Dragon's Crown Message Board

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the house,
No DualShock was stirring because you didn’t know there was a new Dragon’s Crown patch out.
The players are all partying in the tavern with cheer,
Because “Holy Crap!” a new difficulty level and dungeon are here!

I’m fairly certain that’s how that poem begins, and I refuse to accept any corrections to it.

It’s been a while since Dragon’s Crown launched, but we haven’t stopped working to make it better. We added cross play, improved the game balance, and tweaked many things to make the game even more fun. You would think we were done by now, but today we have a true holiday miracle for you: another brand new feature. So knock the cobwebs off your Fighters, Elves, Wizards, and the rest, because we’re adding in a lot of new content with The Fifth Dragon’s Crown Patch.

If you’ve ever played a Vanillaware game before (Odin Sphere and Muramasa: Rebirth spring to mind), you know the brutal difficulty the games are known for. We got the impression that a lot of people didn’t feel Dragon’s Crown was hard enough on the way to level 99, so now there’s a brand new Ultimate difficulty level. After you clear the ninth layer of the Labyrinth of Chaos, you can access the new difficulty in the Temple.

So what’s it do? Well, it makes things harder, for one. But harder monsters mean players need to be better, stronger, and faster, so we’re raising the level cap from 99 to 255. You read that right, you now have 156 levels to grind out.

“But that’s a lot of grinding the same levels over and over again,” you’ll say. Well, we have you covered there, too! Once you’re on Ultimate difficulty, there will be a new dungeon unlocked, called the Tower of Mirages. It’s randomly generated and it has tens of thousands of levels. TENS. OF. THOUSANDS. I say this with all sincerity, since I know some of you are going to try to KO it: “Good luck.”

Finding it hard to give up your maxed-out Dwarf to start a new character? We fixed that too (sort of). As long as you have a save file with the Story mode cleared, you can make a new character that skips over that part and leads straight into the Talisman collection quest. Now there are no excuses for not making alts!

In addition to all that, we threw in a few other improvements for gameplay stability and various other tweaks to controls, NPCs, and character skills.

So go forth this holiday season and enjoy all the new stuff from Dragon’s Crown!

Despite being a solid game, the bodies in Dragon's Crown have come under some scrutiny. Regardless of where you stand on that issue, it's hard to defend interactive scenes in the game that allows you to grope NPCs. To show how touchy the player can get, here's a NSFW gif by psoodo that makes fun of said interactive scenes.Read more...

Pre-Orders NHL 14 ($59.99) Unlock the highest level of hockey aggression, speed and skill. NHL 14 brings together the best technology from EA SPORTS to deliver the most authentic hockey experience ever. Deliver hits with the cutting-edge NHL Collision Physics, built from FIFA’s revolutionary Player Impact Engine. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist ($59.99) Sam is back and has been granted the 5th freedom, the power to go above the law to stop the Blacklist. Players can choose between multiple play styles and switch between them at will:

• Ghost players hunt from the shadows
• Assault players rely on instincts and force
• Panther players are silent but lethal

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified ($53.99) The year is 1962. JFK is President and the Cold War has the nation gripped by fear – but a far more powerful and insidious enemy than communism is threatening America. Known only to a select few, a top-secret government unit called The Bureau begins investigating and concealing a series of mysterious attacks by an otherworldly enemy. PS3 Games Dragon’s Crown ($49.99) Dragon’s Crown is a multiplayer hack and slash beat ‘em up game with breathtaking visual style, a design built around cooperative play and epic boss fights, and the ability to discover a new adventure in every play session. With Dragon’s Crown, developer Vanillaware deftly marries stunning hand-drawn and animated art work with deep, action-packed hardcore gameplay. Tales of Xillia ($54.99) Step into the shoes of one of two main characters and experience the world of Rieze Maxia through its ferocious dungeons, vibrant towns, and sprawling landscapes. Link up with comrades to execute powerful, combination attacks in exciting real-time battles! Customize character appearance and skill set to truly personalize the epic journey ahead! PSN Games ibb & obb ($9.99) ibb & obb is a two player cooperative game set in a puzzle filled world where gravity goes both up and down. You can only succeed by working closely together. Find a friend for some true local cooperative couch fun or match up online. Superfrog HD ($9.99) Cross-Buy with PS Vita Superfrog HD features enhanced HD graphics, 24 new levels based on the original designs in six differently themed worlds, a level editor, Frog Trials (an endless runner mode), Cross-Controller support, Cross-Platform Continuation Play, Trophies and Leaderboards. PS Vita Dragon’s Crown ($39.99) Dragon’s Crown is a multiplayer hack and slash beat ‘em up game with breathtaking visual style, a design built around cooperative play and epic boss fights, and the ability to discover a new adventure in every play session. With Dragon’s Crown, developer Vanillaware deftly marries stunning hand-drawn and animated art work with deep, action-packed hardcore gameplay. Superfrog HD ($9.99) Cross-Buy with PS3 Superfrog HD features enhanced HD graphics, 24 new levels based on the original designs in six differently themed worlds, a level editor, Frog Trials (an endless runner mode), Cross-Controller support, Cross-Platform Continuation Play, Trophies and Leaderboards. PS2 Classics The Red Star ($9.99) Play as three legendary warriors using melee combat and classic shooting techniques in an alternate Russia. PlayStation Store Highlights

