Finally Some News About Final Fantasy X/X-2 Vita

The news is weird.  Not great.  Not awful.  Just....weird.

It was announced on the Playstation Blog today that the Vita version finally has a release date and details, now that it's been like, months of basically little to no word about it.  It will be releasing on March 18th, all the same as the PS3 version, but the way it's being delivered is...different.  Ever since the Vita versions of X and X-2 were announced with a proper date in Japan, and announced to be released as separate games (with a twin-pack version available) we have been hoping that we would get that.  Especially when the alternative seemed to be getting both games as Digital-Only releases.  On the one hand, it was near impossible to reconcile Squeenix releasing FFX HD and FFX-2 HD physically for $20 each, but on the other, it was hard to imagine them expecting you to give up a large portion of memory card space (and I do mean -large-) for the privilege of playing the games after a full-priced, digital-only release.  Hilariously, Squeenix picked the option we never considered and split the baby.

Final Fantasy X and X-2 HD will release physically...in a sense.  When you purchase FFX HD for $40 (the same price as the PS3 bundle) you will also have a download voucher for FFX-2 HD.  You still get both games, you still pay the same price, and you still have to devote some memory card space towards the group.  It's...basically both sides giving up something which is rather strange and different in these days, but I can't actually fault the logic.  I am annoyed with the fact that FFX-2 HD will be like 3.5 gigs and that the only way to get it will be to download it, but it is what it is - I'm in the market for a larger memory card anyway.  We'll see if I get any gift cards or whatnot that I'll be comfortable using towards the purchase of a 32 gig or (please friggin release it over here) a 64 gig.

What this means is that I'm finally going to put a pre-order down on the game.  I don't want to send Squeenix a "Digital is a-okay" message, but I'll only be half-doing that, technically, by going with this route.  I can't just -not- get it either, because I've been itching to replay X ever since it was announced, and I want to do it in the palms of my hands on the glorious OLED screen.  I've also wanted to encourage FFXII International Zodiac Job System on Vita as well, so here's really my one shot.  Since Squeenix is dragging their heels on throwing anything else on the Vita.  HINT HINT.  Jerks.

It is finally good to know that it's coming out here officially, even if the way it's releasing is non-standard all around.  It's better than the alternative of saying "Free up ~7 gigs of space or go fuck yourself" as everyone was really, honestly assuming Squeenix would do.  That option will still be available, of course, as the Digital Version of FFX HD works the same exact way - buy it to get X-2 HD as well.  You won't be able to buy either game separately, or at least not right away, but, well, I have always wanted to at least -try- X-2 properly, despite all the stuff that I know will make me roll my eyes so hard they might fall out of my head.  So eventually, I will get to do so!  It's just a matter of getting everything in order and waiting for March...or rather, waiting til sometime in April or so when I'll -actually- play it.  Because, you know, PS4, inFamous:  Second Son...all that fun stuff.

it's funny how like nobody ever would have come up with this solution

Final Fantasy X & X-2 HD Have Release Dates!...For PS3

Stretch your memories all the way back to September 14th, 2011 when Final Fantasy X HD was annoucned for the Vita and PS3 (in that order) and realize that it's been over two years between then and now.  Keep in mind that the PS3 version of the game was sort of announced as an "Oh yeah, that too" deal.  Keep in mind that X-2 was added later on.  Just consider all of that for a moment, as the only version of the game that we have a release date for at this point in time is the PS3 one.  March 18th, 2014, a full two and a half years after the original announcement of the Vita game, is when the also-announced PS3 version is getting released.  With no news on the Vita version, as in the version of the game that was originally planned and announced.  I'm not sure that I'm harping on this enough.

Of course, in Japan, the games have a singular release date of December 26th, just before the end of this year, making the time between announcement and release...well, not really all that better, no.  There's something to be said of the type of release over there, however, as the PS3 version is releasing with both games on one disk, as it's planned over here, but the two Vita carts will be bundled together in one box for the exact same price.  One might take this as a hopeful sign for the Non-Japan releases, but then again, one probably hasn't dealt with Squeenix all that much if they take it as a sign of anything at all.  As we know by now, Squeenix just does things and the less sense we try to make of it all, the better we'll all be in the long run.  Though, I suppose -some- rationalizations could be made.

Releasing a digital-only game in Japan, I suspect, is just short of a death knell for any potential sales you hope to see from it.  One of those little 'secrets' of the game industry as a whole is that Japan, by and large has a certain approach to video game releases.  Games are bought up on release or a little after, beaten and then resold to the retailer in much greater numbers than such a practice sees here.  This is generally why you see re-releases of popular games that only have a few alterations made to it, because you're trying to sell this version of your game with new stuff to the people who already bought it, played it and sold it back because it was finished.  Kill the ability to resell and recoup some of that money on the consumer-side is simply something that is not on in Japan, so despite them being one of the world leaders in Internet availability and speed, they are just not having that Digital Future bullshit.  Which...I could make something of, but another night.

The issue most at hand here is that it's been widely thought that outside of Japan, FFX HD and FFX-2 HD would be digital-only on the Vita because fuck you.  I say 'because fuck you' since...well it's kind of obvious.  Space is something we're constantly fighting for because the largest memory stick available, the 32 gig, is simply not enough space for most Vita owners.  Both FFX HD and FFX-2 HD will not fit on the same Vita cart.  I don't know the full size that a Vita cart can offer, but some Vita games are already in the 3 Gig range.  So if you figure on both games, combined, being ~6 gigs, then that's already too much for half of the Vita memory sticks out there.  (4 and 8, I'm figuring the 8 only actually has ~7 gigs available and I don't know how much of that would then be OS stuff or what have you)  Basically what I'm getting at is that FFX/X-2 HD being Digital-Only is not merely bad as it is most of the time, but it's downright unfriendly to the consumer since they're just projecting the image of not caring about what the consumer is going to do for the 'privilege' of buying and playing your game.

Hopefully the delay is simply attributed to the logistics of bundling the two carts together outside of Japan and making a shiny package with it, or maybe even setting up some sort of wacky Limited Edition specifically for Vita buyers.  Hell, maybe they're just waiting to announce that every copy of the Vita version comes with a download code for Type-0.  Also Chocobo/Moogle plushies.  I'm being facetious because I figure it's better to imagine wild, never-going-to-happen scenarios and be disappointed when -they- don't happen, rather than looking at the reality of the situation (in which it's honestly not too much of a fucking hassle to release goddamn Carts) and being ultimately let down (as I always anticipate Squeenix doing anymore).  So I'll just be over here with my delusions, thank you very much.

