Anyway, I've been a long-time fan of Nintendo. Many of their games gave my childhood loads of fun, and actually got me into gaming from the get-go (oh, the many days and nights I spend playing Super Mario, Donkey Kong Country, and Yoshi's Island). Even now, I find fun in many of their titles. However, it seems that something's gone wrong with the American branch this generation. Many promising titles that should have been localized over here are being passed up; some left in Japan, while others have actually released in the PAL regions.
This is quite sad, because until recently Nintendo of America took quite a few risks; they brought over Fire Emblem after Marth and Roy became popular in Super Smash Bros. Melee, they brought over the Wars series starting with Advance Wars, they brought over the feudal Japanese pinball game Odama, they brought over Chibi-Robo, Drill Dozer (this game being developed by Pokemon-creators Game Freak probably influenced it coming over, even if they didn't advertise it like that), Trace Memory, Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Elite Beat Agents as a Westernized Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, Sin and Punishment on the Virtual Console and its Wii sequel Star Successor, Excitebots, The Legendary Starfy, and several more. They even paid for the localization of one of my favorite games of all time Tales of Symphonia, and even localized Baten Kaitos Origins themselves; and even published M-rated titled Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and Geist. However, it seems that they've decided to stop on potentially new titles and stick with their own stable of well-known franchises and more casual games, which makes me very disappointed as a fan of the company. What have NoA let slip through their fingers this generation? Well...
New Play Control! Pikmin 2
This is the Wii port of Pikmin 2, a game that was loved by critics and fans alike, especially for taking the mechanics of the first Pikmin game and improving on them, as well as removing that annoying time limit that brought down the original game; this Wii port had new Wii controls implemented. The Wii port of the first Pikmin game came over without issue, but for some reason, this game pass those of us in North America by. And yet, Europe got this game. What the hell is this, Nintendo of America? Why did you not bring over an entry in your up-and-coming IP?
At least--with the proper modifications--one could import this game and play it in English, unlike other titles on this list.
Fire Emblem: Shin Monshou no Nazo Hikari to Kage no Eiyuu
Oh, come on, NoA. This is Fire Emblem. This series has been localized without issue since Fire Emblem [Blazing Sword] on the GBA; as mentioned above, Nintendo took a risk localizing that game, but thanks to the popularity of Marth and Roy, the gamble paid off, and the series started to flourish over here (and no, Marth and Roy are NOT in the game; though Roy makes a cameo appearance at the end as a child).
Hell, Shadow Dragon, the DS remake of the very first Fire Emblem game which DOES star Marth, came over here without issue. And not you're telling me that you're NOT bringing over the continuation of Marth's story? Not only that, but the many improvements that this game made on Shadow Dragon's gameplay, complete with a new character in the form of the player themself (and not just a tactician like in Blazing Sword, but an actual character who fights on the battlefield alongside Marth)?
Unlike with Pikmin 2 above, this game did not leave Japan at all, so if you want to play and know what you're doing and/or know what's going on in the story, you'll have to learn Japanese or use a translation patch. Or use a guide.
ASH: Archaic Sealed Heart
Many people forgot about this game; it was actually meant to be localized, but it fell through the cracks. A shame, really. The DS has a flourishing RPG library now, so the loss of this game doesn't sting as much. Would have been nice for it to get a localized release, though.
Chosoju Mecha MG
Admittedly, I--like many others outside of Japan--did not know of this game until Super Smash Bros. Brawl released, with Trophies, Stickers, and this awesome track "Marionation Gear" from the game. I looked up gameplay video of the game, and I admit that it's pretty cool, using the bottom screen of the DS to control much of the movements of the giant robots. The game came out in Japan in 2006, so it was already old by the time Brawl came around. Nonetheless, Nintendo could have released it to definitely show off more of what the DS was capable of, either before Brawl, or after it, when people looked at that music track and extras and wondered, "What the hell is Chosoju Mecha MG?".
Another Code R: A Journey Into Lost Memories
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West
I'm placing these two games together, because they're similar games, from the same developer, with a similar situation. Like with Pikmin 2 Wii, their previous games were also brought over to North America as Trace Memory and Hotel Dusk: Room 215, respectively. The sequels, however, were released in Europe, but North America missed out again. So, again, North American players miss out on the continuation of the stories of Ashley Robbins and Kyle Hyde. But like with Pikmin 2 Wii, at least they're in English at all, so you could import them if you wish. While you'll have to make some modifications to your Wii to play Another Code R, the DS and DS games are region-free (except "DSi-enhanced" games), so you can play Last Window without anything else needed.
Disaster: Day of Crisis
Disaster is an action game where you go around helping people survive various disasters, and is said to be a parody of American disaster films of the last decade or so. Maybe someone should have tried to prevent the disaster of this game not being released in North America; if it's a parody of American cinema, you'd think we'd appreciate it more. Reminds me of how Metal Wolf Chaos--perhaps the most American Japanese game ever made, complete with surprisingly-good (and over-the-top) English voice acting--never got released outside of Japan. Europe got this game, though. I'm beginning to sense a pattern...
But at least Reggie Fils-Aime, the marketing head of Nintendo of America, gave a reason for not releasing this game here, citing weak sales in Europe. That's more than what we got (or are getting) with...
