XSeed
Latest
Hands-on: The Sky Crawlers
Finally! XSEED is bringing the long-awaited Sky Crawlers to American shores. We've been eying this game for quite some time, and having gotten some hands-on time, we'd have to say it was (almost) worth the wait. Sky Crawlers expands upon the thought-provoking Mamoru Oshii film, exploring a world that perpetuates war for the entertainment (and comfort) of its docile citizens. With Namco's esteemed Ace Combat team at the helm, quality seems assured.The controls are both the game's strongest and weakest aspect. Project Aces takes advantage of the Wii Remote to simulate the feel of having cockpit controls. The Wii Remote and Nunchuk are meant to represent the throttle and the thrust -- to some success. The idea is certainly innovative, but for those unaccustomed to plane simulators, the learning curve can be quite high. There are, however, some concessions made to make the experience a bit more accommodating for newcomers.%Gallery-18921%
XSEED clicks heels together, brings Wizard of Oz RPG to North America
A licensed Wizard of Oz game doesn't seem like the biggest news, but the fact that XSEED is publishing it is a clue that there's a little more going on than the usual licensed kids' game. In fact, The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is a localized version of Media Vision's RIZ-ZOAWD, which is nothing less than a Wizard of Oz-themed JRPG. XSEED has partnered with original Japanese publisher D3 to bring this weird game to North America.Beyond the Yellow Brick Road combines the Oz setting with turn-based Dragon Quest-esque combat, with certain enemies more susceptible to attacks from certain party members, and a trackball-like movement interface. You'll be able to send your flying monkeys out for it this fall.D3 is now a subsidiary of Namco Bandai, which means that The Wizard of Oz is the fourth Namco Bandai game to be picked up by XSEED. %Gallery-68346%
Half-Minute Hero may be PSN exclusive, demo coming in August
There were three letters that went through our heads when we played XSEED's English adaptation of the upcoming Half-Minute Hero. For those not in the know, the PSP-exclusive "RPG" has a clever twist: the gameplay occurs in frantic thirty second chunks. (For detailed impressions, read our hands-on here.) The English demo we played retained the same action and charm as the Japanese original -- only this time, we could understand what was going on. Certainly, Half-Minute Hero has a niche appeal. However, anyone who tries it out should be able to understand what makes the game so brilliant by giving it a try. We were told by an XSEED representative that a downloadable demo is planned, and that it should be available some time next month. The demo will feature two stages from the "Hero 30" mode, where you have 30 seconds to level up and destroy a wizard that threatens to destroy the world. Those expecting a UMD version of Half-Minute Hero may be disappointed to know that XSEED is looking into making the game a PlayStation Network exclusive. Games like Patapon 2 and Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! both skipped the UMD format. A game that's as pick-up-and-play as Half-Minute Hero does seem ideally suited for PSN distribution. %Gallery-68352%
Fragile reveals its solid boxart
With a holiday release scheduled, tri-Crecendo's Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon has received its final boxart. Our E3 impression of the game left us wanting to know more -- a lot more. Considering the post-apocalyptic RPG, from the team that brought us Eternal Sonata, had no expense spared, we'll hopefully see that in the final product. What would make us really happy, though, is if Fragile ends a lot better than Eternal Sonata. Check out the final boxart after the break.%Gallery-26285%
XSEED bringing The Sky Crawlers to North American Wiis
If you have a comprehensive knowledge of Japanese literature or flight combat games that never saw an American release, you probably already know about The Sky Crawlers. We fell in love with Namco-Bandai's book-to-game adaptation when we were teased with tons of gameplay footage last year -- sadly, the game was never visited by the localization fairy, and never made it to the States. Since then, we've been sad all over.Fortunately, a recent XSEED press release has turned our melancholy into melan-jolly (ugh) -- the capitalized company has purchased the North American publishing rights for The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, due out this holiday season on the Wii. The game, which was developed by Ace Combat veterans Project Aces, will have players using the Wiimote and Nunchuck to simulate actual flight controls. It's a bit overdue, but we're thrilled about the Americanization of this aeronautical gem nonetheless.%Gallery-67448%
Half-Minute Hero was based off a side project Flash game
Half-Minute Hero wasn't always meant to be a commercial title; it was originally just an ordinary flash game until producer Kenichiro Takaki saw its potential. Takaki, along with the game's director Kotaro Yoshida, explained in the latest issue of Famitsu PSP+PS3 (via PSP Hyper) that Half-Minute Hero was inspired by some of Yoshida's work he had done during his spare time, specifically a Flash game that only took him a day to make. Takaki was amused with the concept and pitched the idea of making a retro game for PSP, liking the fast-paced gameplay and old-school art style most of all. From there, the rest was history. If you've yet to see Half-Minute Hero, be sure to check out our gameplay clips. We instantly fell in love with it and we think you just might, too.
