ATLUS and NISA Sitting in a Tree…
K-I-S-S-I-N-G
As ATLUS USA tend to only publish in the North American market, there is usually a period of time where RPG fans in PAL regions are left wondering how many more months (if not years) it will be until they get to enjoy the same games their US counterparts do. While this is generally not a big issue if the game is on a PlayStation console, given that all bar a few PlayStation 3/4/Vita games are region locked, titles released on region locked Nintendo consoles often make it much trickier for fans to play a title without a localized release.
Fortunately, Nippon Ichi Software America have today confirmed they now hold the PAL region publishing rights to four recently published or soon-to-be-published JRPG’s which have been / are being localized by ATLUS USA. The first three, listed below, will be available sometime in Fall 2015. The final game will be published in Early 2016.
Information on all four titles can be viewed below:
Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & the Monster Seal (PS Vita)
The kingdom of Romulea is in peril. Monsters are leaking out of every nook and cranny in the land, and to make matters worse, they have started an uprising against humanity. Players take on the role of Fried, an adventurer from the Royal Library sent to stop the uprising. But early in his journey, he discovers a broken shrine along the way. This sets in motion the story of Dungeon Travelers 2, where Fried travels around the kingdom of Romulea, and through rescuing, defeating, or bumping into any of the 16 unique girls that can join his party, Fried is on a mission to save the world! Set in a first-person perspective with turn-based combat, players will encounter normal monsters as well as more powerful mutant girls, who must be sealed away to prevent the spread of the evil monster scourge.
Etrian Mystery Dungeon (Nintendo 3DS)
There’s no hand-holding in Etrian Mystery Dungeon. The action/turn based combat means that battling monsters is not just about using the right skills, but becomes an elegant Pas de Quatre of strategic positioning. Players form their parties with familiar Etrian Odyssey classes, such as Landsknecht and Runemaster, customize individuals using Etrian-style skill trees, and then take up to four members into the dungeons. Always randomized with various levels and paths, the dungeons require plenty of exploration, not to mention the incredible loot rewards — just be wary of what waits among the deepest depths…
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker (Nintendo 3DS)
The world of Record Breaker is on the brink of non-existence. Just before the heralding of the apocalypse, when life was normal, some thrill-seekers were registering on a website that promised to deliver fake videos of their friends being killed. As people wondered what these videos could mean, an invasion began and humanity was forced to face a struggle to survive in an unprecedented catastrophe.. For the main character and his friends, they stand up for humanity when the very same website uploads an application on their cell phones, summoning demons. From there, newly minted demon tamers begin the fight to survive and save the future of mankind, but the protagonist’s decisions aren’t without consequences. What he chooses may save the lives of his friends, or seal their fate.
Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight (Nintendo 3DS)
The next entry of the Etrian Odyssey Untold series is essentially two games in one – the first, a Nintendo 3DS update to Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard (released on Nintendo DS) with new dungeon layouts, new graphics, and system improvements from the recent Etrian Odyssey Untold. The second is the Untold portion – a brand new story mode with a fixed party, voiced dialogue, and animated cutscenes that follows the bittersweet tale of the Fafnir Knight and Princess Arianna. Like Persona Q, the Untold portion of the game has a strong focus on characters and their interactions as the story about the Fafnir Knight and Princess Arianna unfolds as they adventure forth into the ruins of Ginnungagap and the Yggdrasil Labyrinth with the hero Flavio and the two mysterious adventurers, Bertrand and Chloe.
Perhaps the one disappointing thing about this announcement however is that there are currently no publisher locked in for upcoming Persona games like Persona 4: Dancing All Night and Persona 5. Given the popularity of such a series, I would have thought those would be games that PAL region publishers would be confirmed for sooner rather than later.
