Arcana Heart 3 Shows Some Love For PSN, It’s Coming This Spring



Aksys picked Valentine’s Day as the date to officially announce Arcana Heart 3 for North America. The girls fighting game has 23 characters and 23 arcana, cards that grant special attacks, to mix and match. Eko, a girl who can breathes life into her drawings, the mysterious Schalachrot, and Weiss, the main character in Arcana Heart 3, are the three newcomers.



While Arcana Heart 3 was a multiplatform release in Japan, Aksys is only releasing the title for PlayStation 3. More specifically, as a PlayStation Network download. Like Battle Fantasia before it, Arcana Heart 3 is a full game with all of the single player stories, training mode, and online play. A digital copies of Arcana Heart 3 will cost $29.99 when it debuts in North America.

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siliconera.com

And this is why arcsys is the best gaming company in the world and every other company sucks. THE END

im never touching Ragna's stick again after this *shudder*

Ill probably get it though was fun last i remember playing it

Woofels I hope your talking about the fight stick
anyways yea its gonna $29.99 which is a freaking steal, and who knows, people might even be tempted to actualy try this out most def on my to buy list, and my Weiss is getting pretty good too.

seriously if there was no Arcsystems i wouldn't even get up in the morning...

Yes i mean your fight stick

Releasing on PSN is bloody stupid, but I can understand why it won't get a disc based released since it would only sell like 10 copies.

Any idea when it'll be released locally though?

I dont think it wiil T_T tiggi. on the brightside CS finally getting release locally so there is still hope

*edit*
i mean no disc based release sorry

It's getting an EU release which means our PSN will have the game when they do, it's not exclusive so we get updated with pretty much the exact same content.

Don't mind if it's DLC only, so long as we get it, too lazy to create another profile

Is it out already though or is the EU release coming later?

Arcana Heart 3 North American Trailer

wow that was like a minimal budget trailer...
think i saw new char in there, i don't remeber Parace?

I prefer to have the Retail Disc version to come with Manuel with move list. Better than nothing I guess.

Arcana Heart 3: A Starter’s Guide to Arcana Heart 3 Part 1

http://mizuumi.net/2011/03/05/a-starters-guide-to-arcana-heart-3-part-1/

This is the first in a series of articles intended to ease players into the latest in the Arcana Heart fighting game series developed by EXAMU. While a lot has been shown about the game, many players have some issues grasping core concepts in the game simply because of different they are from other “normal” fighters. To facilitate transitioning from other games and strengthen the scene as a whole, I will explain some of these mechanics and break down how they are implemented in matches, and in further articles, how they compare to other games you may have played.

I. Controls

Arcana Heart 3 is a five-button game, consisting of A, B, C, D, and E. On a six-button joystick layout, A B and C are located across the top row, while D and E are located on the bottom left and bottom right respectively; the bottom middle button is left unmapped. This is a very typical layout for other games in the genre, often categorized somewhat derogatorily as “anime fighters”. The first three buttons correspond to light, medium, and heavy attacks; the D button is used strictly for movement options, and the E button is used for Arcana commands as well as a heavier “Arcana attack”. The four-attack scheme is oftentimes confusing to many people, who came from other anime fighters with three attacks only. For those used to three-button fighters on stick, repositioning your grip may be necessary to access the E button since it will be used very frequently. For those on pad, it depends on personal preference but mapping D to a trigger and leaving the four attacks on the face of a PS2 pad may be ideal. There is no standardized pad layout, and with the advent of console being the new American tournament standard, pad is becoming a more common and accepted control scheme for fighters so use what works for you.

II. Movement

Movement should be the first concern for anyone looking to play Arcana at a decent level, simply because there are so many ways to move in the game and the screen is very tall. In addition to all the standard options of most modern fighters – walking, dashing and backdashing – Arcana has the additional movement choices given to anime fighters, namely airdashes and doublejumps. However, Arcana also has the additional choice of the homing button, which opens up literally dozens of movement possibilities. The homing button is used to escape pressure, challenge blockstrings, close in on an opponent, apply further pressure, execute combos, and more. Further articles will explain the intricacies of homing in detail, but for now just keep in mind that Arcana matches are typically fast and have a lot of aerial action, while still requiring good spacing and situation awareness to win.

III. Gameflow

Homing allows you to literally fly at your opponent regardless of where you are on the screen. Because of this, the concept of “neutral” is very different than other fighters. Mid-screen is, in fact, still valid for many characters to apply pressure, and even at full screen, there are character and Arcana-specific pressure options. In addition, there are other versions of homing which increase your flying speed, or methods to alter your trajectory in order to approach at a better angle or stop your approach entirely. Combined with the presence of guard cancels, which allow you to escape blockstrings, and the clash system, which lets you nullify moves which would otherwise be unavoidable, every move you make in a match can be baited or challenged. Very little pressure is guaranteed, ensuring that both players must be actively engaged in their match at a given time.

