Last year, Monkey Paw (responsible for many of the PSOne Imports on the PSN) and Gaijinworks (a publisher founded by former Working Designs head Vic Ireland) tried to run a Kickstarter campaign to bring over Class of Heroes II. The original Class of Heroes was released by Atlus in 2009, but didn’t exactly make waves with gamers or critics.
The Kickstarter wanted $500k to produce a deluxe edition of the game – something Working Designs had done in its past incarnation (sans the Kickstarter part!) It was an interesting experiment – for a genres quickly receding into obscurity such as Japanese RPGs, could Kickstarter be a viable but low-risk venue for still bringing fans what they want by having them prove their desire with their wallets? The Kickstarter notoriously fell through, but the companies still said they would proceed with a translation and a digital release. Now that Class of Heroes II’s release is close at hand, Gaijinworks is giving fans one more shot to voice their interest in a simple physical release. If you’re interested, head over to Gaijinworks and scroll down to the form for the physical release. You don’t have to put any money down, but you do have to give them your email (and verify it for “special offers”) so that may be a turn off for some folks.
It is disappointing that things turned out the way they did with this Kickstarter – Japanese companies can get very squeamish about uncertainties like this and as the linked Kotaku article above mentions, it may be awhile before they let a company try this again. (Though maybe Production I.G.’s success with Kick-Heart will change that!) Different game choice, smaller starting funds, and more preparation may have helped this Kickstarter succeed, but at least Gaijinworks isn’t giving up. In the coming months, I’ll be spotlighting some Kickstarter campaigns and also releasing a series about JRPGs in the West. If you have any Kickstarter campaigns you’d like to recommend, feel free to post them in the comments!
Last summer I discussed the issue of reverse importation, focussing specifically on the case of Persona 4. When situations like that happen, they can often redirect focus from the content itself. So let’s talk about the Sentai Filmworks release of the first volume of the Persona 4 anime and whether or not it’s worth your time – and your money.
Copyright Atlus/Index, Aniplex, and Sentai Filmworks.
The plot of Persona 4 follows close to its video game source material – transfer student Yu Narukami finds his new life in rural Inaba is far from boring when he and his classmates gain the ability to travel to an alternate universe inside the TV. There, with the help of a strange creature named Teddie, they must use manifestations of their deepest selves known as Persona to fight Shadows and solve a serial murder case sweeping the once quiet town.
For those who haven’t played the game and feel a little lost, don’t worry – the series does an adequate job explaining the new world and its mechanics. At points, it even makes light of the mechanics or the very fact that it’s based on a game (evident in the series’ commercial eyecatch, which displays the protagonist’s ever-increasing personality statistics). For fans of the game, this will likely be an amusing bonus, but its effect on newcomers may be hit or miss.
The story itself moves at a brisk pace, giving just enough time to the action scenes and the characters’ own struggles to overcome their personal demons. The mystery at the center of the story is interesting enough, but the characters of Persona 4 are its strongest point. The game Persona 3 had an arguably more intense plot than Persona 4, but Persona 4′s cast arguably blended better. The anime does a good job adapting what made this cast particularly charming. The most interesting change is one that probably couldn’t be helped – the silent, nameable protagonist from the game is now Yu Narukami and has been given a moderate, yet distinct personality.
The dub is fairly well-done, reuniting many voice actors from the original game. The returning voice cast is given a chance to expand their characterizations this time around. Johnny Yong Bosch does especially well as Yu Narukami, who didn’t have much in the way of voice work in the game, but is presented as a cool-headed, quietly sarcastic teenage boy in the anime. For veterans of the game, the replaced voice actors may take a little getting used to. Erin Fitzgerald quickly settles in and gives a bit of attitude and edge to the character of Chie. Sam Riegel as Teddie may take some getting used to, but it isn’t for lack of trying and he too settles in to the new role by the end of the set (with a particularly amusing performance in episode 11!)
While absent from the Blu-Ray, the Japanese voice track still appears on the DVD sets. This Japanese dub is fairly typical but solid, with big name seiyuu like Daisuke Namikawa, Yui Horie, Kappei Yamaguchi, Rie Kugimiya, and Romi Paku among the main cast. The biggest problem with the Japanese dub may simply be the fact that many Western fans who played the English game first may not be used to the Japanese voices, but it’s a concern easily overcome. The DVD sets also contain Japanese episode commentary.