Xenoblade Chronicles
The Last Story
Pandora's Tower
The three games that Operation Rainfall are trying to get localized for North America, and the primary reason behind me writing this entry. These three are RPG titles, and we all know that the Wii doesn't have a strong RPG library. Xenoblade Chronicles especially is being regarded as one of the best RPGs released this gen, and a definite Top Ten game for the Wii. The Last Story is notable for being developed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the man who created and directed many of the Final Fantasy games before being fired from Square over the failure of the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Pandora's Tower is an action RPG that makes great use of the Wiimote's features to explore the world.
And yet, Nintendo of America has been mum on all three of them; however, Europe (and Australia and South Africa) already got Xenoblade in August, and will be getting the other two games sometime next year. No word on a North American release on any of these three as of yet; Reggie stated once that he would keep an eye out on how well Xenoblade did in Europe--remember what he said about Disaster above? Well, Xenoblade ended up selling VERY well, and even sold out in some places; the hype of the game likely helped by the outcry behind it not being announced for a NA release likely helped. However, since then, despite the sales, nothing's been heard about it since. Back at E3 2011, Nintendo of Europe wanted to show off Xenoblade at the show, but Nintendo of America shut them down, saying that they did not want to show games that they were not going to release in America. I think it's safe to say that people are quickly losing hope for a North American release of Xenoblade (and the other two games); many have already imported the game, which definitely cut a big chunk out of the potential sales that the game would have gotten had it been released here.
Yet, Xenoblade is still listed on Nintendo of America's Amazon page (as its prerelease title "Monado: the Beginning of the World"). And despite the lost hope, some people--myself included--have hope that Nintendo of America is waiting to release the games next year; many of us noticed that the recently-released The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword would be the last major Wii release before the Wii U launches next year. That leaves a year-long gap of games. Many of us believe that Nintendo will release the games throughout next year to fill that gap. However, if that were the case, wouldn't they have been announced for release by now? Also, despite the gap, it's not completely devoid of games; we still have Mario Party 9, Dragon Quest X, PokePark Wii 2, and the newly-localized Fortune Street being released on the Wii sometime next year. It's also possible the Nintendo will rely on those three to carry the Wii through 2012 until the Wii U arrives, and completely disregard the Operation Rainfall trio; in which case, that would be a true shame and make me lose faith in the company (or at least the North American branch).
I'm giving them until early next year to announce the games before deciding to import them starting with Xenoblade Chronicles.
Zangeki no Reginleiv
This is an action game that flew under the radar. It was developed by Sandlot, the same people who brought us (well, Japan) Chosoju Mecha MG above. It's inspired by Norse mythology, something that grabbed my interest recently. Too bad even Operation Rainfall ignored this game; it'd make a pretty nice addition to the Wii's Western library.
MOTHER 3
The sequel to the cult classic EarthBound (MOTHER 2 in Japan), this is a quirky yet endearing RPG that wraps up the MOTHER saga quite well, especially since the creator Shigesato Itoi has gone on record saying that there would not be another MOTHER game. The MOTHER series has had a pretty bad history here in the West. EarthBound was advertised very poorly ("This game stink"? Are you serious?), MOTHER 1+2 on the Game Boy Advance never saw the light of day outside of Japan, and MOTHER 3 has also been locked in the Land of the Rising Sun. Despite it being released here, EarthBound has also not been made available on North America's Virtual Console service, and Europe did not get the game at all.
However, unlike with the other games here, it seems that this one has a legit reason: copyright. A lot of the music in the series are covers and arrangements of established songs and scores. Japan's copyright laws are a bit more relaxed than here in the West, and as Itoi is unwilling to change the game to appease the copyright laws, the games will remain in Japan until further notice. Not to mention that the game released in Japan in 2006, two years after the Nintendo DS was already on the market. Nintendo (especially the American branch) had already moved away from the GBA and were pushing the DS with all they could.
But at least a very dedicated team released a practically-professional-level translation patch of MOTHER 3, allowing Western players to experience the game in its full glory.
Tomato Adventure
An old and quirky Game Boy Advance game released back in 2002, it comes from AlphaDream, the masterminds behind the popular Mario & Luigi series. This game is pretty cutesy (and not having the benefit of being Pokemon or Kirby), and I can understand Nintendo being reluctant to bring this game over. However, those who have played it have said that it was pretty good, and it's a shame that those of us in the West didn't get to experience it.
Plus, as far as cute series go, Nintendo did later on release The Legendary Starfy on the DS (actually the 5th game in Japan); though Smash Bros. Brawl likely helped there, as Starfy (or "Stafy") was a[n useless] Assist Trophy in the game. Tomato Adventure has not even been mentioned in passing in Brawl (except in the Japanese Chronicle section, but that doesn't really count since it lists EVERY game published by Nintendo in that region).
That is all. Games from Nintendo that we missed out on, or are missing out on. At least Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower still have a chance of being released here, but the rest, not so much. That said, I'm going to also cross my fingers for Fire Emblem: Shin Monshou no Nazo and Zangeki no Reginleiv as well.
...As if I need any more games added to my already-growing backlog. I'm an addict, alright.
4 comments:
Amazing list of NDS game. I having only two game from above lists Disaster, MOTHER 3. I want to download more games from above list.
I like this article
so nice ♥
Wah YOU Very Good.. I like it,,,
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