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Sumioni: Demon Arts for PS Vita: Classic Japanese Art, Modern Platforming Action
Posted by Tom Lipschultz in Uncategorized on January 12th, 2012
Before you stands a tower, and upon that tower stands an angry bowman, shooting wave upon wave of arrows in your direction. He’s far out of reach, and the tower completely blocks your path, so you’re forced to deal with this situation in order to proceed – but how do you go about it?
You could always hack at the tower’s support structure with your sword, wearing it away bit by bit until the whole thing comes tumbling to the ground…but that might take a while, and the bowman would be shooting you in the head repeatedly the whole time. Maybe you’d be better off taking out your paintbrush and drawing a sloped platform up, over and around the tower, creating a bridge to guide you past it safely. Or perhaps you could set the tower (and its occupant) ablaze, or spawn a lightning-spewing thundercloud above it and let Mother Nature handle the rest.
Or, if you’re feeling particularly frisky, how about summoning a phoenix or a sacred lion and directing it to spew waves of holy energy at the tower, instantly reducing it and any threats beyond it to ashes?
In the world of Sumioni: Demon Arts, an ink-themed 2D action platformer coming to the PS Vita this spring, any or all of the above solutions lie at your fingertips. As long as you have enough ink stored up, you can enact endless miracles upon your environment. Need to cross a bed of spikes? Use the touchscreen to draw a platform over them. Flames coming toward you? Douse them with water – and try to time it so the steam this produces burns an enemy soldier.
There are many ways to overcome virtually any obstacle in your path, and most of them make judicious use of PS Vita’s beautiful touchscreen. Should you find yourself too low on ink to employ these features, you can always create more by furiously rubbing the rear touch pad with every available appendage – but of course, you’ll be left defenseless while doing so, so timing these ink-padding sessions is of the utmost importance.
At the end of most stages stands a tall pagoda, from which enemy agents emerge endlessly. It must be destroyed, but not only is it built of sterner stuff than the many watchtowers dotting the land, it also comes equipped with cannons, automated razor arms, flamethrowers and other nasty surprises that won’t make the going particularly easy. But then, you have ink, fire, water and enormous, godly familiars at your disposal, so no one can accuse you of rushing into battle unprepared!
Sometimes, you’ll encounter an enemy who’s simply out of your league and you’ll have no choice but to outrun it. In these situations, you’ll need to use your considerable arsenal of inky abilities to circumnavigate obstacles and enemy fire ASAP, lest you wind up as paste beneath a gargantuan demon’s ugly big toe.
And other times, you’ll be tasked with hunkering down in an open field and fending off waves of hostile attackers, awaiting the opening of an inevitable escape route that always seems another few seconds off.
Sumioni: Demon Arts is developed by Acquire (of Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls and Class of Heroes fame) and will be released on the PS Vita in North America as a launch window title through XSEED Games (yay, us!). Fun, fast, frenetic and fetching, the traditional Japanese “sumi-e” ink art style perfectly augments Sumioni’s fluid animations and diverse gameplay, giving it a one-of-a-kind look and feel on a one-of-a-kind system.
So next time you’re surrounded by deadly foes, just remember: Always bet on ink!
Let’s Get This Corpse Party Started!
Posted by Tom Lipschultz in psp on November 22nd, 2011
Halloween may be over, but if you’ve ever wondered what Thanksgiving might be like from the turkey’s point of view, Corpse Party’s totally got your back!
Releasing for the PSP later today as a PlayStation Store exclusive download (at a mere $19.99), Corpse Party immerses you within the creepy confines of a dangerously haunted, completely inescapable school building as you struggle in vain to rescue your friends from the clammy grasp of death and find a way back home before suffering a complete descent into insanity (or worse!).
So after you’ve feasted upon the supple flesh of the holiday bird this week, let the tryptophan lull you into a false sense of comfort, dim the lights and get ready to have some serious nightmares. This party’s just getting started – and it ain’t messin’ around!
For more information on Corpse Party’s gameplay, please direct your attention to this previous PlayStation.Blog entry; or, if you’d prefer to learn a bit more about what makes it such a frightening experience, direct your attention here instead. There’s also an official website for the game, wherein you can learn specific details about its story, characters and history as an independently-developed Japanese PC title.
