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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.
Humble Weekly Bundle collects Ys Origin, Gigantic Army, Astebreed
The latest Humble Weekly Bundle sets its sights on Japanese developers, offering up a collection of games from Falcom, Edelweiss, and other standout creators. All bundle buyers receive copies of the off-kilter apartment management sim Unholy Heights, autoscrolling roguelike One Way Heroics, and the Cybernator-inspired side-scrolling mech shooter Gigantic Army. Pay $6 or more and you'll also get Falcom's action-RPG Ys Origin, Zenith Blue's hack-and-slash action game Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae, and Q-Games' search-and-rescue shoot-'em-up PixelJunk Shooter. Pitching in $10 or more will also unlock Astebreed, the latest Steam release from Ether Vapor Remaster creator Edelweiss. Humble Weekly Bundle: Japan Edition is available through August 14. [Video: Humble Bundle / Falcom]
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: Memories of Celeta coming to European Vitas in February
NIS America has set a date for its upcoming European launch of Falcom's PlayStation Vita action-RPG Ys: Memories of Celceta, announcing that the game will hit store shelves on February 21. A digital release via PSN will follow on February 25. Memories of Celceta reached North American shores last month, marking the long-running series' first appearance on the Vita. A Silver Anniversary Edition accompanied the launch, offering up a soundtrack collection and other bonus trinkets. While many Ys games never saw an official release outside of Japan, dedicated fans have localized many previously-untranslated sequels in recent years. Following the release of a translation patch for Ys 5 earlier this month, every core series entry is now localized and accessible for English-speaking fans.
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.
Ys: Memories of Celceta launches for PS Vita in Europe next year
NIS America announced that it will publish Falcom's PlayStation Vita action-RPG Ys: Memories of Celceta in Europe early next year. Celceta marks the latest entry in the long-running Ys series, which spans multiple decades and several console generations. Memories of Celceta revisits characters and events introduced in the Japan-exclusive Ys 4, offering players an expansive overworld to explore alongside a party of AI-controlled partner characters. Xseed Games will publish the North American version of Ys: Memories of Celceta on November 26. A European release date has not been announced.
Trails in the Sky coming to Steam, Carpe Fulgur translating sequel for PSP and PC
Indie localization studio Carpe Fulgur (Recettear, Fortune Summoners) is heading up an English translation of Falcom's JRPG Trails in the Sky SC for a PSP and Steam release in 2014, the team announced today. The project is developed in collaboration with XSEED Games, who previously published a localized version of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for the PSP in North America in 2011. "This marks many things for us: our largest and perhaps most 'important' game to date, the proper realization of the other half of our business model, and the end of our long silence," Carpe Fulgur founder Andrew Dice explains. Dice notes that the commercial success of the Ys series on Steam paved the way for Trails in the Sky SC's localization. "Though [Carpe Fulgur] did not participate directly in the localization of [Ys: The Oath In Felghana], I, myself, did have a small hand in making that release happen," he writes. "Getting Felghana, and its siblings, onto Steam to help prove a market even existed for a product like SC was pivotal to the project moving forward. There were so many pitfalls that the project could have faced that announcing it would have been, until very recently, premature." The series will launch on Steam as "two separate, back-to-back installments," publisher XSEED notes. A port of the first entry in the Trails in the Sky series will hit PC platforms this winter.
XSEED Games Ys-es into Steam market
XSEED is beginning to publish PC games for Steam, starting with a pair of Ys remakes. Ys: The Oath in Felghana will be available for purchase on March 19 for $14.99. It's coming out a while after the PSP version here, but in Japan this PC release predated the PSP by about five years.Perhaps even more exciting is Ys Origin, a prequel game that never got an official English release. XSEED plans to put that out on Steam at a later date.If you've never played an Ys game before, think old-school Zelda with more storyline. And even though Felghana is technically the third game in the storyline, you won't be lost if you jump in there. Basically, all you need to know is that Adol Christin is a really nice guy who will solve everyone's problems and kill everyone's monsters.%Gallery-150671%%Gallery-150669%
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.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky flying high after shipping 200,000 units
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky was first released on PSP for Japan in October 2006, and for North America in March of this year, and has since steadily soared to 200,000 units shipped. Trails in the Sky began with a humble shipment of only 30,000, solidifying the game's status as an unexpected hit. Not to be outdone, the upcoming sequel, titled Trails of Blue, has passed 200,000 pre-orders in advance of its September release in Japan.
