Weekly Japanese video game software sales: 'God Eater,' 'Zangeki no Reginleiv,' 'Sacred 2'

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Holding fast, God Eater maintains its top position at the head of the Japanese software charts for the week of February 8-14. The monster slaying PSP game fends off its closest rival, Dragon Quest VI on DS, which stays in second. At the foot of the table, a bankrupt German developer's fantasy hack and slash game Sacred 2 makes its way into Japanese homes.

God Eater is a post-apocalyptic monster-hunting game and, perhaps not surprisingly, looks very much like a cross between the Monster Hunter series that has done so well on PSP ( Monster Hunter 3 itself was re-released in Japan this week), the Armageddon-come-too-soon of Darksiders, and Final Fantasy's oversized weaponary.

Dragon Quest VI, meanwhile, is a Nintendo DS version of one of the most successful Super Nintendo (or Super Famicom) home console games, spruced up for dual screen portable gaming.

New in the chart this week is Prince of Tennis: School Festival, another game that has recieved a makeover from a home console version, this time coming from the PlayStation 2. Its origins are in a Japanese comic series and this game involves organizing and recruiting fellow pupils for a school tournament.

Zangeki no Reginleiv posts some low sales figures, considering the enthusiasm that it had been generating towards the end of last year. It's a medieval fantasy beat-em-up, an over-the-top battlefield excursion that comes from Sandlot, the makers of Xbox 360 cult hit Earth Defense Force 2017. Perhaps the imminent Japanese conversion of Wii game No More Heroes to PS3 and 360 will remind Wii owners of the other exclusive treasures they still have access to.

Finally, Sacred 2 was published in Europe and North America back in November of 2008 for PC, and ported to PS3 and 360 by May 2009. Despite decent review scores (including an 'A-' from 1UP.com) showing that the game's action role-playing charms were enough to overcome some sluggish programming, sales never really picked up at retail, hamstrung by the PC release's poor reception.

Once the Xbox 360 version started recieving heavy discounts and speculative punters spread the word, it became apparent that Sacred 2 possessed favorable similarities to the top Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, with the bonus possibility of online multiplayer shenanigans.

Favorable previews and good review scores from Japanese magazines seem to have given Sacred 2 the boost it needed for success in the Far East.

Those western gamers already privy to the game's merits will be hoping that its new owners, Koch Media, will take note and successfully resurrect the series worldwide.

1) God Eater (PSP): 110,000 sales (406,000 total)
2) Dragon Quest VI (DS): 79,000 (1,176,000)
3) New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii): 59,000 (3,322,000)
4) Prince of Tennis: School Festival, Sweeter Edition (DS): 44,000 (44,000)
5) Friend Collection (DS): 38,000 (2,817,000)
6) Quiz Magic Academy DS (DS): 32,000 (32,000)
7) Wii Fit Plus (Wii): 29,000 (1,639,000)
8) Star Ocean 4 The Last Hope International (PS3): 26,000 (98,000)
9) Zangeki no Reginleiv aka Dynamic Slash (Wii): 22,000 (22,000)
10) Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (PS3): 22,000 (22,000)

Unit sales are rounded to the nearest 1,000
Source: Media Create.