Crafter offers Haggle Man buttons for Retro Game Challenge purchases
We've humbly requested that our readership purchase a certain title to ensure the development of a sequel many times before (picked up your required 15 copies of Gitaroo Man yet?), but rarely does our fervor for a video game series build to a level that inspires us to offer actual, tangible rewards for your compliance. We suppose we've never loved a game as much as craftwise classic gaming fan Benjamin loves Retro Game Challenge -- he's offering a cross-stitched Ninja Robot Haggle Man button to anyone who purchases a new copy of the game. Just send in your receipt, and he'll pay the shipping. As he sees it, its his only way to get XSEED to localize Retro Game Challenge 2 -- we usually just send developers large sacks of money to accomplish such a goal, but we realize that's not always possible for -- ahem -- blue collar types. Good luck, Ben![Thanks, Michael!]
Fragile arrives on European shores early 2010
The tri-Crescendo-developed Namco Bandai RPG, Fragile, will eventually make its way to Europe, GameSpot reports. Sometime in early 2010, Europeans will be able to get their own taste of this post-apocalyptic title following Seto, who is believed to be the last living human being. It's kind of like I Am Legend, but, like, bearable. Made by the same team behind Eternal Sonata, Fragile is currently set to release in North America during the holidays courtesy of XSEED, and will arrive in Europe via Rising Star Games.%Gallery-26285%
NintendoWare Weekly: NEVES Plus brings Art Style to SimEarth
This week's star of the show is undoubtedly WiiWare, which receives the very rare "three-title-update." Playing second and third fiddle are DSiWare and the Virtual Console, which both get the usual one new title. So, without further ado, let's check out what's available to download this week across Nintendo platforms in the latest NintendoWare Weekly. %Gallery-48138%
Impressions: Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)
After over a year of waiting, XSEED has graciously picked up tri-Crescendo's meditative Wii action adventure Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon for North American publication. In a brief walkthrough of an early segment of the game, XSEED introduced us to the protagonist, Seto, who is believed to be the only human left in the world after some unspecified calamity has reduced everything to rubble and left the sky permanently darkened.%Gallery-26285%
Impressions: Ju-on: The Grudge (Wii)
Making a horror game for a "casual" audience requires a reorganization of priorities. While something like Resident Evil is intent on scaring the player, there are a lot of gameplay elements aside from fear, like inventory management and even accuracy. These elements make for a well-rounded game, but they can actually prevent the player from experiencing all the game's scares. AQ Interactive's Ju-On: The Grudge, being released in North America this October by XSEED, takes out all the "survival" from a survival horror game to create what XSEED calls a "haunted house simulator," focused entirely on scaring the crap out of players over and over again. And from what we saw, it works.%Gallery-63975%
Interview: XSEED on what happened with Muramasa and more [update]
[Update: we had attributed some of these remarks to the wrong person. Our apologies to Mr. Berry.]Last September, XSEED Games announced its intent to publish Vanillaware's Wii side-scroller Muramasa: The Demon Blade in North America, to the delight of hardcore action gamers and people who like to see pretty things. Then, in April, it announced that it wouldn't be publishing the title, a duty that then fell to Ignition Entertainment.At the time, we wondered why XSEED would decide not to publish such an eye-catching game. The short answer: it wouldn't decide to do that. XSEED's Jun Iwasaki and Ken Berry gave us details on the Muramasa situation, as well as the recent Fragile announcement, and the timing of Flower, Sun, and Rain. And, of course, they gamely accepted our pleas for Retro Game Challenge 2.
XSeed brings localized Half-Minute Hero, Lunar: Silver Star Harmony to E3
XSeed just announced its E3 line-up, which includes two PSP games we've heard about before: Half-Minute Hero and Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. You might remember Half-minute Hero as Hero for 30sec (the new name sounds so much better), which was that bizarre micro-RPG we've been drooling over for the past couple of months. As for Lunar: Harmony, it's a remake of the original Lunar game from Sega CD. Both games were previously Japan-only titles but are now coming to North America. Expect both to arrive sometime in the fall.
