2012 video game releases~

It's pretty much about time for a new post I suppose. And what better to talk about than the games coming out this year? At least the ones that have piqued my interest and I either have already or plan to get.

First off, Tales of the Abyss (3DS) and Tales of Graces F (PS3). Been a while since Bamco decided to grace us with some Tales games. Even though Abyss is just a port on the 3DS but hey, it's something anyways. As for Graces, we haven't seen a new Tales game like this since 2008 with Vesperia on the 360. So, really it's about dang time now. Both of these I have already nabbed since they were early releases this year. Heck, I'm a good ways through Abyss now xD Still my favorite Tales game to date~


Next up, Dragon's Crown. I cannot say enough how much I love Vanilla Ware~ They make such wonderful, beautiful games. And this one is no exception. Plus, it's only 30 bucks! That's half the price of a normal PS3 game. Anyways, it's an action RPG similar to Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade in game play. 2D side scrolling and good stuff like that. Beautiful 2D graphics as always too. I'm quite excited about this one for sure. Grand Knights History on the PSP is also coming out this year from Vanilla Ware and I have my eye on it as well.

Next is Etrian Odyssey 4, a series I have been following since the beginning. I love this dungeon crawling RPG series. Customizing your own team, picking the classes and skills for your characters, and exploring the labyrinth dungeon in the game. It's all good stuff and so much to discover. This series is not for the faint of heart however. While the difficulty has been let up on to an extent from the first game, it still can be pretty challenging. After watching the trailer and seeing screenshots, they have definitely improved upon the series even more and taken full advantage of the 3DS's graphical capabilities. No release date yet for the US but it has been confirmed for localization.

Last but not least, Pokemon Black and White 2~ I know what most people including myself thought initially. That these were just the follow up games for generation 5 like they've always done with previous generations. Well, we were proven wrong this time. Generation 5 has certainly been the interesting one and they have taken so many new paths with it. Black and White 2 are indeed direct sequels to the other two with a whole new story and features. This is the first time they've done this with any generation of games so it's definitely interesting to see what they're gonna do with it. Looks like the DS is gonna get two more great games before they're finally finished with it. These games are due out in the fall some time, which is a pretty quick turn around from the release in June in Japan. Good stuff~ And at this point, I think it's fairly certain we'll see a generation 6 on the 3DS. I don't see them not taking advantage of the newest handheld system. But I guess we shall see on that one.


2012 already has some good stuff out and lined up for the year. Time will only tell what else is in the works and will be announced for release. Persona 5 perhaps? Haha, that's just my wishful thinking xD But who knows~

Tales of the Abyss for 3DS confirmed~

Yes, believe it or not Nintendo Power confirmed that this would be getting a North America release at some point. I'm not incredibly shocked considering it was brought over to begin with on PS2 but it just seemed like something Bamco would skip in terms of bringing over again on another console. Just looking at how they've been in general with this stuff. But I guess they've bought into the hype of the 3DS as well and decided go with it. Not that I'm complaining about this. Not at all it's just because it's Bamco and all xD

Anyways, I do want a 3DS at some point but not for the 3D aspect. Like, I could care less about that feature to be honest. It's just eventually I know I'm going to have to upgrade to get games I want. And it's backwards compatible so I can still do all I ever did with my old DS models. Except play GBA games but only the really old DS's still do that. Which I still have mine along with my new DSi xD So, I have two actually. But I won't be getting one anytime soon obviously. Besides, I don't buy stuff like that right out of the gate. I'll let them come out with other models and features as well as more colors. And TotA won't be here for a dang while knowing Bamco so it's all good xD I's got plenty of time~ So, looking forward to playing my favorite Tales game and one of my favorite games in general again in the future. And on a portable system~ Good stuff ^_^

Tales of Graces F localization~

Yes, finally we get another Tales game. After like what, since Vesperia on the 360 which was in August of 2008. Way to go Bamco~ Couldn't even give us Vesperia on the PS3 which had WAY more stuff in it. Like it was completely redone and it was a game you already had most of the translation for and the rights to. Whatever though. No one really cares about it anymore. So anyways, Graces was beginning to seem like a lost cause too after the Wii version epically failed to come over. It was riddled with bugs anyways though from what I heard so that's probably why. Don't know what the deal was with not bringing over any the DS mothership titles. Oh well. Lets hope Bamco keeps it up and brings over that new game coming to Japan sometime this year as well. Xillia is what it's called. Not getting my hopes up on that of course. But I am looking forward to Graces and playing another true Tales game finally.

Oh and on another Tales note, Bandai Entertainment apparently acquired the license to the Tales of the Abyss anime back in July. So, when that's available on DVD or whatever they're doing it shall be mine. My favorite Tales game and one of my favorite games in general. And I loved the anime cuz I've already watched it with subs. Never thought they'd bring it over here of course. So yay for that as well~