I'm kind of stuck buying the games no matter what because I want Squeenix to acknowledge the Vita, but I'll be damned if I'm happy about buying something digital-only from them

Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD Announced, Nobody is Surprised

Ubisoft announced quite a few things yesterday, but the one bit that caught my eye was the announcement of Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD, a port of the previously Vita-exclusive game for PS3, 360 and PC.  I guess it shouldn't be surprising, since it was actually a pretty good game and being solely on the Vita wasn't doing Ubisoft any favors, but I can't help feeling like I should be even the tiniest bit angry about this, being the staunch Vita supporter that I am.  I mean, here's one of the few 'mainstream' exclusives worth a damn and that exclusivity (plus being made retroactively the 'shitty' version by comparison) just went out the window.  One of the big things you could point at for just about anyone enticed by the idea of a Vita but needing a tipping point and make jazz hands over, and now not so much.  I -should- be bothered by it.

Clearly, I'm not, though.  I'm not quite sure what it is about Liberation on the whole, but it's effectively in the "Would not play again" portion of my brain and I just don't know why.  Shortly after I reviewed the game, I mentioned having a bit of fatigue over talking about it and it simply turns out that that never really went away.  Even bringing this post up last night as I intended to do it up (instead of finishing it tonight) brought about a strange weariness that, stacked on my everyday exhaustion simply proved to be too much.  That I'm managing tonight is nothing less than a miracle of sorts, or something a little less dramatic if you're into that sort of thing, I suppose.  Still, it's something weird to say the least - it's not often that you'll find a game that I don't want to talk about as with a good game, I can extol its virtues and with a bad game, I can loudly rant about its inadequacies.  Liberation is somewhere in the middle and I really only have one guess as to how it managed that.

I was....not a fan of Liberation's Multi-Player and that's putting it mildly.  To be entirely frank, I think it was an abomination unto common sense, and how it was ever presented as a good idea is foreign to me.  It seemed as if it was designed in the depths of the underbelly of some Zynga sweatshop, and brought before a Ubisoft exec by some mole-person scraping across the ground so as not to offend the sensibilities.  Shaped in a grotesque fashion, it was surely something to be rejected, to be shunned and mocked, but instead, the exec shrugged and presented it as something proper, allowing the caitiff to return to his duties with a rare sense of satisfaction, and undeserved at that.  A lot of pointless clicking and posturing that was all erased as soon as a faction the Assassins won a 'match' where everything was then reset so you could waste time with it yet again.  Somehow, someway, it managed to make its way into the final product that was Assassin's Creed: Liberation, and that is definitely a grievous injustice upon humanity that will hopefully be righted in the future somehow.  I should hope that it's simply stricken from the HD remake, but I highly doubt that it will be so, you know....enjoy that, whoever is going to buy that.

Of course, there are actual improvements being made to the game beyond the obvious of making it prettier to look at, even if it wasn't much of a slouch on the Vita.  Facial animations will be retouched, the frame-rate (that I didn't have much of a problem with, to be honest) will be locked at something proper, gameplay tweeks to combat and free-running and apparently each mission has been tweeked a bit as well.  Joystiq makes mention of new missions, but I don't see any information about it beyond that, though I do recall a few areas in the game where another mission for story-pacing would have been appreciated.  Likely that's the type of thing that will be done....or simply other missions along the Citizen E vein since those are cheap, easy and interesting.  I doubt I'm going to pay much attention to it, however - the chances of the new content coming to Liberation on the Vita, even as paid DLC, is slim and I doubt that I'd pick it up even if it were offered.  I simply have no intention on playing the game ever again.

That's not to say that you shouldn't either, of course.  I stand by my original assessment of "Just as good as any other Assassin's Creed game, for better or worse" because I would also never really go back and play those all over again either.  I tend to finish them off as best as I can (fuck you, Brotherhood and your online bullshit) and then wash my hands of them entirely which...doesn't say a whole lot of my opinion on the franchise as a whole, it would seem.  That's just my opinion and my way of playing it, of course, and seeing as I keep coming back, I must have -something- that I like about it all.  Perhaps some day I'll figure that out.  Maybe after I buy Assassin's Creed 3 for $20 somewhere and play through it despite likely not enjoying what it has to offer if my pattern recognition isn't off.  Or maybe somewhere else along the line!  I kind of mussed up the point - Liberation was pretty cool so I hope the people who can play it now without a Vita (also known as people who are missing out) will enjoy it despite its flaws that every AC game is requisite to have.

I think it's the drop-stab, because that never, ever gets old

How to Not Mess Up a Remake

"What's old is new again."

It's a statement that comes up a lot and for obvious reasons - remakes are easy money.  Simply by the flow of time, you have people who just aren't exposed to certain things the first time around and it's just easy enough to repackage those things and sell them brand-new to the folks who just haven't experienced them as well as the people who have and want to see what the 'new' experience is like.  We've seen a lot of the remake and remaster situation this generation because we've reached a point where a -lot- of people haven't been around for as long as we have, or at least not been in it as some of us have, which just means it's easy to capitalize on.  Well, easier since, well, remaking/remastering a game is honestly a very simple process.  Yet...some companies just seem to completely miss the point.  So here's a nice little refresher course on how to properly make a remake.

If you change something big, try to make it optional - Yes, everyone knows the whole point of giving a game a remake is giving it another go while not making it a wholly different game, but that doesn't mean you should change -everything- about it.  Or if you do, then it's a good idea to leave the original there as well to give new and old alike an idea of just -what- you changed and be able to quantify just how much work you put into it.  Dragon Fantasy Book I (which I still need to review >_<) was absolutely wonderful about this, in that the guy remade the map assets and music from scratch to make it better looking and sounding, -but- they also included an option to turn it back to 'retro' to see how the game was in its original state.  (they also patched in the ability to pick between retro visuals and sounds if you were so inclined)  Compare this to, oh say, Chrono Trigger DS wherein Squeenix completely and totally changed the script without including the original.  Also the new script was terrible, thus making it all the more groan-worthy that there wasn't an option to not stomach it.

For the love of God, don't make it worse - This one should be the most goddamn obvious of them all, but it's hilariously sadly one of the ones that gets tripped over the most.  If a game ran like X on this platform, it's just....just a given that you can figure out -some- way to make it run like at LEAST X if not X+1 on more advanced platforms.  Since everything is more advanced now than what you're remaking at the moment.  If you can't, then don't fucking do it.  The more recent examples have been the Jak and Daxter HD Collection on Vita and the infamous Silent Hill HD Collection debacle, but those aren't the only ones.  Hell, it'd take a while to name all the worst ones.  But one of the particularly bad ones, I think, is Squeenix's handling of Final Fantasy Tactics:  The War of the Lions which was a remake of Final Fantasy Tactics.  While I personally didn't have too much of an issue with it, there were many, many folks who complained of some slow-down that happened during magic casting and the like.  It's a valid complaint.  Where it gets egregious is when that slowdown is still there in the next port of it (on the iPhone) and is also still there in the next next port (on the iPad) when that port came six months later.  Did fucking nobody QA this damn thing at any point?

