When you think of JRPG publishers in North America, a few names typically come to mind. Square Enix and Atlus are probably the fan favorites, while companies like XSEED and NIS America regularly keep themselves busy with RPGs from time to time. Hell, even companies like Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Sega, and Namco Bandai, who publish a variety of different titles occassionally come through and give us an RPG or two.
One name that you may not be as familiar with is Ignition Entertainment. Having established themselves with titles from other genres, Ignition stepped into the JRPG scene earlier this year with Mistwalker and AQ Interactive's Blue Dragon Plus for the DS. Though the game carries Mistwalker's Blue Dragon franchise, the game was generally dismissed by fans in both North America and Japan, and I personally thought Ignition would have washed its hands of JRPGs.
Not so, however, as Ignition has stepped up to bring at least two more JRPGs to North American shores.
First up is Vanillaware and Marvelous' 2D side-scrolling action-RPG, Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Initially slated to be published by XSEED, Ignition stepped up to take the project immediately after XSEED announced that it would no longer have anything to do with it. Some of you pointed this out to me a while back, and I know it's probably old news by now.
Their second confirmed project is RED, Matrix, and Tecmo's DS RPG, Wind of Nostalgeo, which has been renamed simply to Nostalgia for North America. For the forgetful, Nostalgia (Wind of Nostalgeo) is set in an alternate 19th century Europe, and is heavily focused on airships, drawing comparisons to Sega's Skies of Arcadia.
Finally, according to an ESRB leak, Ingition will also be handling the localization of Spectral Force Genesis, Idea Factory's DS entry into their Spectral Force series. Ignition has yet to confirm or deny any connection to this title.
With more and more JRPGs being handled by international arms of the original publisher, there hasn't been as much room for new publishers on the scene. It's nice to see Ignition pick up some slack, and we wish them the best of luck in their RPG publishing endeavors.
Both Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Nostalgia are set for North America release on Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS (respectively) sometime this September. Spectral Force Genesis is still unconfirmed.
Publisher XSEED Games announced yesterday that they have officially dropped publishing responsibilities of Marvelous and Vanillaware's 2D side-scrolling action-RPG, Muramasa: The Demon Blade (known as Oboro Muramasa in Japan).
XSEED remains adamant about their partnership with Marvelous, and has confirmed that they have not dropped publishing duties of other Marvelous titles, such as Arc Rise Fantasia and Little King's Story.
Though the press release doesn't mention a new publisher, XSEED states that they will "look forward to seeing it release in North America." Whether that means the game has indeed been picked up by another publisher (like, say, Atlus) or simply that XSEED remains hopeful that someone else will pick it up is anyone's guess. Kind of usettling news, though.
Stuff like this just confirms to me that buying a North American Wii is a total waste of money.
Here, have a whole bunch of trailers. They are good and good for you!
Arc Rise Fantasia Nintendo Wii imageepoch, Marvelous June 4, 2009 (Japan)
Oboro Muramasa (Muramasa: The Demon Blade) Nintendo Wii Vanillaware, Marvelous April 9, 2009 (Japan)
Ougon no Kizuna Nintendo Wii Jaleco May 28, 2009 (Japan)
Though Oboro Muramasa is still higher on my DO WANT list, Arc Rise Fantasia certainly has the best trailer out of this lot. Fingers crossed for some epic good times.
Here are scans from Famitsu for Marvelous and Vanillaware's 2D Wii action-RPG, Oboro Muramasa (Muramasa: The Demon Blade in North America) and Square Enix's DS action-RPG, Blood of Bahamut.
Oboro Muramasa Nintendo Wii Vanillaware, Marvelous April 9, 2009 (Japan), TBA (North America)
Blood of Bahamut Nintendo DS Square Enix TBA
I didn't translate them because I'm lazy like that. But if you are interested, please make a request in the comments and I'll see what I can do.
Marvelous has just dropped word that their upcoming Vanillaware-developed Wii action-RPG, Oboro Muramasa, will be officially hitting Japanese retailers at the beginning of April this year.
Oboro Muramasa follows the exploits of the amnesia-stricked ninja Kisuke and the kinapped-by-demons beautiful princess Momohime through their Japanese folklore-heavy adventure during the Genroku Era in Japan (1688-1704 AD, typically thought of as the "golden age" of the Edo Period).
Oboro Muramasa is created in beautiful hand-drawn 2D by the same studio behind Princess Crown, Odin Sphere, and GrimGrimoire, and has been near the top of my "do want" list since it's announcement. It's nice to finally see a date attached to it.
Oh yeah, they also released a new gameplay trailer for the game. Check it out below.
Oboro Muramasa will be available on Nintendo Wii on April 9, 2009 in Japan. It will be released as Muramasa: The Demon Blade in North America by XSEED and Marvelous, though no date has been announced yet.
It's been a while since I've done a huge flood of scans in one post. And while it's nice to see so many RPGs featured in video gaming magazines, it's kind of overwhelming at the same time.
So, yeah, just like always, take a look at all the scans below, and leave a comment if you would like something translated.
Crystal Defenders R WiiWare Square Enix January 27, 2009 (Japan)
Final Fantasy XIII PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Square Enix 2009 (Japan), 2010 (North America, Europe)
Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki no Haikyo (Farewell Lunar Ruins) Nintendo Wii Tri-Crescendo, Namco Bandai January 22, 2009 (Japan)
Mario & Luigi RPG 3 Nintendo DS Nintendo February 11, 2009 (Japan)
Oboro Muramasa (Muramasa: The Demon Blade) Nintendo Wii Vanillaware, Marvelous April 2009 (Japan)
Star Ocean: The Last Hope Xbox 360 tri-Ace, Square Enix February 19, 2009 (Japan), February 24, 2009 (North America), April 24, 2009 (Europe)
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 PSP Namco Bandai January 29, 2009 (Japan)
Everything except the Final Fantasy XIII scans are open for translation (because the current FFXIII ones are too blurry to read).
Perhaps the most compelling reason to own a Wii, Marvelous and Vanillaware's upcoming hand-drawn action-RPG Oboro Muramasa is simply gorgeous.
I don't know what to say other than that, so instead, look at these scans!
Scans are open for translation requests below.
Oboro Muramasa (Muramasa: The Demon Blade in North America) will be available in Japan and North America on Nintendo Wii sometime next year. No word on a European release at the moment.
Perhaps some of the hottest stuff you'll see at TGS this year, take a look at the gameplay video released for Marvelous and Vanillaware's upcoming Oboro Muramasa (Muramasa: The Demon Blade in North America).
The video presenter also gives you a run-down on what to expect in terms of content and gameplay, and actually offers one of the most complete previews out of TGS so far.
So there was the word on the street about a Nintendo Power article claiming Oboro Muramasa would be renamed to Muramasa: The Demon Blade, and be heading to North American shores. Since I never could dig up scans for the alleged article, I had to call it a rumor (responsible journalism ftw).
Well XSEED and Marvelous, via a press release to IGN, revealed that the game will indeed be making the jump under the new name.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade will be available for Nintendo Wii sometime in 2009. While this is definitely nice confirmation, it still doesn't give us a solid release to point to. My predictions align the Japanese and North American versions to near-simultaneous release, so I guess we'll just have to wait til TGS starts later this week to know for sure.
When you think of JRPG publishers in North America, a few names typically come to mind. Square Enix and Atlus are probably the fan favorites, while companies like XSEED and NIS America regularly keep themselves busy with RPGs from time to time. Hell, even companies like Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Sega, and Namco Bandai, who publish a variety of different titles occassionally come through and give us an RPG or two.
