Gamertell Exclusive: NISA Press Event: Holy Drunken Shenanigans, Badman!

NISA (Nippon Ichi Software of America) was kind enough to invite Gamertell to attend its Holy Drunken Shenanigans, Badman! event that was held at the Zebulon Cafe in San Francisco, California on May 7, 2009. Inside, there was food, drinks, and video game fun to be had by all.

NISA displayed many of their upcoming titles pending release in the US. The list of playable titles included the event’s namesake Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! (Sony PSP), Cross Edge (PS3), Phantom Brave (Wii), and Let’s Zenryoku Hitchhike!!!!!!!!! (Wiiware ). Zenryoku Hitchhike looks to be a party title where players traverse a board all the while using the Wiimote to flag down passing vehicles, be it such things as beater trucks to cows.

Initially, several key persons involved with the development and production of Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! were supposed to be in attendance. However, their travel plans were inevitably canceled due to this month’s flavor of the month also known as the Mexican/swine/H1N1 flu scare. Fortunately, though NISA’s president, Haru Akenaga, and the chief programmer of Disgaea, Toshitsuna Kobayashi (who vocalized his preference to go by the name “Tuna”), were able to make it to this cozy event.

At the event NISA announced a slew of interesting titles that would be hitting the US market in mere months. Jack Niida (marketing manager of NISA) took the center stage to announce the following titles for release before the end of 2009:

Disgaea 2 (Sony PSP): This game promises to not be a simple port over since the PSP version will allow players to assume the role of Axel and utilize a brand new character class. All I can say about this game is FLASHY.

A Witch’s Tale (Nintendo DS): Described as a touch action RPG, the main character is a young girl named Lidell who aspires to become the greatest witch ever. It seems as though her adventure will lead her through a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland’s, well, Wonderland all the while trying to rescue a plethora of princesses. Battles are commanded by the stylus and will consist of drawing symbols in order to cast spells.

Last Rebellion (PS3): Very little details were divulged about this game aside from the fact that during combat, players would be able to attack different parts of enemies’ body parts which would directly affect their attack attributes (i.e. take out a leg, and the enemy may move at a slower pace or bash in its arm to reduce its attack power). The concept sounds pretty ambitious and promising but could go very wrong if the not properly executed. Personally, I can see myself quickly growing tired of being forced to micro-manage my attack strategies for every single battle. However, I’ll stop now since it’s not even been released.

Mana Khemia 2 (Playstation 2): Aside from the confirmation of its release in the US, there’s nothing else that was said. Expect an all new cast of sophomoric teen alchemists in an all new adventure placed against the trials and tribulations of high school.

Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (Playstation 2, Wii): Originally released on the Sega Saturn, this game will be debuting on two platforms here in the US. This will also be the very first Sakura Wars (known as Sakura Taisen in Japan)in this long-standing and popular series to reach American audiences. This is an SRPG that emphasizes character interactions in order to directly affect the potency of relationships on the battlefield as well as story and its ending. During battles, players will be able to command transforming mechs that are able to fight both in the air and on the ground. This game looks extremely fun, but I wonder how NISA will decide to handle the localization. Cross your fingers for including the original Japanese voice tracks.

At the end of the night, attendees were given two special gifts: a Prinny plushie and some pretty colored building blocks.

Site [NIS America] Photo Gallery [Gamertell]

NOTE: All pictures taken by Janine Dong.