In another round of Not News, Level 5 President Akihiro Hino told GameTrailers that the company's latest cooperative project with Sony, Shiro Kishi Monogatari: Inishie no Kodou, will likely see North American shores.
Well, his actual quote is, "Yes, it should be (localized for North America), but the launch date has not been determined yet."
...
So, uh, Shiro Kishi Monogatari will eventually make it's way to North America. Thanks for clearing that up, Captain Obvious.
Sony (or any other company) has yet to formally announce plans to bring the PS3 title to any region besides Japan at the moment, but c'mon, I don't think anyone doubted that the game would get localized. Hino failed to mention the one detail that would actually make this newsworthy: when? It's a mystery...
Shiro Kishi Monogatari: Inishie no Kodou is already available on PlayStation 3 in Japan. We'll keep you posted when a real North American release date is announced.
Level 5 and Sony's long-in-development Shiro Kishi Monogatari is just over a week away in Japan. Some of you might be importing it. If so, you might like to meet a few characters that you will be interacting with (that is, if you are playing the story mode, and not the weird-ass MMO mode).
Famitsu.com detailed them, and I have my own translations below:
Eldore An old warrior who gives guidance to Lenard and his friends, Eldore appears to have lived a life full of ups and downs, and is skilled not only in swordplay, but also in magic. Though he typically keeps to himself, he occassionally shows sharp discernment that belies a deep, inner strength. Both his background and his goal in his journey remain a mystery.
Sylance The commanding officer of the Barandole Royal Knights, Sylance was joined the knights when he was very young due to a certain incident. He is known to fly off the handle, losing sight of everything around him should the King or Queen be threatened in any way. He also harbors a deep hatred for the Principality of Forlia, an established enemy of the Queen.
Salbane The Prime Minister of Barandole, Salbane acts as the King's advisor regarding both internal politics as well as foreign affairs. His is very knowledgeable in ancient history and was a driving force in promoting the research of the Knight excavated 17 years earlier. He puts much of his efforts towards the revival of the country, and it is he who orders Lenard (as the one contracted with the Knight) to rescue Princess Shizuna.
As usual, note that my translations may differ from the official ones.
Shiro Kishi Monogatari: Inishe no Kodou will be available for PlayStation 3 on December 25, 2008 in Japan. There is currently no confirmation of a North American or European release.
I have to be honest, I'm worried about Level 5's Shiro Kishi Monogatari. I really liked Level 5's PS2 RPGs, and though Shiro Kishi has abandoned the cell-shaded anime look in favor of something... weirder, I still figured that the gameplay would pull this title through.
But then TGS came along and all these details on MMO-like functionality. Now, even trailers and commercials for the game present it as two different things. On the one hand, a traditional looking linear action-RPG, and on the other, a kind of psuedo MMO.
Below are two trailers. One epic, one... awkward (and super long).
Story Trailer
Online Trailer
Seriously, if I wanted to play an MMO, I'd play an MMO. I really don't need a game that attempts both. Gah! I'm having terrible Phantasy Star Universe flashbacks! x_X
Shiro Kishi Monogatari: Inishie no Kodou will be available on PlayStation 3 in Japan on December 25, 2008. Still no word on a North American or European release.
As you are likely already aware, Level 5 and Sony's upcoming (in Japan anyway) Shiro Kishi Monogatari will feature a character creation feature, which will allow you to make a character that looks more or less just how you would like to go adventuring with.
The latest issue of Famitsu shows off characters from the game that have absolutely nothing to do with that character creation feature.
The article also covers a few of the monsters you'll be facing off against, as well as some details regarding item creation and accessories that change how your characters look (similar to Lost Odyssey and Tales of Vesperia).
Check out the scans below:
Shiro Kishi Monogatari: Inishie no Kodou (White Knight Story: Pulse of Antiquity) will be available on PlayStation 3 in Japan on December 25, 2008. There is currently no word on a North American or European release.
Scans open for translation request in the comments.
Remember those Chinesescans? Y'know, the ones I can't read?
Well, RPGLand has graciously scanned the Japanese versions of both the recent Star Ocean 4 and White Knight Story articles, so they are now officially up for translation requests.
Additionally, they have also included a new article on the upcoming The Last Remnant, so I will take requests for that article as well.
Also, I can't read Chinese. So I really can't tell you what is written in this scan. I'm sorry.
However, the scan clearly shows off the Black Knight (who I think is pretty safe to assume is the antagonist of the game), as well as several in-game shots.
White Knight Story is set to release this Christmas in Japan on PlayStation 3. There is currently no word on North American or European release.
I will take translation requests if I can find (or if someone can tell me where to find) some Japanese scans.
With the press-only days of TGS now but a distant memory, the time has come to turn our eyes towards the prediction list to try and sort out which are right and which are total bullocks.
Which brings us to Sony and Level 5's Shiro Kishi Monogatari (White Knight Story). Though Sony had a special gameplay conference where they let some old guy play it in front of everyone and talked about how awesome it is, no one (and I mean no one) else gets to play it. Also, no mention of a release date outside of Japan.
I guess that prediction is a big fat failure.
