Final Fantasy Type 0 and Versus XIII To Be Localized

Cue thunderous applause and cheering from yours truly.

It seems that Yoshinori Kitase says that both Final Fantasy Type 0 and Versus XIII are in the process of recieving english localizations. Type 0, of course, has had it's localization status in doubt due to poor overseas PSP sales.

In even better news, Kitase claims that the Versus XIII team is 'hard at work finishing the game', and that there will be more details revealed soon. Excellent news.

You can read what he says here.

EDIT: Looks like Type-0's localization has been confirmed in the Ultimania. :D Check it out.

Chrono Cross: The Dead Sea!

Just a quick Chrono Cross update, I'm on the section where you play as Lynx instead of Serge, which takes up a surprisingly large portion of the game. I just finished the S.S. Zelbess portion of the game, which means it's on to the Isle of the Dead and The Dead Sea next. This is a part of the game I've been looking forward too for a long time, because it sets up a lot of the connections between Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross.

Cross is still an excellent game, and playing as Lynx allows a number of new techniques and party members to be experimented with (FeralCats FTW). My current party is Lynx, Harle, and Norris, all outfitted with Mithril equipment.

JRPGs, dead? Hardly.

Anyone who stumbles across this blog will quickly realize that I am quite fond of console-style role-playing games, or to use their current term, Japanese role-playing games. These ‘JRPG’s have provided some of the greatest moments in gaming for me, filling my world with imaginative characters and a unique kind of gameplay that I grew to love.

‘JRPG’s were once extremely popular in the gaming community. While never expressly un-popular, the genre exploded into the mainstream with the release of Final Fantasy VII.  The Playstation era of RPGs featured many classic games, but thanks to Final Fantasy VII, these games were explosively popular. Games like Final Fantasy VIII and IX, Xenogears, Vagrant Story, Legend of Dragoon, and others provided the cultural definition of video game RPGs. This popularity continued and expanded with the PS2 era, when Final Fantasy X introduced many more into the RPG fold.

Today, however, these wonderful RPGs, once the pinnacle of gaming excellence, are fading- or so we’re told. The rise of the ‘western role-playing game’ has crushed the Japanese variety, with their more involving plotlines and focus on personal freedom- or so we’re told. JRPGs, we are told, are a dying art.

This is wrong. To be even more frank, this is bullshit.

My Top 5 Gaming Wishes

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. Now that I'm back from my not-actually-that-long haitus from Turkeyland, I feel like prepping for the next holiday season. These five items are things I personally would love to see in the near future (not in any particular order). So, here you go.

5- Final Fantasy Versus XIII gets a 2012 Release Date.
A guy can dream, right? Seriously, though, this one has gone on long enough. Square has been teasing this game ever since Final Fantasy XIII was announced, and seeing as they've been saying they want to cut development times down, I'm hoping we can see their six-years-in-the-making action RPG sooner rather than later.

4- Kingdom Hearts 3 gets announced for current-gen consoles- specifically, PS3.
This is another one that may exist only in the realm of wishful thinking, but it's still a strong desire of mine. The Kingdom Hearts series has mostly been releasing spinoffs (Birth by Sleep being the closest thing to a 'main' title we've seen in years), and many fans are pining for a true current-gen Kingdom Hearts game for Playstation 3. The labyrinthine narrative of Kingdom Hearts needs to find some closure, but more than anything else, I want this game to be out before Square can be tempted to new hardware.

3- JRPG comeback
The classic role-playing games of yesteryear have been overshadowed of late by their Western counterparts, which is a shame, but not entirely unfounded. That's not to say we haven't gotten great JRPGs over the years, but few of them were truly innovative. I was disapointed with the gaming community's reaction to the delightfully experimental Final Fantasy XIII, but  I do feel that a truly great JRPG, one that will revitalize the genre, is just around the corner. As excited as I am for Level 5 and Studio Ghibli's excellent looking Ni no Kuni, which may be the best JRPG in years, I don't think it's the type of game to hit the innovative sweet spot the genre needs right now. We'll have to wait and see.

2- Operation Rainfall Is Successful.
If you don't yet know what Operation Rainfall is, look it up and support them. They are a grassroots movement petitioning Nintendo to localize three excellent looking JRPGs for Wii- The Last Story, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Pandora's Tower. Remember how I was looking for a great and innovative game that could revitalize the genre? Xenoblade could very well be that game, as could The Last Story (itself made by famed Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi). The fact that these games weren't instant candidates for localization is just sad.

1- Mistwalker makes a PS3 title.
Mistwalker studios is the company helmed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and has made excellent RPGs such as Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and The Last Story. Sakaguchi apparently has a grudge against Sony (he's mentioned this before), and all of his big titles have been on 360 (which shot him in the foot with regards to sales) or Wii. While I've been hoping for years to see PS3 versions of Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey (ESPECIALLY Lost Odyssey), I'd settle for an original game from them. Think you and Sony can put your differences aside, Hironobu? For me? Please?

