Our friend Sal over at Scrawl got his hands on some early scans of Shonen Jump (shown above). In addition to showcasing the Chocobo new look and giving us a glimpse at yet another summon, the magazine reveals that Japanese versions of Final Fantasy XIII will come with a beta code for Final Fantasy XIV.

This of course doesn’t mean we will experience the same good fortune here in the states, but I for one will be keeping my fingers crossed. Either way, there will be plenty of leaked internet footage for us to drool over when the time comes.

Update: The latest issue of Famitsu clarifies the beta code as something that will allow players to download an exclusive in-game item for Final Fantasy XIV as appossed to an actual demo of the game itself.

“Leaked” Final Fantasy XIII Japanese box art has been making its way around the web today with a few people debating its authenticity. The main argument against its validity is based on the fact it was submitted to VGboxart.com, a website dedicated to hosting video game box art, on 9.30.09 by a user named “Stunt” who openly admitted:

“This is actually the Japanese box art. It’s never been released digitally, so I decided to create it in Photoshop.”

As you can see in the image above, the replica on the left does closely (if not identically) resemble the box art shown at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show reveal of the PS3 FFXIII Lightning Edition. The logo is a tad off in size and placement but that’s just nit-picking.

It remains to be seen whether or not the box art shown at TGS 09 will actually become the “final” FFXIII Japanese box art when the game is ultimately released. That said, the fan art is close enough to anything Square-Enix might have made available, had they wanted a digital version of the cover shown at TGS 09 to circulate, that it almost entirely makes the debate as to whether or not it’s “real” a non issue.

Hit the jump for a high-res look at the replica cover shown at TGS 09.

“A little Japanesey, way off kilter,” is how Pit Crew Panic was initially described to me at Hudson’s event last week. I just sort of blinked as the six creepily babelicious, bobble-headed gals busied themselves about a giant wedding cake. It needed fixing.

Oversized toilet? Aircraft carrier? Sunflowers? Sure, they fix that, too. And you can help! Basically, the point of this new WiiWare game is to assign your crew to repair different broken zones of various items, but if you’re savvy, you’ll help them out by accompanying their labor with the indicated Remote gesture–hammering, cranking, etc. I love that somehow this constitutes “Normal” mode, and as you progress you unlock higher classes of items to attend to. Naturally, the Golden Gate Bridge is pretty tricky– Class A.

“Abnormal” mode is where you’ll find the competitive 2 vs. 2 or 3 vs. 1 team set up–co-op is drop-in anytime. Apparently, you’ll even be able to play online. It’s pretty hectic when you first jump in, what with all the pointing and clicking and hammering, but there is an in-game tutorial if you need it.

No date yet for Pit Crew Panic, but we’ve been told the game is pretty much done, so I imagine we’re down to scheduling logistics. Expect it to be priced within the typical 800-1000 point range.

Sega’s PS3 exclusive Valkyria Chronicles looks good. It looks really good. Alternate WWII-timeline, elegant painterly graphics, cameos from Skies of Aracdia characters and some newfangled take on strategy-RPG gameplay? We won’t even have to wait too much longer for it, either, as Sega has announced that the game will come out on American shores on November 11.

For the serious Japanophiles out there, the game will include the original Japanese voice-over work – a nice backup option in case the American voice-overs are too hammy. Hit the jump for more info.

Sega Japan recently released downloadable extra episodes for the JP release of Valkyria, but so far mum’s the word on whether this content will be making it over to the US PlayStation Network. It’ll definitely not be on the retail disc, Sega confirmed in a conversation with Siliconera.

Source: Siliconera

I love it when developers take the complaints of reviewers and the requests of their fans and deliver a sequel that addresses every one. It looks like Eidos Hungary is prepared to do that with Battlestations: Pacific, the follow-up to last year’s Battlestations: Midway.

Battlestations manages to be both a real-time strategy game and an action/simulation experience. While you are in charge of commanding different task forces, it’s possible to take on the role of one of the troops and save the day. Pacific picks up right where Midway left off, but packs double the campaign of the previous game — one “historically-based” version, where things unfold as you would expect, and one “historically possible” version, where you play as the Japanese and kick America’s ass. Twenty-one new vehicles; cockpit views for the fighters, torpedo bombers, and dive bombers; Kamikaze attacks; and the new Island Capture system (as well as improved graphics, since they were developing strictly for 360 rather than worrying about the original Xbox) round out the new features.

The first mission we saw was the invasion of Port Moresby, which didn’t actually happen. In the real world, we beat the Japanese back at Coral Sea so they never got to Australia. Instead, in this mission, you’re playing as the Japanese and three initial goals are to take the radar station, take the airstrip (one of those islands to capture), and take out the Americans.

The command screen shows a color-coded birds-eye view of the action as it’s happening, but now includes extra data, like exactly how captured the radar station is (in percentage form) and the health of every unit on the screen. Another example of this more data push — which is something the fans have been requesting — is the way your cruiser weapons now have a time indicator while they transition from yellow reloading to green and at the ready.

You can go about your objectives as you like, but flexibility is key, since you can’t be sure how your AI-led units will fare. If you’re doing well, there is an assortment of random secondary tasks to complete to boost your high score, good for achievements and straight-up bragging rights.

Jon Zungre and I both took a turn on another level where shooting three targets proved more difficult than our non-flight sim trained thumbs were capable of handling — it’s definitely not an arcade-y experience. Mostly we just enjoyed watching details like the little guys running around on the decks of the boats or the convoys rolling across the island as you advance.

Battlestations: Pacific is set to ship in Q1 of 2009, and we’re betting fans of the original will be quite pleased.