It’s a packed week on the PlayStation Store, with pre-orders of NHL 14, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist and The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. There’s also this week’s PSN Play title ibb & obb, the beautiful Dragon’s Crown on both PSN & PS Vita, and Tales of Xillia. There’s still one more week to pre-order Ducktales, so jump to it.

Finally, it’s time to celebrate Sound Shapes’ birthday, and we’re doing just that with a sale on the game plus all its add-on content, and we’re throwing in some avatars for good measure. Happy birthday, Sound Shapes!

For those of you who have been PlayStation fans for a while, you might remember the PlayStation Store newsletter that we used to send out highlighting the best games, add-ons, movies and promos that just hit the store. Well, we’ve listened and we’re pleased to announce that the newsletter is coming back! Keep your eyes peeled for a weekly update in your inbox, where we’ll focus on the best content from the week. We hope you enjoy it!

If you’d like to peruse all the new items on the store at your own leisure, feel free to check out the web storefront. As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments below. You can also chat about this update in the PlayStation Community Forums.

PlayStation Plus

Learn more and purchase online or go to the PlayStation Store to activate instantly. To learn more about this week’s Plus offerings, check out this week’s PS Plus post.

Instant Game Collection

Hitman: Absolution Special Edition (PS3)

Discounts

Escapevektor (PS Vita) – PS Plus Price: $3.99
Wicked Monsters Blast! HD (PS3) – PS Plus Price: $1.00
Superfrog (PS3) – PS Plus Price: $7.99
Superfrog (PS Vita) – PS Plus Price: $7.99
Rayman Origins (PS3) – PS Plus Price: $5.00
Rayman 3 HD (PS3) – PS Plus Price: $2.50
Rayman Origins (PS Vita) – PS Plus Price: $6.75
Rayman Arena (PS2 Classic) – PS Plus Price: $2.50
Rayman 2 Revolution (PS2 Classic) – PS Plus Price: $2.50
Rayman 2: The Great Escape (PSone Classic) – PS Plus Price: $1.50
Rayman (PSone Classic) – PS Plus Price: $1.50

PS3 Demos ibb & obb ibb & obb is a two player cooperative game set in a puzzle filled world where gravity goes both up and down. You can only succeed by working closely together. Find a friend for some true local cooperative couch fun or match up online. PS Vita Demos Doodle God Be a God! The power of creation is in your hands! In this addictive puzzle game, mix and match different combinations of fire, earth, water and air to create an entire civilization! Of course, the universe was not created in a day. You’ll have to work your way up from a single, simple microorganism to create animals, tools, storms, and even build armies before you have what it takes to build the universe! Price Change

• F1 Race Stars – PS3 Game (now: $29.99 original price: $39.99)
• Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed – PS3 Game (now: $29.99 original price: $39.99)
• Papo & Yo Bundle – PS3 Game & Soundtrack (now: $16.99 original price: $19.99)