Well, that's that. What are your gaming wishes?

Old Review: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Hello! So, I'm going to be out of town for Thanksgiving for the next couple of days, so this'll be the last post you see until Saturday at the earliest. So, here's a review of a game I'm quite fond of.

Also, a question: Is Golden Sun: Dark Dawn worth checking out? Comment if you have an answer.

My Review- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

The Kingdom Hearts series has evolved from a successful experiment into one of Square’s principle franchises, and many of Square’s most beloved characters come from this surprisingly complex tale. One of these characters is Roxas, KH protagonist Sora’s Nobody (basically an other self). Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is an interquel detailing Roxas’ time in Organization XIII prior to the events of Kingdom Hearts II. It also has the distinction of being the first Kingdom Hearts game on the DS. Does this portable adventure have the magic of it’s predecessors?

Kitase- New Final Fantasy every year?

So, in a recent interview, Yoshinori Kitase, the producer of the Final Fantasy series, says that he would like to see Final Fantasy releases follow the example of best-selling Western games, releasing every one or two years. Following in the footsteps of franchises such as Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed, Kitase hopes to keep the attention of fans by releasing games at a faster rate, saying that one of XIII's problems was it's overly long development cycle and it is this new policy that allowed them to finish Final Fantasy XIII-2 in eighteen months.

Here's a link. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114322-Square-Enix-Wants-a-New-Final-Fantasy-Every-Year

Hey, I'm all for it, guys. I'd love to play new FF games more often. Just, does this mean we'll see Versus XIII next year? Please?

Give me this game.

EDIT: There's also been some more news concerning XIII-2, now that the main game is finished. Among other things, there will be a New Game + type feature, and you will have the ability to 'rewind time' in order to replay old areas whenever you want, allowing you to get alternate 'paradox' endings by alternating the timeline. Here is the news.

11/21/2011 Chrono Cross Update

I'm about ten hours into Chrono Cross right now, and I'm surprised that I'm actually a bit further along than I thought I was. I'm ready to head to Mt. Pyre, which is right before the second encounter with Lynx (and a rather important story moment). Chrono Trigger wasn't an incredible long game, so I guess it's no surprise that Cross follows suit.

My current party is Serge, Kid, and Glenn, and I use Guile whenever Kid isn't in the party. Serge and Glenn can use a Dual Tech called X-strike, a very powerful ability that also references Crono and Frog's Dual Tech in Trigger. Everyone has a full set of Iron armor and whatever accessories are necessary.

I'm also getting used to Chrono Cross's level up system. Essentially, every boss fight earns the party a new star, which usually adds a new Element Slot for each character and provides a large stat bonus. From there, characters occasionally gain HP and other stat bonuses after normal battles.

Chrono Cross remains an excellent game, and I'm looking forward to playing more of it over Thanksgiving break. Look for a review in a few weeks.

Why I'm Not Playing Skyrim- Yet.

Two reasons.

1- I've heard not-so-good things about the number of glitches in the console version of the game, specifically the PS3 version. Apparently the game starts slowing down once you reach a certain point in the game. It's only natural for Bethesda games to be released unfinished, but it's still annoying and I want to wait until they iron it out.

2- Don't they usually release a GOTY edition later with all the DLC? ;)

So, yeah. That's why I'm not exploring Tamriel at this very minute. Just thought I should let you know.

Old Review- The Battle for Middle-earth 2 (PC)

My Review- The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth 2 (PC)

The original Battle for Middle-earth is easily one of my favorite strategy games, and it’s still probably the best of the games based on the Lord of the Rings films. The original game already covered the majority of the film’s material, though, so I don’t think anybody really expected a sequel. However, EA managed to secure a LOTR book license in addition to the original movie license, opening a wide range of content from Tolkien’s masterwork. Do the added content and tweaked mechanics make BFME2 a better game than the original?

STORY

The original BFME featured a watered-down version of the film’s plot, putting the player in control of the major battles from the films. BFME2, being based more on the books, instead focuses on The War in the North, a separate campaign of the War of the Ring that was mentioned in the appendices of The Return of the King. The idea is that, while Gondor and Rohan were fighting Sauron’s main army at Minas Tirith in the south, there was another huge war going on with the Goblins of the Misty Mountains and Sauron’s other army from Dol Goldur, fighting against the Elves of Rivendell and Lothlorian and the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain. BFME2 makes the most of it’s dual licenses, combining the look and feel of the films with several locations and characters from the books.

New XIII-2 Screenshots

We have a few new screenshots for Square Enix's upcoming RPG, Final Fantasy XIII-2. There are a lot more than this available at other websites, bit I thought I'd share a few. Most notably, ones that show off the new Crystarium system.









Is that Behemoth wearing a bow tie? Lol.



Looking good, but I have one small nagging complaint. In the original XIII, each character had their Crystarium split into a section for each of their Classes- a Commando one, a Ravager one, etc. In this, all the classes apparently are on a single Crystarium. I'm interested in how this works.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is out January 31, and I'm excited.