Suzaku

The official website has been updated with a story section (translation here) and a ton of new story information for each of the characters (outline, story, personality, all of which are new). This will take me a while to translate. So far I have only completed Sol's.

Thanks for this. I actually almost bought the game for my tablet, but it's region locked. I don't have the time to translate everything fully, but here's the pertinent stuff. First and foremost, the author notes that they missed a lot of dialogue, so the script collection isn't perfect. The Fireseal Sword has been incorporated into Junkyard Dog; Sol and Sin are raiding Halden Citadel to recover Senga, the Core Unit of the Outrage (also called the Sacred Treasures), which is in the posession of the Senate, in order to complete construction of Junkyard Dog. At this point, Sin has been traveling the world as a bounty hunter with Sol for five years. Someone with more time can use that to figure out exactly where in the timeline this falls. As in the Xrd prologue short story, Ky mentions that the Senate has been trying to undermine him ever since he announced that humans and Gears should coexist. He says that, since the woman he loves is also a Gear, he couldn't possibly exterminate them. May tells them that Johnny sent her out because a threat to the world seems to be imminenant. She explains the Senate has more than one of the Sacred Treasures and apparantly tells them where they can find Senga. Jam isn't interested in the coming threat, more concerned about the restaurant. Millia is trying to find Zato's body. She says there were rumors about the Sacred Treasures in the guild, but she doesn't know where they are. Chipp appears to be actively campaigning for president. He refers to himself as such and refers to a Chipp Kingdom in the West, but seems to be on the campaign trail in the East and South. He's not familiar with the Sacred Treasures, but dislikes the Senate. Slayer wants to help save the world because humans are stupid, but entertaining. Bridget's still trying to become manly by working as a Bounty Hunter. Zappa is still searching for Faust because of a "strange condition" within his body. Izuna refers to himself as a tour guide. He tells them that the Japanese colony is located in the Mediterranean. Halden Citadel is a research facility located in a forbidden zone. Paradigm is currently one of the leaders in the human / Gear coexistence movement. He says that the Senate has placed a bounty on Sol, and have increased the reward. He states that the Senate is led by four sages and they possess Senga. The UN Senate, or "Senato", reports to the pope. The leader of the Senate, #IV, is named Cronus. Bardius is #III. As mentioned earlier in the thread, they control three of the Sacred Treasures: Senga, Ekitoku, and Kojouhaku. They're manipulating the world to guide it to the future they desire. The soldiers they command are actually mercenaries. Bardius is using using the forbidden arts to control Zato-1's shadow (Eddie), and uses both Invite Hell and Great White during the fight.

I think these were all of the command list changes, but would appreciate a double check.

4th Location Test Changelog Basic Controls Now includes a list of the game modes that can be selected from the game's start menu. Note: You can be challenged by other players in all modes. Arcade Mode: Compete against the computer in eight matches while enjoying each character's story.M.O.M Mode: Compete against enemies to earn medals and improve your character. Progress is saved automatically when using an Aime Card and ranking can be viewed online.Sparring Mode: Practice against the computer for a specified amount of time. The amount of time will be extended if you defeat a challenger.Sol BadguyDragon Install command changed: " + (midair)" → " + (midair)" May Ominogashinaku (Don't Miss It!) command changed: " :d: + or :k:" → " + or :k:" Venom Stinger Aim can now be held. Faust Nani ga Deru ka na? (What's Next?) can now be held. Zato-1 Deadman's Hand command changed: " + during ② near opponent" → " + during ② near opponent" Source: http://ggxrd.com/wanted/

They added the game modes to the systems page and the command lists have been updated... Anyone notice which commands were changed in particular?

The "Senato" from Pachislot Guilty Gear and the Xrd prologue short story. There are four of them. Or were, before member III (Bardius) was killed in PSGG.

Movies section updated with the Arcade Version Opening.

Dubbing has improved by leaps and bounds in the last decade, though. Voice acting has become a much more serious profession, both in games and anime. Some dubs are even distinct improvements over the original Japanese.

So is the dog in Leopaldon's mouth. Judgment obviously broke the tradition.

Well, not necessarily. They could just use something like "Nothing Out of the Ordinary" or "Fatal Duel" as a placeholder.

I don't think they said anything about any new BGM, just new voice acting.

