Siliconera

Bandai revealed a teaser image for Ride Kamens, which will be a new free-to-play game themed after the Kamen Rider series for mobile devices.

The teaser image shows a handsome man dressed like a Kamen Rider who will be the new game's main character. But while Kamen Riders are usually known with helmets that wholly cover their heads, this character's hair and mouth are completely exposed, with the partially transparent visor also showing one of his eyes. The teaser also comes with a Japanese catchphrase that translates to "A hero has an unknown mask/face."

Bandai also announced the key staff members for Ride Kamens, and some of them have been involved for a long time with the Kamen Rider series. Yuya Takahashi, who fully wrote Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Geats, will create this game's main story and world setting with supervision from Toei's Naomi Takebe, who was also the producer of multiple series shows since 2001's Kamen Rider Agito.

San-Ei revealed a new batch of Kirby Kororon Friends plush. Waddle Dee and King Dedede are two of the seven characters that will newly join the plush collection lineup. The new stuffed animals will appear in April 2024. [Thanks, Game Watch!]

The plushes will come at varying prices based on their sizes. King Dedede, whose plush is the largest, will cost the highest at ¥2,750 (~$18.57).

The full batch lineup, price listing, and sample images are available right below. All prices are listed in Japanese yen and already include the Japanese 10% consumption tax.

• Waddle Dee: ¥1,760
• King Dedede: ¥2,750
• Magolor: ¥1,980
• Scarfy: ¥1,760
• Rick: ¥1,980
• Pon: ¥1,980
• Con: ¥1,980

Here's a closer look at all the new Kirby plush characters.

Idea Factory International’s next Switch otome Switch game is going to be Sympathy Kiss, a title that looks at love in the workplace. At the same time, it features more mature elements and fears, such as things like dealing with the looming concerns about layoffs, getting along with coworkers, and furthering your career. To help learn more, Siliconera spoke with Director Hiroe Aoki about the game and its themes.

Jenni Lada: How did real apps and software developers influence the development of Sympathy Kiss?

Hiroe Aoki: The release ofLover Pretend, a game I previously created, significantly influenced Sympathy Kiss, as I discovered that there are players who enjoy stories set in the modern real world. I decided to be bold and dive deeper into a story that explored that setting.

Sympathy Kiss is a workplace romance otome game that features more mature themes, so how did actual office life influence the tone, storylines, and love interests?

More NieR Automata merchandise like plush, sword replicas, and figures will appear soon for both consumption and for viewing. Sega will release plushes of the characters from February 22, 2024, and replicas of Pod 042, as well as Virtuous Treaty and Virtuous Contract weapons, will appear at Wonder Festival Winter 2024 on February 11, 2024. [Thanks, Denfaminico!]

For starters, the NieR Automata Ver1.1a plush will start appearing in Sega Plaza crane game machines from February 9, 2024. There will be large versions of the three main characters—2B, 9S, and A2—lying down on their front. Then from March 15, 2024, miniature versions of these figures will appear. Finally, from March 28, 2024, miniature versions of them with cat ears will be in the crane game machines.

AYANEO announced another mobile device for playing games, with this time it being an Android-based handheld that looks like the Switch called Pocket S. It pre-launched on Indiegogo ahead of its April 2024 launch, and there’s no price estimate for it yet.

While there are no detachable controllers, the general design of the Pocket S isn’t dissimilar to a Switch, Switch Lite, or even Vita. The placement of the D-pad, analog sticks, and action buttons are all similar, as are the left and right triggers. It does have a 1440p 6” screen, however. 

As for the internals, it is a Adreno A32 GPU Snapdragon G3x device. It works with the AYANEO AYAHome Desktop Launcher for game management and is designed to map mobile games to controllers. The company noted storage can go up to 1TB. Also, while a list of supported games wasn’t shared, the Indiegogo page does show Genshin Impact running in one of the photos.

Here’s the first trailer offering a look at the device. 

Takara Tomy revealed boxart designs for its upcoming Zoids - Monster Hunter crossover model kits. It shows how the Zoids will fight the monsters that source the former's armor designs. Beast Liger will face off against Magnamalo, while Sonic Bird will fight Rathalos.

