Famitsu Readers Pick Saddest Games

So, which games have made Famitsu readers cry the most? Here are the top 10.

1. Final Fantasy X (Square Enix, PS2, 7/19/2001)
2. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix, PSP, 9/13/2007)
3. Okami (Capcom, PS2, 4/20/2006)
4. Clannad (Gung-Ho Works, PS2, 2/23/2006)
5. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Konami, PS2, 11/17/2004)
6. Steins;Gate (5pb., Xbox 360, 10/15/2009)
7. AIR (Incerchannel, Dreamcast, 9/20/2001)
8. Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix, PS, 1/31/1997)
9. Mother 3 (Nintendo, GBA, 4/20/2006)
10. Final Fantasy Type-0 (Square Enix, PSP, 10/27/2011)

To see the top 20 list, click here.

Final Fantasy VII: Fan Remake

A pretty cool attempt by Spanish studio Studio Paint to recreate the opening scene of Final Fantasy VII, using the Unreal Engine.

Sword Art Online is Getting An Anime Adaptation

Oh yes! They're finally making a Sword Art Online anime! If you can't tell, I'm really excited about it right now. I've been hoping to see an anime version of SAO ever since I read the first light novel a couple of years back.

The Asura in Guild Wars 2

Get to know a little more about Tyria's smallest, yet smartest race.

Designing the Asura
Mr. Sparkles, A Tale of the Asura
Ambition on a Grand Scale
Hey Bookah! Smart Asura Answers to Stupid Questions
Writing the Asura
Animating the Asura

Final Fantasy X On the PS3? Dream No More

Square-Enix made a surprising announcement at Sony's pre-TGS conference today by saying that they will be releasing a HD version of Final Fantasy X for the PS3 and PS Vita. A news that definitely made my day as FFX is my favourite Final Fantasy. I can't believe it's been a decade since the first time I played the game on my PS2. Adding in achievements and enhancing the game's graphics are expected of the HD version, but I hope they'll give us the dual audio (English and Japanese) option as well. They haven't mentioned anything about the release date yet, though my guess is sometime in 2012.

Latest .hack Anime Is A CG Movie

It seems like they're telling a brand new story to make it more accessible to a wider audience this time around as the movie doesn't take place in the same .hack universe we know from the anime series, PS2/PSP games and manga. The game character Kite, whose player was a boy in the original PS2 games, belong to a 14-year old girl named Yuuki Sora in this movie. The technology appears to be more advanced too (using glasses to connect to The World instead of the bulky visor is cool!). .hack//The Movie opens in theaters (in Japan) next January.

On a side note, the characters in the trailer remind me a lot of the three main characters in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

New Black Rock Shooter Anime in January 2012

And this time it won't be just a 1-episode thing, but a full series. There's nothing much can be seen on the anime's official website at the moment except for the picture above and a short trailer of the 2010's OVA. Perhaps the new series will continue where the OVA left off?

Random Anime Song: "Loop"

Here's a song by Maaya.

Sakamoto Maaya Marries Fellow Seiyuu Suzumura Ken'ichi

A few days ago, Sakamoto Maaya and Suzumura Ken'ichi posted on their respective blogs saying that they've exchanged wedding vows on the 8th of August. Congratulations to them both! May they be blessed with a lifetime of love and happiness. I've been a fan of Maaya's work in anime/games and her songs for many years now, so I was more than happy when I read the lovely news. I believe all her fans feel the same way.

Ken'ichi and Maaya have worked with each other in many anime and games, but some of their characters have truly become special because they too ended up as couples.

The Sylvari And The Charr in Guild Wars 2

Sylvari Week has ended over at ArenaNet Blog with Guild Wars 2 developers and designers providing tons of new insight into Tyria's most exotic race. Click on the links below to read all the details!

Designing and Redesigning the Sylvari
Writing the Sylvari
Growing the Sylvari (Video)
Dream and Nightmare


And let's not forget about the formidable Charr.

Creating the Charr Starter Area
Writing the Charr
The Artistic Origin of the Charr
The Legions of the Charr

Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere

I normally wouldn't post about a new upcoming anime series unless I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it, but I'll make an exception today. Seeing Chihara Minori promoting the anime in this video helped, really. Also, it's a Sunrise anime. The anime is called "Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon" (境界線上のホライゾン) or "Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere" in English. It is based on a light novel series of the same name written by Kawakami Minoru. The anime has a bunch of top-class seiyuu, including Fukuyama "Lelouch" Jun as the male lead, Aoi Toori. Minori will be voicing the main heroine Horizon Ariadust as well as singing the anime's opening theme "Terminated". Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon starts this October.

A synopsis of Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon can be found here, on MyAnimeList's page for the anime.

Final Fantasy: Type-0 Japanese Demo Available Now

Final Fantasy fans are in for a treat today because Square-Enix has released a demo of their latest Final Fantasy game for the PSP. The demo, codenamed "Natsubi", is available for download on the Japanese PSN as well as on the game's official website. Square-Enix still hasn't said anything about releasing the game outside of Japan, but hopefully they'll remedy that at Tokyo Game Show next month. Final Fantasy: Type-0 is set to be released on 13th October in Japan.

Director Tabata Hajime showing off the demo at a recent event in Odaiba

You can read more about the demo here and here.

