SGcafe Anime News For Otaku Dec 2012 Issue

December 3rd, 2012 Published by: VR-Zone
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SGCafe : Cosplay | Vocaloid | Otaku | Pop Culture
A daily publication about Cosplay, Vocaloid, Otaku
and Japanese Pop Culture
Soul Sacrifice’s Japanese
release set for March 7,
2013; demo to drop on PSN
sometime in 2012
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/soul-sacrifice-ps-vita-release-set-
march-7-2013-ps-vita-bundle-twin-pack-announced/
By KarbyP on December 3rd, 2012
Earlier today, Sony Computer Entertainment announced
that Soul Sacrifice, the 4-player co-op action title
(reminiscent of Monster Hunter) it’s co-developing with
Marvelous AQL for the PS Vita, is now set for a March 7, 2013
release date for the Japanese market.
Along with the release date announcement earlier today
were details of a “PlayStation Vita Soul Sacrifice Premium
Edition” bundle (29,980 yen including tax, includes all of the
accessories you see in the images below), and a double-pack
deal where gamers could take home two retail copies of the
game for 7,980 yen instead of paying the full 5,980 yen price
for just a single copy.
The game will also be sold digitally through PSN for 4,900
yen.

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As it turns out, however, the Soul Sacrifice price and
availability announcements earlier today weren’t everything
that SCE had planned to share on the action title today.
Nope, Sony had actually been saving an itsy bitsy nugget
of information – the juiciest part – in store for a
“PlayStation Awards 2012″ event that they were organising
this afternoon.
Moments ago, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
announced at the tail end of its “PlayStation Awards 2012″
event that PS Vita owners won’t have to wait till March next
year to be able to experience a portion of Soul Sacrifice for
themselves (for those who didn’t play the demo at Tokyo
Game Show, anyway).
A Soul Sacrifice demo – a prologue chapter of sorts – will hit
the PlayStation Network by the end of the year, Sony said at
the event. Exact details as to what this prologue demo would
cover, or when exactly it’ll go up, are to be announced soon.
How soon? Well, sometime within the next 28 days, that’s
for sure.
Note that although it’s been confirmed that Soul Sacrifice
will see a global release, the announcements today are meant
specifically for the Japanese market.
Final Fantasy Artniks is
the official name for ‘Final
Fantasy X GREE’ social game
collaboration; Kefka its first
boss enemy
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/final-fantasy-artniks-official-final-
fantasy-gree-social-game-collaboration/
Game service for Final Fantasy Artniks, one of two social
game collaborations between Square Enix and GREE (the
other being The World Ends With You Live Remix), went live
late last Friday, November 30.
Previously known simply as “Final Fantasy X GREE
(working title)”, Final Fantasy Artniks is a GREE-developed
(with supervision from Square Enix) social game in which
players collect cards featuring items and characters from just
about every single FF title – all numbered sequels and most
spin-offs. A full list of participating FF titles can be found at
the end of this story.

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Unlike Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade, the other FF-based
social game, card illustrations in Artniks do not have a
unified art style. Instead, the characters, items and weapons
are rendered in whatever form they were seen as in the
original games.
Players form battle decks from the cards they’ve amassed,
and go on quests where they take on series enemies in enemy
encounters where the combat is done classic FF style.
From time to time in Final Fantasy Artniks, players may run
into events that are reminiscent of key moments from past
FF titles, or be able to take on a “Wanted: Enemy” monster
quest where they have to join forces with other players in
order to defeat the insanely strong enemy.
The first such “Wanter: Enemy” boss enemy is none other
than Final Fantasy VI antagonist, Kefka Palazzo. Players will
have to work together and share clues in order to track Kefka
down and defeat him.
All who manage to do so will earn a rare Vivi card.
Furthermore, the MVP in each group will net himself a
Umaro card.
GREE users in Japan can access Final Fantasy Artniks by
going to the following URL on their smartphones: http://
gree.jp/r/40823/1
FF works involved in Final Fantasy Artniks
FINAL FANTASY、FINAL FANTASY II、FINAL FANTASY
III、FINAL FANTASY IV、FINAL FANTASY IV Complete
Collection、FINAL FANTASY V、FINAL FANTASY
VI、FINAL FANTASY VII、FINAL FANTASY VIII、FINAL
FANTASY IX、FINAL FANTASY X、FINAL FANTASY
X-2、FINAL FANTASY XI、FINAL FANTASY XII、FINAL
FANTASY XIII、FINAL FANTASY XIII-2、DISSIDIA
FINAL FANTASY、DISSIDIA 012[duodecim] FINAL
FANTASY、FINAL FANTASY TACTICS、FINAL FANTASY

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TACTICS ADVANCE、FINAL FANTASY TACTICS 、、、
、、CRISIS CORE -FINAL FANTASY VII-、DIRGE OF
CERBERUS 、FINAL FANTASY VII-、FINAL FANTASY 、
、、FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES Ring of Fate
‘Cardcaptor Sakura’ social
game begins service on
Mobage in Japan today
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/clamps-card-captor-sakura-social-
game/
A Cardcaptor Sakura social game on Japan’s Mobage social
network service platform officially launched today, the title’s
developer Arika (also the developer of the Street Fighter
EX series as well as three Cardcaptor Sakura games on the
PlayStation back in 1999 and 2000) announced.
Playable on feature phones, Android and iOS devices in
Japan beginning today, in Cardcaptor Sakura ~Sakura and
the Mysterious Card~ (、、、、、、、、、、、、、、、、、、、、、、、
、 or Cardcaptor Sakura ~Sakura to Fushigi na Card~),
players form decks comprising four cards each (one of which
has to be a Clow Card, judging from the image below) and
subsequently do battle with one another under the premise
that they’re sealing away Clow Cards as Sakura.
So basically everyone is Sakura in their own instanced
world, but when they engage one another, their opponent is
not Sakura.
Outside of Clow Cards, there are also Leader Cards and
Action Cards. Leader Card illustrations always depict
Sakura, while Action Cards are based on scenes that
occurred in the original manga and anime series.
Here’s a smattering of these Leader and Action cards (I can’t
tell the two types apart, other than, well, whether or not
Sakura is on it):

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Developer Arika is said to have designed the game’s play
mechanics to evoke Cardcaptor Sakura’s universe wherever
possible.
For instance, once per day you’ll be able to send out Sakura
and her friends to patrol the streets of Tomoeda for Clow
Cards, just like in the original series. You gain a patrol
point for each day you do so; collect three, and you earn
the right to do battle with a Clow Card that you can seal
and subsequently own. It’ll certainly take players a while to
collect all 52 Clow Cards in the game.
A portion of the cards here with Sakura illustrated on
them will also playback voice samples, recorded by titular
protagonist Sakura Kinomoto’s voice actress Sakura Tange
specifically for this game, that feature classic lines from the
source material.
Existing Mobage Japan users can access Cardcaptor
Sakura ~Sakura and the Mysterious Card~ by scanning
the following QR codes with their phone (top QR code
is for feature phones, bottom one is for smartphones).
Although users outside of Japan can access and play the
game, provided they’ve already registered for a Mobage
Japan account, certain features may be restricted until you
authenticate your account with a valid Japanese phone
number.
Users who install and play Cardcaptor Sakura ~Sakura and
the Mysterious Card~ on their Mobage account before the
end of January, 2013, will be treated to an exclusive ultra-
are card drawn by the all-female manga artist group Clamp.
Source: 4Gamer
Scandal to grace Indonesia,
Singapore, Thailand March
2013
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/scandal-grace-indonesia-singapore-
thailand-march-2013/

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By sentinel011 on December 3rd, 2012
Regional fans of the “Most powerful Japanese Girls
Band”Scandal will be happy to know that the ladies (no
longer girls!) are coming to Southeast Asia this coming
March.
Scandal‘s official twitter announced earlier today that they
will be visiting Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. We are
guessing that they might be here for a regional live tour. The
ladies are scheduled to perform at Osaka City Hall on the
3rd of the same month, so we can be sure that they won’t be
attending any of the countries on that day.
Scandal has performed in Singapore twice, the first time in
AFA X for its I Love Anisong concert segment back in 2010,
and in La Salle SIA Theatre in 2011.
Source: Scandal Twitter, scandal-4.com
Mind controllers, new souls,
massive continents… Oh
and a bunch of Storm-
touched Legions on the
side. Reviewed! Rift’s new
expansion, Storm Legion!
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/mind-controllers-souls-massive-
continents-bunch-storm-touched-legions-side-reviewed-rifts-expansion-
storm-legion/
By Neubronner Eugene on December 3rd, 2012
For those looking to lock themselves away during the
Christmas season and beyond, nothing quite beats an MMO.
There’s the full gamut of free-to-play titles, but if you’re in
the market for something distinctly more subscriber-based
that delivers quality, Trion World’s have released their latest
expansion in Rift: Storm Legion.
Following the machinations of the mind-lusting air dragon
queen Crucia (She of the really hot bod on the front box) the
continents of Brevane and Dusken have been nearly overrun,
their populace scattered after their own version of the Ward
falls. It’s up to you, Ascended, to save the world again. Four
new souls – one for each class – and new content including
the amazingly fun Dimensions housing project, look set to
entice old and new players. Want to know what we think?
Check out our review right here.
Sword Art Online: get your
very own “Asuna Newly-Wed
Life Set” at this year’s Winter
Comike (or wait till March
2013)
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/sword-art-online-asuna-newly-wed-
life-set-years-winter-comike-or-wait-march-2013/
Character apparel and goods maker Cospa is planning to sell
at Comike 83 a very special set of home-living goods themed
after Sword Art Online‘s heroine, Knights of the Blood guild
sub-leader Asuna Yuuki.
The Asuna Newly-Wed Life Set comprises four items
normally, but during the set’s initial limited run, Cospa is
throwing in a bonus fifth item:
• A soup dispenser bottle (75mm in diameter, 210mm
tall, capacity 650ml)
• A smooth cushion cover (45x45cm, smooth type)
• A tissue box cover (a full cover that fits most “slim type”
tissue boxes)
• A set of coasters (4 coasters that are each 9cm in
diameter, full-colour, and made of paper)
• Bonus: an Asuna-themed paper bag to carry all of it
home with you

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Fortunately, then, Sword Art Online fanatics will have at
least two chances to snatch the set up along with that
intricately-designed bonus paper bag.
The Asuna Newly-Wed Life Set will first make its debut at
this year’s Winter Comic Market (Comike 83) at the Tokyo
Big Sight convention centre from December 29 to 31 later
this year, available from Bushiroad’s booth (No.151). The
Comike allotment will be extremely limited, however, as this
is considered an advance goods sale ahead of the actual retail
date.
Subsequently, Cospa plans to sell the Asuna Newly-Wed Life
set at all Gee! character goods stores across Japan (they
have five branches: in Akihabara, Sendai, Nagoya, Osaka,
and Fukuoka) sometime in the middle of March, 2013. So if
you can’t make it to Comike 83 this year, you’re not exactly
out of luck.
If you want to ensure that you’ll be able to obtain one of these
babies when they go on sale in Gee! stores, then make sure to
place a pre-order from Gee! online from now till January 11,
2013. At the moment, a second pre-order campaign period
that will begin January 7, 2013, is also planned, but may be
scrapped depending on demand for the home-living goods
set.
Outside of the Comike and Gee! stores, Cospa may also sell
the set in advance of its March retail release date at other
special events, but don’t count on it.
The Asuna Newly-Wed Life Set will retail for 5,250 yen
including tax.
Source: Cospa
Movie Review: 009
RE:CYBORG
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/movie-review-009-recyborg/
Cyborg 009 strikes as a campy superhero team with special
abilities as early as anime fans in the 60s, and people who
have read the manga would probably be having kids of their
own by now. How did director Kenji Kamiyama and his team
from Production I.G. fair in this latest film iteration of this
classic manga series?

