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The game once called "not just the best Sega CD RPG ever, but one of the best on any Sega system" has eventually moved to almost all of the systems, as Lunar: The Silver Star has been remade and re-released on the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation, the PC, and even the GBA. And now here it comes again on the PSP as Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. This time around, the graphics have been given a complete makeover, and cutscenes have been added in, along with new voicework and music as well. Although going by the video above, XSEED might not have even bothered -- the new anime style turns a console RPG relic into something that looks like Ranma ½.

But the gameplay is still there, and the story is a good one. Lunar: Silver Star Harmony should be out in stores on March 2nd, available both for $29.99 and as a limited edition for $39.99.

NIS America isn't all about making niche video games. No, they're going to be making niche anime DVDs as well. Beginning mid-2010, NIS America will roll out their new anime line, beginning with these four titles: Toradora!, Persona: Trinity Soul, PandoraHearts, and Our Home's Fox Deity.

Jack Niida confirmed that these titles will be available exclusively on DVD at first, although didn't rule out the possibility of Blu-ray, PlayStation Network and Zune Marketplace releases in the future. These series will receive a limited print, and will be available through online specialty retailers -- brick and mortar stores, like Best Buy and Walmart, will not carry these titles. Series will be sold as box sets, with approximately half a season included in each package. The press release also states that "like its video game offerings, anime titles will be available with collector's items."

When questioned why NIS America would enter yet another niche market, Niida told us that "a lot of anime companies have shut down," leaving only Funimation, Bandai and VIZ Media to represent the entirety of the US anime market. NIS America wanted to pursue some of the smaller titles that would otherwise never find an English language distributor. Certainly, this is good news for Persona fans, but we wish NIS America the best of luck tackling an industry plagued with an even larger piracy problem than games.

Tales of Vesperia continues gracing the PS3 with more and more content. The First Strike, an animated film prequel to the game, will be available on Blu-ray in Japan and it'll unlock extra costumes for the PS3 version of the game. (Undoubtedly, this will make some Xbox 360 owners quite angry.)

This isn't the first time a Blu-ray has been enhanced for the PS3. Most recently, District 9 featured a playable God of War III demo. Zombieland also includes a dynamic XMB theme. However, Tales of Vesperia seems to be charting new territory by unlocking additional game content via a Blu-ray movie. It's certainly an interesting experiment: one we'd like to see more and more movies take advantage of. See a trailer for the movie after the break.

[Via Andriasang]

If you prefer Street Fighter in hand-drawn 2D instead of the look of Street Fighter IV, and if you prefer it to be ... completely non-interactive, well, Capcom has some exciting news. A Super Street Fighter IV anime project is in the works from the Gonzo animation company. The anime focuses on Juri (and her weird glowing eye), but also contains "great fighting action," "backstory goodness," and "plenty of Cammy and the Dolls," according to Capcom's Seth Killian.

How to see the anime is a bit of a mystery. Capcom is offering it to Xbox 360 buyers of Super Street Fighter IV as a bonus (possibly as some kind of download or through Xbox Live Marketplace), but that offer is for Japan only. The fact that a trailer is available on Xbox Live Marketplace in North America suggests that it will be available here in some form. We're checking with Capcom for details. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer above or through your Xbox.

Shortcut: Download the Super Street Fighter IV anime trailer

Sega sneaked the Image Epoch-developed apocalyptic RPG Sands of Destruction into stores this week. In a display of corporately synergistic timing, FUNimation has also released the anime online -- for free! If you don't mind watching it in a window on your computer, you can see either the first two episodes in dubbed format or all 13 episodes with subtitles.

Of course, for those of you who enjoy watching things on televisions, FUNimation plans to release a two-DVD set containing the entire season on January 26. We haven't watched yet, but we're definitely looking forward to this feel-good tale of some kids out to destroy the world and save humanity from beast-man enslavement.

[Via GSW]

After a successful partnership on XBLA/PSN release Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (breath), Udon Entertainment and Capcom are once again working together, though this time the Street Fighter comic book artists are adding endings to upcoming Wii fighter Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. Despite Udon's pedigree, the announcement post remains overwhelmingly humble, saying, "Everyone at Udon is very proud to have contributed to such an epic piece of video game and anime history." We haven't gotten our hands on any screens of the endings just yet, but we'll be sure to give you a gander as soon as we do.

[Via Capcom-Unity]

Today's the day, folks. The last weekend of a two-month long, mostly bi-weekly Halo Legends release on Xbox Live Marketplace. While you can find the "Making of" version of this week's episode next week, "Origins Part 1" will mark the last free episode of the soon-to-be-released series. And yes, that "Part 1" modifier certainly does indicate a cliffhanger ending -- particularly considering this episode includes information on the barely talked about Forerunners of the Halo franchise. And now, if you'll excuse us, we're off to peep this joint for ourselves.