Sales Sound Shapes Birthday Sale

• Sound Shapes– PS3/ PS Vita Game Add-On (now: $7.49 original price: $14.99)
• Sound Shapes 80s Sound Pack– PS3/ PS Vita Game Add-On (now: $0.49 original price: $0.99)
• Sound Shapes 8-Bit Sound Pack– PS3/ PS Vita Game Add-On (now: $0.49 original price: $0.99)
• Sound Shapes Acoustic Sound Pack– PS3/ PS Vita Game Add-On (now: $0.49 original price: $0.99)
• Sound Shapes Car Mini-Album & Entity Pack – PS3/ PS Vita Game Add-On (now: $0.99 original price: $1.99)
• Sound Shapes Drum Kits Sound Pack – PS3/ PS Vita Game Add-On (now: $0.49 original price: $0.99)
• Sound Shapes Dubstep Sound Pack– PS3/ PS Vita Game Add-On (now: $0.49 original price: $0.99)
• Sound Shapes Record Player Avatar (now: Free original price: $0.49)
• Sound Shapes Guitar Walker Avatar (now: Free original price: $0.49)
• Sound Shapes Music Box Avatar (now: Free original price: $0.49)
• Sound Shapes Player Blue Avatar (now: Free original price: $0.49)
• Sound Shapes Player Brown Avatar (now: Free original price: $0.49)
• Sound Shapes Avatar Pack (now: Free original price: $1.79)
• Castle Crashers – PS3 Game (now: $7.49 original price: $14.99)
• Escapevektor– PS Vita Game (now: $4.99 original price: $9.99)
• God Mode – PS3 Game (now: $4.99 original price: $9.99)
• Rayman – PSone Classic (now: $2.99 original price: $5.99)
• Rayman 2: The Great Escape – PSone Classic (now: $2.99 original price: $5.99)
• Rayman Arena – PS2 Classic (now: $4.99 original price: $9.99)
• Rayman 2 Revolution – PS2 Classic (now: $4.99 original price: $9.99)
• Rayman 3 HD – PS3 Game (now: $4.99 original price: $9.99)
• Rayman Origins – PS3 Game (now: $9.99 original price: $19.99)
• Rayman Origins – PS Vita Game (now: $13.49 original price: $26.99)
• RockSmith – Various Songs (now: $1.99 original price: $2.99)
• Wicked Monster Blast! HD – PS3 Game (now: $4.99 original price: $9.99)

PS Vita Add-ons Dragon’s Crown

• Storyteller Voice Pack (Free)

Soul Sacrifice

• Additional Pact: The Prince of Cats and the Lord of Flies (Free)

PS3 Add-ons Dragon’s Crown

• Storyteller Voice Pack (Free)

Dynasty Warriors 8

• BGM Pack 1 ($1.99)
• New Stage & BGM Pack 1 ($2.99)

Pool Nation

• Cue Balls and Decals ($1.49)
• Pressed for Time Pack – Unlock All Assets Pack ($1.49)

Tales of Xillia

• 300,000 Gald (1) ($4.49)
• 300,000 Gald (2) ($4.49)
• Adventurer’s Nest Egg (Free)
• Alvin’s Steward Costume ($2.99)
• Alvin’s Swimwear Costume ($2.99)
• Color Variation Set (Free)
• Elize’s Maid Costume ($2.99)
• Elize’s Swimwear Costume ($2.99)
• Jude’s Steward Costume ($2.99)
• Jude’s Swimwear Costume ($2.99)
• Leia’s Maid Costume ($2.99)
• Leia’s Swimwear Costume ($2.99)
• Level Up +10 (1) ($4.49)
• Level Up +5 (1) ($2.99)
• Level Up +5 (2) ($2.99)
• Milla’s Maid Costume ($2.99)
• Milla’s Swimwear Costume ($2.99)
• Rowen’s Butler Costume ($2.99)
• Rowen’s Swimwear Costume ($2.99)
• Sample Material Set (Free)

PS3 Themes

• Dragons Crown: Into The Labyrinth Theme ($1.99)
• Abstract: Dynamic Bubbles Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
• Amazing Earth: Summer Beach Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
• Dynamic Celtic Maiden 1 ($2.99)
• Surreal: Chameleon’s Eye Dynamic ($2.99)

PSP Themes

• Digital Blasphemy Campfires ($1.49)
• Digital Blasphemy Circumpolar ($1.49)
• Digital Blasphemy Extra Solar ($1.49)
• Digital Blasphemy First Light ($1.49)
• Digital Blasphemy Geomancy ($1.49)

PS3 Videos

• Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag: A Pirate’s Life On The High Sea
• Borderlands 2 – Dragon Keep Launch Trailer
• Dungeons & Dragons Chronicles Of Mystara HD Launch Trailer
• Mad Max – Gameplay Reveal – Soul Of A Man (US, CA only)
• Need For Speed: Rivals Cops vs. Racers Trailer
• Payday 2 Web-Series Episode 1
• Payday 2 Web-Series Episode 2
• Saints Row IV – Johnny Gat Trailer (US only)
• The Guided Fate Paradox Pv1

Brad, Vinny, and a side of PB&J squeeze into costumes CLEARLY best suited for hacking and slashing.

