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Star Ocean announced for Europe
Back at E3, Star Ocean: First Departure and Star Ocean: Second Evolution were both announced for North America. Since then, our European readers may have wondered if the titles would see release across the Atlantic. Luckily, Star Ocean actually will be crossing ... an ocean into Europe and releasing this October. However, only First Departure has been announced with a wide open October date. North Americans should still look out for October 21, 2008 for SO1 both titles and January 6, 2009 for SO2.%Gallery-27197%
Castlevania, Chocobo, and Valkyrie coming in October ... to Japan
The Japanese release date for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia might not seem like useful information to you readers out west, but the desperate, Castlevania-starved gamers among you will at least now know the exact day their import copy will begin its trans-Pacific journey towards their hands -- October 23rd, 2008.Furthermore, considering that the US release for Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin was only three weeks after Japan's, we also now have a general idea of when Order of Ecclesia will see its stateside release -- mid-November.Square Enix also has two titles scheduled to hit Japan during the tenth month, Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One (October 2nd) and Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: Labyrinth of Time DS+ (October 30th), the latter being a roguelike remake of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon.Perhaps the publisher will keep the promise it made back in March to aim for simultaneous worldwide releases with its new titles? It's unlikely, but we can dream ...%Gallery-22992%%Gallery-27055%
E308: Star Ocean: The Last Hope gameplay trailer
Available now on the Xbox Live Marketplace is a new trailer showcasing footage of Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Taking clips from its original release, the new trailer also shows off new in game footage as well as the recently announced 2009 release date for the role-playing title.
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth gets reprint, only $30 [Update]
We don't really know why we're sharing this because we thought perhaps putting in our pre-order first and securing a copy for ourselves would be a wise choice before sharing the scoop. But, we've got an obligation to you dear readers and we wouldn't do that to you. If you haven't picked up a copy of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (a PSP port of the PSOne classic) then now would be a good time. Online retailer GameQuest Direct has grabbed reprinted copies of the game and is selling them at 30 bucks. The games will ship June 27, so there's really no reason to hesitate. Go pre-order. [Via CAG] Update: GameQuest Direct informed us they are not carrying exclusive reprints of the game. You can check other retailers for copies as well.
Rumor: Square Enix trademark points to localized Valkyrie Profile
Square Enix, like all companies, trademarks stuff from time to time, giving away snippets of precious information about its future plans. Sometimes, said plans are pretty straightforward, other times ... the dots need joining up. The company's latest visit to the Patent and Trademark Office yielded one of its more enigmatic trademarks: "Covenant of the Plume."While we were still scratching our heads like simpletons as to what this could mean, Siliconera's Spencer had already identified a likely candidate: he reckons this could be a subtitle for the U.S. version of Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One, and hence confirmation of a localization! It's not a massively outrageous leap to make: "Plume" equals "feather" equals "Omigosh what's that in the logo." Not too hard to believe, is it?
Square Enix: "No Plans" for Star Ocean on PS3
Since announcing Star Ocean: The Last Hope for the Xbox 360 earlier this week Square Enix has been playing coy on the subject of exclusivity. When speaking with Yahoo Japan's financial site, Square Enix took side stepping to a new level by stating there are "no plans" to release the fourth installment of Star Ocean on the PS3.Of course the careful wording of "no plans" could mean the title may see life on other platforms. As we've mentioned before, the initial announcement of the title was made via a Sony branded device ages ago (the first Star Ocean 4 trailer was on PSP) and based on the history between Sony and Square Enix a PS3 version is a possibility. Either way, Microsoft fans are in store for one of the most well known and respected Japanese role-playing franchises from developer tri-Ace. As it stands, Star Ocean: The Last Hope will launch on the Xbox 360 exclusively in 2009 ... for now.[via Wired]
Infinite Undiscovery: New trailer and release dates revealed
One of the many role-playing titles showcased at the recent Xbox 360 Japanese RPG event was the interestingly named, Infinite Undiscovery. At the event a new trailer for the Square Enix published, tri-Ace developed RPG was showcased (English version above) that showed off some of the story and gameplay elements of the game. While at the event Microsoft announced the release schedule for the title and it appears gamers all around the world will have their chance to battle it out as a fashionably conscience teenage warrior sooner than expected. Infinite Undiscovery hits North America on September 2, Europe on September 5 with Japanese and Asian markets joining in the fun on September 11.
