This is why we have been getting demo of upcoming Japanese PSP games way early than their actual release date. Like Senjou no Valkyria 2 (aka Valkyria Chronicles 2) and God Eater before, CyberConnect2 is making a long list of improvements for .hack//Link, the final game based on the long running series.

The enhancements are minor stuff to make the game user friendlier and also battle system fine-tuning but the list is long so this should make the final game a much better experience when it comes out next week in Japan.

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Naruto Shippuuden: Kizuna Drive info appears in the latest issue of Shonen Jump. We knew it’s a team-based action game before and now it’s clear that you can freely pick four characters for your team, some of the ninjas available are shown in the mag (click the image above for full view). All four characters can linked up to activate “Kizuna Link”, special moves that deal large amount of damages to your enemies. It’s also revealed that there will be more than 60 missions in the Free Mission mode. Game will be out this year in Japan but there is no actual release date yet.

Selected from more than 20 options, Megane Kikuya’s final illustration for .hack//Link box art (click for larger view) is certainly a great piece of art. “I purposely picked deeper colors to point out the scale of this RPG. There are 11 characters in the illustration, four of them drawn in full body, this is the most time consuming work I have done in my life.” she says.

I’m hardly a big .hack fans but this title grabbed my attention for some reasons. The game is apparently the final episode in the series and will have our hero Tokio travel back in time to meet all the characters from the series and partner with more than 30 of them in the game for their adventure. The recent Weekly Famitsu (online version here) report look into its “Cross Over Events” and revealed a couple more characters. There is also an interview with series creator and CyberConnect2 boss Hiroshi Matsuyama, who says that while there will be manga and animes of the series in the future, this will be the last .hack game… unless .hack//Link “sold too well and someone order him to make a game”.

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Like Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3? Then you will probably be happy that there’s another Naruto game coming our way. The latest issue of Shonen Jump just revealed Naruto Shippuuden: Kizuna Drive as one of the three new Naruto games coming soon. Kizuna Drive will focus heavily on team battle and “brand new ninja battle” according to the scan above. The two other Naruto titles announced are Naruto Narutimate Storm 2 (aka Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2) for PS3 and Xbox 360 while DS owners get Naruto Shippuuden: Ninjutsu Sankai. All the games are slated for 2010 release in Japan.

Namco Bandai Games America just confirmed what many of you already knew, Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3 will be localized for release in US in Q2 2010. To be called Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3, the Japanese version just came out yesterday in Japan with more than 50 playable characters, supports for multiplayer and Master Road that lets players re-live the Shipudden storyline.

Source: IGN

Another skillful play from Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3 developers CyberConnect2 before the game is out this Thursday in Japan.

Five days is all you have to wait to play Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3 now. Hope this final preview from Shonen Jump will make the wait less painful :) Game is $54.90 at Play-Asia and $57.99 at YesAsia.

Here’s the first of two videos that developers CyberConnect2 will show their “Super Play Techniques” for Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3. Game will be out next Thursday!

Cyberconnect2’s long in development ARPG .hack//Link gets a two-page feature in the latest Weekly Famitsu with news of its final release date, which is March 24th in Japan now, a small delay from the original February release. Besides information on the pre-order gift and collector edition, the good news for us is that we can check the game out tomorrow, as the demo will be made available at the official website (12pm Japan time).

Less than three weeks to go guys! Check out Pain and co. in action in this longer version of Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimate Accel 3’s PV.