Realize what it is you're doing and market it appropriately - Remakes and remasters can be really, really exciting since you're basically getting new fans while also allowing old fans to relive the fun of whatever it is you're remaking.  But a remake/remaster is never, ever, ever going to be, on the whole, more exciting than a new iteration of the particular game or series.  (Yes, even THAT remake that will never happen, shut up)  So never forget that.  Promoting the announcement of your remake for days, even weeks leading up to said announcement is just the height of cruelty and is completely unnecessary.  I doubt I need to remind everyone about the whole The World Ends With You debacle.  A week-long countdown site for an iOS remake that wasn't even a universal app.  Who in the actual fuck thought that was a good idea?

Give the most complete game you can - If your game released and then you did something else with it, tweaked it, added DLC (which obviously isn't a thing -yet- but will be in future remakes) or whatever, include that shit.  Different regions get different versions of a game meaning some regions don't get -everything- of a game.  So if you're remaking/remastering that game, make every version standard as the version that had the most content.  Never, ever, ever, ever, ever even consider the notion of selling these extra bits of content additionally, squash any rumor that's saying you're thinking about doing it, or at least let people know you're giving them the whole game when somebody fucking asks you about it since that also gives you a chance to explain your strategy.  Because, you know, we always assume you actually have one, being that a remaster/remake is still a release.

I hope this handy little guide helps anyone who is thinking about releasing a remake or remaster of a game in the future.  It's a complicated thing, I know, but it's rewarding and valuable if you put in the right effort.  But if you're repeatedly making big mistakes in your remakes or remasters, then perhaps you should consider either not making those mistakes or not constantly torturing your fans with shitty remakes and remasters.  Of course, it's not like there's any company that is fairly consistent in releasing bad remakes and remasters, right?

this post is very tongue-in-cheek and I am very proud of it

Good News and Bad News for Zone of the Enders

So remember when the Zone of the Enders HD Collection was announced and I was all "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee~" because it's friggin' Zone of the Enders in HD?  And then remember when it came out and was, er...less than well-received because of speed and framerate issues which are absolutely debilitating to fast-paced action games like this?  And then it was...largely unspoken of from any angle as they just went ahead and did other things?  Well, there's where the good news comes in, as there's a patch for the game in the works.  For the PS3 version.  And....maybe don't click that link just yet.  It'll become a little obvious as to why in a few minutes here, so just bear with me.

In reality, the article makes it seem like the patch is already more or less 'done' and they're just testing it out and such before it's released.

Zone of the Enders HD Collection’s transition from 30 FPS to 60 was not as smooth as Kojima had hoped for. While it wasn’t as noticeable to first-time players, those who enjoyed the original seamless fast-paced games were able to feel the choppiness. (For a comparison, check out Spencer’s playtest.) Kojima believes that such action-heavy games deserve nothing but the smoothest gameplay to fully enjoy. Due to this problem, Kojima and his team have re-programmed the entire game, and will release a free PlayStation 3 patch that should fix the problem and greatly enhance its performance. There won’t be a patch for the Xbox 360 version for the time being.

It's hard to tell if the 360 version won't be patched for the same "technical reasons" as the Silent Hill HD Collection or if it's just because it didn't sell well at all, but in either case, I'm not too sure there'll be the same Konami out-reach for people who have purchased the 360 version.  Which is a shame, of course, and I might be wrong, but it's reasonable enough to think as much considering how low-profile this whole thing really is coming across as.  And to be fair, I'm not quite sure the extent of the issues with the ZoE Collection versus the Silent Hill HD Collection, while knowing that the latter has been described as 'dire' at times.  Which is, you know, a Bad Thing™.  Still, issues are issues and I haven't personally played my copy of the ZoE HD Collection (that I literally picked up for the REVENGEANCE demo and then never played), but knowledge that it might become 'flawless' in comparison to the originals sparks an excitement in me that only the original announcement managed to get.

So that's the good news.  But, as stated, there is bad news and....well, bad news might be under-stating things a bit here.  In similar fashion to the good news, remember when The Enders Project was announced?  As in the threequel in the Zone of the Enders series where actual, literal models of the robots were being made and then scanned into computers and rendered with the FOX Engine to look badass as all hell while also being fully-functional and such as a regular model?  Well, er...okay, now you can click the link above (or this re-link).  Maybe also sit down if you're not already.  Because, well, The Enders Project might just be cancelled.  Or at least postponed for a while which...might ultimately lead to the same fate as that sometimes happens.  Regardless of the future of it, the present of it is that the game has entered a period of re-evaluation, which is never a good statement to hear.

Not only has this incident prompted Kojima to work on a patch to fix the problem, but it has also put a halt to the Enders’s Project which was announced last year as a Zone of the Enders sequel. The entire team behind the project has been dismantled, as Kojima would like to re-evaluate the franchise before moving forward, he says. Furthermore, he also wants to re-evaluate fans by asking once more, whether they would still like to see a Zone of the Enders sequel.

Obviously the most worrying piece of that is the statement "The entire team behind the project has been dismantled" as that really hammers in the idea that it's just out-and-out done.  Yet, as the eternal optimist, I can't help but say that maybe it was just dismantled to be...you know, reassembled, reconfigured at a later date once they know for sure whether or not they're going to go forward with the project.  Which will most likely be once more work on The Phantom Pain and Ground Zeroes has been done, since, well, I can't imagine Kojima Productions has enough manpower for three AAA-Quality games to be worked on simultaneously, or at least not to the degree of quality that we expect from the studio.  Because, especially with the FOX Engine involved in all three projects, it's likely a bit tasking to work on all three games, no matter how many people are around (though it's likely not enough, as stated).

Yet another piece of optimism that I can't help but attempt at is wondering if this realization of the HD Collections issues, and the subsequent work in re-programming the entire game, has been the reason for the radio silence on the announced Vita version of the collection.  Obviously, it's easier to say that it's just been quietly cancelled and that could very well be the truth to it, but the issue was likely apparent right from release and the programming work probably didn't start right away, but as soon as it was feasible, meaning a 'hold off' order on the Vita version for the...ahem, very busy High Voltage Software, if they, indeed, were even tapped to work on that version as well.  Or if anyone had been tapped by that point.  Basically what I'm saying is now that the PS3 version has been entirely re-programmed and it's apparently very easy to port from PS3 to Vita that perhaps the game -will- see a release on the handheld, given Kojima's support for it, if nothing else.

Unfortunately, this is something that we might not ever really 'know' about, in the realm of it actually being announced.  If the game actually comes out on the Vita eventually, well, we'll know, but if 2014 rolls around and there's still no word on it...then, well, we'll probably know that way as well.  Still, it doesn't hurt to have some -hope- for something like this, as a portable version of Zone of the Enders:  2nd Runner is always something to hold out hope for.  Without an official statement, it'll be something that I'll consider a possibility for a time yet, and it'll only be when the time for 'timely' release has come and gone and left the house cold that I'll accept anything less.  Since, as stated, a fully-functional version of the HD Collection on PS3 (as well as the very loose release window of it) could very well mean good things and a simultaneous announcement.  We'll just have to see how KojiPro handles it, really, but the patch is certainly something to look forward to for PS3 owners.

in all seriousness, I will choke a bitch for ZoE HD Vita

Ffffff- A Hundred and Fifty -What-?