The kingdom is boiling in war all around you, and brigands threaten the crown just as much as the encroaching orc forces. But you, noble adventurer, have loot to earn and treasure to find. You have swords to wield and spells to sling! Welcome to Dragon’s Crown. Your adventure begins next week.

Dragon’s Crown, from the developers at Vanillaware, follows in the footsteps of Odin Sphere and Muramasa Rebirth. It blends eye-popping, hand-drawn animation with RPG-fueled combat. An ambitious project, Dragon’s Crown features six characters for players to select, and a bevy of stages to fight through. Though there are chests to open and skills to learn, the combat in Dragon’s Crown is more like a side-scrolling brawler. A brawler you can invite your friends to!

Dragon’s Crown encourages four-player cooperative play on both PS3 and PS Vita. You and your fellow adventurers can brave the dark and dangerous labyrinths together, building characters to complement each other’s skills, or tempting fate with difficult combinations. Want to dive into a dungeon with four wizards? No problem. But best of luck keeping everyone alive.

Once you and your courageous party members clear the first round of stages, alternate routes open up that unleash new dangers and boss encounters. Endure these, and your characters will grow in strength, glittering with prizes freshly won, and magical trinkets aglow with enchantments.

Clearing both paths with all six characters on every difficulty setting will take time. As in, more than 100 hours. With this much content, your journey through the ruins and caverns of Hydeland will satisfy even the fiercest craving for loot drops.

Dragon’s Crown launches on August 6th in North America for PS3 and PS Vita. Anyone even remotely interested in brawlers, or incredible fantasy artwork, should ready their swords for this one.

