Let Your Rage Burst for Bandai Namco’s Upcoming Titles

Bandai Namco confirmed a string of titles for the western market today, making it more apparent than ever that we’ve come a long way since the downtrodden days of Namco Hometek’s reign. During that era, they were schizophrenic about the titles they chose to bring over from Japan, much to the frustration of their fanbase — especially if it was a 2D title. Remarkably, this phenomenon extended even to the PS2 days, when localizations from other companies were at a prior all-time high. It’s a pity we had to miss some of the best Tales games (Destiny 2 and Rebirth) from that era, for instance, along with strategy/RPG Venus & Braves (which we missed again when it was ported to PSP).

As a fan of their Japanese titles, I’m glad those days are long gone. Now they’re bringing over nearly every game under the sun, unless it’s tied to a very niche anime series.

The fun started when Bandai Namco launched a teaser site on Friday, which most immediately knew was hinting at a God Eater-related announcement. The franchise has been MIA in the western world since D3 Publisher’s American arm released God Eater Burst for PSP in February 2011, nearly five years ago. Thanks to the series now being on platforms friendlier for sales of localized games, it’s returning in a big way, as the company is localizing both God Eater Resurrection and God Eater 2: Rage Burst. In addition to releasing on PS4 and Vita as they did in Japan, both are also receiving PC ports.

And yes, they’re thankfully calling it “God Eater” here, and not the inscrutable “Gods Eater.” The now-mobile-focused D3 Publisher of America isn’t around to handle this one.

Both games mark a good opportunity for Bandai Namco to reintroduce on the franchise in the west, as they somewhat did in Japan. Resurrection is a remake of the first game made for the franchise’s 5th Anniversary, which also introduced the franchise to those who watched the anime adaptation. We’re also receiving the “Rage Burst” version of God Eater 2, an enhanced rerelease which included a brand new story chapter, along with new mechanics, characters, monsters, and items. Bandai Namco’s newly-launched official website for the series implies both are coming in summer 2016, but doesn’t clarify whether they’re coming together or separately. The former would be a smart and generous business move, while the latter would be crazy. We should receive clarification soon.

Also confirmed was JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven for PS4. (Read: They’re skipping the PS3 version). It’s the second JoJo game being published by Bandai Namco, though it’s not in the same genre as All-Star Battle, despite CyberConnect2 developing both. Instead, it’s an arena brawler featuring a wide variety of characters from every chapter of the manga, which released in Japan this past Thursday. Hopefully it’s a better game than some current impressions suggest, and has more to offer outside the copious amount of fanservice.

With Bandai Namco cancelling service for Rise of Incarnates, there was hope it would lead to the localization of a title in the franchise it was based on: Gundam Extreme VS. But before anyone celebrates, this announcement is for Gundam Extreme VS Force for Vita. It’s a spinoff with no online play, which definitely isn’t what the aforementioned audience was asking for. That this is coming is no surprise, considering an English translation was previously announced for the Asian version. Let’s not be too unappreciative, though, as it will mark the first time a non-Dynasty Warriors-style Gundam game has been localized in years. Just hope it leads to the next real game coming over.

As for a more predictable announcement: One Piece: Burning Blood, a one-on-one fighting game developed by Spike Chunsoft, is also coming. In addition to releasing for PS4 and Vita like Japan, the west will also receive it for PC and, surprisingly, Xbox One. This will make it the first One Piece game to grace an Xbox system. Burning Blood won’t release in Japan until late-April, so it will be a while before we see impressions, let alone a western release.

You could also say the final game announced was a predictable one, but anyone who enjoys Tales games and Japanese RPGs might be glad Tales of Berseria has been confirmed for a western release for PS4 and PC. (Again, they’re skipping the PS3 version. Notice a trend here?) I say “might” because that depends on how much you’ve enjoyed previous games, especially the recently released Tales of Zestiria. Berseria stars a female pirate named Velvet, who became cold and emotionless due to an unspecified incident that occurred three years prior to the game’s start. The presentation is similar to Zestiria and the Xillia games, but the newest trailer (given an English-subtitled treatment for us) suggests it will run in 1080p and 60fps. We’ll see if opinions for this game are less divisive than the last three installments.

These titles are coming along with the company’s superlative lineup of previously announced titles, which include Project X Zone 2, Digimon City: Cyber Sleuth, Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, and Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom. They have something for nearly everyone who enjoys Japanese games, and they’ll ideally receive good sales for them in return — if they’re good.

In the meantime, check out Bandai Namco’s Youtube account to see trailers for each game announced here.