And the surprise from Bamco is...

A Tales of Xillia localization! As many predicted it would be after numerous hints over all this time. Announced and confirmed at the Japan Expo in Europe. And it didn't take nearly as long to know we were getting this one as it did with Graces. Currently it is slated for release in 2013 at some point. I'm guessing it'll be pretty late next year at best. November or December time frame. Definitely some big excitement here. Now if only Bamco would offer up a special edition since the US got screwed out of that with Graces. Europe got the love there. But it all remains to be seen at this point. I'm keeping myself far away from spoilers and any information. I want to be surprised entirely like I was with Graces. Anyways, yay for another Tales localization~ Looking forward to checking this game out next year when it arrives.

Pokemon Black and White 2 Release Date!

So, we've finally got confirmation on the release date for these games. October 7th for the US and the 12th for Europe. Pretty dang fast turn around there. Definitely looking forward to this as with all Pokemon games. I will be getting Black 2 as I got White the first time around. That and Black 2 can unlock the harder difficulty mode after beating the game. Which I totally want without any inconvenience of trading for it so my decision was easily made all around really. I will see first hand just how much harder they make the game since this is their first attempt at adding other difficulties. Course I'll have to beat it first on normal but that is perfectly fine with me. Anyways, hopefully we'll get some kind of pre-order bonus as we usually do or something special like that. They're usually good about stuff like that. We shall see though in due time~

Bamco Teases at News

So, apparently Bamco has hinted at some news late this month on their Twitter page for Tales Of. Whether or not this will actually lead to anything interesting at all or relevant is obviously up in the air. Since Bamco likes to do that nonsense. But from what I saw people saying, this is similar to what they did when they announced Graces for localization. Guess we'll just have to see what the heck this is about later this month. Obviously, the only real conclusion to come to here is Xillia for localization. There's nothing else really it could be. Their line up of games is a bunch of other crap that Tales fans don't care about. So, to post this on this Twitter page would just be lame all heck if it actually had no relevance to Tales at all. But it's Bamco, so that could very well happen too. After all, they had no mention of anything really special at E3 from what I saw. It was pretty lame from what people have said about their showing. But anyways, until next time~

Link to Teased News

US Trademark Filed for Tales of Xillia & Xillia 2 Announced in Japan

 

Okay, so some interesting news I bring today. Though I'm late anyways considering the date on the article for the first piece of news. And the first piece of news is that Bamco has filed a trademark here in the US for Tales of Xillia. Apparently they had already done so in Europe so people thought it might be a PAL only release. But the very next day, Bamco did the same here. So, pretty good news but as we know filing for a trademark does not guarantee localization. It does give major hope to one happening of course. I'm just not going to get my hopes too high for this. Source here for this~

Second piece of news is that Tales of Xillia 2 was announced in Japan for this winter. Now, hopefully this isn't a Tales of Symphonia 2 deal where it's not really in depth and basically fan service. I want a full fledged game here. Course what am I saying, we haven't even gotten Xillia yet xD Still though, it is another Tales game so that's something. If we get Xillia then possibly we'll get this too. Maybe. If Bamco feels like it. Anyways, link to that here~

And that's my news for the day. Yay more blog posts from me! We'll just have to keep watching to see what Bamco does here. Until next time, folks~

Pokemon Black and White 2 Info~

What's this? Another post in a short span of time? Craziness! Anyways, joking aside, let's get to the point of this post. Quite a bit of info has surfaced about the new Pokemon Black and White 2 games. As well as a pretty amazing anime introduction movie for the games. Tis where the screenshot above came from. And with the games due out in Japan in just a month, there's certain to be even more info popping up. But for the most part, a basic idea and premise about what the games are all about has been revealed.

 Essentially, the sequels take place 2 years after the events of Black and White. It's all set in the same region but a good portion of the world map seems to be frozen over as you can see above. Obviously, something bad is up with that. But anyways, you'll still encounter all the new Pokemon from generation 5 it seems. And you still choose from the same starter Pokemon. However, the interesting thing is that you'll also encounter a lot of old Pokemon from past generations. Something that was absent from the first two games. The old Pokemon were not encountered through normal means in Black and White anyways. In Black and White 2, you'll encounter them just like any other Pokemon which is pretty awesome. I didn't like being limited to just the generation 5 Pokemon. I'm only fond of a few of them anyways so I was very happy to hear about this. I know two of my favorites are in, Arcanine and Lucario. A few others have been confirmed but we'll just have to wait for the games to come out in Japan to find out the entire list and what is in the new Pokedex.