The company has also published a background story on the franchise collaboration's webpage. It tells how the monsters and Felynes from the Monster Hunter universe appear in a Zoids world via a multiverse gate. The monsters attack mankind due to the lack of their original habitats, while the Felynes make friendly contact with humans and offer tips on fighting the monsters while finding a method to return to their original world. The world's defense forces eventually decided to produce special Zoids to deal with the monsters.

The full boxart images are available below, via the Japanese official Zoids X account. The first one features the Beast Liger in Sinister Armor fighting against Magnamalo:

As promised, HoYoVerse added Honkai: Star Rail Apple Vision Pro support and explained how it works following the 2.0 update. It also noted that only the US App Store offers Compatibility Mode. 

Essentially, anyone already playing Honkai: Star Rail can begin playing it on Apple’s new headset. They can use their existing account, or they could make a new account. All of the existing servers are supported. So even though the Honkai: Star Rail Apple Vision Pro Compatibility Mode is listed as a US App Store thing, the American, Asian, European, and TW, HK, MO servers are all available. 

In addition to needing a headset, people will need a controller to play with the Apple Vision Pro. HoYoVerse only mentioned ones from consoles being supported by the game and device. While the PS5 Dual Sense made sense, given Honkai: Star Rail is also available on the platform. However, the announcement also confirmed that Xbox One and Xbox Series X controllers will work with the game and Apple Vision Pro.

Honkai: Star Rail is immediately available on the PS5, PC, and Android and iOS mobile devices. The game is now compatible with the Apple Vision Pro following the February 6, 2024 2.0 update.

The Weekly Shonen Jump YouTube channel now has voiced manga of Kagurabachi. This is the first time that a series has ever been adapted for a “manga animation” in English. [Thanks, Shonen Jump News!]

You can watch the first three chapters of Kagurabachi as voiced comics here. First, here is chapter 1:

Next, here is chapter 2:

Finally, here is chapter 3:

Microsoft announced the latest Xbox Game Pass games for February 2024, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and the Resident Evil 3 remake are among them. This comes as a free Shantae costume arrives in 1.5 for Bloodstained.

Here’s the list of all the Xbox Game Pass titles joining this month alongside Bloodstained and Resident Evil 3.

• Anuchard (cloud, console, PC) - February 6, 2024
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (cloud, console, PC) - February 14, 2024
• A Little to the Left (cloud, console, PC) - February 14, 2024
• Madden NFL 24 (console, PC) - February 8, 2024
• PlateUp (cloud, console, PC) - February 15, 2024
• Resident Evil 3 (cloud, console, PC) - February 13, 2024
• Return to Grace (cloud, console, PC) - February 20, 2024

Sanrio and Spike Chunsoft have revealed a new collection of merchandise that pairs characters from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony with Sanrio mascots. The companies are selling the new items via lottery on Sanrio's Online Anime Store.

This collaboration pairs Danganronpa V3 characters with the following Sanrio mascots:

1. Kaede Akamatsu with My Sweet Piano
2. Rantaro Amami with Kero Kero Keroppi
3. Miu Iruma with Goropikadon
4. Shuichi Saihara with Pochacco
5. Tsumugi Shirogane with Bonbonribbon
6. Korekiyo Shinguji with Pokoponnikki
7. Maki Harukawa with Cherry Chums
8. Kaito Momota with Bad Badtz-maru
9. Kokichi Oma with Kuromi
10. K1-B0 with Cinnamoroll

Even more Nijisanji English Vtubers have announced breaks from social media or stream cancelations following the termination of Selen Tatsuki. Among the latest members to speak up or take time are Enna Alouette, Fulgar Ovid, Finana Ryugu, Kyo Kaneko, Uki Violeta, and Meloco Kyoran.

Kyo, as a reminder, will be graduating from Nijisanji on February 17, 2024. He canceled his February 5, 2024 stream after the news.

Finana announced a break from social media and streaming. She didn’t note when exactly she will be back, just saying she’ll return “next week.”

