Everyone's favourite non-holiday, Halloween, is almost upon us. Celebrating that (I think), a lot of publishers have decided to drop new titles into the market here in North America.Check out what RPGs are hitting shelves this week (October 26 - 31, 2009):North AmericaAlganon – Quest Online – PCAtelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island – Gust, NIS America – Nintendo DSBorderlands – Gearbox, 2K – PCFort Zombie – Kerberos, Paradox – PCKing’s Bounty: Armored Princess – Katauri, 1C – PCLeague of Legends: Clash of Fates – Riot, THQ – PCTorchlight – Runic, Perfect World – PCVandal Hearts: Flames of Judgement – Konami – XBLA, PSNJapanAkumajou Dracula: Sougetsu no Juujika (Dendou Selection) – Konami – Nintendo DSAkumajou Dracula: The Adventure ReBirth – Konami - WVCElminage II: Sousei no Megami to Unmei no Daichi – Starfish SD – PSPFinal Fantasy Gaiden: Hikari no 4 Senshi – Matrix, Square Enix – Nintendo DSSuper Robot Taisen NEO – Banpresto, Namco Bandai – Nintendo WiiEuropeAgarest: Generations of War – Compile Heart, Midas – PlayStation 3North America easily has the biggest selection this week with two MMOs, two PC RPGs, Borderlands PC version, Atelier Annie for DS, and the malformed (rather than glorious) return of Vandal Hearts on XBLA and PSN.Japan gets two re-releases of old Castlevania games, Elminage II for PSP, yet another Super Robot Taisen game, and Matrix's latest bobble-head Final Fantasy DS game. Yay?Europe bags the dating-sim/SPRG hybrid Agarest Senki.Anything look worth your cash this week?
Ar Tonelico III was announced last week for the PS3, and now, with the launch of the game's official site, a new trailer with (a very small amount of) gameplay has emerged.Check it out below!The music and art style remains quite cool, and the graphics seem like they have stepped up even since Atelier Rorona. However, my stark lack of a lolita complex prevents me from really getting hot and bothered about this title. Also, Ar Tonelico II was not much fun, so if this wants to impress me, I hope it takes more cues from the original rather than the sequel.Either way, we'll know soon enough as Ar Tonelico III: Sekai Shuuen no Intetsu wa Shoujo no Uta ga Hiku will be available for PlayStation 3 in Japan on January 28, 2009.
Roughly one full week after the game’s official North American release, I finally got my hands on Namco Bandai’s latest JRPG for the Xbox 360, Magna Carta II.Now, I say ‘JRPG’ knowing full-well that the game was developed by South Korean developer Softmax, and is about as Made-in-Japan as kimchi. However, in terms of game style, Magna Carta II is JRPG through-and-through. Besides the fact that it was paid for and published by Japanese mega-publisher Namco Bandai.In terms of story, MCII follows a young amnesiac man named Juto who is torn from his peaceful life when 
two mainland armies vie for control of a giant, living weapon found on the otherwise neutral Highwind Island. Juto, dragged into the war, finds himself on the side of the Southern Forces, the underdogs in the current civil war, as he searches for revenge and answers about his past.Don’t feel too bad if this sounds extremely familiar to you, as MCII indeed touches on just about every JRPG cliché known to man. The story also features a beautiful, strong-willed, but secretly insecure princess, a giant warrior of a different race that has limited personality but uses a huge hammer or axe in battle, and a fire mage who acts like a little cocky bitch all of the time, despite the fact that his usefulness on the field is questionable at best. Yes, Magna Carta II, so far, offers no real giant leaps in tried-and-true JRPG storytelling.Now, despite the myriad clichés present, Magna Carta II has occasional strokes of brilliance in its story. Every once in a while, you will say, ‘wow, that’s pretty cool.’ Unfortunately, those few moments are lessened by the sheer amount of ‘meh’ that the story is sure to provoke. Honestly, certain moments that should have felt Earth-shattering in their impact on the story came off feeling half-done, half-assed, or both.That’s not to say the story isn’t interesting. It is, and I am enjoying it. But it feels like it 
just could have been so much better.Graphically, Magna Carta II does a decent job. For the most part, locales are complex and interesting, and the ability of each of your party members to interact with other environmental objects uniquely is a welcomed addition. Animation is decent if occasionally slightly awkward. Character models, again, are generally pretty good, but nothing that couldn’t have been improved.The Japanese (or Korean, for that matter) voice-overs are nowhere to be seen on the North American version, so you’ll be stuck with the English cast. This is usually not a big problem, as the English cast typically delivers a good performance, though it’s not without its awkward moments.The battle system, possibly Magna Carta II’s biggest strength, is a mix of real-time action and turn-based strategy. Each of your characters will attack enemies in real-time, but a sensitive stamina meter prevents any one character from going out on the offensive for too long. This provides for a system that encourages you to switch between characters often in battle to prevent your party from getting too held up on enemies (who don’t seem to have stamina meters). There are other functions of the battle system that allow you to ‘Chain’ attacks with other party memb
ers to increase attack power and put off the dreaded ‘Overheat’ status.Though I initially found this battle system impossibly complex during the Japanese demo, the full game introduces the concept much more gradually, allowing for plenty of time to get comfortable with the controls.One other thing that I think Magna Carta II does well (so far), is provide alternative methods of experience and gold harvesting. Though, like in most RPGs, you are free to spend as much time as you like beating up random monsters to grind up levels, MCII is chock-full of NPCs who will offer you quests in exchange for experience, money, and (occasionally) rare items. Though quests are nothing new, receiving experience bonuses for doing them is a concept that hasn’t really caught hold in the JRPG genre, and it’s an addition that I would highly recommend bringing in again.Finally, let me just touch on the soundtrack, which is, in a word, great. The music has a generally nice feel to it, and is reminiscent of lots of great PS1 soundtracks like Legend of Dragoon. There is no pesky battle theme, either, meaning that you can enjoy an area’s background theme without being constantly interrupted by the same battle music over and over again. 
