For my contribution to our week of Idea Factory International coverage, I wanted to talk about my favorite character from the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, Plutia/Iris Heart, and what makes her my favorite character. Like everyone who really gets into a series (or picks a waifu), there are often very personal reasons for those decisions. So first I’ll give a bit of a character primer on Plutia, and then I will describe why she is so endearing to me. This will be a personal post but I do consider most of the best writing to be personal. So let’s get on with it.

Keeping Plutia happy is a good decision for your mental health.

Plutia was first introduced as a CPU from the past of Planeptune. Initially it can be rather difficult to tell which console she represents, however that is resolved when she finally transforms for the first time. As anyone who plays the series consistently knows, the CPUs and CPU Candidates represent consoles from certain companies. Planeptune represents Sega, so when you see her transform it becomes apparent that she is the Sega Genesis. In her normal form her laziness is even greater than that of Nep-Nep, so apparently it must be something in their genes. In fact, she is so lazy that she wanders around in her pajamas and slippers, and attacks using her stuffed animals. Of course, the stuffed animal attack also takes on a new perspective when you see some other sides of her personality. But initially she is just very sweet and kind and loyal and very easy to get along with or make friends with. Noire was not that keen to help out Neptune when she got trapped in the past, but it was Plutia that adopted the wayward CPU. However, when she transforms a new aspect of her personality comes out. And it is the most drastic change of any of the CPUs in the series thus far.

Serving me is in your best interest.

When she transforms she becomes Iris Heart. Certainly she is very beautiful, but without her even uttering a word, you can tell that she is a CPU cut from a different cloth, and that cloth is leather. That’s right, folks, in this CPU we have our BDSM queen, a Dominatrix. And she does not just wear the outfit, she loves tormenting her girls. Not only does the enemy feel her wrath, but also her companions must be wary lest her whip be turned on them. So, in general, they decide for their own safety that it’s best to keep Plutia calm and only call out Sadie (as she is aptly nicknamed) when things are really desperate. She will destroy the enemy, then grind them into the dust, and then look to her friends for more. Why would the Sega Genesis be represented this way? Well there are a lot of reasons. But my suspicions would be that it is the combination of several factors. The console was a darker and more mature looking black and red compared to the Nintendo consoles of the time. They engaged in an aggressive marketing strategy, in particular focusing on their blast processing and doing things that “Ninten-don’t”. And right from the gates they wanted to focus on more “adult content” for their console, in this case games like Altered Beast, Splatterhouse, and an unedited Mortal Kombat.

Phrases like this are catnip for some individuals.

I actually missed out on Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory the first time around. Although I had owned the previous two games in the series, I had not beaten either of them yet and I was invested heavily in an MMO that was dominating (pun intended) most of my gaming time. So actually I only really got to know her on the fabulous remakes on the PS Vita. She is a playable character on Re;Make 1 and 2, but you don’t have any story or background until 3. I liked her look and her battle quotes a lot in the first two games, but I really fell in love with her once I was able to play her as a main character in Re;Make 3. I ended up loving her so much that it was my only major disappointment with the fantastic Megadimension Neptunia VII that I was not able to play Iris heart again.

It’s okay Iffy, don’t be scared, let me explain.

So why did Iris Heart become my favorite CPU? Honestly, I’m not a very big fan of the Sega Genesis; I was a much larger fan of the SNES and still consider that console to be superior in practically every way. I have gone back and played many of the Genesis games that I missed but they never really captured my heart the same way, especially the Sonic games. So my fondness for her has nothing to do with the console that she represents. It is her personality and design alone. And that attraction for me is almost entirely due to how she represents the BDSM lifestyle. So I’d like to talk about that a bit, both to educate and to enlighten. For the definition of BDSM, I will go with the outline of Tristan Taormino in her book The Ultimate Guide to Kink (pp 4-5) paraphrased. It is one of the better ones that I have come across:

B & D or B/D stands for bondage and discipline. It (isn’t) necessarily meant to denote only bondage and discipline, but rather a range of activities that revolved around power exchange.

SM is the common abbreviation for sadism and masochism or sadomasochism. These terms were coined by Richard von Krafft-Ebing in 1886 and have appeared frequently since then in psychoanalytic literature to describe sexual pathologies; however, kinky people reclaimed them beginning around the 1970s, and S/M was the most popular term until BDSM gained widespread use by the 2000s.

Embedded in the acronym BDSM is D/s, which represents dominance and submission or Dominant/submissive. Today, D/s is most often used to denote relationships that are built around a dominant/submissive power dynamic where power echange is always or very often present (and may exist without other elements of BDSM). In those D/s relationships where the power exchange is always present, partners inhabit their roles and reinforce the dynamic through various rituals, protocols, and behaviors all the time; these relationships may be referred to as 24/7 D/s, lifestyle D/s, TPE (total power exchange), or APE (absolute power exchange).

I define these things because there is a lot of misunderstanding around them and so that you will know what I am talking about here. Especially to point out “lifestyle D/s” as above. While I am not currently in a lifestyle D/s relationship, I have been in the past, and I respect and value them very much. It should come as no shock that this is a relationship type that is very seldom explored in the world of video games. Not only is that a shame for those of us who are into the world of BDSM and Kink, but it also provides and inaccurate view of adult sexual relationships to avoid it entirely. Franky most studies show that the lion’s share of long lasting relationships will at least delve into the world of BDSM , you can look at a more thorough study here or you need only look at the sales figures for the 50 Shades of Grey to understand how prolific that is.

The very words ‘sadism’ and ‘masochism’ come from the world of novels: Sadism comes from the name Marquis de Sade who wrote The 120 Days of Sodom which features many scenes of sadism (enjoyment at the infliction of pain or asserting control), Masochism comes from the name Leopold von Sacher-Masoch who wrote Venus in Furs and features masochistic tendencies (enjoyment at the receiving of pain or humiliation). I want to spell these things out, not only to educate, but to make the point that if video games want to be considered a high art, like the novel, I expect them to stretch boundaries, not to just exist to make money. I could rant on that one for days.

Pride cometh before the fall.

So why do I love Sadie so much? Because she is an avatar for me. An aspect of me that is seldom explored in this hobby. Sure, I do read a lot of books with BDSM content and I play some visual novels with it as well, but this is one of the few video games that has allowed me that expression. No, I do not dream of Sadie punishing me, while I can switch at times I am mostly a Dominant, but she represents a large part of my personality. And games are often at their best when they are personal, just like writing. The BDSM lifestyle has just as much right to exist in the world of video games as any others that we represent. That is not to say that every developer should insert it into their game to please me. No, I want more content, not less. And I want it to be written by those that have a passion for it. In that respect, it is not a big surprise that it has been coming out of Japan. BDSM clubs and professionals are fairly common in the Land of the Rising Sun (here are some examples of their cultural attitudes for it, or you can watch season 2, episode 7, of Parts Unknown for a more visual exploration). Do I mind that it’s a very strong female character that I see myself as? No, not really. I’m enough of a man to identify with a woman and not feel that my masculinity is in any danger. So those that are looking for strong female characters that meet whatever test or criteria you have set up, feel free to look at Sadie here. Or is she too attractive for you? If so, she will see you in her dungeon; her boots can use a spit shine.

The post Building Character: Let’s Talk About Sadie appeared first on oprainfall.

You can read part one here.

You can read part two here.

You can find out more about GAIJINWORKS at their website and by following them on Twitter.

Also, Summon Night 5, the latest game to be localized by GAIJINWORKS, is out now on the PlayStation Network for digital download! You can find it for purchase for North America on the PlayStation Network here.

Interview by Quentin H. A special thank you to Scott MacDonald for help with vetting the questions and coordinating the interview. Also,  another special thank you to Chris Bieniek for assisting with my follow up questions, requests for photographs, and other assorted material. This interview took place on November 27, 2015.

OR: Back in 2012, you mentioned about wanting to bring all of the Working Designs PlayStation One games out on the PlayStation Network. Some of them, most notably the Lunar series, are still not available.

VI: Yeah, we’re still trying to make that happen. It’s a loooooong, loooooong, looooooong, looooooong, roooooaaaad. But we’re still trying to make it happen. Doing whatever we can to get it to actually come out.

” The Lunar Silver Star [Story Complete] was like the number one, number two release [when] it came out in the U.S. It was nuts, it was crazy. “

OR: Does GAIJINWORKS still hold the rights to the digital distribution of the Working Designs games?

VI: No, no. We have to license them too. ‘Cause we don’t have – Working Designs, all that stuff was sold off. So we don’t actually have – we have to license it to be able to release it. So, yeah, it’s just a process [of getting] the stuff licensed. You know, we’ve tried to also get Silhouette Mirage out. But that’s a tough one. We can’t [get] any sort of movement to be able to release that one. And then RayStorm, RayCrisis, those can’t come out because Square Enix owns [them] and they aren’t really – they don’t seem to be interested in licensing anything out. So, we can’t get those back on. But basically, the only ones left that are possible, I think, is both of the Lunars and Silhouette Mirage.

And we’re working [on] all of them. We’re trying to get all of them to the point where they [can] come out.

OR: If you were to start bringing back the Lunar games, would you be able to tweak them, or would you want to at this point?

