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Eternal Sonata trailer plucks heartstrings
IGN has posted a new trailer of Eternal Sonata in preparation for E3 next month. We've made it no secret that we adore the eccentric premise of the game, and this trailer only serves to cement that belief. For those of you still unfamiliar with it, the game chronicles the final hours of composer Frederic Chopin. The catch, you see, is that Chopin is asleep and the game occurs inside the fever dream world of his final hours. As you might expect, Chopin's dream world has a lot of musical ties. More than that though, the game is simply gorgeous, something like Howl's Moving Castle in video game form. The game is scheduled to hit U.S. shores in September. We can't wait.
Gossipy Dragon Quest Swords screens
The latest batch of screens of Square Enix's rail-RPG Dragon Quest Swords focuses entirely on everyone's favorite part of any RPG: talking to townspeople. We don't know about you, but we were afraid the game would be all about swordfighting! Sometimes we rush through the tedious boss fights and story progression so we can get back to town and hear the single, repeated piece of information from every citizen. We just want to hear all about their lives. It reinvigorates us for more hours of grinding right outside of town!
Atari to bring Trusty Bell, AC6 to Europe
Our friends at Xboxygen report that Atari has signed a deal with Namco Bandai to publish both Trusty Bell -- known as Eternal Sonata in the U.S. -- and Ace Combat 6 in Europe. X3F readers will remember that Trusty Bell made a splash in the Japanese market last week, landing in the number 2 sales spot. The game tells the tale of a fantasy world -- actually the fever dream of a dying Frederic Chopin -- in dire straights, and it features many musical motifs. Ace Combat 6 is the latest entry in the long running Namco flight combat series, and is the first to appear on a non-Sony console. It's currently unknown if Atari plans to release the Ace Combat 6 flight stick controller bundle in Europe. Both games are expected to launch in Europe this fall.
Eternal Sonata Japan's 2nd best seller
Stop the presses, hold the phone, and list some clichés, because an Xbox 360 game has reached the number 2 spot on the Japanese sales charts. Yes, Eternal Sonata, known as Trusty Bell in Japan, clawed its way to the number 2 spot with 49,334 copies sold, beaten only by Practice by Observing: DS Observation Training for the DS. It is unclear how many copies sold were part of the Trusty Bell bundle we reported back in April. If you haven't been keeping track, the Xbox 360 hasn't really fared too well in Japan, so a number 2 game is a momentous occasion indeed. This becomes particularly apparent in light of the fact that Blue Dragon, developed by the creator of Final Fantasy himself, only managed to hit number 4 (though it actually sold more copies). We'll be keeping our eye out for the hardware charts to see if the Xbox 360 got a much needed boost last week as well. %Gallery-3661%
360's Eternal Sonata briefly tops Amazon Japan charts
While not a chorus of evidence that the Xbox 360 is on the way to acceptance in the Japanese market, news that the Japanese-developed RPG Trusty Bell (that's Eternal Sonata for those of us outside Japan) made it to the top spot on Amazon would seem to indicate some success for Microsoft's white box. This is reminiscent of two other highly anticipated Xbox 360 titles that managed to persuade unimpressed Japanese gamers to consider the Xbox 360: Blue Dragon and Gears of War. Though the title has since dropped from the number 1 to the number 3 place on Amazon's sales charts, we imagine the boys in Redmond are more saddened by the realization that -- at least according to the ESRB -- this erstwhile Xbox 360-exclusive is most likely going multiplatform. [Via X3F] %Gallery-2144%
Eternal Sonata No. 1 on Amazon Japan
The Xbox 360, to put it mildly, hasn't fared terribly well in Japan thus far. Routinely selling only a couple thousand units every week, the 360 needs a serious kick in the pants if Microsoft hopes to make even a modest dent in the Japanese market. For this reason, it's heartening to see an Xbox 360 game claw its way to the top of the Amazon Japan bestseller list. The game in question is the Namco Bandai RPG Eternal Sonata, known as Trusty Bell in Japan. It would seem that demand has crescendoed (get it?) before the game's launch, slated for June 14 according to Amazon Japan. Granted, Amazon is a fickle beast. The number one bestseller could change next week, tomorrow, or even in a couple of hours, but it's nice to see a 360 title beat out the PS2 and even the mighty DS. The only question now: does Eternal Sonata have the power to sell Xbox 360s in Japan? We'll know soon enough. [Thanks, alesul] %Gallery-3661%
DS Daily: Overabundance and dearth
The number of DS games given stateside release is now probably beyond 500 (we'd count up all the entries here but we're too lazy), but as in college campuses around the country, diversity can be a tricky beast. We've seen some great titles across the board, of course, but haven't you felt that the DS was a bit lacking in some areas, while watered down in others?The most obvious absentees are the general JRPG and fighting genres. RPG experiences themselves aren't too difficult to come by, but standard fare (outside of remakes) is a bit harder to find. By and large the best fighting game for the DS, Jump Superstars, has never even been localized. When it comes to puzzle and racing genres, however, we're flooded with low-polish trash. Which genres do you feel are over- or under-represented, and of which would you like to see more?