So is the first set of the Persona 4 anime worth buying? If so, should you go with DVD or Blu-Ray? If you’re a fan of the game, the series is absolutely a must-buy! While the Blu-Rays look nice, fans will have to decide on their own whether they value the dual languages or the nicer viewing experience more. For me, the DVDs (which run a little more expensive, ostensibly due to the added dub) were worth it.
For newcomers, Persona 4 provides a solid viewing experience. While the action may play out a little “monster-of-the-week” in this first set, it’s played out with interesting characters who continue to grow as the series progresses. Newcomers won’t feel lost amongst a sea of terminology or story points left out from the transition. I highly recommend this series, but if you’re on the fence, check out an episode or two on Hulu (or grab one off of iTunes if you prefer an English dub) and see for yourself.
Persona 4: The Animation Collection 1 is available now. You can also find episodes on iTunes dubbed.
Book of Shadows got me thinking about digital-download games and the interesting avenues they open up. They give game publishers like XSEED a chance to deliver games like Corpse Party – games that might not have a market sitting on a Gamestop shelf. They also give game developers a chance to try and create something truly unique – both groups benefitting from the (seemingly) reduced overhead of a digital distribution outlet.
One digital download game first came to my attention about a year back, when I heard the story of an artist who had won Microsoft’s Dream.Build.Play with his prototype game that he made while teaching himself to program. From what I heard, this developer was almost single-handedly doing the art, programming, and writing on the full game. I looked up a video of the prototype and was blown away, both as a gamer and an aspiring developer. However, I didn’t hear anything on that game until it hit the XBLA store (complete with a Toonami review) at the tail end of last summer.
Copyright Humble Hearts/Dean Dodrill
Excitement over a game’s “Making Of” story can only carry it so far. Dust: An Elysian Tail lives up to its creative roots. The game follows an amnesiac protagonist named Dust, his talking sword, and the sword’s chatty guardian Fidget. Dust uses his blade and his fierce skills to help people and fend off an evil general, all while searching for his memory. The game’s premise may not sound like it’s breaking any new ground, but a few interesting plot twists, endearing characters, and reasonable pacing keep the game fresh.
For those more concerned about challenging and engaging gameplay, you won’t be disappointed. Dust is a 2D beat-em-up/RPG hybrid with visual novel-style cutscenes for good measure. Each area is vast and full of places to explore. The enemies are challenging and plentiful, with the game’s level-up system allowing for ample opportunity to prepare your character for any challenge. Battling and leveling were enjoyable necessities. Dust and his flying accomplice Fidget will also gain special skills and combination attacks that can be used to deal with larger groups of enemies. And there will be large swarms of enemies, at times flooding the screen.
Though not getting distracted by the artwork will be equally challenging. Dust’s world is colorful and carefully illustrated. While the style is certainly much more cartoon-y than many games nowadays, it is not for lack of detail or skill. From the first moments of gameplay, players will be able to see Dean Dodrill’s strength as an artist. The aesthetic is matched throughout the game – characters and enemies do not look out of place against the 2D backdrops.
The audio is one area that Dodrill handed off to another company. HyperDuck SoundWorks provides a lively soundtrack that blends into the game well, whether you’re fending off swarms of zombies in the Sorrowing Meadows or watching Dust explore his past. The game also includes voice acting. The quality varies throughout the game (many of the actors appear to be new). Dust’s delivery is a little overdramatic at times and while many players will find Fidget amusing and endearing (I certainly did), the high-pitched mascot may grate on some players’ nerves. However, by the end of the game, many of the actors hit their stride and settle in to their characters. If you’re not taken by the voice-acting from the start, give it some time.
All-in-all, I found Dust to be a fantastic game. It was enjoyable to play, beautiful to look it, had a good soundtrack and a story that carried my interest through to the end. I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a challenging 2D game in the vein of Metroid or Castlevania, to JRPG/anime/visual novel fans who enjoy a light and interesting story, or to anyone looking for a brief nostalgia fix. My expectations were exceeded and I hope to see more in the future from Humble Hearts.