So great. My only gripe with the soundtrack is the disappointing (though predictable) exclusion of the game’s Jpop theme song from GLAY, replaced instead by an orchestrated, no lyrics version. Namdai’s MO, I know, but disappointing nonetheless.Overall, Magna Carta II is a good JRPG, with occasional strokes of ‘great,’ but bogged down by its own unrealized potential. If you have been holding your breath for a new HD JRPG since SO4, then feel free to pick this one up, as it will scratch that JRPG itch. But if you are holding out for the next genre-redefining JRPG, I’m afraid this just isn’t that game.At least, not after my first three hours with it.
I don't want to deal with 'what is an RPG?' It's a nasty question, and one that, even after two decades of gaming, I don't feel confident in answering. So then, Borderlands, a game that has the attention of both the RPGaming and the cooperative FPS communities comes along, puts a gun to my head, and says "do I get coverage from you?""Kind of," I respond. "I'll throw you on the weekly release list. Is that good enough?""I don't know," Borderlands responds. "Let's find out."North AmericaBorderlands – Gearbox, 2K – Xbox 360, PlayStation 3Everquest II: The Complete Collection – SCEA – PCJapanAntiphona no Seika Hime: Tenshi no Gakufu Op.A – Nippon Ichi – PSPHarukanaru Toki no Naka de 3: Unmei no Meikyuu Aizouban – Koei – PSPRune Factory 3 – Marvelous – Nintendo DSEuropeBorderlands – Gearbox, 2K – PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3So, Borderlands is out on 360 and PS3 this week in both North America and Europe, while Europe also bags the PC release (North Americans will have to wait until next week). I'm not going to say whether I view it as an RPG with shooter elements, or a shooter with RPG elements, because frankly, it doesn't matter to me. It's enough RPG to get listed here.North America also happens to be getting a perfect edition of Everquest II.Japan, meanwhile, picks up the 3rd DS Rune Factory title (you are a weresheep), what seems like the bazillionth Harukanaru Toki no Naka de title, and the spiritual successor to Rhapsody.Anything looking worth it to you this week?
Ar Tonelico III is coming to PlayStation 3. It marks Gust's second PS3 title, and Namco Bandai's first RPG to start on PS3 instead of 360.The game was revealed via the latest issue of Famitsu, but Namdai has followed up with a debut teaser today, which you can watch below. (Just don't anticipate much.)Underwhelmed? Don't say I didn't warn you. At least the music sounds like it will once again be awesome.If you are needing a better fix of the game, you can check out Famitsu.com's article on it, which features a few in-game screens. Beyond that, you'll have to wait for the game's official site to go live, which the teaser promises will happen on Monday (October 19).I just hope it's better than Ar Tonelico II, which was far from a worthy successor in my books.Ar Tonelico III: Sekai Shuuen no Intetsu wa Shoujo no Uta ga Hiku will be available for PlayStation 3 on January 28, 2010.
Marvelous just can't help themselves. They have this addiction, you see, that forces them to release indiscriminate amounts of the Harvest Moon series on the DS. It's not their fault. They were born this way. Don't judge them, okay?! You don't know what it's like! STOP YELLING!!The latest hit, I mean title, is called Bokujou Monogatari: Futago no Mura, which translates into Farm Story (Harvest Moon): Twins' Village.Unlike previous Harvest Moon titles, Futago no Mura features two separate villages for your farming/life-sim exploits. The first, Konohana Village will have a Japanese feel to it, and will be full of flowers and plants to harvest and raise, while the second, Bluebell Village, will be Western in its culture and appearance, and will be focused on raising animals.There appear to be two main characters, but it is unclear at this point if both are playable, or if players are expected just to pick a gender for their protagonist.Bokujou Monogatari: Futago no Mura will be available for Nintendo DS sometime this Winter in Japan.[
Dengeki]
Namco Bandai has a commitment to keeping the JRPG genre going in Japan. With titles announced regularly for every major platform thinkable, many of their franchises are extremely well-known and well-loved in their home market.North America, however, is a different story. Not only does Namdai release less than half of their own RPGs, the ones they do release get barely even an announcement from the publisher. So, though I tend to enjoy Namdai's RPGs very much, I find I have a difficult time finding things to say about their titles.Thankfully, GameTrailers has graciously provided us with a short video preview of Namdai's upcoming Magna Carta II that really gives viewers a good overview of what the title is all about.Check it out below.Magna Carta II is available for Xbox 360 today in North America, and will be available on October 16, 2009 in Europe. It has been available in Japan since August.
Everyone's favourite non-holiday, Halloween, is almost upon us. Celebrating that (I think), a lot of publishers have decided to drop new titles into the market here in North America.
