Sakura Wars: So Long My Love - language options

A while ago, I blogged that Nippon Ichi America are taking Sakura Taisen V to the US.

Well, it's now due out in March 2010, and will be released in North America on PS2 and Wii (which we already knew), and is also coming out in Europe on Wii only.

Preorders are up in various online retailers, and I've placed my order for the American PS2 version with my favourite and most trusted Canadian videogame shop: VG+. I already own an imported USA PS2 and now I own an American PS3 that plays PS2 games as well, you see. ^_^

Then, a few months after my preorder, the Nippon Ichi America shop - aptly named Rosenqueen - put the game up for preorder, including a special edition. The PS2 special edition mentioned a Japanese language option, but the others didn't. They also changed the release date from January to March 2010.

I didn't want to cancel my existing order because I like VG+ and Rosenqueen's international shipping charges are awful - often more expensive than the items you order.

So I sent an email to Nippon Ichi America to ask about language options - BTW this is partly because even though it's set in America, I prefer to experience something close "the original", and partly because I watched the official trailer and decided there and then I never ever in my life want to play "SOCCERWARS" (as she pronounces it). Hehehe, really - the accent is totally overdone, I suspect it might be the same actress that is the replacement dub Etna in the recent Disgaea games. It would be too irritating to play the game with her, haha!

A few days after I contacted them, they emailed me back to say that ALL retail copies of the PS2 game will come with two discs: one is the English language version, the other is a Japanese sub version. So I stuck with my existing preorder. :)

Official site: www.sakurawars.us

Disgaea 2 PSP and Sakura Wars 5 - heading to America

Two bits of happy news today: NIS America have announced that they will be releasing "Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days" (Disgaea 2 Portable for PSP), and "Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love" (Sakura Taisen 5 on PS2 and ported to wii) in America.

This is good news!

Well, apart from that NIS America have released some pretty bad localisations recently; adding bugs that weren't there (in the case of Ar Tonelico 2 it is game-breaking). But, we have to be optimistic!

Sakura Taisen news source

Disgaea 2 Portable news source

I've wanted to play a localised Sakura Taisen game for quite a few years now. I've tried playing games 1-3 raw, and with the helpful translation guides on gameFAQs, but I found it very difficult to find the bit I'm up to and read quickly enough on the website to catch up with the LIPS system... but I didn't want to read ahead because that carries too much risk of spoilers (or at least stopping the impact of comedy options)... so it was a bit halting, that way.

My favourite thing about the series has been the songs and stage shows; I've got the huge box set of CDs that contains (just about) all the songs for the first few games, some game OSTs, some drama CDs, some of the live performance DVDs... though nothing for the 5th game; only really for the first three / four.

Tanaka Kouhei is a great composer, and most of the seiyuu are pretty good singers, or at least very entertaining performers. :D

And Disgaea 2 Portable? Well, I thought the portable version of Disgaea was a lot better than the PS2 version, mainly because of the "sleep" function the game has (handy in item worlds!), but also because of the various enhancements and Etna mode.

Disgaea 2 has gameplay enhancements from Disgaea 3 (which I have stopped myself from beginning until I own a PS3 for my self), and Akutare mode. Well, it's Axel mode now because it's NIS America, but... got to look on the bright side! It's being released in English, hooray!

Disgaea 3

Disgaea 3's been announced! Yay!

For PS3! Boo!

Next year! Boooooo!

The details are in this pdf that's on the Nikkei website. (Yes, the Nikkei as in Japanese stock exchange...! I don't remember ever hearing about any new games this way before!)

I think I'd prefer the game to be on PSP. Not just because I don't own a PS3, but because I appreciated the portability and sleep mode of the PSP version...

The World Of Disgaea

I don't normally buy videogame guides, unless I really want it for the artwork, or something. So this is the first game guide I've bought in a few years now. I got it from Amazon for under £10 (still spending those vouchers), and I'm happy with it. It's *packed* with stuff. Just about every image there is in the game, additional promotional artwork, details on all the characters (including the secret post-game bosses), items, monsters, stages, character sketches, interviews with the staff (creative team & actors), summaries of the plot and endings...


OMG! spoilers! Or, maybe, confirmation of the obvious things that fans seem to argue about sometimes. Yay!

 

Thinks: This would make a good PSP wallpaper...

Etna collectible, part 2

Etna collectible, part 1

Look what I got!

A 1/8 scale PVC figure of Etna from Makai Senki Disgaea 2 (specifically 2 - it says on the box!). I got it in a sale on CD Japan recently for 2520 yen, which is about 1/2 price...






Yes, her belt *is* removable. No, I'm not going to.