Eastern Mind

Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 4 to be “playable” at Games Japan Festa

On the weekend of 13 and 14th of November, Osaka will be cheered with yet another edition of the annual Games Japan Festa, where many of the most anticipated Japanese titles that didn’t make it to TGS will be presented and, in some cases, playable. The first and foremost case is that of Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 4 Summer Memories, irem’s main attraction, together with a new Pachipara 16 PS3 game (a Pachinko slot simulator) and Hototogisu Tairan, a trading card simulation game for the PSP.

Other notable Japanese game studios will also be present with their latest projects: Spike will finally unveil Kenka Banchō 5 - a game many expect to be released in the U.S. by Atlus - and their speedy mystery adventure DanganRonpa; SEGA’s portable RPG trio composed of Shining Hearts, Phantasy Star II Infinity and Valkyria Chronicles 3 will surely entertain many visitors, as well as the new Virtual-On episode on the 360; CyberConnect 2’s Sola to robo is bound to catch the eye of nostalgic Tail Concerto fans; and last but not least, Level 5’s DS version of Ni No Kuni.

As demonstrated by the aforementioned titles, Japan Festa differs from the major trading shows due to its affinity to smaller projects that concern a national audience, rather than the larger scope of an international public. In a time when Japanese games are ever more characterized by an increasing openness to the assimilation of North American game design and marketing tendencies, it is imperative that these small initiatives help promote a more traditional and genuine culture of games among studios and consumers. On a sadder not, EA’s presence will also be noted in an attempt to seduce eastern players to enter the realms of football and car simulations.