I stole this picture from you Chance.  Sorry!

So, I was checking around on places last night as I do, and I checked over at The Games of Chance (which I do a lot) and saw this little tidbit of information.  There was much rejoicing and table-flipping all at the same time which is an odd thing, let me tell you, and at the time, I didn't quite know what to do with this information.  I sat down and I thought about it for a bit, weighed it, and I've been doing that on-and-off today between bouts of playing Final Fantasy XIII and...well, yeah, that's pretty much all I did today.  Well, did that was of note, of course, since I also did mundane things as we all do in a normal day.  Anyways, the point is that I've been thinking about this Limited Edition and whether or not I want it, and the answer is yes, of course I want it, but the sub-question is, as chance put it, do I hundred-and-fifty-dollar want it?  That has been what has plaguing me since last night and I fear it will continue to do so until Persona 4 Golden drops and I'm in GameStop again with the option to upgrade my pre-order to the LE.

I mean, I -am- working now, and I can swing it financially, I believe.  Which is....honestly very odd to even consider, but good as well.  But the barebones of it, in pure financials, is that it boils down to the lamp, the obvious draw in this, being a $60-70 item.  If you consider the game itself is $60, as they usually are, and then take the others into consideration - soundtrack at $15-ish if it's physical which it won't be, so $10 for digital, and the steel case is, what, $10 more?  Maybe $15 itself? - and end up with $80-90 before the lamp.  So the rest of that, the entire game still between REVENGEANCE and the LE pricetag is specifically towards an admittedly really fucking cool lamp that, to be honest, I don't know if I'm ever going to plug in.  I mean, I -probably- will, but I don't know.  Depending on the quality, I might decide just to keep it in its box or whatever, always telling myself that I'll display it at a later date even though you and I both know I'm never going to get around to displaying it.  So the -real- question is whether or not I will ever regret getting it, and I just....don't know if I would.  I've never actually used the Messenger Bag I got from the inFamous 2 Hero Edition, but that was still goddamn worth it, so who knows?

Regardless of what I will be getting with my copy of REVENGEANCE, I will, for sure, be getting the game.  My hype for it has remained at a fairly high state, and a constant one at that, because of what has been shown in the way of 'cutting shit' and also 'slicing bitches' which is tantalizing to me.  I long to experience Raiden slicing a potentially robot soldier into 17 bits simply because I can even though it's very obvious that that is overkill of the highest order.  Even now, with an admittedly dour mood that I'm trying to fight back, I am able to do so with the twinge of excitement that burns at just the thought of running and cutting support beams as has been shown in previous footage to bring an entire roof down on some mook heads.  For once, here is a game that gives you a sword which can cut things well and truly beyond the scope of what most swords even dream to be able to cut, much less video game swords which can apparently strike flesh a dozen times without drawing even a drip of blood, or, in some cases, produce it by the buckets without actually rending a foe in twain.

So great has my desire been that I have given serious consideration into purchasing the Zone of the Enders HD Collection simply for the physical demo that the package has to offer.  "But Mogs," you say, "I thought you were excited for Zone of the Enders HD Collection?!"  I was, dear friend.  I was.  I awaited it as a child awaits Christmas morn, and as a parent awaits those happy exclamations and excitement from said children.  But this Christmas morning only saw boxes of socks, it seems, so there is very little to celebrate, much less rejoice in.  To say that the HD Collection is shoddy is apparently generous, though whether that's from the everyman or the ultra-focused hardcore among us that can tell the difference between 60 frames per second and 58 is uncertain.  Regardless, it is not a claim you want to hear, and the issues the collection has are specifically the only issues you would not want associated with a series like Zone of the Enders.  For a game that relies on its pace, its action and its grip on your reflexes, to hear that there are significant Frame drops when the action gets packed is a death knell, plain and simple. 

In these days of patching, it -is- tempting regardless, as one can always hope that complaints are overblown and/or they will be things of the past at some point in the future, but we can never be too sure.  Konami doesn't have a great track record with these Collections, in releasing nor supporting them in the days, weeks and months that follow their journey into the masses.  Being that Kojima Productions wasn't involved with the porting for....whatever reason, it's hard to say if the man himself will step in and right this wrong or at least motivate someone, anyone, to do it in his stead and, really, who's to say it's something that -can- be fixed?  It's a sobering thought, that some classics just have to stay that way, in the past, but for all sorts of reasons, some games are just that, unbending to the constant flexibility needs the future weighs in with.  Still, I feel like loyalty, if nothing else, compels me to grab this Collection sometime, and my hunger for the REVENGEANCE demo within is certainly not helping.  Decisions, decisions...

Why Sega Whyyyy

With all that's been going on this week, the releases, the wonderful Halloween Sale on PSN (Seriously, if You're a PS+ Member, inFamous 2:  Festival of Blood is two dollars and fifty cents and Costume quest with the Grubbins on Ice DLC is just under four dollars; you can't not buy them at that price) and my health not being the greatest, I've let something very terrible slip by for this long and it's slightly irked me.  Not only that I just haven't spoken of it, but because it happened in the first place for seemingly no reason, or at least reasons that are very bothersome to consider, since the implications no matter what are rather dire.  These things happen, of course, but when they do, no matter what, it's a hard thing to take and it just makes everyone all-around a little more annoyed at the company which, considering it's Sega that the ire is being directed at here, is a very big problem.  They attract enough negativity as it is, and moves like these only help to further that sentiment.

What am I talking about, you might ask?  Why, Jet Set Radio for Vita getting an 11th Hour Delay of course.  At literally the last possible moment, Sega came out and said that the Vita version of the game had to be delayed for rather unspecified reasons, citing only optimization needs which is rather broad.  Considering that the game was running and playable, and sharply at that, if we can trust those who played it at PAX, this is rather suspect, though certainly not really unthinkable.  If I were a betting man, I'd put it on something that only happens in the long-term - perhaps memory leaks after extended periods of playtime or even a dreaded saving issue.  Redesigning the game to save to something that isn't a VMU could probably be tricky as most things are, after all.  And with Sega, all things are possible....in terms of how little credit I give their QA department, at least.  For games that aren't Yakuza games, that is, since those always come out impeccably, and it's only after playing something that doesn't offer quite that level that you truly appreciate games that are damn near bug-free like the Yakuza series.  Or at least, in my experience, I've never seen something untoward or anything that made me cock a brow and wonder how it slipped by.

