12/06/2016
Bits and Tidbits: Localization heaven
This will be a short yet sweet post, as it's going to focus entirely on localization announcements that can only be described as mouth-watering. Without further ado, here are the happy winners that will be granted a Western release in the months to come!
Tidbit#1: XSEED is planning to bring Akiba's Beat, Fate/Extella and Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns to North-America—and they are promising releases by the end of 2016, no less. There are no news yet about a European release of that trio, but that's not a problem as far as I'm concerned, because I will get my paws on these games no matter what. I'm particularly hyped up about Fate/Extella, which is a game I really didn't expect to see localized. Great job, XSEED!
Tidbit#2: NIS America apparently teased a future Western release of Criminal Girls 2 at the end of their annual press event a couple of months ago—something I was totally unaware of. In the meantime, a release date has been confirmed as well as the presence of a healthy dose of censorship in the final product. Censorship or not, I'm certainly not going to miss that game after I enjoyed the first entry so much. I was just a bit confused by the fact that the game seemed to be available solely on NIS America's website and wondered anxiously if things would remain that way; however, a quick visit on Play-Asia revealed listings for both the North-American and European versions of the game, which considerably reassured me. Trust Play-Asia for providing us with the nichest of games!
Tidbit#3: While I'm talking about NIS, I fortuitously learnt that NIS' Europe Online Store sells a special edition of Grand Kingdom for the Vita. I was rather surprised to encounter that Special, because I had fully integrated the idea that there would be no special edition for the Vita version of Grand Kingdom. Well, apparently there is one, and it has started popping up on other merchant sites' listings as well. Now that's quite a late appearance, isn't it? At any rate, I already preordered the game alone, so this Special won't be mine.
Tidbit#4: A physical release of Yomawari: Nights Alone for the Vita is planned this fall for both Europe and North-America. The interesting part is that it will come bundled with Hotaru no Nikki, with both games safely tucked on the same cartridge. I've been toying with the idea of giving the latter a try but never actually purchased it; and upon learning about that planned dual release, I'm immensely glad that I waited. Once again, a gorgeous special edition is available, but I'm going to pass on this one and concentrate rather on the game alone.
That's it for the exciting gaming tidbits of the moment, dear fellow gamers. A lot of thrilling releases await us, and the gaming fall ahead promises to be bright indeed. Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!
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I wasn't aware that we were getting Yomawari! And bundled with Hotaru Nikki no less! Very nice. I was expecting an usual unceremonious digital only release.
ReplyDeleteOh, and you're also interested in Fate/Extella? I can't wait to play again with Saber Nero! Did you play Fate/Extra and Fate/Extra CCC?
That's nice indeed. NIS are definitely doing a great job, if you ask me! :)
DeleteI'm very interested in Fate/Extella, although I yet have to play any game in the series! I love the looks of the characters and the gameplay seems fairly interesting. I already own the (of course) special edition of Fate/Extra; however, I was not aware of the existence of Fate/Extra CCC, so thank you for filling me in! One more game on my PSP wishlist! ^^
CCC is Japan-only though! Thanks to some more suggestive content and nearly nude shots, Xseed thought it would be to risky to bring it over.
DeleteI'd recommend you play, at least, F/Extra before F/Extella since it's a follow up to the story.
Suggestive contents and nearly nude shots, heh? Well, the presence of risque content goes a long way toward explaining the high price tag of the game. I'm always amazed—and amused—by the hefty prices commanded by fan-servicy games; one could nearly think that there is some sort of hidden tax on lewdness lurking behind these sky-high price tags. Oh, well. I'll get Fate/Extra CCC anyway, if only for collection consistency! ^^
DeleteThe designs are also very, VERY suggestive. Mainly Sakura's Alter Egos. (Too bad I can't post my screenshots to show you, but you can google the game and easily find them.)
DeleteThe story is pretty good though. Both Extra's and CCC's, so I'd recommend you play them each at least once. The gameplay is very hit-or-miss (it's literal rock paper scissors battles) but it's still pretty fun.
The prices vary depending more on how many units they've sold and not exactly on content! And since fanservicy games usually have a low amount of in stock units and sell really well... you can do the math. :p
That's pretty steamy content indeed.^^ I totally had a crush on Saber's bride outfit, which is just the most gorgeous fighting uniform I've seen this side of Beatrix Kiddo.
DeleteYou're totally right about prices and numbers, obviously; yet I cannot help but think that some sellers raise the price tags of fan-servicy games ever-so-slightly, because they know that there is an audience ready to fork out whatever amount of cash is necessary to get their hands on these games... :P
Saber's bride outfit is really gorgeous, yeah. Although I ended up falling in love with Nero's last costume, which actually fits her royal personality like a glove!
DeleteCheck it out here:
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/typemoon/images/2/25/SaberCCCemperor.png/revision/latest?cb=20130522220508
Price speculation and stock manipulation aren't exactly legal methods, but it's not like economic regulators are supervising the videogame retailers, right? :p ah, and are you checking import prices through Amazon UK or US? With all this matter of the Brexit, the British pound's value is decreasing considerably, so it's a bad time to import through the Amazon UK but a great time to import FROM the Amazon UK. That, of course, if your country adhered to the Euro.
Wow, that's a seriously gorgeous outfit. Overall, I really love the costume designs of the Fate series for being stunningly beautiful as well as extremely stylish and original.
DeleteWhen it comes to game hunting, I go for the 'bargain' approach: I check several merchant sites—including Markeplaces on different Amazon platforms, Ebay and Play-Asia—in order to cherry-pick the best deal(s) available. I usually end up purchasing Japanese games from the Amazon.com Marketplace since many Japanese sellers are hosted there, but I also occcasionally snatched some cheap Japanese exclusives from Play-Asia and Ebay. It's really just a matter of being patient—and lucky as well! :P
I read about the British pound loosing value, but I didn't connect this to potential bargains on the Amazon UK Marketplace... In behalf of my bank account, thank you for pointing out this opportunity! ^^
Tracking down the pound's value is a very useful thing to save up some money! I remember buying Final Fantasy Theatrhythm Curtain Call brand new and just released for almost half the price thanks, to a giant dip in value on the week I ordered it! And just some weeks ago the British pound devalued a lot during a couple of days too, and I readily took the opportunity to buy a couple of games and saved around 20+€. It's not much per se, but it adds up!
Delete(Oh, wow. This post almost makes me sound like a publicity spammer or a salesperson or something! :p)
Hahaha!! "Publicity spammer"!! That one cracked me up. ^^
DeleteJoke aside, this is a really good trick that I never even thought of using... But every euro matters when you're a greedy collector who wants good value for money! So again, thank you for your excellent advice.^^ I will pay more attention to currency rates for future purchases!
Around 3 years ago, buying from the UK was even more advantageous! But then the British pound slowly increased in value, or better, the Euro kept devaluing because of our political situation, so things are quite different now. Still, it doesn't hurt to keep an eye out for the pound's exchange rate!
DeleteBut enough with economics and politics; I'm not sure you're aware but Romancing SaGa 2 is gonna hit USA/EUR PSN this summer! I highly recommend that you pick it up since it's a solid turn-based RPG from the SNES era, and it will even serve as an appetizer for the new SaGa game!
(And before you ask: it didn't get a physical release, unfortunately, even in Japan.)
I was not aware of Romancing SaGa 2's planned released and I'm overjoyed at the news! I'm definitely going to purchase it, all the more so as my retro itch has not been scratched for quite some time and is begging for attention. A physical release would have been the cherry on the cake, but I can understand that no publisher wanted to take the risk of issuing physical copies of a 16-bit RPG.
Delete