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If you're anything like the majority of the Joystiq staff, you spent the bulk of your formative years slaying all manner of pixelated beasties and saving incredibly low definition damsels in distress. If so, watching the first English trailer for 3D Dot Game Heroes is likely to take you way, way back. If, on the other hand, you're not an old codger like us, you can still appreciate the game's wonderful art style, which is a breath of fresh air in these brown times.

3D Dot Game Heroes is set to pixelate North American PS3s (and our hearts) on May 11.

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In a late-night press release, Atlus announced that it is in fact the company publishing 3D Dot Game Heroes in North America, confirming its status as the publisher of choice for fans of both Zelda homages and From Software games. The company even went so far to give the PS3 game a precise date: May 11, a day which will play host to an unheard-of number of underlines and gold stars on our calendar. GameStop, however, says May 3. We're willing to accept "May" as specific enough for now.

We've got some delightful new screens in the gallery below, if, like us, you're nowhere near over the novelty of giant pixels rendered in HD.

Update: Commenter Orchard Pear points out that the GameStop listing also prices the game at just $39.99. If that turned out to be the final price, it would basically be a miracle performed by the gods of retro gaming.

If you Xbox 360 owners have been reading posts about 3D Dot Game Heroes and anticipating its localization with green, envy-filled eyes, you'll be pleased to learn that there's a tiny chance the game could be spinning inside your console sometime in the future.

My Game News Flash recently stopped by Silicon Studios to chat up producer Hiroyuki Misawa, who offered that a port is "possible," but that it's really "up to From [Software]." He added, "We're a developer, so if there's a call to make it, I believe we can do it." Hardly confirmation that a port is in the works, but should that be a future move for From Software, Silicon Studios sounds like it's willing.

[Via andriasang]

One poster at Hachimaki didn't keep us waiting at all for a custom 3D Dot Game Heroes version of Metal Gear Solid 4's Old Snake. The game isn't even officially released in Japan yet! But this artist got hold of a pre-street-dated copy and set immediately to work on an Old Snake avatar in the game's character editor.

Snake will have No Place to Hide in the wide-open, blocky expanses of 3D Dot Game Heroes' kingdom, but he'll presumably be able to compensate with a combination of Close Quarters Combat and Long Distance Swords. Update: See a video after the break.

[Via Andriasang]

"No need to import," the 'SonyPlayStation' Twitter account reports. "3D Dot Game Heroes for PS3 is DEFINITELY coming to NA! Spread the word, more to come." And here we are, spreading the word.

From Software's gorgeous, retro-inspired action-RPG will be released in Japan in November, but until now, we've heard nothing about localization. And as Zelda fans and (shameful) Spelunker fans ... and fans of the retro-but-high-def aesthetic that From has assembled out of blocks, we've been listening intently.

Sony's Jeff Rubenstein told Joystiq that SCEA will not be the publisher, but the actual publisher allowed the news to be "leaked" on Twitter. He couldn't say who the publisher was or when we could expect the game, though he told us that more info will appear on the PlayStation Blog. We would speculate that it's the company who published the last (surprisingly successful) From Software PS3 game, Demon's Souls, and who deals almost exclusively in this kind of niche Japanese product: Atlus, whom we're contacting right away.

Not that we can understand him. You see, Spelunker discusses 3D Dot Game Heroes in the video above, but the inconsiderate cave explorer does so entirely in Japanese. So, unless you're up on your kanji, you'll just have to settle for some new, delightful footage of From Software's retro romp. It looks a lot like old-school Zelda titles, which is by no means a bad thing. Watch the video above for plenty of world-exploring, monster-killing, sword-finding action -- and pray someone picks this up for release outside of Japan (hello, Atlus?).

Don't get too angry when the discussion about From Software's 3D Dot Game Heroes centers around classic Zelda. It's plainly obvious from this new trailer (after the break) that From is not only being totally up front about the game's inspiration, but inviting comparisons. The introductory story sequence, the environments, and even the music strongly recall Nintendo's flagship adventure series. But From has done a great job of making something that doesn't just appeal to our nostalgia -- we're just as excited about this game on its own merits. We're ready to start upgrading our swords to ridiculous extremes.