The thing that really burns is that they just don't know when it's going to be released now.  Again, that makes sense in the sense that issues take sometime between an hour and forever to fix when they're found, leaving a window of uncertainty out there, but it's already out there for everything that isn't the Vita (or a Nintendo product) and for those of us that were planning on the intrepid little handheld being our home for the game are feeling the burn because of it.  Not only was it going to come out later regardless, necessitating a wait, but now the wait isn't even a completely certain one, just a faint glimmer of 'sometime' now in the Vita's release schedule which is filling up, no matter what anyone says.  If it misses October completely, that'll really burn for those of us who were expecting that $10 to go towards the "Spend $100, get $20" deal that's going on.  At $10 that's, well, 10% of it right there, and only for the grace of options are there about four dozen PSOne RPGs for that price that you could pick up in lieu of the game.  (Like Xenogears!)

Still, this was supposed to be something to Sega, and I can't help but wonder if they're intentionally trying to sink it.  I imagine the endgoal is to release -something- on the Vita (aside from Sonic Racing thing) to see how it sells to gauge whether or not it'll be worth it, but it almost can't be that because the playing field is so goddamn skewed that it's not going to produce results worth any paper they're printed on.  Which I fear Sega will take directly to heart, thereby keeping any other Dreamcast games off the handheld in the future which would break my heart.  Releasing it on day one next to the rest of the platforms it's on would have been a hard enough sale, but then a month after?  And then not even that after a last-minute "NEVERMIND GOTTA WORK ON IT" notice?  God help them if the game runs even less than as smoothly as the console versions after all this, because they will be crucified and it might just be justifiable if it happens.  Because this is amateur stuff right here and we all joke that we expect this stuff from Sega, but goddamnit stop playing along.

It -is- a bit of a blessing, admittedly, that Jet Set Radio will not have to compete for time with everything else out there (as well as the things that I'm just now starting to play like Final Fantasy XIII) but that's barely worth any sway in the areas where it really counts.  I'm still going to buy it the damn day it comes out for Vita just to send Sega the message that I am very, very willing to play Dreamcast games on my Vita, and I can only hope that enough other people out there do it as well for it to be viable.  I'd even take them late, so long as they come around.  Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 would be most welcome to the handheld for me, and I would be more than willing to pay ten of my dollars for each if Sega would just let me do that.  Maybe after figuring Jet Set Radio out, they'll have a firm enough grasp on the whole porting from PS3 to Vita thing to be able to swing it easily, since I can't imagine Sega -not- trying to sell Sonic wherever friggin' possible.  And I'm more than willing to put my money where my mouth is.  Sega just needs to come through with one of these things that I have bet good money on.

Konami Won't Patch Silent Hill HD Collection on 360, But...

The Silent Hill HD Collection has, in all honesty, kind of been a ridiculously news-worthy thing ever since it was first announced as a PS3 Exclusive which obviously didn't pan out, but may just have been an omen now that we have the joy of hindsight.  From there, the game went on to have a whole snafu about voiceovers, get delayed several times, release in a rather buggy-state, and then get panned by Silent Hill's art director.  All this in the scant few months since it was released back in March, and it's still not done coming up in bits of news here and there.  The latest, however, is a bit of a doozy when compared to the rest of it, which should tip you off, considering the latest news is that the PS3 version of the game will be the only one patched.  While I've been lead to believe that the PS3 version was, initially, buggier than the 360 version (which I whole-heartedly believe) and that the 360 version is actually playable, it's still kind of a big deal.  As is what Konami is doing about it.

This isn't the first time a game on the 360 has been completely refused a patch to fix it, and that process alone is just as bad as it was when Polytron decided they needed the money more than they needed to have a fully-working game out there.  I'm sure it won't be the last time it happens either.  And I'm also sure that people won't connect the dots because we don't learn when these types of things happen.  I'm sure that at least a percentage of the very same people excusing Polytron because "wah wah, money" are openly shitting on Konami for doing the very same thing for what could be a legitimate problem.  They are citing "Technical Issues" for the reason why the 360 cannot get the patch and as vague as that is, it could be completely legit.  These HD Collections are games simply being tooled to work on the consoles we have now, rather than being completely rebuilt, so it's entirely possible that some things have simply been held together with the equivalent of duct tape and chewed gum, so trying to introduce something else might just bring it all down.  Is that a valid excuse?  No, of course not.  Is it possible that "Technical Issues" means simply that there aren't enough 360 copies out there to pay for what will likely be patch after patch?  Of course.  We will never know, so not coming out and saying that it is flat-out about the money is a good move for Konami.

What also helps their case is that instead of just saying "Well, it sucks but thanks for the money!", they are offering an opportunity to exchange your game for another Konami product and while there's not an -official- list anywhere that I could find, it seems that it is rather large.  If you've had your eye on the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection or Castlevania:  Lords of Shadow (Limited Edition, even) and don't already have it, you might be able to grab one of those up (for PS3 or 360), as well as being able to trade across for the Collection on PS3 to get the one that'll get 'fixed'.  Or any of two dozen other titles for the PS3, 360 all the way back to the PSP and original XBox if you are so inclined.  I'm basing this off a list cross-posted from a forum, which is why I'm not linking it, so take it with a grain of salt, but the exchange bit, at the very least, is very true.  All it takes is a little bit of talking to customer service and presenting the receipt which serves as another reminder as to why you should always keep those things.

Konami is likely going to lose money over this, if not with the straight-exchanges, than the obvious loss of business they'll get from the move for as long as attention spans hold out.  Which is to say probably the next few games they put out won't sell so great, but after that, it'll go back to business as usual for the most part.  For the obvious parallels that I drew to the Fez situations, I can't say that the situation is exactly the same, however which is why, despite how bad a move it is, I can't hold the same ire with Konami that I can with Polytron, and that has everything to do with the size of both 'companies'.  Where buying/not buying a Polytron game affects them directly (or close to it), doing the same with Konami is not affecting the people who make these decisions and is likely only going to burden the people on the bottom.  I imagine the team that put the ports together is being dismantled currently and scattered to different parts of the company where they will hopefully do better work, but any money lost for Konami as a whole is going to come out of the pockets of the people just trying to put together games long before it comes out of the executives.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  This is pretty much why 'I'll never buy another (company) (product) again' doesn't do a whole lot of positive in the long run.

So if the smart thing to do is to just buy what you want to buy, ignoring who has 'wronged you' personally (which is by-and-large the smart thing to do) instead of carrying on with these boycotts, then what are you to do?  Well....the sensible thing, really.  If you own the game, take them up on this exchange offer if you're so inclined or just try to enjoy the game you put down money on.  Do anything you can to make sure the monetary investment isn't something that you come to really regret.  Whatever the case, if you feel the need, just exercise a little more selective purchasing in the future; waiting til it's out to find some reviews speaking to its technical quality before you take the plunge.  It seems entirely too level-headed a move to do, I agree, but like I said, where I could direct my ire at exactly the people who would be effected at Polytron, the same cannot be said for Konami using the same methods.  So while we can decry their decisions, that will just have to suffice for now.

And the Next Dreamcast HD Title Is...

