Do you know of Cho Aniki? The hardcore shooter crowd knows this notorious title because of its ridiculous premise: you play a motley crew of mostly naked men firing energy missiles at other enemies, also usually mostly-naked men. The upcoming PSP game seems to be based on the original PC Engine title, meaning the increasingly strange and homoerotic imagery found in later games will most likely be absent in this upcoming PSP game. It may be based on the most tame version of the series, but it will undoubtedly become another hit amongst the cult shooter crowd.

Read more on the series' legacy at Wikipedia -- and then for a more humorous take, check out Something Awful (content may be not safe for work). A video of the game, embedded after the cut.

PSP really is THE system for SRPG fans, with classics like Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics taking center stage last year. This year, the trend continues with R-Type Tactics and now ... Neverland Card Battles. Coming this Fall, this SRPG comes from the folks at YUKES (with distribution being handled by Atlus).

A war between human and demons wages on in Neverland, and players must control the Dominators to prevent an evil god from awakening. By using special Spectral Cards, players will be able to banish the evil Hellgaia and save Neverland from certain doom.

"The original Japanese version of Neverland Card Battles was extremely well-received and caught our attention as the best trading card game out there," said Ken Koyama, Manager of Product Development at YUKE'S Company of America. "We have enhanced and optimized NCB for the portable experience, and will offer one of the finest card-strategy games ever created for the PSP this fall."

We've been playing a very complete preview build of the upcoming PSP Buzz! title for quite some time now. Many readers were curious about the potential for XMB Trophies, a la the PS3, due to a curious statement by one of the game's developers at E3. Well, we've unlocked a few "Trophies" and we can confirm they won't upload to the PSN.

It's true that the in-game trophies work in the same way as many other PS3 Trophies or Xbox Achievements. You'll have to accomplish certain tasks, such as answering a question correctly in a certain amount of time, in order to receive this unlockable. However, they're not classified as Bronze, Silver and Gold -- and there's no in-game pop-up that indicates when you've unlocked them. Instead, the host, Buzz, verbally congratulates you on your accomplishment.

A Sony PR representative also confirmed that the Trophy, er, buzz, was due to a miscommunication. The gold medals you receive in the game are solely for record-keeping purposes, and won't improve your PlayStation Level. Stay tuned for more details about Buzz! in our hands-on preview, and click past the break to see Buzz's "Trophies."

Sony's been keeping their upcoming PSP-exclusive chibi Bleach game under wraps for quite some time. A trailer hidden in the last Heat the Soul game revealed this upcoming 2D action title, but little has been seen since then. Well, a new Japanese ad is ready to introduce the game to the masses. The game, which will be available in Japan in October, will undoubtedly tear up the sales charts like every other major PSP release these days.

One of our readers rightfully asked why we post so much information on Japanese games. The truth of the matter is, Japan just gets more games than us. Games like Gundam are system-sellers on that side of the Pacific. The upcoming Macross game will also undoubtedly do very well. While most of us will never have a chance to actually play these titles (lest we import), at least we can take some comfort that PSP is doing incredibly well in Japan? Check out this new promotional video to check out some hot mech-on-mech action.

Take this following story as a lesson on why you should be an educated shopper and do research before you head into a store. A 41 year old Singaporean woman went shopping for a new PSP at a Lucky Plaza shop. She met a courteous and helpful assistant who directed her to a Black PSP system. There are so many capabilities of the PSP, but he explained that with a "software upgrade," it can do much more, such as surf the Internet and play games for free. Fifteen minutes later, the clerk came back with a massive bill: $3500.

"Nicole," the unfortunate victim in this scam, refused to buy a system that cost as much as a laptop. However, the clerk said that they had already paid for the "costly" licenses. She asked why other shops only charged a few hundred dollars for the system ($300 according to the original article) and the clerk claimed the licenses "were not original."

After some haggling, she was able to get the cost down to $2600. Later, her brother informed her that she had essentially been robbed. She went back to the store and demanded a refund -- but she agreed to pay $1000. When complaining to the Consumers Association of Singapore, she was denied any further help because she had already agreed to pay the store.

