Well it’s not really news, but Kodama just tweeted info that last week’s impression movie is now posted on “niconico”:http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/1307354847.
So if you wanna read some Japanese comments and gauge the reaction over there, well, now you can.
Items on the agenda for this little site:
1. *7th Dragon 2020*. I’m not sure what I want to do yet — or rather, I’m not sure how involved I want to be, but at least I enjoyed the first game enough, I think it didn’t get enough attention, and it definitely didn’t get a localization! — and I feel like showing a little bit of support. So I’ll try to translate what bits and pieces I can and drum up a little interest. I note, however, that so far it doesn’t seem to be gathering as much interest as its DS precursor did. For now, all this means is that I’ll keep updating the depository with stuff semi-faithfully as more info comes along.
2. *Minor side projects*. TBD. I’ve been working on my Japanese a little bit, and I always need motivation to keep going. Playing a lengthy text-filled RPG is probably not going to cut it. I’ve been doing a little work with kdingo and perhaps we’ll keep the Mirakuru Fansubs name alive for a little longer.
3. *Site reorganization*. This is a maybe, depending on how much time I feel like devoting – I don’t feel that there is enough content on the site to warrant a full-scale reorganization.
Real Life does tend to take precedence, however, and I do plan on doing a lot of traveling, studying, seeing, and learning this year.
I do plan on continuing my little videogame and anime habit, but it’s just a question of how much more focused it has to be. Hanging out on yon internets and in IRC is a pretty surefire way to lose your concentration in six different directions simultaneously, and there’s no way I can make room for everything that I want to do all at once, and still develop my IRL career path and tackle research projects as I would like to.
As for recent habits, I’ve lately been enjoying XSeed’s English port of Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls on PS3, Okamiden on the DS, and oddly enough, I have taken to watching the Oreimo anime, which sounded initially like a premise full of ridiculous but turned out to be a delivery mechanism for an infusion of fuckwin.
Anyway, guess we’ll see how far I get with the above. It’s best to start small, right?
So, actually having an income now, this is what I have chosen to blow some of it on.
!/images/17t.jpg!:/images/17.jpg
うわっーなんだか萌えたｗ
The 6/9 official site update includes mostly old screenshots from the last two weeks, but also has an impression movie:
Transition to 3D seems a little odd at first, but I’m hoping the gameplay movies will be more impressive.
But hey, English subtitles!!!
西暦2020年
“A.D. 2020.”
東京
“Tokyo.”
ドラゴン来襲。 (Dragon invasion.)
“Dragons came out of nowhere.”
“Human was defeated.”
残された最後の希望 (Our remaining, final hope)
“However,”
“There is an only hope.”
異能力者(ムラクモ) (Espers [read: Murakumo])
“People called them Murakumo.”
それは、ドラゴンを狩る物語(RPG) (This is the Dragon Hunting RPG:)
“Hunt all dragons, or die.”
7th Dragon 2020
セブンスドラゴン2020
And the staff as previously listed.
“6/2 Weekly update”:http://jrpg.jp/news/?nid=113
Notes from this week’s post
* Random encounters like before
* Large Dragon symbols, similar to previous installment
* Chibichara attacks, now in 3D!
!https://pent.semilunar.org/images/18.jpg(Whoaaaa)!
* Battle result screen is showing a character design I don’t think we’ve seen before
* Item drops: Nanomedica, “iron gigamouse”?. Instead of cash, there are “materials” of 0 Et, 0 Me, and 13 Cb … which looks awfully like periodic table element abbreviations, but I don’t believe there is an Et or a Cb…
* Gather materials and bring them back to base to strengthen your party, sounds like the old system from 7D and EO (loot = money + unlocks weapons, though no specific confirmation)
* Video coming Soon™ – 6/9 now
* Chara creation details coming soon
whoa, “insert credit”:http://www.insertcredit.com/ is coming back!?
this was seriously my favorite news site back in the day, when squaresoft was fuck awesome, and everybody wet their pants over Xenogears and ico and stuff. and before ic, there was thegia, and before thegia, there was square.net and rpgamer.
well maybe it’s just an april fool’s joke, and i’ll believe it when i see it, but hey, this should be good.
“GPara has an article today”:http://www.gpara.com/article/cms_show.php?c_id=25580&c_num=14 with some new screenshots I don’t recall seeing elsewhere before.
The images look and feel like a 3D update to the last 7D, don’t they?
Of note, the Government Office appears to be at your main base of operations, with a weapons factory that is asking for 300 Fe to produce titanium weapons. Is “Fe” a kind of currency, or some special resource that you’ll have to collect?
Not much else worthy of news lately, wonder if there is less marketing budget this time around, or if they are waiting to reveal more later?
“Rieko Kodama’s greetings, vol. 1″:http://jrpg.jp/voice/?vid=67
> 今作は、映画スターウォーズシリーズにおけるエピソード４～６の後に、エピソード１～３が作られたような感じだとご理解していただければと思います。
> 前作の続きものということではありませんので、新たに手にとられる方も、特に違和感なくプレイしていただけるかと思います。
I don’t know if this counts as the official weekly update but there is some text from Kodama stating that you should think of the new game as Star Wars Episodes 1-3, since the ending to the original 7th Dragon was pretty definitive and there isn’t much room for a sequel there.
I hope she’s aware that 1-3 were terrible…? Haha.
Should also point out that there are five character portraits on the 7d 2020 site, reload to see them all.
New impression movie is coming Soon™.
Also some text about Miwa Shiro, and about making the game friendlier than the last installment on the DS.
So there’s a new 7th Dragon game coming out.
I’m going to start updating the “Depository”:/dragon again, from time to time.
Still undecided if I’m excited for the game or not, but it’s still early. 
__Kodama writes that “she is planning to update on Wednesdays”:http://twitter.com/#!/phoenix_rie/status/71172563975421953. So expect regular updates here on Thursdays from now on. –P.__