I can tell you all the text I've been able to 100% confirm... Axl Low Buttons: "Thanks Lack" Zipper and cloth strips: "thx" Bedman: Orb, clothing: "Dreamlike Reality" Wheels: "ONEIROI" Nails: "Deja Vus" Chipp Zanuff Belt Buckle: "In High Spirits" / "Since 2048" (logo resembles Mt. Fuji) Other Buckles: "In High Spirits" Faust Bag: "Wandering Doctor Faust" Buttons: "Stimulation" I-No Boots: "Id" Ky Kiske Buttons and tabard (chest): "Nothing can be done without hope." Tabard (bottom): "Love truce," / "Correct errors." Buckle: "HOPE" Boots and gloves: "The United Kingdoms of Illyria" Crest: "ILLRICUM" Scabard: "Tirana Fact" Sword: "・Magnolia Eclair II・ Patented NOV,20,21xx" May Tabard: "the port of honey" / "matey serese" Collar: "♥J." Hat: "Me Mate" Boots: "Me Matey" Anchor (ring): "a work of Novel / 2187" Anchor (hooks): "Jellyfish" Millia Rage Hat: "z1-28" | "13" Button on chest: "Curiosity killed the cat" Leather straps: "All cats stray in the dark" Potemkin Gloves, boots, etc.: "Burly Heart" Logo: "Z" Logo interior: "ZEPP" Slayer Pipe: "Bat Wing" Boots: "Dandyism" (plus the Dandyism logo?) Sol Badguy Headband: "Rock You" Buckle: "FREE" Collar and gloves: Scribbles that resemble "GRM" Back of vest: "RIOT" Sword guard: "BULLET HEAVEN" / "PAT. P Jan,15,2187." Sword blade: "Junkyard Dog Mk3" / "H96(GDA)xn Model H." Venom Collar and belt straps: "SETTLE WITH ELEGANCE" Gloves and pants: "SETTLE WITH" / "ELEGANCE" Boots: "British Elegance" (plus the Dandyism logo?) Sleeves: "DANDYISM" (plus the Dandyism logo?) Zato-1 Armband: "Killing Shadow" If something isn't listed, it's because I haven't seen a high enough resolution image to 100% confirm what it says.

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. Polis means "City." IE, "Edinburgh the Magical City."

Probably just a pre-final render that got mixed into whatever press kit ASW sent out to the media.

It's hard to say. Xrd's visuals honestly don't seem to be that technically demanding. The high-quality cel-shading effect is most likely accomplished by lighting the character models independantly of the stage and FX, and then lighting and posing each frame of animation as a single state. While the game itself presumably runs at 60fps, it looks to me like the characters are animated at 24fps. All of this comes together to create a convincing simulation of traditional, 24fps cel animation, while avoiding the pitfalls caused by dynamic lighting and higher framerates, which invariably give away that the game is in 3D as soon as you see it in motion. The character models do seem to have a pretty high polygon count, but not any higher than those in other PS3 games. The textures are probably pretty simple and, for the most part, the effects seem to be hi-res 2D sprites with alpha. The backgrounds are certainly more sophisticated than those in BlazBlue, but don't compare to the open 3D environments in most action-oriented games. There doesn't appear to be any blur, bloom, or other post-processing effects apart from anti-aliasing. There's also really not much happening on screen at any given time, especially compared to 3D action games with fully traversable environments and swarms of allies and enemies. So I really don't know why it wouldn't work on the PS3.

3rd Location Test Player Manual Changelog Basic Controls The section explaining that Potemkin cannot dash or air dash now also mentions that Zato-1 and Bedman have unique midair movement controls. Game Screen The screenshot has been updated with a slightly altered HUD. The lighting and some of the background props are also noticeably different. Old screenshot → New screenshot. Universal Moves Now has a section explaining the Instant Kill mechanics, which are unchanged from previous entries in the series. Blitz Shield Now requires you to specifically press + another attack button that isn't . I-No New move, Shōdoku Method (Sterilization Method): + during a jump, near opponent Faust Renamed move: "P-Hasei (P-derivative)" → "Ajimi—! (Taste this—!)" Renamed move: "↑-hasei (↑-derivative)" → "Isha-copter (Doctor-copter)" Slayer Renamed move: "HS-hasei (HS-derivative)" → "Helter Skelter" Source: http://ggxrd.com/GGXrd_3rdLocationTest_PlayingManual.pdf

Probably because they finished recording the voices and implemented them in a recent test build. There hasn't been any mention of the new music being implemented, however. And they'd probably want to implement audio for Bedman along with his debut, anyway.

Here's Bedman's translated profile and movelist: http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?16461-Xrd-News-Thread/page3&p=1574720&viewfull=1#post1574720 As for his name, keep in mind that English words sound more exotic to Japanese people than they do to native English speakers. Likewise, many Japanese words which sound exotic to English speakers sound mundane to Japanese speakers. Sometimes the intent is lost in translation.

Updated with Bedman's profile and movelist.

Hard rock soundtrack paired with outrageous anime character designs is sort of the point of Guilty Gear as a series. It's on the back of the box. If you want normal looking characters, go play Virtua Fighter.

Actually, at this point, there might very well be a difference here. Tsukuyomi (ツクヨミ) is Sousei Kurogami's Persona in Persona x Detective Naoto, and to my knowledge, this is the first time that Tsukiyomi (ツキヨミ) has actually been used as a spelling in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. So it might be the result of them trying to specify two different Personas based on the same deity.

It's unfortunately just some editorial speculation based on the character design. To paraphrase: "Some kinda guy strapped into a giant bed? Is the boy controlling the bed, or is the bed moving on its own? What kind of crazy abilities will he have!? Find out at the Loke Test!!"

Not likely considering Bedman's voice actor.

It was (briefly) leaked when they started testing the Player's Guild site in mid-November. The pages were quickly blocked, but they're still cached on Google. The image links for the command icons are broken, but viewing the source indicates what buttons they're supposed to be. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://sp.p4u2.tv/chara16.php?id=nb (Persona) http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://sp.p4u2.tv/chara17.php?id=no (Solo) Edit: And here's a decent shot of his Persona, for those who haven't seen it.

Yes, the character's name is indeed Bedman (ベッドマン). He's voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa. Should get some more concrete information within the next day or two.