VI: You can’t tweak anything you’re releasing on PSN. You have to release the version that came out on the disc when it was released. So you can’t hack them. ‘Cause we were trying to do a hack for Moon [Moon: Remix RPG Adventure] on the PS One in English that never came out or Policenauts, that would have been cool to hack in the English and release that, but you can’t do any hacking. It has to be the version that was released and approved originally. So there’s no changes allowed.

OR: Along these lines, we’ve had a billion-and-one different releases of [Lunar] Silver Star Story since the Sega CD came out. Yet, we’ve only had one –I think- in North America for [Lunar] Eternal Blue. Can you see any particular reason behind that?

VI: I think ‘cause the re-releases were not well received enough to do Lunar 2. It’s like ‘Let’s try it…that didn’t work so well…Let’s try it…it didn’t go so well…’, so they keep trying to restart [it], and ‘cause Silver Star Harmony in Japan bombed. It did terrible. It did better in the U.S. than in Japan. The Japanese release had horrendous sales. So I think it’s an issue of they  haven’t gotten enough response when they retried the first one to retry the second one.

It’s only been high enough ever once, really, when we did the PS One version after the Sega CD version. But we were on an up slope for that. The Lunar Silver Star [Story Complete] was like the number one, number two, release [when] it came out in the U.S. It was nuts, it was crazy. I should have saved that magazine because it was insane to see Lunar like, of all the games that came out, it was like at the top. It was one, or two, I don’t remember which. But, it’s never been that high again in the U.S. or in even Japan, actually.

OR: One of my favorite pre-order bonuses ever, and definitely one of the most unique I’ve ever seen was the “Limited Edition Interactive Amusement” Ghaleon punching puppet.

VI: Yeah, I loved that.

The interviewer’s personal Ghaleon Punching Puppet.

OR: What in the world lead to its creation? What [was] the story behind [that]?

VI: We had a punching Godzilla – somebody had a punching Godzilla, I think it was Zach or Dave, I’m not sure which – they had a punching Godzilla. And they’d just go around – and it was so much fun to play with that punching Godzilla, do the hands, interact and make it talk. Be crazy with it. And then that just sort of led to ‘let’s make a Ghaleon doll’. And I have a plush Ghaleon that was made that was just not good enough. It was ‘uhhhhh, no, not it.’ And then I hit upon the idea of ‘let’s do that, let’s put Ghaleon’s head on that punching dragon – on the punching Godzilla.’ And it was fantastic, it turned out so cool.

And then once we had Ghaleon – we had the head molded in China originally. It came back just looking like – he looked all fat, his face looked all fat and chubby and just wrong. And [Toshiyuki] Kubooka [Lunar: SSSC and Lunar: EBC’s character designer/animation director] saw it, and he’s like ‘Well, I can put you in touch with a Japanese company that I work with called – I think they are called- Heavy Gauge and they’ll do the head and I will supervise for free.’ I was like ‘I’m not gonna turn that down.’ So that’s why the head turned out so cool looking, because the sculpture that was made [for] that was actually conceived by Kubooka himself.

So we got those molds back and we actually got molds made for that, Alex – which was un-produced -, we have Borgan, and we have Lucia. But the Alex heads were molded into actual plastic. I have plastic Alex heads. But I only have the molds for Borgan and Lucia. But yeah, the plan was to do a set of punching puppets so you could have them all fighting each other. But that never happened.

OR: You mentioned characters from Lunar 2. Were you going to offer them as a bonus for Lunar 2 as well?

VI: For Lunar 2 PC. The PC version, which never came out because it was too buggy. We were developing the puppets in anticipation of releasing the game.

It was going to be [that] Lunar 1 would get the Alex puppet [OR Note: Displayed above on left/right], Lunar 2 PC would get the Lunar 2 puppets – I’m not too sure. But [Lunar 2 for PC] was too buggy, so the game couldn’t be released because they couldn’t get the bugs out. It was basically an emulator of an emulator of an emulator and it was so buggy that that they couldn’t fix it – they couldn’t create a version that actually worked and so it never came out. But there’s like six, seven Alex prototypes that are actually dressed with the costume and [in] various ways. And then the Borgan and Lucia [puppets] are just the heads.

” Yeah, I do all the songs. All the English versions.

…the Lunar songs were more of a feel of the whole song rather than line by line. So I went though, sort of assimilated the feel, and just spit it out. “

OR: Is there any chance of this occurring again with GAIJINWORKS?

VI: I’m not going to say ‘no’, I think it would be cool to do, but the thing is that with the way that the rights are with Lunar, we sold most of the rights back to Game Arts. So Game Arts has almost all the rights to Lunar, except for the performance rights to the audio. So really they have most and if the Lunar license was to happen, we would just be licensing that little piece so it could come out. And it would probably come out under their name. So they would do the marketing for it. So I think it’s unlikely. But I’m not going to say ‘no’, it would be cool to do.

And I would be fine with another version of Lunar, another console version. Just don’t do crazy stuff like Harmony’s beginning, ugh, that beginning was so bad. It just ruined the characters. I mean, this is not Mel. They don’t sound like this, they don’t talk like this, they don’t look like this, they don’t act like this. It was just wrong. A classic version, something halfway between maybe ‘Mr. Sega CD’ and ‘Mr. PlayStation’ telling the story would be cool.

OR: You said that Harmony’s localization was a disaster. Do you think that played a role in how the game was received?

VI: For sure, yeah. I think that if they had not messed around with the text and used the original voice acting, it would have been better than what they had ended up with. Because those songs are painful to listen to. That’s a perfect example of translation versus localization. Those songs [were] translated and they [were] really hard on the ears.

More on Lunar’s Music, Victor Ireland’s Favorite Line, and Arc the Lad on Page 2

The post Victor Ireland of GAIJINWORKS Talks Localization, Summon Night 5, Punching Puppets, And More – Part Three appeared first on oprainfall.

In part one of a three part interview, Mr. Ireland weighs in on what ‘is’ localization, his philosophy on localizing video games, the effect that the original developing company or parent console company can have on a localization, and what effect fan translations and ROM patches have on choosing whether a game is localized for a North American audience.

In part two, Mr. Ireland gives us a look at GAIJINWORKS’ latest localized game, Summon Night 5, various advertising methods he has used in the past and present to get his games noticed in the marketplace, and about GAIJINWORKS’ relationship with Monkeypaw Games and about their joint next game, Class Of Heroes 3.

In part three, Mr. Ireland discusses with Operation Rainfall about the Lunar series and the Arc The Lad Collection, the digital rights to the Working Designs catalog, what lies in the future for GAIJINWORKS, and the history behind the Ghaleon Punching Puppet pre-order bonus.

You can find out more about GAIJINWORKS at their website and by following them on Twitter.

Also, Summon Night 5, the latest game to be localized by GAIJINWORKS, is out now on the PlayStation Network for digital download! You can find it for purchase for North America on the PlayStation Network here.

Interview by Quentin H. A special thank you to Scott MacDonald for help with vetting the questions and coordinating the interview. Also a special thank you to Chris Bieniek for assisting with my follow up questions, requests for photographs, and other assorted material. This interview took place on November 27, 2015.

Operation Rainfall: Alright, I am Quentin H. [of Operation Rainfall] and I am here with Victor Ireland of GAIJINWORKS. Thank you for meeting with me today.

Victor Ireland: Hey, thank you for having the interview.

OR: When I say the word “localization”, what does that mean to you and why?

VI: Well, I’ve kind of evolved on that because if you look at our older games, as a matter of fact up to fairly recently, they would always say ‘Translation Notes’ in the manual. Translation, Translation, Translation. But ‘Translation’ really to me is really more of a one-to-one where you’re trying to make a one-to-one exact translation of what the words are. But you’re sort of missing the intent by not understanding what was meant by those words in the original language. So, ‘localization’ for me is to understand the intent and re-write it so that the native player in English will get the same feeling that the Japanese player got.

OR: You once said in The Making Of Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete documentary:

What inspired this philosophy of translating dialogue, instead of just doing a strict translation like you said earlier?

VI: A TON of crappy translation.

OR: What do you mean by that?

VI: It did not flow. I think most RPG fans especially hate when you play a game and have no connection to the characters. “I don’t care about these people, I don’t care what they’re doing, I couldn’t care less if they die.” You have no connection to them because the words do not have any emotional resonance. And they might have in the Japanese, they might not have. There is some really bad writing in some Japanese games too. *laughter* But if there is good writing, and you do a straight translation, you’re going to miss the emotional component of it, and you won’t feel for the characters.

At that point, I was still calling [it] translation, but really, I didn’t know that it was just localization that we were doing. And so that’s a thing, what I try to shoot for is something that has an emotional resonance with the player so they really care about the character and in most of the RPGs we’ve done, that’s pretty successful. You do care about the characters you’re playing.

OR: Now you mentioned a “tipping point”. What was the tipping point for you to go from ‘translation’ to ‘localization’?

VI: It started really early on. Honestly, it really kind of started all the way back with Cadash on the TurboGrafx. [OR Note: This game was localized by Working Designs in 1991.] It started as more of a mischievous thing where I was like ‘Oh this script is really boring, let me put some funny stuff in here.’ So I would insert funny lines that really had nothing to do with what was going on. And that sort of evolved. I continued doing that, did more of it, and people generally liked it [because] they were seeing writing that they never saw in Japanese-localized or translated games, like ‘Holy crap, this is amazing’.

