Surprise! While earlier reports appeared to confirm that the famed pirate manga (and anime) was getting an officially approved One Piece theme park, that doesn't appear to be the case.

One Piece's publisher told Japanese site RocketNews that it has not formally approved the theme park, which now appears to be a theme park made in the image of pirates. The revelation is much of the disappointment of true One Piece fans in China and abroad.

In China, "The King of the Pirates" (海賊王) is synonymous with One Piece. So, the park could simply operate in this fashion and not specifically mention One Piece and some visitors would not be any wiser.

The King of the Pirates, huh. Fitting.

中国で『ワンピース』のテーマパークの建設が決定！？　 [Searchina via http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-05-22/chinese-one-piece-theme-park-not-approved-by-shueisha">ANN

Sega's Yakuza games (above) are wonderful. They have great dialogue. Great cutscenes. And cool combat. Yet, they feel like PlayStation 2 games. They're not—they are PS3 games. But they feel so last gen, due to the tech that powers them.

That is going to change with the upcoming Yakuza 5. According to the upcoming issue of Famitsu, the game is being developed with an entirely new game engine. That, hopefully, will mean Sega's Yakuza games no longer feel like something out of the PlayStation 2 era. This is also why the developers thought calling it "New Yakuza" would be fitting.

With Yakuza 5, Sega is making all sorts of tweaks. The change between adventure mode to combat mode will be smooth. In-game maps will be significantly bigger, offering much more to explore. The gameplay's dramatic tempo has been improved, too. (I just hope they've ditched the stupid invisible walls that plague previous Yakuza games!)

Yakuza 5 is set in four different locations (Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Hokkaido), and it will have five different protagonists (Kiryu Kazuma, Taiga Saejima, Shun Akiyama, schoolgirl character Haruka Sawamura, and new character Natsuo Shinada). This doesn't include the inevitable unplayable hostess characters and celebrity cameos.

Matching the number of protagonists with each subsequent sequel won't be so easy to keep up once the series hits the double digits.

Yakuza 5 will be out this December in Japan.

『龍が如く5』は12月発売。遥が主人公になったほか、新キャラも登場 [ゲーム情報！]
『龍が如く5』は新たなゲームエンジンで開発。「新・龍が如く」でも良かったと名越氏 [ゲーム情報！]

Upcoming Kinect-based game Crimson Dragon has a release date for Japan: It will hit Xbox Live Arcade on June 13.

Crimson Dragon is basically Panzer Dragoon minus a letter or so. Don't believe me? Watch this.

Kinect専用STG「Crimson Dragon」の配信日が6月13日に決定 [4Gamer]

Prior to the 2002 World Cup, hallucinogenic mushrooms were legal in Japan. They were sold in little vending machines at love hotels across Japan and funky little shops. Then, worrying about an influx of soccer hooligans, mushrooms were outlawed.

These days, there are quasi-legal herbs. And some are being sold in vending machines and even in Tokyo's geek district Akihabara. And they'll apparently get you high.

The quasi-legal herbs contain substances that resemble those in stimulants, but that are not technically illegal. In Japanese, they're called "dappou herb" (脱法ハーブ), and "dappou" means to skirt the law.

According to Kyodo, sales of these herbs can be banned if the police find illegal substances in these herbs. Even if authorities do find said substances, the sellers can deny that they knew the herbs contained illicit ingredients.

Recently, an increasing number of stories about the herbs have been appearing online. One Japanese weekly recently reported how young people were getting high off the herbs—and then getting off. According to one 20 year-old woman, one herb called "J" effects the body's orifices, making sex of the anal variety more pleasurable.

Young people like it because it's "legal" and relatively cheap. For ¥1,000 (around US$13), you can get about 50grams.

Last week, cops raided a "general merchandise store" in Yokohama for selling herbs that apparently had illegal drug like ingredients. The problem with these herbs (and this crackdown) is that they exist in a legal gray zone. Thus, no one was arrested, and the shop simply shut off its herb vending machine.

Some of these vending machines are located right on the street (check this blog post), so people can easily purchase the herbs. There's even a capsule toy machine that dispenses dappou herb instead of toys. Kyodo reported that authorities confirmed 390 vendors across of Japan, which could mean one thing: lots of buttsex.

Hallucinogens sold in vending machines legit? [The Japan Times]