Atlus's parent company is in trouble. It's being investigated and going through what sounds like bankruptcy. Scary times. But wait! The good news is that Atlus USA previously told Kotaku that it was "unaffected" by the Index Corporation proceedings in Japan. Index Corporation is Atlus' parent company. But what about Atlus Japan? You know, where they make the games? That's the better news. Today, Atlus Japan's official website and Twitter account and thanked everyone for the concern, adding, "From hereafter also, the development and sales of the Atlus brand as well as the consumer business will continue." So, as the Japanese brand confirmed, the retail and download sale of Shin Megami Tensei IV will continue. Ditto for Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl, which was released on June 27. "Other retail and download titles that are currently on sale will continue to be sold as they are currently." Atlus Japan also confirmed that Dragon's Crown will go on sale in Japan as planned on July 25 and 3DS game Devil Survivor 2: Break Record is still slated for release. Details regarding that release are scheduled for a later date. And finally, Atlus Japan tweeted that the Persona Music Fes 2013, a Persona music event at the Nippon Budokan, will continue. All of this is good news. Hope titles in development, announced and unannounced, are likewise not effected by Index's troubles. Atlus Net [Official Site] PERSONA MUSIC FES 2013 〜in日本武道館, 現状通り販売, 真・女神転生Ⅳ, ドラゴンズクラウン, アトラスブランド [Atlus_jp via via はちま起稿 To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Dragon's Crown designer George Kamitani says his characters—including the sexy, controversial sorceress—are all exaggerated so they'll stand out from other fantasy art. In an e-mail to Kotaku, Kamitani explained some of the rationale behind his designs, which picked up a great deal of media attention this week after the artist wrote a note to me on his Facebook wall that featured three shirtless, burly men embracing one another. Kamitani, who is the head of Dragon's Crown development studio Vanillaware, also apologized for what many have interpreted as homophobia, calling his note "a lighthearted joke" written with an automatic Japanese-to-English translator. Earlier this week, I criticized Dragon's Crown's sorceress, a character that seems designed to be ogled and leered at as a sexual object. I called it juvenile, and said it was symbolic of a much large issue of sexism and exclusion in the video game industry. Here's an example of what the sorceress looks like during gameplay: Throughout the week, we've been in touch with Kamitani in hopes of getting his side of the story. It's taken longer than anticipated, thanks to timezones and the language barrier, but he sent over a letter in both English and Japanese that we'd like to share on Kotaku today. Here's the entirety of George Kamitani's letter: Thank you for contacting me; I am George Kamitani from Vanillaware. I’ll go into detail about the reasons behind some of Dragon’s Crown design concepts. I believe that the basic fantasy motifs seen in Dungeons & Dragons and the work of J.R.R. Tolkien have a style that is very attractive, and I chose to use some orthodox ones in my basic designs. However, if I left those designs as is, they won’t stand out amongst the many fantasy designs already in the video game/comic/movie/etc. space. Because of that, I decided to exaggerate all of my character designs in a cartoonish fashion. I exaggerated the silhouettes of all the masculine features in the male characters, the feminine features in female characters, and the monster-like features in the monsters from many different angles until each had a unique feel to them. I apologize to those who were made uncomfortable by the art’s appearance, and did not see the same light-hearted fantasy in my designs. I don’t harbor any ill-will to Jason Schreier for the article he originally posted about the Sorceress or his follow-up. Although it may be negative feedback, I am very thankful for having one of our titles being covered. I do understand what Jason and the rest of the discussions on the internet are saying for the most part. I am not sure if I can implement the critiques from him and others around the internet into my future artistic creations, but I will definitely keep in mind that these opinions are out there and affect people on a personal level. I feel that any form of media content faces death when it doesn’t receive attention at all. So, be it criticism or support, I am truly thankful for the people talking about Dragon’s Crown and the people discovering Vanillaware for the first time. In regards to the Dwarf image I posted on my Facebook page: This image was never intended to attack Jason. Originally, it was a promotional image that I created for my fan base in Japan, which I posted to the official Vanillaware Twitter account earlier. We receive many requests from companies to create publicity illustrations for the game, but we never received any requests for the Dwarf. Also, as the game’s street date nears, most retail shops start requesting exclusive art for their retailer-exclusive bonus items. In Japan, these illustration requests can even be as specific as something like female characters in swimwear. In these requests as well, the Dwarf was nowhere to be seen. So, I decided to unofficially draw a sweaty Dwarf in a bathing suit, with a bit of cynicism towards those retailer requests. I drew 3 of them to show that there are character color variations available. However, this image is something I created on my own, and will not see the light of day in any publication. I felt it was a shame to just throw it out, and thought I’d just post it on my own Facebook. That’s when I remembered Jason’s article and thought that I’d post it as a little joke with a comment. I used an automated translator to try and make a lighthearted joke in English, but clearly that wasn’t the case. I was very surprised to see the crazy aftermath. It’s okay if it was just me who was criticized, but it is not my intention to cause problems for Dragon’s Crown publisher (ATLUS) and all the other people who are involved in this project. From now on, I will limit myself about transmitting something personal out in the public. Also, it would be very appreciated if you could please contact Index Digital Media, Inc. if you plan to make anything related to this matter, including this e-mail, into an article. Lastly, please tell Jason that I am sorry for causing him trouble, and also to please don’t let my actions cause him to shy away from Vanillaware products… Good bye, and thank you. Dragon's Crown will be out on August 6 for PS3 and Vita.

OK, so there are some issues with the character design in Dragon's Crown. Jason has written about this, people are divided about it, and many in both camps have very valid reasons for their respective cases. I don't want to talk about that today. Not for Fine Art. Here, I want to talk about the art of the man behind the game that doesn't involve giant women with tiny heads. Or at least, not as much. In some ways it's a little sad that the first time many people are hearing the name "George Kamitani" this week is because of the issues some are having with Dragon's Crown's characters, because the man is also responsible for some of the finest artwork the medium of video games has ever seen. Yes, some of it can be a bit much. Some of it, like his annual "fan art" pieces, are even NSFW (I've included one of the tamer versions at the bottom of this post). But on the whole, his work has a vibrancy and pop that is a welcome palette cleanser from most other dev's more realistic palettes. The founder of Japanese studio, and also the outfit's lead artist, he's the man to thank if you've ever played a game like Odin Sphere or Muramasa and thought, holy shit, this is so beautiful I wish I could scoop it into a bowl and eat it. Like other Japanese artists working at smaller developers, Kamitani also has the luxury of seeing his artwork literally come to life in Vanillaware's games: from the character sprites to the lush backgrounds, his art is able to make the leap to the screen almost entirely unchanged. Which means, unlike just about any other artist I ever feature here, I get to include screenshots here alongside more traditional art. Other games Kamitani has worked on include Grand Knights History and GrimGrimoire. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button in the bottom-right corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line!