I remember when we did Cosmic Fantasy 2, one of the bosses named ‘Nova’ was mad. He came at you and in the translation I said ‘Nova is pissed’. For me, that was no big deal. ‘Nova is pissed, he’s mad, he’s angry.’ Holy crap, people went insane that there was ‘pissed’ in an RPG. They couldn’t believe it. So, like I said, it evolved. The peak of the ‘mischievous’ stuff was the ‘Clinton line’ [OR Note: An NPC in East Nota said the line “You’d call me Clinton and I’d be President.”] in Lunar [Eternal Blue Complete, PSX] that everybody gives me grief for.

If anybody points out that Working Designs [had] terrible translations, they always point out that and oftentimes they are people that have never played a Working Designs game. ‘Oh, that’s the reason they suck.’ And really, that was just one line but it was really infamous and it basically taught me ‘don’t put real world politics in a game, even if it is a joke.’ So, that was kind of the tipping point back towards a more balanced approach to localization. The anachronistic or pop-culture references are still there, but they are a lot more subtle now than they were in the TurboGrafx/Sega CD/maybe the beginning of the PlayStation [days].

” The Sega CD version [of Lunar] would definitely be different now. Not different, but the pop culture references were actual actors and TV shows and what not were called out in the text.

…

But nowadays, if I did the Sega CD one again, I would definitely tone [it] down.  It would be reference or catch phrase or something. If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, you don’t, and it still makes sense. And that’s kind of the philosophy that I’ve gravitated towards. “

OR: How can you tell when a localization is well received or not?

VI: It’s really hard to tell because there are some people that really like it and some people that don’t. So basically, I just do it to where I enjoy it. Because when you’re doing these games, you’re localizing them, especially RPGs, you’re spending six months, a year, eighteen months, with these games. And if you still like it at the end, you did an okay job.

Like Lunar [on] Sega CD, we finished that, I never wanted to see that game again. I hated it so much because you have to play it over and over and over and over and over, and anything that was funny at the beginning was not funny at all at the end because you’ve seen everything. So that one took me a year, year-and-a-half, maybe two years of distance before I was like “Oh, that turned out okay. That was pretty good.” And now, of course, I was like “Yeah, that was great”, but that was like twenty-plus years later. So for me, if I’m satisfied with it at the end, I’m not completely sick of it, then it was probably an okay job.

More on Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, Fan Translations, and Voice Acting on Page 2.

The post Victor Ireland of GAIJINWORKS Talks Localization, Summon Night 5, Punching Puppets, And More – Part One appeared first on oprainfall.

The Kickstarter video for Foam Sword’s game Knights and Bikes starts off with the usual crowdfunding flare; two devs on a couch discuss their game with some video game plushies behind them for indie cred (is that a Binding of Isaac baby?) Soon though, after a bit of a stilted introduction, the video starts to fast forward and replay on some weirder moments of their spiel. One second they’re making silly bike noises and the next they’re explaining how their game is an RPG. 30 seconds in and we’re treated to the real spectacle of the campaign, the game itself.

Developers Rex Crowle (Tearaway and LittleBigPlanet) and Moo Yu (Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and LittleBigPlanet) have obviously spent a lot of time preparing for their Kickstarter. They avoid the biggest crowdfunding sin and let the product speak for itself. The first thing that jumps out is the incredible art style that Foam Sword has implemented. It’s got a sense of whimsy that’s comparable to Doublefine’s most charming work (think Costume Quest) but with enough personality to make it unique. It’s hard not to fall in love with the designs of the obligatory animal mascot, aka Captain Honkers, or the hopping blue head, aka The Pickled Knight.

In the game you play as two children who have accidentally unleashed ghosts into the tourist trap that is the island of Penfurzy. They must fight off the spirits and find out the ancient secrets of the land as the two are mysteriously connected. If the story of young children fighting off possessed animals with everyday items like frisbees seems familiar to you it’s because one of the main inspirations for Knights and Bikes was Earthbound. If that isn’t enough to get you excited, the guys at Foam Sword cite Secret of Mana as another inspiration, that is most likely for their battle system.

Following in the encouraging footsteps of Broken Age and Life is Strange, Knights and Bikes stars two young girls, the video game obsessed Demelza, and her friend the outsider Nessa. Aside from battling ancient spirits and exploring Penfurzy, the heroines will find themselves traversing the island in fully customizable bikes searching for treasure to collect and adults to rescue. And since there are two heroines here, two players can play locally in a manner similar to Secret of Mana.

With almost half their £100,000 goal made in under a week, Foam Sword are offering up the usual incentives to attract potential supporters. But every plush doll, art book and t-shirt is going to be made by the dev team and their friends which is a cool little tidbit. The release date for the game is April 2017 but as with all Kickstarter projects, this is an estimate and should not be taken as fact.

Those creepy, creepy eyes.

If you want to contribute to Knights and Bikes you’ve got until March 3, 4pm EST. As always it’s best to be cautious with any crowdfunded campaigns but the JRPG influences, whimsical art and honed gameplay make this a hard project not to keep your eyes on.

The post CROWDFUNDING SPOTLIGHT: Knights and Bikes From Ex-Little Big Planet Developers appeared first on oprainfall.

This month’s Spotlight is going to be a little different from the norm. While we usually look at companies that have published many games for the enjoyment of fans, I’m basing this entire Spotlight almost completely on the merits of a single title. Freebird Games is a small indie studio that develops and self-publishes their collection of games. Actually, these titles are less like games in the traditional sense, and more like interactive stories – and incredibly engaging ones at that. I myself didn’t hear about Freebird until I played their highly emotional title, To the Moon. As far as I’m concerned, that game alone earns this company the spotlight this month. It may not sound very significant, but I’m sure anyone who has played the game agrees that Freebird Games is a company that certainly deserves as much attention as possible.

Before we talk about To the Moon, however, I thought we should look at Freebird’s earlier projects. I’ve professed my fondness for companies who make sprite-based games in the past, so I’m happy to see Freebird going with this model, as well. Founded by designer and composer Kan “Reives” Gao, Freebird Games is more concerned with presentation and atmosphere than anything else. So, while that may mean the gameplay isn’t usually much more than walking around and interacting with the environment, the great art, music and writing means that the time spent with any given title will likely be memorable.

First is possibly Freebird Games’ most ambitious title, Quintessence: The Blighted Venom. With a sizable cast and a story that spans 11 chapters, Quintessence tells the tale of a young man named Reivier, who has his memory wiped to forget certain events in which he was involved. However, he soon learns that it isn’t so easy to run from your past. The game plays similarly to an action RPG, with a fairly simple battle system and an emphasis on puzzle solving. Even then, these mechanics are still largely trumped by the game’s story. This might be annoying if it was happening with another company, but with Freebird, it seems strangely appropriate.

Definitely the strangest of the titles in Freebird’s library, The Mirror Lied puts players in the shoes of a little girl with no face. While not technically a horror title, the game comes closer than any of Freebird’s other projects. There is almost no dialogue as players explore an empty house, looking for keys and other items to advance. Gameplay is silent unless players open a music box found in the game. The music starts nicely enough, but begins to sound more sinister as things progress. There may not be any jump scares, but the feeling of dread that follows you around as you play means that you’ll constantly expect something terrible to happen for the duration of the short game. Plus, the ending is pretty open to interpretation, so The Mirror Lied will surely keep its hold on you long after you finish it in more ways than one.

Do You Remember My Lullaby? is a short, non-interactive story about a woman making a birthday cake for her young son. For such a simple premise, I was surprised to find it to be the most emotional of the company’s earlier works. Aside from advancing the dialogue, players simply watch as the story unfolds. Dealing with themes of love and sacrifice, it can be a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but even it can’t hold a candle to the next game.

And now, we reach the main event. While Freebird’s previous games were just fine in their own right, the company’s biggest claim to fame is their incredibly emotional and memorable science fiction title, To the Moon. The game tells the story of two scientists, no-nonsense Eva Rosalene and goofy Neil Watts. The pair works for a company called Sigmund Corp with the fairly noble goal of helping the imminently-deceased fulfill their greatest dreams before shuffling off the mortal coil. With the use of a special kind of Inception machine, the scientists enter a client’s mind and rewrite their memories to make that wish come true.

The events of To the Moon follow the scientists as they help their newest client, Johnny Wyles, fulfill his wish to become an astronaut and go to the moon. Things get complicated quickly, as the team must go deeper and deeper into Johnny’s past to discover the reason behind his wish, and what stopped him from fulfilling it. Tragically, the pair may also need to make drastic changes between Johnny and his late wife, River, to ensure that his wish comes true. With an incredibly heartfelt story and an amazing soundtrack, To the Moon is an instant classic that any fan of interactive media owes it to themselves to play. This is also the only game from the company that isn’t free, but, for this kind of quality, it’s worth much more than the $10 asking price.

Freebird also released a short Christmas “mini-sode” featuring Doctors Rosalene and Watts back in December 2013. The story takes place some time after the events of To the Moon, so it would be a good idea to play through that before tackling this episode. While you would think it should be a happy story based around the holiday season, there’s a distinct tension in the air as it starts to become clear that not everyone is happy with the work Sigmund Corp is doing. My gut says the events of this short episode will somehow connect to later games, but just how remains to be seen.

