The last amazing PS2 game is out here!!!

SMT: Persona 4 is finally out in the States today for the PS2 (Wow I have been plugging anything Japanese related today with TvC and Dragon Quest X). Even though I'm not a Japanese RPG fan, I do respect this franchise's recent greatness with Persona 3, FES, and now Persona 4. For those who don't know about this, it is pretty much the best non Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy based RPG series around in gaming with its unique and unorthodox style. The anime look is awesome and it is just full of crazy stuff (hence the intro and amazing music above). Yeah, it is on the PS2 and most of us have now to the current generation of consoles, but those who still never jumped in to the HD Era yet, this is indeed the last amazing game on the PS2. I highly recommend buying this if you're a crazy JRPG fan especially after disappointments in the current generation this year like The Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery (Lost Odyssey, Tales of Vesperia, and Valkyria Chronicles seem to be the good JRPGs this year for 360 and PS3).

Plus, there's also Kingdom Hearts: RE Chain of Memories that came out last week on PS2, which is the remake of the GBA game with PS2 graphics (that appeared on KH II Final Mix last year). Anyone that skipped the GBA original should check this one out even though this takes place between the first and second games. Its no Kingdom Hearts III or even any of the upcoming handheld games, but for Kingdom Hearts fans, it is worth it if u haven't played KH II Final Mix yet. Then again, I'm not a Kingdom Hearts fan either, but I might as well plug this one too.

Anyway, buy Persona 4 if u still have a PS2!!!!

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is out at Japan!!! (Plus a updated bombshell!!!)

My only reason for a Japanese Wii these days is for this one game, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes. It came out today at Japan (its the 11th there I guess) and likely be only there for a while since the Wii is not region-free. It is also out on arcades there, but I think it won't get the console exclusive characters like Viewitiful Joe. For those who don't know, TvC is the next crossover game by Capcom (last crossover game in this style is Marvel vs. Capcom 2) and supposedly going to be the second coming of the versus series (They don't have Marvel licensing anymore). Just like MvC2, the controls are a little awkward at first not being a six-button fighter like the Street Fighter games, but focuses on four buttons of light, medium, and heavy attacks (no punch or kick variety) and something else I forgot. The Wii version also has mini-games that utilize the Wiimote for specific things. The roster is a who's who of Capcom and the Tatsunoko anime brand (which is why a U.S. release is doubtful because of that licensing). At least the Capcom lineup supports a diverse cast from past and recent games like Soki from Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Batsu from Rival Schools, and a Lost Planet Vital Suit (Hell, even the final boss of Okami, Yami, is a final boss). I do hope Tatsunoko vs. Capcom comes out officially in the States in some fashion whether on the Wii, or some arcades willing to pony up for an official cabinet (especially here at SoCal).

Random UPDATE: So Dragon Quest X is just announced exclusively for the Wii which is another reason to pony up for a Japanese Wii and DQ IX is not even out yet on DS (now on March 28 at Japan). For those you don't know Dragon Quest, it is the biggest RPG franchise in Japan (yes, even bigger than Final Fantasy). Getting DQ X exclusive for Wii is a big thing for Nintendo and now they pretty much own Japan with that announcement (the Wii and DS continue to dominate Japan - well maybe till Final Fantasy XIII comes out on PS3 there).

Basically the Wii's future might be not so bad after all.

• Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (I want this game!!!)
• Punch-Out!!
• Sin & Punishment 2
• MadWorld
• Monster Hunter Tri
• Dragon Quest X (likely in 2010 at this point)

The Boxing Torch has been Passed...

