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ESRB dreams up Klonoa: Door to Phantomile on PS3 and PSP
When we saw this news, our giant wing-like ears flapped in excitement and we exclaimed in a nonsensical language. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, one of the PlayStation's best (and only) side-scrollers, is going to be released on PSN via PSOne Classics. That is, of course, assuming that's why the ESRB rated the game for PS3 and PSP. It's a pretty safe assumption. If you don't want to wait for the Wind Bulleting, enemy-grabbing action to hit PS3 and PSP, Door to Phantomile is also available in a more modern form -- it was remade for Wii.
Parasite Eve 2 rated for PS3 and PSP by ESRB
The first Parasite Eve was released on PSN as a PSOne Classic on March 15, two weeks before The 3rd Birthday continued the series on PSP. Now, long after any hype for The 3rd Birthday has evaporated, Parasite Eve 2 is set to appear on PSN. The ESRB has rated Parasite Eve 2 for PSP and PS3, indicating an intent to re-release the game on those two platforms at some point in the future. Whoever did the new rating decided to alter the content warnings from "animated blood and gore" and "animated violence" to just "blood and gore" and "violence." Regardless of the wording, the "mature" rating holds.
Brawling and BBQ in this week's PSN imports
With the PSN back in action, MonkeyPaw Games can resume its task of publishing weird Japanese PlayStation games. It's announced two new (to us) games coming this week, one beat-em-up and one ... grill-em-up. Rapid Angel (or, in full: Kaisoku Tenshi The Rapid Angel) is an anime-style side-scrolling brawler, originally released in 1998, featuring (Japanese) voice acting and a weird two-player mode that puts the second player in the role of a flying "angel" that supports the first player. Yakiniku Bugyou is a game that would have sounded much stranger back in the PS1 days, pre-Cooking Mama: it's a game in which you place meat on different areas of a grill to cook to different heat levels, in order to satisfy customers who have very specific tastes. Both will be in the PSOne Imports store today, for $5.99 each.%Gallery-127756%%Gallery-127755%
Final Fantasy V rated by ESRB for North American PSN release
After brutally taunting us by releasing the job-centric RPG in Japan and announcing it for Europe, an ESRB rating has revealed that Square Enix is bringing Final Fantasy V to the North American PSN. The game is something of an oddity for the series, having never made it to the U.S. in its native SNES format -- it only came stateside as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology, and as the expanded GBA title Final Fantasy V Advance. Between this, Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, we've got a lot of Square Enix PSOne Classics to look forward to -- now we just have to wait for the PlayStation Store to fling open its long-shuttered doors.
Capcom: Mega Man Legends can't come to PSN due to licensing
During the latest installment of the "Ask Capcom" video series, Capcom USA vice president Christian Svensson single-handedly shot down any hopes of Mega Man Legends coming to the PSOne Classics storefront before the arrival of the series' third installment. Svensson replied to a fan inquiring about the possible PSN port, saying, "unfortunately Legends isn't going to be able to be up there; it failed an I.P. sweep and a contract check." Svensson explained that certain games in the Capcom library use intellectual properties and voice acting performances which the company no longer has the licensing rights to use. Svensson said Capcom avoids re-releasing these titles "due to historical litigation or fear of potential future litigation." Part of us totally understands, but another part of us just wishes they'd get some super-lawyers and figure this thing out. We like to call that particular part of ourselves "The Part that Really Wants to Play Mega Man Legends Again."
Final Fantasy 6 rated by ESRB for PSP and PS3
We admit -- we might have gotten our dander up a little too quickly following Final Fantasy 6's release in Japan on PSN. We've just been hurt so many times before by Square Enix's Japanese PSOne Classics re-releases, which tend to take a while to come stateside, provided they ever come at all. However, we've got hope for the series sixth, Esper-filled installment: The ESRB recently rated Final Fantasy 6 for U.S. release on PSP and PS3. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean the game's going to come out next week, but it practically ensures that we'll be able to grab it from the PlayStation Store at some point in the future. While we wait for an official release date, why not join us in trying to remember exactly what kind of "Partial Nudity" is featured in Final Fantasy 6? Maybe that's a reference to Ultros? We guess he's totally naked throughout the entire game, but at the same time, he's an octopus. That kind of behavior is to be expected.
