Japan gets to see Persona 4 this July. It looks promising so far and has some interesting new additions. Mystery and murder on the vein of Persona 2. Whenever fog rolls into town a new murder is not far behind…
Sounds like fun, only hope we get a US release.
Rumors are that it’s going to be on the PS2, so the chances of seeing an English release may be slim. Then again, who knows, they released FES after all.
Japanese company’s whether they want to or not, are being forced to look more globally for their market.
I don’t see why not. Until Metal Gear and Final Fantasy 13 come out on the Playstation 3. The support will continue for Playstation 2 it seems.
Also, if the fans ask for it, who knows…
When the original Playstation died out, some really good titles came out towards the end, like Chrono Cross.
I only said that the chances are slim. If you think about it, a localization could take until late 2009 even 2010. It’s more about the companies that localize being willing to take a risk or not. Sure it will do well in Japan as the PS2 is still the most used console, but if you look at the English markets that’s sadly not the case, which is only going to continue to decline as the years roll on.(That is unless a lot of companies take a stand and stick to the PS2.) I was wrong about FES, and hopefully I’ll be wrong this time as well. Let’s just hope they aren’t rushing the 4th title to ride on the popularity of the 3rd…
Personally I wont be touching a PS3 until Disgaea 3.
Well the PS3 has something none of the other systems have. Very Good backwards compatability. Xbox360 has some, but it’s very limited. Wii, well let’s just say anything it can support you have to download.
Also the customer base has largely not moved from the PS2 or PS3. They have for some moved to the other next-gen console systems. Mostly it is $$$ as the reason and lack of any major RPGs.
It is also possible, albeit extremely slim, that it could be ported for NA release as a PSP title. While NA releases being ported to a new system themselves is not unheard of it, it is extremely rare and would require the company to be pretty much guaranteed they could make enough money back and they not only have to do the translation costs, but the programing cost and possibly hiring a new artist. The only reason why it would be is because the PSP has become quite popular and many games are being ported to it. It has gained a lot of market share on the DS.
Backwards compatibility has always been one of Playstation’s big selling points, but it doesn’t really help them if they don’t have any new titles people want. I’m obviously in it for the RPG’s, and right now they’re in the middle of a major drought. I’m not holding my breath for FF13 either, after how bad 12 was in my opinion, I have to see the improvements before I can believe they’re getting back on the right track. Granted I did hear a rumor about a new Star Ocean, but only time can tell what happens there.
I’d rather hold out on the slim hope of it staying on the PS2 and hitting an English release than seeing a port, otherwise I’ll just buy the JP version.
I agree with what’s been said so far regarding the PS 3 and I’m very disappointed with Sony. They took a huge gamble with the Blu-ray format and it paid off.
I thought we were going to have a VHS vs Beta scenario again. The lack of any good RPG’s is disappointing too. The only RPG I have for PS 3 is Oblivion, and all the others
I have are for PS 2 and counting. 
Hopefully, FES will become a huge success and it will motivate ATLUS to bring Persona 4 here too. 
Also, the remark about FF 12 hurts. I understand the disappointment with it, but I saw it as a step towards progression with the genre.
But, that’s just my opinion of course.
There is a big differance with vhs vs. beta and blu-ray vs. hd-dvd. That difference is neither side cared to really go after the consumer, even at the cost of signfigant price cutting. Ultimately this helped the companies with deeper pockets. Had the other side been willing to sell $99 DVDs right away and not do bait & switch tactics I think they could have won.
It was a big progression forward in a specific sub-sub-genre, MMO-styled SP Games. It was also a step forward in money making scheme by being the first series Square-Enix, formerly Squaresoft, attempted to from the start develope a multi-platform wolrd system, but like they have done as an afterthought to milk money from FF7 & Kingdom Hearts.
Yes, it does hurt. But if the game didn’t carry the Final Fantasy label, I doubt people would praise it as highly as they do. The story was bland, almost nothing had changed from the beginning to the end, and although the characters were decent, they just didn’t really feel that memorable for me. I didn’t care for the new battle system sure, but I would have been fine with it had the story and characters made up for it. It’s not a bad game, it’s just not a great one either.
At any rate, Shin Megami Tensei titles have a much deeper spot in my collection, and FF is pretty much secondary to me anymore.
Not me. FF8 had a much better plot overall, but the battle system just ruined it. An RPG is as much about a battle system as it is about it’s characters and storyline.
And if the series did not carry FF in their titles I doubt many people would play them that liked the older ones. I won’t be playing FF13.
All valid points gentlemen, I,ve been a FF fan since it’s inception on the NES. The same battle system is in use to this day. Now, I’m not defending it, but it needs to be overhauled eventually and that was my point regarding it’s progress.
While many of us have a " if it aint broke don’t fix it " mentality with the battle system. I would like to see something original for a change and not just an upgrade.
Regarding the FF franchise, I agree that it has slipped for some time. I personally have it rated 3rd, behind Persona 3 and Xenosaga in my book.
Will I continue to support the FF franchise, I cannot say because I 'm fan (albeit it a frustrated one at that). So until FF 13 comes out, I will reserve my judgment until then. 
Me, I’m more interested in the Tales series than Final Fantasy right now. I’m really interested in seeing how that sequel to Symphonia and this new game for the 360, Tales of Vesperia turns out.