Good Smile Company opened up pre-orders for a scale figure of Racing Miku 2023 Version. She’ll come out in February 2025 for Japan and Q3 2025 for North America. The figure will cost 27,800 JPY, which is about $183.99.

The Racing Miku 2023 figure uses the original design that toridamono made for the 2023 Hatsune Miku GT Project. The figure shows her wearing an outfit that’s mostly white, with red accents. There are holes in the shoulders, as well as in the sides, making it a rather revealing figure. Miku’s hair is in her signature pigtails, and she has a white beret as well. There’s a version of her that’s holding a flag saying “Good Smile Racing,” and in the figure, one of the birds is holding the flag instead.

Since this is a scale figure, it does not have any optional parts, nor can you adjust the pose. Miku is standing very excitedly with a big smile on her face. She’s also holding her hands like she’s pointing at something, or she’s trying to signal an L.

Japanese eyewear brand Zoff announced a collaboration with Honkai: Star Rail to release glasses based on the popular RPG. The company will open web reservations for the glasses in late April 2024.

Four models of glasses will be available as part of the collaboration. An exclusive wipe and case for the glasses will be included with the purchase of each model. A test corner to try the new glasses will be set up at some physical Zoff stores in Japan, and original capsule toys will also be available.

At the time of writing there is no information on how the new Honkai: Star Rail glasses will look like. More information and details on the new collaboration will appear in the official Zoff website, as well as social media.

Following the termination of Selen Tatsuki, a number of Nijisanji English Vtubers are taking various breaks. The four total who made statements on February 5, 2024 were Rosemi Lovelock, Alban Knox, Ike Eveland, and Victoria Brightshield.

Rosemi noted that her break will last for “a few days.” She specifically noted it refers to social media and didn’t mention if it will apply to streaming.

Alban also noted his break will last “some time.” His announcement also stated it will apply to social media, but didn’t mention if it will include streams.

HoYoVerse confirmed that there will once again be more Honkai: Star Rail Stellar Jade codes to redeem for the “It’s Always Night in Penacony” 2.0 special program, and here they are. It brought it up ahead of the February 5, 2024 event, and also confirmed Twitch Drops will increase the count to 30 during the presentation.

This will mark the second batch of Stellar Jade for players to redeem release ahead of the Honkai: Star Rail 2.0 update. As usual, there are three codes people can enter, and they’re good until February 18, 2024. You get 100 Stellar Jades with each one, as well as some other items. That’s one full 160 Stellar Jades pull on a gacha banner.

Here are the Honkai: Star Rail Stellar Jade codes for the 2.0 “It’s Always Night in Penacony” Special Program 

As usual, each code redeemed gives you a handful of items to use in-game. In addition to the Stellar Jades, you get Credits, characters and Light Cone experience items. 

Two executives from a Tokyo-based manga and anime retailer company were arrested on suspicion of violating the copyright law of Japan. The suspects are accused of leaking Weekly Shonen Jump manga chapters ahead of their official release. [Thanks, NHK!]

Two people are accused of using a smartphone to take pictures of a Weekly Shonen Jump manga chapter and sharing them online five days prior to its release in March 2023. According to the police, the suspects partially denied the charges and claimed they did not share the images.

36-year-old Moussa Samir is one of the suspects arrested. His company, Japan Deal World, sells popular anime and manga goods and is based in Kita Ward, Tokyo. The suspects were arrested on January 2024 by the Kumamoto Prefectural Police and are currently in custody.

Atlus and Vanillaware shared another Unicorn Overlord trailer, this time detailing how to build relationships in the game and what sort of benefits they bring on the battlefield. This is one of several videos released ahead of the game's launch on March 8, 2024.

The rapport system will be familiar to anyone who has played the Fire Emblem games, consisting of a relationship meter that fills when characters fight together or receive gifts from Alain. Multiple characters can gain rapport at the same time by sharing a meal at a tavern, with bonus rapport earned if they like the dish. Upon reaching certain thresholds, characters will receive stat bonuses when fighting in the same unit, as well as unlock conversation scenes for you to view. The trailer rounds out by stating that the next video will focus on character growth and training.

