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Under Defeat HD hits Xbox 360 stateside after two years AWOL
So this is a bit of an odd one. Back in late 2012/early 2013, Under Defeat HD came to PS3 and Xbox 360 in Japan and Europe. In North America, Rising Star released the remaster of G.rev's Dreamcast and arcade helicopter shoot-em-up exclusively for PS3. Why? Well, we could speculate, but the answer's unknown. Then this week, around two years later and out of the blue, Under Defeat HD finally hit Xbox 360s stateside via Games on Demand. Despite being a vertical shoot-em-up, Under Defeat is ideally suited for HD widescreen life, as former Managing Editor JC Fletcher explained back in 2012. That HD "New Order" mode - which sadly doesn't have anything to do bizarre love triangles or blue Mondays - is part of the new Xbox 360 version, which is available now to download for $20.
Play a Half-Minute Hero demo for a few minutes next week
If the thought of buying before trying seems as alien as making a sandwich out of textbooks and old toilet paper tubes, then you'll want to keep reading: Rising Star has announced that a demo of Half-Minute Hero will hit the EU PSN next week. Dubbed "Hero Mode," the demo will allow players to select between three missions included in the final game. Half-Minute Hero features a series of quick challenges blending together a menagerie of genres, such as RPG, RTS and even shoot-em-ups. It's currently set to release in Europe on February 12. [Via Videogamer]
Rising Star's Q1 lineup for Europe includes Fragile, Way of the Samurai 3
Rising Star Games has announced a European release for Fragile (as Fragile Dreams), Namco Bandai's action-adventure game about exploring a haunted, post-disaster Japan, in March 2010. That's around the same time XSEED plans to bring the Namco Bandai title to North America. Also in March, the publisher will release Rune Factory Frontier on Wii, and Avalon Code and My World My Way on DS. Before that, in February, Rising Star will release Half-Minute Hero on PSP, and, through "affiliate label" Gamebridge, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Way of the Samurai 3. We've got Rising Star's full lineup listed after the break.
Cradle of Rome is puzzlius maximus
Forget all about the brutality and violence of ancient Rome by playing a happy chappy puzzle game! It used to be a PC game (no surprise there), but Cradle of Rome now wants to invade the DS, build an empire and bask in the magnificence of togas and sandals. It's a standard "swap colored tiles around to match three colors" puzzle game, but the goal is to collect resources from each tile in order to build Rome itself.A unique twist on a formula everyone is familiar with can't be all bad. You'll eventually be able to build, several historical monuments, including the Arch of Titus, the Temples of Venus and Saturn and everyone's favorite bloodbath, the Coliseum. Cradle of Rome is set for an October 10th release in Europe, but on account of Rome being a Europe-exclusive city and all, there's no word of a release in other regions. Well, that's probably not the reason it isn't coming to America, but it should be import-friendly all the same. The first screenies are awaiting a thumbs-up or thumbs-down in the gallery. Make your decision heard!%Gallery-27079%[Via press release]
Atlus grabs, renames Dungeon Maker for U.S. release
With Rising Star snatching publishing rights for Dungeon Maker, we knew that it was only a matter of time before a U.S. company announced that it would be localizing the game. Atlus has, with a wink, revealed that it will bring the RPG to North America this September 2nd along with a new and more cumbersome title -- Master of the Monster Lair. Quick details for those of you unfamiliar with the Global A Entertainment-developed series: Your character is armed with a magical, talking shovel which allows you to dig out a dungeon to attract monsters. The better your dungeon, the more monsters for you to kill. You can build over 20 different types of rooms, including chapels, cellars, stables, trash dumps, and more. Each room attracts different types of monsters and helps you pick up different items. You can trade dungeon designs and challenge your friends to run through your creations (local wireless). Hit the gallery below for new English screenshots and art!%Gallery-25001%
Dungeon Maker digs its way west this September [update 1]