You think you’re thankful this Thursday? Wait till you play Corpse Party! It may give you a whole new appreciation of what it means to be alive…
Corpse Party and the Psychology of Horror
Posted by Tom Lipschultz in PSN on October 31st, 2011
We love to be scared. There’s something so primal and universal about fear, and a good horror story can really bring out the best of it, making our hearts race and our minds veer toward the darkest recesses of the human psyche. And we just keep going back for more!
Yet by the same token, horror has become so passe that we barely even react when we encounter imagery of skeletons, zombies, witches, bats, vampires and ghouls. True primal fear is hard to come by in the modern world, and this applies to video games as well. When you hear the term “horror game,” what’s the first thing that pops into your mind? Probably “zombies” since that seems to characterize much of the horror genre nowadays. Most modern horror games assault you with wave after wave of zombies, and you can typically one-shot them back to their graves. They may look scary, but when’s the last time you were actually frightened in a zombie shooter game? Maybe you had an exciting time playing one, and jumped at a handful of startling moments, but the mere fact that you’re able to defend yourself – that you have a means of fighting back – makes just about every entry in the genre less horror than action.
In many ways, classic Japanese horror is much purer. For movies, think The Ring or The Grudge. For games, think Clock Tower or Haunting Ground. They’re all about unavoidable, inevitable death. You can run, but you can’t not die. You have no weapons. Your foes are immortal. All you can do is struggle in vain to survive, and pray that each door you open – each corridor you traverse – isn’t your last.
Most of each of the aforementioned movies and games achieve true terror through sheer anticipation. You know something horrible is lurking nearby… but you have no idea when or where it will strike. When nothing happens for an extended period of time, your anxiety grows until you reach that point where you begin to think you’re out of the woods. And then — BAM! — that’s when it hits you.
Corpse Party is one such horror experience. It plays out like the best of Japanese horror films, locking your nine main protagonists in an inescapable, otherworldly school building where vengeful spirits seek to end their lives in the most grisly, inhuman ways imaginable – all the while directly infiltrating their minds to drive them to paranoia, madness and suicide. The longer your characters stay in Heavenly Host Elementary School, the more utterly exhausted, certifiably insane and ravenously hungry they become, causing students to turn against one another, resort to cannibalism, hang themselves or simply suffer nervous breakdowns. Death is inevitable.
Any hope of rescue becomes less and less likely with each passing second, causing some to resign themselves to their fates and simply accept the first chances at sweet release that come their way – which usually take very unpleasant and deeply disturbing forms.
Make no mistake, there is a way out – for some, anyway. But finding it takes more time than you have, and more effort than you can reasonably expect most high schoolers to muster under such ludicrously taxing circumstances. There will be casualties, no matter what choices you make. The question is, how many will live, and how many will die? With over 20 endings (most of which are aptly-named “wrong ends”), you can expect to see (and hear) every single character in the game suffer greater cruelty than you’d ever considered possible… and try as you might to be disgusted, you will be morbidly intrigued. These deaths are so creatively sadistic, so drawn-out and convincingly acted, that you’ll hang on your unfortunate protagonists’ every knell – and will never forget the horrors to which you are subjected.
Oddly enough, Corpse Party’s 16-bit-style 2D visuals contribute to the terror. This visual style provides a sense of distance between you and the characters under your control, which has a rather chilling consequence. Effectively, you’re given more than adequate visual feedback to comprehend the exact situation that’s occurring, but since most everything is shown through animated character sprites, you’re left with the task of envisioning the gory minutiae on your own. And as any true horror fan can tell you, the human mind is capable of imagining pain and torment far more potent than anything a screen can display.
Sound plays a major role in this as well. Every line of dialogue is expertly voice-acted in Japanese, and many of these lines were recorded binaurally – using two microphones instead of one, to create the illusion of a 3D soundscape. Play with headphones, and you may suddenly hear the spirits of long-dead children whispering directly into your ear. Some scenes relish in killing the lights, too, playing out entirely through squishy, unsettling noises and screams of indescribable agony that sound all too believable.
Corpse Party is scheduled for release on the North American PlayStation Store this November as a PSP download. We’re sorry to have missed Halloween, but we wanted to make certain everything was perfect before unleashing this demon upon the English-speaking world.
If you’re a fan of true horror, Corpse Party will most definitely be worth the wait. But do prepare yourself: This is no hayride.
Just What Kind of a Party is Corpse Party?