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The nine cyborg warriors known as the 00 Cyborgs were
humanity’s efforts to keep peace. As time goes on, the
cyborgs are forgotten, but not before the world plunges into
chaos once again, and the 00 Cyborgs slowly uncover a
deeper conspiracy to it all.
People familiar with director Kenji Kamiyama’s works will
find it at home with many twists in his anime direction, as
it is apparent with Ghost in the Shell S.A.C and Solid State
Society, amongst others. The ‘campy’ feel of the team from
Cyborg 009 has left, with all the realism and elements of
cyber terrorism intact, with a dose of Kamiyama’s magic.
To make it more palatable to the masses, the movie doesn’t
dive too much into riddles and in-depth references, but
does enough to keep one constantly thinking. The direction
also caters to paying loads of homage to the original manga
series, not to mention elements that keep female anime fans
interested. Both action and text are heavy here, so come
prepared to pay 100% attention to the movie.
The voice cast of the characters are no slouch, either.
Mamoru Miyano voices the male lead 009, with many
popular and veteran voice actors in the fray, such as
Chiwa Saito, Daisuke Ono and Toru Okawa. Veteran actor
Nobuyuki Katsube lends the voice of Professor Isaac
Gilmore, despite being already in his 70s.
Rating: 4/5
If you fancy catching the movie, you better do it quick, as
RE:CYBORG 009 will only air later today at GV Vivocity, so
hurry on to grab the tickets!
Movie Review: Rurouni
Kenshin [Live Action]
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/movie-review-rurouni-kenshin-live-
action/
Anime fans in the mid 90s will surely remember the days
where AXN broadcast the popular anime series, then titled
“Samurai X”. 15 years on, how will the movie adaptation fare
through the passage of time?
Rurouni Kenshin tells the life of a wanderer swordsman
called Himura Kenshin, who casts out his past and swears to
never take a life after taking numerous lives to pave way for
a new era in the history of Japan back in the mid-late 1800s.
10 years have past since he last took a life, and encounters
Kamiya Kaoru, a young swordswoman trained in an a sword
style that doesn’t take lives.
Director Keishi Ohtomo is adept at capturing the hearts of
both fans and newcomers to Rurouni Kenshin’s storyline,
having selected a great cast that depicts each of the iconic
characters almost to near perfection. Takeru Sato (Kamen
Rider Den-O) is a familiar face to many recent Tokusatsu
fans, and portrays the titular character Himura Kenshin
with ease, including the character’s trademark ‘Oro’. Emi
Takei’s Kaoru was extremely good, as with veteran actor
Yosuke Eguchi as Hajime Saito.
Fight scenes are gritty and realistic, showing the raw carnage
that is within Bakumatsu‘s (Late Tokugawa Shogunate)
era, with sword fights done with finesse and flair. With
the original Mangaka Nobuhiro Watsuki holding the
movie’s advisory role, it is no wonder the cinematography
was superb. Our only grouse was that the soundtrack could
have done without too much Western influences.
Whether you are an anime fan in the past or present, or
simply someone that appreciates movies about Samurai,
Rurouni Kenshin serves to entertain, and it does very well.
Rating: 4.5/5
Star Driver the Movie’s 2nd
trailer and new key visual
image hints at mecha battles
set in Shinjuku
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/11/star-driver-movies-2nd-trailer-key-
visual-image-hints-mecha-battles-set-shinjuku/
Star Driver the Movie’s official website was updated earlier
today with a second trailer and a new key visual image that
appears to be set in Shinjuku – or a fictional modern city
with buildings that look like those in Shinjuku, at least.

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Produced by animation studio Bones, Star Driver:
Kagayaki no Takuto (STAR DRIVER 輝輝輝輝輝輝 or Star
Drive: The Radiance of Takuto) revolves around Takuto, a
boy who washes up on a fictional Southen Cross Isle island
one night, after he almost drwoned from swimming in the
waters near mainland Japan.
Takuto eventually enrolls into Southern Cross High School,
and eventually discovers a group of giant robots – called
Cybodies – harboured beaneath the school grounds that
can be controlled by humans in (and supposedly only) an
alternate dimension known as Zero Time.
That said, Cybodies can function outside of Zero Time,
however. In fact, seals from four Shrine Maidens all across
Southen Cross Isle were the only mechanism keeping
Cybodies from activating outside of the alternate dimension.
Star Driver the Movie heads to cinemas in Japan February
9, 2013.
Ninja Gaiden Σ2+ (Sigma
2 Plus) comes to the
PlayStation Vita February 28,
2013
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/11/ninja-gaiden-%CF%832-sigma-2-
plus-playstation-vita-february-28-2013/
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus for the PS Vita will feature
four playable characters (Ryu Hayabusa and series heroines
Ayane, Rachel, and Momiji) and some new modes not found
in the original Sigma 2 on the PlayStation 3, according to the
game’s official website which just opened today.
For starters, in the playability department, a “Hero
mode” (this sounds to us like a new difficulty setting) will
be added to the game. In Hero mode, auto-guard will be
activated whenever Ryu Hayabusa – or any of the selectable
heroines – is in a pinch, for those of you who might
be worried that playing NGS2P during the commute and
getting distracted due to a random bump or a sudden swerve
might result in accidental deaths in the game.
You’ll also be able to aim and shoot ninja shurikens simply
by tapping on a target via the touchscreen.
As for hardcore Ninja Gaiden fans whom never found a
problem with the game’s cut-throat difficulty, two other
modes outside of the main game are also being introduced
into Sigma 2 Plus that should give these Obi-Wan Shinobis
a run for their money.
Ninja Race
First, in Ninja Race you’re tasked escape to a goal as quickly
as possible. Beating up enemies consecutively will build
up a “Chain” meter that rapidly increases your strength,
allowing you to slay enemies faster. Items found in the
envrironments can also let you increase your speed, and
extend the mission’s time limit.
Tag Missions
The other new mode detailed on the website is something
called Tag Missions, in which you’ll have to tackle and clear
trials by switching back and forth between all four playable
characters.
To get fans hyped up about playing with all four characters,
new costumes have been also been added to Sigma 2 Plus.
Head over to the official website now to check out some
luscious shots of the three heroines (and, er, Ryu Hayabusa,
I suppose). They’re not in those aforementioned new
costumes, however, so you’ll have to settle for vanilla.

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Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus is slated for a February 28, 2013
release on the PlayStation Vita in Japan. International
release dates may vary.
NINJA GAIDEN Σ2+ Official Site

December 5th, 2012 Published by: VR-Zone
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Metal Gear Rising:
Revengeance gets “Zan-
Datsu” PS3 bundle in Japan;
playable demo hits PSN
Japan December 13
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/metal-gear-rising-demo-ps3-bundle/
By KarbyP on December 5th, 2012
The Metal Gear Rising Revengeance 斬斬 Package (Zan-Datsu
Package) comes with a 250GB PS3 model, a wireless Dual
Shock 3 controller, a copy of the game, an exclusive custom
theme for the PS3′s XMB, and an in-game code for a “Cyborg
Ninja” skin.
All for the cool price of 31,960 yen (~US$389, ~S$473)
including tax in Japan. Available on February 21, 2013 in
Japan – which is also the launch date for the title over there
(February 19 in the US, February 28 for the Europe… where
availability of the Zan-Datsu PS3 console has not yet been
announced for).
Of course, since this is Kojima Productions and Metal Gear
we’re talking about, gamers who cough up the dough for the
Zan-Datsu pack will not be walking away with any regular
old 250GB PS3 or Dual Shock 3 controller.
The Zan-Datsu edition of the PS3 console sports Metal Gear
Rising: Revengeance‘s image colour – blue – prominently
with stripes on its exterior, and bears the Kanji symbols for
Zan and Datsu on two opposing corners of the system. The
Dual Shock 3 controller is also coated in a special design and
colour that Konami is calling “Dark Blue Skeleton”.
Zan-Datsu???
Zan-Datsu, by the way, is a special technique within MGR
where the player has to accurately cut up the enemy cyborg
in a specific way in order to expose his core robot parts,
which protagonist Raiden then absorbs into his system.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Zan-Datsu technique because
you haven’t had the chance to check out MGR via the demo
that came with Zone of the Enders HD Edition (which
was also the same demo displayed at Tokyo Game Show),
then you’ll be pleased to know that the demo will be made
available to everyone on Japan’s PlayStation store next
week, on December 13.
A “technical play” video based on the aforementioned demo
can be found at our previous story on MGR here.
Raiden armor skins
Konami did not provide an image for the PS3 custom theme
or the Cyborg Ninja skin that folks who pre-order the Zan-
Datsu package (or just the game stand-alone) will receive.
But it looks something like this:
They did, however, provide pictures of the following three
DLC skins that will be given out as additional pre-order
bonuses at specific game store chains in Japan.
This is what Japanese gamers get when they buy from
Konamistyle or Loppi: White Armor

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Tsutaya customers get: Inferno Armor
And gamers who buy from Geo! stores receive: Command
Armor
Soul Sacrifice (Japanese
ver.) game and ‘Premium
Edition’ bundle to launch in
Asia same day as Japan
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/soul-sacrifice-japanese-version-
game-premium-edition-bundle-launch-asia-day-japan/
Digging that snazzy new “Soul Sacrifice Premium Edition”
PS Vita console that Sony announced for the Japanese
market earlier on Monday?
Guess what, Asia? You’re getting it too: Sony Computer
Entertainment Hong Kong announced today that the the
Japanese version of Soul Sacrifice and the aforementioned
game-plus-PS-Vita bundle will also be sold in Singapore and
other Asian territories on the same day it hits retail stores in
Japan.
A boxed copy of Soul Sacrifice (Japanese version) will go for
the recommended retail price of S$69.90 in Singapore. Sony
also plans to distribute the game digitally via the PlayStation
store in Asia, but a price for that has not yet been
determined.
Meanwhile, the “PlayStation Vita Soul Sacrifice Premium
Edition” bundle – which packs an intricately designed PS
Vita Wi-Fi model, a copy of the Soul Sacrifice game, a 4GB