Namco Bandai is unsurprisingly working on a sequel to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. Revealed in the latest issue of V-Jump, the sequel will take place right where the first game left off, at the beginning of the Shippuden series. Not only will the cast of characters be older in the sequel, Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is promising some big new features, primarily 4-player support and a multiplatform release. Yep, unlike the first game, Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 will be released on both PS3 and Xbox 360.

Details are slim at the moment, but with a planned 2010 release in Japan, we'll undoubtedly find out more soon. So long as CyberConnect 2 can expand on the game's depth while keeping its good looks, anime fans will want to keep an eye out for this one.

[Thanks Fidoboy17; Via Siliconera]

It seems Naruto is well on his way towards becoming a football announcer. Namco Bandai's games based on the anime franchise continue their proliferation. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 is coming to PSP and it continues Naruto's inability to save his friend Sasuke.

The big new features for this third iteration of Shippuden are four-player battles, a new story mode and an expanded roster of characters (Namco Bandai is promising over 50). In addition to the usual fighting modes, a new cooperative ad-hoc feature will let three players connect with each other and play through the adventure mode. While the enhancements sound promising, we wonder if fans haven't grown tired of these annual iterations yet.

If you managed to get into the MAG beta and thought that was a lot of downloading, Aksys' Record of Agarest War is going to blow your mind. The PSN title will weigh in "somewhere around 8 - 10 gigs," an Aksys employee posted on the game's forums. Obviously, eight to ten gigabytes isn't going to be much space for your PS3's big and burly hard drive and it's definitely understandable considering the game was originally a disc-based release in Europe; however, the time it'll take to download all of those gigglebytes is another story.

We suggest starting the download before you go to bed or -- considering the "100 hour" adventure isn't actually out yet -- taking the Delorean up to 88MPH.

[Via Siliconera]

If you enjoyed the Cowboy Bebop-meets-Master Chief action presented in the first episode of Halo Legends (seriously, that main character looked just like Spike Spiegel!), then you may want to check out the second episode of the Spartan-themed anime premiering today on Halo Waypoint. For 24 hours starting at 12:00AM PST (about eight hours ago), Xbox Live Silver and Gold members will be able to access "The Duel" through the "all-things-Halo" hub.

Microsoft also notes that this will be the last week for Xbox Live Silver members to explore Waypoint, and in turn, enjoy the weekly free episodes of Halo Legends. If you're wondering what time the show will be available for you and you don't live in North America, a full list of showtimes is available on Xbox.com.

With talent from "Blood the Last Vampire" and "Ergo Proxy" (oh, and "Samauri Champloo") involved, it should've been clear that "Dante's Inferno: The Animated Epic" was going to be sickeningly violent. A newly released trailer for the straight-to-video anime spin-off reveals that this Dante's Inferno project isn't a single film, but rather a compilation of animated shorts, much like "The Animatrix," "Batman: Gotham Knight" and, most recently, "Halo: Legends."

We're pretty certain Dante Alighieri is rolling in his grave right now, as this anthology of multiple interpretations of Visceral Games' interpretation of the original epic poem is so very far removed from the source. But hey, it's Alighieri's fault for not having the foresight to write about someone's head getting chopped in half!

Expect The Animated Epic to arrive on DVD and Blu-ray in February, the same month as the game.

Time for another PlayStation Video Store freebie. You can get the first episode of Naruto Shippuden Uncut on your PS3 or PSP for zero dollars. The "Shippuden" story takes place a few years after the events of the first Naruto series, and covers the latter half of the manga's story. Note: the free episode is presented dubbed in English and presented in 4:3.

You know what? We're done making fun of Dragon Ball Z on Joystiq. We always end up doing so much research just to pull a joke off that the only ones who get it are the ones whose feelings we hurt. It's a sucker's game and besides that, it's just mean.

So we're just going to tell you, without judgment, that Dragon Ball: Raging Blast has a demo that's now available on Xbox Live, and that it's a perfect way to kill time until the babysitter finishes heating up your Pizza Rolls.

... Shit.

Koei recently sent over a handful of screenshots from its recently announced video game adaptation of the Fist of the North Star anime series, Hokuto Musou, which is due out in Japan in 2010. Thankfully for those of us who aren't manga aficionados, these screens were accompanied by a brief primer on the series' plot. We won't bore you with the entire premise, but instead offer you this highlight from Koei's description:

"Channeling their energy into a single deadly blow, players can strike their victims and cause them to violently explode on screen. Gamers can also let loose with Kenshiro's signature move- a ruthless flurry of ferocious punches, triggering the instantaneous breakdown of internal organs, and death."

Yes, please.