The New Final Fantasy Type-0 Trailer Looks Awesome

I'm also impressed by the number of top seiyuu they have for this game: Mizuki Nana (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha's Fate), Sakurai Takahiro (FFVII's Cloud), Ono Daisuke (FFXIII's Snow), Suzumura Ken'ichi (FFVII's Zack), Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan's Canaan), Hanazawa Kana (Steins;Gate's Mayuri), Sugita Tomokazu (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu's Kyon), Kamiya Hiroshi (Bakemonogatari's Araragi), Koshimizu Ami (Code Geass' Kallen), and many more!

Random Anime Song: "Bouken Desho Desho?"

Guild Wars 2: Underwater Combat Gameplay

My E3 2011 Picks

This year's E3 has come and gone. Even though there weren't a lot of games announced/shown this time around that managed to wow me (I'm looking at you Square-Enix!), E3 2011 was still pretty good. It was kind of a letdown for those of us who expected to see more Japanese games at the event though. But then again, there's always Tokyo Game Show in September. On the hardware side of things, Sony and Nintendo officially unveiled their new gaming handheld and console respectively, which certainly piqued my interest.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Has A New Trailer!

I have to say it's a strange feeling to be able to see an English version trailer for a Final Fantasy game first before a Japanese one. The trailer is slightly spoiler-ish if you haven't finished Final Fantasy XIII, but then again you probably wouldn't be interested in this trailer/game if you're not done playing that. A demo of FFXIII-2 is also playable now at E3 (you can see pictures of it on RPG Site). The game will be released this December in Japan and early 2012 in the US.

Kojima Hideo's Big Pre-E3 Announcements

Metal Gear creator Kojima Hideo may not be attending E3 this year but that doesn't mean he hasn't prepared a surprise or two for his fans.

E3 2011 Is Almost Here

This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo is less than a week away! Expect a bunch of game announcements plus new game trailers to be revealed at the show. Don't feel bad if you can't go to the expo though, because you can still watch the "Big 3"'s press conferences live by visiting the links below.

Microsoft E3 2011 Press Conference
Date & Time: 6th June, 9:30am-11:00am (PST) | 7th June, 12:30am-2:00am (GMT+8)
Links: GameSpot, G4TV, Xbox.com

Sony E3 2011 Press Conference
Date & Time: 6th June, 5:00pm-7:00pm (PST) | 7th June, 8:00am-10:00am (GMT+8)
Links: GameSpot, G4TV, Playstation.com

Nintendo E3 2011 Press Conference
Date & Time: 7th June, 9:00am-11:00am (PST) | 8th June, 12:00am-2:00am (GMT+8)
Links: GameSpot, G4TV, Nintendo.com

Fate/Zero

Watching the trailer makes me even more excited about the anime! Want to guess who's doing the music? Read on for the answer.

Persona 4: The Animation

Atlus' popular 2008 role-playing game for the PS2, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is getting an anime adaptation. The series will air in Japan starting this October and all the main seiyuu from the game are set to reprise their roles for the anime.

The Wait Is Over...

...for some of us, that is. The latest Suzumiya Haruhi light novel, Suzumiya Haruhi no Kyougaku (The Surprise of Suzumiya Haruhi) finally went on sale on wednesday, and not only in Japan. For the first time ever, the novel was also released in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea on the same day. No news yet on when the official English version will be available but there's always fan translations that we can count on. I guess I should also mention that I bought the second, third and fourth novels just the other day.

"What do these characters have in common?" #2

Guild Wars 2: Thief Profession & PAX East Demo Videos

The sixth profession in Guild Wars 2 is the most unique one so far.

Haruhi Prays For Japan

Illustration by Itou Noizi

Stay strong, Japan! Our hearts and thoughts are with you.

And the Award Goes to...

No, this isn't about the Oscars. It's about the 5th Seiyuu Awards! Read on to find out who the winners are.

The Norn in Guild Wars 2

I'll have a separate post about the newly revealed Thief profession later but for now, why not read up on the Norn race in Guild Wars 2.

Legend and Legacy of the Norn
Go Big or Go Home
Designing and Redesigning Events
A Spirit of Legend

K-ON! Live!

Anime related live events/concerts are not uncommon in Japan, especially for popular anime. And in case you didn't already know, K-ON! is really popular.

The Human in Guild Wars 2

The game developers over at ArenaNet had a lot to say about the humans in Guild Wars 2. During the recent Human Week, they talked about the character designs, the voices of the people, their history, their fashion, their writing systems and their bar brawl. No, I didn't make up that last one. You can read all about it in detail, if you haven't already, by clicking on the links below.

Character Art - Designing Humans
Humanity in Guild Wars 2
Games within the Game
VO and Dialogue in GW2
The Alphabets of Guild Wars
The Fashion of Guild Wars 2

ArenaNet Unveils Guardian Profession for Guild Wars 2

ArenaNet has finally announced the fifth profession for its highly anticipated MMORPG Guild Wars 2.

"What do these characters have in common?" #1

Square Enix's 1st Production Department Premiere

Square Enix held its 1st Production Department Premiere event in Japan yesterday, revealing to fans new information relating to some of their biggest games currently in development. The "1st Production Department" in the title refers to the company's first production department, which is responsible for making the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games. So, it goes without saying that the main focus of the event were those two RPG series.

2010: Favourite Anime Theme Songs

Just as the post title says, here are my favourite anime opening and ending themes of 2010.