Posted by Tom Lipschultz in psp on October 7th, 2011
So you’ve taken an interest in Corpse Party, have you? Perhaps you were intrigued by the launch trailer, or laughed at the name when you saw it mentioned on your favorite gaming news site (or hilarious webcomic?). Perhaps you’re a fan of survival horror games, or visual novels, or point-and-click adventures… or perhaps you simply enjoy Japanese horror movies like The Ring and The Grudge, and are always looking for your next fix.
Regardless of why you’ve taken an interest or how you got to this blog, there’s one thing that most likely holds true: You have very little idea what Corpse Party actually is.
Our launch trailer focused on the most important aspects of the game – those being its unsettling atmosphere and its dark-as-night storyline – but did very little to indicate exactly how it’s played. So, let’s dig a little deeper and find out exactly what horrors await, shall we?
In the broadest terms, Corpse Party is a horror adventure game. You play as an ensemble cast of seven senior high school students, one junior high school student and one senior high school English teacher. The game’s story is split into five chapters, each of which focuses (more or less) on one particular subset of these characters as they explore a haunted, otherworldly elementary school in an attempt to find some way out without dying or losing their minds. Their efforts are thwarted at every turn not only by those responsible for this ethereal school’s existence, but also by the vengeful spirits of other students just like them who were drawn into this dimension against their will and met with unfortunate (and usually quite gruesome) ends.
Many have posited that Corpse Party plays out like a visual novel, but that’s really not the case. While some scenes (such as the unlockable “Extra Chapters”) consist purely of dialogue-driven cinematics, most of the game is fully interactive, allowing you to walk around and explore Heavenly Host Elementary as you see fit, carefully examining objects and piecing together the sordid history of the school at every turn. There’s no combat, per se, but you are often confronted by hostile paranormals or potentially fatal environmental hazards and must make decisions on where to go, how to proceed or what to say. The wrong decision will either immediately or eventually lead you down a path toward one of the game’s vast multitudes of “Wrong Ends,” or bad endings – generally long, drawn-out and meticulously detailed death scenes brought to life through a combination of 2D sprite animation, full-screen art stills, meaty, squishy sound effects and high-quality Japanese voice-acting (recorded binaurally to create the illusion of 3D sound, making headphones an absolute must!).
Occasionally, you’ll find yourself being chased by a malevolent spirit (or two, or three), and the game never makes it very easy to get away. You’ll often need the perfect blend of dexterity and innovative thinking to survive these ordeals – not just running for your life, but also trying to find some way of escaping a room that really, really doesn’t want to let you leave. In one such instance, getting caught by your pursuer means being shoved into a shallow grave and slowly buried alive as you listen to one of the game’s strongest characters suffocating and retching under endless shovelfuls of dirt, begging for his life for almost five solid minutes before the last gasp of breath escapes his mouth and the “Wrong End” music plays. Wrong, indeed!
So no, this is definitely much more than a visual novel. Though Corpse Party’s gameplay ultimately exists as a vessel for telling an intensely creepy, gory and unsettling mystery story, there’s always something new to see, some new psychotic spirit to escape or some new puzzle to solve. And with over 80 corpses of your predecessors to find, three proper endings to achieve and a whopping twenty-four “Wrong Ends” to witness (and believe me, morbid curiosity will make you want to see them all, even if they’re hard to watch!), you’ll surely be scarred for life long before you ever put this game down.
Watch for its release in the PlayStation Store this fall… and prepare to sleep with the lights on for a while (not that it’ll help!).
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls Now Live on PSN
Posted by Tom Lipschultz in PSN on June 3rd, 2011
Man, what can you say about Wizardry? I’m not even sure where to start. Few game series have as long and storied a history as Wizardry, which is the same age as Mario and helped inspire entire gaming genres. Much has changed in this series over the years, but the base formula has remained the same: create your avatar, hire some help at the local guild, accept a quest or two, then crawl through a seemingly endless maze of corridors, traps, treasure chests and secret passageways… all in glorious first-person 3D!
But do mind the monsters. Everything from adorable Vorpal Bunnies to giant dragons, to a demonic face made out of corpses is traipsing through these same cavernous depths, always just around the next corner. Once you’re spotted, it’s time to fight – and if you’re not strong, clever or fast enough to take them down, you’re going to wind up as a spot on the wall – like all the others.