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memory card, Cosmic Red inner-ear headphones, a pouch,
cleaning cloth, and other standard accessories like the power
adaptor and AR Play cards - will carry a price tag of S$469
when it’s sold here in Singapore, available for a limited time
only.
(For bigger pictures of the individual items contained within
the set, check out our previous story here.)
Soul Sacrifice, a 4-player co-operative action game
conceptualised by Keiji Inafune (Megaman, Dead Rising,
Yaiba), and co-developed by Marvelous AQL and Sony
Computer Entertainment’s Japan studio with input from ,
is most often compared to Capcom’s Monster Hunter
franchise.
Despite their similarities, however, Soul Sacrifice creator
Keiji Inafune, in a post on his blog made after Monday’s
announcement, wanted gamers to know that if they “think
of Soul Sacrifice as just another simple ‘Hunter’ game,
then they should be prepared to have those expectations
betrayed – in a good way.” In the same post, he also said the
development team has been getting a lot of positive feedback
from previous builds of the work-in-progress title, and that
he’s looking forward to seeing more player feedback later
this month (December 20) when a beefy demo of the game
comes out on PSN in Japan.
Although the premise in Soul Sacrifice is fairly similar to
Monster Hunter and other games of its ilk, this title places
an emphasis on magical attacks, story development, and
consequences of player choice: After defeating each boss
monster, the monster reverts back to his original human
form, and at that point you and your friends have to decide
if you’d like to save his soul (improves your defensive stats),
or sacrifice the poor sod to power up your attacks.
When one of your party members die during a mission, you
will also have to make a similar decision: give up some of
your health in order to revive your friend, or “sacrifice” him
to call forth a powerful summon creature.
Here’s what the story in Soul Sacrifice is about, from a press
release:
The story begins in a hopeless nightmare. You
are thrown into a cramped prison cell with no
explanation, slave to a cruel sorcerer. The day of
your death draws ever nearer, but one day, you
encounter a book.
This mystical tome has the power to draw its reader
in, allowing them to experience what is inscribed
within. The story begins with the discovery of this
book. A book… or rather, a monster in “book” form.
Is it an enemy, or your ally?
Battles beyond your wildest imagination await.
Fate/Extra CCC has 3 new
characters who resemble
Sakura from the previous
game [Images]
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/fateextra-ccc-2-characters-resemble-
sakura-meikyo-previous-game-images/
This week’s issue of Famitsu (and possibly Famitsu.com) is
revealing on Thursday three new characters for Imageepoch
and Type-Moon’s JRPG Fate/Extra CCC (PSP). Curiously,
all three characters bear striking resemblances to Sakura
Matou from the previous Fate/Extra.
The three new characters are named BB (character
voice: Noriko Shitaya), Merutoririsu (斬斬斬斬斬斬, CV: Saori

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Hayami), and Passionrip (斬斬斬斬斬斬斬斬, CV: Yui Ogura). Brief
descriptions after the pics.
BB
A mysterious girl who’s said to be the one who created
the Sakura Labyrinth (斬斬斬斬斬). It’s also unclear who or
what gave birth or created BB. She resides in Tsukimihara
Academy’s infirmary, and remarkably resembles Sakura
Matou. Also, curiously enough, it would appear that Sakura
knows about BB’s existence.
The screenshow below BB’s full-body portrait shows a
piece of dialogue between Sakura and herself. In it, BB is
introducing herself to Sakura, and says that she doesn’t
mind if Sakura calls her Bebe, Baby, or whatever she likes.
Famitsu’s description of the screenshot adds that BB claims
to be an unusual, dangerous AI.
Passionrip (パパパパパパパパ)
Part of her arms on her upper body have been turned into
gigantic talons. Resembles BB, but the game does not reveal
to the player who or what exactly Passionrip is.
Although initially Passionrip is friendly to the Main
Character (you), at some point due to commands from her
“mother” (“斬斬斬斬”), she will attack MC.
Merutoririsu (パパパパパパ… Melt
Lilith?)
A girl who has giant pointed needles for feet, a penchant
for fighting, and an uncanny amount of fighting ability. Like
Passionrip, Merutoririsu has a face that resembles BB as
well.
The screenshot below her portrait shows a scene where
Merutoririsu talks about her plan to try and steal BB’s eyes,
in order to infiltrate some place.
Fate/Extra CCC for the PSP is slated for release in Japan 21
February 2013.
‘Taily’, a robotic cat tail
that wags when the wearer
is happy, hopes to raise
£60,000 in production funds
via Kickstarter
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/taily-kick-starter/
The day when cosplayers can strut down the aisle at the next
cosplay convention in autonomously-moving nekomimi (cat
ears) and a matching shippo (tail) isn’t too far off. That is,
if Shota Ishiwatari’s “Taily” kickstarter project manages to
reach its pledge goal of 60,000 Euros by 6 January next year.
In fact, this day could come as early as August 2013. That’s
when Ishiwatari expects to complete a retail version of Taily
– a robotic tail whose swinging and wagging movements
change depending on the rate of your heartbeat, which it
detects via a sensor belt that users strap to their waist – and
ship out 3,000 pieces to the Kickstarter project’s backers.

5
Currently there is already a brainwave-controlled pair
of autonomously-moving cat ears out on the market –
NeuroSky/Neurowear’s Necomimi, which Ishiwatari says he
had a hand in helping developed.
Taily the robotic cat tail is meant as a complement accessory
to Nekomimi, and at launch Ishiwatari is thinking of making
the product be available in four colours (White, Black,
Gray, and Golden Brown). The tail part of the accessory is
interchangeable, however, so users will be able to swap it out
for other colours.
Of course, no Kickstarter project is possible without risks.
Especailly not with an expensive project like this one that
involves a massive amount of manufacturing work.
In Taily’s case, Ishiwatari has highlighted two risks and
challenges that a product of this nature faces – the accuracy
of which heart rate can be measured, and durability to
ensure that the product itself will not easily break – that
he hopes to improve upon in the product design and,
eventually, manufacturing phases (currently it appears that
he already has a working prototype).
From Taily’s Kickstarter page:
RISKS AND CHALLENGES
There are always risks involved in designing and
manufacturing new products. We would like to take
on the challenge of overcoming these risks, and
we feel that there are two major challenges with
“Tailly”:
1) Measuring heart rate
With the prototype we were successful in measuring
our heart beat, but we cannot guarantee that it will
work with people of all ages, body types and races
in all living conditions.
We aim to develop “Tailly” so that it can be used by
as many people as possible, but since this is not a
project for developing medical equipment, it might
not function perfectly under all conditions.
2) The strength of the product.
We are carrying out our product design and looking
into trial production, and we are giving careful
thought to the strength of the product, but since
“Tailly” is built with plastic and motors there is
a limit to its strength – we can’t guarantee that
“Tailly” will not break if handled roughly or if you
sit down awkwardly whilst wearing it, although we
will do our best to try and make it as durable as
possible.
We have already started thinking about product
design and manufacturing, but only after the
completion of the Kickstarter project will we go into
full-scale action.
When deciding upon our target sum and deadline,
we have done our best to allow for any delays
and price fluctuations, however, we cannot deny
the possibility of late delivery due to unforeseen
circumstances, such as the availability of factory
space or material shortages. However, if a situation
like that does arise, we’ll do our best to overcome the
situation as smoothly as possible.
The current prototype is holding up really well,
but there are always cases in product design when
concerns arise regarding the product’s durability or
safety. In such cases the problematic elements must
be fixed, which of course has a knock-on effect on
production and delivery.
We will, of course, keep our supporters in the loop
with regular updates on the production of Tailly.
For more information on Taily, and how you might be able to
fund it, head over to the product’s Kickstarter project page.
“Tailly”, the tail that wags when you get excited by Shota
Ishiwatari — Kickstarter [Via Crunchyroll]
‘Tiger & Bunny campaign’
coming soon to Lawson
convenience store chain
(January 2013)
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/toger-bunny-lawson/
Lawson, the second biggest convenience store chain in
Japan, will be running a Tiger & Bunny promotional
campaign early 2013, a page on its official website revealed
today. Specifically, the campaign will run for two weeks from
January 1 to January 14.
No concrete details on what the Tiger & Bunny campaign
will involve have been revealed. All we have to go on is the
following teaser image.

6
Lawson, of course, is no stranger to collaborations with
anime and video game franchises. Earlier this year the
convenience store chain did a collaboration with 2011 hit TV
anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica (heralded by an
image of the Madoka Magica girls in Summer yukata). There
was also one they did with Araki Hirohiko’s Jojo’s Bizarre
Adventure manga and anime series.
If past collaborations are an indication, chances are we’ll
be hearing about a slew of exclusive Tiger & Bunny
merchandise from Lawson very soon (well, the campaign
kicks off approximately three weeks from now!)
Tiger & Bunny is animation studio Sunrise’s 2011 hit TV
anime series, about a group of masked superheroes who
fight crime and supervillains “live” on television, as part of a
reality TV show that goes on air whenever the metropolitan
police encounters a situation they’re ill-equipped to handle.
To spice things up for reality TV, these superheroes compete
amongst themselves – points are awarded to heroes who
are first to appear on the crime scene, whenever they save
human lives, apprehend criminals, or perform other heroic
actions. At the end of a season, the points are tallied up to
determine the heroes’ rankings.
The anime series puts a spin on classic superhero fiction,
by treating portraying superheroes as sports stars rather
than the typical vigilante molds; every superhero’s outfit is
plastered with sponsor logos, from Pepsi Cola and Calbee
(potato chips) to Nico Nico Douga and DMM.
Outside of the TV anime series, Tiger & Bunny has also been
adapted into two feature-length films that tell an abridged
version of the anime’s plot with new scenes and side-stories
inserted. The first movie, Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning, was
shown in Singapore earlier this year in October. The second
film, Tiger & Bunny: The Rising, is expected sometime in
2013.
Rurouni Kenshin Movie
extends run in Singapore,
increases time slots and
larger theatres
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/rurouni-kenshin-movie-extends-run-
singapore-increases-time-slots-larger-theatres/
By Kageshi on December 5th, 2012
To those who have yet to see the movie Rurouni Kenshin,
would be most pleased to hear that the movie has been
extended by Filmagarde. More sessions will be opened for
this movie as well as a bigger screen hall for your viewing
pleasure, starting from this Thursday onwards.
Rurouni Kenshin: The movie received overwhelming
response, with almost every session filled with fans and film
goers This might be contributed to nostalgia many people
had in their childhood, and possibly Encore Films wasn’t
ready for such a response.
It is the first time in 10 years that Encore Films has seen
such a turnout. Some fans have even watched the movie
multiple times since it started screening on 29 November.
More showtimes will be released tomorrow.
The film is currently airing at Filmagarde Cinemas located
in Bugis+ and Kallang Leisure Park.
Source: Encore Films Facebook
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva
f’s ‘Minna to Issho Collab Set’
trailer demonstrates why The
Mask of Toro is awesome
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/hatsune-miku-project-diva-fs-minna-
issho-collaboration-dlc-trailer-demonstrates-cat-masks/