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]
XSEED explains The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky's family history
click to embiggen A few weeks ago, we asked NIS America to explain the semi-inscrutable title of Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel. Having had our minds expanded by that new knowledge, we then went looking for more games with absolutely crucial information you (and we) might not know. And that's The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Unbeknownst to most gamers, the PSP RPG is part of a very long, very populous series -- one with dozens of games, spinoffs, and even spinoff series. In fact, it's distantly related to the NES's Faxanadu and Legacy of the Wizard. In response to our query, Tom Lipschultz, localization specialist for publisher XSEED, dropped an unprecedented amount of RPG history on us. If you'd like to know more about Trails in the Sky's lineage than you thought possible, read on.%Gallery-119078%
Yes, more Ys is coming to PSP
The Ys series gets around. Primarily a PC-based franchise, Falcom's action-RPG series is ported to everything that can play games in Japan. It appears on the PSP in the form of Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim, Ys I&II Chronicles, and (soon) Ys VII. Yet another Ys game is migrating over to PSP, as Falcom announced that Oath in Felghana, a port of the PC game of the same name (pictured), will be released in Japan on April 22, with upgraded controls, voiced "events," and the ability to switch between versions of the soundtrack.Oath in Felghana is a remake of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys, swapping out that game's unusual side-scrolling gameplay for the traditional Zelda-esque Ys style.
Ys sequel and remakes coming to PSP
Falcom loves the PSP. So much, in fact, that it announced two games for the PSP. The first is yet another remake of Ys I & II, subtitled Chronicles. According to andriasang, he PSP version will be based off the 2001 PC remake but will include new visuals and music.In addition to a revival of these classic RPGs, Falcom is also planning a brand new Ys game, Ys VII, which continues the story set in the PSP game Ark of Napishtim. Both Adol and Dogi will return, with a twist, in this first Ys game to feature a party system. Perhaps the game will take some inspiration from Monster Hunter?
Ys Seven might be coming to PSP, PS2
Falcom announced two new games at a fan event in Tokyo over the weekend: Ys Seven and Ys I & II Chronicles. According to Dengeki Online, Ys Seven will feature series hero Adol again, and will follow the story of the "Five Great Dragons of Altago." It's expected to hit Japan sometime this fall. As for Ys I & II Chronicles, not much is known about it, but it could be another remake like the recent Legacy of Ys: Books I & II for DS. That one will be out in Japan by summer. IGN suspects that Ys Seven might be a game for Sony platforms, seeing as the title will be featured in an upcoming issue of Dengeki PlayStation magazine. Falcom did release Ys: The Ark of Nephistim on PSP and PS2 back in 2006, so it's not too much of a long shot to see the next in the series appear on either system (or both).
A fitting legacy for your Legacy of Ys preorder
Preorder perk ahoy! For the February 10 launch of Legacy of Ys Books I & II, Atlus will be offering jammy U.S. and Canada-based gamers a sweet preorder bonus: a limited edition soundtrack CD, featuring tracks from both Ys I and Ys II. As far as we know, this will be available at Amazon and GameStop. The revised translation for this DS remake had already roped us in, but now we're counting down the days hours minutes. As the press release we received notes, the Ys series is renowned for having wonderful music. If you're new to the series, you can head to this part of Atlus' website to listen to a few samples for yourself. %Gallery-9296%[Via press release]
Brandish remake headed for the PSP
Falcom is remaking old school action RPG Brandish for the PSP, according to Dengeki Online. The game made its original debut in Japan on the PC, but Americans will be most familiar with the Super Nintendo port released in 1995. The PSP remake is renamed Brandish: The Dark Revenant , and puts you in the shoes of a swordsman named Ares who ends up in a multi-level dungeon with a scantily-clad sorceress chasing after you.This blogger actually owns the game on the SNES, but didn't finish it due to the awkward controls and steep learning curve -- hopefully this 3D remake will address those issues. The game will be released in Japan on March 19th -- Siliconera reports that Atlus is in talks currently working with Falcom, so we might actually see this in your neck of the woods.[Via Siliconera -- thanks, David B.!]
A new Legacy of Ys translation
Atlus may have just given us another reason to buy the DS Legacy of Ys Books I & II instead of (or in addition to) just dropping $8 for the Virtual Console version: for the first time since that release, the games will have a new official translation. Given that Atlus does better localizations than most companies now, they are almost guaranteed to do a better job than circa-1990 NEC.In a press release, project lead Sam Mullen said "We're not taking this lightly, but we also see this as an opportunity to give the game a 21st-century localization, a new script to match the game's remade features."We rather like the idea of carefully-considered text in the classic action RPG! Wander into our gallery for new screens of this new-ish game.%Gallery-9296%
DS Daily: Ys or no
Atlus will publish Interchannel's DS remakes of the endlessly remade first two Ys games to North America next year. Japanese gamers are pretty familiar with Falcom and their venerable ARPG series, but it never really caught on outside of Japan, despite a decent number of releases making it over here on the Sega Master System, Turbografx-16 CD-Rom, Super NES, and other systems.How familiar are you with Ys? Did you pass over the Virtual Console release in anticipation of the announcement of this DS game? Did that recent release pique your curiosity about the series? Or has Atlus's involvement gotten your attention? Alternately, you love these two games so much that you'll pick them up on every available system?[Wallpaper found here]
