There has been a lot of anticipation in regards to the games that will be released this year, so of course, we had to educate ourselves by attending the big NIS America press event at the start February. Oh yes, for the second year in a row, Honey’s Anime was invited to attend this big event where NIS America revealed their upcoming line up for the 2018 year!
Of course, if you didn’t tune in last year or might not know anything about NIS America, they are the ones who brought you great games like Hyperdimension Neptunia, Criminal Girls, Etrian Odyssey, Danganronpa V3, Birthdays the Beginning, and the Atelier series. If anything sounds familiar then buckle in, we will be letting you know what amazing games NIS America has in store for you this year!
Basic Info
| When it was Established | Established in Japan in 1992, Nippon Ichi Software came to the States in the form of NIS America (Nippon Ichi Software) in 2003, which is currently based in Southern California in the city of Santa Ana. Since then, NIS America has brought many great Japanese RPGs to the States that we might not have otherwise received. T Length of event The NIS America 2018 press event was set on February 9th between 6 PM - 11 PM and the announcements were broadcasted live. |
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| Location | Folsom Street Foundry in San Francisco, California. |
| Price of Admission | Free Admission (Press Only) |
The Event
NIS America has been known for many great titles and while last year’s line up was extraordinary, don’t think that this year’s line up will be lackluster. First off, let us just say, NIS America knows how to set up an event. Similar to last year, it was a rather organized event where guests were given pink bands to identify them as being part of the NIS America event as opposed to the usual crowd at Folsom Street Foundry. Guests are first greeted with a giant stuffed Prinny, seemingly the same Prinny at the event last year, and a cameraman more than happy to take photos of the guests with Prinny.
Walking into Folsom Street Foundry, a warehouse converted for the purpose of playing games, socializing, and a brewery, you will be greeted by a bar on one side. As you get past NIS America’s check-in counter, you will walk past to the open floor of Folsom Street Foundry where another bar will greet you and many tables and screens available for gaming. This year, a handful of games were available to play on the screens including The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2, The 25th Ward: The Silver Case, and Penny-Punching Princess. As you walk around, it is quite obvious that the big title on the floor is SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, a fighter game featuring moe girls in all sorts of costumes beating on each other in skimpy outfits set on backgrounds reminiscent of Soul Calibur with more vibrant colors.
NIS America brought the many great minds behind some of your favorite games like Yasuhiro Wada of Birthdays the Beginning and Goichi Suda of The Silver Case to leave a message for their fans. While not everyone was present personally at the NIS America 2018 press event, they did make sure to send their regards and their sentiments for all the fans to hear.
2018 is the year in which Nippon Ichi Software is celebrating their 25th anniversary, so you can bet that they will not let this year be a disappointing one. This year is the year of indie games with many titles set to release on the Nintendo Switch, as well as many other popular consoles like Steam and PS4. There are also a few popular titles that everyone was excited to hear about including Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory (Which is coming out on the Switch, Ys VIII: Lacrima of Danna for the Switch, and Kadokawa Games’ The Lost Child. Many of these titles are due to come out early in the year and got many fans excited at the press event. Happy Birthdays, a game originally released as Birthdays the Beginning, will be released on the Nintendo Switch this year with enhanced features so that you can take your world and dinosaurs on the go!
One surprise announcement was a game that was created by a one-man team that NIS America gave a chance, Assault Spy, a great looking action game created to appeal to fans by being a rather exciting looking game that is also good for casual gameplay. This game itself was not provided to be demoed on the floor, but you can bet that the attendees were quite intrigued by the preview video itself. Assault Spy will be available on Steam Early Access in May. Then there was an announcement of a new addition to the Touhou series with Touhou Gensou Wanderer Reloaded, which appears to be an exciting new addition to the series.
Of course, we cannot forget to highlight the fact that The 25th Ward: The Silver Case is coming to the Western world! Why yes, this will be the first release of The Silver Case, however, Goichi Suda states it is more of a sequel than a remastered version. If you didn’t know, this game was originally created for cellphones prior to the advent of smartphones. Now you can enjoy the mysteries that is The Silver Case on Steam and PS4.
The last surprise for attendees and viewers comes in the form of Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk, which will be playable on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4! This was quite a surprise as it was announced as the announcements were wrapping up for the night.
After the event and seeing all the games available, we have to say that the games we were looking forward to the most had to be Ys VIII: Lacirma of Danna for the Switch, Fallen Legon: Rise to Glory, The Lost Child, and The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2. However, one game that caught our eye was Penny-Punching Princess, a game that focuses on the splendor that is capitalism! We love the premise and cannot wait to check it out.
Final Thoughts
While the game line up was not quite the same as last year, there were still a lot of titles that will be released in 2018 that we know many gamers will enjoy. NIS America made sure that their 25th anniversary was still as exciting as their line up last year, so please continue to give them your support as they continue to grow and provide fans with the games you love! If there are any games that you look forward to or have heard about, please feel free to share your thoughts below, and thank you for tuning in to Honey’s Anime.
Author: Jenangelx3
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