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Two classic RPGs are being ported to a 1980s Sharp PC
'Ys I' and 'Ys II' are getting their ultimate ports: to a PC platform from 1987, complete with 3.5-inch floppies.
New Ys RPG announced for PS4, Vita
A new game in the Ys series was announced during Sony's pre-Tokyo Game Show 2014 press event today. The role-playing game is being created by Nihon Falcom, the series' longtime developers. It will launch in 2015 for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita.
Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky lands on Steam, out today
If you're unfamiliar with Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, that may be because Nihon Falcom's acclaimed PSP JRPG only headed West towards the end of the system's life cycle. The good news is there's now a new way of playing it, with the trilogy's first chapter coming to Steam later today, courtesy of XSEED. XSEED is also bringing follow-up Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter to North America on PSP and Steam, but that's gonna take a bit more time to arrive. According to the publisher, the best fans should hope for is "the end of the year." As for Trails in the Sky, its regular Steam price is $20 but there's a 15 percent first-week sale if you fancy dipping in early. For more on why it's worth a look, read this. [Thanks, Jason K!] [Image: XSEED]
Ys 5 fan translation released, full series now available in English
Falcom's 16-bit action-RPG Ys 5 has been localized and patched by the team of fan translators at Aeon Genesis, ending its long reign as the sole entry in the Ys series to never see an English-language release. Ys 5 debuted as a somewhat controversial game in 1995, arriving exclusively on the Super Famicom after a string of multiplatform releases. Ys 5 ditches the simplified enemy-ramming combat of earlier Ys games in favor of more traditional, Zelda-like fare, giving players more control over sword strikes and defensive maneuvers. Series enthusiasts previously localized the PC Engine version of Ys 4: The Dawn of Ys and its Super Famicom counterpart Ys 4: Mask of the Sun, and many other entries in the series were officially translated and released in North America. Ys 5 was never officially localized and a revised edition, Ys 5 Expert, also remained exclusive to Japan. A translation patch for Ys 5 is available at Aeon Genesis' website, and requires either an emulator or a Super NES flash cartridge to play. Falcom's most recent series entry, Ys: Memories of Celceta, was released last week for the PlayStation Vita in North America.
Ys: Memories of Celceta special edition priced, detailed
Xseed Games finalized its launch plans for the upcoming PS Vita action-RPG Ys: Memories of Celceta, revealing that a bonus-filled special edition will hit store shelves later this month. Celceta's $59.99 Silver Anniversary Edition includes a three-CD soundtrack featuring music from Falcom's long-running Ys series, along with a 120-page companion art book and strategy guide. Also included are a cloth map and a compass, ensuring that you'll never get lost in Celceta or in the real world. The regular edition of Memories of Celceta, priced at $39.99, will launch on November 26 at retail and as a PlayStation Network download. A European release is due next year.
The best JRPG you haven't played yet
This is a column by Jason Schreier dedicated to the analysis (and occasional mocking) of his favorite genre, the Japanese role-playing game. Whether it's because they're too antiquated or just too niche, he believes JRPGs don't get enough attention in the gaming industry today. It's time to change that. Every good game has moments of euphoria, those revelatory points in an interactive adventure when we realize just how much fun we're having. They're different for everyone – some of us might be enamored by a combat system or nutty plot twist while others might find themselves romantically attracted to a main character's hair spikes – but everybody feels them. These moments are usually short and ephemeral, showing up every once in a while just to remind us that we're enjoying ourselves. As a general rule, the more time we spend thinking "Wow, this is great," the better the game. When something really blows us away, we're aware of it the whole time. Few JRPGs blow me away nowadays. For a while, I figured this was because I am cranky and cynical. Maybe this genre just isn't for me anymore, I thought to myself. Maybe I'll never enjoy Japanese role-playing games as much as I did when I was growing up. Maybe I'll never reignite that bliss I felt when I first delved into games like Suikoden and Xenogears. Maybe I'm too old. Then I played The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky.%Gallery-119078%
Trails in the Sky finally flies to Europe on Nov. 4
Though Trails in the Sky has already been out in North America for long enough to be the subject of an Amazon Lightning Deal, European PSP owners are still waiting for this branch of Falcom's complicated family tree (unless they imported it). The wait is almost over: Ghostlight announced today that it will release Trails in the Sky in collector's edition format on November 4. The CE will include a soundtrack disc, along with a lovely turn-based role-playing game.
PSP Legend of Heroes sequel being updated for Vita
In addition to the new PSP Legend of Heroes game, the Vita remake of Ys IV, and another mysterious PSP project, Nihon Falcom has another game in store -- a Vita update of the PSP Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki (the second game in the PSP trilogy that started with Trails in the Sky). Zero no Kiseki Full Voice Version will have voice acting (obviously), though the new site specifies only "event scenes." It's likely to have other enhancements as well, as it's a collaboration between three companies: Falcom, Chara-Ani (which sells tie-in goods for games and anime), and Pyramid (a company that appears to assist with game development, with roles in the creation of the Patapon games and El Shaddai). Neither version of Zero no Kiseki has been announced for North America yet; hopefully Trails in the Sky publisher Xseed will just go ahead and license them both at once.
