Hey! Check it out! Here we’ve got news about the Tales of the Rays collaboration event with Tales of Arise! There’s quite a lot to talk about here, so let’s break it down!
The main attraction in this collab is the appearance of Nazamil as a playable character! There is also a special event story as well, so if you’re a fan of Tales of Arise, you’ll definitely want to check it out!
▶︎ Screen Shots
Here are a couple screengrabs I took from the game itself. As you can see, I haven’t exactly played the game very recently…
Daily bonuses!Step up Gacha!Disiccreare AlmaSacrifice NobodyCross-over Abilities with Dohalim and Kisara
Presenting Alphen’s upcoming Final Magic Mirror. This magical technique confronts the curse of <Thorns> with a resolute commitment not to sacrifice anything. Acquiring this magic mirror grants access to a unique cut-in.
Introducing the Kisara & Dohalim crossover magic mirror, set for release soon. This magical technique, a collaborative effort reflecting the inherited will of coexistence, skillfully slices through the heavens. Keep an eye out for the upcoming video featuring both characters donning reverse mirror costumes.
This video provides an introduction to Nazamil’s mirror outfit, showcasing a versatile range of combat techniques. From short-range to long-range, and adaptable positions, Nazamil employs a diverse array of strategies. The key technique, known as “Luke Ops Col,” is unveiled prior to the secret move. This technique involves lowering the sword of light to unleash waves of darkness. Notably, it boasts a swift casting time, enabling attacks on the surrounding area. Upon transformation into a secret technique, it evolves into a potent wide-ranging assault.
This video introduces Kisara’s back mirror mounting technique. Before unveiling the secret move, she employs the “Ishika Attack” to strike from the stone fire and sweep opponents away. The charging secret technique, when unleashed, grants invincibility during the mid-charge and delivers a powerful blow. This feature makes it ideal for initiating collaborative efforts.
This video presents an introduction to Dohalim’s back mirror technique. Prior to revealing the secret move, Dohalim employs “Kapshonem,” deploying a ground trap and executing a backward jump. Upon contact with the trap, a rock spear emerges to attack the enemy. The charged secret technique derivative transforms into a move that not only targets enemies in a confined area but also gradually restores the HP of allies.
Bandai Namco Entertainment is set to host a cross-over project within the Bandai Namco Group known as the “Gundam Project” at the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 (F1 Las Vegas GP), taking place from November 17-19. They’ve entered into a partnership agreement with Scuderia AlphaTauri through Bandai Namco Entertainment America.
This collaboration will bring the Mobile Suit Gundam series to the F1 Las Vegas GP, displaying the RX-78-2 Gundam prominently on both sides of the headrest of Scuderia AlphaTauri’s AT04 car. They will also introduce a decal for XVX-016 Gundam Aerial.
This partnership extends beyond the typical bounds of F1 sponsorship, encompassing the installation of two 2-meter-tall Gundam statues at the circuit, the application of decals to the AT04, the establishment of a pop-up store near the circuit, and the incorporation of Scuderia Alpha. A range of activities centered around the Mobile Suit Gundam series, including a gunpla display of the RX-78-2 Gundam, featuring Tauri decals and coloring, will be open to the public.
Lastly, a promotional video has been released, featuring the race car driver Yuki Tsunoda dressed in a racing suit inspired by a Gundam pilot.
▶︎ Scuderia AlphaTauri x Gundam collaboration design & illustrations of Yuki Tsunoda
▶︎ About Scuderia AlphaTauri
Scuderia AlphaTauri, one of the two F1 teams under the ownership of Red Bull, has undergone a significant evolution. Originally named Scuderia Toro Rosso from 2006 to 2019, the team adopted the name Scuderia AlphaTauri in 2020, inspired by the Red Bull Group’s premium fashion brand, AlphaTauri.
As a prominent entity in the F1 world, Scuderia AlphaTauri has shown significant advancements in recent years. They’ve consistently improved their performance on the racetrack while also expanding their presence as a company.
