There are plenty of amazing games that sadly didn’t hit our shores and these are five we’d all love to see. Maybe we can pull an Operation Rainfall and get these publishers to localize them here and make some easy money.
5) Final Fantasy Type – 0 – released in Japan on October 27, 2011
This Final Fantasy game takes place in the world of Final Fantasy XIII and was originally announced in 2006 as a mobile game. Eventually, it was moved to the PSP and here in America we still wait for the opportunity to play this game. Sadly, due to Square’s financial woes and the slow demise of the PSP system this game was never ported to North America. Many JRPG fans lament this decision and hope to petition Square to release it as a PSN download only release, hopefully with the Vita and PS4 we will see this in our future.
4) Fatal Frame 4 – released in Japan on July 31, 2008
This incarnation of the Fatal Frame series continues the tradition of fighting ghosts off with the Camera Obscura. This game follows the story of five young girls kidnapped in the 70’s and later freed. Now, seventeen years later, two of them have died mysteriously and it’s up to the remaining three to return to the sight of their abduction. They return to Rougetsu Island to remember what happened and to ultimately save their lives. Do they succeed? So far people in North America will never know.
3) Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce 2 – released in Japan on July, 26 2012
Unfortunately, the Dynasty Warriors series hasn’t taken off as well in America as it has in Japan. The unique game-play and retelling of the history of feudal Japan just hasn’t sunk its roots into the States yet. In Strikeforce the player can choose three different paths all intertwining into one larger story about the battles in feudal Japan. What really sells this game, though, is the co-op — your buddy can join you in the multiplayer lobby and give you treasures that you may not have yet and help you level up and defeat your enemies. North America thankfully has the first game seeing as it may be very hard to get the sequel out here.
2) Yakuza 1 & 2 and Yakuza 5 – released in Japan on December 6, 2012, Yakuza 1 & 2 released in Japan on August 8, 2013
The Yakuza games are generally localized a few months after their release in Japan, but the same fate will not meet Yakuza 5. Instead of localizing the game like The Yakuza Studio team usually does, they dove headfirst into Yakuza Restoration instead. Studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi said that with the size of the studio being limited, they had to decide between localizing a game that just came out or making a new one to sell on the PS3 and PS4. They opted to make Restoration instead, though he did say that if they ever had the man power and the money, they’d localize Yakuza 5. The HD collection however will most likely never make it to the states, the sales have been very poor in Japan for the Wii U exclusive. So unless the HD collection gets a sales shot in the arm or the Yakuza Studio gets more money and man power, we won’t be seeing these over here in the near future.
1) Mother 3 – released in Japan on April 20, 2006
Mother 3 in Japan or Earthound 2 in America was released in Japan on the GameBoy Advance handheld system. The game was written by series creator Shigesato Itoi who planned on making this the final game in the trilogy. This incarnation though doesnt have fan favorites Ness and hit motley crew, but instead focuses on a new group of characters set one thousand years after the events of Earthbound. Seeing as this is a huge cult favorite in the states and people have been begging for this to be localized, it’s a mystery why Nintendo and Itoi won’t translate the game to make a nice 3DS cartridge with all three Mother/Earthbound games on it. Many gamers would line up for this midnight release, this writer included.
What are some of the games that you would like to see localized if they are absent from this list? Sound off in the comments.
[…] came out in Japan in 2008, exclusively for the Wii. Yet despite various hints and rumours, the game was never localised for the West. 2012 saw another Wii exclusive for the franchise, this time a remake of Fatal Frame 2. Unlike […]