IV. Meters

Arcana Heart 3′s meter system is a little confusing at first but ends up ultimately easy to understand and manage compared to the previous games. Your super bar and homing bar are no longer separate; instead, there is a single three-bar gauge at the bottom for both supers and homing cancels. Using homing outside of canceling a move no longer costs meter, which is a large part of why Arcana Heart 3 is faster than its predecessors, as it allows for all the freeform movement without having to conserve meter for combos. In addition, the meter will automatically regenerate on its own if used. While this may sound too easy, your super bar actually does not increase in capacity unless you build meter while it is full, meaning that constantly using homing cancels, guard cancels, and supers will leave you with limited resources compared to someone else who is managing their usage. Arcana Heart 3 also combines the burst mechanic, which allows you to escape combos, with the Extend Force bar, which allows access to extra offense and attack options. Integrating these two mechanics in a single bar forces you to choose between escaping a combo that may lead to further momentum at the cost of sacrificing some attack options, or dealing with an opponent while waiting for a chance to utilize said options. Future articles will go in-depth into the specifics of managing meter according to the choice of Arcana and your personal style of play.

V. Character Choice

So now that you’re ready to finally get started, here comes the hardest part of the process: selecting a character to go with. While Arcana is definitely an offense-slanted game, the standard fighting game archetypes are all there: shotos, powerhouses, grapplers, pixies, zoners, and more. The sheer number of character combinations is intimidating at first: there are a total of 529 possible character combinations between the 23 characters and Arcanas. Of course, not every combination is viable, since some Arcana are suboptimal and some characters work best with only a few choices. The primary thing to remember is that selecting a character is just that: picking a character, not an Arcana. Selecting a character that appeals to your personal sensibilities comes first, and from that point on, it is a matter of selecting the proper Arcana to either make up for the character’s weakness or complement your playstyle further.

Arcana Heart 3 Eyeing April Release On PSN



When Aksys first announced Arcana Heart 3 for North America they set the digital release for a spring timeline. More specifically, the gals fighting game is slated for April, a bit we learned by speaking with a representative from Aksys.

In North America, Arcana Heart 3 will only be released on PlayStation 3 as a PlayStation Network download. Zen United, the European publisher, will distribute Arcana Heart 3 to stores for PS3 and Xbox 360.

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siliconera.com

so soon

hope the disc-based release comes soon as well, will probably just get that unless i can spare cash for the PSN DL as well,unlikely though, will probably just wait for the disc release, assuming the DL comes 1st.

Arcana Heart 3 Breaks Loose On April 19th



We found out earlier this month that Aksys had Arcana Heart 3 planned for release sometime in April, and now we know the date: they just announced the game’s PlayStation Network release for April 19th.

A week after release, Aksys will put out additional character colours as DLC and an Arcana Heart 3 theme.

Meanwhile, Europeans will get the game sometime (maybe summer) this year on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at retail, courtesy of Zen United and pQube.

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dammit got no money , will have to wait til the disc release in PAL regions or at least til next month... don't really wan't to spend $30 on PSN though...

hopefully we don't get shafted this time, the gaps between NTSC and PAL releases are too damm long...

EU Cover art,

hmmm this thread should not be in the playstation section anymore

Video game publisher Aksys Games has released its latest fighting game, Arcana Heart 3, onto the PlayStation Network today. Arcana Heart 3 combines fast-paced aerial action with a rather unique cast of fighters.

The game sees chaos and disorder threatening to rip apart the very fabric of Japanese society as planar rifts appear throughout the country. It is suspected that the Drexler Institute, the instigator of the Great War many years ago and creator of the Divine Celestial Weapon, is somehow involved.

In the midst of this confusion, a mysterious rumor arises, claiming the existence of wish-granting "Celestial Stones" within the chaotic planar rifts. As a result of these rumors, a number of individuals have converged on Japan in the hopes of obtaining one of these fabled stones - either to seal them away or to see for themselves if rumor is true. Each person has their own reasons for seeking these rare and valuable stones, and they won't let anyone stand in their way, be they foe...or friend.

Arcana Heart 3 features three new fighters to bring the game's cast to 23 total characters. Weiss (the main character in Arcana Heart 3) Eko (a young girl who can bring her drawings to life) and Scharlachrot (a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows with the power to summon chains from out of nowhere) are the game's new fighters.

Also, in addition to arcade-style story mode, score attack mode, and training mode, the game also has a new simple mode. The new mode is a new control scheme designed with beginning and casual fighting fans in mind. Unleash powerful attacks and extended combos without having to practice complicated input commands. The game also has support for online multiplayer.

Still contemplating on whether I should get this or not, pointing to the latter though

I'm assuming you can only get it with a US/Japan account for now?

yea, the disc release will be later this year sometime, i'll probably wait for that

btw wth is that game in the pic?

Wednesday night fights Arcana heart 3 demo with James Xie + Alex Valle, pretty interesting watch



OMG i didn't know this guy was the PR for Aksys!? Now i know why all theirs trailers have typos but seriously the guy is an idiot, fire him now!although i admit he's still the best lambda-11 player