NIS America just pulled out its niche Japanese guns at Anime Expo announcing two new PS Vita titles that will be released in North America and Europe early next year: Demon Gaze and DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.

Demon Gaze is a 3D dungeon crawling JRPG heavily based on party customization, with 90 different character portraits, 5 different races, and 8 different classes. DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc was originally a PSP game and is being revamped and revised for the Vita.

Here are the official blurbs and bullet points for your perusal:

Demon Gaze:

Oz awakens to find himself in Misred—a cursed land at the world's western frontier—with a dark shroud covering certain memories of his past. The land before him contains many labyrinths that hold both treasure and danger in equal volumes. Without knowing where else to go or what else to do, Oz decides to take up arms in order to hunt down artifacts and eke out a living in this world that feels so new to him. One day, he will have to face his past, but until then, he has no choice but to trust those around him, and in his newfound abilities as a “Demon Gazer”...

Key features:

  • Dungeon RPG progress system: Conquer locations within dungeons to access better items and to draw out the boss!
  • HD character and monster illustrations: Experience highly detailed and illustrated art like you’ve never seen before on the PS Vita’s OLED screen!
  • Customizable party creation: Choose from more than 90 different character portraits, 5 different races, and 8 different classes and create your ideal adventuring party to delve fearlessly into various beautiful 3D dungeons!
  • Subclass flexibility: Utilize special items to gain skills from several other character classes to maximize your characters’ battle potential and survivability!
  • Touchscreen quicktravel: Employ the use of the PS Vita’s touch screen to quickly navigate your character through previously explored areas within dungeons!

Danganronpa

DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc:

Hope's Peak Academy is home to Japan's best and brightest high school students—the beacons of hope for the future. But that hope suddenly dies when Makoto Naegi and his classmates find themselves imprisoned in the school, cut off from the outside world and subject to the whims of a strange, murderous little bear named Monokuma. He pits the students against each other, promising freedom to anyone who can murder a fellow classmate and get away with it. It's up to you to find out who Monokuma really is, and why you've been taken from the world you once knew. But be careful what you wish for—sometimes there’s nothing more deadly than the truth...

Key features:

  • Daily Life, Deadly Life: Trapped in a school-turned-prison, students are murdering each other one by one. You’ll have to investigate each incident, search for clues, and talk to your classmates to try and get to the bottom of each brutal case!
  • Mock Trial: The nefarious Monokuma serves as judge, jury, and executioner as you engage in deadly wordplay, going back and forth with suspects, dissecting their statements and firing their words back at them to expose their lies!
  • Popularity Contest: Sway classmates to your side in each investigation, squeezing information from them to figure out who did it. And when you do, turn up the heat in a variety of timing and reflex-based game systems to uncover the truth and save your skin!

Interestingly enough DanganRonpa's anime series is currently being aired in Japan. The first episode hit the local TVs last week (and it's actually quite good). While we wait for further news and assets, that are said to be available next week, I can only express my respect for NIS America, that as usual has no qualms on bringing niche Japanese titles that most publishers would ignore.