Author Topic: Growlanser V announced for release in North America this summer (Read 2133 times)

Himu · « **on:** May 12, 2007, 01:40:24 PM »

The title of the game is Growlanser: Heritage of War.

Here's the official Press Release

Quote

GROWLANSER: HERITAGE OF WARTM ANNOUNCED
End the War, Unlock the Secret...
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA – MAY 10, 2007 – Atlus, U.S.A., Inc., a leading publisher of interactive entertainment, today announced Growlanser: Heritage of War, the latest entry in the critically-acclaimed Growlanser series, available for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system across North America in late summer 2007. This special edition release is dedicated to all the loyal fans of the series and contains commemorative bonus materials which will be unveiled in a special press announcement scheduled for later this summer!

About Growlanser: Heritage of War
On an island continent shrouded in darkness and bounded on every shore by an impassable veil, war rages among desperate inhabitants fighting for survival. A mysterious famine has ravaged the land, leaving its denizens to struggle over what little fertile land remains. There is no safe haven; land that war has left untouched is still threatened by the Screapers, fierce and powerful monsters steadily encroaching on the cities of men. Hope is fading - who will rise to save this dying land?
Key Features
• Over 70 Hours of Gameplay! A sweeping story arc spanning 5 lengthy chapters, with additional chapters to unlock.
• A Fantasy World Comes To Life! Story unfolds through gorgeous hand-drawn animation and character portraits by artist Satoshi Urushihara.
• Strategic Party-based Combat! The action is faster and more exciting than ever as you use an advanced troop command system to give orders to your allies – smart tactics are the key to victory.
• Manage Your Character’s Ability Tree! Change your character’s abilities based on the needs of the situation. As your character levels, so too do your Ability Plates!
• Discover A Magical Fairy Companion! The more time you spend training your fairy partner, the richer your interactions will be with her, and the more she can assist you on your quest. You can even enter her in the great Fairy Contest – her performance as she competes with other fairies in a tournament of skills depends on how well you have prepared her!
• Cultivate Intimate Relationships With Your Allies! With the Friendship and Personality Rating System, your personality can either limit or enhance your interactions with others; the outcome of your encounters depends entirely on your behavior! Mold a protagonist as ill-tempered or good-natured as you desire. And if you're brave enough, reveal your true feelings to a companion; if they come to feel the same way about you, you'll be rewarded with a bonus hand-drawn character-specific ending animation that puts the icing on the cake!
#

About time we get some QUALITY srpg loving again.

pancakesandsex · « **Reply #1 on:** May 12, 2007, 01:55:03 PM »

This game is awesome. I've tried it, and a friend of mine who is an absolute growlanser nut has completed it and says it stays quality right up until the end (apparently the story falls apart). Characters make up for any flaws thought supposedly.

Himu · « **Reply #2 on:** May 12, 2007, 01:58:18 PM »

I'm just happy because now I don't have to import.

pancakesandsex · « **Reply #3 on:** May 12, 2007, 02:10:23 PM »

Same, growlanser games after 1 are a bitch to play in japanese.

its not that bad once you get used to it, and figure out what matters and what doesnt (like the riddiculous ring names) but its daunting at first. and quasi-political plots dont transcend the language barrier that well.

Himu · « **Reply #4 on:** May 12, 2007, 02:13:32 PM »

So are these games difficult? I love a challenging srpg.

Tell me about them? Is this a mixture of traditional rpg with srpg elements like Dragon Quarter?

pancakesandsex · « **Reply #5 on:** May 12, 2007, 02:23:18 PM »

Quote from: Himuro on May 12, 2007, 02:13:32 PM

So are these games difficult? I love a challenging srpg.

Tell me about them? Is this a mixture of traditional rpg with srpg elements like Dragon Quarter?

real time strategy rpg

in growlanser V you control the main char directly whenever his turn comes up, everyone else is controlled by menus. you can set movement waypoints, and other commands, the game pauses for menus and some actions. older games in the series pause more frequently, and for regular attacks, V's action is accelerated and more frantic.

mission objectives are often times more complex than just "killem all" so its quite refreshing. The exp gain for non even battles is also fairly nerfed, so power leveling isnt encouraged.

Himu · « **Reply #6 on:** May 12, 2007, 02:27:09 PM »

Sounds good to me

demi · « **Reply #7 on:** May 12, 2007, 02:44:41 PM »

The Working Designes Growlanser was ass. Don't you have to play these in order to understand the games story anyway? Won't even bother touching this.

pancakesandsex · « **Reply #8 on:** May 12, 2007, 02:51:47 PM »

Growlanser v is completely unrelated

Growlanser 1, 2, and 3 are all in the same world, 4, 5, and seemingly 6 are all standalone games (for the better)

2 is a direct sequel to 1, and the villains are related, its a shame the game is the worst in the series. 3 is a prequel to 1, which tells how the time space tower landed in the world of 1-2, and why they migrated across dimensions to the 1-2 world in the 1st place.