In the end, it comes down to tweaking your stats, finding or buying new equipment, keeping track of your whereabouts, exploring thoroughly and strategizing like there’s no tomorrow. Think Etrian Odyssey, or Dark Spire, or… well… Wizardry!
There are 10 main characters to choose from, consisting of male and female alternatives for each of the game’s five races, and each of them has a unique personality and an individual story arc to offer. After picking a character, you’re given an opportunity to choose an alignment (Good, Evil or Neutral), allocate points to various stats (Strength, Vitality, Agility, Luck, Intelligence and Piety), then pick your class.
As series fans know all too well, these are not arbitrary decisions in the slightest. Alignment determines which classes you can play and which existing guild recruits will be willing to join your party (as you might imagine, Evil and Good don’t get along too well). And class is absolutely paramount, with vastly different gameplay strategies required — both in and out of battle — depending on the class makeup of your dungeon-farers.
Let’s take a quick look at this game’s 10 main characters, and see if we can determine which would be the best choice for you!
Human (Chris or Odetta)
Humans are well-balanced, given them easy access to every base class. Starting adventurers may find it easiest to begin with someone like Chris or Odetta, whose stats are so well-rounded that they’ll never come up short in any endeavor — even if they also never truly excel. Personality-wise, Chris is rather acerbic. Having been wronged one too many times, he’s essentially become impatient and untrusting in his dealings with others. And Odetta, ironically, proves that Chris is right to doubt others, since her motives are anything but pure.
Elf (Verne or Lind)
Elves, like humans, are balanced enough that any base class is available to them right from the start. Unlike humans, however, the distribution is not completely equal, giving them a slight edge in Intelligence and Piety (qualities befitting a magic-user), and a tiny nudge in Agility and Luck as well (qualities befitting a Thief).
Personality-wise, Verne is a stoic, serious individual with Vulcan-like logic and a constantly cool head. He’s devoted his life to study, and seeks only the funding to further his intellectual pursuits.
Lind has embraced her darker side, and seeks fortune above all else.
Dwarf (Pegma or Nia)
With high Strength, Vitality and Piety from the start, dwarves make excellent Fighters or Priests – though their low base Intelligence, Agility and Luck make them unlikely choices for the job of Mage or Thief.
Personality-wise, Pegma is unusual in that he possesses a cool head and an intellectual bent — qualities more befitting of an elf. Nia, too, defies the dwarven stereotype by maintaining a constant optimistic outlook and friendly, social demeanor. Having lost her memory, she’s chosen to become an adventurer in the hope that someone might recognize her and give her some clue about her mysterious past.
Gnome (Erno or Dia)
Boasting sky-high Intelligence and Piety, gnomes are extremely well suited to becoming Magic-users, yet extremely unsuited for almost any other job. Unlike the other races, gnomes with Good alignment are readily able to begin the game as Bishops – an advanced form of the Priest class – due to their astoundingly high Piety.
Personality-wise, Erno and Dia are very much alike: They’re both naturally Good individuals with high intellect and a desire to succeed. Erno, studying to become a first-class Mage, has taken up adventuring to fund his schooling; whereas Dia, a seminary graduate, has taken up adventuring to gain real-world experience before attempting to secure her desired spot in the local clergy.
Porklu (Boris or Asche)
Natural-born masters of subterfuge, porklu have excessively high agility and luck, making them absolutely ideal Thieves. Their other stats are quite low, however, so the Thieves’ ability to hide in the shadows may fast become an essential survival skill. Still, every good party needs a Thief, and no race is better suited to that role than the porklu.
Personality-wise, Boris is astonishingly social and comes across as a likable and fun individual, having made a living as a knife-juggler. Asche is much shyer than her male counterpart, rarely uttering a word. She responds to almost any question simply by nodding or shaking her head. This shyness largely comes from her previous occupation – that of pickpocket, where socializing is not a particularly useful trait – but she’s resolved to change her ways and make a more honest living from now on.
No matter which starting character you choose, you’re guaranteed a long, treacherous, intriguing adventure into the depths of the earth, filled with mysteries, puzzles, traps and monsters both big and small. If you’re looking for a game to suck you into its meaty atmosphere and never let you go, Wizardry may be just what the doctor ordered.