...Sonic Adventure 2.  Obviously.  On the one hand, I am completely surprised, because there had been several hints and leaks and such in the past that painted the game following Jet Grind Radio HD to be Shenmue (which was from a reliable source, even!) which I honestly would have really liked.  On the other hand, I am completely -not- surprised, since in all honesty this is a little late as-is, considering Sonic Adventure 1's port was released last year and it's not like it took an entire year to port it.  It also likely would have been a much stronger start to the string of four Dreamcast releases Sega is more or less expected to come out with.  Yes, Jet Set Radio HD is certainly nicer to have, and ultimately something to be more excited about than SA2, but everybody knows what Sonic Adventure 2 is.  I will never understand the methods with which companies and such decide to do this sort of thing, and as I will likely always be on the consumer side of dealings, it's not like it matters since it seems like a matter of eventuality rather than anything else.  Which is a good thing, all said.

This is a little bit more interesting than what it is on the surface, however, since it highlights a few things that I can't decide if they're worrying or just strange.  At the end of the video embedded in the Joystiq link above, the logos denoted as the platforms it's coming out on are simply ones that suggest Playstation Network (PS3) and XBox Live Arcade (360) with nothing suggesting the PC at all.  So if you'll just play along with me for a moment, let's look at the last three ports that Sega has announced, along with the platforms suggested for them.  Jet Set Radio is set to release on PS3, 360, Vita and PC through Steam.  Nights Into Dreams (from the Saturn) is set for release on PS3, 360 and PC through Steam.  And now Sonic Adventure 2, as already stated, is simply set to release on PS3 and 360.  So it seems like with each successive announcement, they lose a system.  This sort of gives me the mental image that Sega is simply using what little manpower remains to pump out all of these ports at the exact same time, meaning that every new thing gets less and less of the attention that it deserves.  Which could very well just translate over the entirety of all three remasters.

Of course, the fact that all three games are set to release in the "Fall" does sort of help tip one off of the fact that maybe they're stretching themselves too thin.  Just....potentially.  I imagine the thought process is that, if they release everything so close together, they'll make a steady stream of money through the season and be able to go into the new year flirting with what lies above the red line.  Regardless, I wouldn't be surprised if a PC version of SA2 was simply overlooked, as Sonic Adventure 1 was released through Steam, and it would be rather odd if the sequel skipped that avenue, especially considering how vocal the Steam community seems to be about Sega in general.  I'm not too optimistic, however, on the games announced to reach to systems they're not otherwise announced on which does sort of crush my dreams of continued Sega support through their Dreamcast re-release library this go around.  At this rate, 'Volume 2' as it were, will be Jet Set Radio, Sonic Adventure 2, ??? (theoretically Shenmue, but I'm not holding my breath on it currently) and possibly Seaman to round us up around the Holidays.  Not bad, of course, especially if the third game -does- end up being Shenmue, which would elevate it from "Not Bad" to "Yaaaaaay!".  With any luck, a Disc-based Collection won't be exclusive to Non-PS3 this time around.

I can't say that I have especially fond memories of Sonic Adventure 2 as I barely remember the lot of it, if we're being simply honest.  I don't even own it, having only been exposed to playing the game by borrowing a friend's copy of it.  I think.  I might've rented it.  Regardless, the point is that I don't remember.  Except I do remember that while I was playing it, I also had to do a Science Fair experiment which I did in between sessions of playing as Rouge since playing as the bad guys was so new and awesome even though, looking back, they were....fairly sub-par.  Character-wise, that is.  Again, the memory, she is not so great.  I do remember the Chao Garden, of course, which I will likely enjoy the hell out of whenever I get around to playing the game.  Because I will, you see.  Regardless of what systems it is and isn't released on, this is Sega, and I've given in to the fact that I will simply play all of the Sega games.  Sometime.  Eventually.  On something.

I can only hope that Sega at least releases one or two of these games before the next announcement comes around.  Even if it's Shenmue, because I would hate to think and worry that the Shenmue HD port might be 'tainted' by lack of focus.  I doubt there'll be a problem with the way any of these turn out; I don't recall there being any issues commonly stated for the last year's versions, but at the same time, one could assume that Sega was doing at least a little better last year.  With any luck, however, these remasters, fired off in quick succession as well as a hopefully present Yakuza Collection (that will come out in the states on-disc, I'm still holding out hope considering it'll cost me a lot of cash if it does) will bring in some serious cash for Sega, alongside Phantasy Star Online 2.  More money for them means more greatness for us, after all, so long as you're not buying a new Sonic game.  Though, after Generations....well, still maybe hold out for reviews, if such a thing were to happen.

Yakuza HD Collection a Possibility

So, Joystiq brought it to my attention (almost personally, it feels like) that the possibility of an HD Collection of Yakuza 1 and 2 is a thing that could happen.  Listed for a brief moment on a Sega Japan Release Schedule, the Yakuza 1&2 HD Edition leaves little to the imagination, suggesting that it is simply HD Editions of Yakuza 1 & 2 (Presumably sold separately, since Japan seems to be finnicky about bundling games, as is referenced by the Ico/SotC Collection, and Peace Walker HD).  Of course, I saw this Joystiq post and proceeded to immediately lose all of my shit.  Look around, do you see things that shouldn't be there?  Yeah.  It's my shit.  Because I lost it.  For a moment that was entirely too sweet, entirely too brief, I experienced what I can only describe as ecstasy unlike any I have experienced in recent memory at the mere thought of being able to re-visit Yakuza 1 and 2, older and wiser and more well-versed in the series as I am now without plugging in my PS2 and dicking around with Memory cards and all that we have more or less sworn off since the days of the PS2.  To see Kamurocho as it started in a resolution that isn't torture on the eyes, even if it will not be as detailed as 3 and 4's (seen above) offerings.

For that all-too-brief moment, life was amazing and everything was wonderful.

And then I had that reality check that I'm sure you have already been thinking of since you read the title of this post.  Sega is in the shit.  It makes perfect sense to start doing things like this, up-porting old games for a quick buck that has fairly little spending associated with it.  It makes sense to do this and release it to a public that absolutely loves the Yakuza series where the sales numbers shows as much.  And that all happens.....in Japan.  Not so much here in the States.  So that sort of makes one think that the Collection just might not make it over here because Sega doesn't want to part with the paltry cost of localization.  And if they do, then the chances of them doing it on an actual disk are pretty much incomprehensibly infinitesimal.  Which for me more or less means that they shouldn't bother localizing it at all since I'll never be able to play the fucking things.  So this whole thing has the potential to be bittersweet at best, and infinitely disappointing at worst unless Sega just kind of magically does the awesome thing with money that they presumably don't have.