Also, why in hell is Demon's Souls playable when the demo looks half-finished, but Shiro Kishi Monogatari, a game only 2 months from release, isn't? Sony reps were "no comment" on the lack of White Knight playability.
Some new multiplayer and online details about Sony and Level 5's upcoming Shiro Kishi Monogatari (White Knight Story) have surfaced via the latest issue of Famitsu.
The story mode is reportedly over 100 hours long (holy crap!), and can be played with friends. Up to 16 friends, in fact, can gather in one game. These characters are reportedly to be the customizable characters, as opposed to the game's actual story characters.
It is also being reported that up to four people can join up online and go questing. This system will also let you swap items. There is currently no word on exactly what kind of effect this has on the game's story (if any).
White Knight Story is set to release this Christmas in Japan, with no release date confirmed for North America or Europe.
Check out the impossible to read scan below. (Thanks Gamekyo)
If I have to write one more story on "White Knight Story gets a Japanese Release Date", I think I'm going to punch someone.
Anyways, according to this week's Weekly Famitsu (yes, I looked at the scans myself to make sure they are all real and stuff), Level 5 and Sony Computer Entertainment's long-awaited PlayStation 3 RPG will finally for really real be released this year (in Japan). In fact, it is set to release on December 25, 2008. What a nice Christmas present! (If you are Japanese, that is.)
The Famitsu article in question reveals not only the festive release date, but also a new sub-title for the game. Officially, the game will be called Shiro Kishi Monogatari: Inishie no Kodou (Japanese = 白騎士物語 ~古の鼓動~) which roughly translates to White Knight Story: Pulse of Antiquity (or something similar, like Ancient Beat, etc). Which is altogether kind of an awkward subtitle, in my opinion.
The Famitsu scans are embedded below for your viewing pleasure. As usual, I will be accepting translation requests below (though I won't translate that two solid pages of interview. I'm not a masochist.)
There is currently no word on a North American or European release.
So, yesterday I posted that this week's issue of Famitsu gave White Knight Story a release date in Japan of December 11, 2008. Well, I'm very sorry, but it seems that is not actually the case. I don't know where that source got that date (my guess is their ass), but it is 100% not legitimate at all.
The issue of Famitsu in question does not mention White Knight at all, and its release date glossary still lists the title's release as TBA. Thus, groundless rumor is groundless.
I will be checking my sources a lot stricter from now on, so hopefully I won't have to post anything like this again.
If you are an RPG fan but only own a PlayStation 3 this generation, there's a good chance that you've been feeling pretty left out up until now. With most of the Japanese RPG support hanging out with the Xbox 360, and a handful of original titles announced for the Wii, PS3 owners have really just had to make do with Western RPGs, Xbox 360 hand-me-downs, and the promise that Final Fantasy XIII will be finished someday.
Well Sony and Level 5 have finally been moved by your tears, and have announced via Famitsu this week that long-in-development Shiro Kishi Monogatari (White Knight Story) will be available on PlayStation 3 on December 11, 2008 in Japan.
Level 5 has been awfully quiet about this title since its announcement back in 2006, so we unfortunately can't offer you much in the way of details. However, since this is Level 5 we're talking about, you can bet there will be some polished action-RPG gameplay with a... story. Yeah, there will probably be a story in there too. Don't quote me on that though.
Unfortunately, there has been no word of a North American or European release at the moment, but we will keep you informed when there is. Here's hoping the localization wait is shorter that Rogue Galaxy's....
According to Sony, Level 5's first HD RPG Shiro Kishi Monogatari (commonly referred to by English-speakers as White Knight Story or White Knight Chronicles) is set to (finally) release for PlayStation 3 in Japan during fiscal year 2008.
Okay, before you PS3 owners start jumping up and down with squeals of unrestrained joy (an RPG! an RPG! we finally have one!), understand that Fiscal Year 2008 actually goes until the end of March 2009. The fact that they announced it for "Fiscal 2008" and not just plain old "2008" leads us to believe that this release will be closer to the March 2009 side of the spectrum.Also, remember that there has been no news on an NA or EU release as of yet, and if the localization is left up to SCEA/SCEE (as it was with Rogue Galaxy), we may not see it on our shores for quite a bit longer than that.
However, for the RPG-starved PS3, this is definitely welcome news. Level 5's latest project was one of the first games announced for the PS3 back before launch in 2006, but has made very slow progress with even less press attention. So to know that the game is still coming out (and in the forseeable future, no less) is surely a sigh of relief for many PS3 owners wondering where the RPG love is.
I have always been a fan of Level 5's game design, and their gameplay is among some of the smoothest and most intuitive I've played (though their stories are often on the shallow side). Though the art style for Shiro Kishi Monogatari seems (to me, anyway) to be a step backwards (I preferredtheir cell-shaded work on Dark Cloud 2, DQVIII, and Rogue Galaxy to Shiro Kishi's odd take on photorealism), the game will most likely play quite nicely.
We'll keep our ears to the ground and keep you updated.
In another round of Not News, Level 5 President Akihiro Hino told GameTrailers that the company's latest cooperative project with Sony, Shiro Kishi Monogatari: Inishie no Kodou, will likely see North American shores.
