Hello there, Organization of Anti-Social Geniuses. It’s Geoffrey Barnes from Damage Control again. If I’m making an appearance here, you (hopefully) know what that means: It’s time for another installment in “The Directional Pad,” a monthly feature that focuses on some of the biggest gaming news that happened in the last month. That “some,” by the way, is important, because I’d be here all day if I highlighted everything that happened. The news is also tailored to what OASG readers and visitors might like. That means this will mostly consist of Japanese news, but don’t be surprised if something western is occasionally thrown in.
The Valkyria of the Azure Revolution
The biggest recent Japan-centric announcement comes from Sega. There was much speculation concerning what the “Valkyria of the Blue Revolution” and subsequent “Valkyria: Azure Revolution” trademarks that surfaced a month ago could be for. Some concluded it was for a mobile project, while others figured it was a new mainline title. (I was in the latter camp, by the way.) Turns out neither party was right here.
Azure Revolution is an RPG developed by Media.Vision (still well known for the late Wild Arms franchise) for PlayStation 4, featuring character models by Flight Plan. The game will take place in a new universe, and feature action-based battles based on the concepts used in previous strategy/RPG installments. They’ll involve the player controlling one character, while the AI will handle other party members.
Basically, this sounds more like a successor to Shining Resonance, considering the lack of Valkyria Chronicles’ traditional elements, and Raita Honjou for the artwork. Still, it’s nice that Media.Vision is receiving a steady stream of work on dedicated platforms, and that Sega actually green lit a console game in 2015. That this isn’t a mobile or browser game is also a silver lining. Given the sales of the first VC title on PC, Sega should be considering a localization for the western market on PS4 and PC, but you can never tell with them.
Additionally, Valkyria Chronicles Remaster will hit PS4 in Japan on February 10th, which will include improved visuals, all the DLC, and trophy support. An Azure Revolution demo will also be included, with Sega subsequently taking feedback from those who play it. Given how this game was previously localized and released twice, it should definitely come over. But again, you never know with Sega.
Many Legends of Zelda
It’s a pity the existence of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD for Wii U was leaked prior, but that it’s coming is no surprise. After Nintendo explained how quick it easy it was for HexaDrive to port Wind Waker HD for Wii U back in 2013, this was a case of “when,” not “if.”
Despite HexaDrive’s previous support for WWHD, Tantalus will be handling this one. But that’s OK if their remastering skills are on par with theirs, and the results thus far show the exquisite amount of polish they’ve given it. Of course, the main novelty for many will be the opportunity to play it in widescreen with standard controls, instead of being forced to use the Wii version’s motion controls. (Remember: The Gamecube version didn’t have a widescreen option.) But they’ve also done considerable work on the textures, to fix aspects of the visuals which showed its Gamecube origins.
Not unlike many Nintendo games these days, Twilight Princess HD will be coming with Amiibo functionality. That includes support for the new Wolf Link Amiibo, which will launch alongside the game in a special package. Amiibos are printing money for Nintendo, so this is hardly a surprising development, regardless of how haphazard its implementation could be. The game, and the special edition, will arrive on March 4th.
While we’re on the Zelda topic: The Legend of Zelda for Wii U was confirmed for a 2016 release. That should clear up some doubt, but you’ll still find plenty of people skeptical of Nintendo’s ability to hit that date.
A Cloud Over Super Smash Bros.
Also in Nintendo news: Who could have predicted that Cloud Strife would be one of the newest entrants in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U? Most of the internet didn’t, which explains the reactions of gleeful shock and meltdowns of rage when he appeared on the most recent Nintendo Direct installment.
The Smash Bros. team gave Cloud their own interpretation of how he would fit in a fighting game, with not as much inspiration as some would expect from his Dissidia version. What’s also remarkable is how his inclusion breaks Smash tradition, whose roster choices have always involved characters with a historical association with Nintendo. Cloud’s more of a Sony character, to the point that he was sorely missing in action in Sony Smash clone PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. In a way, he seems out of place here, but you won’t see many who enjoy Smash complaining about him — unless he’s broken.
Nintendo didn’t say when Cloud and the Midgar stage will release, but we should receive our answer, and more, on next month’s Smash Broadcast. Stay tuned, and tune in.
Indivisible Deserves Justice
When I mentioned that western games could be thrown in to this feature, Indivisible was the type of title I was hinting at. It’s a new project from Skullgirls-developer Lab Zero Games, which contains inspiration from both tri-Ace’s Valkyrie Profile and various Metroidvania titles — though skewing more towards the former. It’s a globetrotting RPG featuring perhaps the most diverse cast of characters you’ll ever see in a video game, characters you can read about with nearly every update they’ve provided.
Since they’re a small independent developer who likes to handle their own projects, including an ambitious one like Indivisible, Lab Zero needed to pursue crowdfunding to cover a significant chunk of the cost. While its towering $1.5 million mountain of an initial funding goal seemed insurmountable initially, its pledging pace picked up after more onlookers discovered it. And now that the campaign’s been extended, it will definitely reach its goal.
That’s great, because preparing a plethora of promotional materials to show their audience how they were working on an actual, functioning product isn’t easy, especially when that includes a polished and playable beta. Though it should work on most computers released in the last half-decade, it’s also available for PS4 in America and Europe, if you’d rather play on a console. The final version of Indivisible won’t arrive until early 2018, so hopefully you’re patient — especially if you pledged to the crowdfunding campaign.
P.S. If you like Valkyrie Profile-style gameplay, members of the team who worked on the original game at tri-Ace are working on an actual spiritual successor in Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky. Japanese publisher Spike Chunsoft just released a lengthy overview trailer showcasing its features, some of which can be understood despite the language barrier. It will release in Japan on December 17th, and though it’s currently not planned for a western release, there’s a good chance someone will localize it. You know, assuming it’s good.
Dragon Quest Returns
To say the Dragon Quest franchise has been dead in the western market for years would be disingenuous, but it hasn’t been alive in a way its fanbase wanted. Following the release of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, neither Nintendo nor Square Enix wanted anything to do with localizing and publishing the games outside Japan. This led to six DQ games releasing in Japan, with no localization prospects in sight. But games we’re being released for mobile platforms, and Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below recently released for PlayStation 4 — and is coming soon to Steam. Nice, but they weren’t the games people really wanted.
Thankfully, we’re getting those. When Nintendo announced the return of Nintendo Direct, no one guessed this would finally be the installment that gave us the announcements of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past and Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. Fans of the franchise have been begging for the former for years after it released in Japan back in February 2013, to the point that they’d given up on it — me included. But it’s finally arriving. And it’s a nice bonus that DQVIII is coming along with it, to further solidify DQ’s return.
If you enjoyed the swath of DQ games released on DS, or are simply interested in the franchise, clear out your schedules for both. DQVII will drop in early summer 2016, while DQVIII is coming later. Both should lead to Dragon Quest XI being localized, at least for 3DS and potentially NX. The PS4 version of XI should come over too, but whether Dragon Quest Heroes 2 and Dragon Quest Builders make the trip will depend on how high or low Square Enix’s expectations were for Heroes did on PS4. If it didn’t do well, hope lies in the PC version.
That does it for this installment of The Directional Pad. Angela should return for the next one, while I’ll be back in January with another post of similar length. With both PlayStation Experience and Jump Festa 2015 in Japan coming soon, both of us should have quite a bit of ground to cover. Until then, I’ll be posting quite a bit on Damage Control (yes, this is shameless promotion), so head there for more cool gaming material.
