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XSEED pledges to release Ys: The Oath in Felghana in November
All done with Ys Seven? Soon, you can move on to ... Ys Three -- sort of. The next Ys to be released on PSP by XSEED is Ys: The Oath in Felghana, a more traditional top-down action-RPG version of the side-scrolling Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys. In a PlayStation Blog post, XSEED's Thomas Lipschultz announced a November release date for the remake. Lipschultz then compared the structure of Felghana to a Metroidvania game. "Now don't get me wrong here," he wrote, "I'm NOT claiming it's an open-ended nonlinear exploration-fest ... but it DOES follow the basic structure of this much-beloved action subgenre: you explore your surroundings, find new items or abilities, and use those to push on farther than you ever could before." Ys: The Oath in Felghana will be released in both a standard edition and limited edition, which includes a soundtrack CD and desktop calendar.%Gallery-104895%
Review: Ivy the Kiwi? (Wii)
Prope's Ivy the Kiwi? is a simple game. It has a simple story: a newborn chick, still half-stuck in an egg, searches for her mother. It has simple gameplay: draw vines on the screen to propel Ivy through mazes, avoiding enemies and hazards. But despite (or maybe thanks to) its simplicity, it thrives: the presentation is almost unfairly charming, and Ivy is just plain fun to manipulate in the world. Besides, for such a simple game, it's not easy.%Gallery-100202%
Ys Seven eases onto retail and PSN August 17
Finally, that 12.5" x 34" space in the "cloth map" area of your room can be filled. XSEED has announced the release date for the beautiful collector's edition of Falcom's action RPG Ys Seven -- as well as the PSN version, for those of you whose walls are already completely occupied by cloth maps.
Falcom games coming to PSP in Europe as downloads
In North America, XSEED is releasing a bunch of Nihon Falcom PSP games, including Ys Seven and several The Legend of Heroes games, on UMD, with Ys Seven getting the full limited-edition treatment. XSEED is also planning to provide Europe with a bumper crop of Falcom games -- in a convenient format. A comment left by XSEED on its Facebook page reveals plans to release the games in Europe as PSN downloads. The XSEED rep said that the releases would occur "shortly after the North American release, but a UMD release is unlikely in Europe." Unfulfilled desires for cloth maps aside, the PSN distribution method means a lot of new RPGs for Europe, and it means that XSEED is less likely to go bankrupt getting them there. The first game in the XSEED/Falcom partnership, Ys Seven, arrives in North America late this summer. %Gallery-96423%
Interview: Yuji Naka on Ivy the Kiwi and life after Sonic
Yuji Naka grew to fame within the game industry as one of the founders of Sega's Sonic Team, the core group of designers and programmers that created the Sonic the Hedgehog series. In his tenure at Sega, Naka produced titles like Phantasy Star Online, Chu Chu Rocket, and Samba de Amigo. He has since left Sega and formed his own company, Prope, who immediately began developing games to be published by ... Sega. Now, with Ivy the Kiwi?, Naka has emerged from the grasp of the great blue hedgehog, with a game published in Japan by Namco Bandai and in America by XSEED. We spoke to Naka about the design of the game, side-scrollers, and the unique circumstances behind seeing your own game on display in someone else's booth.
Preview: Ivy the Kiwi?