That means there's really not a whole lot I can do or say alongside this, honestly.  If this happens to play out and get localized on-disk, I'll be a very happy man, but if it doesn't, or if it's DD-only, I don't know what I'll do.  I'll probably buy them anyway just to throw Sega the $30-40 and the support, even if I won't be able to feasibly play the games by any stretch of the imagination.  (It takes me a ridiculous amount of time to download shit.  Like, three hours to download a 500 MB game at best ridiculous.  Not so much an issue on Portables since they're not about to explode or anything, but my PS3?  Nah.)  But goddamn if I won't be bitter as -fuck- about it the whole time and for quite a time thereafter.  It's pretty much this sort of scenario that I was basing an entire "Digital Distribution is Not the Answer to Every Fucking Problem" article around and never got around to writing because I just started to lose a little bit of the venom I had with it.  The thing is, I'm not anywhere near alone in the "I have shit internet and I must scream" territory, but it just doesn't seem to matter one bit since way of the future and other such utter fucking nonsense.  In a world of data caps and shit internet infrastructure not to mention shoddy internet security (From everyone, not just Sony don't even -start-) we can't just throw every fucking thing on the internet and do Jazz Hands until magic happens, people.

It's honestly a little more than depressing to have that realization weigh-in like that.  At first, I thought that maybe the Collection, should it exist and come out, could be an example of Sega's willingness to give physical media for the Yakuza one last shot, despite it not being one of the 'key' franchises that they're basing their physical releases on.  But it's hard to think of a scenario where I could realistically expect them on-disk, which means I still don't know what to think of Yakuza 5.  Even though I'm in the camp that says it would be the worst fucking idea imaginable to go DD-only with Yakuza 5, I can't realistically say it's not a possibility.  And one that'll be all the more real if the sales numbers of the theoretical DD-only Collection run more or less along the lines as they would expect it to, meaning the people who buy the series are still -there- and willing to buy it no matter what.  I guess I am over-thinking it more than a little bit, but as I've made it perfectly clear more than once here, the Yakuza series is that series for me, and it sucks that the reality for it is as negative as it is.

With any luck, all my sudden sullenness and negativity will be for naught and we'll get some good news from the whole scenario.  It's wholly unlikely, of course, but Sega does so love proving me wrong (I figured they would've announced a new Phantasy Star for Vita - PSO2 doesn't count - by now, I figured something would happen with the two Yakuza:  Black Panther games for us, figured we'd hear -something- about VC3 in the west, I could go on and on) so that does leave a slight window open.  I can say with some certainty that if they -do- prove me wrong and throw us a disk, I will probably be buying several copies of the game if just to send the message that physical games will still sell, I assure you.  So there's at least some incentive there.  Only thing left is to see it play out, I suppose, which will likely be more painful than several things that I'm not going to bother to explain because I'm sure you can think of painful things.

Update!:  Aaaand it's official.  For Japan, at least.  I'm sure we'll get localization news....uhh....sometime.

Maybe.

Please give us this, Sega.

Nights Into Dreams HD Is a Thing That Is Happening

In their continued effort of reminding everyone why they were liked in the first place, Sega has chosen another of their classic games to get the HD treatment for the current systems out there.  Nights Into Dreams, a Saturn Title (which would likely be the explanation for why a lot of people haven't played it) is getting all gussied up for the Fall when it will release on the Playstation Network, XBLA and Steam for PS3, 360 and PC players respectively.  Though, to say that it's from the Saturn title -might- just be stretching it as apparently the game was remade for the PS2 which would likely be the version of the game we'll be getting ported from, as I can only imagine it would simply be easier to work with, code-wise.  Or, at least that's what a commenter on the story over at Siliconera seems to think, and it does make a lot of sense, so hell, I'm running with it.  The PS2 version was Japan-only, but featured much the same as what we could expect from this HD version, since the PS2 version also had a "Saturn version" which was simply the same game with Saturn graphics, versus the remastered ones for the remake.

On top of the Saturn mode and the obvious widescreen support, Nights Into Dreams HD will feature the usual trophies/achievements as well as Leaderboard support so you can prove to your friends just who is the best flying Jester thing.  Which wasn't meant to sound flippant, but it did, but this explanation should sort of absolve that since I just cannot think of a different way to say it, considering I don't usually factor Leaderboards into much of anything.  But it was listed, and there's not a whole lot else that was mentioned in regards to being added to the game.  It's fairly unclear if, as stated, the game is being based on the PS2 remake or not, but if it was, then it would suggest that the Christmas Nights 'demo' that came out will be bundled in with the game.  Of course, being that Sega -needs the money-, it's just as logical to think that the Christmas thing might be held off for a few extra bucks (I'd figure a $2.99 pricetag on it) for a DLC add-on which, let's face it, everyone (including me) will likely be more than happy to buy, despite it just being a couple levels.  Because they will be Christmas levels.  This is important.

If it isn't painfully obvious by now, I have not played Nights Into Dreams and it's only due to my in-recent-years championing of Sega that I'm concerned with the game at all.  Or, rather, I like to think that even if I wasn't a super Sega supporter currently, the lovely look that the game carries, as well as the fairly magical charm it seems to have would sway me, but I'm not so sure it would.  Being that I had no idea it was considered a platformer, despite knowing of the game previously in a cursory manner, speaks volumes for my hesitation in admitting I'd buy the game otherwise, but hey, we don't really have to worry about that.  That is kind of the point I'm trying to make.  Knowledge that there is a Christmas -thing- involved whatsoever with the game might have swayed me otherwise now that I think of it, but until I know just what capacity it will come in (Originally included or as DLC, which, come on, we know which it'll be) I'll just default to the Sega thing.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the only thing I'm not too happy with, in regards to this all, is the lack of a Playstation Vita version being announced alongside the others.  I know I bring the Vita up like every day, but it's because I like it, which is pretty obvious, I should think.  And I like Sega.  So it makes sense that I would like to play Sega games on it, as I am being slightly lead to believe is a thing Sega wants as well, what with Jet Set Radio HD and Phantasy Star Online 2 both being playable on it and all.  Being that there's a good chance this up-port is being ported from the PS2 version, it's a good bet to say that it would be simple to port the port of the PS3 version to the Vita, since that is apparently an exceptionally easy process and profit.  Because people will buy it several times!  I'm sure I have made this much obvious with my previous statements of such with regards to other games being ported to the Vita.  Once again, simply because I really like the thing and it's....well, a great gaming device.  For gaming.  Which is why I want a lot of games on it.

Maybe they're just waiting for the sales of Jet Set Radio HD on the Vita to see if it will be a profitable platform for their games, but logic would dictate that it's....probably better to just give it a couple shots before getting skittish about it.  I mean, it's not like it's going to make Sega super-duper financially screwed porting the game over, but maybe I'm wrong.  And maybe it's just as simple as saying Sega might not be thinking that far ahead with the Remaster, considering Christmas Nights is just completely up in the air at the moment.  They do have a bit of time to play around with setting things firmly in place, of course, considering "Fall 2012" is a rather loose schedule, so I'm sure we'll be getting a bit more news about the game in the coming months featuring some more concrete details.  But the moral of the story, of course, is buy the shit out of Jet Set Radio HD on Vita if you're even the least bit hopeful of getting Nights Into Dreams on the platform as well.  Since at the very worst, you'll just get friggin' Jet Set Radio HD on your Vita to enjoy the magical soundtrack and entertaining gameplay of tagging neighborhoods and pulling off mad tricks and the like.  Not a bad deal.

