So, amongst all the latest game releases, console wars heating up with the possible Nintendo Puu being announced as being in development, the Playstation Network being down and XBox Live suddenly having all their banned members being momentarily resurrected from their graves amongst the 0’s and 1’s, it is important to narrow down the information from the massive swarms of information that is relative to you. Therefore, every week or so, I will be sifting through the news and bringing you guys news that I think is relative to the targetted demographic of this blog….. the Otaku (Duh! Look at the blog name). Generally I will be reporting news on the three big companies (Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony) however it will majority be focused on the games over the actual consoles.
Here is a list of the things covered in this Otaku’s Gaming Study:
- My thoughts on the debate for Japanese Dubbing in the PS3/XBox360 game Catherine.
- Prius Online – Not so IP Banned after all?
- Disgaea 4 – Recent Announcements
- Cave Story 3D
- Updates from GHOSTLIGHT
- Umineko Fighter on XBox Live?
1.1 – Japanese Dubbing on the PS3 and XBox360 Game Catherine – My Thoughts
It has been made clear by ATLUS, that the english release of Catherine will only have an English dub, and will offer optional English Subtitles to go alongside with it. Personally, it makes no such difference to me as I like to look at everything else rather then have my eyes glued to the subtitles… and given the voice cast, they arent that bad. However, some users haven’t been so happy about this, stating things such as:
The majority of the fan all over the world that it attends the game, wants the original japanese dub, with the subtitles done good them, without some modification or censorship of any kind. The majority of the European customers who attend Catherine (especially in PS3 version), not of cares absolutely nothing of the presence of the English dub, but it wants and it expects solely the identical game to the Japanese version, voices of the comprised peronaggi, a faithful translation of the subtitles them and stop.
and
Honestly, when I think about it; I don’t necessarily always want both tracks for a game. Depending on who’s cast in the JP game, I wouldn’t mind if there wasn’t an English track, with resources going to other needs.
There are too many arguments both ways, so here is the forum link: http://atlus.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8696
Look, I understand that people want a dual-audio track, however I do question if some claims that they would rather boycott the game then have to “suffer” english dubbing and all that are valid. I mean, for a game like Catherine, it seems like majority of the gameplay ISN’T voiced, since you are too busy in Vincent’s Delusional world of climbing and goats…. the ATLUS staff have already put down the hammer and said no to dual-audio, and considering it is almost May and the game is out in July… somehow I don’t think they will be adding anything else major in now. Don’t forget, Atlus USA is a localizing studio whilst Atlus Japan is the developing studio. Either way, the game is shaping up to be great! My articles on the game so far can be found: http://otakustudy.com/?cat=251
1.2 – Prius Online, Not so IP Banned as once thought?
On the 4th of March this year, very close to the original announcement of supported regions, I noticed that Australia wasn’t on the list of countries, and whilst the staff were not commenting or halting thoughts on it, the word of regions outside of the supported areas (primarily the US and Europe) being IP Banned from the system entirely were spread. I don’t know if the original source was from a staff or a circulated rumour, however it became mainstream. Not sure whether it is due to pressure, extension of licensing, forgetfulness or the fact that it may not have been truth entirely, but when the CBT started a short while ago, I was able to log in! So everyone who is from a region such as Australia and did sign up for the Closed Beta Test… your accounts are most probably active and can be accessed. Whether this will change for future releases I am not sure, so enjoy it while you can! My original article on this can be found: http://otakustudy.com/?p=3994
1.3 – Disgaea 4 Announcements
Interested in having only the most ultimate version of the ultimate tactical RPG to come out in 2011? Well look no further then the Disgaea 4: Premium Figure Set! It comes in at a whopping $119.99, more then double the cost of the normal edition of the game, however the benefits of having such a version are great. So, what do you get in each of the three versions you might ask?
Disgaea 4 Premium Figure Set – $119.99
A Disgaea 4 Premium Box which consists of:
– Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten PS3 Game
– Full colour, soft cover artbook
– Fuka Figurine
Complete Disgaea 4 Figure Set with Nine Figures included
Free Bonus Disgaea 4 OST
Disgaea 4 Premium Edition – $59.99
A Disgaea 4 Premium Box which consists of:
– Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten PS3 Game
– Full colour, soft cover artbook
– Fuka Figurine
Free Bonus Disgaea 4 OST
Disgaea 4 Normal Edition – $49.99
Just a game and OST.
Personally, I would advise readers to get the Premium Edition, which seems to be the best value for money, otherwise go for the more expensive Figure set if you must have them. Personally, I will be going for the Premium Edition.