7
“Buy my collab DLC set, or else!” says the unidentified
Vocaloid singer hidden behind The Mask of Toro (that’s
not what the item’s actually called, but I’m running with it
anyway).
When news of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f‘s “Minna to
Issho Collabo Set” DLC pack first broke last month, I bet
there were at least some of you who thought “man, 600
yen for a special edition of Po Pi Po and a couple of lame
PlayStation mascot cat accessories is pretty expensive.
“After all, Po Pi Po was already in previous Project Diva
games to begin with. As for the seven pieces of Minna-to-
Issho-inspired customisation accessories? I’m never going
to use them.”
Or at least, that was what I thought.
But that was before I had a chance to see this new trailer
that Sega just put up today to promote the DLC pack (the
second one to be released for Hatsune Miku: Project Diva
f), which has just been released on the Japanese PSN store
hours ago. My thoughts on the collab DLC have since come
a full 180 after viewing it.
Po Pi Po isn’t the star of the Minna to Issho Collabo Set DLC.
The Toro and Kuro customisation items are. To be more
specific, the possibilities that yield from equipping these
catty accessories on Hatsune Miku and her fellow Vocaloid
stars, and watch them perform songs like Catfood and the
Nyancat song, are the real reason why anybody would buy
this DLC pack.
I want it, nya!
Unfortunately, it would appear that the only way Project
Diva f players can buy and access the content within this new
DLC pack is if they’re logged into a Japanese PSN account on
their PlayStation Vita; it was not listed when I checked the
Singapore and Hong Kong PSN store a moment ago.
For some reason, the Minna to Issho pack isn’t available on
the Asian PSN stores. Even though the first Project Diva f
DLC pack made it here in Asia just fine.
Quite the odd situation, given that since Sony owns the
intellectual property behind Minna to Issho.
Apart from Project Diva, Toro and Kuro were also included
as guest characters in Street Fighter X Tekken. Toro is also
one of the playable characters in PlayStation All-Stars Battle
Royale.
LUNA SEA final stop over in
Singapore for Asia Tour 2013
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/luna-sea-final-stop-singapore-asia-
tour-2013/
For the first time ever, LUNA SEA will be performing in
Singapore for the very first time on February 8, 2013 at
The Star Theatre. Since their disbandment in 2000, the
band LUNA SEA once again come together after their 10-
year hiatus for a reunion tour.LUNA SEA will be making
Singapore their final stop of their Asia Tour, which will
cover countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand.
A veteran in the Visual Kei and J-Rock music scene, their
popularity is not limited locally in Japan, but also to other
countries around the globe. The band has sold over 2.5
million CDs within 1998, which includes popular drama
theme song “I For You” for the series ”God, Please give me
more time!”.
SGCafe is proud to be the official online media for LUNA
SEA’s Asia Tour in Singapore. More details to be released
soon, as SGCafe have several exclusive goodies for J-music
fans.
Tickets will be up for sale from November 17, 2012
via SISTIC, and are priced at $238, $168 and $128.
Their “LUNA SEA LIVE 2012-2013 The End of the Dream” in
Japan was sold out. There is a possible chance that the Asia
Tour might receive the same response from J-music fans in
the region.
For more information:

8
Ticketing – SISTIC
Source: MTVAsia
LiSA hits 100,000 sales
record for single [Crossing
Field]
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/lisa-hits-100000-sales-record-single-
crossing-field/
It is not surprising for LiSA fans to expect that their
idol managed to get over 100,000 downloads of her hit
single Crossing Field through Japan’s ‘Chaku Uta’ service, 3
months after its release.
The single, which is the first opening theme song for hit
anime series “Sword Art Online”, is also within the top 5
weekly ranking in Japan’s coveted Oricon charts in terms of
CD sales.
LiSA’s performance in Singapore ended earlier last month
at AFA 2012, one of the largest anime conventions in the
region thus far with 10 performers and artistes, gathering
audiences of 83, 800 within 3 days. Her live performances
do not restrict only in Japan and Singapore, but also in Los
Angeles, Shanghai and Indonesia throughout her existing
career.
LiSA’s live performance is now on sale via e-tailers, with her
latest DVD featuring her first outdoor performances “LiVE
is Smile Always: LOVER’S”MiLE” held at Hibiya Open-Air
Convert Hall on April 30,2012. Also available in Blu-ray,
the live performance includes behind-the-scenes footage
which documents the day of the live as an added bonus.
LiSA will be having a solo live at Zepp Tokyo on December
23, 2012, her last scheduled live in 2012.
(Picture credits: © Anime Festival Asia 2012)
Source: kawaii-girl
Black Cat Channel presents
“The Not-So-Real Escape
Game”
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/black-cat-channel-presents-the-not-
so-real-escape-game/
By sakurazaki on December 5th, 2012
Black Cat Channel (BCC) is proud to present the 1st edition
of Singapore’s very first anime and Japanese pop-culture
inspired escape game concept – “The Not-So-Real Escape
Game Vol. 1: Escape from the Doomed Ship”.
Black Cat Channel is an initiative by passionate anime,
comics and games (ACG) lovers and the People’s
Association. Based in Chengsan CC, BCC brings fun-filled
ACG activities, such as Anime Karaoke and Video gaming
sessions (on a big screen!) to fans across Singapore.
Inspired by the hit interactive live game events created by
Japanese company SCRAP Co. Ltd., The Not-So-Real Escape
Game marries the best elements of the original – puzzles
that require players to work together to solve them within a
limited amount of time – with a compelling anime oriented
slant that’s targeted at the pop-culture loving crowd.
In the 1st edition of Not-So-Real Escape Game, ‘Escape from
the Doom Ship’, the venue is reimagined as the interior of
a luxurious cruise ship that has been rigged with explosives
that will eventually detonate, sending it to the bottom of the
ocean.
As the clock starts ticking down, the players must work
together, use their deductive skills and logic to gather
clues and solve the puzzles, finding a way to prevent the
destruction of the vessel and to escape before it is too late!
Venue : Mountbatten Community Club (35 Jalan Satu,
Singapore 399479, near Dakota MRT station)
Game Timings: 15th Dec 2012: 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm (three
sessions)
Each game session runs for about 90 minutes, including 60
minutes of game play and time for debriefing.
Ticket Pricing: S$5 (At the Door)

9
Light refreshments will be provided.
For further information and regristration, please email
blackcatchannel@gmail.com

1
Fate/Extra CCC’s 3rd short
movie puts the spotlight on
Jinako Karigiri
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/fateextra-cccs-3rd-short-movie-puts-
spotlight-jinako-karigiri/
Marvelous AQL today put up a new promo video for
Imageepoch and Type-Moon’s PSP JRPG Fate/Extra CCC.
This third short movie focuses on Jinako Karigiri, a new
Master who will make her appearance in CCC.
Some new screenshots of BB, whom we detailed in our
previous story here, were also shared today.

More details to come later today. Check back later.
First Dead or Alive 5 Plus
and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Plus screenshots (PS Vita)
[Updated]
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/dead-alive-5-plus-ninja-gaiden-
sigma-2-plus-screenshots-ps-vita/
Update: The screenshots below for Dead or Alive 5 Plus are
actually from the console version of the game, according to
Tecmo Koei Europe.
Original story: Dead or Alive 5 Plus, a port of the X360 and
PS3 fighter with bonus content is coming to the PlayStation
Vita early 2013, Team Ninja’s Yosuke Hayashi announced
this week via a YouTube video on the IPLFighters’ YouTube
channel. Here’s what the game looks like on the Vita:

2
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus
Apart from the Dead or Alive 5 Plus screenshots, today
Koei Tecmo also shared a fresh batch of hi-res screenshots
for Ninja Gaiden 2 Plus, which we briefly detailed in our
previous story.

3

4
Lollipop Chainsaw to get
special Valentine’s Day
premium edition
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/lollipop-chainsaw-special-valentines-
day-premium-edition/
By JLZeta on December 7th, 2012
Cheesecake hack-’n-slash Lollipop Chainsaw will be getting
a special Valentine’s Day re-release in Japan on February
14 that comes bundled with additional bonus material,
alongside a “Premium Edition” that retails for 1,000 yen less
but omits the extras.
Odd naming conventions aside, the bonus material included
with the Valentine’s Day edition includes a new sleeve
design, perfect unlock code, and a pair of Valentine Edition
DVDs containing PC wallpapers, Windows themes, trailers
and a collection of the in-game movies. A Valentine’s Day
commemoration manga is also included.
Pictures of the extras for the Xbox 360 version, courtesy of
Famitsu:
And the PS3 version’s extras:
Lollipop Chainsaw Valentine Edition will be available on
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for 4,980 yen.

5
Source: Famitsu
‘Metal Gear 2013 Snake
Calendar’ looks like it’s
printed on corrugated
cardboard
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/metal-gear-2013-snake-calendar-
printed-on-corrugated-cardboard/
… But is actually printed on kraft paper. What’s the
difference? Corrugated cardboards are often made of
multiple layers of kraft paper.
Available later this month (December 17) exclusively from
Konamistyle, the “Metal Gear 2013 Snake Calendar” is
a desk-sized conversation piece filled with the glorious
artwork of Yoji Shinkawa, lead artist on many of Kojima’s
titles, and character designer for Metal Gear Solid series.
Although some of the illustrations in the calendar were taken
from past work Yoji Shinkawa did for the series, the ones
on the January, April, June and July calendar months are
freshly done just for the calendar.
Every single page of this calendar – which Konami says
celebrates the “Year of the Snake” in 2013 (10 February 2013
to 30 January 2014) according to Chinese Zodiac – is filled
with an illustration of Snake. All versions of Snake (it’s part
of the theme) throughout the fictional universe’s history,
beginning with the original Snake who became Big Boss, and
most likely ending – I’m guessing – with Old Snake.
As an added touch, each Yoji Shinkawa illustration is
accompanied by a famous quote from the games. For
instance, the quote “A strong man doesn’t need to read the
future. He makes his own” rests beside Shinkawa’s portrait
of Solid Snake on the month of January.
Here are some preview images that showcases three of the
calendar pages:
METAL GEAR 2013 SNAKE CALENDAR
Maker: KONAMI
Release Date: 17 December 2012 (Sunday)