Looks like amazon.com is finally getting rid of its UMD stock. They're holding a great BOGO deal on their UMD selection. Considering how many of these discs are already only $10, you should be able to pick up some good deals along the way. In fact, with prices like these, it's actually cheaper to buy these UMD discs than download these through the PS Store.

While the PSP managed a respectable showing at E3, with surprise titles like Super Stardust Portable and Resistance Retribution coming out of nowhere -- it certainly felt like a meager lineup compared to Sony's other system, the PS3. With the drought of PSP games still going strong, one has to wonder: is that it? PSP's main man, John Koller, assures PSP fans that there are third-party games in the works -- in fact, some will even debut this year. The next wave of PSP announcements will come before next year's E3 ... but we'll have to be patient.

Koller tells MTV Multiplayer that "going towards the end of the year and going into 09 and beyond, we're going to see a lot of very large franchise games come from third-parties," he said. "They're going to be a bit of a surprise, they're going to be like 'Wow, that's coming to PSP?'"*

* Image is a joke. Just think about it.

Japan absolutely adores cute synergistic promotions for their video games. Case in point: Monster Hunter ramen. These noodles feature the adorable mascot from the game. But, does it have any other connection to the series? Maybe there's real dragon meat in the noodles! (Unlikely.)

PSP importers that want to expand their collection of rare gastromical Japanese delights may want to place this right next to their Final Fantasy and Monster Hunter potions. You'll be able to find these noodles in Japan for a (slightly pricey) 420 yen.

[Via PSPHyper]

This week, Monster Hunter faces some competition. One of the big selling points of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G was its free DLC, available weekly for eager fans. Just days after its launch in Japan, Sega is also making free Phantasy Star Portable DLC available. The first thing you're going to kill? A very Monster Hunter-dragon. Do you smell the competition in the air?

While both of these PSP RPGs go head-to-head in Japan with tons of features for fans, we're left here on this side of the Pacific, scratching our heads. Why don't we get this cool stuff too?

[Via PSPHyper]

When echochrome debuted earlier this year, it was praised for its innovative use of perspective. Players had to manipulate their perspective to guide the on-screen avatar to various echoes. The Escher-inspired game quickly became a fan-favorite hit. However, don't expect a sequel to this celebrated game. Producer Tatsuya Suzuki and Kyushu University's Jun Fujiki from Japan Studios told the Develop audience "we're not doing a sequel - we're not doing echochrome 2".

Instead, Fujiki is working with Japan Studio on an entirely different game that uses yet another method of "trick imagery." What does that mean? We're not entirely certain, but considering the incredible fascination we have with echocrhome, we can't wait to see what surprises they'll have in store for us.

[Thanks, Kyle P.!]

What's better than pictures? How about a moving picture? The first official trailer for the upcoming PSN download No Gravity has appeared on the web, and it confirms what we've seen from the stills: it's pretty. Right now, it's only confirmed for a European PSN release in August, but seeing the RP logo from the ESRB has us confident that this will hit the States not too far off in the future.

[Via PPGN]

Although GPS will be coming to American systems by this holiday season, one other peripheral may not see the light of day. The PSP camera seems unlikely to come to the US, due to its low capabilities. According to Siliconera, a SCEA representative told them that the 1.3 megapixel camera peripheral simply isn't powerful enough to compete against other devices, such as camera phones. Unless there are actual EyeToy games to support a PSP camera, there's very little reason to bring the camera over to the US.

For now, it appears that those interested in getting the PSP camera will have to import Chotto Shot.

Wow, look how far No Gravity has come. It started as a homebrew title a few years ago, but has now developed into a fully-fledged downloadable release for the PS Store. This upcoming PSP title puts tons of retail games to shame with its incredible polish -- simply look at the new screenshots. 32 missions in 6 worlds are promised for this shooter. We can't wait to find out more.

[Thanks, Kyle P.!]

The newly released "features trailer" of Fading Shadows attempts to highlight the unique selling points of this PSP-exclusive puzzle game. After a quiet launch in Europe a few months ago, Agetec is bringing the game over to the States in just a few weeks time. You play a shimmering beam of light and must transport a magical ball through various stages. We got some early hands-on time a few months ago, and really enjoyed the mellow (but challenging) experience the game offers.