So consider your options carefully, choose your protagonist wisely, and do whatever you can to survive the trials that await you. This is the Labyrinth of Lost Souls, after all. Getting a little lost within is simply par for the course…
Take that, Society! The Softer, Seedier Side of Ys I & II Chronicles
Posted by Tom Lipschultz in PlayStation Games, psp, xseed, ys i & ii chronicles on January 21st, 2011
Greetings once again, dear readers! This is Tom from XSEED comin’ at ya’ with some Ys I & II Chronicles info. Have you all preordered your copies? There’s only one short month left until release, so you’d best get those preorders in quick – supplies will surely be limited!
You can tell when developers had fun working on a game, and let me tell you, Falcom clearly had a ball working on these. Simply put, these are games that reward you for thinking outside the box and doing things you were clearly never meant to do. Got some new offensive magic? Try using it in town. Found a new item? Try using it EVERYWHERE. Escorting a pretty lady? Try, erm… well, I don’t know how to end that sentence without sounding like a total pervert. More on that in a bit!
There are so many hidden extras of questionable taste and undeniable wrongness that submitting an ESRB report for this title was… interesting, to say the least. Every time I thought I was done, I’d go back and find something new that was much, much worse, and clearly had to be written down. In the back of my head, I kept hearing a little voice yelling the words, “Hot Coffee! Hot Coffee! Dear Lord, this could turn into the next Hot Coffee scandal!” But I persevered, and in the end, I think I got everything that could possibly offend anyone – and Ys I & II Chronicles wound up with a T rating and six descriptors. Yeesh!
In no particular order, here are a few of the game’s more noteworthy (and soon to be infamous) extras:
Extra #1
Fireballing villagers in Ys II. This is a classic, and is actually super-duper fun to do. Most games would prevent you from using Fire magic inside a town… but not this one! You can role-play Adol as a real jerk if you want to, and have him shoot children and the elderly with searing hot balls of agony to your heart’s content – and what’s more, every single villager in the game has a unique exclamation of pain when struck. (And let me tell you, I had a LOT of fun with that in editing – River City Ransom, The Goonies II, Final Fantasy VI… anything and everything got its turn in the referencing pool!) The game even has a gift-giving system, and if you try fireballing a villager, then giving him/her a gift, he/she will call you out on your petty attempts at a materialistic apology. Take that, society!
Extra #2
Turning into a “Roo,” also in Ys II. Yep, there’s a spell in the game that lets you transform yourself into a cute, fuzzy little kangaroo-like creature. Once you’ve taken this form, you’re actually able to converse with monsters – and all the monsters in the game, from random level 1 goons on the first map to bosses, have unique dialogue (which is pretty astounding when you think about it!). What’s funny, though, is that villagers have unique dialogue as well for when you speak with them in Roo form… and most of them are scared to death of you, thinking monsters have come invading their home. Take THAT, society!
Extra #3
Speaking of Roos, that was the closest ESRB call of them all. See, Roos are actually pretty friendly, and you can talk to them even when you’re in human form – except you can’t understand a word they’re saying, which is represented by their dialogue boxes being written entirely in runes. Now, I can’t read runes, so I didn’t realize this at first… but it turns out all of this dialogue was actually in English… and if I could read runes, I’d have realized that these cute little creatures were saying things like, “PLEASE LEND MONEY.” Funny, silly stuff… except for one very angry, very foul-mouthed Roo (a Roo with issues!), who spoke such harsh runic words in the original Japanese version of the game that I dare not repeat them here! But fear not: His M-rated runic English has since been replaced with something a bit less abrasive, and the rest of the runic text has been “cleaned up” just enough to be serviceable, but without losing that original “Engrish” flair. Of course, I couldn’t resist sneaking a FEW fun little extra lines in there… such as the dialogue included in the attached screenshot. What could he be saying? Oh, I’ll never tell! Take THAT, society!
Extra #4
Now for the more… erm… “colorful” extras. Somebody at Falcom clearly has a bit of a perverted streak, as there are a few extras in these games that simply can’t be discussed without a bit of guilty blushing. See, in typical Ys tradition, each of these two games has a short escort mission to complete (though don’t worry, neither is annoying in any way!). In the first game, a young lady named Feena needs to be led out of an underground shrine; and in the second, a mischievous little boy named Tarf needs to be led through a volcanic lair. During the escort mission with Feena, there’s actually a dead-end corridor into which, with a bit of finagling, Adol can push her. After mashing her character sprite against the back wall for a couple seconds, she begins to get a little uncomfortable, and her measurements are added to your status screen. Man, Adol, what kind of hero are you?! Take that, society…
Extra #5
Even worse, though, is the escort mission with Tarf in Ys II. Yep, same story! It’s a lot harder to pull off, but there’s one specific dead-end you can mash Tarf against as well, to get HIS measurements! And most disturbing of all, you really have to go out of your way to do it – and it’s such a tight fit, the only way to get him in there is with fireballs! I had to get footage of this for the ESRB, and let me tell you… I’ve never felt dirtier in my life! Take that, society?