Dragon’s Crown has had a long development process – especially for those of you who remember E3 2011 when Ignition first mentioned the game. But now ATLUS and Odin Sphere developer Vanillaware are putting a stake in the ground for August 6th, 2013. If you’re not familiar with Dragon’s Crown, it’s a 2D multiplayer action beat-em-up exclusive to the PS3 and PS Vita that features four-person co-op play, six character classes, skills that can be leveled up, and all the dungeon-exploring, orc-slapping, treasure-seeking action you can shake a magical staff at. If you’re not familiar with the date August 6th, please consult a calendar.

One of the reasons development took so long is the painstaking detail that makes every character, background or combat animation worthy of the artistic vision of Vanillaware. The intricacies in the artwork are immediately noticeable on both the PS3 and PS Vita versions. Speaking of, we’re working right now on making sure that gamers can take their saved games with them on the Vita. So while Vita adventurers can’t party up with PlayStation dungeoneers, it doesn’t mean they have to stop leveling and looting if they have to leave the living room.

The other thing that’s immediately noticeable about Dragon’s Crown are the fantastical player characters. The Amazon, Dwarf, Elf, Fighter, Sorceress and Wizard all exude extreme character designs to emphasize their powerfulness. The outlandish character design stands out from the hordes of goblins, orcs, myconids (evil, sentient mushrooms), and other dangerous creatures that populate the world of Hydeland. Oh, and in case you were wondering: yes, you can fight dragons in it.*

Aug. 6 will be here sooner than you think, so make sure to stay up to date with Dragon’s Crown on the official game website and right here on the PlayStation Blog.

*There will also be a crown in the game.

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article that criticized one of the characters in the upcoming game Dragon's Crown. Today, the man behind that character has responded to that article. On April 12, I published a post titled "Game Developers Really Need To Stop Letting Teenage Boys Design Their Characters." It was a snarky, short article, written to point out that the game's voluptuous, hyper-sexualized sorceress character looks like it came out of the notebook doodles of a teenage, heterosexual male. "As you can see," I wrote, "the sorceress was designed by a 14-year-old boy." Today, Dragon's Crown artist George Kamitani—who is not a 14-year-old boy and in fact is the president of Vanillaware, a Japanese developer known for games like Odin Sphere and Muramasa—took to his Facebook page to respond to me. Here's what he said: "It seems that Mr. Jason Schreier of Kotaku is pleased also with neither sorceress nor amazon," Kamitani wrote. "The art of the direction which he likes was prepared." The blurb was posted next to an illustration of three burly, bearded men embracing one another. The implication, as some have pointed out on message boards like NeoGAF, is that because I didn't like Kamitani's female characters, I must instead like an image of muscled men hugging. A gay joke, perhaps? "I like Kotaku," Kamitani added later in the Facebook thread. "I will be glad if Mr. Jason Schreier is made pleasant with a Dragon's Crown." I've reached out to Kamitani on Facebook, and hopefully we'll be able to chat about Dragon's Crown, which, incidentally, I had the chance to play last December, and I enjoyed, character design aside. Hopefully he'll clarify his response. For now, I'd like to elaborate on my criticism, because this subject deserves more thought and consideration than a few snarky lines below a trailer. First, I should make it clear that I do not actually believe that Kamitani is a 14-year-old boy, and I apologize for the insult. My point should have been clearer. Over the past couple weeks, I've received a number of messages—some polite, some not-so-polite—about my article and Dragon's Crown. The most common complaint: "Why are you complaining about the busty females and not the burly men?" Another point I've seen brought up more than a few times: "Why complain about this art when you're clearly not the target audience?" Why complain? Because it's embarrassing. Because I wouldn't want to be seen playing it in public. Because I love Japanese games and Japanese RPGs and I don't want them to perpetuate the ugly "boys' club" mentality that has pervaded gaming for almost three decades now. Look, the video game industry has a sexism problem. This is not very difficult to prove. Head to E3 and watch hordes of sweaty male attendees trample one another in order to get the best photos of booth babes. Read about "one reason why." It's tough to find a woman in gaming who doesn't have a story about that one time someone said something way over the line, or the industry event that made her feel like she didn't belong. So, no, I don't want to look at this game in a vacuum, or laugh off the sorceress as harmless sexual exaggeration, or accept that this is just Vanillaware's style (which is typically gorgeous). Not when so many women still feel so uncomfortable playing games, or working in the video game industry, or attending gaming events. Not when so many games seem designed for men and only men. Some have pointed out that the dwarf character—a shirtless warrior with disproportionate muscles—is just as sexualized and over-exaggerated as the sorceress. That's true. He's also straight out of a straight male power fantasy, tailored for men just like the sorceress's skimpy clothing and ridiculously jiggly breasts. The design comes across as juvenile, like a hackneyed comic book or a God of War game. But the dwarf isn't making many people uncomfortable, because men don't get sexually harassed at PAX East. Because male designers don't get mistaken for receptionists. Because male reporters are never asked if they really play video games. Because the sorceress is symbolic of a much bigger problem. Look, I'm not a censor. I'm not going to say that an artist shouldn't draw what he or she thinks is beautiful. But just as I champion an artist's right to respect themselves, I believe that it's essential for critics—and for regular people—to discuss that art. All art has its fans. And all art deserves exposure to critics. I'm not saying this particular piece of art should not exist, but I have no qualms about saying I think it can hurt this game and gaming as a whole. I think it repels more than it attracts. It doesn't challenge viewers in interesting ways. And I don't consider it beautiful.