For some reason, I thought of Prope's Ivy the Kiwi? as a mellow title, a generally relaxing and lightweight game -- at least that's what I thought before actually playing the game. To my surprise, I was presented with a challenging, often chaotic arcade game instead of a frothy, low-impact diversion. It's just the kind of game I seek out, actually -- a game whose challenge comes from mastering a single, unique gameplay mechanic. %Gallery-95742%
XSEED and Nihon Falcom bringing six Ys and The Legend of Heroes games to PSP
PSP owners have a lot of RPGs to look forward to. XSEED has announced a new partnership with Nihon Falcom that promises to bring six new games for the North American audience. Ys Seven, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, and Ys I & II Chronicles will all arrive on PSP, with Ys Seven the first title to be released under this new agreement. According to the press release, Ys Seven is the first iteration of the long-running JRPG franchise to be built "specifically for the PSP system," promising "virtually no load times" -- a problem that has plagued many of Falcom's previous PSP efforts. In addition to Ys, XSEED will also be publishing the next three chapters of The Legend of Heroes saga (known as Sora no Kiseki in Japan). "I couldn't be more pleased to announce a partnership with a development studio as renown by gamers for consistently putting out quality titles as Falcom," Jun Iwasaki, President of XSEED Games, said in the press release. "Their titles have always been some of the most requested titles so it is going to be our pleasure to oblige the North American fans by delivering an amazing line up of in-depth and gripping RPGs."%Gallery-93055%
XSEED publishing Prope's 'Ivy the Kiwi?' this summer
click to see more screens?XSEED has acquired the North American publishing rights to Ivy the Kiwi? for Wii and DS, the latest game from Yuji Naka's post-Sega studio, Prope. The puzzle game, presented in a unique "storybook" art style, stars a baby kiwi trying to navigate her way back to her mother. The player uses the stylus or pointer to stretch vines to bounce Ivy through levels and around obstacles. Along the way, players can attempt to pick up optional orange feathers for extra challenge -- that is, if they don't mind keeping a baby bird separated from her mother even longer, the monsters. In Japan, the game was originally released on Windows Phone, with console releases published by Namco Bandai. XSEED is planning a "summer 2010" release -- there's still a question mark on the specific date. %Gallery-92221%%Gallery-92220%
Jikan de Fantasia lets you play as a more-than-Half-Minute Hero
It appears Jikan de Fantasia, a new RPG hitting PSP this summer in Japan, is taking some heavy inspiration from Half-Minute Hero. Makes sense, considering this new adventure is from Opus Studio, the same team responsible for Marvelous's quirky action RPG. Like its predecessor, Jikan de Fantasia blends hack 'n slash RPG gameplay with a time-bending twist. However, instead of condensing an RPG to thirty seconds, you can set the amount of time you want to spend. Have only five minutes on the subway? Have a thirty minute bus commute? You'll be able to set your own time limit, and the game will create an adventure that fits your schedule. According to Famitsu, Jikan de Fantasia deconstructs the core mechanics of an RPG, from leaving your hometown, meeting NPCs, and exploring dungeons to fighting a final boss, and reassembles them to create an experience that fits the time you want. For those that found the thirty second gameplay of Opus's last adventure a bit too manic, this experience should be far more compelling.
Lunar: Silver Star Story Harmony trailer turns back the clock
The game once called "not just the best Sega CD RPG ever, but one of the best on any Sega system" has eventually moved to almost all of the systems, as Lunar: The Silver Star has been remade and re-released on the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation, the PC, and even the GBA. And now here it comes again on the PSP as Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. This time around, the graphics have been given a complete makeover, and cutscenes have been added in, along with new voicework and music as well. Although going by the video above, XSEED might not have even bothered -- the new anime style turns a console RPG relic into something that looks like Ranma ½. But the gameplay is still there, and the story is a good one. Lunar: Silver Star Harmony should be out in stores on March 2nd, available both for $29.99 and as a limited edition for $39.99. %Gallery-80575%
Fragile Dreams gets a sturdy March 19 release in Europe
By way of Eurogamer, we know exactly when in Q1 Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon will release: March 19. The game will be published across the old world via Rising Star Games. Our own time spent with the title was pretty favorable, as we enjoyed its unique approach to the genre and ability to make us feel isolated, much like protagonist Seto. For the unaware, Fragile Dreams takes place in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where survivors are few. Seto, now alone after his mentor's passing, must go out into the world and brave the ghosts and remnants of humanity's past that litter the landscape. In an effort to pencil in a US release date, we pinged XSEED -- who could only say that it would arrive sometime in March. We'll let you know the date as soon as it's announced!
Say hello to a free soundtrack with Fragile Dreams
Fragile Dreams is sneaking into stores sometime this March, among a pile of enormous games. If you choose to pick up the XSEED-published adventure game, you can get a nice bonus with your pre-ordered copy, in the form of a CD soundtrack. The offer is exclusive to GameStop. In addition, XSEED announced in its latest press release that the North American version of the game will include a new "Extras" option that allows players to replay cutscenes, view concept art, and watch Japanese trailers.