We all owe Rising Star Games several evenings' worth of drinks at the bar, for without them we western folk may well have missed out on some potentially magnificent games.And here's another one! After its recent confirmation that Dungeon Maker was coming to Europe, the company has settled on a release date of September 19th (those of you in the states needn't despair; after all, Europe is one small import away), and whipped the covers off of the PAL boxart. Doesn't that golden shovel hint at amazing possibilities? What deadly traps will it help us lay? What rare and exotic monsters and treasures will it help us ensnare? We'll know soon enough![Update 1: First English screens! Hit the gallery!]%Gallery-25001%[Via press release]
R-Type Tactics targets Europe in September
For some reason, PSP games take a while to reach the European market. The upcoming release of Crisis Core, for example, is comically late compared to the Japanese and American releases. (At least Square Enix is making up for the tardiness through a number of great bonuses in the territory.)R-Type Tactics, Irem's strategy game for PSP, is finally announced for release in Europe. It will be available on September 26th, and will be distributed by Rising Star Games. The game is unlikely to be enhanced for its release there, but who knows? Maybe Rising Star will figure out a pre-order bonus as cool as Atlus'.%Gallery-3448%
Green game Ecolis now requires less green
With Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest already out in the U.S. and due for Europe on June 13th (interestingly, with the original Japanese title, Ecolis), there's no reason why anyone should import the Japanese game, right?Play Asia thinks differently and has marked down the environment-conscious RTS to an unbelievable $5! That's banoodles! Basically, starting today until next Tuesday, the game is now cheaper than most of the meals on Arby's menu! You could buy Ecolis/Eco-Creatures for less than the price of a chicken sandwich, a drink, and curly fries.Speaking of Arby's curly fries, how frickin' delicious are Arby's curly fries? Maybe you should go out and buy some anyway, that way you can eat them while playing Ecolis. It might cheer you up after hours of navigating the game's Japanese menus and frustrating controls.%Gallery-4106%
Flowers, Dungeons, and Pain confirmed for Europe
A new batch of European release dates has suddenly materialized from Nintendo, and is packed with all sorts of exciting confirmations. The most thrilling, for us at least, is the news that Flower, Sun, and Rain will be getting that rumored European release this October, followed by Lux Pain in November. If you want to know where to send your effusive "thank you" letters, Rising Star are the ones in charge of localizing both titles. Other items of interest include a specific launch date for Bakushow, and Euro versions of Pokémon Platinum (big surprise, right?) and Dungeon Maker.But here's a question: what's with DS Novel? It's been hanging around on these lists for the best part of eight months now, and we're still no nearer to learning a release date or what it even is. Check out the full list for yourselves past the break!%Gallery-12911%%Gallery-18526%
Flower, Sun, and Rain rumored for Europe
We're convinced that Rising Star is the best thing to happen to Europe since the Euro usurped the dollar (grumble). After the rumor that the company is localizing Lux Pain in the continent, Suda51's upcoming DS port Flower, Sun, and Rain also showed up on Amazon UK's website. If you haven't taken notice of this game, it's like Groundhog Day, only with less Bill Murray and more bomb on a plane.These Amazon UK listings better have some weight behind them, or the hearts of niche gamers in Europe will be broken. Won't someone think of the children? Gallery: Flower, Sun, and Rain [Via Siliconera]
Rumor: Rising Star bringing the Pain
Adventure aficionados take note: Amazon's UK site has Lux Pain down for release in the UK on November 8th, courtesy of Rising Star. Siliconera's eagle-eyed Spencer Yip spotted the listing for the title, which has players scratching away at the bottom screen to expose mysterious icons. We always loved the idea of the scratch mechanic, though Lux Pain's apparently text-heavy nature was something of a roadblock to us importing.Internet coverage of Lux Pain has suggested that Killaware's adventure follows Konami's Time Hollow a little too closely for comfort, but now that a western release for both looks likely, we'll be able to judge for ourselves!