Chrono Trigger rated for PSP and PS3
Square Enix's pretty-much-the-best-game-ever Super Nintendo RPG Chrono Trigger has the distinct disadvantage of being, as aforementioned, pretty much the best game ever and, simultaneously, pretty expensive in its native SNES format. Fortunately, the game's not too pricey on the DS, but that might not be the only platform to grab it on the cheap in the near future -- the ESRB has rated Chrono Trigger for release on PS3 and PSP. The ESRB listing doesn't provide any additional details about the title, but if we were betting men, we'd say it's the PS1 re-release that was included in the Final Fantasy Chronicles collection (to be distributed through PSN as a "PSOne Classic"). If we were men who were really bad at betting, we'd say it was some kind of magical Direct X11 remake, chock-full of social networking features and support for 3D TVs.
Final Fantasy V on Japanese PSN this week, also coming to Europe
PSN will see a re-release of a re-release of Final Fantasy V in Japan this week. Square Enix's Shinji Hashimoto announced the PSOne Classics release -- compatible with PS3 and PSP -- of the PlayStation port of the Super Famicom RPG a couple of months ago, and revealed the April 6 release date today on Twitter. Square Enix Members then confirmed that the downloadable RPG will be released in Europe as well, though the release date for Europe's battle against Exdeath is much less definite. "We'll be announcing the release date closer to the time, but we thought you might like to know that the game is currently being arranged for a release."
Legend of Mana hits PSOne Classics this week
Somehow, Square Enix seems to have been convinced to actually release its old games on PSOne Classics. Last week's Parasite Eve is being followed with another gem out of the company's back catalog this week: Legend of Mana. The sidequest-heavy, somewhat open-ended Legend, which allows players to use "Artifacts" to create and then explore in-game areas, may not have been as well-received as the SNES's Secret of Mana, but it's certainly not a bad game either. And it's much better suited for PSOne Classics release anyway, since it was a PlayStation game.
Vagrant Story re-told on PlayStation Network tomorrow
Xenogears last week ... Vagrant Story tomorrow ... and Parasite Eve soon. It seems the gears are finally in motion to bring all of Square's beloved "PSone Classics" to the PlayStation Network. (Still, North America has a long way to go before reaching Japan's lofty 600-game benchmark.) Vagrant Story will be available for $6 on the PlayStation Store once the PSN Tuesday update goes live tomorrow.
ESRB rates Parasite Eve for PS3 and PSP
It looks like the North American PSOne Classics selection will get a little closer to catching up to the Japanese store soon -- and in the category that really counts: vintage Square RPGs. An ESRB rating has popped up for a PlayStation 3 and PSP release of Parasite Eve. Square Enix hasn't said when the action RPG will be available; however, the mitochondria in our brains are telling us that we can likely expect it around the March 29 release of The 3rd Birthday on PSP. It was released about a month in advance of that PSP game in Japan. [Thanks, Brian]
PSN classics archive numbers over 600 games ... in Japan
Sony recently celebrated the considerable size of its "Game Archives" on the Japanese PlayStation Store, which now warehouses more than 600 titles of yesteryear. Siliconera took note of the achievement (er, Trophy?), pointing out that the collection spans a modest assortment of TurboGrafx-16 and Neo Geo games, but for the most part it's made up of PS1 titles. Comparatively, the North American Store carries a considerably lighter load of 127 "PSOne Classics," 13 "PSOne Imports" and 10 Neo Geo games, according to our count. The EU Store is lighter still with just 96 Classics and 10 NeoGeo titles. So, yeah, Sony's a little behind on hitting that 7,000 milestone (by the end of 2007), but it's complicated, right?
Xenogears mechs its way to PSOne Classics this week
Just when we were about to give up on Square Enix, melting all our intricate Final Fantasy figurines in protest of the company's lack of offerings on the North American PSN, we receive a ray of hope. PlayStation Blog has announced that Xenogears -- which has been available on the Japanese PSN since June 2008 -- will arrive on the U.S. PlayStation Store with its next update this coming Tuesday. We'll still need a few more PSOne RPGs to come our way before we stop being so totally mad at Square Enix -- but if memory serves, Xenogears is something of a lengthy affair. Maybe it'll be enough to distract us from our unbridled rage for a month or two.
Ridge Racer Type 4 coming to PSOne Classics
To celebrate the upcoming Ridge Racer 3D on 3DS and Ridge Racer Unbounded on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, Namco Bandai is digging into its catalog and giving a classic Ridge Racer a second lap around the track. Ridge Racer Type 4, originally released in North America in 1999, will be available on the PlayStation Store next month, playable on both PSP and PS3. Unfortunately for those of you who want the true Ridge Racer Type 4 experience, neither the PS3 nor PSP will allow you to connect your JogCon controller. You won't be able to have the realistic feeling of driving a car using a small dial.
