ESRB rates Shin Megami Tensei MMO for US

by David Hinkle { Oct 16th 2009 at 4:00AM }

The ESRB website has posted a listing for Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online, an MMO where "players fight against or alongside demons in the post-apocalyptic (fictional) outskirts of Tokyo, Japan." The remainder of the description pretty much fits the MMO bill, as it mentions dungeon crawling, a multitude of weapons and spells, and real-time combat.

The game sounds like it's a bit on the mature side, too -- the listing mentions arterial spray, pools of blood and female demons "scantily clad, hovering in bondage-style outfits, half-open blouses, or the tightest of short-shorts." Hey, underworld, get with the times! Short-shorts haven't been cool since the Nixon administration.

Head past the break for a trailer from the Japanese release, courtesy of Aeria Games.

Continued →

Persona 3 Portable features Persona 4 cameo

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 15th 2009 at 4:30PM }

The upcoming PSP version of Persona 3 features a nice easter egg for fans of the franchise. According to Siliconera, Inaba, the town featured in Persona 4 will be a playable locale in the upcoming port. You must play as the female lead in order to visit the Amagiya Inn -- two years before the events of P4. There, you'll be able to meet a younger version of Yukiko.

Certainly, it's not the biggest news surrounding the game, but it gives us an excuse to post this video. P3P hits Japan next month.

Kenka Bancho: Banana Suit Rumble

by JC Fletcher { Oct 14th 2009 at 4:30PM }

How tough are the badasses of Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble? So tough that they can look intimidating in banana costumes, as demonstrated in these new screenshots. Not convinced? These dudes are so hardcore that the game's release date was moved up to face off with Modern Warfare 2. You have to be pretty ice cold to stand against that as a niche PSP game. We respect that.

Atlus sent an email detailing the game's inventory system, which is pretty simple: every item of clothing includes a certain number of pockets, up to a total of eight per complete outfit. Which means you have to be super tough to take on rival gangs in just your undies, because not only would that be really embarrassing to anyone but the most confident of fighters, you can't carry healing items.

Gallery: Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble (PSP)

Review: Demon's Souls

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 12th 2009 at 5:30PM }

Demon's Souls is not your friend, nor does it want or try to be. Your relationship is on its terms and you can love it or leave it.

From Software's dungeon crawler comes from some sick, demented alternate plane of existence, where arcades are thriving and popping quarters into your console is how publisher Atlus recoups the costs of the game. It's a reality where Diablo was a tremendous flop because gamers have accepted masochism as the only measure for a game's quality. Demon's Souls is your leather-clad mistress and -- the worst part -- if you can withstand the pain for almost eight hours, you may, in what can only be described as a horrifying epiphany ... begin to enjoy it.

Gallery: Demon's Souls

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Metareview: Demon's Souls (PS3)

by David Hinkle { Oct 9th 2009 at 6:25PM }

Demon's Souls from Atlus has been getting quite the positive buzz around the 'net watercooler, so we figured it prudent to check in with some of our colleagues on what they thought of the game. Unsurprisingly, that buzz is justified -- the game's been a resounding success with the majority of critics out there. So, without further ado, let's get to it:

RPGamer (100/100): "The game is very hard, but not unfairly so; each time you die, you'll learn a bit more about the level, and you'll be able to progress a bit further. I was very surprised with what I found in Demon's Souls."
IGN (94/100): "Every single person that owns a PS3 should at the very least rent this game to see what all the fuss is about, and those that can remember the good ol' days when games taught through the highly effective use of negative reinforcement and a heavy price for not playing it carefully should scoop this up instantly. It's utterly unique among the offerings on any console right now, and absolutely, positively should not be missed."
Eurogamer (90/100): "It's stoic, uncompromising, difficult to get to know, but also deep, intriguingly disturbed and perversely rewarding. You can learn to love Demon's Souls like few other games in the world. But only if you're prepared to give yourself over to it." [JPN Import]
GameSpot (90/100): "If you crave true innovation, a fair but relentless challenge, and gripping exploration in which every step has consequences, then you crave Demon's Souls."
GamePro (80/100): "In short, you'll have a blast but you'll pay a heavy price for it sooner or later."

Gallery: Demon's Souls

Persona 4 team performs a postmortem

by Justin McElroy { Oct 6th 2009 at 6:15PM }

You would assume, perhaps wisely, that a Persona 4 postmortem would refer to performing an autopsy on a poor soul who died of old age while trying to finish the epically long RPG. But all we've got for you today is the game's creators discussing the highs and lows of development with Gamasutra.

As is usual, the "lows" are actually just the difficult parts of designing the game rather than what didn't work about the title, but it's still worth a read to see how Atlus tackled the Herculean task of creating a 100-hour game that at least some of you lived to see the end of.

Demon's Souls wiki isn't going to save you

by Justin McElroy { Oct 6th 2009 at 4:15PM }

Demon's Souls, an Atlus-published action-RPG out this week on the PS3, is way too hard for you. We say this without knowing a thing about your skills and with no equivocation. If you're reading this, you're not good enough to play Demon's Souls, save for some sort of miraculous intervention.

Barring that, you're just going to have to rely on this new official wiki for the game, chock full of strategies to help keep you alive ... until your inevitable, predictable death.

Atlus says North American Demon's Souls servers not live until Oct. 6

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 4th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Are you an Atlus devotee who somehow snagged an early copy of this Tuesday's release of Demon's Souls for the PS3? If you do happen to be one of these folks, you might want to head over to the medicine cabinet and grab a chill pill, as Atlus says that nothing is wrong with the lack of connectivity to its North American servers, they just haven't been turned on yet.

Specifically, Atlus says, "What this means is that users that might manage to pick the game up early and start it up will get an immediate PSN error and have to start playing offline." Sure, you could shed a few tears and swear off the publisher forever, but look at it this way -- now you'll have two secret days of soul collecting to rub in your friends faces when the servers go live this Tuesday. Hooray!

Gallery: Demon's Souls

Atlus bringing Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition to XBLA in March '10

by Christopher Grant { Oct 1st 2009 at 1:30AM }

If you missed ACE Team's first-person melee title, and indie darling, Zeno Clash on PC earlier this year you'll have a second chance next March when the title comes to Xbox Live Arcade, courtesy of publisher Atlus. This won't be a straight port, however: "New modes –including all-new cooperative mode for the Tower Challenges –new features, and added content combine with a series of tweaks and improvements based on fan feedback to deliver the definitive version of the critically-acclaimed game." No word on if these "definitive" changes will make their way back to the original PC release.

Of course the Chile-based ACE Team is also hard at work developing the game's sequel so perhaps some of the tweaks in Ultimate Edition may reveal what's in store for the next iteration of the game. And with that, we add another title to the always growing list of Q1 2010 releases we have to play.