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, too. From snuggling in other peoples’ beds to using items where you’re not supposed to, to dangling scantily-clad character sprites from strings for decoration and robbing gold from a DUCK!, there are countless ways in which this game allows you to play Adol as a seedy, icky sort of hero. And you know what? As uncharacteristic as these behaviors may be for him, the fact that Ys I & II Chronicles allows you to be as naughty or nice as you wish is just… extremely refreshing! Not only are these games fun, fast, and totally metal, but they’re also role-playing games, in the strictest sense of the word.
Ys: The Oath in Felghana Hits PSP in November, See it in Action
Posted by Tom Lipschultz in PlayStation Games, psp, xseed, ys the oath in felghana on October 12th, 2010
Hello again, discerning PlayStation Blog readers! Localization specialist Tom here from XSEED Games, to talk to you a bit about Ys: The Oath in Felghana – sure to be the greatest portable gaming experience of 2010! Ys: The Oath in Felghana will arrive on UMD and PSN for the PSP this November.
Some of you may already be familiar with our previous release, Ys SEVEN, and may be wondering how Ys: The Oath in Felghana compares. Well … it’s hard to quantify, really! I’ve previously stated in a few interviews that Ys SEVEN is to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as Ys: The Oath in Felghana is to Super Metroid, and I really think that’s the best way to explain it. One is a lengthy, chaotic, sprawling experience full of more items and abilities than you could possibly know what to do with; and the other is a much tighter, more streamlined affair, where every single item and ability has a specific purpose and everything fits together like a finely-crafted puzzle. Ultimately, they’re both very different games (despite obviously sharing numerous characteristics, not the least of which is protagonist Adol Christin!), and the preferred title between the two is going to vary quite wildly from person to person.
Me? I prefer Oath in Felghana (by a very small margin, mind you!). And to explain why, I’m actually going to be bringing the Metroid and Castlevania comparisons to a whole other level. Ever hear the term “Metroidvania game?”
Well, that’s pretty much what Ys: The Oath in Felghana is – more or less. Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m NOT claiming it’s an open-ended nonlinear exploration-fest … but it DOES follow the basic structure of this much-beloved action subgenre: you explore your surroundings, find new items or abilities, and use those to push on farther than you ever could before. It’s all one map that’s constantly ballooning around you, allowing you access to places that were previously well beyond your reach.
The level design isn’t as labyrinthine as one would expect from a Metroid or new-age Castlevania title, but it does have that same sense of atmospheric wonderment—that lonely, haunting feel of being by yourself in a hostile land full of crazed monsters, with only your wits and your arsenal of special moves to get you through. You’ll find yourself constantly being taunted by treasure chests that are just out of reach – on a platform too high, too far, blocked off or otherwise rendered totally inaccessible to you … for now. And you’ll file that location away in the back of your mind, knowing that eventually you’ll find a way to obtain that distant treasure … some way … somehow …
And really, that’s the key to this game’s brilliance: its spectacular level designs. Every corner of Felghana is unique and well-conceived, with ample branching paths, pitfalls, puzzles and traps to keep you on your toes as you hesitantly turn the next corner, unaware of what horrors may await you beyond.
And oh, the horrors you’ll find! For those of you who started this series with Ys SEVEN, I implore ye take heed: Ys SEVEN is arguably one of the easiest games in the series, while Oath in Felghana is almost certainly one of the hardest. If you’re expecting a 1:1 correlation between the four difficulty levels in each game (and note that Felghana also adds a “Very Easy” and unlockable “Inferno” difficulty on top of the existing Easy/Normal/Hard/Nightmare selection), you’ll become well-acquainted with that Game Over screen, for sure.