Infinite Undiscovery unreleased in Europe until Sept. 5
Well, apparently there were some minor caveats to Square Enix's trumpeted "worldwide release" for Infinite Undiscovery on September 2. You see, by "worldwide," the publisher actually meant "Americawide," but since this could likely be interpreted as some sort of critique against the continent's expanding obesity problem, it was better to just pretend that September 2, September 5 and September 11 all sort of vaguely fall in the same calender square.As announced at a recent press conference in Japan (via 1UP's liveblog), these are the slightly staggered ship dates for tri-Ace's Xbox 360 RPG: North America: Sept. 2 Europe: Sept. 5 Japan: Sept. 11 Though we like to tease, we're very impressed that Square Enix, known for excruciating localization delays between releases, is stepping up its global game.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope announced for Xbox 360 [Update]
Update: An original trailer, using some of the clips in the footage above, for Star Ocean: The Last Hope (then referred to simply as Star Ocean 4) debuted with the PSP release of Star Ocean: The First Departure. This in mind, we can safely say the new RPG will be multi-platform (to be clear, Star Ocean going multiplatform is our uneducated guess, not a confirmation).Combining the West's love of space marines and the East's love of effeminate heroes, Square Enix and Tri Ace have announced that Star Ocean: The Last Hope will hit the Xbox 360 in 2009. The fourth in the popular Japanese role-playing series, Star Ocean: The Last Hope marks Microsoft's latest attempt to make a splash in the Japanese gaming market.Taking its heroes from a dying Earth and into deep space, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is the first established series brought to the Xbox 360 from popular publisher Square Enix since it introduced gamers to a ... somewhat ... hi-res edition of Final Fantasy XI. Based on the trailer above, the title looks like it could be an epic and hopefully gamers in the East will agree. Also, keep in mind no mention of exclusivity was made during the announcement of the title at Microsoft's Japanese RPG event.
Valkyrie Profile: The Scanned One
Another spread of Famitsu scans featuring Square Enix's Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One are being hosted by Jeux France, largely featuring screens of the game's battle system, but also introducing some of the typically androgynous heroes you'll be questing as.These include archer and all-round warrior dude Valmur (probably the manliest of the bunch), the Aryan-looking Langrey, and Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen tribute act and magician Fauxnel. We're not certain what role the befrilled Kristoff plays, but if he doesn't spend his evenings with a Sex and the City DVD box set and a bottle of his favorite Baby Pink nail varnish, we'd be enormously surprised.
Infinite Undiscovery releasing worldwide on Sept. 2
click to infinitely unenlarge Winner of Joystiq's prestigious 2007 Most Unusual Game Title award*, Xbox 360 exclusive Infinite Undiscovery has been slotted for a September 2 worldwide launch by publisher Square Enix. Company president and CEO John Yamamoto says the global debut "is something that we have aimed to do for a long time" and that Square Enix will "continue to deliver worldwide gaming experiences across all platforms well into the future."Developed by tri-Ace (Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile), the action-RPG gets its wonky title from its chief gameplay mechanic: the gameworld is changed in real time by the player's every action and discovery -- or, er ... "infinite undiscoveries." According to Square, players will need to rely not only on their character's senses of sight and hearing while exploring the undiscoverable, but smell as well. We smell plenty of gameplay gimmicks, which Square hopes will "offer a variety of experiences, presented in a way never before seen in RPGs."Undiscover new screens of the game in our gallery, which, due to server constraints, is unfortunately not infinite -- plus the new trailer after the break! *Not actually a real award, but it should be %Gallery-23402%
Famitsu brings us fresh Valkyrie Profile shots
Almost two months have passed since we last heard a peep out of Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One (but what a peep it was, if you remember: this extremely fine trailer, which we just watched and got really excited about again). Now, Famitsu has broken the silence over the game, revealing a bunch of new screens, as well as the news that the tri-Ace RPG will be out in Japan at some stage this year.Click the image above for numerous shots of magnificently coiffed, epicene young men and further screens of the combat system (including the returning "Soul Crush" battle mechanic).
Star Ocean 4 scan reveals main character, scenery
Don't get us wrong -- we know Tri-Ace and Square Enix haven't listed a console for Star Ocean 4 yet, but seriously, do you think this game will be a Wii exclusive? If you thought it possible, this new magazine scan might change your mind. We're taking a leap of faith assuming this game will come to the PS3 (exclusive or not), but since all the others have ... heck, all other Tri-Ace games have, it's not a very big leap.Now we finally see the main character, previously hidden in all those trailers. He's not very attractive and is basically a Fayt clone with blond hair. They look different enough, but it's just not a big "evolution" between protagonists. We're not being picky -- the environments in the scan are brilliant looking. We wish the view outside of our windows looked that nice.