X3F hands-on: Eternal Sonata
If you're crafty enough to find it, an Eternal Sonata demo is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. We downloaded the demo yesterday and took it for a spin. First thing's first, the game is very pretty. While the geometry is actually very simple, the art style and the cel shaded characters are just jaw-dropping. The animation is well done and even the voice acting is decent (the demo features full English dialogue and menus). The big question is: how does it play? Read on to find out.
Joystiq interviews Odin Sphere's Bill Alexander
Odin Sphere evokes an odd sense of unwavering tradition. Everything about it appears to be old-fashioned, meticulously crafted and heavy. It's the dusty painting hanging in a cluttered museum compared to next-gen's LCD television mounted on a pretentiously bare wall. That's the impression you're left with after first encountering Atlus' "traditional" action RPG for the PlayStation 2. But you've been fooled. When you weren't looking, the flashy television and the painting traded places.That isn't to say Odin Sphere completely reinvents the role-playing genre -- the game has its fair share of ancient artifacts, warring nations and apocalyptic scenarios -- but its delicately crafted and strikingly beautiful approach seems in sharp contrast to what has become our own modern tradition of manufactured glitz. The game shuns the third dimension, telling its tale with bold 2-D artwork and gorgeous sprites. Gone are science fiction trappings and effervescent dialogue, replaced with Shakespearean drama and criss-crossing character arcs.Giving the characters their English voices is Atlus, a publisher which has made localizing unusual Japanese games its tradition. We spoke with Odin Sphere's project lead, Bill Alexander, about the crucial translation process.%Gallery-3133%
Revenant Wings and DQM: Joker get tentative NA dates
If you've been dying to know when Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings would be soaring onto your DS, then take heart: we at least have a release window now. The game is scheduled to make its way to North American gamers this winter. Considering it was just released in Japan, the wait isn't terribly long. Plenty of time to run through Final Fantasy XII again, if you're so inclined! It's been a much longer wait for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, which is also slated for later this year, though the game was released last December in Japan. Square Enix wants all our money this holiday season, and with games like these, they just might get it. [Via press release]
Japanese Eternal Sonata demo works in U.S.
Find yourself hankering for a whimsical, musical adventure? If so, we hope you didn't delete all those incredibly legitimate foreign Xbox Live accounts from your beloved 360. You see, a demo for Trusty Bell (Eternal Sonata in the States) has landed on the Japanese Marketplace. Now, considering Microsoft's recent crackdown (no, not that Crackdown) on foreign content downloading, this shouldn't really be big news. That's all well and good, but it turns out that the demo works just fine on U.S. consoles. Even better, it features full English dialogue and menus. Why does it work? Why isn't it blocked by Microsoft's newfangled security measures? Our guess is that the security measures are mostly a one-way affair. In other words, they are for keeping U.S. content in, and not for keeping non-U.S. content out. Whatever the reason is, we suggest all of our RPG-starved readers get to downloading. Any luck downloading this for our European friends? [Via Joystiq]
'Japan-only' Eternal Sonata demo works in U.S.
Let's say, just for kicks, that you were the type that really wanted to play the demo for the upcoming RPG Eternal Sonata. Let's say, again, that you hear that the demo was now on Xbox Live, but it was only for gamers in Japan. Now you have, well, let's call him a Japanese friend that will let you use his Xbox Live account for things like this, only you heard that scam arrangement wouldn't work anymore. Well, call your "friend" and get his permission: U.S. gamers have been playing the thing all morning. What's more? The demo offers full English menus and dialog. Far be it from us to look a gift demo in the mouth, but isn't this the sort of thing that was supposed to not happen anymore? Was there some part of "you will find that these new security measures will only allow you to purchase and download content that is licensed in the country where you are located" that we misunderstood? Again, we're not complaining, we're all about one planet united under games. We're just curious what changed along the way.
Eat this! You never had a chance against my swords!
We love the gameplay of Tales games: the real-time battles certainly make for some intense clashes. Tales of the World looks to be just as fun as its console counterparts, but we're concerned about one thing: voice acting. The new videos posted on IGN might look good, but they certainly don't sound too pleasing. The one-liners that the characters spew every time they say an attack became tiresome even within this tiny clip. Please, Namco Bandai: let us turn off the voices, okay?
