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The 3rd Birthday review: New year's Eve
Despite what many game developers believe, people don't actually get amnesia all that often. Just because it's been 11 years since Parasite Eve 2 doesn't mean the series' following has completely forgotten about the two titles narratively linked to, and preceding, The 3rd Birthday. So here's the warning for PE die-hards: This isn't Parasite Eve 3 and makes no attempts to be that. No, this is a whole new animal, an unusual but workable "tactical-action RPG" unfolding as linear missions carried out by the returning Aya Brea. %Gallery-99782%
European PSN releases for March 30
PSP owners rarely get the sweeter end of the deal in these European PSN updates, but this week they've pulled in a pretty sweet haul. Sure, the PS3 still gets Chime Super Deluxe, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, Swarm and Moon Diver -- but PSP owners get The 3rd Birthday, Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos and all the deals. Check out the full list after the jump! Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
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]
The 3rd Birthday celebrated April 1 in UK, English launch trailer
Square Enix announced today that The 3rd Birthday will come crying and cold into the world of UK retail on April 1, no joke. The company also reiterated the game will be available in a "Twisted Edition" for the region. For those in North America, the due date will be a few days earlier on March 29. The publisher also released the English version of the Japanese trailer that you may remember from late last year. It's still depressing in Englishl; see for yourself after the break.
Square Enix celebrates The 3rd Birthday in Europe with 'Twisted' edition
Aya Brea's grand return to the world of video games, The 3rd Birthday, is being marked in Europe by the release of a special "Twisted" edition. Available this spring, the Twisted Edition includes a UMD copy of the game, along with a 48-page "CTI Confidential" art book, two "deluxe" lithographs, and a code to unlock an Aya Brea costume for Lightning in the Dissidia sequel. The image of the pack released by Square Enix suggests that no one part of this bundle isn't covered with pictures of Aya Brea.
The 3rd Birthday will be observed March 29 in North America
We were expecting an evite or maybe one of those crazy JibJab animations, but instead Square Enix just issued a press release announcing that The 3rd Birthday, the PSP-exclusive installment of the Parasite Eve series, will hit North American store shelves on March 29. The title, which was originally under development for mobile phones, will retail for $30. This is a UMD-only release with no plans for a downloadable PSN version at present. We can only imagine that Square Enix is prepping a game card version for Sony's "NGP" platform. In announcing the release date, the publisher also confirmed the casting of two well-known TV names for the main characters' English voice overs. The game's star, Aya Brea, is voiced by Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah on Chuck) while Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester on Supernatural) plays Kyle Madigan. The cast of Jersey Shore was evidently too busy at the gym, doing laundry and tanning to participate.
Unlocking The 3rd Birthday's hidden Lightning costume is a chore
A costume modeled after Final Fantasy XIII's surly heroine, Lightning, is hidden in fellow Square Enix offering The 3rd Birthday. To unlock it, all players have to do is sign up for the game's official members site after completing the game -- or, if you're a madman, by beating the game 30 times.
The 3rd Birthday debuts at sixth on Japanese charts, Monster Hunter still king
Whether it's due to its significant lack of collectible monsters, or the considerable length of time since the last installment in the Parasite Eve franchise, Square Enix's The 3rd Birthday didn't have the strong debut showing on the Japanese sales charts to which the publisher is likely accustomed. The game placed sixth on the weekly Media Create rankings, pulling in 140,000 during its first week on Japanese store shelves. The game was buried under continuing top-sellers Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, which placed first with 404,000 units sold, and Pokémon Black and White, whose 165,000 units sold pushed the twin titles dangerously close to the five million mark. That's a whole lot of monochromatic monsters.
The 3rd Birthday trailer is a bummer
No matter how much awesome J-rock this trailer for The 3rd Birthday has, there's no way we can see it as anything but super depressing. We don't know exactly what the problem is ... oh, maybe it's that opening shot of a bloody woman in a wedding dress asking who she is. Yeah, that's probably it.