Hands-on: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
I've never played a game quite like tri-Crescendo's Fragile Dreams for Wii. While, mechanically, it's a fairly standard action-adventure game – something like one of the PS2 Silent Hills with experience points – everything about the game contributes to a distinctive mood. Fragile Dreams is an exploration of quiet -- something few games ever have any room for. %Gallery-77517%
XSEED now publishing Samurai Shodown Sen
The odd swapping of games between Ignition Entertainment and XSEED continues. First, Ignition obtained the rights to Marvelous's Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Arc Rise Fantasia, both initially to be published by XSEED. Now, XSEED has announced that it will publish Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny on Xbox 360 -- a game that we played at Ignition's E3 booth. XSEED is publishing the fighter under the name Samurai Shodown Sen, with a release planned for sometime this spring. Along with Atlus's announcement that it's publishing Metal Slug XX, this move provides evidence that Ignition's co-publishing deal with SNK has ended.
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]
Half-Minute Hero finds time for Europe
If you've been following Joystiq, you should be familiar with Half-Minute Hero, the zany RPG in which the apocalypse threatens to arrive every thirty seconds. Rising Star Games is taking care of the European release of the game, which will be readied on February 12th, 2010. A press release describes Half-Minute Hero as a "love-letter to 8-bit classics," thanks to its retro inspired graphics. Disturbingly, Rising Star Games' Martin Defries says "it's a game which keeps on giving - but like an inexperienced teenager: 30 seconds at a time." We're not entirely sure what that's supposed to mean, but we would advise not keeping your kids around this guy.
Best of the Rest: JC's picks of 2009
Muramasa: The Demon Blade Muramasa appealed to me in a way that Odin Sphere didn't, thanks to an emphasis on combo-heavy sword action instead of planting and whatever. And the RPG elements that are left, like the sword upgrades and cooking, are not only fun, but simple enough that I can get right back into the game after a long break and still know what is going on. Also, I don't mean to be shallow, but the fact that Muramasa is the most beautiful game of 2009 helps me be positive about it.
Joystiq's Top 10 of 2009: Little King's Story
It seems like everyone who played Little King's Story fell in love with it. Unfortunately, almost nobody played it. It may have been too weird to attract a mass market, or too cute-looking to get the attention of people usually interested in strategy games. That cuteness, however, is what producer Yoshiro Kimura used to present some rather dark themes in a way that seems totally innocuous on the surface. Little King's Story almost forces the player to become attached to each individual unit -- every unit in your employ has a name, and is assigned to its job by you, the king. In addition, your soldiers will frequently fall in love, marry, and give birth to children. And when just one of your soldiers -- or chefs, or miners, or farmers, etc. -- dies, the whole town wears black in mourning, and many of the citizens attend the funeral service at the church. At first, you follow the "advice" of the experienced vet who recommends invading all the neighboring kingdoms. But, as you play the game and come to know your subjects, you realize that the other kings are more childish than malevolent, and the indigenous creatures are basically defending their own territory, and you begin to wonder just why you're sending all your townspeople, who were "Carefree Adults" before you met them, to their death in these missions. You feel guilty even as you're enjoying the gameplay. That dichotomy is the essence of Little King's Story. It's cute, but it's dark. The story is simple, but it inspires questions. It's one of the best games of the year, but nobody bought it. << Back | Comment | 9. Everybody loves donuts >>
Sky Crawlers release date crawls back a week
Did we say January 5? You're actually going to have to wait a little longer for The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces on Wii. XSEED has informed us of a new release date for the Project Aces-developed flight game: just one week later, on January 12, 2010 [edit: Corrected the date.] While that might not be the best news, the publisher also let us know the MSRP for the game: just $29.99. That's going to make it a lot easier for curious gamers to find room in the crowded Q1 for this somewhat niche game. %Gallery-67448%
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony gets 'definitive' Limited Edition
Has any game been remade and repackaged into "Limited Edition" bundles more often than Lunar: Silver Star? With the announcement of this special edition PSP package from XSEED, we think the answer is "no." The Limited Edition will include a UMD version of the game, soundtrack CD and a set of 13 "bromide" collector cards "highlighting the girls of Lunar." Oh, game publishing companies, you know what fans want. The press release calls this the "definitive version of Lunar: The Silver Star." That is, until the next time they decide to remake this game. The Limited Edition will cost $40, $10 more than the standard edition, and will release on PSP in Q1 2010.%Gallery-80575%