Another cool thing that was confirmed in the games is the Pokemon World Tournament. Apparently, you can fight old gym leaders, Elite 4 members, and champions in this tournament. The details of how it works and where it is are still not really known. However, it seems you'll be able to download more trainers to battle as time goes on. Probably through Nintendo WiFi mostly. Cynthia, the champion of the Sinnoh region, is apparently the one who organized this tournament and you can see her in the screenshot above.

So, pretty much there's a lot of nostalgia and goodies for long time fans of the series to enjoy here. The male and female main character designs are of course new. This has mostly been the case with any new game. And it just seems like they're trying to build off and focus on the story more. Black and White were definitely a shift in that direction and it looks like they're continuing that path. I have no objections at all to this. More story driven is always a good thing to me. And Black and White had the best and most interesting story in my opinion of the series. But in general, I'm willing to bet there's quite a bit to do in the game. Even after you beat it. Especially if Black and White 2 are the next Gold and Silver. Which would be sweet~

Anyways, the games are due out sometime this fall here. Pretty short turn around really. But we'll know way more next month anyways. If you like to be spoiled of course. So, until next time~

Tales of Graces ƒ - Final Thoughts

At last another game beaten~ And this game took quite a bit of time to do. But in a very good way. So, let's get down to business and discuss the finer points of Tales of Graces~

First of all, this game has a ton of stuff to do. And it's actually organized very well. You can keep track of sidequests, collectibles, and many other things in a section of the main menu called the Library. To give you an idea, I spent over 100 hours on this game ^^; And that was following a FAQ to do and get most of the stuff in the game but not going for completion. Completion would take you way more than that. But anyways, the point is that the game keeps you entertained in between dungeons, story events, and even after you beat the game. It also makes it well worth it to do another playthrough. So yeah, this game will keep you busy for quite a while no matter what. Tis good stuff~

Second, let's talk about the story. It's very obvious that Bamco wanted to take a different turn with things here. And try not to be as predictable and cliche I suppose. Though they kinda end up going there just in a different way from previous games. There's still the mysterious girl who came from another world aspect. Though Sophie in this case isn't even human. She's a humanoid created specifically for one purpose: to kill Lambda. And Richard spends almost all of the main game possessed by Lambda (Thank goodness for the Future Arc, otherwise you'd hardly get to use him at all). A tough hand to be dealt. To have to fight your friend. And that's pretty much the party's predicament.

It's all very similar and reminiscent to what Bamco usually does with these stories but just done in a different way. And it actually works to be honest. I still say that Abyss is pretty much the most unique in story of all the Tales games I've played. And that's just my opinion. But the story of Graces is very enjoyable to watch unfold. It's not exactly cliche either. Predictable at times, yes. The main focus of the story is friendship and while some may groan just hearing that it's not what it appears. This game is actually a pretty good reminder of what a friend is. Something I think many people have forgotten since their childhood.

Put simply, a friend is someone who is always there for you, helps you out, and would lay down their life for you. That is a true friend. Another aspect of the story is overcoming your past. All the characters have something from their past that holds them back or haunts them. The game has some great character development all around really. But Tales games are usually pretty good about that too. The party even helps the final boss overcome his past. Asbel allows him to share his body with him so he can show him the world and that humans have potential. Actually, they help both final bosses of the game. The Future Arc final boss becomes one with Sophie to help watch over the world. There's quite a bit of forgiveness on both sides of the playing field here.

Anyways, let's move on to music now. The soundtrack of this game is pretty amazing really. And I have to say that a lot of the music in this game reminds me of Star Ocean. Yes, it's the same composer but Tales and Star Ocean both have different sounds. Quite a bit of it was reminiscent to the Star Ocean sound. One of the end game battle themes and some of the dungeon music too. It's not a bad thing at all. In fact, it was pretty cool. But for the most part, the soundtrack was very much in true Tales fashion. You knew it was a Tales game from the music. Sakuraba did great work as usual. I just love his music in any game. He sets the mood, tone, and feeling very well.

 Last but definitely not least about the game, the battle system~ Oh yes, the battle system is probably the best aspect about the game. And they integrated so much into it which is perfect. Having two different battle styles, maxing out Titles, gaining new Titles and artes, creating new weapons and armor, loads of Mystic Artes, trophies, and more. The battle system just keeps you coming back for more. And you may become overleveled and not even realize it. Meaning you will want to fight every single random enemy you find. It's excellent. If Bamco improved on anything after all this time, it is the battle system here. I know that Tales of Destiny Remake was pretty similar but this is the first one the US has gotten with this kind of battle system. It's good stuff. Keep it coming Bamco.

