As you probably know by now, Sega finally revealed Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2nd for release in Japan this July. The sequel will also recognize save data of the first game, so you will be able to load your carefully edited rhythms and dance moves into the new game for further enhancements. Besides save data continuation, there are quite a number of upgrades being revealed in the recent issue of Weekly Famitsu. Let’s take a look.

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Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, the announcement we’ve been waiting for is made and what do you feel about it? I’m glad this is not a direct port of Monster Hunter 3 (tri) (not that I played Tri but after more than 4 million copies MHP2nd G sold, we are still getting port?) and it will be out at the end of this year (of course Infrastructure support is always nice). Nothing really new from the initial trailer (above) but with at least more than 8 months to go before its release, I’m pretty sure that Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and his team will have something big in store.

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Backed by the always reliable Shin Sangoku Musou name and the Monster Hunter Portable inspired multiplayer modes, Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid (aka Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce) enjoyed a very successful launch in Japan last February, selling more than 350,000 copies even before it’s budget re-release next week. After being ported to home consoles, nobody should be surprised with the announcement of the sequel, to be released on PSP next month in Japan. The first game was a refreshing change to the series, so am really interested to see what they are adding to the sequel. Below is a compilation of the information and screens of the games since it was announced late last year.

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Are you busy collecting stickers for your tanks in Senjou no Valkyria 2? The game was released to some hot reception in Japan last week, selling more than 90,000 copies to debut at second spot of the latest Japanese charts. To begin its strategy guide, Weekly Famitsu ran a little interview with Chief Producer Shuntaro Tanaka, Producer Shinji Motoyama and Director Takeshi Ozawa where the trio share some tips for the game.

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The upcoming issue of Weekly Famitsu spend three pages explaining the Pilot Making part of Gundam Assault Survive. As you can see from the scans, things you can customize include name, genre, face type, hair style, abilities, birth place, voice type, initial skills and MS parts. My initial report on the game can be read here.

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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Gundam is another series that found its new home in Japanese PSP and after four successful games, the Gundam Battle team is launching a new series with a new title called Gundam Assault Survive featuring animes that have never appeared in Gundam Battle series and a couple of brand new systems, Linked Map and Teamworks. Here are some of the early info revealed in the recent Weekly Famitsu, who also did an interview with the producers.

Hirono Kay, producer from Bandai Namco, shares the reasons behind launching a completely new series. “With Gundam Battle series, there are things that we couldn’t produce due to various reasons. This is also the time I feel we must move on to new directions.” “By adding new content and revising the system of the previous games, we manage to further refine its mechanics but it make parts of the game too complicated. We feel it’s time to start from the beginning to make it easier for new players.” added Yagi Masanori, producer from Artdink.

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A couple of interesting new PSP titles can be found in the upcoming issue of Weekly Famitsu. Konami popular arcade racer GTI Club is going handheld with the title GTI Club World while Sting’s strategy game Knights in the Nightmare is getting a PSP version. Been wanting to get the later for my DS but will wait for this instead now :) Will post updates later.

Weekly Famitsu gave Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep a 10-page feature including interviews with Tetsuya Nomura and music composer Yoko Shimomura in its latest issue. KH fans will surely have read the translation elsewhere but here it is if you haven’t. Since the game will be out in a few days’ time, you probably want to skip this if you’re worry about spoilers :)

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With the game coming out in less than a month’s time in Japan and constantly the most viewed item in Play-Asia ($59.90), Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is without a doubt the biggest PSP games since Dissidia Final Fantasy came out late last year. The latest Weekly Famitsu report shared plenty of details about the game, including Mickey Mouse, who are still an apprentice here; the surprise appearance of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII’s Zack Fair; and last but not least, what we can expect from the multiplayer mode.

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