Not that nostalgia isn't an important part of it! Blogger Maxell011 (via GameSetWatch) pointed out the game's loading screens, which remake famous game boxes in Dot Game Heroes style. That Castlevania (above, with the original box) homage might be enough to sell a few copies.

Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games: If you're like me, then you've likely been following Joystiq's coverage of 3D Dot Game Heroes and thinking "I really, really hope this gets translated and released in the US." After all, if you're a gamer like me then you love the idea of a 3D homage to the 2D games you grew up with. Of course, it's less likely that you're a lawyer like me, and so it's also less likely that you read through the comments and had an immediate reaction to the countless cries of copyright infringement in the game. Those repetitive, vocal cries have brought me to this column, which aims to answer the big question: is 3D Dot Game Heroes copyright infringement?

Let me start off by saying the analysis here is just my opinion, and a court could always find otherwise. Where this discussion really needs to start is what elements seem to be infringing. Now would be a good time to view the trailer or some screenshots, if you haven't yet. The main complaints I've heard, and can see from the trailer, are the environments (both overworld and dungeon) bear a striking resemblance to the Zelda universe (The Legend of Zelda and Link to the Past, specifically), while the hero characters bear a striking resemblance to those from the Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior past. Some of the monsters also bear quite a resemblance to Zelda baddies. And, of course, the music is certainly inspired by classic Zelda music. So, case closed, right? Well, no, that's not how copyright infringement works.

If the frequent comparisons between From Software's upcoming blocky adventure title 3D Dot Game Heroes and The Legend of Zelda have been completely lost on you, then apparently you haven't seen the gameplay videos. The game does more than slyly reference the mainstays of Miyamoto's Triforce-hunting classic; it more or less recreates them. We're definitely not saying that's a bad thing -- we're just worried that Nintendo will eventually catch wise, and somehow prevent this charming little game from ever making it westward.

Check after the jump for three gameplay clips; the first showing off the game's best Zelda impression; the second just how gargantuan the player's sword can become; and the third suggesting the perils of playing through the game as the vertigo-plagued hero from Spelunker.

[Via GameSetWatch]

From Software's homage to classic 8-bit gaming in upcoming Japanese release 3D Dot Game Heroes has been expressed in the first trailer. Sure, it absolutely reeks of the original Legend of Zelda, but in an updated, tongue-in-cheek kinda way. It certainly doesn't hurt that, visually speaking, it's stunning from beginning to end.

We've got screenshots and the gorgeous video above, but only a Japanese release date so far -- how about some love for the rest of the world, eh?

From Software has released new details about its retro-fabulous adventure game, 3D Dot Game Heroes, showing off four default playable characters and a method for creating even more. The group of existing main characters holds a hero, a prince, and some kind of itinerant scholar who carries a book around.

But if you don't like those guys, you can use a Cube Kingdom-like editor to build your own character out of voxels! Examples shown include a big cube and a stick figure. You'll be able to make custom animations for each of their movements as well.

The fourth in-game character we haven't mentioned yet: the title character from IREM's Spelunker, who appears in a bizarre bit of cross-promotion. Spelunker seems to behave in 3D Dot Game Heroes much as he does in his own game -- which is to say he dies if he falls from almost any height.

From Software's latest PS3 game takes 8-bit sprites and mostly updates them for the current generation, with amazing results. 3D Dot Game Heroes takes place in a classic RPG kingdom whose king, following the successful defeat of a demon lord, declares that the world should be 3D from now on. In the process, something goes wrong, though we don't know what yet, and solving that crisis is the basis of the gameplay.

We've captured the screens from the rotating display on the official website and subsequently have been staring at them all morning. The game's super high-resolution rendering of 3D pixel art is striking. There's even a tilt-shift effect on the images to make everything look miniature. 3D Dot Game Heroes will be out in Japan in November.

[Thanks, Jason]