[Kat Lehmann]

Seems like they just wanted to branch out. First non-Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts original character to make an appearance if I remember right.

Nomura's been saying he wants a TWEY sequel, so it probably has something to do with that as well.

I'm a bit meh towards this, I don't see the need to encompass another franchise into KH. They already have a huge pile of characters to pull from considering every FF game, spin-off etc.

[Kellymarie Heppell]

Suikoden > All other JRPGs

so i keep hearing. might have to try it out. but not sure if it could possibly beat FF5 through 10

[Stu Clarke]

Not the biggest fan of jrpg's as a whole, but games from the ps2 era (Dark Cloud 2, FF XII, Persona 3, Rogue Galaxy, .Hack), are some of my favorite game to this day.

Dark Cloud 2, that was a good one. I must have beaten that game at least 3 times, the extra dungeon too.

[Lakyn Ellery]

Dark Cloud 2, that was a good one. I must have beaten that game at least 3 times, the extra dungeon too.

Now there's a series I wish would be brought back. I would have much rather seen Level-5 do Dark Cloud 3 than the White Knight Chronicles series.

[Justin]

so i keep hearing. might have to try it out. but not sure if it could possibly beat FF5 through 10

The downside is that the games are pretty short. If you're like me and only play the occasional JRPG that's a great thing. Not to mention, they're highly replayable due to all the stuff you almost definitely missed out on playing the game. The first was great, second was great, haven't played any of the ones after that.

[Cccurly]

Now there's a series I wish would be brought back. I would have much rather seen Level-5 do Dark Cloud 3 than the White Knight Chronicles series.

That's what I was hoping even before WKC was announced. I probably would have bought a PS3 instead of a 360 if they had announced DC3...

[Marta Wolko]

Now there's a series I wish would be brought back. I would have much rather seen Level-5 do Dark Cloud 3 than the White Knight Chronicles series.

About White Knight Chronicles... why is it mediocre? I thought Level-5 were a pretty good game development company and wanted to check out whatever they did for the current console-generation, but I've just heard poor things about that series and never bothered to try it.

[Robert Garcia]

Level-5 is a pretty decent developer (Dragon Quest VIII, IX and the Layton series are all great), but White Knight Chronicles is just so average in pretty much every way. Don't get me wrong, they're not really bad games, but the story, characters and combat aren't anything special. The way the player character was handled was also strange, as he essentially stalked the real main characters. No dialogue, he just sort of stood there in cutscenes. You can switch to a different character entirely and basically pretend like he doesn't exist.

The second game made some improvements to combat. Story was still so-so. It'd probably be worth renting WKC2 just to see if it's something you'd be into. They applied the combat changes to the first game and included it on WKC2's disc, so definitely go with the second game if you do decide to try it.

[neil slattery]

Level-5 is a pretty decent developer (Dragon Quest VIII, IX and the Layton series are all great), but White Knight Chronicles is just so average in pretty much every way. Don't get me wrong, they're not really bad games, but the story, characters and combat aren't anything special. The way the player character was handled was also strange, as he essentially stalked the real main characters. No dialogue, he just sort of stood there in cutscenes. You can switch to a different character entirely and basically pretend like he doesn't exist.

The second game made some improvements to combat. Story was still so-so. It'd probably be worth renting WKC2 just to see if it's something you'd be into. They applied the combat changes to the first game and included it on WKC2's disc, so definitely go with the second game if you do decide to try it.

Did they assign a different team to WKC or something? I know DQ VIII is a great game, it's a personal favorite... which is why I don't quite understand how WKC could be so relatively mediocre. What happened? Then they turn around and bait me with my most anticipated game of the year for 2012, whenever it finally gets localized...

[Vahpie]

Development of Dragon Quest VIII was aided by series creator Yuji Horii and Armor Project, his own company dedicated to making Dragon Quest games. One can also assume that some Square Enix staff were involved.

It was also Level-5's third game on the PlayStation 2, White Knight Chronicles being their first for the PS3. It surely didn't have the budget of Dragon Quest VIII either.

[Arnold Wet]

The first was great, second was great, haven't played any of the ones after that.

Suikoden V is very good too.

Level-5 is a pretty decent developer (Dragon Quest VIII, IX and the Layton series are all great), but White Knight Chronicles is just so average in pretty much every way. Don't get me wrong, they're not really bad games, but the story, characters and combat aren't anything special.

Aye, I feel Rogue Galaxy is the same too, eventually stopped playing that game because it felt so meh. It's very unfortunate that WKC turned out like it did though, I remember seeing the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdaVNj5dm8o from it before the PS3 was even released, and I instantly got very hyped about the game, but then over time the hype went down a lot and when the game was finally released almost 4 years later, the hype was pretty much gone.

