NIS America Fills a Void in Their Upcoming Lineup

When NIS America confirmed plans to announce two games this week, their fans felt they could guess what they’d be. Parent company Nippon Ichi Software has released a small number of games recently, while some like Labyrinth of Galleria have been delayed indefinitely. But these announcements didn’t have to be NIS games, since NISA handles localizations from several Japanese developers and publishers. It’s why other fans thought this could be for a Falcom game, since it’s been nearly half a year since they’ve released the last one, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III. The PC port of the game is due for a release on March 23rd, while the Switch version will arrive in the spring. The announcements didn’t quite live up to expectations, but they were good.

The first one was for Void Trrlm();//Void Terrarium, which I’ll just call “Void Terrarium” here. This is the newest title in a series of beautiful hand-drawn 2D titles in various genres developed internally at NIS, following up previous games like htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary and A Rose in the Twilight.

Void Terrarium is a roguelike adventure title that takes place in a world engulfed by toxic fungi, the main tale starting off in a scrapyard where a lonely maintenance robot finds a girl named Toriko. The robot helped nursed her back to good health after she was left for dead. But the other humans weren’t so lucky, as the robot discovers that she might be the last of her species. She’s kept alive with the help of the factoryAI, which helped to create a refuge for her within the terrarium. But they’ll need resources to maintain her health and take care of themselves, which the robot has to gather from a wasteland full of enemy machines and creatures. Along the way, they might discover the reason why there are so few humans around its world.

You might notice how there’s no name for the main playable robot listed above. The player will have the option to customize and name them, and equip skills and parts to them. Combat with enemies is turn-based, while the levels are procedurally generated — two features common with roguelike experiences. During all this, the robot will be responsible for maintaining poor Toriko’s health, which will include curing any diseases she comes down with.

Void Terrarium will release for PlayStation 4 and Switch this summer. The game released in Japan on January 23rd, and sold okay for this type of game. Perhaps it could do the same here.

The second game NISA announced wasn’t a Falcom title like Trails of Cold Steel IV or Ys IX like some fans were hoping, but Prinny 1•2: Exploded and Reloaded for Switch. This package will include the first two Prinny platforming games, specifically Prinny 1: Can I Really Be the Hero? and Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! (quite a name), originally released for PSP. These spinoffs of the Disgaea strategy RPG series will now be playable on a currently-supported platform, since Sony’s PlayStation Vita (where the games could be played through backwards-compatibility) has been laid to rest.

The first Prinny game follows the story of the Prinnies’ need to find a good desert for their master, Etna, in the Netherworld. The second game occurs in the same main location, though its theme is about finding Etna’s stolen panties, something you might have guessed given its name and if you’re entirely too familiar with niche Japanese “ecchi” games. They can get raunchy, though this is still tame compared to several other fanservice-heavy games on PSP and especially Vita that I won’t name. The Prinnies can slash, jump, and pound their hips through all the difficult stages, and will be replaced by fellow Prinnies when they die.

The package will also include the DLC the games received, and the post-game quest for Prinny 2 that stars Asagi, NIS’ running joke character who will never get a game of her own.

NISA is unlikely to fix Prinny 2’s localization for this pack, which recast some characters with new voice actors (they were switched back for future games) and, according to rumors, didn’t give them any voice direction. It would be nice if they did, considering it was a sticking point for those who played it in English.

Prinny 1•2: Exploded and Reloaded will release for Switch this fall. It’s surprising for this to be a Switch-exclusive given the Disgaea series’ history on Sony platforms, but don’t be surprised if it’s ported to PS4 afterward.

The announcements let down anyone who was looking forward to a Falcom game announcement, but just because they weren’t revealed here doesn’t mean they aren’t working on them. By all indications, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana and Trails of Cold Steel III sold well, so announcements for their successors should be a case of “when” rather than “if.” Their games take time to localize because of their piles upon piles of text, and the programming work Falcom has to do on their end while making their own games — a lot of work for two small companies. In the meantime, these games and others will be enough to keep fans more than occupied.