For here in the depths of this forgotten lore, you risk a gruesome death with every new frontier you explore — and likely not one you’d ever considered before! But if these challenges you can overcome, the sense of accomplishment is … second to none! (Hey, it’s a half-rhyme. Half-rhymes count!)
If you’re worried that the game will be TOO hard for you, though … don’t be! As with Ys SEVEN, there’s an unlimited Retry feature that lets you challenge bosses as many times as it takes to conquer them, and even retry individual rooms until you can traverse them in one piece. It’s the perfect mix of cruel and merciful, making for a wonderfully satisfying (and amazingly non-frustrating) overall experience.
I don’t think I can possibly do justice to this game with a single blog entry, honestly. It’s truly one of the most perfect, flawless gaming experiences of the last decade, as far as I’m concerned. It’s not a long game, nor is it a complicated one. But it hits all the right notes, and is genuinely enjoyable from start to finish … and might just make you want to keep on playing it, over and over again, until you beat all six difficulty levels and conquer the infamous Boss Rush mode! Masterpieces like this are the reason I got into video games in the first place, and if you can only play one title this winter, I urge you to make it Ys: The Oath in Felghana. Unless you hate fast-paced action, thrilling exploration, genuine challenge (without frustration) and/or kickin’ rock music, I can’t imagine ANYONE being disappointed with this purchase … Especially if you pick up the limited edition, which is worth it for the soundtrack CD alone!
So go place your preorders! You wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on Super Metroid back in 1994, nor Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in 1997 … and you’re not going to want to miss out on Ys: The Oath in Felghana in 2010, either. Trust me! It’s THAT GOOD!
Ys Seven for PSP: Video tour
Posted by Tom Lipschultz in playstation, PlayStation Games, psp, ys 7, ys seven on August 13th, 2010
Greetings again from Cafnoria (note: the Ys world map has never stretched that far west, so I’m just guessing on this one!). XSEED’s resident Falcom fanatic is coming at you once again for another peek at Ys Seven, the most spectacular game to hit your PSP since Brave Story: New Traveler!
Today, our focus will be on the game world as we reveal to you all the Seven Wonders of Ys Seven — seven locations that help define the game and keep its story moving. So sit back, relax, take in the new trailer and enjoy!
1. Altago City
The centerpiece of the game’s story. This is where Adol and Dogi first make landfall in the Altaginian countryside. And, unlike most of the cities they’ve visited over the years, it does NOT offer them a particularly warm welcome. Still, that doesn’t make this trade capital any less impressive! Not only is the city a real sight to behold, it also includes a sprawling port for some of the largest naval vessels in the world. Its sheer size and magnificence makes it one of Ys Seven’s wonders, and its seedy, intricate history makes it a true contender for the #1 spot.
2. Shrine of Origins
Unearthed only recently, this mysterious cave contains artifacts from a distant time, featuring unknown markings. A sense of mystery pervades every last crevasse, and to any travelers who dare traverse its darkened spirals, I can offer only one piece of advice: LOOK UP!!
3. Ancient Tree of Shannoa
Arguably the largest tree in the world, with sap that can purify water and make plants grow instantaneously. As a result, its girth is constantly increasing, and its life-giving properties have brought hope to the humble Shannoans for generations. Though healthy, its inside does seem to be hollow, and many rumors have been spread as to what one may find therein. The truth, however, is far more intense than any could have possibly predicted.
4. Flame Shrine of Segram
No one knows exactly when the Flame Shrine was built, but the Segramites would not hesitate to tell you why: It exists to honor the Great Flame Dragon, whose endless supply of lava and brimstone has become a valuable resource to all those who dwell within the desert. Sure, it may not sound like much, but the fire guarded within this sanctified place is eternal, and its power has been known to ward off evil and burn contaminants from the air.
5. Holy Precincts of the Wind
This multi-tiered structure seems to defy gravity, floating in mid-air in a most impossible manner. Built to honor the Great Wind Dragon, these Holy Precincts serve as a place of worship for the mysterious Kylosian people, who are known to don sacred capes and ride its wind currents all the way to the blessed tower in its center. If you’re afraid of heights, though, this may be the scariest wonder of them all!
6. Ruins Island
TRULY a wonder, this island seems to have once held a thriving city, but all of that now lies at the bottom of its many sunken ruins. Those who draw near find their compasses spinning wildly, and have been known to lose all sense of direction. As a result, this wonder is currently forbidden — off-limits to all by order of Altago’s regent, King Kiemarl. Still, just because it’s off-limits to locals doesn’t mean it’s off-limits to visitors, right…?