The newest trailer for Vanillaware's side scroller Dragon's Crown shelves the questionably-designed Sorceress, showcasing the ridiculously muscular Dwarf instead—although, he looks more like a viking on steroids than a dwarf. Dragon's Crown is coming to PS3/Vita on July 25.

This is the newest trailer for Dragon's Crown, the Vanillaware-developed game that will be out this year for PS3 and Vita. It features the sorceress, one character from the game. As you can see, the sorceress was designed by a 14-year-old boy. Perhaps game development studios should stop hiring teenagers? At least they're cheap, I guess.

Denizens of the Blog of PlayStation,

You know how you’re really excited for something and then something happens and you get even more excited? Like that time you found out they were making a movie for The Hobbit and you were excited…but kinda bummed that Peter Jackson wouldn’t be directing it. But guess what happened: Peter Jackson announced that he *would* in fact direct it, and you got a heck of a lot more excited. Right?

Remember Dragon’s Crown, the next project from Vanillaware announced at last E3, a multiplayer action RPG with beautiful hand-drawn visuals slated to come to PS3 and PS Vita?

BREAKING NEWS: Atlus is taking over publishing duties in Japan and North America! What’s more, key (and very talented) members of the Atlus internal development team will be involved with the project as producer(s). You know, some of the people who’ve worked on games in the critically acclaimed Persona series. Yeah, we know: we’re stoked, too!

What does this mean for the game? For one, it means that it’s going to be better than ever. It will, however, come a bit later than originally expected, as it’s now slated for release in 2013.

When we took over the reins, we realized that a lot of the information made available to the public was ambitious and unfounded conjecture. The release timing, the pricing, and many of the features detailed for fans and members of the press were simply unknowable at the time they were disseminated (and frankly we were quite shocked to find out that many of the details were made public unbeknownst to even the developers).

It’s still way too early in development to be talking about specifics, but we can say that the game simply cannot retail for $29.99. We don’t know where that price point came from, but it is a logistical impossibility. We’re all gamers and we all wished it could be so, but it would have essentially destroyed any chance for profitability.

There’ll be plenty more news on the game in the coming months, and many questions that you’ll want answered. We promise that we’ll do our very best to answer them!

SUMMARY: Dragon’s Crown is still coming to PS3 and PS Vita, Atlus is bringing it (and helping to produce it), and it’ll hit North America in 2013.

*lowers goggles*

You may fire when ready.

Los Angeles - Brandish your blade, dust off your grimoire, and rally your online adventuring party, as UTV Ignition Games today announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles that Dragon's Crown will release in 2012 for both the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Pla...

It's like a Frank Frazetta painting by way of Japan.

The team behind Muramasa and Odin Sphere are bringing their talents to the PS Vita!