Falcom has another PSP project on the way before Vita's Ys
In the latest issue of Dengeki Playstation, Ys/Trails in the Sky developer Nihon Falcom reveals that it's working on yet another PSP game, even though it's moved on to the Vita for the next Ys game, Celceta Sea of Trees (based on Ys IV). Surprisingly, even though Celceta is due in Japan in spring 2012, this new project might be out before that, CEO Toshihiro Kondo said. That's even more surprising given that the new Legend of Heroes game, Trails of Blue, comes out in Japan on September 29. That means Falcom has enough manpower to work on three games simultaneously. You can check out the trailer for that new Vita Ys above. It isn't the most "HD" appearing game on Vita, but it's still nice to look at.
Amazon springs a round of game Lightning Deals on us
Surprise! Amazon just announced a bunch of video game Lightning Deals. We suppose they wouldn't be Lightning Deals if we could prepare for them. Find hints for all of them right here. If you're in the mood for a PSP role-playing game, get your wallet out post haste, because the first offer, at 1PM EST, is The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Specifically, it's the Limited Edition version for $27.99.
Falcom announces NGP launch RPG, Trails in the Sky sequel
Nihon Falcom, creator of the Ys and Dragon Slayer series, has ardently supported the PSP with games, and will continue this trend into the next generation. According to an interview with Dengeki PlayStation magazine summarized by Andriasang, Falcom is developing a new role-playing game for the NGP, for release in that system's launch window. Dengeki also announced a sequel to Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, a game that happens to be coming out on PSP in North America. The sequel's name translates to Legend of Heroes: Trails of Blue. If you'd like to read more -- a lot more -- about that series, we can help with that. [Image: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky]
Ys: The Oath in Felghana in stores and on PSN Nov. 2
XSEED has clarified the announced "November" release date for Ys: The Oath in Felghana -- and it's about as early in November as it can possibly be. If you're up for a classic top-down action RPG for your PSP, you can grab this remake on November 2. The special edition version (pictured) will be available from Amazon, GameStop, Videogamesplus.ca and "other fine retailers," and will include a soundtrack and desk calendar. The regular edition will be available in both UMD and download forms for $30.
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%
Preview: Ys Seven
XSEED's recent deal with Nihon Falcom means a truckload of role-playing games on PSP for us. The flagship product of the partnership is Ys Seven, the latest game in the long-running action RPG series and the first to be designed specifically for PSP. As someone whose experience with the Ys series can be described as "casual" at best -- I played the original Ys on a few different platforms -- I was pleasantly surprised to see the game evolve from the clumsy bumping-into-monsters adventure I remembered into an action RPG game that seems more than competent in the action department. %Gallery-96423%
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%
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%
Ys to return in MMO form
According to a press release picked up on Neoseeker, there's a brand new Ys game on the way -- and we're not talking about the Nintendo DS remake that is coming out next month. In a move that we can't help but compare to the evolution of the Final Fantasy series and FFXI, an upcoming Ys' title will stray from series' classic JRPG roots into the MMO world. The full name for the game looks to be Ys Online: Call of Solum at this time. The embedded Youtube video was posted back in May of last year so there's probably a lot more information already out there in Japanese, but this is really the first we've heard of it.From what Neoseeker translated of the press release, Ys Online is going to be free-to-play, and will be published by Key To Play and developed by Nihon Falcom, the creators of the original Ys games. Nihon Falcom has been in the business of making games for over two decades, but as far as we know, this will be their first crack at an MMO. We should be able to see how it's coming along shortly with a closed beta that is scheduled to begin this month -- we'll be keeping an eye on the game's website for sign-up information.
VC Tuesday: Pop-up Ping-pong
The Virtual Console releases are pretty slim this week in Japan, but still just unlikely enough to show up outside of Japan to make them super interesting. First, Smash Ping Pong, a Nintendo-published Famicom Disk System version of the arcade Konami's Ping Pong. There's something hilarious about playing retro sports games, with their archaic button controls, on the Wii. Maybe it's just us.The other game is one of the many entries in Falcom's Dragon Slayer series, Legend of Xanadu. It's a "ram into enemies" action-RPG like Ys -- and a side-scrolling RPG like Ys III. Smash Ping Pong (Famicom Disk System, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) Kaze no Densetsu Xanadu (PC Engine CD-ROM, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) WiiWare in Japan, like in the US, has a sudoku game, though it is a different one. @Simple Series Vol. 2 THE Number Place Neo is part of the super-budget WiiWare version of D3's famous Simple series. Milestone, developers of shooters like Karous and Chaos Field, contribute a poker-based falling-block puzzle game. But the most exciting release is no doubt Kurohige Kiki Ippatsu Wii, Takara Tomy's adaptation of the Pop-up Pirate toy that Chris raved about. @Simple Series Vol. 2 THE Number Place Neo (1 player, 500 Wii Points) Kurohige Kiki Ippatsu Wii (1-4 players, 500 Wii Points) Pokers Wii (1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) %Gallery-37658%
Atlus eyes Ys for DS in North America
Ys-y for you to say, eh? Eh? Atlus will bring the recent DS remakes of Nihon Falcom's flagship Ys role-playing series to North America on February 10, 2009. Even better, instead of releasing the two titles individually as they were sold in Japan, the publisher plans to bundle the games together as Legacy of Ys: Books I & II. Samuel Mullen, project lead for Legacy of Ys, tells Joystiq that the team "worked closely with the developer to offer both games, Books I and II, on a single DS cartridge." The package is a pint-sized version of Ys Eternal, which was released on the PC in Japan in 1997, and was itself a rehash of Turbo Duo classic, Ys Book I & II. The series has never garnered the same sort of cult status that it's enjoyed in Japan, but we nonetheless welcome the addition to our DS library, if only for the music (some of which can be heard in the video above) alone.
