Bandai-Namco revealed a bit more info concerning their upcoming Wii title Fragile: Goodbye Ruins of the Moon, and has released the game’s cover art, which I love.  You can view it by clicking the banner above.  Here’s hoping the North American cover art won’t be unnecessarily altered…  If you want to see the art without the logo you can find that here. 

In addition to the cover art, a new character profile has been released to the public:

In addition to the news of Sin, we now have a few screenshots of some cut scenes from the game.  They reveal a mysterious young girl who appears to be (like many others) a phantom or ghost.  She meets Seto, and appears friendly.  She may even be giving him something in the screenshot on the right, but I obviously can’t confirm this.

I find it interesting to see how Bandai-Namco, a Japanese company, produces a game taking place after the end of the world, versus Bethesda’s Fallout 3 which features similar themes.  When I saw this girl I was reminded of a trip I took in Fallout 3 to an abandoned elementary school.  At one point between blowing the heads off Raiders I noticed the floor was littered with tiny skeletons, obviously belonging to children. 

While I found this disturbing, giving a face to the dead makes it more personal, which I feel pulls the player in emotionally.  Fallout 3 seems cold and distant about the end of days, where Fragile’s quiet sadness seems to provide more powerful storytelling.  It’s like comparing an action movie to a Yasujiro Ozu film.

Related Entries:
All Kotowari articles concerning Fragile can be found here

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A large majority of video games are localized from Japan. In the process, a lot of blatant and frustrating mistakes can cause the end product to be well… incomplete. These changes are usually based on the localization team’s opinions on what is acceptable to Western audiences.

These changes can range from story and character overhauls, to the deletion of unique cultural aspects.  In the latter case the reasoning is slightly understandable since an explanation of such aspects may require further programming which can become costly.

One aspect of games that almost always undergoes a dramatic change is the cover art of video games.  This topic was first brought to my attention while wasting some time on 4chan’s /v/ message board.  At first I didn’t think much of it, but then it really began to bug me.

Why do video game companies fear that which is Eastern in origin?  Do they really think that we as consumers are incapable of accepting a foreign culture?

Here are 3 covers that were brought to my attention by 4channers and by my own digging:

Suikoden
Publisher: Konami
US release date: 1996

The left cover is the original Japanese cover, and the right is the North American cover.  The 90’s are marked by a high level of xenophobia when it comes to localizing games.  You can plainly see that the anime style art has been replaced by hideous art western in nature.  The localizers may have been trying to pass the game off as a WRPG rather than a JRPG.

Ico
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
US release date: September 24, 2001

It is important to note here that everywhere but North America received the left cover art.  Everywhere.  The left cover art puts the emphasis on the castle, the game’s setting, and arguably the most important element of Ico’s story.

Making people the focus of art has long been a western tradition, whereas making people’s surroundings the focus (with little to no emphasis on people) is a common element in Eastern art–especially brush painting and sumie.

The Japanese cover was painted by Fumito Ueda, the creator of both Ico and Shadows of the Colossus.  His inspiration for the piece was the surrealist works of Giorgio de Chirico.  As for the other piece, I can only think that SCEA wanted to show off the graphics of the game, so they decided to go with CG.

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wnderer
Publisher: Chunsoft, localized by Sega
US release date: March 4, 2008

Here is a game near and dear to my heart.  It is the most recent of the 3, possibly making it the most relevant.  The Japanese cover art features smooth anime style art complete with tranquil looking characters.

The North American cover art is quite different.  All three featured characters (I am including Koppa the weasel) look angry.  Even the reddish background suggests rage.  Also, the art looks much more western.  Even Shiren’s sword doesn’t look like a katana–it appears straight.

The only reasoning I can conclude for these covers to differ so dramatically from their originals is that the localizers fear the game will not be received well, and they won’t make money.

Such a fear today seems ludicrous.  Gamers do not purchase a game based on the box art.  Speaking for myself, purchasing a game is based on brand loyalty, research, and genre.

Many Western gamers seem to appreciate the influx of Japanese or Eastern culture in their games.  Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 for example brings the player into the shoes of an (almost) average Japanese  school student.  All cultural references to Japanese food, religion, etc. were retained, and yet the game was immensely popular.

So c’mon, America!  Give gamers some credit.  We can’t stand anymore garish cover art!

Related Entries:
Final Fantasy VII as a Reflection of Modern Japanese Society
Know Your Video Game History: Persona: Revelations

Roy artwork, history 4 comments

Atlus revealed their secret today with the announcement that Yggdra Union for the PSP will indeed be receiving an American localization.

The PSP version does feature a few added bonuses that the Game Boy Advance version did not have including (but not limited to):

• Complete voice-overs with both Japanese and English dialog
• Higher difficulty setting (watch that morale!)
• New Playable characters
• New Missions
• Multiple endings
• Enhanced visuals and audio effects

Yggdra Union will be giving you one more reason to buy a PSP September 16th. In addition to the opening of an official website Atlus also sent out a newsletter featuring this trailer video:

Related Entries:
Knights in the Nightmare Video Emerges
Knights in the Nightmare and Yggdra Union Special Edition
Knights in the Nightmare Preview

Roy artwork, atlus, psp, sting, videos 1 comment

The official Japanese Persona 4 website has been updated with (among other things) a new wallpaper featuring the protagonist and his Persona Izanagi. It’s simple, stylish and available in 3 different resolutions:

1024X768
1280X1024
1900X1200

In addition to the wallpaper, a short video of Chie summoning her Persona Tomoe has been added.  If you are interested in seeing all of the available Persona 4 wallpapers, you can find them here on the game’s official site.

Related Entries:
All other Kotowari entries on Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 can be found here.

Roy artwork, atlus, persona 1 comment

I scanned all of these from my recently acquired Disgaea 3 Guidebook. There doesn’t seem to by much out there in the way of art for Disgaea 3 yet, but I really like these little comics. If you guys want more scans, please let me know!

Roy artwork, disgaea, ps3 3 comments