The PS3's next essential RPG is but a few scant months away and here's another trailer for you. We're presuming all the drama will make more sense when we get our hands on the game on August 9th. There's a typical lack of gameplay (you can see some here though), but you do get to see both anime and in-game engine cutscenes, both of which are looking great.

Namco Bandai have released three new trailers for Tales of Xillia, the Japanese JRPG that is finally coming to Western gamers in August after nearly two years of jealous waiting. The game was met with widespread critical acclaim when released in Japan and even a sequel was released in 2012. Namco will need to see some decent sales of the first game in the West before they consider bringing the second game too.

The new videos show Xillia's opening sequence and gameplay in the form of character demonstrations for the rather reserved Rowen and the much more feisty Leia. The action-heavy approach the series takes has proved very popular with fans over the years and we enjoyed the recent Tales of Graces F too with Matt awarding 8/10 in his review. You may have also noticed that earlier today we reported that a HD re-release of Tales of Symphonia is coming to PS3. It's taken a while but JRPG's seem to finally hitting their stride on the PS3. Enjoy the new videos after the break.

Tales of Symphonia is getting the HD treatment and will be coming to the PS3 in October in Japan and the US and EU in early 2014. The HD re-release will also include Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, a title previously only available on the Wii.

The new title was announced to mild hysteria at the Tales of Festival in Japan, an event that celebrates the many Tales of games seen over the years. Western releases of some of the games in the series has been a bit sporadic, but Tales of Graces F did well last year and the upcoming Tales of Xillia looks set to ride the resurgent wave of JRPGs we've been seeing of late.

Check out the announcement trailer after the break for a look at the newly polished cutscenes with a bit of gameplay in-between all the rabid screams of excitement from the crowd. I think their heads might explode if Final Fantasy VII HD ever gets announced.

Ni No Kuni | Zavvi | £22.99 (save £5) | Price Comparison | Ni No Kuni Review

Thanks to badtz maru at HotUkDeals.

Ni No Kuni | Zavvi | £24.99 (save £5) | Price Comparison | Ni No Kuni Review

Thanks to DrTrouserPlank at Dealspwn.

Ni No Kuni | Zavvi | £29.99 (save £4) | Price Comparison | Ni No Kuni Review

Persona 4: The Golden | £18.73 | Play-Asia
Price Comparison | Persona 4: The Golden Review

NB. It's a US import version, but there's no region locking, so you're hot to trot once it arrives.

Thanks BTL.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch | £19.99 | PSN
Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Price Comparison
Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Review / Video Review

We've posted the list of PSN sales this week already, but this one is worthy of special note. It's a fantastic game, one of the best JRPGs of this generation, if not all time. Get on it, PS3 owners!

• What: Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch
• Where: Game Collection
• Current Price: £29.95
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Price Comparison
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Review / Video Review

This is the first time I've seen the much-loved JRPG under £30 and I wouldn't expect to see it drop much further any time soon. This offer is only for the weekend, so it'll be back up to £33 by Monday. On the plus side, for your money you're getting one of the best RPGs we've seen on this generation of consoles. Do you really want to be burned by the next Final Fantasy game again? Thought not. Don't forget to check out our reviews in the links above for more information on the game.

Thanks to dibz10 at HotUkDeals.

European fans have been waiting years for a localised release for Tales of Xillia and here are some new gameplay videos to whet your appetite. Xillia is actually the 13th entry in the Tales series, but just like Final Fantasy, you don't need to have played the previous titles to get involved. The game received fantastic scores in Japan, so we've got high hopes for it.

Japan even got a sequel late last year, so Namco are probably waiting to see how this one does before announcing a Western release too. JRPGs are finally doing well again in these parts with Ni No Kuni and Tales of Graces F proving popular with fans and critics alike. Tales of Xillia lands August 1st, which should give you enough time to finish those other two. Well, one of them at least.

Nintendo have unleashed a barrage of no fewer than five videos for the upcoming Fire Emblem: Awakening. TV spots, tips on army building, a character progression tutorial, there's so much to feast your eyes upon! The demo is already out and the game releases fully on April 19th.

• What: Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch
• Where: Simply Games
• Current Price: £32.95
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Price Comparison
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Review / Video Review

Ni No Kuni's been a steady seller for Namco Bandai, meaning it's taking forever to drop in price. This deal saves you a few quid over the next best price though. The Studio Ghibli backed JRPG is terrific value for money though with an epic quest and lots of side-missions to get lost in. With Final Fantasy struggling to find itself this generation, many are calling Ni No Kuni this generation's best RPG.

Thanks to mid81 at HotUkDeals.

