By Vijay Sinha

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2575 Views | 1 Comment

I can tell what you’re pondering. No, I know what you’re pondering. Here you are, setting idly in your chair and skimming through random game message boards. The howls and cries of the current console generation are anywhere and everywhere, whether its about how balls-to-the-wall it is too see how much Nathan Drake can get his shirt-wet in gorgeous wide-screen high-definition or the municipal assertion that the waggle generation is here to stay, just so long no one has to endure Nintendo’s smutty online service for too long. Yeah, you’ve been there. But not too long back, you were rubbing your thumbs red over a console that reserved a special place in your heart for more than 7 years. Good times! Wonderful times! And now they’ve departed.

“If only there were still some new games to play,” you think to yourself.

Splendidly, it so happens that this April will be seeing several titles released on the PS2, and if you find yourself curious (and you should be), you’ll want to thank – who else – but Japan (or at least the company Atlus for publishing certain titles)! After all, it’s the only country in the world that still has an extensive backlog of games that most people haven’t even heard about.

“Wait, wouldn’t mean they were too crappy for public ingestion or…”

Quiet, you! Now hit the jump like a good munchkin.

Name: Arcana Heart
Release Date: Should be out by now.
What’s it about? Have you ever wished for a game where saucered-eye, brightly hair-colored high-school girls with death-defying physical anatomies (we’re talking cartoon breasts that could strike a bull into submission) could duke it out with each other, that wasn’t Dead or Alive? In glorious 2D sprites? And that didn’t suck? Fignuts, does this puppy have something for you. Bordering on the mechanical complexity you’d see in the Guilty Gear series, Arcana Hearts will appease those who’ve long stood with the traditional ways of how to appreciate a versus beat ‘em up - both inside and out. Might wanna eye a video or two, as this meal may be a bit heavy to your average Animax viewer.

Name: Baroque
Release Date: Should be out by now.
What’s it about? From the people who brought you Riviera: The Promised Land and Yggdra Union, comes an JRPG which will request but one thing from players trudging in this post-apocalyptic adventure: death. That’s right; Baroque encourages you to be not all-too concerned if you find yourself losing battle. Instead of staring at some Game Over screen, you’ll be treated to newer areas to explore, and characters of which you’ve talked to previously will have new dialogues. You even get to throw useless items you find in dungeons at your enemies. Kiiinky.

Name: SNK Arcade Classics: Volume 1
Release Date: April 29, 2008
What’s it about? Nothing like a good arcade compilation to tickle the nostalgic nose. Shit, we’re talking a total of 16 games over here. Just to name a few: Samurai Showdown, Shock Troopers, Metal Slug, King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, World Heroes, King of the Monsters… Pinch me! Too bad SNK wasn’t smart enough to bundle Sengoku 3, rather than the first mediocre entry. Or Ninja Commando, either. What’s up with that? A PSP version will also be available, for all you eager MAME jockeys out there.

Name: Persona 3 FES
Release Date: April 22, 2008
What’s it about? No doubt will Shin Megami Tensei fans recognize this one. But if not, you should know that Persona 3 was one of the best J-RPGs of last year, SquareEnix didn’t make it, and that Rishi Alwani bones to it every fortnight (That’s right, Rishi - I watched). FES (short for “Festival”) will act as a Director’s Cut version, carrying not only the original game but also 30+ hours worth of new content, including a harder difficulty mode, more make-believe school activities quests and naughty swimsuits. All this, for a total of 30 US$. So take out your Evokers and burn some Jamaican dreadlocks. Or however that song is supposed to go.

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By N2H

• h3lios Says:
  April 13th, 2008 at 10:31 pm

  Dude, the lyrics for the Persona 3 song are “BURN MY DREAD.”:p.

  Also, isn’t Arcana Hearts delayed?

  And no MGS EC AM CRY:(.

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