I like to talk up JRPGs here when I can. This is a unique case for me to do so.
The PSP is a dying system. However, tons of RPGs have been released in Japan that have not made their way over here. Included are games like Final Fantasy Type-0, 5 Legend of Heroes games, Valkyrie Chronicles 3 and numerous other highly regarded games. This includes most of the Class of Heroes series, which only had one North American release in a series of five games.
Enter Gaijinworks. This is a company that was started by Victor Ireland, who previous ran Working Designs, famous for bringing games like Lunar to America. The idea behind the company is to release this (and other) exciting series stateside.
Gaijin is really a company for the fans. They did a kickstarter for a deluxe edition of the game, which was not funded. A digital, PSN-only release was still planned. The fans said they still wanted a physical edition. They decided to bring us one.
This preorder is for the physical UMD of Class of Heroes 2 for the PSP. With the preorder, you also get a download code. The game is fully playable on Vita (thus the thread icon) for those of you who only have Vita.
For me, this is more than just one game. It is a statement that the PSP is still viable as are these games. There are tons of cool, Japanese only games out there that I want to play. I hope the sales of this game make a statement, and we can see more like it in the future.
With all that said, the game itself is a 3D dungeon crawler with lots of customization and a cool art design. Anybody who played COH1 will be glad to know that this is a vast improvement.
The preorder link will only be open for the week. It is for the physical, PSP version of the game. It will still be available in a digital-only format in the future. Check it out if you are at all interested in these types of games!
If the PSP wasn't region-locked, I bet a lot more people would be willing to import to play these game.
Heck, back in the PSone days, I was disappointed to find out that Tobal 2 was a Japanese only release. I would have bought it if my PSone was able to play games from Japan.
Importing is a pain though. I remember modding my Super NES to play imports and trying to play Romancing SaGa 3 in Japanese. It's just too difficult. Games without a lot of text are simple enough, of course, but the games I like have a lot of text.
I never got to play Tobal or Ehrgiez, love the concept of those games though.
They extended the sale to May 12th, they are frightfully close to their goal to breaking even on the deal (2500 units)
Just to clarify a bit, this is a digital + physical edition. After you buy, you get emailed a code for the digital version. That will be available before the actual physical copy. Then when the UMD comes out it will be shipped out.
This is looking to be one of the rarest games for the PSP with just this limited run. Some eBayers are selling it for 80 bucks already, which is a little laughable and sad but also an indicator of the demand.
I will definitely write a review here when I play the game, although I will probably wait for the physical version to arrive.
In the mean time I might just grace you with a Pandora's Tower review as soon as I defeat that.
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