Because of this, I don't really see Level-5 as an "good" developer studio. They certainly have the technical knowledge (the Rogue Galaxy engine is very impressive for being a PS2 game). But they need ouside help with character designs, stories and soundtrack, as the case was with DQ8. If they don't, I'm not really interested. At least Joe Hisaishi is making the Ni no Kuni soundtrack and they have Ghibli input, so that's nice, but I'm worried about the story.

[gary lee]

so i keep hearing. might have to try it out. but not sure if it could possibly beat FF5 through 10

Good luck. They always release those damn games in limited quantities, so you'll be hard-pressed to find them anywhere.

The way they've handled Suikoden II is especially a crime. The [censored] thing regularly sells for over hundreds of dollars on eBay, and they still have yet to re-release it stateside.

[Jade Barnes-Mackey]

Suikoden V is very good too.


Aye, I feel Rogue Galaxy is the same too, eventually stopped playing that game because it felt so meh. It's very unfortunate that WKC turned out like it did though, I remember seeing the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdaVNj5dm8o from it before the PS3 was even released, and I instantly got very hyped about the game, but then over time the hype went down a lot and when the game was finally released almost 4 years later, the hype was pretty much gone.

Because of this, I don't really see Level-5 as an "good" developer studio. They certainly have the technical knowledge (the Rogue Galaxy engine is very impressive for being a PS2 game). But they need help with character designs, stories and soundtrack, as the case was with DQ8. If they don't, I'm not really interested. At least Joe Hisaishi is making the Ni no Kuni soundtrack and they have Ghibli input, so that's nice, but I'm worried about the story.

I think this is something they're working on changing, made evident by them picking up Yasumi Matsuno a while back. While character designs in his games were generally handled by Akihiko Yoshida (still with Square), judging by the screenshots and artwork of his first game with Level-5 (http://andriasang.com/comzue/crimson_shroud_screens/, a tabletop RPG for the 3DS) it would seem the artists at Level-5 were able to create a familiar style. Matsuno's characters and stories also tend to be quite good. He said he'll be focusing on smaller games for now, but I hope to see a big RPG project come from him eventually.

As for Ni no Kuni, it would seem the story wasn't a huge hit in Japan. I'm not sure why exactly, but I'm not too worried about it myself. Details are scant, but I believe Ghibli had a hand in the story, so there's a pretty good chance I'll enjoy it.

Also, The Last Story in only 20 days, and Tales of Graces f just 18 days after that. Devil Survivor 2 is also later this month and Grand Knight History TBA Q1. Already a great year for games.

[Jay Baby]

Good luck. They always release those damn games in limited quantities, so you'll be hard-pressed to find them anywhere.

The way they've handled Suikoden II is especially a crime. The [censored] thing regularly sells for over hundreds of dollars on eBay, and they still have yet to re-release it stateside.

Yeah, I don't understand why they aren't releasing Suikoden II on US PSN.

On EU PSN it's even worse, Konami haven't released either Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or the first Suikoden, much less Suikoden II. Seems like Konami really hate Europe for some reason

I think this is something they're working on changing, made evident by them picking up Yasumi Matsuno a while back.

Yeah, read about that a while ago, quite nice, as he's one of the best developers in Japan as far as I'm concerned. Just a shame he's working on a handheld 3DS game now instead of an epic console game.

[Samantha Wood]

Yeah, I don't understand why they aren't releasing Suikoden II on US PSN.

On EU PSN it's even worse, Konami haven't released either Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or the first Suikoden, much less Suikoden II. Seems like Konami really hate Europe for some reason

Yeah, read about that a while ago, quite nice, as he's one of the best developers in Japan as far as I'm concerned. Just a shame he's working on a handheld 3DS game now instead of an epic console game.

So that's divided too. I was just browsing the place the other day, wondering why half of the games, I heard are on psn, aren't there. At least some games we get have bonus content.

[Anna Watts]

The downside is that the games are pretty short. If you're like me and only play the occasional JRPG that's a great thing. Not to mention, they're highly replayable due to all the stuff you almost definitely missed out on playing the game. The first was great, second was great, haven't played any of the ones after that.

First was awesome. Second was incredible, probably my favourite game of all time. Third was pretty good. So was the fourth (although most fans seem to hate it). Fifth was awesome. Tactics was terrible (to be fair, I'm not a fan of those kinds of games). Tierkreis was pretty good, aside from the main character's voice and age. Seriously, a fourteen year old shouldn't be saving the world.