And on that note, let us hope that we don't have to wait another like 4 years for a new Tales title. Seriously, like I keep saying, if Bamco can't bring these games over then freakin' Atlus or someone else who can get the job done needs to take over. The fans of the series need not suffer because Bamco can't manage the series very well any longer. I certainly don't want to miss out on any more new, great games like this in the future. So, let's get freakin' Xillia over here hopefully next year.

So, in conclusion, Tales of Graces is a really awesome game. I enjoyed it to the fullest and I'm looking forward to possibly another new Tales title in the near future. I just love this series and I want to keep playing it while I can. Until next time, folks~

Tales of Graces ƒ - Initial Thoughts

Alright, so I've been playing the game since March 17th. Not that I have gotten like close to beating it or anything. Like probably half way and maybe a little more. I've only been playing it on the weekends. So, it's still better late than never to share my thoughts and initial impressions about the game.

First off, the battle system kicks major butt. Seriously, the fans in the US have been waiting for a dang battle system like this. Japan already got it with some of the other Tales games that never came over here. Like Destiny Remake. But anyways, basically TP is completely done away with in this game. Instead you have a Capacity Chain guage in battle. Weapons and other enhancements you can add on determine the minimum and maximum CC a character has. You can keep attacking until it runs out. Skills and regular attacks use a certain amount of it. Obviously the more CC you have the more combos and attacks you can pull off in succession. When it runs out, you simple just stand still and wait for it to refill. You can guard during this time or just dodge the enemy entirely. It doesn't take long to refill and you can add enhancements to weapons and armor to make it refill faster. Mystic Artes exist in the game of course. And there's different levels of them. Meaning characters have more than just one. These are unlocked through storyline events and Titles.

Speaking of Titles, that's another aspect to mention. Titles do much more for you in this game than just collecting them for completion. Titles carry different skills and effects and stat increases on them. At the end of a battle you get Skill Points. SP is used with the Title you have equipped on a character to unlock the items on it. Obviously better skills and effects take more SP to unlock. Battles can net you extra SP, HP recovery, and gald if certain conditions are met at the end of a battle. Such as finishing the battle in a certain amount of time, doing a 10-hit combo, etc. So, all around the battle aspects of the game are top notch. Excellent work there.

The music is also very good as always. I mean, it's the same kind of music you come to expect with the Tales series since they keep mostly the same composers. Actually, some of it reminds me of Skies of Arcadia music. Heck some aspects in general of the game remind me of Skies of Arcadia. And that is never a bad thing if you know me at all xD The opening song to the intro kicks so much butt too. I love it~


The characters are pretty lovable from what I've seen. I can pretty much guess which ones get the most complaint and hate from people. Cheria is most definitely the one I could guess gets a lot of dislike. After the childhood arc she's pretty gloomy when you meet her at first in the adult arc. But there's good reason for it. I mean, you see what happens at the end of the childhood arc. Seriously, not all girl video game characters are meant to be perky and happy all the time. It just doesn't work that way. Not in real life either. That's what makes things more interesting anyways and more realistic.

Anyways, Asbel is a pretty cool main. The story pretty much follows him in trying to correct mistakes he made as a kid. Things that cannot be undone. Which is why there is so much tension between him, Cheria, and Hubert, his younger brother, when they meet back up in the adult arc. Hubert also for good reason since he was sent away to another nation and adopted into another family in the childhood arc. There's also Sophie, the mysterious girl as in most Tales games. No one knows who or where she came from.

The other characters include Richard, prince of Windor, who Asbel met as a kid and now seems to be possessed by something evil in the adult arc. Captain Malik was a knight instructor and Asbel's teacher when he joined the knights. He's kind of like the older character who sets everyone else straight. And last but nowhere near least is Pascal who is pretty crazy and goofy xD She's the comedy relief for the group.

The story and characters are very much enjoyable so far. There's so much to do in this game too. Collecting stuff, discoveries, and sidequests. And the skits are actually voiced! It was very much worth the wait. The Tales series has made it to the next gen consoles with much improvement and taking advantage of what there is to offer. Though Bamco shouldn't have taken as long as they did. Who knows when we'll see another game. But anyways, looking forward to seeing how it all turns out and what happens. Expect another post about that at some point.