XSEED localizing Namco Bandai's Wii adventure 'Fragile'
When XSEED and Namco Bandai meet, wonderful things happen. The last Banamco title to be localized by the publisher was Retro Game Challenge. Today, XSEED announced to IGN that it will publish Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon in North America, with a projected Holiday 2009 release date. Wii fans have been clamoring for this game for a long time.The tri-Crescendo-developed adventure game takes place in a ruined version of the modern world, as one young boy named Seto looks for any other surviving humans, armed only with a flashlight. XSEED plans to include a full English voice track, and has received "very promising" feedback from the development team about a dual language option.%Gallery-26285%
XSEED shocks us with Ju-On localization announcement
We were minding our own business, not really paying attention, when an XSEED press release JUMPED into our email inbox and scared us half to death. Feel Fear: Ju-On, a teaser for which was just released in Europe, is coming to North America to scare our North American pants off (and imported pants as well) in October of this year.The press release announcing Ju-On: The Grudge offers a few new details about the gameplay. To the dismay of those expecting a third- or first-person survival horror game, XSEED bills Ju-On as a "haunted house simulator," in which players explore scary environments with a pointer-controlled flashlight, driven to "proceed forward even after being frightened and running away from the initial threat." The game includes the ability for a second player to trigger scares using a second Wiimote, causing the other player to "jump and hate you forever."So if you want your friends to hate you forever, check out Ju-On: The Grudge this October!%Gallery-63975%
Lunar: Harmony of the Silver Star may get US release via XSEED
The first screens of the PSP remake of Lunar look very good. The sprites have been redrawn, but the lovingly detailed backgrounds really demand the most attention. Siliconera has more screens of the PSP remake, and we very much approve. While it seems likely a US publisher will bring over the RPG to the games-starved masses on this side of the Pacific, Siliconera notes that "XSEED might be picking this up for North America." We hope some publisher gets on board supporting this project. We want a localized version as soon as possible.
Ragnarok Online DS coming to U.S. store shelves
XSEED's adorable (and highly successful) MMO Ragnarok Online has been wooing players since its Korean launch in 2001. It went on to expand its dominion with the release of Ragnarok Online DS last December in Japan, selling like solid-gold hotcakes. However, XSEED has no plans of ceasing the expansion of the game's enormous empire -- it recently announced in a press release that Ragnarok Online DS will be coming Stateside this winter.The game will be an action-RPG in the style of its PC predecessor, placing you in the shoes of a young adventurer in search of treasure. The mechanics of the core game are all there -- level progression, job and class selection, et cetera. Though the DS port will doff the massivelyness of its PC iteration, it will allow three other players to join you wirelessly or via Wi-Fi. We expect the game's adorability factor to also be appropriately off the charts.%Gallery-63545%
Retro Game Challenge 2 localization unlikely
Are you ready to be depressed? We were having a perfectly good morning until we came across this RPGamer interview with XSEED's Ken Berry. After some discussion of Little King's Story and the loss of Muramasa (a result of financial troubles), the interview turns to Retro Game Challenge 2 (Game Center CX 2), the one thing we've wanted most from XSEED since, well, the release of Retro Game Challenge. "We're getting by, but not doing as well as we'd like," Berry said about the sales of the first game. "Retro Game Challenge started off well but still hasn't gotten to the point where we can justify bringing over the sequel. It's amazing how many people write to thank us for publishing that game, so perhaps as those enthusiast fans continue to spread the word we will get to where we need to be eventually." With the addition of things like alternate-console versions of Retro Game Challenge games, 16-bit games, and even simulated Game Boy games, Game Center CX 2 looked like it could be even better than the first one, which was already one of our favorite games of 2009. And since RGC2 includes an RPG and two graphical text adventures, it's not exactly the most import-friendly thing.In more positive news, XSEED plans to announce an "enhanced remake of a classic PSone RPG" soon for North America!
XSEED publishing Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga this summer
We must admit, we were curious about the state of the Marvelous/XSEED relationship when we found out that Ignition had grabbed the publishing rights for Muramasa: The Demon Blade. The two companies seem to be doing okay, though, because XSEED just announced that it will publish Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga for the Wii in North America this summer. Rising Star previously announced it will handle European publishing.This will be the first console entry for the formerly PSP-exclusive series, and adds two-player online coop to the series' action-RPG gameplay. Unlike the PSP games, this version lacks separate battle screens, with real-time battles taking place on the main world map. [Image via Inside-Games]
Muramasa rights picked up by Ignition, due in September
We love it when the wheels of progress turn quickly, but this is a bit much. Just a day after we learned that publisher XSEED had dropped the rights to Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Vanillaware's followup to the PS2's Odin Sphere, we hear from Ignition that it will be scooping the game up for a North American release on Wii in September.Jeez, Ignition, you didn't even give us time to mount an elaborate, multi-pronged effort to take to the streets to save Murasama. Now what the hell are we going to do with all this poster board and puffy paint?%Gallery-33431%