6
Recommended retail price: 1,575 yen (tax inclusive)
Product page on Konamistyle
http://www.konamistyle.jp/item/72167
Note: Konamistyle.jp does not ship internationally.
Gran Turismo 5: 2013 Edition
(known as GT5: Academy
Edition in Europe) comes to
Asia December 21
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/gran-turismo-5-2013-edition-known-
as-gt5-academy-edition-in-europe-comes-to-asia-december-21/
Asia is the first territory outside of Europe where the new
retail version is sold. GT5: 2013 Edition includes over 3GBs
worth of game updates (until Ver2.00) since the game’s 2010
release, plus S$36′s (~US$30) worth of premium DLC, all
on a single disc.
Specifically, here are all the different DLC packs you’re
getting in one complete package via the 2013 Edition:
Note: all of the DLC packs marked with an * below are also
contained in a Complete Pack DLC deal.
• Car Pack*
• Course Pack*
• Special Paint Pack*
• Racing Gear Pack*
• Car Pack 2
• Car Pack 3
• Speed Test Pack
• Twinring Motegi Pack
Price for Gran Turismo 5: 2013 Edition here in Singapore? S
$39.90 (~US$33), or S$4 more than if you bought all of the
DLC digitally online.
But wait, there’s more: the 2013 Edition also includes a
Nissan GT-R N24 GT Academy ’12 car that Gran Turismo
series creator Kazunori Yamauchi personally driven himself
at the Nürburgring 24H race held in central Germany earlier
this year.
This was a piece of content added specifically to Gran
Turismo 5: Academy Edition when it came out in Europe.
Since then, it’s also been made available on the PlayStation
store as paid DLC in other territories.
If you’re wondering how this new 2013 Edition is different
from Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition that was released back in
January this year (only in US, Japan, and Asia), basically this
new package adds Car Pack 3, Speed Test Pack, Twinring
Motegi Pack, and the Nissan GT-R N24 Academy’12 car.
GT5: 2013 Edition or Academy Edition was originally an
upgraded version of the XL Edition released exclusively in
Europe because the XL one was never made available there.
GT5 Special Edition Challenge
To commemorate the release of GT5: 2013 Edition in Asia,
Sony will also be holding a “Special Challenge” competition
from December 20 this year till January 10, 2013.
All GT5 users, regardless of which version they bought,
can participate in the competition. Simply log into the
game online and access the seasonal event mode , which
has players competing on the “London” city track in the
aforementioned Nissan GT-R N24 GT Academy `12.
As a special bonus for the online event, players will earn
double the regular amount of credits (in-game currency used
for unlocking cars and items) for clearing the event.
All participants a free PS3 custom theme designed
exclusively for the online event. The top 50 drivers in each

7
individual Asian region will also stand to win PlayStation
Store vouchers.
Gran Turismo 5: 2013 Edition will be available in retail
stores in Asia on December 21, 2012. Priced at S$39.90 in
Singapore.
AKB 1/149 Renai Sousenkyo
awarded Guinness World
Record for ‘most pop singers
featured in a video game’
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/akb-1149-renai-sousenkyo-awarded-
guinness-world-record-most-pop-singers-featured-video-game/
I did not know it was possible to win a Guinness World
Record for this.
Then again, I’m sure Borderlands and World of Tanks
didn’t have the record books in mind when they won their
respective GWRs for “most guns in a game” or “most players
online simultaneously on one MMO server“.
AKB 1/149 Renai Sousenkyo (Love Election, AKB1/149 恋恋恋
恋恋), the third instalment in Namco Bandai Games’ romance
dating sim series for the PSP and PlayStation Vita and
scheduled to be released later two weeks from now on
December 20, features a grand total of 149 pop singers
from four different J-Pop idol groups produced by - AKB48
(teams A, K, B and 4), SKE48 (teams S, KII, and E), NMB48
(teams N, M, and B) and HKT48 (Team H).
Love Election was preceded two other games in the series
were: AKB 1/48 Idol to Koishitara (Fall in Love with an Idol)
and AKB 1/48 Idol to Guam de Koishitara (Fall in Love with
an Idol in Guam).
The premise in Love Election involves all of the 149 idol
group members simultaneously falling in love with the
player, who will then go on dates with each of these girls,
cruelly reject 148 of them, before finally getting to a happy
ending with his (or her; nobody said girl gamers can’t play
this) one true love.
Earlier today, Namco Bandai Games held an event in Tokyo
to inaugurate and receive the “Most pop singers featured in
a video game’ award from” World Guinness Record, and also
to simultaneously unveil a new commercial for the game to
the Japanese press.

8
Present at the event were AKB48 Team A members Minami
Takahashi (also the General Manager for the entire AKB48
idol group), Mayu Watanabe (second most popular member
across all the groups, after Team K’s Yuko Oshima), and Yui
Yokoyama (who serves double-duty as a concurrent member
of NMB48).
Here’s what they had to say about the game and receiving
the award, according to Famitsu:
Yui Yokoyama
Now that the game is in its third incarnation, the number
of members featured have really ballooned, so now you can
pick who you’d like to date, who you wouldn’t want to date,
from as many as 149 members.
In my case, I’d definitely pick to go out with Mayuyu-san
(Mayu Watanabe) for sure.
(At this point Minami Takahashi butted in with a ‘tsukkomi’:
“What about me?”) As for Takamina-san… I refuse [note:
the exact word she used were "Okotowarishiteokimasu"]
*Laughs*.
That said, since one playthrough of the game is about two
hours long, you’d be able to go through the game and pick
different girls 12 times in one day *laughs*. So I hope that
everyone will pick to go out with all of the members!
Mayu Watanabe
Love Election goes on sale on December 20, so that’s
something to look forward to in addition to Christmas.
For folks who [are not really looking forward to Christmas
because they] think it’s going to be a lonely one this year
(in Japan Christmas is associated more with romance and
spending it with your date, rather than spending time with
family and friends), please do pick up the game and give it
a shot.
As the game features not only AKB members but also those
from our sister groups, please do spend some quality time
with us!
Minami Takahashi
This time around, like the “1/149″ in the title implies, there
are really a lot of members involved – to the point of shock,
huh? *Laughs* However, because of the surprisingly huge
number of members involved, we caught the attention of
Guinness World Records, so this game franchise has really
grown to be something bigger than just a simple evolution
of the 1/48 series.
I think there’s a lot to be excited about in this game, and a
lot of fun to be had by going all “Heavy Rotation” on all the
members involved in Love Election. This Christmas, please
do snuggle up with this game in the cosy comforts of your
bed!
There is one thing I need to mention though. It’s been like
that for the past two games too, but every time once the game
is out, the people around me keep telling me “hey, I went and
blew off Takamina!” That makes me a little dejected deep
down inside, so once the game is out, make sure to pick me,
okay? *Laughs*

9
New Commercial
Beginning December 10, a new commercial for AKB1/149
Renai Sousenkyo will hit the TV airwaves in Japan.
There will be a total of six different variations of the TV
commercial, in which an AKB1/149 player is surprised when
one of the following three idols – Yuko Oshima, Mayu
Watanabe, Minami Takahashi (two variations of the spot for
each idol) – suddenly appears behind them while they’re
playing.
Following that, a tagline for the game appears: “Can you bear
to reject/blow her off?”
Namco Bandai Games plans to upload the TV spots to the
game’s official website at a later date, so look out for that.
In the meantime, here are some screens from the
commercials:

10
AKB 1/149: Love Election for the PlayStation Portable and
PS Vita comes out December 20 in Japan.
Source: Famitsu
Kasumi infiltrates Ninja
Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge as
part of free DLC update
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/kasumi-infiltrates-ninja-gaiden-3-
razors-edge-part-free-dlc-update/
Dead or Alive’s lead heroine is finally crossing over to the
other video game franchise that Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja
is famous for. As a playable character, that is – Kasumi
previously made a brief cameo appearanc in Ninja Gaiden
Sigma 2… an enhanced version of which happens to be
headed to the PS Vita next year (you know what I’m thinking,
Team Ninja?).
An update to Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge on the Wii U
sometime in the future will add the DOA protagonist into the
game as a playable character – for free. She appears in the
game not in her default Dead or Alive costume that’s been
with her since the first game, but in the sexy stealth suit that
you unlock later on once you’re close to clearing the Story
Mode in DOA5.

11
Kasumi is the second uch free DLC character to be
added Razor’s Edge; the first DLC character Team Ninja
announced was Momiji who made her first appearance in the
Nintendo DS action title Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.
Developer Team Ninja has not yet determined a date as to
when the Kasumi DLC update would be ready, but what they
do have is a date for the previously announced Momiji DLC:
December 8 is when fans can expect to go hands-on with
Momiji and her trademark Heavenly Dragon Naginata and
Heavensong Bow weapons.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge is an enhanced port of Team
Ninja’s 2011 PS3 and X360 action title, Ninja Gaiden 3,
that adds several new weapons (for a total of six weapons:
Katana, Scythe, Claws, Dual Katana, Staff and Kusari-
Gama), improved enemy AI, new modes, and various other
system tweaks like Ryu Hayabusa’s character upgrade path.
A new playable character, Ayane, is also available in the
game right from the get-go.
As a bonus, Team Ninja also said that they would add a
number of free DLC characters to the Wii U port, and so far
they’ve delivered quite amply on that promise with Momiji
and Kasumi.
Will there be more DLC characters for Razor’s Edge? You
know, now that Kasumi is in Ninja Gaiden 3, there is only
one ninja left in DOA5 that hasn’t made the jump over as a
playable character…
There is, however, one big problem with bringing over that
last ninja from DOA5: the game’s playable cast would no
longer comprise Ryu Hayabusa and his harem of demon/
ninja-slaying babes.
Ninja Rantaro gets 2nd live-
action movie
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/ninja-rantaro-2nd-live-action-movie/
Fans of the classic anime Nintama Rantaro (恋恋恋恋恋恋) will
be pleased to know that a sequel to the live-action movie
has been green lit. The titular role will once again be played
by child actor Seishirou Katou, and Takashi Miike will be
replaced by Ryuuta Tasaki ( Kamen Rider Den-O, Unofficial
Sentai Akibaranger ) as the director.
The plot for the second live-action movie appears to revolve
around a mystical sword that contains great power, drawing
the attention of ninja throughout the land. Will the ninjas-
in-training be able to claim the sword before it falls into the
wrong hands?
The movie is scheduled to open on the 20th anniversary of
the anime (10 April 2013).
Source: animeanime.jp

12
New Resident Evil 6 content
scheduled for release mid-
December
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/re6-content-due-mid-december/
Capcom announced on its blog this week that there will be a
free update for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of
Resident Evil 6 on December 17. The update includes a new
difficulty mode, the option to adjust the in-game camera to
get a larger field-of-view and an optional co-op partner for
the Ada campaign (no word on the identity of said partner,
though).
Also announced was the first batch of add-on content (read:
DLC) for Resident Evil 6, which will be made available to
Xbox 360 owners on December 18, and consists of 3 new
multiplayer modes. The new modes are a timed console
exclusive, so PS3 owners will have to wait before getting their
hands on the following new modes:
Predator:
A mode for 2-6 players, in this mode one player plays as
the Ustanak (the fearsome B.O.W. that stalks Jake Muller
throughout his campaign) and attempts to kill the rest of the
human players before they kill him or time runs out.
Survivors:
An Evil twist on the classic Deathmatch, players who are
killed in this mode will respawn as a zombie. Zombies who
manage to take down one of the remaining human players
will return to humanity, and the last human (or human team,
if playing in teams) standing wins.
Onslaught:
The ever-popular Horde mode, but played head-to-head
instead of co-operatively. Two players compete to be the
first to clear waves of enemies; chaining kills causes more
enemies to be sent to your opponent.
For more pictures and videos of the new modes, check out
Capcom’s blog at Capcom Unity
Arc System Works bringing
‘Noel & Mu-12 Dakimakura
Covers’ (NFSW) to Comiket 83
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/blazblue-comike-83-goods-mu-12-
dakimakura-ragna-calendar/
One day before the madness that is Comic Market 83
begins, Arc System Works will also sell the “Noel & Mu-12
Dakimakura”, and a bonus “Guilty Gear & BlazBlue 2013
calendar” at confusingly-titled “Akihabara Denkigai Matsuri
in Shinjuku 2012 Winter” event.
Details on the whereabouts of both events can be found
below. First, let’s take a look at all that precious ASW loot.