Platform: PS Vita

Developers: Atlus

Publishers: Atlus

Let's not beat around the bush. If you own a Vita, you need to add this game to your collection, it's as simple as that. You see, in much the same way that Persona 3 was adapted, condensed, and replicated on the PSP to phenomenal effect, so too have Atlus done a simply superb job in delivering a portable version of Persona 4. Once again, the team have had to find ways of appealing to players on the go, and the various challenges that presents.

Of course, one major thing is different this time around: they've got a lot more power to play with.

This has been realised in the swathes of content that Atlus have added to the game. There's ten hours of new stuff to enjoy, new characters to meet, new scenarios to encounter, and a whole bunch of little story variations that make this portable version of what was already one of the finest JRPGs to have ever existed even better. Where P3P removed the long 3D sections where you'd be running about your day and boosting social links, replacing them instead with gorgeous 2D stills from which you could navigate easily, Persona 4 keeps the 3D environments, retouched on the Vita, but restores a navigation menu at the touch of a button.

Persona 3 was a breath of fresh air when it came along, breathing new life into the genre with its heavy emphasis on creating Social Links, and its procedurally-generated dungeon-crawling action. Then came Persona 4 - a game that ostensibly took the framework of its predecessor, and just made it better. The systems remain very familiar, and you'll spend your time divided between turn-based battling as you fight your way up floors of monstrous dungeons and boosting the relationships with your friends, but it's the writing that truly makes Persona 4 shine.

The latest batch of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 screens show off a new area in the game called Dead Dunes. ccoring to Square Enix, "this region is covered with endless desert sands as far as the eye can see. Within it can be found the shanties which form a base for treasure hunters seeking their fortune in the arid wilderness, as well as ancient ruins said to conceal a divine treasure".

The screens also show of Lightning's Lightspeed power, which gies her the ability to slow down time and sneak in a few extra hits on her foes.

A new Tales of Xillia gameplay video has emerged today,, showing off some of the localisation work with a demonstration of the game's English-language voice work.

The PS3 JRPG released in Japan on Sept. 8th, 2011 and is expected to hit Western shores later this year. [via Siliconera]

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor EU publishers Ghostlight got in touch today to report that the game's release on 3DS has been moved forward by a week.

The tactical JRPG, which sees you capturing and creating demons to battle even more demons taking over your city, will now release on March 29th.

• What: Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch
• Where: Zavvi
• Current Price: £34.98
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch PS3 price comparison
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Review / Video Review

It's unusual for us to be posting a game deal at a price this high, but demand has been so high that Namco Bandai have been struggling to meet it. This price beats the competition by over a fiver though and is still considerably cheaper than the £49.99 PSN version. If you're willing to take the plunge at Zavvi, you'll find the game has plenty of value for money. It's RPG masters Level 5 working with Studio Ghibli, of course it was going to sell.

Thanks to notorious91 at HotUkDeals.

Last week’s Valentine’s Day look at gaming’s most romantic moments saw me reminisce about a very poignant moment in a lesser-known Action RPG title on the SNES. That game was Illusion of Time (Illusion of Gaia in Japan and the US). Developed by Quintet, the game sees you take control of a young boy named Will who lives in the small village of South Cape with his friends Lance, Erik and Seth. Will finds out he must save the world from a comet that is due to crash into the ‘Earth’.

The reason for the inverted commas is that the world in which Will traverses is very similar to our own. In fact, the game itself feels like a brief introduction to the ancient wonders of the world. You will be traversing the Nazca Plains, Angkor Wat, Incan Ruins, the Great Wall of China; even the Great Pyramids and the Tower of Babel make an appearance. It’s definitely fair to say that this game played a small part in my passion for ancient history, and there are places on the above list that I will have to visit before I die.

• What: Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch
• Where: Zavvi
• Current Price: £34.98
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch PS3 price comparison
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Review / Video Review

With stock once again reaching retailers, it appears Zavvi are hoping to tempt a buyer or 50 into taking their £35 offer. Overall it provides a saving of £3 over the next best deal from Asda.

The dream collaboration between Level 5 and Studio Ghibli ended up delivering everything we had hoped for and more, with Matt declaring that Ni No Kuni is “one of the best JRPGs of the last decade” in his review. If you even have a passing interest in the genre, you really should give this a go. Thanks to olioli86 @ HUKD!

With Ni No Kuni releasing this week, we reflect on JRPGs as a genre and discuss their niche appeal here in the West. We chat about our favourites, and try to come up with a top three, as well as discussing how the genre might broaden its appeal outside of Japan.

PWNCAST | Season 3: Episode 4 - JRPGs, Recorded: January 31st, 2013

Parental Advisory: We've tried to keep it as conversational and informal as possible, and you should be warned that there may be a few instances of strong language.

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