You can watch the full Unicorn Overlord Relationships trailer via Youtube below:

Square Enix shared a FFVII Rebirth interview with the Cloud voice actor Cody Christian. In some of the more notable segments, Christian brought up how challenging the recording process can be, especially as he played Cloud at different ages in this installment. He also noted, “The best thing about playing Cloud Strife… is being able to play Cloud Strife, man.”

First, here’s Christian’s official statement on voicing Cloud at different ages throughout FFVII Rebirth and how that affected his performance.

Honestly, I had to do some actual physical changes, kind of lightening up the tone, trying to reach a higher octave. Naturally, my voice sits a little lower, so that was fun to explore.

There were two different age brackets. There was like a younger, younger cloud and then a slightly older version of that. And then the current state that I voice them in.

HoYoVerse announced a February 29, 2024 release date for Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 7.3. It also previewed some of the things people can expect in a new trailer and opened pre-registration at the official site. 

As a reminder, when this new launch of Honkai Impact 3rd occurs, it will take players to Mars for Mars Crisis. The new stars and playable characters will be Senadina, from the Sea of Data, Earth’s Erdos Helia, and a young woman from Earth with ears and a tail named Coralie 6626 Planck. Pre-registering gets people a Warm-Up Bundle with an Anchoring the Past and Present Memorial Ribbon, a bundle of Growth Materials for characters, a Voyage to the Future Memorial Emblem, and entries into raffles for an Apple Vision Pro, Nintendo Switch, and other electronics. 

Once 7.3 arrives, there are also a handful of celebratory bonuses to get. Everyone can get a Coralie character card, recommended weapon, stigma set, and 10 Focused Supply Cards. You also get to choose one S-rank Battlesuit as a bonus gift. Three of the ones shown as option sare Dea Anchora, Fallen Rosemary, and Herrscher of Thunder. 

Independent Vtuber Dokibird announced that she will return to streaming on February 7, 2024 to celebrate the Lunar New Year with fans. She also issued a number of statements on social media explaining her absence and expressing her thanks to people. 

Ahead of Dokibird’s return, she shared an announcement explaining her absence. In the first written statement, she discussed her hospitalization and announced her return.

Following that, she also released two voice tweets further going into the situation. Here’s the first one, which explained how she learned about the situation. During it, she also thanked her community and fans. 

Square Enix has released their Consolidated Financial Results for the nine-month period of April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 of the 2024 financial year. As seen in their previous 1st quarter and half year reports, Square Enix has continued to see an increase in sales but a decline in profits due to an increase in development and advertisement costs. [Thanks, gamebiz!]

The report states that Square Enix is continuing to make efforts to "strengthen the competitiveness and profitability" of the various arms of the company including Digital Entertainment, Amusement, Publication, and Merchandising. The company reported ¥257,612 million in net sales during the nine-month period ending December 31, 2023. This is an increase of 0.8% from the company's prior fiscal year during the same period of time. Square Enix also reported a 15.5% decrease in its operating income which totaled ¥34,918 million.

Square Enix announced a new Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis wand weapon and piece of gear for Aerith. Rather than continuing the Valentine’s Day initiative, this is a more fantasy-themed set.

The highlighted weapon this time is the Floral Wand. It’s a five-star piece of equipment. It both deals damage and debuffs a single enemy with its C. Ability Floral Flare. That deals 420% non-elemental physical damage, while also reducing physical defense. If Aerith’s health is above half, she’ll also lower the enemy’s resistance to wind-based attacks. 

As for the new gear, that’s the Floral Gown. Square Enix didn’t detail what its specific abilities are. However, if people get these kinds of pieces of gear via the Stamp Card, they tend to boost stats and provide other bonuses.

The last new items added to Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis were for Tifa and Yuffie. The former’s was a pair of Oven Mitts that could be earned from the event and are a weapon. The latter got a Diner Tray weapon and Sparkling Skater gear from a themed banner.