Dust is now available on XBOX Live for 1200 Microsoft Points.
This space should probably belong to the discussion of ideas such as “the end of the PSP life cycle” and “niche Japanese games using an even more niche game mechanic” – or even the fact that this is my first review of 2013! However, I’m pretty sure I hear scissors opening and closing somewhere in the distance, so I should probably start reviewing the chilling sequel to XSEED’s 2011 PSP release “Corpse Party”
Let me save some of you some time – if you have not played the first PSP Corpse Party game, Book of Shadows will do nothing for you. Likewise, if you didn’t like the first game, Book of Shadows will not change your mind. The appeal of the first seven chapters of this game is completely centered around giving more backstory and depth to characters and events from the first game. The game’s unlockable final chapter “Blood Drive” is all about…
You know what? Let’s not talk about “Blood Drive”. Not yet. I’m not ready.
One of this sequel’s tough selling points is that it completely changes its gameplay mechanics. I loved the SNES-style RPG-without-combat mechanic from the first game. There was something about controlling the characters’ movements and what they investigated that added to the sense of immersion for me. When I heard Book of Shadows exchanged the first game’s mechanics for a point-and-click/visual novel hybrid style, I was very disappointed.
After playing this game, I definitely prefer the first game’s gameplay mechanics, but I do think Book of Shadows managed to make good use of the point-and-click search mode. Outside of visual novel-style story sequences, players usually explore areas in a point-and-click “Search Mode” and use a point-and-click map to move from room to room. While the slow-moving map definitely added atmosphere (executed best in Chapter 4), it got tedious at times – having to wait forever while moving from one end of the school to the other (though you can use the R button to speed the process along) Some of the “Search Mode” sequences were well done and very frightening, but I wish there had been more to them, particularly in “Blood Drive”. For all the emphasis placed on exploration in the first game, the “Search Mode” sequences would have been a perfect opportunity to add some scares.
Being a visual novel-style game, Book of Shadows contains a lot of new artwork. If you enjoyed the art style and CGs in the first game, you won’t be disappointed. I personally prefer this style over the more stylized PC version and really liked some of the CGs, but there were scenes where I felt the artwork took away from the game and atmosphere. The first game relied heavily on audio and written description for most of its “Wrong Ends”. This is a trend continued in Book of Shadows, but there are a couple endings or scenes where the developers did decide to display a CG, but the CG doesn’t fit what’s being described in the text. While I don’t know that I necessarily wanted to see what was going on, the addition of an inappropriate static image rather than a black screen takes away from the experience.
Speaking of the writing, it’s effectively creepy in this installment. XSEED once again takes liberties with the translation, but they match the tone of the first game. In most cases (particularly dialogue), they successfully capture the emotions of the characters better than a stiff translation and I think it’s in the dialogue sequences that the embellishments shine. The care taken in describing the sinister events on some of the bad endings makes them as uncomfortable to read as they should be! My one complaint in terms of writing is a complaint I have for many visual novels. The narrative sequences – where the current POV character describes the scene, events, emotions, etc – occasionally don’t fit that character or even someone in their age group. They use vocabulary and reference things it would be very odd for them to know. If it were delivered in third person, this would be a non-issue, but as the game is in first-person, the mismatch can be jarring. For the most part, it doesn’t take away from the game. It’s common in visual novels and I suspect it’s equally present in the Japanese text, but players will notice this from time to time.
The plot itself is splintered into seven chapters that must be cleared in order, followed by one “hidden” chapter that can either be unlocked by viewing 100% of the endings in every other chapter or by loading save data from the first game (also netting you CGs from the first game), in which case you only have to clear the first seven chapters. The main chapters either follow events prior to the first game or events that take place during/after one of the first game’s bad endings. The only chapter that could be considered a proper sequel to the first game’s True Ending is the hidden final chapter “Blood Drive”. While I enjoyed Blood Drive and found that chapter alone worth the price of admission, all of the chapters were enjoyable and added to the Corpse Party universe. There were definitely some endings that proved disturbing and some segments that were uncomfortable, but overall, I felt like this was a solid horror game.