I just came back from watching Manny Pacquiao owning Oscar De La Hoya in a boxing "dream match" and let's just say the boxing torch has been passed. Right from the beginning you can tell who will win and Manny goes all off on Oscar throughout the whole fight. Clearly, Golden Boy looked like an old hag going at heavyweight speed compared to Pac-Man's quickness and evasive tactics. Oscar was flat outmatched and outclassed tonight as pretty much the changing of the guard has taken place with Manny proving in a big fight setting being the best pound-for-pound fighter in the boxing business today. The TKO win at Round 9 felt right as Manny was punching Oscar left and right for the previous eight rounds. I was disappointed there were no knockdowns as Golden Boy knew he was defeated and had to throw the towel. It was better for him to do that anyway rather than get knocked out, so he admitted defeat in a cowardly way I guess. The Philippines is probably still rioting and go crazy over this win, but Pac-Man fought a smart fight and decisively beat Golden Boy up tonight.

Anyone playing the Resident Evil 5 JP Demo?

The Japanese demo of Resident Evil 5 is out for 360 (a week or two later on PSN), which is basically a run-through (also playable for co-op) of the demo levels we have seen tons of times, but it is finally nice to have this out as a download. Even though I would love to play this now and desperately get a Japanese account, I can wait since this exact demo to be released next month in the States. For those that don't have it, here's what the demo provides in these clips.

Tekken 6 BR is out this month at Japan...

After nearly a year of vanilla Tekken 6, Bloodline Rebellion is coming to Japanese arcades in less than two weeks (the 18th). Hopefully, some arcades here at SoCal are willing to pony up for the new board a month or two after. While I'm still bummed that the console versions are coming out in Fall 2009 rather than the the summertime, it will be a feature-complete fighter like previous games. Then again, there are rumors that Namco might go the console exclusive character route again for Tekken just like Soul Calibur IV and honestly, there's enough characters (like 30+) in Tekken 6 BR, and why are they adding more just to get more sales (Well, this ploy worked for Soul Calibur IV). Anyway, here's the latest trailer from an Atari European event (they're publishing it at Europe) and what looks to be the new intro with Jin riding on the bike doing crazy things and then meeting up with Kazuya to maybe finish it all. It's just crazy that Street Fighter IV came out on arcades later than Tekken 6 and it is coming out for consoles before Tekken, which shows which company is handling their franchise right or wrong I guess. I just hope Namco doesn't screw up the Tekken franchise like they pretty much did with Soul Calibur personally (compare that to Capcom's handling of the Street Fighter machine these days with SSF2T HD Remix out and kicking ass and SF IV taking over my life soon).

The best week of Rock Band DLC comes out next week...

Okay, it is not really the best batch of songs as Rock Band DLC ever, but close enough to me since the highly anticipated No Doubt compilation (Basically their Greatest Hits album, The Singles 1992-2003,) comes out on Tuesday for 360 owners and Thursday on PSN. The 13 songs are indeed the best of the best from them.

• "Just A Girl"
• "Its My Life"
• "Hey Baby"
• "Bathwater"
• "Sunday Morning"
• "Hella Good"
• "Underneath It All"
• "Excuse Me Mr."
• "Running"
• "Spiderwebs"
• "Simple Kind of Life"
• "Don't Speak"
• "Ex-Girlfriend"

I'm really curious how the Rock Steady stuff will play out in Rock Band 2 since most of their singles are not really rock at first glance. For the females that are worried about the lack of songs catered to them, this is just perfect and will be amazing for parties. Now thanks to this pack of songs, I should have another big gathering soon to test these songs out.

Guitar Hero WT finally gets the right Pumpkins song...

Even though I prefer Rock Band 2 than Guitar Hero World Tour in terms of rhythm game to get this holiday season (Guitar Hero 5 already happening next year = Boo!!!), some of GHWT's DLC is actually pretty good songs-wise (chart-wise is a toss-up) like this Smashing Pumpkins Pack that came out today. "1979" headlines the pack and probably the other popular mainstream Pumpkins song that has not been available on these games (You can argue for other Pumpkins songs) till now. Now I won't mind "1979" in Rock Band 2 someday, but who knows when that will happen. At least next week for Rock Band DLC is the No Doubt compilation pack (Likely, not confirmed yet), which I will buy in a heartbeat.

Plus, my Halo 360 is back (Finally!!!) and working.