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Big in Japan: Fantastic Eleven kicks off, more Tales from Bandai Namco, and Stardust Shooters' a million

Weekly digest from Tokyo

Big in Japan: Fantastic Eleven kicks off, more Tales from Bandai Namco, and Stardust Shooters' a million
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As well as being one of the largest mobile game markets by revenue, Japan is currently also one of the most dynamic.

It's a good opportunity, then, for PocketGamer.biz to hook up with Indie Navi, a site which is dedicated to the coverage of Japanese mobile and indie development.

Set up by two enthusiastic and experienced translators, you can find out more about the services they offer here or email info (at] indienavi.com.

Otherwise, let's get on with the show - the five most interesting stories from the Japanese mobile games industry.

Famitsu lists its favorite pixel art games for smartphones

There's no denying the old-school appeal of pixel art, and the format has seen something of a renaissance on mobile devices.

In light of this, Famitsu App compiled a list of its writers' favorite pixel art smartphone titles. Among those listed were Minecraft: Pocket Edition (Mojang), He Says He's Through Being a Hero (HappyHoppyHappy), and our personal favorite, 100 Turn Hero (Ritterz).

KLab Releases Fantastic Eleven featuring the likenesses of 2,000 pros, with Neymar to star

20 March marked the Japan iOS and Android release of KLab's 3D smartphone footballer Fantastic Eleven.

Klab secured JFA and FIFPro licenses for Fantastic Eleven, allowing the title the feature the real names and likenesses of over 2,000 professional players from around the world.

Although the focus of the title is on building a world-class football club, players can participate directly in the 3D matches through the title's Dynamic Command System, influencing key plays through touch controls.

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Between its 3D presentation, a planned worldwide release, and an agreement with Neymar da Silva Santos Jr to feature the rising star prominently in worldwide advertising, expectations for Fantastic Eleven are high.

Marvellous AQL taps into demand for mobile J-(m)MORGPs

As of early 23 March, Marvelous AQL's smartphone online RPG Logles of Swords and Sorcery: Goddess of Ancient sits at 31st place of the Google Play sales rankings for games, and at 20th place for sales in the iPhone games category on the App Store.

The iPhone version cracked the sales top 30 on 2 March and has remained there since, peaking at 15th place on 12 and 18 March.

The success of Goddess of Ancient is regarded as indicative of the migration of (m)MORPG players away from PC and browser-based titles to smartphone counterparts, creating a growing demand for the genre on smartphones.

Bandai Namco promos Tales of Asteria

To build anticipation, Bandai Namco released a fresh look at its smartphone RPG Tales of Asteria.

Tales of Ateria will be Bandai Namco's second smartphone release in the series, following the recent release of Tales of Link to iOS. Like Tales of Link, Tales of Asteria features many returning characters from previous Tales of titles.

The new promotional video shows off the touch-based "cross slide battle" system, allowing players to link attacks by swiping their finger across the screen, with smooth play unleashing "over limit" attacks.

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As an added draw, the battles are presented in 3D with ample voice acting.

Stardust Shooters shoots up a million

In other Bandai Namco news, the company announced on 20 March that Stardust Shooters, its smartphone title based on the popular manga (and anime) series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, had reached one million downloads.

Stardust Shooters debuted at 26th in the iPhone games category (downloads) in Japan and has remained in the top 40 since. The title has been in the top 30 for iPhone games in terms of sales since 16 March.

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Similarly, DeNA's smartphone title based on the Evangelion franchise (Evangelion: Catharsis of the Soul) has remained in the top 40 for downloads among iPhone games since its release, demonstrating that a strong IP can still go a long way in gathering attention for a fledgling title.