Special Feature: The Many Games of January 2017, Part I

Fall seasons have been crowded for video game releases for many years, but recently, that’s spilled over into the winter season. Try as they might, game developers can’t always get everything ready for the holiday shopping season, and are often forced to delay their projects into the next year. That, in turn, has made winter seasons more crowded; and as games require more resources to develop, that issue is only worsening — though it’s not bad when it spaces releases out a little.

But I’ve never seen anything on par with January 2017.

The winter season’s flurry of releases typically begins in February, while January tends to work as a breather month for those who spent a lot of cash on holiday gifts, or need to finish games they received as gifts. Not so this year, as developers and publishers are hoping the audiences they’re targeting are dedicated enough to purchase the many titles they find intriguing this months — especially if they need to spend gift cards. That’s why I’ve made this two-part feature, to show how this might be the biggest January ever for game releases, particularly if you like Japanese games.

Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star | XSeed Games| PS4/Vita| January 17th

Unlike the previous Fate video game adaptations developed by Marvelous Entertainment, which were turn-based RPGs, Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star goes after the Warriors formula. That means you play Fate franchise characters, or characters based on them, to fight against flurries of enemies and bosses in familiar locations. The Fate universe seems complicated from the outset, to the point that I’m having trouble deciphering all the plot details, and how those installments are related to this game. But those who enjoy the series, or parts of it, had good things to say about it when it released in Japan in November. It sounds worth it if you’re a fan, particularly the “Noble Phantasm Edition,” which includes a 100-page artbook, collectible cards, and a cloth poster for $20 more than the standard versions.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King | Square Enix/Nintendo | 3DS | January 20th

Dragon Quest VIII was highly regarded as one of the best RPGs to grace the PS2, and represented a massive leap in presentation for the franchise compared to its sprite-based predecessors. Now, that title is coming to 3DS in western territories, making for a perfect on-the-go RPG — and with good performance, unlike the mobile version. The 3DS port includes all the extras added to the western PS2 version, along with new features like new sidequests, visible enemy encounters, and two extra playable characters in Red and Morrie. It’s worth playing for those who’ve yet to experience it, but it’s memorable enough that it’s also worth a replay from those who have, despite the graphics not being on par with the PS2 version.

Gravity Rush 2 | Sony Interactive Entertainment | PS4 | January 20th

Gravity Rush 2 will continue the colorful adventures of Kat and Raven, one which, as a point of contention, started on Vita. But most fans have made peace with how these adventures won’t be continuing on the system that helped popularize it compared to other franchises that started on Sony’s ill-fated handheld. Given the state of Japanese games these days, it’s worth cherishing when games like this receive successors at all. The first Gravity Rush was a unique open world game where players could manipulate gravity to fly nearly anywhere in its vivid world, one whose locales and encounter designs were engaging. A sequel with a prettier sheen is more than welcome, and we’ll only have to wait two weeks to see if it lives up to the expectations set by its predecessor.

Note that a demo is available on PlayStation Network, if you want an early taste.

Kingdom Hearts 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue | Square Enix | PS4| January 24th

For anyone who already purchased Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 on PS3, 2.8 will be the final essential KH package to ready everyone for the longtime-in-coming Kingdom Hearts III. But there’s a welcome little twist here. While it will include an HD remaster of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and the cutscenes from mobile game Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, the big attraction is a brand-new experience called Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage. It continues Aqua’s quest from Birth by Sleep, in an adventure powered by the same engine KHIII is using in Unreal Engine 4, and will give fans an idea of what to expect from the full experience. There’s still no telling how long it is, but given that the next mainline installment could still be a while off, there’s potential for it to be what fans need to hold them off.

Also, if you haven’t purchased 1.5 and 2.5 yet, keep in mind Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX will release for PS4 on March 28th. They have such clever names for these.

Tales of Berseria| Bandai Namco | PS4/PC | January 24th

Tales of Berseria will chronicle the adventure of Velvet, a woman who’s possessed by a Daemon, and is imprisoned for the destruction of her village. When she escapes, she’s thirsty for revenge, and teams up with a number of like-minded individuals (or close to them) on their quest to fight back against common opposition.

Beyond being another installment in one of the most reliable Japanese RPG franchises around, Berseria faces burdensome predicaments. For one, it’s coming off the heels of three divisive titles, which especially qualifies for the last game, Tales of Zestiria; doubly so, in fact, given Berseria’s story connections to it. Also, while many who’ve played the Japanese version have said it’s one of the best Tales games in ages, it may not reach its intended audience due to the previous issue and how much competition it will have. Hopefully the trailers and good impressions of the English version can convince Tales fans to give it a shot, but it’s tough to blame them if they don’t. Hopefully it does well enough for Bandai Namco, despite their commitment to localizing every game in the franchise.

That’s all for this one. You know there are too many games when I have to split this feature in two, so check back for the next part tomorrow.