On the horizon, we have A Bird Story. Telling the tale of a young boy who finds a bird with a broken wing, the game is said to contain almost no dialogue, with everything told, instead, solely through the characters’ actions. While not a direct sequel to To the Moon, Freebird did say that the little boy eventually grows up to be one of Doctors Rosalene and Watts’s clients. There will also be recurring characters and other elements to connect A Bird Story and To the Moon. No release date has yet been announced, but it certainly looks like an interesting concept, and, given the company’s track record, I’m sure it’ll be another great experience.

One of the best things about Freebird Games is that almost everything listed here is available for the low, low price of free! Aside from To the Moon, you can download every one of their titles straight from the website, free of charge. To the Moon itself has been making its rounds on the usual online store circuit, like Steam and GOG. Even if they aren’t trying to make a whole lot of money off their projects, Freebird Games certainly deserves a great deal of recognition for their work, and the fantastic titles that they consistently release.

Keep up with Freebird Games’ latest projects:

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First off is Curve Studios’ own Stealth Inc, an updated version to their 2011 puzzle-platformer, Stealth Bastard. Players take on the role of a little clone decked out in sneaking equipment, and must navigate him through a huge gauntlet of deadly tests. These involve reaching the end of each stage while staying out of the sight of cameras and avoiding being obliterated by wall turrets, crushers and lasers. Players will run, jump and climb to avoid detection from cameras, and can push boxes around to create shadows, allowing them to pass by unseen. Plus, with a variety of different outfits that give special abilities, and an online leaderboard for posting your best scores, there’s plenty to keep players coming back for more.

When it comes to horror games, I’m what might be described as a “wuss.” With the exception of a small handful of titles, I avoid the genre almost entirely. Heavy gore, jump scares, unspeakable horrors chasing you in the dark? Yeah… no thanks. Yet, when I saw Jasper Byrnes’ Lone Survivor, my love of 2D sprite-based games won out against my aversion to the horror genre. I mean, how bad could it be? As it turns out, pretty bad! Whether a game is using ultra-realistic 3D models or cartoony pixels, the themes of fear of the unknown, limited resources and isolation remain as stressful as ever. Taking on the role of a nameless man living in a dilapidated apartment building, players will search for other survivors while trying to avoid being mutilated by the various horrors that now populate the environment. Keeping your mental health strong is also important, and almost everything players choose to do throughout the story will have some effect on the character’s mental health. This will also greatly impact the ending. It may be difficult for someone like me to get through, but, for those braver than I, you might give Steve’s review a read to learn more.

One of the more unique games I’ve played in some time, Mike Bithell’s platformer, Thomas Was Alone, delivers fun gameplay with a surprisingly engaging story, despite its rather minimalist graphics. Players control a team of colored rectangles with different abilities and pretty varied personalities through 100 levels, while seeing how their relationships evolve as the story continues. At least, that’s what you’re told. In terms of gameplay, the plot is almost nonexistent. It’s through the brilliant narration by Danny Wallace (Sean Hastings from the Assassin’s Creed series) that the story really comes to life. Players will run, jump, bounce and float through some tricky, but not overly challenging stages, and the story helps Thomas Was Alone cross the threshold from simply fun to truly memorable. But don’t take my word for it; check out Jonathan’s review for a more in-depth analysis.

This is the extent of the games from Curve Studios that I personally have played, but there are several others that merit a look, as well. Probably the most well-known of these is a title called Explodemon. Developed and published by Curve, this 2D platformer is pretty much Sony’s answer to ‘Splosion Man on Xbox. Players control the titular hero as he literally explodes onto the scene, using his unique ability to blow himself up, blast enemies away and destroy obstacles. Moving on, we have Titan Invasion. This updated game is a bundle of Puppy Games’ earlier titles; the Space Invaders-esque Titan Attacks (not to be confused with a certain anime) and the real-time strategy/tower defense Revenge of the Titans. As countless giants approach from all directions, players will have to place buildings, collect resources and research upgrades to fight off the invasion.

If straight-up action is more your forte, though, there’s the top-down shooter, Velocity Ultra, from FuturLab. While it may look like a standard shoot ’em up on the surface, it actually has some puzzle elements as well. Players will blow through waves of enemies, as per the norm. However, they will also have to destroy switches in specific orders to free prisoners, and have the ability to set down “Telepods,” which will allow them to warp around the map in ways not normally seen in the shmup genre. Proteus by Ed Key and David Kanaga seems to borrow elements from the popular sandbox game, Minecraft, and puts a much greater emphasis on exploration. Rather than building structures and fighting monsters, players simply experience the world for what it is. There are no giant spiders, no zombies, no green bastards that blow up your buildings that took all night to construct. Instead, players explore a huge, procedurally-generated environment, discovering changes in the music as they travel, and all without the constant threat of serious injury from the indigenous wildlife. If you’re looking for something a little different that you can really get absorbed in, Proteus looks like the way to go. Fluidity: Spin Cycle, also developed by Curve Studios, is the 3DS sequel to their 2010 WiiWare title, Fluidity. Players control a water spirit named Eddy through a variety of stages to save his sisters, the Rainbow Spirits. Rather than using the D-pad or Circle Pad to move around, players physically turn the 3DS, taking advantage of the system’s gyroscope to move Eddy as a puddle, ice cube or steam from one place to another.

Curve Studios also has a couple games on the horizon that certainly show some promise. First of these is Crunching Koalas’ Mousecraft. An interesting looking puzzle game, players guide groups of mice through various courses, placing differently-shaped platforms in their path to help them reach the cheese at the end. It seems as though the mice can’t be controlled directly, and will simply walk forward no matter what, Lemmings-style. Players will need quick thinking to place the correct platforms at the correct times to help the mice avoid the traps that populate each stage, while also creating a path to get them to the end. The game is coming to PS Vita this May. Lastly is The Swapper, a very nice looking 2.5D puzzle-platformer from Facepalm Games. Using a hand-held cloning device, players make duplicates of themselves to solve puzzles and escape an abandoned space station. The game is coming to Sony systems this May, as well.

If you’re looking for indie games on your PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 or Vita, chances are you’re going to come across something with which Curve Studios was involved. It’s not often that you see so many high-quality games in one place, and I can only hope that Curve Studios continues to keep that trend going as they move forward.

Even better, for a limited time, both Thomas Was Alone and Lone Survivor are available on PlayStation Plus free of charge!

Keep up with Curve Studios on their:

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After spending the last couple months on American game companies, I thought it’d be nice to get back to what oprainfall is known for: talking about Japanese publishers. It’s funny. I didn’t even know about this publisher until reading our recent review of Gigantic Army. Or rather… I should say that I wasn’t aware of what Nyu Media had been putting out. As it turns out, there are many doujin titles that I’ve had an eye on that all happened to be handled by this publisher. While the company’s library contains a few adventure and platforming titles, the selection leans heavily toward shoot ‘em ups and bullet hell games. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it’s nice that they have a little variety to suit different tastes. Let’s take a look, shall we?

First on our tour of Nyu Media is a visual novel title from Japanese indie developer 773 called Cherry Tree High Comedy Club. Players take on the role of a high school junior named Miley Verisse. An avid fan of comedy, Miley wishes to start a comedy club at her school, but, unfortunately, she needs to find at least three more people to make it official. Over the month of April, Miley will use her Spring Break to find and socialize with six potential “targets,” and convince them to join the club. This is achieved by taking part in various activities to increase a handful of stats that will help you get closer to your targets. I personally developed a taste for this kind of gameplay after playing the Persona games, so it seems right up my alley. It looks like a great game for people who want to try out the “dating sim” genre without having to deal with the *ahem* adult situations that come with the territory.

Next is Edelweiss’s beat ‘em up title, Fairy Bloom Freesia. Don’t let Freesia fool you. She may be a fairy, but she can still kick your butt! A faithful practitioner of “fairy-fu,” players control Freesia as she blasts through waves of enemies and fights to convince humans to leave the forest alone. Gameplay is deep, with freestyle combat allowing you to chain combos, launch enemies and juggle them with a variety of different attacks. You might also give souvenir circ’s hack-‘n’-slash title, Croixleur, a look. Taking on the role of Lucrezia Visconti, players will fight through waves of monsters in fully 3D environments in a quest to beat her rival, Francesca. The game features a variety of different weapons for players to use, so there’s sure to be one to suit any play style.

Eryi’s Action, a 2D platformer from Xtal Sword, is next. All Eryi wanted was to eat her much-anticipated melon, but, tragically, it was stolen by the greedy Farta. Now Eryi is on a quest to get her snack back. Don’t let the cutesy, sprite-based graphics fool you – this game is deviously difficult. Taking cues from games like I Wanna Be The Guy, just about everything wants to kill you, and each stage is fraught with traps. However, the game leans more towards challenging and tricky rather than mind-numbingly frustrating. Gigantic Army also falls under this category. Players control the giant robot GMR-34 SALADIN as they fight through waves of similar robots and other instruments of war. The game has a classic arcade feel, harkening back to the days of Metal Slug.