Finally, the audio. The bone-chilling audio. The audio emerges as a strong point once more. The soundtrack is compelling and appropriate for the game’s atmosphere. This series is definitely one I’d love to have a physical soundtrack for! The voices are also recorded binaurally in this game. Even without headphones, the effect is fantastic! The game includes three unlockable audio bonuses: access to the music tracks, audio interviews with the voice actors, and an EVP machine where you match up characters’ voiced lines from the game to make a new “conversation”.
So if you played and enjoyed the first game, should you play Book of Shadows? Absolutely. Don’t let the gameplay genre shift scare you away from an enjoyable horror tale that takes the time to expand on its large cast from the first game.
As for me? I’m just going to go avoid sleeping because of something else. :D
Book of Shadows is available on the PSP/PSVita PSN Store for 19.99 now!
Once upon a time, not so long ago, North American fans of niche genres of Japanese console games, like the Japanese RPG, were starved for new releases. However, citing reasons of cost and marketability, many companies felt the need to deny these fans the localized games they so desired. Fortunately, the drought finally seems to be lifting and as long as the companies are rewarded with the profits they so desire (translation, buy the games you ask for, kids!) then it seems the trend will continue on the upswing.
The anime industry has been in worse condition for years now. Even though the number of releases seems reasonably steady, the number of companies available to produce such releases is dwindling. And now anime fans are finally coming to understand a hurdle that has been a concern in the Japanese anime industry for years.
REVERSE. IMPORTATION.
No Japanese dialogue…at least for the Blu-Ray. Image copyright Atlus/Index Corportation/P.A.Works/Sentai Filmworks
And that’s the heart of Sentai’s announcement that the upcoming Persona 4 the Animation Blu-Rays will NOT contain a Japanese language option. English-dubbed dialogue only. This decision understandably has fans who intended to purchase the Blu-Ray upset, especially after it came on the heels of Atlus’ announcement last month that Persona 4 Arena would also be region-locked. (yes, even the PS3 version). According to this Anime News Network article, it seems the decision came from the Japanese licensors and last month’s announcement regarding Arena also appears to have become from Atlus Japan.
Despite the initial fretting from fans over whether or not this would become a trend, in the case of the game, all three releases will contain Japanese audio and release within less than six months of each other (Japan on July 26, North America on August 7, and Europe later this year.) In Atlus Japan’s eyes, they probably feel there is no need for Western fans to import and the only reason Japanese fans would import would be to save some money on the normally higher priced Japanese edition.
In the case of the Blu-Ray, the fan outrage is at least more understandable, but the reasoning from the Japanese licensors is probably the same. And let’s take a look at the situation more closely to see just what their concerns are. According to the ANN article, Sentai will release the US Blu-Ray at 59.98, ten dollars less than its originally intended 69.98. I searched for the series on Blu-Ray at Japan’s Amazon site. While the first Blu-Ray is down to 3,262 yen (approximately USD 41.75), Amazon says this only contains ONE EPISODE. To be fair, later discs appear to package more episodes and this set appears to be an LE with several extras, but the final Blu-Ray disc is only 48 minutes and costs 5,236 yen (approximately USD $67) even after Amazon discount. If we’re going on that number, then the two final episodes in Japan cost more than the upcoming boxset will in North America.
Think about that. We’re getting 26 episodes for what 2 would cost in Japan. Heck, even if this box is 13 episodes, it should still be obvious why the Japanese side is concerned. Even with shipping costs, any Japanese Persona 4 fan who wanted to own the series and knew of this price difference would be saving quite a bit of money by importing and just listening to the Japanese language track. This possibility is less prevalent with DVD because North America and Japan are in separate DVD regions, but we share a Blu-Ray region.
I hate to keep dipping from ANN, but Justin Sevakis wrote a terrific series about just how much (or little) Japanese licensors profit from US licenses. The most relevant segment to this discussion is Part 2, which I urge you to read here.
Reverse importation seems to inform companies like Aniplex as well, and I suspect will continue to impact anime licenses in the future. While it may be a bit of a culture shock to fans (especially those who weren’t around in the 90s, when a DUBBED ONLY season of Ranma 1/2 (around 26 episodes) retailed for $200), it is important to understand the trend and the decisions that companies will ostensibly make because of it in the coming years.
