Hello and welcome to another edition of Sunday News Bites! Although our custom made seat nearly collapsed under Mikoto’s weight last week, we have decided to test it to the limit by wheeling in the plump President Aria.
Aria gets a third season
Aria fans, the moment we have all hoped for has come to pass- a third season, Aria the Origination, has been announced. Apparently this season has been in production since spring, and whilst no air date has been announced yet, it cannot come too soon for those of us who adore this excellent series. With plenty of manga material left and the scope for original stories too, it seems likely that this will be a sure-fire hit right out of the gate for everyone who has already been captivated by the gentle and charming world of Neo Venezia.President Aria says: PUNYU!!! [I’m so happy to be coming back for a third season, but I’d be even happier if I could win President Hime’s heart!]
Scans and Screenshots for Disgaea 3
If you’re looking forward to the third instalment in Nippon Ichi’s popular Disgaea series of SRPGs, then you’ll no doubt want to drool over these magazine scans, filled with screenshots and information about the game. At the moment, it looks both solid and promising, with some interesting new characters and probably the same brand of addictive game play that made its predecessors so popular. Sadly, for those of us without PS3s, the need to invest in a new console means we either have to go on a spending spree to get set up for the game, or go without.
President Aria says: Punyu… [I don’t think Aria Company makes enough money for me to afford a PS3, and besides, the controller always slips out of my paws when I try to play a game].
Hunter X Hunter resuming at last?
Last year, Hunter X Hunter went on brief hiatus due to the apparent illness of the mangaka- but when the months passed, it became clear that brief was no longer the operative word. Finally, however, after a wait of around eighteen months and fan petitions for its return, HxH is to resume serialisation this October. I have to admit to mixed feelings about this one- I would like to see the story wrapped up, but given the artwork quality of the current arc, I can envisage it simply getting run into the ground rather than being given the ending it deserves.
President Aria says: Punyu? [What’s this Hunter X Hunter thing anyway?]
Strategic alliance for ADV and Geneon
Well, after all the unconfirmed rumours and ‘no comments’, it’s official- ADV and Geneon have entered into what they like to call a ‘strategic alliance’. What this means is that ADV has taken over all responsibility for advertising and marketing Geneon titles, with Geneon themselves only being responsible for licensing. In effect, this moves Geneon’s role to something far more behind the scenes, and is most likely the death knell for a company that until recently counted itself among the big names in US licensing.
On the plus side, this may well mean that those pricy boxsets will be out the window in favour of cheaper thinpaks of Geneon’s back catalogue (which would see me picking up the likes of Fafner and Gungrave), but even so, it is a little sad to see them go- their DVDs may not have been the cheapest on the market, but they did have good production values.
President Aria says: Punyu!? [Does this mean Aria Company might get taken over one day?]
Disgaea 3 on PS3 is bad news, as I don’t intend to buy one. And when I see the screencaps from the magazines, apart from the backgrounds that look HD, the sprites look as pixelated as they were on PS2. So I wonder if there really was a need to release Disgaea 3 on PS3, at least for technical reasons?
Disgaea 3 on PS3 is great news. Maybe this time there will be even more stuff to do, more classes than ever, more fun dialoge, multiple choices who lead to different endings and more.
If they choose to use the PS3 then it will be the greatest of them all. If not then well, just a great game.
I can´t say it´s bad news, even if I didn´t have a PS3 I wouldn´t be able to say it was bad news. It´s a new Disgaea for God´s sake!! I loved the first, the second made everything better(except making it easy as such…) and now with a third installment I´m as happy as one could be.
Okay, I guess this is the point where I should continue reading Hunter x Hunter… I stopped because the idea of an unfinished story frustrated me so much (same with 20th Century Boys, by the way, which I should also continue reading now).
But thanks for the info!
As much as I love NIS and stuff… Disgaea 2 was boring and I have no idea what the point of making a game for the PS3 that looks… like… well… come on! At least make the sprites high resolution! I could seriously see SCEA giving NISA a hard time if they choose to release it over here at full price. (It used to happen all the time in the early days of the PS2. Games they didn’t feel were ‘up to snuff’ weren’t cleared for release.) Granted, what with downloadable games that might not happen anymore.
As for hunter x hunter, yeah! I’ve heard every rumor from “he got lazy” to “he’s got aids” as to why Togashi was on Hiatus. The best rumore I heard was “he was playing dragon quest 8/final fantasy 12″… who the hell knows. Let’s hope he actually has time to ink the damn panels for the magazine this time around, and that the return isn’t for a single issue. Ha!
I wish Aria would get licensed here.
“I wish Aria would get licensed here.”
Me too, I watched Aria the OVA ~Arietta~ raw last night and it just makes me want to own some Aria anime on DVD more and more.
Disgaea: I really hope that the game is at least going to make use of being on the PS3, because it will be annoying if it doesn’t. Sadly I don’t own a PS3 and I have little desire to pay £424 for one, which means my cheapskate gaming ways will cause me to miss out.
HxH: I hate it when stories are unfinished (X/1999, anyone?) so I hope this time it will get finished.
Aria: I’d love to have it on DVD, preferably with a plush Aria as an extra.
OMG hunter x hunter resuming O.o that is one miracle. I’ve been following the manga for a damn long time and even if the quality of art had decreased dramatically I do want to see things end. Especially since the series has one of my favorite villain groups~