Roughly seventeen years ago, when .hack//G.U. Vol.3 was still in development, the CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi “Piroshi” Matsuyama received word about a boy, “Hiroshi-kun”, who was scheduled to have surgery to remove his eyes due to cancer. When asked what he’d like to experience before the procedure, the boy responded that he wanted the chance to play the new .hack game, and so Matsuyama pulled out all the stops to make the boy’s wish come true. This story became the narrative for the novel “Medicine Called Entertainment” which Matsuyama wrote in 2017. A year later, Hiroshi-kun wrote a 5-chapter follow-up piece called “Strong Medicine: The Truth Behind Medicine Called Entertainment” (劇薬 -エンターテインメントという薬の真実- “Gekiyaku”), published online by Famitsu.
Question: In 3 weeks, you will lose all sight. What would you want to do before then?
▲ CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama receives a phone call from a producer at Bandai Namco who informs him of a child who wanted to play the last .hack//G.U. game before his scheduled eye surgery.
Now, six years later, Famitsu held an new interview to catch up with both of the Hiroshis now and reminisce over the power of entertainment.
The following is an English translation of the interview.
“Medicine Called Entertainment” (エンターテイメントという薬) by Hiroshi Matsuyama
ーIt’s been 6 years since the release of “Gekiyaku,” could you tell us how things are going for you now?
Hiroshi: I am mainly a stay-at-home dad while my wife has an outside job. Our daughter is in the second grade now. We live in a relatively residential area with very few shops, so I’m worried if we could get help should anything happen. We’ve spoken with the local government and schools, so I feel like more people are aware and considerate of our situation. I hope there will continue to be further improvements to the area. My mother also appeared in “Gekiyaku,” but we’re getting along fine now.
ーSince your daughter is in elementary school now, is she able to help at all?
Hiroshi: Typically, I do the cooking, but she helps me out if I can’t read what’s written on something in the fridge, like whether it’s ginger or garlic.
ーSometimes, even if you’re aware of what’s in something when you buy from the store, it can be challenging to remember what’s inside once you’re at home. For instance, I’ve heard that it’s tricky to know what’s in a retort pouch without opening and tasting it. You either have to use a helpful applications like “Be My Eyes” designed to read printed text or ask someone to read it for you.
Hiroshi: If no one who can see is in the house, we generally don’t turn the lights on. My wife started raising a guide dog, so we turn the lights on for him, but sometimes she’ll turn the lights on without me noticing, and I’ll ask my daughter, “Why’s the light on in that room?”
ーMany people are amazed how you use a computer without a monitor. Physical books are difficult for the visually impaired to read, but with digital books, you’re able to display the text in different sizes and colors to make it easier to read, or have it be read out loud. I’ve heard that only 10% of the visually impaired can read Braille. Are you able to read it?
Hiroshi: I received training after my surgery at the Visual Impairment Center in Hakodate, but hardly anyone could read or write Braille. It’s difficult to learn Braille from scratch when you have a disability. Due to my treatments, my fingertips have become numb, so I couldn’t read it even if I tried.
After the surgery, I was killing time by trying to figure out how to create a simple webpage with the “Rakuraku” phone that I was given which also has audio output. The service for the flip phone was being discontinued, so I switched to an iPhone about two years ago. A member of the same visually impaired association taught me how to use it. It’s quite convenient.
ーApple has been very good with offering accessibility options for a long time, so my impression is that nearly all visually impaired people use iPhones. What about you?
Hiroshi: When I have some free time, I watch YouTube or play a game called “Adventurer Guild Story“. It’s a game where you set up a party and go on adventures, but it’s mostly text-based, so even those who are completely blind can play it. As long as there’s text, the iPhone voiceover feature can read it out loud for you, but games that use a lot of illustrations are difficult to understand because there’s do verbal description of what’s going on.
ーWhat other games did you like to play?
I used to like simulation games like Nobunaga’s Ambition, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and SimCity. I also liked adventure games, so I enjoyed playing things like Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and the Tales series. I hear people talking about Minecraft a lot and I don’t know anything more about it, but I’d like to try it sometime.
Besides the .hack//G.U. game that I was given, I played other Nintendo64 titles such as Perfect Dark, Super Smash Bros. and Animal Crossing to pass the time before my surgery.
ーI was really anxious as I read “Medicine Called Entertainment”, wondering if you’d be able to finish .hack//G.U. before your surgery.