Final Fantasy V announced for PSOne Classics (in Japan, of course)
Just when the U.S. was starting to approach parity with Japan in the arena of Final Fantasy titles on the PSOne Classics platform, we go and hear this: According to Andriasang, Final Fantasy V has been announced for PSN in Japan. The title is slated to launch this spring as a promotion for DISSIDIA 012[duodecim] FINAL FANTASY, which has a Japanese release date of March 3. The game will be the upgraded PSOne version of the SNES RPG, which received a standalone release in Japan but came to North America as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology. Of course, it probably won't make the trip stateside this time around -- though Sony has explained the reasons why PSOne Classics releases differ from country to country, it's clear that they straight cold hate us.
PSA: PSOne Classics Pocket Fighter is PS3-only
If you're about to buy the new PSOne Classics release Pocket Fighter to enjoy on the go, wait! Reader Letters2Kay found out that, unlike every other PSOne Classics release (as far as we know), Pocket Fighter is only compatible with PS3. A PlayStation Blog commenter also pointed out the restriction, and we've verified it for ourselves. Only a PS3 icon is displayed on the PS3 XMB when the game is highlighted, and you don't even have the option to "copy" the game to PSP that is normally available for PSOne games saved on the console. Pocket Fighter doesn't even show up in the PlayStation Store when viewed on PSP. It's not a control issue, since Pocket Fighter doesn't use any of the PlayStation shoulder buttons in gameplay, much less the two missing from the PSP. We're contacting Capcom to find out about this uncommon restriction. [Update: Chris Kuspis from PSN Stores pointed out that Pocket Fighter isn't the first game with this restriction. Motor Toon Grand Prix and Delta Force: Urban Warfare are both PS3-only, as are several Japanese releases.]
Sony explains the discrepancy in PS1 content between regions
Few things in this world make us angrier than the blatant inequality between the PSOne Classics catalog in the various territories said catalog is available. Sure, each region has titles which the others don't -- we're still waiting on, like, a billion Square Enix games -- but it still hurts our heart, you know? Sony's Ross McGrath recently popped into PlayStation.Blog to explain how easy it is for these games to get hung up, whether it's due to an expired license, PAL-to-NTSC compatibility or the existence of game-wrecking bugs. McGrath added, "In some cases the original publisher of the game in the US is not the same publisher as in Europe, so publishing rights need to be secured," which some publishers aren't willing to invest in. Doesn't sound like there's much Sony can do about those -- however, the PSOne Classics emulator is constantly being updated, which should help a few of the platform's buggier titles become eligible for some trans-continental voyages. Related note: The amount of money we would give Sony for a downloadable version of Vagrant Story has reached $80. That's where we're at.
Arc the Lad 3 brings the trilogy full-triangle today
If you've already chewed through the second, recently released installment of the Arc the Lad trilogy, then first and foremost, we need to talk about your RPG consumption habits. Those RPGs aren't going anywhere, you know! Take your time. Savor it. Secondly, you'll be pleased to learn that the final installment in the trilogy will arrive on the PSOne Classics storefront later today, priced at $5.99. Like the other two games in the series, Arc the Lad 3 has been ported by MonkeyPaw Games. Hopefully, its release means that Xenogears, Legend of Mana and Vagrant Story -- all of which were ESRB rated at the same time as Arc 3 -- aren't too far away. Though you'll probably just beat them all in a few days, anyway, you mutant.
Vagrant Story, Xenogears, and more rated for PS3 and PSP release
For over a year, we in North America have been taunted by the presence of Yasumi Matsuno's PlayStation masterpiece Vagrant Story on the European and Japanese PlayStation Stores. Now, depending on how optimistic you feel, there's new information that is either encouraging, or just another taunt. It's been rated by the ESRB for release on PS3 and PSP, suggesting that Square Enix plans to release it here ... eventually. It's joined by ratings for other Square RPGs, including Threads of Fate, Xenogears, and Legend of Mana, along with Working Designs-published Arc the Lad 3 (and Ridge Racer Type 4, which doesn't fit the RPG theme at all, but is still noteworthy). We can't know from the ratings when these games will be published, but we're shocked to have some PSOne Classics on the way from someone other than MonkeyPaw Games.
MonkeyPaw bringing Galaxy Fight to PSN import store today
Another weird Japanese PlayStation game will hit the PSN Import Store today courtesy of MonkeyPaw Games. Galaxy Fight, originally released on Neo-Geo and Saturn in 1995, was Sunsoft's first fighting game. It's about ninjas, monsters, robots, and other assorted characters, who travel from planet to planet to beat each other up in infinitely-scrolling stages. It also marks the first appearance of the living punching bag, Bonus-kun. Galaxy Fight will be available with today's PSN update, for the usual $5.99 price. As usual, it's in Japanese, but ... it's a fighting game. You'll figure it out. And MonkeyPaw posted instructions.
