Anime Expo 2011: Aksys Games

"If you're offended by harsh language, please leave the room." That is one way to kick off a PR presentation, and it only got rowdier from there as James Xie led the Aksys games panel at Anime Expo this morning.

"The Most Awesome Games Publisher" (a slide in their announcement deck boldly proclaimed this to be the case) announced two new games at the con, Fate Extra and Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. 

The first, Fate/Extra, is a new RPG set in the Fate world. They kept the "Extra" in the title despite the fact that the only part of the series released in North America aside from this game so far was Fate/Unlimited Codes. Xie cited the desire to stay true to the core fans love of the lore. That, and "We didn't want to call it 'Cyber Servant Adventure' or something." In the game, you'll be able to choose either a male or female protagonist and a servant in either a saber, archer, or caster class. There will be a limited edition of the game, but it won't feature the same extras that Japan received.

Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom is an otome visual novel style game where players get to woo "hot men" in a historical Japanese setting. The series of games developed by Idea Factory has also been adapted into two seasons of anime by Studio DEEN. Aksys Games staff on the panel cosplayed as Hakuoki characters to promote the announcement. It, too, will receive a limited edition version release. 

Both games will feature Japanese voices because, "We love Japanese voices, so we will keep them no matter what."

When asked about the possibility of a Guilty Gear vs. BlazBlue game, Xie said they get that question a lot, but that BlazBlue designer, Toshimichi Mori, has told him that the BlazBlue series is still incomplete and there won't likely be anything in the way of cross-overs until the storyline is wrapped. Xie added, "Once they finish it up they will probably have all kinds of crazy shit for you."

- Emily Balistrieri