Hiroshi: I thought it would take me up until the last minute to finish the game, and I wondered what would happen if I couldn’t finish it, so there were days I played all day. I actually finished pretty quickly in the end.
It’s crazy how 21 years have already passed since the first .hack game. If it’s at all possible for the series to continue, I sincerely hope that someone could direct the next installment who has a deep understanding of the production like those at Bandai Namco or President Matsuyama.
ーIn that case, they’ll have to develop it with the necessary accessibility features.
Hiroshi: I wonder how they’d be able to do that with .hack. It might be a difficult to pull off, but it’d be nice to have a Blind Mode where President Piroshi stands next to you, saying things like, “I’ll help you.” Plus, if they made a 2D map like in Dragon Quest III, they could potentially create a version for the blind.
ーThe graphics in the earlier Dragon Quest games were quite basic. We can still enjoy playing it if the text is read aloud. Thanks to technological advancements like text-to-speech and OCR (Optical Character Recognition, a technology that uses a camera to read printed or handwritten text), we might still be able to play it even if the game wasn’t initially designed with accessibility in mind. On the other hand, it’s not unheard of for some games getting a 3D upgrade from 2D are actually difficult to navigate, which renders it nearly unplayable.
Hiroshi: Actually, I once asked President Matsuyama to make a game for the visually impaired that works on brain waves, so that we can actually see once we enter the game. He said that he couldn’t promise anything, but would look into it, so I have high hopes for something like that someday. I haven’t mentioned anything about it since then because I didn’t want to seem repetitious or overly assertive, but I’d really be happy if we had something like that in the future.
ーThat’d be a dream come true! It would be nice for more people to be aware of these circumstances, then I’d like accessibility functions to become the norm so that no one is left behind. It seems more common to see games with various accessibility functions, so I’d like to continue encouraging President Matsuyama in this regard.
At the time of this interview, CyberConnect2 President Matsuyama was also present, and he gave us this comment regarding the future of the .hack franchise:
“While no decisions have been made regarding the next installment of the .hack series, your voices of support and hopes for a continuation could be the catalyst we need for a new entry.”
If every fan of the .hack series can show their support, there may come a day when we can once again enjoy the latest addition to the .hack franchise, for all those who love it.
Have you ever turned on some old music that you used to listen to years and years ago and suddenly get teleported back to those times as the music seems to envelop around you in a tight embrace. It’s so nostalgic, you have to fight the urge to abruptly break out into song even though you’re in no place to do so (like at work!).
That’s the sort of feeling that I get from turning on the .hack//SIGN anime soundtrack, composed by Yuki Kajiura. In lieu with the latest hype over the .hack series caused by the sudden appearance of a new website (although seemingly unofficial), I thought maybe this would be a good chance to start a new series of posts regarding nostalgic anime and video game music, revisiting some old tunes that, even to this day, still send chills down your spine with waves of nostalgia.
What also seemed unique to me back when .hack//SIGN was new was that so many of the background themes had lyrics, and they always had a knack of playing in the most pivotal moments in the story, many of which still haunt me to this day. Let’s take a look at the vocal tracks by the talented Emily Bindiger. Many of these songs are also available in karaoke bars in Japan, so if you’re keen on singing these yourself, check out the links that I provide below.
There are so many parts of this song that I love. The consistent beat throughout the piece somehow feels like the one thing keeping you anchored while strings and melody dance around each other in imperfect chaos. When I was first learning this song, I remember stumbling over some terms in the lyrics, such as “auguries”. Let’s just say, it was a new word to me back then.
I seem to recall this was often a theme that symbolized Tsukasa’s loneliness and solitude. As the intro to this song sits at nearly 2 minutes, it slowly builds until the vocal line begins several verses driving home this eerie sense of emptiness. And from the darkness of those lines comes the phrase “the fields are filled with desires, all voices crying for freedom,” which seems to give us a little sliver of hope before tossing us back into solitude’s dark embrace with “there’s only you to answer you, forever”. It’s this constant back and forth of hope and despair that carries this piece until the very end when it seems the speaker has accepted the fact that they have been and always will be alone. It’s a deeply sorrowful yet beautiful song.
in the land of twilight, under the moon – Joysound
This is also an extremely powerful theme in the series, often used when Tsukasa’s using his powers. Musically, there are some parts of it that are built around the nursery rhyme lullaby “Ring Around the Rosie”, which sounds so fun and childish but carries a very dark undertone of death and destruction. Overall, this can be a very ominous theme.