The first DLC for Koei Tecmo and Omega Force's Fate/Samurai Remnant is set to launch on February 9, 2024, unleashing Gilgamesh and his Keian Command Championship on the masters of Edo. The DLC was originally announced back in late December 2023.

Gilgamesh is a staple in the Fate franchise and shows up as a supporting character in Fate/Samurai Remnant, though he first appeared all the way back in the original Fate/Stay Night. Details are light on the new DLC, but what we do know is that the King of Heroes is holding a tournament of his own and will be compelling the masters and servants of the Waxing Moon ritual to take part. A certain amount of story progress will be required to play the DLC, but how much exactly is unknown.

The DLC is the first of 3 included with the game's season pass, with the other two expected in July and September 2024. The season pass is also included with the game's deluxe edition, although Koei Tecmo stated that the DLC episodes will be available for purchase individually at a later date, minus the season pass bonuses.

Imagine you are reborn into a world as an adventurer and end up forming a party with a dumb goddess who drinks too much, an explosion-happy wizard who complains about being flat-chested, and a noble warrior who gets turned on by the idea of being eaten by monsters. What sort of hijinks would you think you’d end up stumbling into while adventuring with an eccentric party like that? Konosuba: Love for These Clothes of Desire answers that question by giving Konosuba fans a wacky dress-up visual novel filled with sexy, salacious outfits to dress the Konosuba women in, producing some interesting storylines that range from humorous to straight up raunchy. 

Ahead of the 2.0 Honkai: Star Rail launch, HoYoVerse shared a new Black Swan trailer and announced a fan art contest. The trailer shows her alongside the Trailblazer Stelle and in battle, while the fan art contest runs until February 29, 2024 and offers a chance to earn money and Stellar Jades.

First, here’s the new Black Swan Honkai: Star Rail trailer. It features Stelle being chased by an enemy in the Dreamscape. It is there that she runs into Black Swan and hears her discussion of memories.

Square Enix released more details for the upcoming Open Beta for Final Fantasy XIV on Xbox Series X/S. The test is set to begin on February 21, 2024, and will function similarly to the free trial version of the game available on other platforms.

Ahead of the test, Square Enix detailed some setting adjustments that may be necessary for the game to function, including enabling cross-network play. The company also stated that it will only be available to new players, and asks that existing players wait until the official release following the conclusion of this test. While there is nothing to stop an existing player creating a new account, it would require linking Microsoft and Square Enix accounts, which cannot be unlinked. This could mean that when the game is released officially on the service, said player would not be able to then link their main account for playing on console.

The Free login campaign for FFXIV also returned in February 2024, allowing lapsed players to return for four days. Square Enix has also shown off the new emote added as part of the Valentine's Day celebrations, which will begin later this month.

A new manga called Astro Baby just launched in Shonen Jump. Chapter 1 is now available to read in English on MangaPlus and via Viz Media. 

In Astro Baby, the world is faced with a cannibal disease called Couper-29 as the result of a meteorite in the town of North Hill. Those infected become cannibals. A young man named Billy grew up in a town where it started to appear, and only one scientist named Eleanor believed him when he saw it starting to happen. Billy returned as a soldier years later for her sake, especially since she’s now about to be a single mother. Now, he’ll have to help protect her child as well.

This new series comes from Shiro Moriya. The mangaka previously worked on Soloist in a Cage. That story ran for three volumes and also featured dystopian themes. That also appears on MangaPlus.

As for past new series in Shonen Jump, one appeared in January 2024. That was a spin-off of Kaiju No 8called Kaiju no 8: B-Side. 

Sanrio revealed that new earrings featuring its characters have appeared in Japan. Officially titled Sanrio Characters Stainless Hoop Pierce, the earrings come etched with small illustrations of iconic characters like Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll.

Sanrio also revealed that the silver-colored earrings are made of surgical stainless steel with a low probability of causing metallic allergies. The collection features a total of ten characters:

1. Cinnamoroll
2. Pompompurin
3. Kuromi
4. Pochacco
5. Hello Kitty
6. My Melody
7. Hangyodon
8. Little Twin Stars
9. Tuxedosam
10. Bad Badtz-maru

Sunrise has opened the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Series GP2024 poll where fans can vote for their favorite character and Mobile Suit or Armor. The poll features 127 characters and 102 mechs from one of the popular Gundam sub-series. It also includes characters and Mobile Suits that debuted in Gundam SEED Freedom. The latter movie launched in Japanese theaters in late January 2024 and grossed over a billion yen within the first three days.

