Ao no Kiseki iPhone4 Cases by DezaEgg

DezaEgg has announced a set of ‘DezaJacket’ iPhone 4/4S cases based on the S-Craft images for some of the characters from Ao no Kiseki. You might recognize them as the S-Craft images that came with the CD with preorders for Ao no Kiseki as well.

Each of these cases is going for 3980 yen.

As always, click on the image to enlarge.

[ DezaEgg Website - Ao no Kiseki DezaJacket Covers ]

Aeria Games Opens Official Site for iOS Sorcerian

Today, the official website for the iOS version of Sorcerian has opened up. Aeria has also unveiled that Sorcerian will support the Apple GameCenter system.

Through the GameCenter, Sorcerian will have the following:

Rankings
The game can score you on number of enemies killed and clear time, and there will be leaderboards for these two options. It also seems that there may be a Time Attack function in the future.


Achievements
Achievements are self explanatory, and you will earn points through these specific requirements.


[ Aeria Games' Official iOS Sorcerian Website (JP) ]

Sora no Kiseki the 3rd Scenario Book to be Released 2/4

Falcom has unveiled the Scenario Book for Sora no Kiseki the 3rd to be released on 2/4.

(I’ll add it to the calendar after this post.)

Order Number: B67
Pages: 628
ISBN: 978-4-7753-0972-8
Price: 2200 yen

[ Falcom Mail Order Product Page ]

First 7 Minutes of Sora no Kiseki OAV Ep 2 Online

A preview for the very beginning of the new OAV has been posted.

Enjoy!

Falcom Music Now Available on iTunes in 50 Countries

This morning, the following two tweets showed up on Falcom’s twitter account:

So with some searching, it seems that this is, indeed correct!

Michael Cunningham, of RPGamer (@FinalMacstorm on Twitter), has been able to confirm that the following albums are available on the US iTunes. Ross Brierley of Ghostlight Games (@Ghostlight_Ross) has also been able to confirm to me that the same albums are also available on the UK iTunes, as well. (Pricing and links for the US store.)
Aoi Kiseki by Kanako Kotera – Single available for .99
THE LEGEND OF HEROES AO NO KISEKI Original Soundtrack – 59 tracks for $15.99
Ys vs. SORA NO KISEKI ALTERNATIVE SAGA ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK – 17 tracks for $11.99
The legend of heroes ZERO NO KISEKI Super Arrange Version – 13 tracks for $11.99
The legend of heroes ZERO NO KISEKI Original soundtrack – 76 tracks for $17.99

Most of the individual tracks are .99 each.

Falcom has later on tweeted that this is for sure in:
United States, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Greece – then emphasized the ’50 countries’ statement again.

Thanks for the help in getting this information for me, everyone! By the sound of things, this will continue to be updated over time. I will try to keep an eye out for other iTunes updates for people.

EDIT: Wow. Talk about ninja music. According to Ross, these were updated on 12/10 on the UK store. Gotta keep my eyes open more!
EDIT Mk 2: Macstorm has also said that the date could just be the release date.

New Year Special – Ys PSP Collection

EDIT:
THIS SPECIAL APPEARS TO BE SOLD OUT.

Looks like the New Year Special is up, and is very limited. It is a massive grab bag of Ys ‘stuff.’ Not only was this special decided because of Celceta, the Sea of Trees being released in 2012, but it is because 2012 is also the 25th Anniversary of the series itself.

However, this will also be the last chance to get your hands on that Zero-Ao no Kiseki calendar that Falcom revealed.

Ys I & II Chronicles PSP the Best (Originally 2800 yen)
Ys Felghana + Drama CD (PSP) (Originally 6600 yen)
Ys vs Sora no Kiseki PSP the Best (Originally 2800 yen)

Ys Seven Original Soundtrack (Originally 2980 yen)
Ys VI Original Soundtrack (Originally 2980 yen)
Ys – Oath in Felghana Soundtrack (Originally 2980 yen)
Perfect Collection Ys I-II (Originally 2980 yen)
Feena (Originally 1980 yen)
Original Soundtrack ‘Ys the Castle of the Heavens’ eOrchestra Collection (Originally 1980 yen)
Original Soundtrack ‘Ys the Castle of the Heavens’ JDK Band Collection (Originally 1980 yen)
Zero-Ao no Kiseki Calendar (Not for Sale)

The total of this collection should be 30,680 yen. This special is 10,000.

This special only lasts until 1/15 and there will only be 50 orders, taken.