Also, the contest winners for the Dis-name-a Contest have been announced. Sadly, yours truly didn’t win, however the following entries did!
INTRODUCING THE….. Regal Darkness sword, which was submitted by someone named Philip T. This sword is supposedly so powerful that the mere sight of it will stop demons in their tracks.
Need someone to both protect your base from evil overlords *Coff* Laharl *Coff* Zetta *Coff*, as well as having someone manage your gate so you can travel effectively? Then look no further then your now (and possibly single) Nekomata Gatekeeper Cleopawtra, suggested by Rodney V.
Finally! We have the ultimate skill Cross Demon Rush, suggested by Adrian C. Nothing much exciting to say on this one, but hey, cutting an enemy into four pieces is definitely deadly…
1.4 – Cave Story 3D
Since the initial mention I made of this title, nothing much has been said about the title…. until now! This game is Nippon Ichi Software America’s debut into the 3DS Market, and is claimed to be an action shooter game, with some rather nice looking graphics. The overview of the game is as follows:
Cave Story 3D is a side scrolling action adventure game inspired by the fan-favorite 2D original. Now in a full 3D world, Cave Story takes the proven 2D action, exploration into stereoscopic awesomeness. You wake up in a cave with no idea who you are or where you came from, but you know you must help a cute race of rabbit-like creatures beat the crap out of some crusty old doctor.
Whilst I am not really for beating the crap out of a doctor (Don’t do it at home kids), this game does sound to be quite unique, and should hopefully offer some much needed gameplay for the 3DS, which seems to have a collection of…. lackluster games on it so far. For more information on this title, you should keep your eyes on the official website: http://www.nisamerica.com/games/cave-story/ and keep your eyes on this blog, as I shall be doing another writeup of the game, very soon hopefully.
1.5 Updates from GHOSTLIGHT
My North American readers wouldn’t know much about this company, however Ghostlight is the European distributor for games such as Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and the initial releaser of Record of Agarest War for the European Region (Which was later released by ATLUS as a downloadable game for the NA PSN market and retail for 360). I recently got in touch with the PR department there and will now be delivering news on their latest games, including Record of Agarest War 2 for the PS3 (Sadly it won’t be on the 360 for Europe regions so far). However, the game I am most interested in today is Persona 3 Portable. The Persona series is a real bitch to get over in Australia, with only a few scattered releases here and there, however thanks to GHOSTLIGHT, both European and Australian regions can expect Persona 3 Portable on shelves starting from yesterday!
I am not entirely sure if it is still available or if a physical release will be available, however you can (or could) get your hands on the collectors edition of Persona 3 Portable which included a collectors edition slipcase, 48 page artbook, 6 artcards, A3 poster and a limited edition T-Shirt. The link for it can be found here: http://www.ghostlight.uk.com/games/sony-psp/persona-3-portable-collectors-edition-tshirt.html with the dedicated website for Persona 3 Portable being found here: http://p3p.ghostlight.uk.com/. Looking at the t-shirt design, it is pretty damn good. For those who don’t want to buy the UMD edition, I have gotten word that in the next few months, they will be releasing a PSN version of the game, with no date set as of yet.
1.6 Umineko Fighter to 360 XBox Live
This actually came as a pretty big shock to me. After releasing Umineko no Naku Koro ni Parts 1-4 on the Playstation 3, they have now decided to release solely the extra fighting game Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Ougon Musou Kyoku to the XBox360 Online Marketplace in Japan. I am curious to how this will go, as the XBox has proven much more successful in the western market then in the Japanese market (Many… many… many times more successful), so it makes me wonder if there is consideration of an English release for this title….. or they are trying to test the waters or even further yet, think that the XBox360 would prove a more effective market for a game of this type. It is not a direct port however, with them including many other special features such as three extra characters (Rosa, Jessica and George) as well as new levels.
Personally, I am not one for fighting games, however did play the games and found the controls…. wonky at best. I am curious to see if they have improved the control system to bring it up to par with other fighting games such as Blazblue. No word on a Playstation 3 release yet, but they did get the actual Visual Novel, so if not, each wins one and loses one.
1.x Conclusion
and that is it for my first ever The Otaku’s Gaming Study writeup. I have a few more things I will save for the next article, and with companies eagerly announcing new games, it shouldn’t be long until #2 will be coming along. My reviews will be back as normal, I have half-written reviews for Honey and Clover Collection 2, Ar Tonelico: Qoga and House of Five Leaves, so they should be released in the next day or two.
Hope you enjoyed reading this!