Square Enix working on a Final Fantasy trading card game (not Triple Triad, sadly)
Square Enix has already proven itself entirely capable of creating compelling collectible card games within the virtual worlds of its Final Fantasy franchise -- in fact, occasionally, those mini-games became more engrossing than the adventures which surrounded them. That's why we can't wait to see what Square and CCG manufacturer Hobby Japan can do with the recently announced Final Fantasy Trading Card Game when it launches February 25, 2011. Potential players can start bolstering their collections by picking up the Japanese version of The 3rd Birthday, which will include a promotional card. Though a handful of samples have been revealed (pictured above), the actual rules of the game haven't been detailed. We're going to assume that you have to play it over and over and over again until you're strong enough to win. Also, playing summon cards will take three to six minutes, depending on the strength of said summon. Also, Chocobos have gots to be up in the mix.
The 3rd Birthday TGS trailer speaks our language
You may have a bit of trouble picking up on the particulars of this finally released TGS trailer for The 3rd Birthday, thanks to its Japanese voice dub. However, an equal portion of the video is also created using the universal language: Violence, inflicted onto and by gigantic, horrifying monsters.
Square Enix producer thinking about Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII on 3DS
The mobile game Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII was the first part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII to be released in Japan, but never made it to North America. That would almost certainly change if the game were ported to the Nintendo 3DS, something which Square Enix's Hajime Tabata mused about on Twitter. "If I were to make something for 3DS, I suppose it would be a remake of Before Crisis Final Fantasy VII," he said (translated by Andriasang. "I'd redo the scenario structure and game design for the 3DS. I think I'd like to make an action RPG BCFF7 where a large number of Turks players play simultaneously." Sounds awesome, right? Well, it's not happening, at least not right now. Tabata lamented that he was already far too busy on The 3rd Birthday, and plans to move to an HD project afterward as a change of pace from all the portable games.
The 3rd Birthday preview: A reason to cry
A good third-person shooter isn't easy pull off on the PSP. The limited number of buttons and lack of a second analog stick mean that only a few games represent the genre well on Sony's handheld -- Syphon Filter and Resistance Retribution both come to mind. Given the limitations of the platform and Square Enix's storied failures with the genre, you'd be right at approaching The 3rd Birthday with some skepticism. Based on what we've played so far, it doesn't seem like developer Hexa Drive is capable of assuaging our concerns. Parasite Eve fans have waited for a new game in the franchise for over a decade, and The 3rd Birthday has many of the qualities that made the original games so intriguing. Once again, New York is under supernatural attack, and Aya and a squad of soldiers must stop the infestation. Like its predecessors, The 3rd Birthday is all about mood and macabre, grotesque enemies. The presentation is absolutely spot-on, boasting some of the studio's best CG work and impressive real-time graphics. Whilst watching a lengthy cutscene, I couldn't help but think how much it looked and sounded like a true Parasite Eve sequel.
Square Enix 'making adjustments' to prep Parasite Eve games for PSN
Last month, the Parasite Eve series' lead character designer Tetsuya Nomura stated that Square Enix would like to get the first two installments of the franchise on the PSOne Classics storefront before the arrival of The 3rd Birthday. Yesterday, director Hajime Tabata confirmed that Square was actively working to get the games on PSN, explaining that the publisher is "making adjustments" to bring Parasite Eve and Parasite Eve 2 to the PlayStation Store. Tabata also added, "please wait until it has been finalized and formally announced." Please wait to do what, exactly? Get excited about playing Parasite Eve again? There's nothing you can do about that. You're not the boss of us!
The 3rd Birthday to be celebrated on December 22 in Japan
A new entry in the Parasite Eve franchise has been long coming. The 3rd Birthday -- the first official sequel in the franchise since 1999 -- will be available in Japan at the very end of this year, on December 22nd. A US release is likely to follow some time in 2011. The third-person shooter arrives exclusively for PSP, joining the now-officially-announced Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix and Dissidia: Duodecim. With so many high-profile Square Enix releases coming to PSP so close to each other, the company announced that there will be some kind of cross-promotional DLC across all three games. Specifics weren't mentioned, but you'll be able to unlock special costumes by owning multiple games.