Last Remnant: simultaneous 360/PS3 release in US, Japan
As a sign of the West's growing importance in the global video game landscape (we are pretty important, if we don't say so ourselves), Square Enix's Last Remnant will not only be coming out on the Xbox 360 as well as the PS3 (as suspected), but will see a simultaneous release in both the US and Japan -- a Square Enix first. So, this "reach out to American gamers" not only features a new type of "dark hero" -- a first for a Square Enix RPG and something that US gamers will ostensibly appreciate -- but it will also use the US-developed Unreal Engine 3, launch simultaneously on a US-owned console, and actually come out day and date in ... the US! It's a beautiful thing. No, we mean it. The Last Remnant screenshots are beautiful.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Dragon Quest IX ditches the Wi-Fi Connect?
Apparently, a couple of scans from the latest Famitsu over at Jeux-France showcase new screens for the upcoming Square Enix romp Dragon Quest IX., but portray the omission of a very important game feature: Wi-Fi Connect compatibility. Well, perhaps that's a bit of an overstatement, as the article apparently does say that Wi-Fi will be used "for something else" aside from what we would normally expect it to include (co-op gameplay, versus multiplayer etc.). That isn't to say this is all set in stone, though. The page has been translated by an individual (registration required) over at The Platformers, so we're mainly going on their translation (darn our inability to read Japanese!). [Via The Platformers]
Mastiff floods retail chain with budget copies of Gurumin
Remember the Deal of the Day we had over a week ago? We reported that the cutesy beat-em-up RPG Gurumin was available for $20. Well, it looks like that's no longer a Gamestop-specific deal: the game has officially become a budget title.Mastiff is flooding the retail chain, alleviating previous "supply issues" the title was facing. The publisher is hoping that by lowering the price, and increasing the title's availability during Sony's aggressive PSP marketing, it will be able to gain an even larger audience for the niche title. "Between the increased availability and the economical price, RPG fans should now have no trouble getting their hands on Gurumin," said Bill Swartz, "Head Woof" (we're not kidding) of Mastiff.PSP Fanboy previously reviewed the title, awarding it with a 7.5.
1UP previews Eternal Sonata
1UP has posted a video discussion about Eternal Sonata, the upcoming RPG from Namco Bandai. Not too many new details are revealed, though we do learn a few things about the game's plot and a few tidbits about the combat engine. The plot revolves around a group of young heroes trying to put a stop to the machinations of one Count Waltz (waltz, get it?). The local forest is being destroyed by a mining operation digging for mineral powder. It seems that this powder is a miracle cure, similar to a floral powder already in use. However, Waltz has decreed that mineral powder shall be exempt from taxation, effectively killing the market for floral powder. The catch is that mineral powder actually makes people dangerously psychotic. Naturally, our heroes are out to get to the bottom of things.
Japanese Dragon Quest Swords boxart
When anything at all happens related to a Dragon Quest game, we pay attention. Therefore, we felt that the newly-released Japanese boxart for Dragon Quest Swords was worth posting. Take an early look at something that's going to be in pretty much every Japanese home after July 12th! The boxart looks pretty nice, actually. We appreciate it when publishers put actual hand-drawn art on the cover instead of action poses of the main character's 3D model. Especially when it's Akira Toriyama art, which we continue to like despite Dragon Ball Z.
Ask PSP Fanboy: Volume 18
Every Saturday, PSP Fanboy will answer your burning questions. If you have a question for the team, send an e-mail to andrew @ pspfanboy.com with the subject "Ask PSP Fanboy." NOTE: We do NOT answer questions related to downloading illegal copies of games. Stop asking.Q: Is there anything that utilizes the PSP's infrared functionality?A: There are no games that take advantage of PSP's infrared functionality. However, there are a few homebrew programs that do. For example, piKey lets you use a keyboard with your system. You can also transmit data and turn your system into a universal remote.Q: Will there be any original JRPGs on PSP besides tactics RPGs and action RPGs?A: It's true that PSP will be receiving many tactical and action RPGs, from Wild Arms XF to Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. However, let's not forget that PSP is home to Monster Kingdom and The Legend of Heroes series. Brave Story should fit the bill nicely. Dragoneer's Aria looks pretty interesting as well. If you're interested in farming, Harvest Moon will be coming out soon as well. Two tiny little questions after the break.
Etrian Odyssey is 'the last great turn-based RPG'
Etrian Odyssey director Kazuya Niinou has been posting fascinating, and disarmingly honest, blog entries on the game's official website. The fourth page was just posted, and contains a rather bold statement: "So I've decided! Etrian Odyssey will be the last great turn-based RPG." This was a reaction to the rumors of Dragon Quest IX going action-RPG-- rumors that turned out not to be true. While we admire Niinou for his confidence that his game is good enough to exemplify a genre (confidence that increases our frothing demand for the game significantly), we're afraid Etrian Odyssey is going to continue to face stiff competition from Dragon Quest. And we doubt that any number of awesome blog posts will put down that particular cultural phenomenon.