[Nana Samboy]

Tierkreis was pretty good, aside from the main character's voice and age. Seriously, a fourteen year old shouldn't be saving the world.

Tierkreis had a pretty silly story too, not to mention somewhat ironic. Here is a story about how everything is predestined, and the main characters refuse to belive such thing. But the whole game is predestined. If you're in a fight you're supposed to lose, you can only lose it, and you can only do the right things to move the story forward. Typical JRPG gameplay, sure, but still rather silly

EDIT: Just pre-ordered http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/wii/the_last_story_45545.html. Looking forward to it, but there's no rush, I'm still busy with Xenoblade

[Elisabete Gaspar]

Select PSP and PSone Final Fantasy games are currently 50% off on the European PSN. The sale ends tomorrow, February 8.

PSP
DISSIDIA 012[duodecim] FINAL FANTASY - €17.99 (save 49%)
DISSIDIA DUODECIM PROLOGUS FINAL FANTASY - €1.49 (save 50%)
DISSIDIA? FINAL FANTASY? - €12.99 (save 48%)
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS?: THE WAR OF THE LIONS - €4.99 (save 50%)
FINAL FANTASY?IV: COMPLETE COLLECTION - €17.99 (save 49%)

PSone
FINAL FANTASY? - €4.99 (save 50%)
FINAL FANTASY? II - €4.99 (save 50%)
FINAL FANTASY? V - €4.99 (save 50%)
FINAL FANTASY? VI - €4.99 (save 50%)
FINAL FANTASY? VII - €4.99 (save 50%)

https://member.eu.square-enix.com/en/blogs/psn-sale-honours-arrival-final-fantasy-xiii-2

[Jennifer Munroe]

Just finished FF 13-2. Didn't much like the story, but that ending... HOLY HELL!!!

Spoiler

Too bad it is all just setup for a DLC. Gone are the days of FF endings providing actual closure, I suppose.

[mike]

Yeah, Final Fantasy XIII-2's story was abysmal. It had some very interesting things going for it, but every step forward was followed by two convoluted, cryptic steps backward. They completely shoehorned all of this time travel nonsense into XIII's world, which I'm pretty sure just obliterates the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos.

Thank god Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Type-0 are completely unrelated to that mess.

[Kit Marsden]

Waiting, waiting, waiting... playing the waiting game.
Waiting, waiting, waiting... I really am in pain.
Waiting, waiting, waiting... I must get some news soon.
Waiting, waiting, waiting... before I curse the moon.

Hoping, hoping, hoping... where is Ni No Kuni.
Hoping, hoping, hoping... I soon will go looney.
Hoping, hoping, hoping... Versus XIII too.
Hoping, hoping, hoping... to bid my grief adieu.

Needing, needing, needing... an update really soon.
Needing, needing, needing... news for which to swoon.
Needing, needing, needing... an end to this long wait.
Needing, needing, needing... these games which I view late.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, XIII-2... to buy or not to buy? Or perhaps to wait until cheaper or not? I'm not getting a good vibe from the impressions of the full game and I honestly don't care for characters or the story while I simultaneously am appalled by the game's soundtrack. Gameplay-wise, it doesn't seem to be anything special.

[biiibi]

So, XIII-2... to buy or not to buy? Or perhaps to wait until cheaper or not?

It's fun to play, discovering all the quests and side endings and such. Certainly much better than XIII gameplay-wise. But the characters are boring, the dialogues are often rather childish and the story is far from great. The soundtrack wasn't that bad - certainly below Uematsu's level, and the screaming-filled metal tracks during boss battles are ridiculous, but it does have a few pretty decent songs on it. I'd wait until it's cheaper if you enjoyed either FF 13 or FF 12.

[louise tagg]

Also, is there any chance of Sony bringing Dragon Warrior/Quest/whatever VII to the PSN store? I want to get the game, but the prices it's going for on Amazon are ridiculous.

[Sxc-Mary]

I wouldn't get your hopes up. $35-40 (maybe $30 if you can find just the discs) for a physical copy is probably gonna be your only real option.

Also, a few days old, but some trailers for The Last Story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8rf60OEmfQ
http://youtu.be/tDJk8MkB8hk

Really looking forward to this one. Sakaguchi has never let me down before.

[KU Fint]

Ok, I'm always interested in these games when I hear about them but I've been too afraid to try one. I've always wanted to play a few FFs, but I don't understand how they play at all, how to use multiple characters (which is why I never played Baldur's Gate though I heard that story was great too), or how the battle systems work. Is there a game that eases a total noob into the genre?