Aura
This theme is the embodiment of all negative emotions and fear, with lyrics again washing the sky in black nothingness. Within the narrative, there are two people, you and me, whereas “you” could be interpreted as Tsukasa, trapped in the darkness. This theme is played many times throughout the series at the lowest or the low emotional points for the characters.
open your heart ~reprise
I specifically remember crying my eyes out when this song played in the anime. Without giving any spoilers, I seem to recall it taking place during an apparent death or sacrifice of a somewhat main character. There’s really not much to this song in terms of lyrics and they continually repeat over and over, but the way the music builds upon those lyrics is too beautiful to stay composed. Eventually, there is an additional vocal line that’s add at the end in a sort of boy’s choir aesthetic that seems to sing the latin “agnus dei,” which (without getting into overly religious tones) references “the Lamb of God” or a type of savior. That absolutely becomes apparent within this particular scene at the end of the series.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever seen this show or maybe you’ve actually played through the game series as well? I’d love to hear from you about your nostalgic feelings for .hack!
TALES OF ARISE™ – BEYOND THE DAWN™ revealed its theme song: The newly released “We Still” by KANKAKU PIERO
The new song from the band follows their release of “HIBANA,” the theme song released in 2021 for the award-winning TALES OF ARISE™
“We Still” will be available on music streaming services beginning on Nov. 9, the same day TALES OF ARISE – BEYOND THE DAWN releases on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC via Steam®
With a new adventure rightly comes a new theme song! TALES OF ARISE™ – BEYOND THE DAWN™, the expansion to 2021’s RPG of the Year, is celebrating its upcoming release on Nov. 9 by revealing its theme song: a newly released track from KANKAKU PIERO titled “We Still.” The four-member JPop band blends harmony and rock guitar melodies against a backdrop of new gameplay footage from TALES OF ARISE – BEYOND THE DAWN. Watch the video and listen to the new track here: https://youtu.be/oRYHQml4JWI.
“We Still” will release on major digital music streaming platforms beginning Nov. 9. On the same day, TALES OF ARISE – BEYOND THE DAWN will launch on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC via Steam®. To learn more, please visit the official website.
TALES OF ARISE – BEYOND THE DAWN begins one year after the conclusion of the original TALES OF ARISE™. Alphen and the rest of The Six are caught between being revered as the Liberating Hero of Dahna and reviled as the Destroyer of Rights by Renans. By chance, Alphen and his party meet a young girl named Nazamil, who is the daughter of a Renan Lord and a Dhanan. Will The Six be able to change the fate of the girl who will eventually fall under the curse of the mask? Explore the world again with party members who are connected together with a strong bond, experience exciting new challenges and see a world that is at once familiar yet evolved since the conclusion of the original story.
TALES OF ARISE – BEYOND THE DAWN will be presented with both English and Japanese VO, with text localizations in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Neutral Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean. Find out more on the official website.
▶︎ Release Schedule
Rinwell & Law’s Chapter – Friday, November 3 at noon
Kisara & Dohalim’s Chapter – Sunday, November 5 at noon
Alphen & Shionne’s Chapter – Wednesday, November 8 at noon
▶︎ New short story “Prelude”
A new short story that connects the main game with the new Beyond the Dawn expansion will be available to read for free on the Tales Channel+ from Friday, November 3rd. You are also able to turn on the BGM composed by Motoi Sakuraba, so you can enjoy his wonderful music while reading through the story.
About Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., part of the Bandai Namco Group, is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive entertainment for major video game consoles, PC, online, and mobile platforms. The company is known for creating many of the industry’s beloved classic franchises such as PAC-MAN®, GALAGA®, TEKKEN®, SOULCALIBUR®, and ACE COMBAT®, and publishing the critically acclaimed DARK SOULS™ series and the blockbuster title ELDEN RING™. Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. is also the premier publisher in the Western hemisphere for anime-based video games including GUNDAM™, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, DRAGON BALL™, and ONE PIECE®. Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. is headquartered in Irvine, California. More information about the company and its products can be found at http://www.bandainamcoent.com.
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