13
1) “BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma” Noel & Mu-12
Dakimakura Covers
Product name (in Japanese):
恋BLAZBLUE CHRONOPHANTASMA恋恋恋恋恋μ-No.12- 恋恋恋
恋恋恋
Price: 10,000 yen (including tax, event special price)
Material: Spandex
Size: 150cm x 50cm
This piece of hot swag will be available at both the Akihabara
Denkigai and Comiket 83, although the allotment at each
individual event will be quite limited. At Comiket 83, the
dakimakura covers will be sold at Broccoli’s booth (booth no.
214).
The illustrations you see on the dakimakura covers were
drawn by series producer Toshimichi Mori (Mori P) himself.
So when you look at these beautiful covers, don’t think
“ZOMG, Noel and Mu-12 are in… partial states of undress.”
Think “wow, what an amazing piece of artwork illustrated
beautifully by Toshimichi Mori the talented creator behind
BlazBlue, who poured his heart and soul into the
illustration.”
Have a healthy discussion about it with your family members
and friends.
2) Ark System Works 2013 Calendar
Product name (in Japanese): 恋恋恋恋恋恋恋恋恋恋恋2013恋恋恋恋恋恋
Price: 1,500 yen (including tax, event special price)
A 2013 year calendar that features plenty of artwork from
BlazBlue and Guilty Gear. This item will, sadly, only be
available at the Akihabara Denkigai Matsuri in Shinjuku
2012 Winter (try saying that really fast three times in quick
succession).
Event Details
There may also be other surprises or free swag for attendees
as well, so make sure to drop by both events if you’re in the
area.
Akihabara Denkigai Matsuri 2012 Winter
in Shinjuku
Event name in Japanese: 恋恋恋恋恋恋恋恋2012 WINTER in 恋恋
Date: December 28, 2012 (Friday)
Time: 9AM to 5PM (tentatively)
Venue:Belle Salle Shinjuku Grand
Homepage:http://www.denkigai.net/dg/
Comic Market 83
Date: December 29 to 31, 2012 (Saturday to Monday)
Time: 10AM to 5PM (4PM on the last day)
Venue:Tokyo Big Sight
Booth: Broccoli booth, no.214
Homepage: http://comiket.co.jp

1
Persona 4 The Golden Drama
CDs next year to re-unite the
Investigation Team, including
Marie
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/persona-4-golden-drama-cds-year-
re-unite-investigation-team/
Two volumes of a new Persona 4 The Golden drama CD or
“dorama” CD series are planned, to be released in March and
April 2013 respectively.
Vol.1 will hit retail stores on March 27, 2013 in Japan, sold
for the price of 2,940 yen including tax. Vol.2 is slated to be
released on April 24, for the same price.
Fans who purchase a first-print copy of either drama CD
will receive a special bonus track, which has the voice actors
involved sounding out their thoughts on the drama CD
recordings (アアアアアアアアアア).
All the voice actors for the Investigation Team will be
involved in the drama CDs, along with those for Nanako and
Ryotaro Dojima, Persona 4 The Golden (PS Vita) newcomer
Marie, and an original character and Nanako’s friend Mai,
whose voice actress has not yet been announced.
Here’s a rough translation of the plot covered in Volume 1
(original Japanese text appended at the end):
Drama CD “Persona 4 The Golden” Vol.1
Although the calendar indicates that Spring has begun, a
cold wind blows in Inaba.
On that day, the self-proclaimed Investigation Squad had
been taking a stroll along the river bed in the freezing
weather, when they ran into Nanako and her friend Mai
tending to some stray cats that they had found.
Nanako and Mai were worried about leaving the cats under
the bridge by the riverbed, especially in the cold weather.
So the Investigation Team had a discussion, and thought
about who amongst them might be able to adopt the cats.
Unfortunately, it appeared that nobody would be able to
keep them, and so Yukiko suggested finding folks who could.
Nanako’s friend Mai, however, did not want that. And so she
offered to keep the cats at home.
And that was that, or so everyone thought – until the cats
ran away from Mai’s home.
After hearing about what happened from Nanako and Mai,
Yosuke decided to re-unite the Investigation Team form a
“Self-Proclaimed Cat Disappearance Incident Investigation
Team”… but the plot thickens.
Plot and cast in Japanese:
アアアCDアアアアアアアアアアアアアアVol.1
アアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアア――ア
アアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアア
アアアアアアアアアアアアアアアアア

2
Trailer for The Phantom
Pain… might actually be for
Metal Gear Solid 5
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/trailer-phantom-pain-metal-gear-
solid-5/
Could Kojima be at it again? Those of you who were
watching the Spike Video Game Awards might have noticed
a seemingly-innocuous trailer for Phantom Pain, under
development by previously-unheard-of Swedish developer
Moby Dick Studio.
The trailer in question can be viewed below (click here if the
embedded video doesn’t load):
Notice anything suspicious? Users on the NeoGAF forums
did, and they’ve come to the conclusion that the trailer is
actually a teaser for Metal Gear Solid 5. Observe:
Convenient how the logo happens to have spaces in all the
right places, isn’t it? Here’s a list of some other points of
interest:
• Joakim Mogren is the founder of Moby Dick Studios.
Joakim is an anagram for Kojima (Kojima Productions’
boss Hideo Kojima).
• According to their Whois record, MobyDickStudio.se
has only existed since November 19, 2012.
• The man in flames looks like Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake
Eater‘s Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin.
• The hallucinating petals look similar to those
from Metal Gear Solid 3‘s ending.
• Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes‘ Snake bears similar
facial scars to the character in the trailer.
• The word “phantom” is used in the tagline for Metal
Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes: “Two phantoms were
born.”
A forum member has also identified Kyle Cooper, who
previously designed title sequences for Metal Gear Solid 2
and 3, in the photograph below (he’s the one on the right).
The photo was taken at a Konami Party after the Video Game
Awards.
The evidence is mostly circumstantial so far, but given
Kojima’s reputation for trolling his fans it is entirely possible
that this subterfuge was done deliberately in order to fuel
speculation and cause the video to go viral.
More pictures and screenshot comparisons can be found at
the original thread.
Street Fighter X Mega Man
scheduled for December 17
release
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/street-fighter-mega-man-scheduled-
december-17-release/
No, it’s not a hoax, and you’re not dreaming either. Capcom
has announced that they will be releasing Street Fighter X
Mega Man as a free (yes, free!) PC download on their blog.
The timing of the release for Street Fighter X Mega
Man is, appropriately enough, right between the 25th
anniversaries for Street Fighter and Mega Man. The
announcement trailer can be viewed below:
As you can see, Street Fighter X Mega Man is an 8-bit
platformer in the style of the classic Mega Man games; jump,

3
slide and shoot your way through eight stages to fight bosses
and collect their weapons.
The twist, of course, being that the bosses in this game
are characters from the Street Fighter series, complete with
their iconic special moves and what appears to be a meter
that functions the same way as the Ultra gauge from Street
Fighter IV (it’s the empty bar in the screenshot below;
you can see it fill up as the boss takes damage in the
announcement trailer above).
Interestingly enough, the game itself was in development
by a Singaporean fan (Seow “Sonic” Zong Hui, who’s
also a competitive Street Fighter player) as far back as
2010. It seems he approached Christian Svensson (Senior
Vice-President of Consumer Software at Capcom) with a
prototype of the game during EVO 2012 and managed to
impress him enough to get Capcom to officially endorse the
game.
According to the news post, Capcom is currently working
with Zong Hui on putting the finishing touches on
the game and A_Rival has been engaged to create the
soundtrack, which will be an 8-bit mashup of music from the
various Street Fighter and Mega Man games.
The post also hinted that Mega Man fans could expect
more announcements in the coming year, which should
help ease the sting for those who were disappointed with
the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3 and the rather
underwhelming trailer for Rockman Xover.
For those who are curious, the trailer for the game circa 2010
can be viewed below:
Street Fighter X Mega Man will be available for download
at Capcom’s blog on December 17.
Source: Capcom-Unity
Dead or Alive 5 Plus (PS
Vita): current build is running
at ‘close to 60 frames per
second’ [Updated]
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/dead-alive-5-ps-vita-current-build-
running-close-60-frames-second/
On top of a sneak preview of Dead or Alive 5′s Christmas
costumes DLC pack (coming December 11), developer Team
Ninja also showed off a video of Dead or Alive 5 Plus –
running on a PS Vita unit – to those present at Tecmo Koei’s
official tournament in Tokyo today.
According to Famitsu’s event report of the tournament, Dead
or Alive 5 and 5 Plus producer Yosuke Hayashi said that the
team originally did not plan to develop a PlayStation Vita
version.
However, after having heard from numerous fans that they’d
like to be able to play Dead or Alive 5 even while on the go,
the team eventually decided that a port was worth a shot.
“It’s still in the development phase, but right now the
current build we have runs at almost 60 frames per second,”
Hayashi-san said.
“We do not want the Vita port be seen by players as being
inferior to the console versions, so we want to keep the
game’s high-quality visuals and have it run silky smooth.”
Dead or Alive 5 Plus for the PlayStation Vita is scheduled to
be released in Japan March 20, 2013. “At that time, hopefully
we’ll be able to hold another tournament similar to this one,”
Hayashi said.
Although the following images do not quite show the quality
of Dead or Alive 5 Plus’s visuals in great clarity, it sure beats
fake screenshots taken from the console versions of the game
that look mighty sharp, but demonstrate absolutely nothing.
Update: Japanese games site Gamer also managed to snag
the following shots from the video Hayashi showed off at the
event, of him playing a development build of Dead or Alive
5 Plus.