And 2-3 are the worst in the series, 5 is much better., and much faster. and no rings!

If you l iked the core concept of the WD growlanser games (real time combat, with a strategy rather than brute force concept) you will dig 5 MUCH more than 2-3.

Himu · « **Reply #9 on:** May 12, 2007, 03:03:34 PM »

Not to mention that the WD Growlansers (2 and 3) are considered the worst of the series.

pancakesandsex · « **Reply #10 on:** May 12, 2007, 03:05:33 PM »

Quote from: Himuro on May 12, 2007, 03:03:34 PM

Not to mention that the WD Growlansers (2 and 3) are considered the worst of the series.

They came out within 6 months of eachother. they were complete rush jobs.

Ichirou · « **Reply #11 on:** May 12, 2007, 10:23:42 PM »

I came into this thread expecting these titles to be announced by Gaijinworks. Will that company ever get off the ground?

Himu · « **Reply #12 on:** May 12, 2007, 10:38:19 PM »

wtf is gaijinworks?

Atlus ftw

demi · « **Reply #13 on:** May 12, 2007, 10:40:27 PM »

It's Vic Ireland's new studio.

Ichirou · « **Reply #14 on:** May 12, 2007, 10:41:39 PM »

Reborn from the ashes of Working Designs. I imagine that it'll excel at the same thing WD excelled at: picking good obscure games and then fucking them up and releasing them three years late.

Himu · « **Reply #15 on:** May 13, 2007, 10:55:50 AM »

WD sucked. Way expensive game sets, ridiculous delays, and so forth. Vic can choke on a dick. Stupid idiot who thinks he knows shit about game design when he's just a translator or something. Thanks for ruining Silhouette Mirage you cocky fuck.

Ichirou · « **Reply #16 on:** May 13, 2007, 11:02:49 AM »

WD sent me a pre-release copy of Arc the Lad Collection along with a modded PSX to play it on, so I can't be angry at them.

I think early on especially in the 16-bit era, they were a lot better than their competitors, so gamers were willing to put up with a lot of their crap. And during the early 32-bit era, when Square was plagued with some of the shittiest translations EVER, the fact that WD's stuff was readable and typo-free was a great asset. As Square and Atlus started to improve, though, WD stayed the same...lots of delays, lame "humor" added to the US versions of the games that wasn't in the original Japanese version, messing with gameplay in ways that was not intended by the developers (besides Silhouette Mirage, they screwed with the difficulty in the first Arc the Lad game, which made it a chore to play), creating deluxe packages which led to even more delays and ended up making the games way too expensive (not to mention that 90% of the extras were utterly useless)...they just made a ton of mistakes along the line which led to their demise.

Himu · « **Reply #17 on:** May 13, 2007, 11:04:07 AM »

I WANT TO IMPORT SILHOUETTE MIRAGE SATURN

Quote from: Ichirou on May 13, 2007, 11:02:49 AM

WD sent me a pre-release copy of Arc the Lad Collection along with a modded PSX to play it on, so I can't be angry at them.

And why'd they do that?

Scurvy Stan · « **Reply #18 on:** May 13, 2007, 04:26:58 PM »

I really liked the WD Lunars. Got 1 and 2 for about $20 each back in the day. I'm so done with RPG's now though I don't even attempt them.

Ichirou · « **Reply #19 on:** May 13, 2007, 06:02:29 PM »

Quote from: Himuro on May 13, 2007, 11:04:07 AM

I WANT TO IMPORT SILHOUETTE MIRAGE SATURN

Quote from: Ichirou on May 13, 2007, 11:02:49 AM
WD sent me a pre-release copy of Arc the Lad Collection along with a modded PSX to play it on, so I can't be angry at them.

And why'd they do that?

I have no fucking clue. This was back when Victor Ireland was a regular poster on Usenet at rec.games.video.sega and rec.games.video.sony. I was posting pretty regularly as well (along with a few folks who later went to GAF like dog$ and Darien Allen). Ireland asked me to play through the game, report if I saw any problems with the translation, and mostly try to build good buzz around the series by talking about it as I was playing through it. I don't think he was really interested in me actually playtesting since, as I understand it, that's a far more intensive process than what I was doing.

After I finished the games I had to send the discs (they were CD-Rs) and the modded PSX back, BUT I got a retail copy for free, plus a mouse pad and the pre-order bonus (the clock).

tiesto · « **Reply #20 on:** May 13, 2007, 10:07:27 PM »

I thought Arc the Lad 2 was a great game... a lot of people didn't like it much but it was one of the most epic RPG experiences ever. 3 was horrible, though.

Ichirou · « **Reply #21 on:** May 13, 2007, 10:57:11 PM »

2 had the best story, but 3 had the best gameplay. IMO.

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Author Topic: Growlanser V announced for release in North America this summer (Read 2133 times)