As I mentioned before, while Nyu Media has these few other genres represented, the vast majority of their titles are of the shmup and bullet hell persuasion. If it’s classic side-scrolling arcade style shmups you’re looking for, Armed Seven and SATAZIUS can scratch that itch. If you like pretty graphics to go along with your ship combat, you’d do well to give ALLTYNEX Second and ETHER VAPOR Remaster a look. ALLTYNEX’s sequels, RefleX and KAMUI are also available. If cute anime girls blowing stuff up is more your style, though, you might give the eXceed series of bullet hell games a try. The three titles; eXceed: Gun Bullet Children, eXceed 2^nd: Vampire REX and eXceed 3^rd: Jade Penetrate Black Package are all available either individually or in a handy collection.

Even if you’re not a fan of shoot ‘em up or bullet hell titles, don’t immediately discount Nyu Media. If you like the design and feel of doujin games, you’re sure to find something up your alley. While everything is available for purchase on their website, fans can also find many titles on Steam, as well. It may not be the biggest list of games out there, but it’s certainly a nice selection. I said earlier that I’ve had my eye on at least a few of these titles, but I feel like now might be a good time to unload my wallet.

Keep up with the latest from Nyu Media:

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If there’s one thing I like, it’s old-school sprite-based games. Maybe it’s just nostalgia, but I love seeing games of this format, especially ones that are made in this day and age. As such, I have a special respect for developers and publishers that work to keep that tradition alive. To me, no company does that job better than Chucklefish Games. While their own collection of developed games is pretty small, they have had a hand in publishing some great sprite-based titles in their short history.

I first became aware of Chucklefish after hearing about Starbound, a side-scrolling sci-fi title that could very well be considered the spiritual successor to Re-Logic’s 2011 title, Terraria. Taking cues from many of the exploration elements in that game, Starbound expands upon the formula, giving players their own spaceship and an enormous galaxy with an infinite number of procedurally-generated planets, moons and other celestial bodies to explore. It’s a game for which I have high hopes, going so far as naming it my most-anticipated PC game of 2014. The beta for Starbound was released to the general public just last December, but there’s a lot of potential there, and I’m looking forward to seeing how things develop as Chucklefish adds more and more to the game.

What I didn’t know about Chucklefish Games going in, however, was the small collection of games from other developers that they have published. These games represent some great genres, from action RPGs to Metroidvania to action platformers. It may not seem like much, but what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality.

First on our Chucklefish tour is Yeti Trunk’s action RPG, Wanderlust. Inspired by classic titles like the Gauntlet games, players can choose from four unique character classes and grow them as they see fit. Even better, the game supports up to four-player co-op with an emphasis on teamwork if players want to be successful. Players can choose from the powerful Fighter, the healing Cleric, magic-heavy Elementalist and the status-changing Alchemist. Working together and using these skills in tandem requires good communication, but, when things come together, the gameplay is quite satsifying.

Next, we have Treasure Adventure World, a Metroidvania title with hand-drawn graphics from Robit Studios. TAW is a remake of the 2011 sprite-based title, Treasure Adventure Game. Players take on the role of a young man who is just starting out as a treasure hunter. Armed with his paper hat, hook hand and a talking parrot named Whydah, the protagonist sails around a huge 2D world, accepting quests from NPCs and hunting for treasure. Pirates and sea monsters populate the waters, and other beasts lurk in the many caves and ruins that players will explore, so there’s excitement to be found no matter where you look. TAW is still in development, but Robit Studios is currently shooting for a Q1 2014 release. If you want an early taste, though, Treasure Adventure Game is available for free online.

Risk of Rain from Hopoo Games is the most recent release on our list, starting its rounds in the action-platformer community back in November of 2013. Players are randomly spawned on one of many maps, with enemies and item locations decided by the game’s AI Director. Aside from the randomized gameplay, the game also has the unique quality of getting more difficult the longer a given session continues. Enemies become more numerous and more powerful as players continue to play and explore the map. The game offers a fine challenge to those bold enough to take it, and it also includes a co-op mode for players who want to even the odds a bit.

Finally, we have Stardew Valley, a game currently in development from ConcernedApe. Allow me to paint a picture for you. Imagine a Harvest Moon game, and everything it entails – building a farm, going into town and conversing with the various residents, taking part in festivals and wooing potential spouses. Now, imagine making all of this a cooperative experience. Yes, Stardew Valley takes all of those elements and lets up to four players team up and run a farm together. Compound this with an interesting system of skill trees that gives a variety of buffs, and you have a game that looks incredibly promising. There’s no release date for Stardew Valley at this time, but it’s certainly a game that I’ll be keeping an eye on.

Sprite-based games are nowhere near as prevalent as they used to be, so it’s great to see when companies embrace this format. Chucklefish Games may not have the biggest collection out there, but the games they do deal in are challenging, fun and well worth your time.

Keep up with Chucklefish Games and the games they publish on their website and Twitter.

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*sigh* I’ve got a problem. I’m getting tired of all these high-octane action games – all these Call of Honors and Cogs of Wars and the like. What I’d really like is something that goes a bit slower, something that I can really sink my teeth into, and get lost in a great story. What I need is a good point-and-click adventure game. Alas, game companies just don’t seem to make these kinds of games anymore. Wait a minute, what am I saying? There is a company out there that makes games in this genre almost exclusively. Founded in 2006, Wadjet Eye Games have been consistently making great titles for gamers with that unique itch that only point-and-click adventure titles can scratch.

The story of Wadjet Eye Games begins with the 2006 release of The Shivah. Developed by the company’s founder, Dave Gilbert, the game tells the story of Russel Stone, an embittered rabbi with a failing synagogue in New York City. Just as he considers closing up shop, he is suddenly presented with a windfall when he finds that a former member of his congregation, Jack Lauder, has been murdered, and left the rabbi a vast sum of money. Having previously gone through a falling out with the man, Rabbi Stone is understandably confused as to why Lauder would leave so much money to him. As it turns out, the police find the development pretty interesting, as well. So begins Rabbi Stone’s search for the truth behind Lauder’s death, and the proof of his own innocence. Aside from the usual point-and-click mechanics that players would expect from the game, The Shivah also includes some interesting puzzles involving the use of computers in-game, as well as one of the most interesting final boss battles I’ve seen not only from this genre, but maybe even in general.

Hot on the heels of the success of The Shivah, Wadjet Eye released The Blackwell Legacy, the first installment in the now long-running Blackwell series in 2006, as well. The games follow the story of Rosangela Blackwell, who discovers that she is part of a line of spirit mediums after receiving a visit from a wise-cracking fedora-wearing ghost named Joey Malone. He tells Rosa that it is her job to help lost souls cross over to the afterlife. During the course of each game, Rosa and Joey will come across a number of ghosts who cannot cross over, and must be convinced that they are, in fact, dead. While this is the basic premise of every entry in the series, the story of each game also has an overarching plot where the souls that the pair comes across are usually connected in some way, with some malevolent force that caused their ends. Since the first game, three more titles in the series have been released; a prequel called Blackwell Unbound in 2007, The Blackwell Convergence in 2009 and The Blackwell Deception in 2011. Yet another title, The Blackwell Epiphany, is currently in development. Aside from the Blackwell games, Wadjet Eye also developed a noir-style adventure based on the Wizard of Oz universe called Emerald City Confidential. Most recently, the company released a re-mastered version of their debut title, called The Shivah: Kosher Edition, on November 22.

While we could talk at length about the games that Wadjet Eye Games have developed themselves, they have also published a number of adventure games from other developers. Probably the most well-known of these is Joshua Nuernberger’s Gemini Rue, a futuristic sci-fi title released in 2011. This is by no means the only title, though. Wadjet Eye also released Puzzle Bots in 2010, a casual puzzle title by Ivy Games in which the player controls a tiny team of uniquely skilled robots. 2011, aside from Gemini Rue, also saw the release of Da New Guys: Day of the Jackass, a comedy title from Ice Box Studios. And, in 2012, Wadjet Eye released XII Games’ multi-faceted thriller, Resonance, and Primordia, a post-apocalyptic adventure from Wormwood Studios. With this kind of variety, there’s an adventure game to suit just about any taste.

When looking for a good point-and-click adventure game, one need not look beyond Wadjet Eye Games. With a great collection of titles developed in-house, along with an impressive selection of third-party games, Wadjet Eye Games have made quite a name for themselves in the relatively short time since breaking onto the scene. Even after cranking out one memorable game after another, I hope they won’t be running out of steam any time soon. With adventure games constantly becoming less and less prevalent in the gaming sphere, Wadjet Eye really are a boon to those who like the simplicity and memorable stories that only adventure games can provide. Here’s hoping they’ll be keeping the dream alive for years to come.

Stay abreast of Wadjet Eye Games’ activities on their…

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Author’s note: This is part of a series where oprainfall will briefly cover publishers that specialize in bringing Japanese titles Westward. Fans of Japanese gaming and anime should pay close attention to each of these publishers. The best way to support them is by purchasing the titles they localize. So without further ado, we present this month’s publisher:

As you know, we here at oprainfall are all about covering the big publishers. People come here to read about the big-name guys, the kind of stuff they can read anywhere, right? Oh, wait, hold on… I’m told that, apparently, our readers like to hear about publishers and developers that are a bit more niche and learn about products that maybe they hadn’t heard about before. Go figure. So, today, how about we talk about a publisher that’s a little more obscure than the more well-known guys we’ve been looking at the last couple of months? With that in mind, let’s get things rolling with Nippon Ichi Software America.