4
Source: Famitsu, Gamer
Dead or Alive 5 Official
Tournament: Japan VS Korea
in grand finals, Christmas
costumes coming December
11
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/dead-or-alive-5-official-tournament-
japan-vs-korea-christmas-costumes/
It was Japan versus Korea in the grand finals of Tecmo Koei’s
first ever Dead or Alive 5 Official Tournament, held earlier
today at the Tokyo-based games publisher’s head office –
right about the same time as Korea’s Infiltration took on
Japan’s Daigo Umehara and Hajime Taniguchi (Tokido) in
the respective grand finals for Super Street Fighter IV and
Street Fighter X Tekken at Capcom’s Street Fighter 25th
Anniversary world tournament in California.
A total of 22 DOA5 players were seeded into the invitational-
only grand finals through qualifiers across four cities in
Japan (and apparently one in Korea), as well as last-minute
qualifiers at the same venue in the morning before the top-22
tournament began.
Amongst the players were hot favourites Yuu (ア) and Mochi.
Konidash (アアアアアア), who beat Singapore’s very own Wilson
Chia (BigHeadedTetra) to secure the gold medal at World
Cyber Games 2005′s Dead or Alive Ultimate grand finals
here in Singapore, also qualified. I could be wrong, but I
believe that the Shinobi (アアア) mentioned in the full list of
22 seeded players below is a Korean top DOA player who
also came down to Singapore during the World Cyber Games
2005 grand finals.
Here’s a full list of players and what their characters were:
アアアア (Mila)
アFLACK (Haybusa)
アアアア (Ayane)
アアアアア (Kokoro)
アTON (Mila)
アアア (Tina)
アアアアアア (Jahn Lee)
アアアアア (Helena)
アアア (Elliot)
アアRock (Lei Fang)
アPONG (Tina)
アアアア (Kasumi)
アア (Christie)

5
アAKA (La Mariposa)
アアア (Lei Fang)
アTestTeam (Kokoro)
アSRF (Akira)
アアA (Sarah)
アアアアアアア (Jahn Lee)
アアア (Kokoro)
アNCR (Bayman)
アアアア (Kasumi)
Dead or Alive 5 producer Yosuke Hayashi was also present
at the event, naturally. In his opening address, he said that
Dead or Alive 5 was designed and tweaked for the purpose
of being a big-scale tournament game. “Therefore the official
tournament that we were able to organise this time around
is like a dream to us.”
As a special surprise and bonus treat for DOA fans in
attendance (and those watching at home via a Nico Live
netstream), Hayashi announced that the grand finals would
be played on a slightly (very slightly) newer version of Dead
or Alive 5: a build that has got Christmas costumes for all
characters (coming out as DLC on December 11) installed in
it.
Famitsu, who covered the event, managed to snag a few
pictures showing off the new costumes. Here’s a brief look at
what’s coming December 11:
After numerous heated battles, the final four came down to
Yuu (ア, Christie), MochiA (アA, Sarah), Kagayaku Rock (ア
Rock, Lei Fang), and Korea’s TestTeam (Kokoro). On one
side of the semi-final brackets were Yuu versus TestTeam,
and on the other, MochiA versus Kagayaku Rock.
TestTeam and MochiA emerged from their respectival semi-
final matches for a Koreea VS Japan title match (full
tournament brackets here).
In the end, Japan’s MochiA emerged victorious over his
Korean counter-part, in a 2-1 comeback win (TestTeam
had taken the first game), and was crowned champion. For
placing 1st, MochiA took home a 30,000 yen gift certificate.
First runner-up TestTeam walked away with a 20,000
yen gift cert. Third-place winner Kagakayu Rock was also
awarded with a gift certificate, worth 10,000 yen.
In the aftermath of the tournament, producer Yosuke
Hayashi once again took the stage, and apologised for
hardware hiccups that occurred during the event that had
temporarily put a stop to the Nico Live stream.
“If we ever get an opportunity to do this again, we’ll return
fully prepared and strive for perfection. A big thank you to
everyone for supporting the event. We recorded replays for
all the matches in the tournaments, so for the matches that
you weren’t able to view at home due to the hiccups, please
do check them out once they’re uploaded.”
We’ll link to the Dead or Alive 5 Official Tournament 2012
match replays once they’re uploaded.
In the meantime, Nico Video/Nico Live registered users can
access about one hour of footage from the tournament’s Nico
Live feed earlier today (note: it may be restricted to premium
users only):
DEAD OR ALIVE 5 Official Tournament 2012 アアアアアア

6
Source: Famitsu
Trailer for new Dragonball Z
movie released
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/trailer-dragonball-movie-released/
Fuji TV has aired a new trailer for the upcoming Dragon
Ball Z movie, featuring actual scenes of the Z warriors and
the new antagonists (the previous teaser trailer only showed
Goku standing on a cliff).
The upcoming movie takes place during the 10-year timeskip
at the end of the series directly after the end of the Majin Buu
arc, sometimes referred to as the “lost decade” of the story. It
will apparently be an official chapter in the Dragon Ball Z
story instead of a spin-off.
Series creator Akira Toriyama is stated to be closely involved
in the production of the movie, although the actual script will
be written by Yuusuke Watanabe (Future Diary, Gantz). The
movie will be directed at Toei by Masahiro Hosoda (Dragon
Ball Z episode director)
The movie is scheduled to be released on 30 March 2013.
Kuroko No Basket to get a
line of….perfume?
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/kuroko-basket-line-of-perfume/
Hold the “Eau de Toilette” jokes, please.
In what can only be described as an unorthodox
collaboration, perfume company Nescre will be releasing a
line of fragrances based on basketball series Kuroko no
Basket.
Despite what you might assume, the line will not actually
smell like stale sweat and locker rooms. Instead, the line of
perfume is described as being inspired by the “image” of 5 of
the characters from the series.
For those who prefer a somewhat less abstract description,
the product information page contains links with a brief note
on the main scents used as well as the feeling that is meant to
be evoked by each item. Then again, the information might
not be all that useful; the description of Kuroko‘s perfume
roughly translates to “A scent made from fresh green mango
with a touch of lotus flower. You may not be able to see it as
it blends into the background, but this unusual scent will be
ingrained upon your senses.”
Prior to this, Nescre has also released similar perfume lines
for One Piece and Tiger & Bunny.
Kuroko and Kagami’s perfumes will go on sale in February;
Kise, Midorima and Aomine’s perfumes will be available in
March.
Source: product information page
License2Play: What to see
and do [Photo Gallery]
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/license2play-photo-gallery/

7
Games, merchandise, competitions, performances, cosplay
and booth babes… what are you waiting for? License2Play
is happening at the Sands Expo & Convention Center Hall
E this weekend (Marina Bay Sands; a two-minute walk
after alighting from Bayfront MRT station), and tomorrow,
Sunday, is your last chance to catch all the action – so don’t
miss it!
License2Play is also the only venue to check out Cherry
Credits’s upcoming MMO shooter Avatar Star before its
closed beta test, scheduled to begin sometime in early 2013.
Here are a few of the things we saw at License2Play today.
Check back with us later for more photos.
For more information, head over to License2Play‘s official
website here.

8
m.o.v.e is disbanding in
March 2013, after a good 15-
year run
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/m-o-v-e-disbanding-march-year/
J-pop unit m.o.v.eannounced today on its official homepage
that they are disbanding after a farewell concert (free
admittance to fans who buy their upcoming bests album) at
Tokyo’s Akasaka Blitz next year on March 16.
The two-member unit, with Yuri Masuda (yuri) on vocals
and Mototaka Segawa (motsu) on rapping (a third-founding
member, producer Takashi Kimura or “t-kimura” left in
2008), is most renowned for their Initial D anime theme
songs. The duo hit their 15th anniversary earlier this year in
October.
To commemorate the occasion, a best album, Best moves,
was slated to be release later this month on the 19th.
But seeing as the 15th anniversary commemorative album
would be their last release, now that they’re disbanding,
m.o.v.e and record label Avex Tune have decided to delay the
album for two more months, so that the band may add two
more new songs to it.
This is on top of the five original new tracks contained in
the album, for a total of seven new tracks, not counting the
collection of the group’s most representative hits.
Accordingly, the new bests album has been renamed from
“Best moves” to “Best moves ~and move goes on“. Its new
release date is now February 27, 2013.
Fans who purchase a copy of Best moves ~and move goes
on will be entitled to admission into “m.o.v.e The Last Show
アChampagne Fightア”, the band’s final concert to be held
at Akasaka Blitz next year. It is unclear if admittance is
determined via a lottery system, or if anybody bearing a copy
of the album can simply show up and be admitted into the
audience for free.
According to a statement released to Japanese media, it’s
said that m.o.v.e is disbanding because the members would
like to take on new challenges. After numerous discussions,
yuri and motsu decided on disbanding so that they may
better prepare themselves for their respective new roads
ahead.
The duo have also left individual messages for their fans
through this video on YouTube:

9
yuri (Yuri Masuda)
I know this is sudden, but I wanted to share something with
you all. I would like to thank you all from the bottom of
my heart for being with us for the past 15 years. In that
timespan, we were able to meet some wonderful people
and create irreplaceable memories. They will always have a
special place in my heart.
Lately we have been discussing what the future of m.o.v.e is,
to ensure we keep moving forward towards our dreams, and
this is the conclusion we have come to.
I wonder how all of you will react? I hope you aren’t upset
or disappointed…
We debuted with the name m.o.v.e, and because of all of you,
our fans, we were able to turn m.o.v.e into more than just
a name. We’ve turned it into a special place built from your
love and support. We couldn’t have done any of this without
you. m.o.v.e isn’t just us, you all are a part of m.o.v.e too, and
this has made me happier than you will ever know.
Next year we will perform our last live concert. As this might
be our last time together, we want to make it a big celebration
for our bright future! We want this to be the greatest party
we’ve ever had, and we need your help to achieve that! So
let’s scream until our voices crack, dance until our feet hurt,
and have the most fun we’ve ever had in our lives!! I love
you all so much, and these memories will forever fill me with
warmth and happiness. Thank you so much!”
motsu (Mototaka Segawa)
I’d like to thank all of you who enjoyed our music, those who
have been checking out our works, those who have always
come all the way to come see us at our concerts. I’d like to
thank you very much for all your support. We’ve decided to
go on with our own ways. The mountain roads we will be
running will be different, but the music we’ve created will
keep going.
Source: Natalie, m.o.v.e homepage
Square Enix to release yet
another version of Final
Fantasy IV
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/square-enix-release-version-final-
fantasy-iv/
Because nothing says “25th Anniversary Celebration” like
another port of a 21-year-old game.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series,
Square Enix is porting the Nintendo DS version of Final
Fantasy IV to iOS on December 20. The game will also be
available on Android in the spring of 2013.
While it’s not particularly obvious from the screenshots
released so far, the graphics and sound quality are going
to be improved for this port so as to take advantage of the
superior hardware available in the 6 years since this version
of the game was originally released for the DS.
Naturally, the game will also keep the voice-acting that
was present in the DS remake, although there’s no word
on whether Square-Enix will allow players to switch
between the English and Japanese voice tracks (highly
unlikely considering their track record so far, with the
exception of Final Fantasy III on the PSP).
The most significant change, besides the obvious switch to
touchscreen controls, is the ability to change the difficulty
level, intended to allow even beginners to enjoy the game.
Also, to commemorate the release of the iOS version of Final
Fantasy IV, there will be a limited-time-only discount on
the previously-released iOS Final Fantasy games starting on
December 14.
Final Fantasy IV is scheduled to be released internationally
on the iTunes app store. In Japan it will go for 1,800 yen.
Source: Famitsu