[ Falcom Online Store - Specials and Sales ]

Ao no Kiseki PC Version for China Announced

A hi-res PC version for Ao no Kiseki, much like the Zero no Kiseki port, has been announced. More details to come soon, but the website has been posted as well.

[ Joyoland - Ao no Kiseki Official Site (Chinese) ]

Zero no Kiseki / Ao no Kiseki Illustration Contest

I apologize that this took so long to get out, but I never had the opportunity to finish writing this post. So here it is, Falcom’s Zero and Ao no Kiseki Illustration Contest information.

Entry Dates: 12/6/2011 ~ 1/31/2012
Publish Date: 2/14/2012
Exhibition Period: Planned for through May 2012.

Accepted Titles: Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki
* Artwork for any anime, manga, or original characters not permitted. (Part of this was appended on twitter.)

Form and File Sizes:
Illustration Contest
* Accepted files must be in jpg format.
* The dimensions of the images must be 480 (width) x 640 (height) pixels.
* Filesize cannot be more than 200kb.

4koma Contest
* Accepted files must be in jpg format.
* The dimensions of the images must be 250 (width) x 750 (height) pixels.
* Filesize cannot be more than 200kb.
* Please record the title of the work in the email.
* Storyboarding format is accepted!
* If a storboard format 4koma is a winner, the Falcom staff will complete it.

Scribble Contest
A new category with this contest! Doodles and ‘light touch sketches’ have their own category in this contest! Photographs of doodles on notebook or memo paper are ok!
* Accepted files must be in jpg format.
* The dimensions of the images must be 480 (width) x 640 (height) pixels.
* Filesize cannot be more than 200kb.

Email to Receive Entries for the Contest:

* Entry made by email.
* In the email title, use the name of the competition you’re entering: [ イラスト部門 ] (Illustration Category), [ 4コマ部門 ] (4koma Category), or [ ラクガキ部門 ] (Scribble Category).
* In the body of the email, include: 1) penname, 2) image size, 3) comments on the illustration, and include the image file as an attachment.

Announcement of Results and Awards
Results will be announced on 2/17/2012.

Prizes:
Grand Prize (1 entry selected per category)
- A game or music CD of your choice + a comic signed by Shinki Kitsutsuki + Falcom Goods

Excellence Award (2 entries selected per category)
- Comic signed by Shinki Kitsutsuki + Falcom Goods

Class Award (6 entries per category)
- Falcom Goods

Falcom Magazine Grand Prize

Participation Award
- All people who enter the contest will receive a PC wallpaper drawn just for the contest.

(A few days after the results are published, the winners will be contacted by email for their mailing addresses.)

[ Zero and Ao no Kiseki Illustration Contest ]

Trails in the Sky Series ‘Smartphone Edition’ to be Released

Falcom has confirmed that Aeria Games will be releasing an original title for the Trails in the Sky series to smartphones. This game seems to be, according to Falcom’s statements on their website, an ‘original title’ that will feature social networking and online gaming elements to it.

Falcom has also stated that this will be released in both Japan and North America, with that being the beginning of release in the ‘English-speaking world.’

According to the press release from Aeria Games themselves, they have obtained the licensing agreement to develop this game. It will be released to smartphones in Japan and English-speaking nations, as they seem to intend to release it globally.

This will be a classic-style RPG to be played on smartphones- and the press release goes into information much like what Falcom had posted above. They intend to use this as a platform to reach out to potential new fans, and as this receives a larger market outside of Japan, they will continue to supply contents to smartphones.

Now, let me make a few observations on this…

There are a few things about this that I’ve been curious about, but I keep seeing the phrase ‘original title’ come up. Even upon rereading the articles from this morning, I still keep getting a feel of a ‘new game’ for the ‘Sora no Kiseki series’ specifically, as it keeps being addressed in such a way.

I also spoke with Jess Chavez of XSEED Games earlier, and she as able to confirm to me that they are not involved in this project, as well.

What I can say is that both Falcom and Aeria Games have released extremely little information on this. I can also imagine that it may take some time before we see anything come of it, as the press release is simply just saying that they completed the contract for the licensing rights to make the game.

Remember that the Sorcerian game was first announced in April 2011, and we finally have the teaser site for it ast of this week.

[ Falcom Hot Information ]
[ Aeria Games Press Release ]
[ Aeria Games Japanese Website ]

Nayuta no Kiseki Teaser Site Open

Falcom has now opened the teaser site for Nayuta no Kiseki. This site currently only has information that we already know: that it’s for PSP, to be released in 2012, the image revealed, and youtube and nicodouga links to the announcement video.

[ Nayuta no Kiseki Teaser Page ]