January 2018 Japanese Games Release Schedule

The new year is here. 2017 was a great year Japanese games, but hitting their stride, there’s no signs of it letting up. Glancing at the currently confirmed 2018 list, there’s some heavy hitters on the way. And it all starts this month. These are the currently confirmed UK release dates of the latest Japanese games for January 2018.

Looking for other January 2018 release schedules?

Anime | Manga | Light Novels

Alongside Street Fighter V Arcade Edition, the new Season 3 Pass for the game is also releasing, including some big new characters you can read about here.

Fighting game fans should be pleased with the 3 large releases this month, with an additional fourth option in Gintama Rumble for those who want to import the anime fighter. Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is finally coming to PS4. But the highlight for us has to be the stunning Arc System Works fighter, Dragon Ball FighterZ.

Lost Sphear will please JRPG fans this month. Developed by Square Enix’s Tokyo RPG Factory, this release follows on from their super good I Am Setsuna. At a glance it looks quite similar, but in a more machine-focused world. We’d love more I Am Setsuna, and continuing to develop it mechanically in a new direction is super exciting.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth — Hacker’s Memory is another JRPG that expands on yet another JRPG we loved (the first Cyber Sleuth). Between these two, you’re definitely covered if you’ve already mopped up your JRPG standouts in the holiday season.

If that’s not enough the excellent Monster Hunter is finally releasing, bringing the phenomenal, pristine, and perfect monster hunting series back to big home consoles for the first time in a while. With the move, it’s also bringing some huge changes, making this the most fluid and feature complete Monster Hunter experience you’ll ever see. If you’ve held off before, this is the one to try (and hopefully you did in the beta).

I’ve also got a bee in my bonnet about Death Mark. Over in Japan it’s finally jumping from PS Vita to both PS4 and Switch. It’s a horror adventure game that looks great, but will be tricky to enjoy without being able to read Japanese. Gintama Rumble on the other hand may very well please Gintama fans on an import buy.

Are you buying anything this month?

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Reactions:

I’ve been ready for Monster Hunter World for a long time.

Eugh, thanks for reminding me we didn’t get Death Mark. Back to begging for it. ○几

Oops, I never finished I Am Setsuna, but it was really good! I will play the new one more.

Fight me on Dragon Ball. (╬ Ò ‸ Ó)

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Oscar TK

Some people know me as "PoshAlligator", others by my actual name, Oscar Taylor-Kent. I'm a fan of stylish action games and adventure games, think Devil May Cry or Ace Attorney, and I'm still awaiting the perfect combination of the two genres (it was not Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright, unfortunately). Interested in anything that isn't boring. I also did most of the localisation for Gal*Gun: Double Peace, so take what I say about it with a grain of salt! Follow me @MrOscarTK on Twitter!

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