Despite the numbers mentioned, this poll only features content from the three mainline anime entries: the inaugural 2002 show, the 2004 sequel Gundam SEED Destiny, and the new Gundam SEED Freedom movie. The Cosmic Era universe also has numerous side-story entries, such as the Astray series, the Gundam SEED Eclipse manga, and the 2006 net animation Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer. None of the content from the latter titles appears in this poll.

Square Enix will hold the Final Fantasy VII Remake / Rebirth Fireworks & Music show in Osaka on March 23, 2024. The show will feature a synchronized lighting and fireworks performance timed with tracks from FFVII Remake and its sequel Rebirth. The latter will be already available by the time this show goes live, as Square Enix will release Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024.

Tickets for the show will be available at ¥8,800 (~$59). Each ticket will come with a leisure sheet mat and have a designated spot in one of the two areas: Dynamic Area and Panorama Area. Each visitor will have to purchase a ticket for themselves, but a child aged up to 6 years old can attend for free if they sit on an adult's lap.

The show will run in the eastern plaza of Osaka Expo '70 Commemorative Park. The venue will be open to the public from 11 AM JST, but the organizers will restrict it to the FFVII Remake / Rebirth Fireworks & Music show ticket holders at 5 PM.

Anycolor announced the graduation of Nijisanji EN Vtuber Selen Tatsuki via Termination. She is no longer with the agency effective immediately, with the company citing breaches of contract and behavior online as the reasons.

Here’s the official announcement from social media. In the statement, the company alleged it has been warning Selen since May 2023 about violations of the Activity Rules for its Vtubers. It also cited the release of the cover of the song “Last Cup of Coffee” and her behavior after its was privated as one of these violations. It also noted that February 5, 2024 is her official last day, her social media is now private, her YouTube membership is closed, and merchandise sales will gradually end.

Here is the Selen Tatsuki termination announcement.

The Persona series has always had a wide cast of characters. Whether you loved them or hated them, they often left an impression. Below, we've made a list of who we think could be the best Persona character in the series. Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.

Don't get mad at me, but Yosuke from Persona 4 is the best character. Why might that be? I think he's a character who undergoes a lot of growth. He starts out hypersensitive about what people think about him and wants to prove himself as somebody worthy of attention rather than derision.

He can be rather bigoted over things he doesn't understand, and many of his jokes come at the expense of hurting other's feelings, but as Persona 4 progresses, he learns how to let go of his prejudices and become a genuine friend. He's loyal, goofy, and always striving to do the right thing. He's a dumb teenager, but he's also a dumb teenager who cares about others. Also, he has a disco frog as a Persona, and that's really neat. — Arielle

I might get flak for this one, but my favorite character in Persona is actually Rise Kujikawa from Persona 4. I know, at first glance, she's the typical pop idol, but her story really resonated with me. At first, Rise is a bubbly celebrity who beams with energy. But then we quickly learn that she's actually struggling with her happiness and the image she has to project for others.

After 8 long years, Granblue Fantasy Relink is finally here and playable, with a sizeable roster of characters set to be added with post-launch content. But with a cast so large, who exactly will Cygames add? Here are a few of our picks.

Black Knight and Orchid

Apollonia, the Black Knight, plays an important part in the earlier arcs of Granblue Fantasy's story. First as a menacing adversary working for the Erste empire and later as a begrudging ally. I've been asking, nay, begging Cygames to add her to Versus since it released, but she could be just as interesting to see implemented as characters in Relink.

I wasn’t afraid of the Reaper in most iterations of Persona 3 prior to Persona 3 Reload. I played every version, mind you, both for work and fun. But because of the way that I played, I didn’t fear Tartarus’ greatest foe.

Persona 3 Reload made me genuinely fear the Reaper.