Rising Star picks up Rune Factory for Europe
Chalk this one up in the "better late than never" category, Europe. Rising Star, niche game publisher extraordinaire, will be bringing Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon to the continent in September, only a year after the game came out in North America and two years after it first released in Japan. In case you're confused, yes, we mean the first Rune Factory, not the hopefully-soon-to-be-localized sequel.Still, for what it's worth, this blogger thoroughly enjoyed the game. Are any of you European Harvest Moon fans excited about this news, or has that ship sailed long ago?[Via press release]
Europe gets Baroque
We're impressed with Rising Star, who have been bringing a lot of niche games to Europe. The most recent one on the publisher's list is Baroque, which will be hitting the continent on June 27th. We're sure that Rising Star is hoping that the game will sell decently, but after seeing how it was received in Japan, the company might be a little worried. Of course, it can't do any worse than that ... can it?In any case, we're sure that at least some of you folks in Europe will be glad to get the chance to play Sting's hardcore roguelike on your Wiis. Gallery: Baroque [Via press release]
Europeans get to LOL with Bakushow
We won't bombard you with more details about LOL (we can really only LOL so many times in one day), but news just rolled in that Rising Star would be bringing the game to Europe. Instead of being called LOL, though, it will be titled Bakushow, which means "big laugh" in Japanese.There's no word yet on whether Rising Star will follow in Agetec's footsteps and make the game available online only, but even if it is available in stores, we're sure it won't be the easiest game to find. Rising Star also gently reminds us that "Billy No Mates need not apply," since this software includes no single player mode. You probably already knew that, but we just wanted an excuse to write "Billy No Mates."If that doesn't deter you, we've added some new screens to our gallery (for the love of all that is holy, we get it, you can ask people to draw pandas!) should you feel so inclined to check them out.%Gallery-18526%[Via press release]
River King: Mystic Valley heads on over to Europe
Rising Star announced today that they're bringing River King: Mystic Valley to Europe, a game that we're sure all you European folks have been aching for. More than likely, though, you haven't heard much about this title (which will be called Harvest Fishing over in Euroland). The game features touchscreen fishing, as well as a dramatic storyline (for a fishing sim).Your ultimate task is to rescue your sister, who has somehow fallen into an endless sleep. The only way to save her, though, is to find the River King, a big fish that knows what the cure is. As if that's not trippy enough, you also make friends with the magical creatures you encounter on your way to finding the big fella.A nice feature of the game is its online Wi-Fi, which allows you to have fishing tournaments with friends. The only problem is, though, that you may not know too many people who end up getting the title to make it worth it.In any case, should you be interested, River King/Harvest Fishing hits Europe in June (and the U.S. this April).%Gallery-19826%[Via press release]
Harvest Moon port probably still on the way to Europe
Back in April, Rising Star Games announced that Harvest Moon: Magical Melody, which never made it to the GameCube in Europe, would be released as a Wii game. This port hasn't been heard from in a while, and in fact had disappeared from Rising Star's website, leading Spencer Yip from Siliconera to think that the game had been cancelled. A representative from the publisher reassured him that the disappearance was due only to a website redesign, to which the link was accidentally not added. The spokesperson asserted that the game was on track for a March 2008 release.However, no correction seems to have been made, and Spencer was not actually provided with any link. Maybe they just made a snap decision to go ahead and release the game in response to Spencer's email. After all this time, will the game have some new content? Will it even have pointer controls?
No more blood in European version of No More Heroes
While we're glad that Rising Star will be distributing No More Heroes to Europe and Australia, some European (and yes, probably Australian) gamers might be peeved to know that the version of the game they get will be blood-free.Games Radar asked publisher Rising Star if this decision had anything to do with the recent Manhunt 2 BBFC fiasco, to which the company replied a telling, "Maybe."This certainly isn't the worst news in the world, and Japan is also playing the blood-free version, but we can understand if European gamers are a little disappointed by this development. Check after the break to see examples of the bloodless version versus the ridiculously bloody, Kill Bill-esque North American version.
Europe gets a little Contact
Better late than never, right? Rising Star Games has announced that they will release Grasshopper's RPG Contact in February of 2007 for Europe -- for those of you who haven't ordered it elsewhere by then. Despite lukewarm reviews, the game is getting its fair share of attention, so such a long delay before European release would be surprising ... if the DS hadn't lately been plagued by delays for the region. Sorry, guys. Just know that we love you equally!
