The Falcom Thread

[Nester the Lark]

I mentioned in the Currently Playing thread that I was taking a break from the Ys series, but I guess I'm still on a Falcom kick, because I started playing a game called Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure. It's a very Zelda-like action-adventure game, complete with dungeons, block-pushing puzzles, torch-lighting puzzles, and tons of pots to smash.  Oddly enough, it's published by Mastiff, not Xseed.

I also got the NES classic Faxanadu on the Wii Virtual Console, even tho it's more of a Hudson game than a Falcom game. (But on the plus side, it's a Hudson game. )

And earlier today, Xseed announced that Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim would be released on April 28, and the Steam and GOG versions will include a free digital art book called the Ys VI Material Collection that was originally included with a special edition of the game in 2004. Their official site is also online.

Guys, I'm not sure, but I might be becoming a Falcom fan. Either that or I'll suddenly get sick of them this weekend and never touch their games again. In the mean time, I'm having fun exploring their catalog, and based on what I've heard, Xseed is planning to bring a lot more of them to PC.

[Nester the Lark]

Almost forgot I started this thread.

Xseed just announced that they're localizing Xanadu Next for Steam (and most likely GOG) next year, although this news was kinda expected since it was discovered that they registered a domain for the game last December. I've been waiting for this announcement because it sounds like a game I'd really like.

Xanadu Next (not to be confused with Tokyo Xanadu, which Falcom just released in Japan) originally came out in 2005, and is a metroidvania dungeon crawler. The game marked the 20th anniversary of the original Xanadu, which is apparently the best selling PC game ever in Japan. Xanadu Next was previously released in English... on the Nokia N-Gage. (No kidding. Apparently it was an awful port, tho.)

[Nester the Lark]

I can actually use this thread for something Nintendo-related now.

Gurumin is coming to the 3DS eShop this summer in both North America and Europe. It's a cute little game. A little wonky, but it has a very Dreamcast-like charm to it. I enjoyed it.

[Nester the Lark]

I realize no one cares, but darn it, I'm gonna keep updating!

Here's a proper teaser trailer for Gurumin 3D (as apposed to the same trailer Mastiff's been using for the past 10 years):



Also, new details from GoNintendo:

- full 3D with redrawn elements
- lower screen features new content
- has a chance at Wii U or NX release
- different textures from the PC version
- 'Moving a traditional 3D platforming game to true Stereoscopic 3D has been the greatest challenge'
- use a button to switch the headgear to the bottom screen
- supports C Stick
- 30fps
- based mostly off the PSP version
- likely to see a 3DS theme released

Also, Tokyo Xanadu has been confirmed for a North American localization, as well as a PC port, by Aksys Games.

[Nester the Lark]

Here's the latest trailer for Gurumin 3D:



This version apparently also has some exclusive content not in previous versions, like some new costumes for Parin. Sounds like Mastiff has put a lot of effort into this port.

[Nester the Lark]

It's been over a year since Xseed announced Xanadu Next. The game was supposed to be a quick turnaround due to it having little text to translate (especially compared to other Falcom titles), but apparently there have been some programming issues holding it up.

It must be getting close to release, tho, since their official website for it has just gone online. Also, they tweeted some screenshots of the English version. (Falcom retweeted it, but linked to their original Japanese website for some reason.)

[Nester the Lark]

It's confirmed that Xanadu Next is due out on November 3rd for Steam, GOG and Humble Store.

EDIT: Release date announcement trailer:

[Nester the Lark]

I'm posting this more for posterity (and because the forum is otherwise in a coma).

There's a new Ys fansite that just went online called Digital Emelas. Its goal is to help more (English-speaking) people become familiar with the series. It's run by an impressive team of Ys fans, including Jeff Nussbaum (whose fan translations were used as the official translations in some of Xseed's releases), Tom Lipschultz (Localization Producer at Xseed), Kirsten Miller (owner of Falcom fansite Endless History), and Kurt Kalata (founder of Hardcore Gaming 101), among several others. It's a really slick site that's worth checking out if you're at all curious about Ys.

In related news, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana has since been confirmed for localization by NIS America. It's also being ported to PC, and should be available this Fall.

Also, Trails of Cold Steel is being ported to PC by Xseed, planned for release this Summer.

[Manspeed]

Wow, people still do fan sites?

Maybe there's hope for my hypothetical site after all.

[Nester the Lark]

It's been confirmed that Ys VIII will be available on September 12 in North America and September 15 in Europe for PS4, Vita and Steam.

NIS America also addressed some concerns fans have about the game being localized by them instead of Xseed. They said that they intend to be consistent with Xseed's translations, and that the game will not be censored in any way. (NISA has a reputation for doing that, sometimes ungracefully.)

Here's the opening movie:

[Nester the Lark]

Xseed has announced that they're localizing Zwei II as Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection, releasing for PC this summer. (Source)

I'm really glad to hear this! Xseed's Ken Berry mentioned in a recent interview that Xanadu Next undersold, and I worried that maybe that meant they wouldn't be interested in localizing any other older Falcom games. (Altho he also mentioned that it might've been their own fault for not doing as much pre-promotion for it as most other Xseed titles get.)

It's too bad they're not also localizing the original Zwei, but apparently it's a bit harder to updated it to run on modern PCs.

[Nester the Lark]

Trailer for Zwei: II. (See what Xseed did with that acronym?)



Hm, interesting English dub.

I'm pretty excited for this game, though.

[Nester the Lark]

Here's a new trailer for the English version of Ys VIII, featuring the first reveal of the English voice work.



This was shown at Anime Expo where Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo made an appearance. It was apparently his first trip to the US. He gave a short talk and did a Q&A. Hopefully there will be a proper transcription of that soon.

[Nester the Lark]

In an interview with Dualshockers, Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo mentioned he "would definitely like to get Falcom games on the Switch."

I doubt this is something Falcom would do, themselves, but I can see them outsourcing ports.

EDIT: Here's another really detailed interview with Kondo at Tech-Gaming that's quite interesting.

[nocturnal YL]

Interesting. On the platform choice thing, this reminds me of some observations that Japanese developers tend to stick to one platform while western ones would try to release their games on everything. This isn't always true, but I think this may be related to how Japanese games and publishers tend to be smaller in scale (think small companies like FuRyu), and so can't really afford to work on multiple platforms. Also, no one cares about the Xbox (which still has some Japanese shooters, for some reason).

I'm not counting on any of the existing PlayStation series to be moved to the Switch, but at the same time, it's going to be the only major portable system in maybe two years. I'm slightly hopeful.