Star Ocean 4 scans unveil main character artwork
If you've watched the Star Ocean 4 trailer posted last Monday, perhaps you were a little annoyed seeing the main characters' faces purposefully cropped out of the picture. If that's the case, then be happy for today's Famitsu scans; they are equally pretty and most of all crop-free. The scans reveal character artwork for protagonists Edge Maverick and Reimi Saionji. Aside from that, however, nothing else major has been revealed about this Star Ocean prequel. We do get a brief look at the in-game graphics though. As far as we can tell, the game is shaping up nicely. See the other scans at Gamersyde.
Star Ocean 4 trailer feature space opera battles galore
Tri-ace has an interesting way of crafting games. None of their titles outside of Valkyrie Profile have really gained cult status, and none have really broken the barrier between them and the mainstream market. Really, Radiata Stories was brilliant, but only for the few people with the perseverance to play it -- or those with a printed FAQ at their side. Anyway, this is the trailer for Star Ocean 4 that came on a DVD with Japanese pre-orders of the PSP remakes of the first and second titles.The audio sounds a little messed up, as a warning. It looks interesting, though gameplay footage is still nonexistent, as is a console announcement. Perhaps Tri-ace will use this game to break into a wider market. Perhaps not. Enjoy!
Valkyrie Profile trailer is the cat's pajamas
As much as we love to knock Square-Enix for its incessant rehashes and poor online mode implementations, the publisher can still put together a trailer guaranteed to knock our socks off. Never mind that it's all CG -- who cares when it's this well executed?The lonesome music and desolate scene work together in this clip to effectively convey that something epic and desperate is taking place, that you'll not only miss out on a great RPG if you pass on the game, but a great experience. That's not to say we're assuming Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One will automatically be a perfect release; we just appreciate the money and effort Square-Enix invested to get us hyped.Even if you're unfamiliar with the tri-Ace-developed series, how could you not be interested after seeing a trailer like this?
Soul-crushing Profile
The latest screens from Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One make it abundantly, obviously clear that a major component of the Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria battle system is returning for the DS game: the Soul Crushes. We can tell mostly by the gigantic words "Soul Crush" on the screen there. In Silmeria, the Soul Crush is a special attack that is enabled when your party has racked up enough hits on a creature to fill a Special Attack Gauge. You can then have everyone in the party execute big attacks until the gauge empties.A similar ability was present in the first Valkyrie Profile, under the significantly more excellent name "Purify Weird Soul."
Star Ocean 2 accessories for Japan, new trailer for you
Japan, as usual, is getting even more extra goodies with the upcoming release of Star Ocean: Second Evolution on the PSP. Game peripheral company Hori will be coming out with a new set of Star Ocean: Second Evolution themed accessories. The set consists of: headphones with a Star Ocean art design, screen cleaner, two UMD cases (one for SO1 and SO2 each), and a slip-on back-casing. It's actually a pretty nice collection to go along with that special First Departure PSP.While our friends over seas can enjoy their soon-to-release game and complementary accessories, the rest of us will just have to settle for a brand new trailer. By all means, it's not a lousy consolation prize ... and hey, it's free! Check out the trailer right after the break.[Via RPG Land]
More screens of Star Ocean: Second Evolution
Star Ocean: Second Evolution will be the next big thing after Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G hits Japan next week. And just like the screenshot update Monster Hunter received earlier today, this title is getting its own reciprocal visual update. Have a look at more than 30 new Second Evolution screens here.While neither PSP remakes of Star Ocean: First Departure nor Star Ocean: Second Evolution have been announced for western release, we're still thinking it's coming. Any day now. Yep ... any day now. Is localization the reason why these titles are not traversing continents? If that's the case, we're willing to offer our exquisite translation expertise to Tri-Ace and Square Enix. Just look at our translation in the screenshot above. Purely accurate, we swear!
Square Enix preps Valkyrie Profile for the DS
From the pages of Japan's Jump magazine comes news that Square Enix is giving tri-Ace's RPG franchise Valkyrie Profile a touchable makeover, with the series' latest sequel heading to the Nintendo DS. So say the translation sages at IGN: The game will carry the cumbersome title of Valkyrie Profile: Toga wo Seou Mono, and will introduce a new hero named Wilfred alongside unspecified series regulars. The game marks the series' second official sequel, and the third title since 2006 following Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria for the PlayStation 2 and Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, a remake of the PlayStation original for the PSP. Unlike those games, however, Toga wo Seou Mono looks to adopt a three-fourths perspective on top of the 2D side scrolling profile view for which the series is known. That said, we're creatures of habit; we fear change -- but with tri-Ace again at the helm we're excited to see where the devs take the Norse mythology-based RPG franchise next.
