I don't know about you, but I'm surprisingly on the fence about Grand Kingdom for Vita

When I first laid eyes on Grand Kingdom's Japanese cover art, I was intrigued.

Later, when I came across a handful of screenshots of this PS4 and Vita tactical RPG, I transitioned from intrigue to full-on excitement.

Which makes sense, I guess, as it looks an awful lot like Vanillaware's surprisingly similar PSP title, Grand Knights History. (That makes sense, too, it seems. Tomohiko Deguchi is listed as director of both efforts.)



So, why am I now on the fence about buying the Vita version of this game, set to hit North American store shelves this June?

I watched this trailer, and the gameplay snippets showcased in it tarnished my view a bit.

Combine that with the fact that I have a stack of unplayed--hell, unopened in most cases--Vita games currently giving me the stink eye, and my hesitation should be easier to understand.



That doesn't mean I'll never pick up a copy of Grand Kingdom, mind you. I just doubt it'll be on or around its launch day.

How about you? Do any of you think you'll add either the PS4 or Vita iteration of this MonoChro concoction to your collection? If so, what's got you feeling that way?

Buy: Grand Kingdom Limited Edition or Grand Kingdom Grand Edition

So, who else is frothing at the mouth over 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Danganronpa 3, Project Setsuna and SaGa Scarlet Grace?

Why am I wasting my precious free time talking about the four games named in the header above? Because I think all of them look freaking amazing, that's why.

OK, so little has been shown of these in-the-works offerings--one of which, SaGa Scarlet Grace, is going to be a Vita-only affair, while the others are being prepped for both Vita and PS4--so far. Still, what was shown of them during the Sony Japan event held a couple of days ago really piqued my interest.

Speaking of which, here's the first trailer for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, which is being made by Vanillaware (and published by Atlus, I believe):



And below is the teaser for the next entry in the Danganronpa series (which apparently will be called New Danganronpa V3):



As much as I like the "footage" shown above, it pales in comparison to what's found in the following video, which is of Square Enix's sure-to-be-renamed-sometime-soon Project Setsuna:



Project Setsuna is set to hit Japan sometime early next year, by the way, so keep your eyes peeled if you're even half as interested in it as I am at the moment.



Sadly, the brass at Square Enix seemingly aren't feeling as confident about their next SaGa title (SaGa Scarlet, and now a 2016 release), as the trailer above provides fans like me with a glimpse of the game's logo, two of what I'm assuming are its main characters and ... basically nothing else.

Despite the distinct lack of actual gameplay snippets in this quartet of videos, I'm still very much looking forward to learning more about the title they're supposed to promote.

How about you? Did any of these trailers "trip your trigger"? If so, which ones--and why?

Don't cry, Vita fans; at least we were given a new Dragon's Crown trailer

I originally intended to fill this post with commentary about the second "Vita Heaven" broadcast Sony streamed to the masses over the weekend, but I decided to pass on that after seeing that it consisted of little more than an announcement of a rather large (and late-in-coming) price drop for the system and a slew of Monster Hunter clones.



Still, a new trailer for Dragon's Crown, the Atlus- and Vanillaware-developed (spiritual) successor to Princess Crown, Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade, was shown as part of the event, so I wouldn't call this latest "Vita Heaven" a complete wash.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

So, I just pre-ordered Grand Knights History

I was on the fence about this Vanillaware-developed, Xseed Games-published, PSP-based RPG (yes, even after begging North American publishers to bring it to our shores) ... until I watched the following gameplay video the other day:



As soon as I saw the curved, globe-like backdrop and the beautiful, Princess Crown-ish (or maybe I should say Muramasa-esque?) characters in motion, I knew I had to pre-order this game--which is set to hit North American store shelves on Feb. 21--and pronto. (If you'd also like to pre-order a copy of Grand Knights History, you can do so here.)

I'm also on the verge of pre-ordering another PSP game, Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, by the way. And Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time. And Gungnir.

Anyone who can talk me out of picking up any or all of the above-mentioned releases will earn my (and my bank account's) undying love and appreciation.

Bring out the champagne: Grand Knights History is coming to the States 'this winter'

Earlier today, the folks at XSEED Games revealed that they'll be bringing Vanillaware's fabulous, fantastical RPG, Grand Knights History, to the States "this winter."

They also revealed that this PSP title, which hit Japanese store shelves on Sept. 1 and has since sold nearly 100,000 copies in that region, will be released both digitally (via the PlayStation Network) and physically (on a good ol' UMD).

I'm planning on picking up the UMD version myself--assuming the North American version's cover art is the same as its Japanese counterpart (right). (Oh, who am I trying to kid? I'll buy the UMD version regardless.)

Don't fret if you're a European PSP owner/user: Rising Star Games will be publishing Grand Knights History in your region sometime in 2012.

For more information on this luscious-looking game, read XSEED's press release announcing its localization.

See also: 'Give me Grand Knights History and I'll forget all about Monster Hunter Diary G' and 'Ooooooooooooooooh'

The art of Dragon's Crown kind of scares me (or, it's obvious Vanillaware's George Kamitani is a thigh man, isn't it?)

I've been a fan of George Kamitani--and his games--ever since I laid eyes on the gorgeous Sega Saturn title he designed, Princess Crown.

As such, I'm going to give the Vanillaware founder the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the rather creepy art he's created for his company's upcoming four-player ARPG for PS3 and PS Vita, Dragon's Crown.

What do I mean when I say Kamitani's art is creepy? Well, take a gander at the following illustration (of one of the game's Amazon characters):

To see more of the thigh-rific characters that are set to appear in Dragon's Crown, which is due to be released in spring 2012, check out this article at siliconera.com.

Also, be sure to read this post and this post at andriasang.com if you're at all interested in this otherwise beautiful brawler.

Give me Grand Knights History and I'll forget all about Monster Hunter Diary G

It's hard to be a non-Japanese PSP owner these days. While the system continues to sell boatloads in its homeland, its sales have gone down the toilet everywhere else--to the point where publishers no longer want to support it outside of the Land of the Rising Sun.

As such, I'm more than a bit worried that Vanillaware's Grand Knights History--which has graphics that Anoop over at andriasang.com describes as "so lovely you'll want to travel back in time and off Jeff Polygon, the inventor of the polygon"--will, like so many recent and upcoming PSP releases, remain a Japan-only affair.

To see firsthand why that would be a crying shame, check out the following trailer for this fabulous looking RPG:



Grand Knights History will hit the streets in Japan on Sept. 1 with a price tag of ¥5,229 (approximately $65). Here's hoping this Marvelous-published title eventually makes its way to other territories, too.

(Via andriasang.com)

Ooooooooooooooooh

That was my exact reaction upon seeing the screenshot below--which was taken from Vanillaware's just-announced PSP RPG, Grand Knights History--for the first time.

Vanillaware is the tiny, Tokyo-based developer responsible for such eyegasm-enducing games as GrimGrimoire, Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Odin Sphere, by the way.



I'm currently looking forward to the somewhat-awkwardly titled Grand Knights History even more than I looked forward to the PS2 and Wii titles above, though, because it's supposedly going to be a turn-based RPG. Oh, and even better: It's going to allow players to customize the appearance of their party members.

For more information on this title, check out these two posts (here and here) over at andriasang.com and this NeoGAF thread.