Sick Post Because I'm Sick

Sometimes, Google.  Sometimes you do good.

So, as I have kind of alluded to in recent posts when I have actually posted, I have been fairly sick lately.  Thankfully not in the 'serious' sense, but enough so that I am in something of a haze for the better part of a day, or at least more of a haze than normal, what with it being Summer Spring (for a day yet) and all.  Which pretty much means I'm really in no condition to be writing even though I would love to.  I mean, I have tried the last couple nights, but I've had nothing really to work with and I feel like even if I had a giant two page -thing- about something really interesting, I wouldn't be able to do anything with it because I have just been 'derrrr' for the entirety of my down-time.  I also haven't been gaming all that much despite my recent acquisitions of Lollipop Chainsaw and Gravity Rush which burns me tremendously.  The brief bits of the former that I have played have been brilliant, but you'll hear about that soon enough in a format you might not expect.

I do have two bits of news here that I can talk about to try and get myself out of this little funk I'm in, since I feel like I am possibly on my way out of illness.  With any luck, I'll be back to throwing down posts that veer more verbose than a valiant victor verily vexing villains for a vendetta.  Said time is not tonight, however, so don't be surprised if I can only muster a couple paragraphs here for both bits of information.  Though, to be fair, there's not a whole lot to be said about either, one is pretty uniformly positive, and the other is Sega being Sega which means it is not positive whatsoever except maybe kind of a tiny little bit, but not really.  I should probably save that for the actual talking about it portion instead of here, but eh, I'm feeling all crazy wacky so who cares.

Why don't I just throw down the Goddamnit, Sega so we can have that done and move along, yeah?  Yeah, let's just go ahead and do that.  So, do you guys remember Valkyria Chronicles?  Well it's back!  In pog card form!  Kind of.  Valkyria Duel is a free-to-play, PC Browser-based card game that is, obviously, only available in Japan because shut up.  There's a planned Smartphone version of it as well, but that's not in the cards on the table just yet, though I imagine it will likely be fundamentally the same since it's likely not a very taxing game.  It will be, as some/most Free-to-play games are, supported by micro-transactions that I have no idea how they will play out.  I imagine you can either buy 'boosters' of people, or they'll have a special grouping of cards that are special enough to be paid-only.  I mean, it's a card game, there are not really all that many options here.

I.....well, I really don't know where to start here.  I'm sure you can imagine where I'm coming from before I even say it, but suffice it to be said that there is not enough "Goddamnit Sega" that I can say here.  I could say it til my already raw throat dries up and cracks and it'd still not be enough for everything that is wrong with this picture.  Now, do I personally care that this is a quick cash-grab for a franchise that I happen to enjoy despite every instance of Sega trying to prevent that?  Of course not.  In fact, I encourage it - who knows, if they rake in enough profit from this, maybe they'll feel confident enough in a PSN-only, no-dub version of Valkyria Chronicles 3 for us since, hey, they'd still be making money off of the whole thing from micro-transactions of the card game.  And maybe if they did that, they could release -this- game over here for smartphones/browsers in an attempt at the same, but expanded, cash-grab.  I imagine it kind of hinges on at least having the ability to play all three games, however, since all three games rosters are involved, as you might be able to tell.

The thing that bugs me is that this is Valkyria Chronicles, and it's a card game at the same time.  I kind of have a thing for card games as you have no doubt realized, and I would probably buy into one based on several franchises I love.  I bought into Metal Gear Ac!d -happily- and would buy it all over again if I could play it on my Vita, which I keep mentioning.  It bugs me because it's pretty much a non-zero chance at being able to play this despite what I said above making something resembling sense.  Sega doesn't do sense, apparently, and said lack of sense still gives me reason to wonder at what's going to happen with further instances of series that I enjoy from them, namely Yakuza.  I have said it before, but I will straight up cut a bitch if my only option for Yakuza 5 is downloading it.  Regardless, that's not Valkyria Chronicles, nor Valkyria Duel related (Note:  Would totally buy a Yakuza card game, totally serious), but there's not much else to say.  It's free, it's Japan-only, it's a friggin' Valkyria Card Game and it taunts me something fierce.

Less vexing is the existence of Okami HD as a real thing, which is something I'm sure will make you all happy.  Should make Chance happy at least, so there's something.  As for myself, I am also happy, but in a less-so, I-may-not-buy-this-game-right-off way because it's DD-only which, you know what, I'm not even going to say it again, you know why that takes it off my radar.  Still, I hope it's only my radar that it takes it off of, because I really, really want this game to sell.  If I could buy and play it, I totally would, and if it catches a good Playstation Plus sale, I might even go against common sense and buy it to download it at some unforeseen time in the future when I have non-shit internet and a PS3 that won't explode or at least convinces me that it will not, should I choose to download something more than, oh say, 300 MB in size for the sheer amount of time it will have to remain on in which to do so.

I don't have much of a story with Okami, but I do have -something- of one with it, so I may as well tell it.  Back in the days of GameCrazy, you see, when I was but a teenager, I walked into the store with a desire to buy and the dosh to back it up.  I didn't know what I was looking for, and honestly could've been sold just about anything because I just needed something to play, since the games at home obviously weren't enough.  Being a dumb kid and all.  So, with just me and the cashier girl in the store, I walked right up to her as she asked me "Hey, anything I can help you find today?" and said "Well, I dunno.  I'm just looking for a new game."  Giving me something of a weird look before going into contemplation, she asked me what system I preferred and as she moved out from behind the counter, I said "PS2", prompting her to head that way.  She obviously had something in mind when she grabbed a case as soon as she went to it.

Going back to the counter, she placed Okami down, a game that I had not heard of at that point, and proceeded to extol unto me the virtues of the wonderful art style and direction, as well as the quirky, brush-and-platforming based gameplay.  Sufficiently curious, I informed her I'd take it, she rang my up and the transaction was complete, just that simple.  I took it home, played it and had to admit that the game was absolutely wonderful, while also wondering just how I had not heard of it, or at least not remembered it had I read about it.  I did beat it and had quite a bit of fun with it, and suffice to say that the next time I saw her, I informed her about her good taste.  And it's kind of for that reason that I hope the game does well since it is very underknown, underrated, despite a good portion of the internet not likely giving you that impression, especially now with this news.  So I suppose that means that maybe you should believe the hype.  Or at least buy it to give yourself an excuse to look at some gorgeous visuals, maybe use that Move Wand you bought (though it's not mandatory) and/or just to get some trophies.  Because you can never have enough trophies.