Japan to celebrate The 3rd Birthday winter 2010, rest of the world will 'soon after'
If Square Enix is going to get Parasite Eve and its sequel onto PSN as PSOne Classics before the third game in the series ships, in only has a few months left to do so. The 3rd Birthday producer Yoshinori Kitase has confirmed that his game will release on PSP in Japan "winter this year." Speaking to VG247, Kitase remarked that "The Japanese version's going to come out in winter this year," adding, "And we've already started localising the game for overseas versions. So we're hoping to release it sometime rather soon after the Japanese release, but we can't specify an exact time." He did, however, confirm that an international release will happen within 2011. Also, Kitase's comment regarding localization having already begun is pretty much in line with the faster turn-around Square-Enix has been targeting for global availability of its games in recent years. We'll have a more specific -- hopefully international -- release date when it's announced, after which we fully expect GameStop to begin offering party hats and noisemakers as pre-order incentives.
Nomura wants Parasite Eve and its sequel on PSN before 3rd Birthday
Were you thinking that right about now would be a good time to make Parasite Eve and Parasite Eve 2 available via PSN, given the upcoming release of the third game in the series on PSP? Then, dear Reader, you have something in common with series character designer Tetsuya Nomura. He recently tweeted that he wants just that: a digital re-release of the PSOne titles, before The 3rd Birthday -- the game whose success could lead to a PS3 title in the series -- hits Japan. "Archives versions of the 1st and 2nd [Parasite Eve] are in demand, so I'd like to do something about them before the 3rd is released," reads Nomura's tweet. He's referring to the Japanese PSN equivalent of PSOne Classics, the Game Archives, and we agree: we'd like Nomura to do something about them, too -- only globally, kudasai?
Kitase: 3rd Birthday success could extend franchise to PS3
"The team had a lot of experience and knew a lot about making a game for PSP which is why we chose PSP as the platform for this game," said Square Enix's Yoshinori Kitase during a presentation at Gamescom in regards to The 3rd Birthday. "But if this game turns out to be a success then we'd be looking at extending the franchise into PS3." Now, Kitase could mean one of two things by that statement: Square Enix could develop an entirely new Parasite Eve game for the PS3; or he could be talking about re-releasing the first two Parasite Eve games as PSOne Classics. Neither are currently available on PSN, so we're inclined to think that's what he's talking about -- especially considering Square Enix has already expressed interest in going down that road.
Wish granted: New The 3rd Birthday media from Gamescom
And you thought nobody was paying attention when you blew out the candles on your birthday cake earlier today. We were watching, little Timmy! ... Okay, so we can't take all of the credit for the new screens and trailer from Square Enix's upcoming spin-off in the Parasite Eve universe, The 3rd Birthday. The new media comes direct from Gamescom 2010 in Germany, but, like, if you want to credit us with making your dreams come true, we're cool with that. In the end, isn't having your wishes fulfilled all that matters? %Gallery-99782%
Nomura offers updates on upcoming Square Enix projects
We're pretty sure you'd need one of those bulletin boards from TV crime dramas -- you know, the ones with pictures of mafioso higher-ups with multicolored strings and push pins connecting them -- in order to keep track of all of Square Enix's upcoming games. The studio's resident star designer, Tetsuya Nomura, recently gave an update on these projects -- a laundry list which includes Final Fantasy Versus and Agito XIII, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and Re:Coded, The 3rd Birthday, and "a number of unannounced titles." According to Andriasang's translation, Nomura explained the dearth of news on Versus XIII was due to a number of hardships which have rendered the company's old developmental tricks "completely inapplicable," but that progress is being made. He couldn't be any more specific than that, due to Square Enix's policy of promoting games in the order they'll be released. In that case, we may not hear more on Versus or Agito for some time -- Nomura explained that some of the company's unannounced games would arrive before the next installment in the Fabula Nova Crystallis franchise. For more info on the fate of Square Enix's future projects, check out Andriasang's translation of the 3rd Birthday Twitter feed.