1
Megpoid the Music♯: rhythm-
action game system and
‘Groove Gauge’ detailed
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/megpoid-music%E2%99%AF-
rhythm-action-game-system-groove-gauge-detailed/
We were amongst the first sites in the world to tell you
about a little Vocaloid-inspired PSP rhythm game known as
Megpoid the Music♯. It’s been two months since the title’s
reveal, and now developer ParaPhray is finally ready to talk
gameplay details.
Today the game’s official website has been updated to
include a section on “System” where we get to see – for the
first time – how Megpoid the Music♯ will be played.
While playing a song, musical notes corresponding to any
of eight buttons (up, down, left, right, Circle, X, Triangle
and Square) stream in from the right side of the screen,
towards between two to four note markers (depending on
the difficulty level) on the left-hand-side of the screen.
Each note marker corresponds to two specific buttons. On
the highest difficulty level where there are four markers,
the top one is for “up” and “triangle”, and is followed by
the respective markers for “right” and “circle”, “left” and
“square”, and finally “down” and “X” at the bottom. Unlike
in Hatsune Miku Project Diva, it appears that Megpoid the
Music discriminates between directional and face button
presses, which should increase the difficulty for expert
players looking for a challenge.
Another unique trait in Megpoid the Music is the way
simultaneous button presses are done – a white line joining
different notes from different rows signifies when you have
to press which buttons simultaneously.
Outside of simultaneous button presses, there will also be
long notes where you have to hold down the button. Will
developer ParaPhray mix the two types of special notes –
simultaneous presses and long presses – together? We don’t
know yet, but I certainly hope so – in Project Diva Arcade,
one of the main draws (that you won’t find in Project Diva
console) is that the musical scores are designed to have you
hold down certain buttons while hitting other ones. It’s a lot
of fun, and the main reason why I enjoy Project Diva Arcade
more than the console versions (although I’m not a big fan
of having to travel and pay money each time I want to play).
Hopefully the ParaPhray development team are big fans of
Hatsune Miku Project Diva Arcade themselves and realise
that this is a lot of fun.
One other really cool feature in Megpoid is the way its life
bar system – the “Groove Gauge” – is implemented. As you
do well or miss notes throughout the song, the Groove Gauge
at the bottom of the screen will change to indicate your
performance.
You really do not need any more info than the meter at the
bottom to tell how well you’re doing in a song, but as a
nice touch the developers have implemented a digital icon
on the bottom-left corner of the screen where (dot-matrix)
Vocaloid Gumi’s facial expression changes based on your
performance.
Last but not least, the system mechanics page also mentions
that, just like in Project Diva, there will be plenty of
items (rhythm-game play items, presents for Gumi, room
decorations) for fans to buy using points earned while
playing the game regularly. Clearing songs under specific
conditions will also unlock additional hidden items.
Source: Megpoid the Music♯
God of War Ascension demo
build plays like a full fledged
release
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/god-of-war-ascension-demo-build-
plays-like-a-full-fledged-release/

2
By sentinel011 on December 14th, 2012
The God of War franchise has paved the path with its
cinematic third-person slashing action, along with nudity
to boot. That doesn’t stop the game from releasing its 4th
console adaptation. We managed to get some hands-on on
the demo build of the game, slated for release mid March
next year.
SGCafe managed to fiddle about with a test build of the
gory cinematic hack-and-slash game. The current developer,
Santa Monica Studios, refreshed the cinematic experience
with filters that better suit the environment and Kratos
himself. While God of War III have pretty decent action
segments and on screen sequences, this new release builds
on the franchise with an equally promising look, yet with a
visually different direction than previously done in the past
iterations.
Kratos moves with improved fluidity, but there’s an
enhanced feeling of control compared to its predecessors.
moves have more flashy effects, with every pound, stab
and crunch Kratos deals to his enemies using the Blades
of Athena. Kratos also has the ability to turn back time at
specific structures at will, giving him a passageway to an
otherwise impassable route. The mini-puzzles in the game
are standard God of War style, and it doesn’t make you feel
frustrated trying to work around the puzzles to get through
the next area.
Our only complaint was that our large screen makes it pretty
difficult to get the Quick TIme button presses when they
are at all 4 corners of the screen. It might be because of
the exceedingly large screen during our play-through demo,
but we figured that the previous Quick Time events were
better. Granted that the demo build is only about 5 to 10
minutes worth of play time, it does feel very solid, almost a
full-fledged release.
All in all, we are excited for God of War: Ascension to be
released on 15 March 2013 exclusively for the PS3. If you
want more action out of the latest God of War, you can
register yourself for the multiplayer beta come 8 January
2013.
More official trailers and beta access can be found at the
official site. Of course, you must be over 18 to do so.
New commercial for ‘One
Piece Film Z’ movie
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/commercial-upcoming-piece-movie/
A new commercial has begun airing in Japan for the
upcoming One Piece movie, One Piece Film Z. The
commercial also previews one of the two theme songs to be
used in the movie (“Bad Reputation” and “How You Remind
Me”) by Canadian singer Avril Lavigne (huh-bluh?)
The commercial features a fight scene between the Straw Hat
Pirates and the former marine general Zetto Shuurai, touted
as the Straw Hat Pirates’ “strongest enemy yet”. The movie
itself is said to take place after the Fishman Island arc.
To commemorate the 15th Anniversary of One Piece, the
first two million movie-goers can also expect to receive a
special goodie bag which apparently contains a special card
designed by Eiichiro Oda (creator of One Piece). The original
trailer for the movie also mentions a limited edition manga
version of the movie (with the rather hyperbolic title of One
Piece Volume 1,000) that will be given away as well.
Watch the full trailer for the movie here:
One Piece Film Z will open in Japan on December 15.
Source: Official movie page

3
First trailer for Super Robot
Wars UX released
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/trailer-super-robot-wars-ux-
released/
Hot on the heels of the announcement in Famitsu, Namco
Bandai has released the first trailer for Super Robot Wars
UX, showcasing the battle animations for the upcoming 3DS
title.
As we reported earlier, download codes for a campaign map
and a shogi-style “TsumeSupa” game will be included in
the first copies of the game. A bundle with a special SRW-
themed Nintendo 3DS LL will also be available.
But that’s not what you came for, is it? On to the trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6ALAgHdmyM
Animation-wise, the quality seems to be somewhere in
between the DS titles and both parts of Super Robot Wars
Z 2 for the PSP, with nary a recycled sprite in sight despite
several series being present in the last few DS SRWs.
Presumably, Namco Bandai declined to put in any 3D effects
or backgrounds (a la SRW:OGs2) in order to have enough
space on the cartridge to fit in the voices.
Regardless, the animation is suitably impressive (as
expected of the series) and the fact that they managed to
squeeze in the voices for the battle animations should help
make up for the rather small series list this time around:
- Linebarrels of Iron (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯)
* Demonbane (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯)
- Fafner in the Azure (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯)
* Fafner in the Azure: Heaven and Earth (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯
HEAVEN AND EARTH)
* Wings of Rean (♯♯♯♯♯)
- Ninja Senshi Tobikage (♯♯♯♯♯♯)
* Virtual-On series Fei-yen HD (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯ ♯♯♯♯
♯♯♯♯♯)
- Aura Battler Dunbine (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯)
- Gundam SEED DESTINY (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯SEED DESTINY)
* Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer (♯♯♯ ♯♯♯♯♯♯
♯♯♯♯ -A wakening of the Trailblazer-)
* SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors (SD♯♯♯♯
♯♯♯ BraveBattleWarriors)
* Mazinkaiser SKL (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯SKL)
* HEROMAN
- Macross Fronter: The False Songstress (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯
♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯)
- Macross Frontier: Wings of Goodbye (♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯
♯♯♯♯♯)
- Dancougar Nova (♯♯♯♯ ♯♯♯♯♯ ♯♯♯)
*denotes series making their debut
What big eyes you have…
In what is quickly becoming a series tradition for standalone
releases on handhelds, UC Gundam and Getter Robo are
missing from the series list, and even the Mazinger series is
limited to the recently released Mazinkaiser SKL.
On the other hand, the lack of the “Holy Trinity” of SRW is
usually accompanied by the inclusion of unusual series that
wouldn’t normally make the cut, and SRWUX is no different;
how many fans can honestly say that they expected to see the
SD Gundam series appearing alongside their bigger brothers
in SRW, googly eyes and all?
Fei Yen HD probably takes the cake here though, being based
on a PVC figure that hasn’t actually shown up in any of the
Virtual On games (the Project Diva module doesn’t really
count, even if Miku herself does show up in a cut-in).

4
She even has the trademark leeks!
Big robots, bigger explosions and more hot-blooded yelling
than you can shake a leek at; it’s definitely a good time to
be a mecha fan. Be sure to hit the Famitsu page for more
screenshots of the game in action.
Super Robot Wars UX is slated for a March 13, 2013 release
date with an expected retail price of 7,140 yen.
Source: Famitsu
Type-Moon Ace Vol.8: Akiyuki
Shinbo directing Fate/Extra
CCC’s OP, new key visuals for
Tsukihime Remake
Source: http://sgcafe.com/2012/12/type-moon-ace-vol-8-fateextra-cccs-
op-directed-akiyuki-shinbo-key-visuals-tsukihime-remake/
Freelance animation director Akiyuki Shinbo is a busy man.
Currently, the esteemed director is busy working on the
third Madoka Magica movie as well as 2013 TV anime
series Sasami-san@Ganbranai. Nevertheless, he’s making
time to direct Fate/Extra CCC‘s opening intro, which is being
produced by animation studio Shaft, the upcoming issue of
Type-Moon Ace magazine is revealing on Friday (available
in Japanese book stores December 15).
Outside of revealing Akiyuki Shinbo’s involvement in the
opening intro for Imageepoch and Type-Moon’s upcoming
PSP JRPG Fate/Extra CCC, the January 2013 (Vol.8) issue
of Type-Moon Ace also has got several new images of
the game, as well as some new key visual images for
Type-Moon’s other highly-anticipated project, a remake of
Tsukihime.
Fans of Type-Moon works looking to pick up the new issue
of Type-Moon Ace should check with their local import
book stores (in Singapore, that means Kinokuniya Books) on
when they can expect the magazine to come in.
In the meantime, here are a few images of what’s coming
in the new issue, courtesy of Akiba Jigoku who managed to
snag an early copy:

SGcafe Anime News For Otaku Dec 2012 Issue

SGcafe Anime News For Otaku Dec 2012 Issue

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