Now, before you bite my head off, I’m well aware that the illustrious Charlotte Buckingham already talked about NISA previously. What we have yet to talk about, however, is that, on top of some truly great and memorable video games, the company also has a modest collection of anime. While some are based on the games the company has made, the majority are adaptations from manga. It’s certainly an unexpected path for a game company to take, but not an unwelcome one.

Any excuse to talk about Disgaea.

This all started with the sudden success of the Disgaea anime, or Makai Senki Disgaea. The show tells the story of the brash Prince Laharl on his quest to become the new Overlord of the Netherworld, aided by his vassal, Etna, and angel-in-training, Flonne. It follows the same basic plot of the original Disgaea: Hour of Darkness on PlayStation 2, though it does take some creative liberties to make the story flow a bit differently. While Disgaea is the only Nippon Ichi game currently to have an accompanying anime, NISA did acquire the licenses for several other shows to distribute over here in the US. While the list may not be very large, there’s something from just about any genre to suit someone’s tastes.

Just about everything that NISA has brought over to the US is available at their online store. After the somewhat bad taste that Aniplex left in my mouth, I think the prices that Nippon Ichi is asking for are a bit more reasonable. The way the site is set up, it’s pretty convenient to find just about anything you might want to know about whatever show you’re looking at. Each anime has its own mini-site that gives the basic plot, character descriptions and even information on the staff that worked on the shows. It’s a handy tool for any would-be customer. Whether you’re looking for action, romance, comedy or a good ol’ slice of life story, the anime in NISA’s collection can accommodate.

While the list may not be very long, we can certainly hope that Nippon Ichi Software America will continue to grow the collection. With such a selection of great games backing it up, there’s a lot of potential for NISA to become a big player in the anime market. More importantly, with the success of the Disgaea anime, does this mean we could see more adaptations of their games? Who’d like to see animes for the later Disgaea games, or even Phantom Brave or La Pucelle? Let us know in the comments.

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After looking at one of the biggest manga publishers last month, we now shift gears a bit to take a look at one of the biggest distributors of anime. One thing I’m coming to learn in doing these Publisher Spotlights is that there seems to be a fair bit of overlap between companies when it comes to the distribution of manga and anime. When it comes to manga, stories can be exciting and emotional, but sometimes, anime can simply tell those stories and convey those emotions in ways just not possible in the static images of the source material. That’s where Aniplex comes in.

Founded in 1995, Aniplex initially ran under the banner of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, assisting with Sony’s early 1990s anime productions, like Roujin Z and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. Originally named Sony Pictures Entertainment Music Publishing Inc., it was reborn as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. in 1997, renamed Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc. in 2001, and finally became Aniplex Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan that we know today, in 2004. Aniplex has had a hand in many of the most popular anime productions out there, be it the production’s animation, music or what have you. These include series like Baccano!, Gurren Lagann, Naruto, R.O.D -The TV- and Rurouni Kenshin.

Aniplex not only produces anime, but also just about all the merchandise for the series under their banner, including toys, food and any other little odds and ends that may bear the company’s mark. Additionally, as a subsidiary of Sony, Aniplex is also responsible for producing and distributing the soundtracks for Sony Computer Entertainment’s video game titles.

In 2005, Aniplex founded a United States subsidiary, Aniplex of America, thereby cutting out the middleman and the need to rely on other companies to produce dubs and perform other localization duties for the anime series they helped produce. More interesting, however, was the founding of the company’s own animation studio, A-1 Pictures. In the eight years since its creation, A-1 has produced and adapted several popular anime OVAs and series, many of which we have covered. These include Persona: Trinity Soul, Blue Exorcist, Sword Art Online, Valkyria Chronicles, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, its sequel, Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, and Welcome to the Space Show.

I guess the elephant in the room here is that Aniplex has, at times, been accused of gouging prices for the DVD sets and other works they sell. While other companies can usually point to the costs of acquiring licenses and other such reasons for high prices, this may not be as effective in Aniplex’s case, as they themselves often already hold the rights to those various works. This is especially true of the works A-1 themselves create, as cutting out the middleman in the realm of distribution means that the prices they set are their decision alone. Even so, offsetting the costs of creating the animated works fans love can be a major factor in what prices come to, and it’s up to those very fans whether the shows they love are worth the sometimes hefty price tag.

With such a finger on the pulse of the anime and anime merchandise market, Aniplex is a major player in the Japanese pop culture scene in both Japan and the U.S. While we can thank them for contributing to many of the classic anime series we’ve come to enjoy, it’s certainly exciting to see the company producing its own series through A-1 Pictures. If the company keeps producing such high-quality shows as Sword Art Online and the Magi series, you can bet we’re going to see Aniplex hanging around for a long, long time.

Stay informed on all the happenings at Aniplex:

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series where oprainfall will briefly cover publishers that specialise in bringing Japanese titles Westward. Fans of Japanese gaming and anime should pay close attention to each of these publishers. The best way to support them is by purchasing the titles they localise. So without further ado, we present this month’s publisher:

In what may end up being quite a foolhardy maneuver, I have decided to tackle one of the industry’s biggest publishers in this month’s Spotlight. If you’re anything like me, there are there are some key names that come to mind when thinking about anime. Dragon Ball, Pokémon, Bleach, Naruto, One Piece. These are some of the biggest franchises out there, and have done much to spread the popularity of anime, manga and just about anything Japanese worldwide. What do these and many other franchises have in common? They were all localized by one company: VIZ Media.

The brain child of Seiji Horibuchi, the company’s eventual founder started with a very different idea. After spending a number of years living in America, Horibuchi started a business exporting American pop culture items to Japan. However, in 1985, Horibuchi happened to read Domu: A Child’s Dream. Having never really taken manga seriously up to that point, Horibuchi suddenly saw the potential graphic novels could have with a new American audience. In 1986, Horibuchi founded VIZ Communications.

We can thank Ranma 1/2 for getting the ball rolling.

In the beginning, American response to the manga market was lukewarm, at best. It’s always risky when taking on new content, especially with foreign material so different from the usual comics to which American readers were accustomed. Works like The Legend of Kamui, while popular in Japan, did not receive nearly as much praise in the US. Things changed, however, in 1992 when VIZ suddenly had a hit on its hands with the comedy series Ranma 1/2 which helped VIZ gain a foothold in the market. A few years later, the Pokémon franchise made another huge splash. Then, in 2002, VIZ decided to take a gamble on an English version of the manga showcase magazine, Shonen Jump. After that, it’s history. Hit after hit like InuYasha, Naruto and One Piece have since cemented VIZ’s place in the American anime and manga consciousness.

As I’ve said already, VIZ Media is a huge distributor of not only manga, but also anime. Their site features quite the catalog of both anime and manga, which can be purchased in either digital or print format. Additionally, several series’ are streamed directly off the site for visitors’ viewing pleasure. These series’ include, but are certainly not limited to, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Bakuman｡, Rosario+Vampire, Black Bird and Vampire Knight. Not only that, but the VIZ website also features links to Shonen Jump, as well as their other ventures like Shojo Beat. Just about any genre that a reader could want is represented through VIZ Media. With a multitude of choices available to readers, you really owe it to yourself to check out the website.

I could sit here rattling off every anime and manga that VIZ Media distributes until the proverbial cows come home, but they don’t pay me enough for that. Suffice it to say that without VIZ’s influence, the landscape of Japanese pop culture in the US would look quite different from what it does today. What started as a plan to share US pop culture with Japan turned into something very different, allowing this country to enjoy the unique stories, action and silliness that can only be found from the Japanese. I have no doubt that VIZ Media will be delivering these kinds of experiences for many years to come.

Keep up with VIZ Media’s current ventures:

Official Website

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

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In 1987, one Todd Ferson formed a shell company so he could obtain his beloved telescopes at wholesale price. He soon began to sell these telescopes under the name The Right Stuff, so-called for one of his favourite astronautical films.

Soon after this, Ferson, dismayed at the lack of copies of one of his childhood favourite TV shows, decided to use The Right Stuff to find copies of the anime classic Astro Boy so he could release it in the United States. With the help of his good friend Shawne Kleckner, he negotiated a licence for the show and acquired film reels of it from collectors across the globe. Some of them were sourced from places as far away as Australia and Taiwan! With the release of Astro Boy, Ferson decided he needed to make his company stand out, and so dropped one of the ‘f’s’ in the company’s name. They were now The Right Stuf, and would go on to become one of the biggest distributors of anime in America.

Over the years, Right Stuf lost Ferson to other business ventures, and Kleckner went on to become CEO of the company. They’ve released countless products in the 26 years they’ve been active, some of which I’ll discuss in this article. As Right Stuf didn’t just sell anime they produced but also anime from other companies, they launched Nozomi Entertainment in 2007 to handle their own anime production and separate the Right Stuf production team from the Right Stuf store.

Right Stuf’s first release, Astro Boy, originated as a manga in 1952. It made its television debut in 1963 in North America and 1965 in Australia. Set in a futuristic world, Astro Boy follows the adventures of Astro, a robot capable of experiencing human emotions. Astro would often find himself fighting other robots as well as humans with a hatred for them, trying to protect both the general public and his fellow machines. Astro Boy was hugely popular upon its initial release in the 60s, and nostalgia for it set a solid foundation for Right Stuf to continue their work.