Speaking of which, having played FF12, I have to say that graphicswise it was great, but character and storywise…it just didn’t have the same feel as the previous games. The characters just weren’t as appealing as the characters from previous games, which is why after Tales of the Abyss came out, I ended up shelving FF 12 for a while in favor of Abyss as that had much more appealing characters and story. Another thing with FF 12 is that it’s sidequests really weren’t that good in my opinion, aside from getting the summons (though even that got tedious), which is another thing that makes 12 fail in comparison to its predecessors as all the other previous Final Fantasy games had side quests that lead to either amusing scenes with its characters or extra story material (the Tales series utilizes this very well). Those things actually help to flesh out the characters of the game in my opinion, but for some reason, FF 12 lacked this, it’s quests were mostly monster hunting that in my opinion got tedious very quickly. If they were going to do that, I wished they’d made it like Arc the Lad 2 and 3, where taking jobs and all actually unlock mini story arcs.
Anyway, enough of my ranting, let’s get back to topic. I personally can’t wait to play FES when it comes out, I especially want to see the extra content,and even more the part with Aigis.
I’ve also seen the trailer for Persona 4, and I really hope that comes out here in the US. Also like its new artwork as it kind fo resembles Death Note’s.
Now that I think on it a bit more, you’re right, I probably still wouldn’t have enjoyed the game had the story been better. Thinking back Magna Carta had a decent story(or it looked like it could have had one) but I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it no matter how many times I tried because of that horrible battle system.
I guess I can be considered a “If it isn’t broken don’t fix it” type. Honestly you can keep the same style battle system and change certain aspect which make it feel completely different. Take Shadow Hearts for example, it uses pretty much the same battle system as every other JRPG out there, with the exception of the Judgment Ring, and I have to admit I loved this series.(Although the third felt a little damaged because they tried too hard on the characters.) SMT: Nocturne is another example, same system, but it allows conversation between you and the enemy and ultimately letting you talk other demons into joining you from their ranks as members. These are subtle differences to the same old system that give it a fresh feel without going overboard. I’ll stop here because I’ll probably end up on a rant about the current gamer mentality in this market as a whole being damaged, and I’m supposed to be working right now. :lol:
Battles are where you’re going to spend a lot of time. So it’s important that the battle system be entertaining and challenging, but the game shouldn’t be so hard that it kills your friends. SMT Nocture (or Lucifer’s Call if you’re in Europe) meets the second description. It’s punishingly unforgiving. Shadow Hearts had a really fun battle system that was either your best friend or your worst nemesis – it’s also a game that you can’t play when you’re tired and expect to do well in battle. Tales of the Abyss had a great battle system and a good storyline but was hurt by some nasty load times. Brave Story has a decent battle system as well, but you can occasionally just get screwed in battle… kind of like Digital Devil Saga without the temptation to throw the controller across the room shouting “F*** THIS GAME!” Also see the Dragon Quest games which have spawned such statements as “NINE enemies? Oh come one! You mean my dude just fumbled his way into a roaming HERD of enemies?!” This is nowhere near as bad as some earlier PC RPGs such as Might and Magic 2 where you could encounter a group of up to… I think it was 255 enemies? Still the point remains.
Now that I’ve established the kinds of systems I find fun, it should be plain to see why I hate FF XII. I do mean HATE. I thought it was horribly boring. Oddly enough I also HATED FF VIII, but mostly because I couldn’t identify with Squall. I mean, it’s hard for me to play a game where even I want to kick the main character’s ass. I found myself silently cheering whenever Squall got it handed to him, which makes it somewhat difficult to keep him alive.
The battle system for me that is absolutely the most fun? Star Ocean, no question. The battle system in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time was super fun, the only downside is that the AI for your party is literally retarded. Because running out of either HP or MP kills you, your party members attempt to “dodge” like mad fools when they get down to something like 15% of their max. Which could still be several thousand hp or several hundred MP. By “dodge” I mean jump backward. Constantly. Even when they hit the edge of the battle field.
I really enjoyed Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Only problem I have with the Star Ocean games is that if you didn’t level up enough before certain points, you’re screwed later on when you can’t go back to level up more.
Anyways, P4 stuff. Trailer for those who have yet to see it.(Though I’m sure most have already.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJt2ZnL9eTQ
I’m getting a bit concerned they may be trying to rush P4 to ride on the popularity of P3. Guess we’ll know soon enough.
Some screens here: http://www.famitsu.com/game/coming/1214218_1407.html
For some reason I liked Grandia 3. I guess because once you had an enemy airborne, you could just pile on the damage if timed right.
Saw the trailer for P4, and I’m impressed.
I want this game here!, and my appetite for FES is being spoiled people!!! 
Got it. Playing it. Loving it.
Caution! Hard mode is hard! Like Digital Devil Saga hard! ( But not quite Ninja Gaiden hard)
Digital Devil Saga is hard? It had some difficult portions, but you could always form a strategy that would do wonders to get you by wherever you were having trouble. And the high-end powers you could get in that game were just silly.
Want something crazy? Try Nocturne. God, that game was a bitch. More accurately, that game made me its bitch. I actually started over, on easy … and THEN, I gave up. I flat out gave up, it was so god damn annoying.