7. ???
To even say the name of this final wonder would be most inconsiderate of me! Indeed, even revealing its exact location would ruin the surprise of discovering it on your own. But trust that this is, without a doubt, the greatest wonder of them all — and truly, it is unlike anything else in the world…
Want to learn more about Altago? Perhaps you’d like to know about the Cave Byway, or the Moonlight Path, or the Desert of Despair… or maybe you’d like to hear about the Dragon Sanctums, or the lake beneath the Altaginian Highlands?
Well, tough luck! I’m not about to spoil the whole game for you. You’ll just have to pick up your own copy of Ys Seven on Tuesday, and find out for yourself what’s happening in the land of Altago! And believe me, you won’t be disappointed. This may be an action-packed title driven more by its gameplay than its story… but there are still plenty of people to see, places to go, things to do, and monsters to eliminate (or be eliminated by!).
With Ys Seven in your UMD tray (or on your Memory Stick), you’ll never be bored — no matter where you go or what you do, there’ll always be a whole world for you to explore at ludicrously high running speeds, right in the palm of your hand!
Ys Seven Comes to PSP in August
Posted by Tom Lipschultz in PlayStation Games, psp, xseed, ys seven on August 4th, 2010
Greetings from well beyond the “dangerous sea area” west of Canaan! I’m XSEED’s resident Falcom nut and one of their localization specialists. I’ve been bugging Ken at XSEED via email for years now to localize games from Falcom’s extensive catalogue of awesomeness, and was always really pleased with the detailed responses he’d send back. Our emails bloomed into entire conversation threads, and eventually, once XSEED and Falcom established their partnership, Ken offered me a job — which I gladly accepted! Now all your Falcom scripts are belong to me. Mwa ha ha!
Ys Seven will be the first game released as part of the XSEED/Falcom partnership (aka the GREATEST TEAM-UP EVER), and is currently scheduled to ship on August 17th, 2010. In North America, three versions of the game will be available: the UMD version ($29.99), the PSN download version (also $29.99), and of course, the faaaaabulous limited edition box-set version ($49.99), which will include the game on UMD, a ludicrously gorgeous cloth map of Europe (the Ys series Europe, which is pronounced “eh-ROH-pay”), a one-disc “Ys Seven Musical Selections” CD, and a 60+ page art book containing various works from Ys Seven, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, and Ys I & II (as well as a brief cameo by some Ys VI characters).
Ys Seven will also be available in Europe, but only as a PSN download, and I’m afraid the price is yet to be determined. Sorry, European fans! (Europan fans?)
Now, the all-important question: Why should you buy the game?
Well, how about because it’s AWESOME?!?! Seriously, if you’ve never played a Falcom game before, you’re about to be blown away by this one. Falcom games, and especially Ys games, are generally characterized by three things:
- Insanely fast-paced, action-packed gameplay. Turn-based? HA! Ys eats turn-based RPGs for breakfast, then regurgitates them and launches them at beings of ancient evil just because it can.
- 80s power rock- and metal-inspired soundtracks. These are often performed in the studio by Falcom’s in-house band. I dare anyone to hear the riff at the beginning of Ys Seven’s main boss theme “Vacant Interference” and NOT get totally pumped for the battle ahead!
- “Less is more” storylines. This means a greater focus on fun gameplay and interesting, well-developed settings than on plot twists and epic ironies (Going along with the music, think of Ys as the rock opera to every other RPG series’ novella!)
With nine playable characters (in parties of three at a time), 98 unique skills (84 of which have unique variations apiece — and these skills aren’t just for show), a robust crafting system (that will keep you searching every nook and cranny of every dungeon), and a story that will last you anywhere from 30 to 90 hours (my final playtime was 72 hours, but I’ve been playing a lot since then to level up my skills and craft the best armor for everyone, putting me well over the 80-hour mark, with tons more yet to do), Ys Seven is easily the best portable game on the market… or will be, once it ships in North America on August 17th.
Get yourself ready to finally play an Ys game straight from Falcom’s own studio rather than a third-party interpretation of an Ys game, which is all we’ve ever gotten in English until now). And put in your orders for the LE box ASAP, since they may sell out once everyone in the world realizes this game is awesomeness incarnate and rushes out to buy it.