Their next product after Astro Boy was Gigantor, closely followed by Tobor the 8th Man. Other notable titles handled by the company include Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Kimba the White Lion, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor and many, many more. The anime they sell isn’t just restricted to what they produce—they also source anime from other companies to sell in their extensive catalogue. This catalogue contains more than just anime DVDs and Blu-ray Discs—it is also full of merchandise for a number of shows and loads of other cool stuff.

Right Stuf, and now Nozomi Entertainment, have brought us tons of awesome anime and merchandise in the quarter of a century they’ve been running. Here’s hoping they remain a fan favourite as they continue to flourish for years to come.

Follow Nozomi Entertainment online:

Website: http://www.rightstuf.com/rssite/nozomiEntertainment/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/animetoday

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rightstuf

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/nozomient

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Due to PAX preparation and university exams, I was unable to find time to pen last month’s Publisher Spotlight. Instead, one of our editors, Devin, stepped in for me, and I’d like to thank him for helping me out.

As Devin stated last month, Publisher Spotlight will be moving on to publishers of anime for a short time, as I’m sure we have a number of anime fans in our readership. As an Australian, I feel obligated to make my first Publisher Spotlight for anime distributors on one of the largest, if not the largest one in my country: Madman Entertainment.

Founded in 1996, Madman’s original purpose was to work alongside Siren Entertainment to release anime in Australia. Now, they sublicence anime from a number of sources, including FUNimation, Viz Media and more; they get a lot of their products directly from the Japanese companies themselves as opposed to ones situated in the USA. They are based in my home town of Melbourne and run by founding members Tim Anderson and Paul Wiegard, and are owned by Funtastic LTD.

Studio Ghibli started making films in the 80s, and Australia was getting none of them. That is, until Madman opened its doors and started to bring them over. Thanks to Madman Entertainment, I’ve been able to enjoy incredible films such as Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle, and will be able to continue enjoying them as they release.

Because they’re the largest anime distribution company in the country, you can bet they have some pretty big titles under their belt. They’ve given us the uncut versions of One Piece, Dragon Ball Z and Naruto, as well as Mobile Suit Gundam, Inuyasha, my personal favourites Appleseed and Berserk – I’ll stop now, because I could go on for several days. But if you can think of it, Madman have probably distributed it; no, I’m not kidding.

Next month, Madman will be releasing the new, 2011 Appleseed XIII series in Australia. They will also be releasing the latest episodes in the Persona 4 animation. Blue Exorcist, Bamboo Blade and Star Driver are also on their release schedule.

Madman have their own Screening Room, where they air a number of anime episodes for free. Outside of anime, Madman also localise a lot of manga, as well bring us a number of films, TV shows, documentaries and the like. Anyone living in Australia should be well aware of the huge amount of content they bring us, especially when it comes to anime.

Madman Entertainment are an anime publisher very close to my own heart, as they bring so much to my country. I’m certainly looking forward to what they bring us in the future, and I’m going to keep sifting through all the amazing anime they’ve already given us that I missed. I hope all of you do too!

Follow Madman Entertainment online:

Website: http://www.madman.com.au

Twitter: https://twitter.com/animemadman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madmanent

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MadmanOnline

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Over the past months, Publisher Spotlight has been shining the, well, spotlight on the Western publishers of the niche titles that everyone at oprainfall loves. Sadly, there are only so many niche game publishers out there, so now, Publisher Spotlight will be covering anime distributors.

Readers may note that Publisher Spotlight’s regular author, Co-Head Editor Charlotte Buckingham, is not penning this entry. Rest assured that she’ll be back soon enough. But for the moment, you’re stuck with me.

With that out of the way, let’s get on with our first ever Anime Publisher Spotlight! To kick things off, we’ll be covering one of the most well-known anime distributors: FUNimation.

FUNimation was founded as FUNimation Productions in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, a Japanese-American businessman, and his wife, Cindy Fukunaga. It is currently based in Flower Mound, Texas. FUNimation’s first acquisition was the now hugely successful Dragon Ball franchise. They commissioned Ocean Productions, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, to create a dub of part of the original Dragon Ball anime series, as well as the subsequent Dragon Ball Z. This production has since become known as the “Ocean dub.” FUNimation would later go on to produce a second dub at their Texas studio.

Since Dragon Ball, FUNimation has been involved in the licensing and localization of dozens, if not hundreds of anime series (their website claims over “300 active titles.”). Some of the more famous series FUNimation has licensed include; One Piece, the anime series and films based upon Eiichiro Oda’s long-running manga series about pirates, and the two anime series and two films based on Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist manga. More recently, FUNimation began releasing the reboot of Hideaki Anno and Gainax’s Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series: the films known collectively as Rebuild of Evangelion.

Outside of their own translations and dubs, FUNimation also licenses and distributes titles acquired from defunct distributors, ADV Films and Geneon USA.

They also license live-action TV shows and movies under their Giant Ape Media label. These include productions, both of East-Asian origin, as well as niche, special-interest Western productions.

Nowadays, there are quite a few options for FUNimation fans to get their anime fix. In addition to traditional DVD and Blu-Ray releases, FUNimation also streams series on their official website. These streams are available for free, subtitled and in standard-definition. Paid subscribers can view dubs, as well as high-definition video. FUNimation also does subtitled simulcasts (simultaneous broadcasts) of anime airing in the current Japanese television season. These simulcasts are usually available immediately for non-subscribers; however, there are occasions when subscribers get first dibs, with non-subscribers getting to view the stream later.

FUNimation’s current simulcast line-up

With nearly 20 years under their belt, FUNimation has easily become one of the largest anime publishers in North America, if not the largest. Over the years, they’ve been bought, sold, and caught up in a couple of legal disputes, but despite all that, FUNimation has always provided the West with anime titles, high in both quantity and quality. They’re certainly a company that English-speaking anime fans will want to (and probably do) keep on their radar.

Be sure to look forward to future Publisher Spotlights, where we’ll move on to publishers that are certainly more obscure.

Follow FUNimation online:

Website: http://www.funimation.com/

YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/FUNimation

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FUNimation

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FUNimation

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Aeria Games opened its doors in 2006 in Santa Clara, California and released its first MMO, Last Chaos, the following year. In mid-2008 they opened a European office based in Berlin, Germany, and two years later a South American office located in Paulo, Brazil. In the December of 2011 they acquired the game portal website Ijji, and late last year they merged with Gamepot, who are perhaps best known for Wizardry Online. Today, Aeria Games publishes free-to-play games in over 90 countries and nine different languages with the aim of connecting the globe through gameplay.

Eden Eternal is a Taiwanese fantasy MMORPG developed by X-Legend Entertainment and published in the West by Aeria Games. It has the player running errands in a bright and vibrant world as they attempt to figure out what happened to their memory, and why the land has seen so many troubled times recently. You can choose to play as one of 16 different classes, broken down into five branches or roles, which in turn contain three to four of these classes each.

A Korean MMORPG soon to be released in the West by Aeria Games, Scarlet Blade is currently in its open beta stage of development. Known as Queen’s Blade Online in its home country, the game has attracted quite a bit of attention in Western media in recent times due to the provocative ads spattered across the internet. Lime Odyssey boasts developers who have been in the gaming industry for a long while, including some of the brilliant minds behind Xenosaga and Chrono Cross; even the logo brings to mind the latter game. Grand Fantasia is another game developed by X-Legend Entertainment whose major theme involves the preservation of nature, and has the player working to restore humanity’s link with the sprites of old and restore the land to its former strength.

Players of MMOs have some pretty big reasons to follow Aeria Games. Their mission will ensure that they will always be searching for and localising the greatest MMO and browser games for gamers across all of Europe and the Americas; this alone, in my eyes, makes them a fantastic publisher for the Western market.

Follow Aeria Games online:

Website: http://www.aeriagames.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aeriagames

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aeria

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AeriaGames

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GungHo Online Entertainment America (GOEA) are a new publishing company comprising the Western division of Japanese publisher GungHo Online Entertainment. Helmed by former Square Enix America CEO and XSEED founder, Jun Iwasaki, GOEA officially launched at the end of September, 2012.

Despite not even being a year old, GungHo has exhibited an impeccable taste in games. One of the games announced for localisation when GOEA opened its doors was the fantastic Ragnarok Odyssey, which they brought over to Europe two months ago; XSEED handled the American release. Ragnarok Odyssey is a game developed by Game Arts for the PlayStation Vita. It is based on the MMO known as Ragnarok Online and contains influences from Norse mythology, particularly in terms of the game’s explorable areas.

GungHo Online Entertainment in Japan has a number of subsidiary developmental studios, whose relationships carry over to their American branch. What does this mean, exactly? These subsidiaries will, most likely, be having their games published in the West by GOEA. One of these companies is Game Arts, who as I mentioned before, developed the wonderful Ragnarok Odyssey. Another is Acquire, of Way of the Samurai, Shinobido and Sumioni: Demon Arts fame. Perhaps amongst the most famous of these studios is the quirky Grasshopper Manufacture, home of Suda51.