Coming this July… A toy like no other toy in the history of forever… A plastic stopwatch the likes of which is barely even fathomable… Nothing can prepare you for the experience you receive in just five seconds with this thing. Nothing, except perhaps the commercial.

For the sake of this article, I’m going to refer to this thing as “The 5-Second Stopwatch,” or 5-SS.  We at least know there is a 5 there in the front, and the rest probably doesn’t make any sense anyways.  I mean, it can’t make sense if the commercial is any indication.

Judging from what we just witnessed, the ability to accurately time five seconds exactly will make you whole again. This commercial clearly shows that your meals will become beer fests, you will be able to jump small trees in a single bound, and fights with your significant other will transform into full-body joy spasms.

Not only that, if you are decrpit and brittle, 5-SS will make you strong.  If you’ve been shot, 5-SS will eat the bullets and fill your holes.  If you are emotionally disturbed, 5-SS will buy you flowers and help you vent your feelings of abandonment.   You will never be alone again, as hunks in pink speedos and Power Ranger rejects will hang out and pressure you into playing patty-cake with a midget ninja.

Who could possibly wait until the 26th of July to feel this magic?  I know I sure can’t!  Lucky for you there’s a link RIGHT HERE that takes you to a fantasy realm where you can experience life in 5-second increments of virtual awesomeness.  “Ready?”

If there is one thing that Etrian Odyssey 2, a.k.a. Sekaiju no Meikyu II, succeeds in doing, it is throwing in additional content. After only a short time playing, I can honestly say that if Atlus chooses to release the sequel to this first-person RPG in North America, fans of the original will be quite pleased.

The first additions come in the class section. At the very beginning there are 11 different class options available, as opposed to the original, which featured only 7. All of the 9 original classes (landsknecht, protector, survivalist, dark hunter, medic, alchemist, troubadour, ronin and hexer) are available from the beginning for party creation.

On top of that, the gunner and doctor magus/shaman jobs are also initially available. The only “hidden” profession is pet, but players don’t need to worry. Where the ronin and hexer jobs in the initial game required players to delve into over 10 floors, the pet job is unlocked after defeating a boss on the fifth floor and returning to that area.

For my personal party, I chose to go with a slight alteration to my original Etrian Odyssey party. I replaced my dark hunter with a gunner, and then created a party filled with a landsknecht, alchemist, troubadour, ronin and gunner all named after Nana characters. (I’m a dork, I know.)

Like the original game, the only thing you can do after that is go to the guild. It’s a whole new town, so everything looks slightly different. Everything is still in the same place though– there’s the inn, an herbal academy, a trading post, a bar, a guild and Lagaard Palace. Once again the first mission involves mapping part of the first floor of the dungeon and proving you can handle yourself, functioning more as a tutorial than a challenge.

After that I did what any good Etrian Odyssey veteran would do – went to the trading post and loaded up on potions. The first game was renowned for its difficulty levels, and I had heard that the sequel delivered more of the same.

Then I went into the dungeon. I was quite impressed heading in, as the graphics seem improved somewhat. I know that is difficult to comprehend and even think of, since the Etrian Odyssey games are first person RPGs when wandering through areas, but everything looked better. There seemed to be a lot more detail in the forest stage.

Also the mapping functions have some significant additions. There are three different colors which can be used for floors (helpful for identifying water or poisoned areas), new arrows to identify one-way paths between areas, new door icons to represent locked and unlocked entrances and a wide selection of assorted new markers to add to the map. This really delighted me, as in the first game I found myself getting frustrated that I’d actually have to click an area to find out if that sparkly place was a mining area or a gathering spot.

Moving forward causes a 2D palace guard to appear. He talks a bit, then teleports you to a random spot in the maze. You then have to find your way back to the entrance. I figured this would be fairly easy, as the first mission in the original game involved a fairly small, straightforward initial level and the enemies weren’t too menacing.

Then I ran right into a pack of wolves, followed by some mole creatures. Let me take a moment to say that Etrian Odyssey 2 is not forgiving. I was a little slow when doling out potions, and so Junko the ronin had to take a dive. Thankfully that was the only real hardship, and I managed to maneuver my way through the area back to the entrance. A nice point worth mentioning is that the first F.O.E. enemy lay behind a closed door, so it doesn’t pop up out of nowhere and join your battle.

Returning to the entrance, the knight congratulated me. My party went to the hospital (manned by a doctor bears a striking resemblence to Trauma Center Second Opinion’s Derek Stiles) to revive Junko then to the palace to claim rewards and glory.

From my brief playthrough, I can honestly say I am impressed with the way the sequel turned out – even if my ronin was owned by a troop of moles. It is clear that the creators really looked at what the fans of the series liked and disliked, and did their best to leave the good and fix the mediocre. If Atlus chooses to release Etrian Odyssey 2 in North America, it could very well receive more attention than its sleeper hit predecessor.

Screens courtesy of NCSX

Tables continue to be turned this week as the formerly dead-in-the-water PSP fended off all contenders for this week’s sales crown. Most people will point out that the PSP was never exactly a failure, it just hasn’t had the monstrous success that the DS has enjoyed.

With the PSP climbing to the top of the heap, we might be seeing the beginning of a trend, though DS fans might beg to differ come time for Dragon Quest IX. In the meantime, the Wii and DS round out the Top 3 as usual, while the PS3 and PS2 battle it out for rights to fourth place.

Then there’s the poor, cellar-dwelling Xbox 360, the Kansas City Royals of the Japanese hardware racket. At this point, is there anything Microsoft can do over here?

1. PSP 73,706

2. Wii 64,535

3. DS Lite 51,922

4. PS3 13,520

5. PS2 10,986

6. Xbox 360 2,282