Okay, so, in past games I always go for efficiency when exploring Tartarus. Especially after getting through the first 100 floors, because by that point I’m sort of done. I don’t want to waste time exploring. I’ll probably even forget to rescue people who wandered in by that point. I just want to reach the next wall so I can go back and do the daily life stuff and see the story. This means I never really encountered the Reaper unless I was trying to. If you aren’t lazing about, that boss isn’t going to show up.

In Persona 3 Reload, other elements culminated to make an opponent who didn’t see unless I was really looking for it before turn into a genuine threat. It first happened around November in-game. I was going in a bit more often when not engaging in daily life due to finishing the Mutatsu and Tanaka social links. I realized that if it was a darkened floor, the Reaper was not only more likely to appear, but would show up more quickly. 

If you follow Japanese merchandise sites, you might have already realized that Tom and Jerry is surprisingly popular in Japan. So much so that Cartoon Network Japan even aired short, incredibly cute episodes of an original anime based on the duo. I mean, look at this.

There is no better time than the present to be a visual novel and adventure game fan. The genre has experienced a sort of renaissance within the last decade, with plenty of new and creative titles like the AI: The Somnium Files series or Paranormasight keeping things fresh, and timeless classics like Famicom Detective Club or Type-Moon’s legendary Fate/stay night receiving their first ever English release. However, among the genre's vast catalog, I am sorely missing Kyle Hyde’s Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Last Window: The Secret of Cape West.

RGG Studio has announced that it will release free DLC for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. This is to thank fans for its 1 million units milestone.

The free DLC is an in-game Celebratory T-Shirt Set. Some of the designs that RGG Studio shared in the Tweet include one of the playable characters, one of the Sega logo above pixel art versions of the main characters, and two shirts with Kiryu and Kasuga’s full names on them. The replies to RGG Studio’s Tweet have been very positive. Some users are even asking if there are any plans to manufacture and sell these shirts in real life. There will be more designs as well. Sega will give more information about when the Celebratory T-Shirt Set DLC will come out for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth in the future.

The more recent Persona games always offer situations where there is so much to do, but not enough time to do accomplish everything. With Persona 3 Reload, I ended up finding the Dating Site Note and shared computer in the dorm to be one of the best quality of life features, and it saved me from wasting so much time.

Not, the Dating Site Note isn’t exactly what it sounds like, but at the same time totally is. Once you get to November in the game — which is starting to be crunch time as we all know — the Paulownia Mall URL vendor at the club will begin selling the Dating Site Note. Unlike his other URLs, you can buy multiples of it. This is because for each use, you can choose one of your social links and get a two point boost to the relationship. 

JP Games has announced development on its new RPG project, Shallah. It will be about a love story between a human and a goddess, and take inspiration from One Thousand and One Nights. [Thanks, PR Times!]

According to JP Games, it will be a cutting-edge “adult” RPG about themes of life and death. Aside from the love story, it will also feature battles that use magic and sorcery. Shallah will have a worldwide release, though there is no information yet in regards to the consoles. The first key visual from the game shows a city lit up under the moon, with many clouds. The city itself has a Middle Eastern look to it.

McDonald’s Japan has revealed the Happy Meal toys for its upcoming Pokemon collaboration. You’ll be able to start getting them in McDonald’s from February 9, 2024.

There will be two types of toys. The first type will be tags that you’ll be able to use when playing Pokemon Mezastar. Pokemon Mezastar is limited to Japan, and it is an arcade game that you can play using physical tags.

These tags contain the Pokemon that you'll use, and when you catch a Pokemon, it'll spit out another tag for you to keep. There will be six variations of Pokemon to collect from the McDonald’s Happy Meals, including Terastallized versions of Koraidon and Miraidon.

The other type of Pokemon Happy Meals toy is likely what McDonald’s teased in late January 2024. The teaser then showed several Pokemon, such as Pikachu and Espurr, standing in a house. From February 9, 2024, you’ll be able to get stickers and coloring books of cute Pokemon and common household items. The name of this series is Pokemon Peaceful Place.