GungHo America have partnered with Gravity Interactive to publish a number of MMOs in the West, including Game Arts’ Ragnarok Online and Gravity’s own Dragon Saga. Just recently they revived six Japanese PlayStation 1 games as part of Sony’s PSOne classics for Western gamers to enjoy. Fans of puzzle games will find a home at GungHo as well, with games like Princess Punt and Puzzle & Dragons available for mobile phones, and Dokuro for the PlayStation Vita.

With only seven months and already several quality titles under its belt, GungHo Online Entertainment America has already established itself as a publisher to watch. Considering the companies they’re partnered with and the status of the man running the company, GOEA is shaping up to be yet another amazing publisher of Japanese games here in the West. Keep checking back to oprainfall to hear the latest in exciting developments from GungHo!

Follow GungHo Online Entertainment America online:

Website: http://www.gunghoonline.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GungHo_America

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Monkey Paw Games is a publisher that may have slipped under a number of gamers’ radars, given that they only handle digital releases, the majority of which are exclusive to the PSN. They opened their doors in 2009, their mission to give vintage Japanese games more exposure in the West. Monkey Paw Games release their titles in Europe and the Americas alike, ensuring that no gamer will forget these classic games.

The Arc the Lad series was originally only found in Japan and the Americas. The five games in the main series were released over the course of a decade, from the mid-90’s to the mid-00’s. Two spin-offs and a collection containing the first three games in the main series were released during that time as well. Arc the Lad was originally a tactical RPG series, though later games varied in their genre but kept the RPG elements present in their predecessors.

After five years of no new developments in the area of Arc the Land, Monkey Paw Games decided to revive the series by releasing Arc the Lad for the PSN in the October of 2010. Its sequel was released a month later, again for the PSN, and Arc the Lad III saw its PSN debut nine months ago. With a little luck, Monkey Paw Games may be able to release the other two games in the main series, as well as the spin-offs Western audiences were never able to try.

The vast majority of localisations by Monkey Paw Games have been niche Japanese games. Their first game was Chou Aniki, a shooter and the only game in the series to ever see a Western release. Another noteworthy game brought over by Monkey Paw Games was Vanguard Bandits, a grid-based strategy game developed by Human Studios in which the player assumes control of armoured mecha to battle their way through three different story branches in order to unlock all five endings.

A platformer with RPG elements and even some puzzles thrown in, Tomba! is a bright and colourful game that everyone should try at some point; not just because it looks fun, but because of the pedigree of its producer. Tokuro Fujiwara is his name, and he has worked on a multitude of Mega Man titles, as well as Ghouls and Ghosts and even some Breath of Fire games. More recently, Monkey Paw Games has taken on the localisation of Class of Heroes II (the first game in the series having been handled by Atlus), which is due to release this Fall. Developed by Acquire of Way of the Samurai fame, Class of Heroes II is a dungeon-crawler with ten classes to choose from a myriad of sidequests to complete. Veterans of the dungeon-crawling or JRPG genre will adore it.

Monkey Paw Games makes a habit of reviving games from old consoles, and has even tried its hand at arcade games. In fact, one of the first games localised by Monkey Paw Games was Shienryu, a shoot-‘em-up originally found in arcade form in Japan. Another is Galaxy Fight which is, as the name suggests, a fighting game. Galaxy Fight was introduced to the West by Monkey Paw Games; before it hit the PSN last year, it was only ever playable on Japanese arcades and on their virtual consoles.

Monkey Paw Games hasn’t even been around for half a decade, yet the people there have already proven they have excellent taste in niche Japanese games. They make themselves stand out from other publishers by bringing us older games; games that will break a wave of nostalgia over the dedicated gamer and give those new to the video game scene easy access to the classics. Keep up the good work guys; we appreciate it!

Follow Monkey Paw Games online:

Website: http://monkeypawgames.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/monkeypawgames

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/monkeypawgames

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/monkeypawgames

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In April 2002, a whole bunch of small video game developers and publishers got together in England to form one larger company. This company was Ignition Entertainment, and when they formed they focused on publishing games for the handheld market. After their acquisition in 2007 by UTV Software Communications, they were renamed to UTV Ignition Entertainment and opened up two new branches: Ignition Tokyo in Japan and Ignition Florida in America.

UTV Ignition notably brought Mistwalker’s Blue Dragon Plus to the West, something for which I’m sure many of you will be grateful. Killaware’s visual novel Lux-Pain was localised for American audiences by UTV, with Nostalgia, a pretty RPG from both Matrix Software and Red Entertainment being another. Two games popular in the niche community were also Americanised by UTV Ignition: one is none other than Vanillaware’s Murasmasa: The Demon Blade, the spiritual successor to Odin Sphere, a personal favourite of mine. The other was Arc Rise Fantasia, which I’ve been told is an excellent game to play so long as the volume is muted.

SNK Playmore is perhaps best known as the creator of the arcade and home console series known as the NeoGeo. Their games have often been brought to the West by UTV Ignition; some of these include The King of Fighters XII and the Metal Slug Anthology.

UTV develop games as well as publish them, and one shining example is El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, created by their Tokyo studio and released in all regions two years ago. El Shaddai is an action game with platforming elements that received excellent reviews across almost the entire board. Critics especially praised its gameplay, alongside its unique cel-shaded look which, by its nature, will never appear outdated.

Ignition Florida was shut down in late 2010 and its American base of operations moved to Austin in Texas. Reich is a first-person shooter that UTV was working on at the time, and was seemingly stranded by the Florida office’s closure; UTV have stated, however, that Reich is still in development at its Austin office. Here’s hoping they manage to complete the game. Failing that, a confirmation of its demise would put worried minds to rest.

UTV Ignition Entertainment may have had a few hiccups in America and in its development, but they’ve still managed to produce and publish some quality titles for our playing pleasure here in the West. Progress may be slow, but I’m confident UTV will continue bringing us Japanese games that we here at Oprainfall will enjoy playing for several years in the future.

Follow UTV Ignition Entertainment online:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/truegames

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/UTVIgnition

Source

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To celebrate the release of Ni no Kuni, we’ll be taking a closer look at the history and the games developed and published by the company bringing it to us: Namco Bandai Games.

Namco formed in 1955 in Tokyo, Japan, originally manufacturing rides and machines for amusement parks. They acquired Atari in the mid-70s, and when Atari started developing games, Namco began publishing them. The development of Namco’s first original game, Gee Bee, in 1978 coincided with their opening of a North American branch in Sunnyvale, California.

Bandai was founded in 1950 as a toy manufacturer, and are currently the world’s third-largest toy producer after Mattel and Hasbro. They also make plastic model kits, and of course, video games. They opened a North American branch in the early days of 2005.

March 31^st, 2006 saw Namco and Bandai merge to become Namco Bandai Games. Namco’s North American headquarters became the base of operations for Namco Bandai Games in North America. They also have a foothold in Europe, where they bring to PAL regions the same games they bring to NTSC regions.

Perhaps their most notable series, which happens to be both developed and published by Namco Bandai Games and its subsidiaries, is the Tales of series. The first game in the series was Tales of Phantasia, made for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995 by Namco. Phantasia was initially only present in Japan, but later got a rerelease for the GameBoy Advance which made it over to the West. The first Tales game to get published after the merger was Tales of the Abyss. Abyss was released in 2006 for Japanese and NTSC PlayStation 2s, and only made it over to PAL regions with the 3DS remake.

Every Tales of game since the release of Abyss has been wonderfully handled by Namco Bandai Games. Series producer Hideo Baba has expressed a keen interest in the localisation of as many Tales of games as possible. This bodes well for future localisations of the entries in the series, and will hopefully see them bring over Tales of Xillia 2 should the first game do well this year.

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Namco Bandai Games were the ones who made the excellent decision of publishing the Ni no Kuni in America a couple of days ago, and will be releasing the game in Europe in a week’s time. A personal favourite of mine that Namco Bandai Games have published for PAL regions is CyberConnect’s Solatorobo: Red the Hunter, a gorgeous game developed for the DS. I’ve got my fingers crossed hoping they’ll also pick up the sequel a little farther down the line.

Ever heard of Dark Souls? Well, you have Namco Bandai Games to thank for your English copies of the game. A game belonging to Xenoblade creators Monolith Soft, the third game in the Xenosaga series, was also brought stateside by Namco Bandai Games. Nihom Falcom’s Gagharv Trilogy, whose games are perhaps better known in English as The Legend of Heroes, are further examples of Namco Bandai’s excellent taste in niche games.

Eternal Sonata, Beautiful Katamari, the latest in the .hack series; Namco Bandai Games have localised and released each of them for our gaming pleasure. And they will continue to do so; they have already stated they have plans to release Toki to Towa in the West, and will of course be bringing the Western world the next Dark Souls game. Just this week, they announced that they will be bringing Project X Zone to both America and Europe, proving that they are a developer that will keep bringing us the games we want. So keep both eyes on Namco Bandai Games; they’re sure to keep bringing us titles of the highest calibre!

Follow Namco Bandai Games online:

American website: http://www.namcobandaigames.com/home
American Twitter: https://twitter.com/namcogames
American YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NamcoBandaiGames

European website: http://www.au.namcobandaigames.eu/
European Twitter: https://twitter.com/NamcoBandaiUK
European YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NamcoBandaiGamesEU

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NamcoBandai

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