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[Reveirg]

It seems like PSP Type-0 was not the only time S-E sat on a fully translated game.

Michael Christopher Koji-Fox just revealed, during the FFXIV: ARR lore panel, that he had entirely translated Code Age Commanders before being told the game would not release outside Japan.

For those who are not familiar with this game, it was part of a big push by S-E to establish a new IP. A mobile game (Code Age Brawls) as well as a PS2 RPG (Code Age Commanders) were released in Japan.

Yusuke Naora was in charge of developing this new IP. He acted as producer, co-writer and art director.

Commanders was not received quite well in Japan, despite boasting a nice look, as can be seen in this trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_RnDYrcXok

 

[SerTapTap]

Hearing about this stuff is physically painful and why I absolutely loathe all publishing industries.

 

[Foffy]

Ugh, hate when this shit happens.

Considering the state of downloadable games from previous generations, couldn't they consider to release it on such a service? I mean, all they could possibly do is make money on it instead of it being left in purgatory.

 

[Reveirg]

Ugh, hate when this shit happens.

Considering the state of downloadable games from previous generations, couldn't they consider to release it on such a service? I mean, all they could possibly do is make money on it instead of it being left in purgatory.

I assume the programming part of the localization was not done/complete. If that's the case, I doubt this will ever happen.

 

[Ridley327]

I assume the programming part of the localization was not done/complete. If that's the case, I doubt this will ever happen.

More importantly, the game flopped right out the gate in Japan, so I imagine Squenix just doesn't want to revisit a past failure.

There are definitely games out there that have been fully localized into English that could fit that criteria. Considering the fanbase, I'm still amazed Nintendo has never released Earth Bound (Earthbound Zero, that is), even though all the work has been done for over 20 years now.

 

[Triple Da G.O.D!]

I assume the programming part of the localization was not done/complete. If that's the case, I doubt this will ever happen.

Regardless though, watching that trailer has me intrigued. I'll have to check this out. Thanks for sharing!

 

[GloriousBagel]

Whaaa??? This game has peaked my interest. Man what a waste.

 

[Reveirg]

Regardless though, watching that trailer has me intrigued. I'll have to check this out. Thanks for sharing!

I picked up a japanese copy for ~10$ on eBay recently. The game's really cheap but I'm not sure how easy it is to play without any japanese knowledge, haven't tried it yet.

 

[Takao]

Ugh, hate when this shit happens.

Considering the state of downloadable games from previous generations, couldn't they consider to release it on such a service? I mean, all they could possibly do is make money on it instead of it being left in purgatory.

They'd have to do a new port as I doubt you can get new PS2 games out from Sony. I can't see Square Enix doing that for such an obscure game.

 

[wrowa]

Talking about lesser known Square Enix games, I'd also love to get my hands on Sigma Harmonics. That one looked pretty cool on the DS. But even fan translators apparently aren't able to mess with its text.

 

[18-Volt]

Nintendo did same thing too. ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat was supposed to be fully translated but never released.

But seriously, I thought Code Age Commanders has already been released in west. There had been previews of it back then.

 

[Ridley327]

Nintendo did same thing too. ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat was supposed to be fully translated but never released.

But seriously, I thought Code Age Commanders has already been released in west. There had been previews of it back then.

I don't think it's ever been confirmed if the localization was complete when Nintendo pulled the plug on it, but it did get as far as an ESRB submission.

 

[uncredited male]

I will deal unless I hear about a bunch of their SNES games being translated and not being released as well.

 

[Dali]

I actually remember this game and the push. Crazy it was never released.

 

[Reveirg]

I actually remember this game and the push. Crazy it was never released.

While we're digging in S-E's vaults, do you remember Ambrosia Odyssey?

 

[Slime]

Oh my god, I remember showing a video of this to my friend like 9 years ago and really really wanting it. Then I completely forgot what it was called and it's been driving me nuts ever since.

No wonder I never heard about it again.

 

[ponpo]

I've played some of this. I thought it was half good and half terrible and I think the 'good' part was only from it being something new.

It reminded me a bit of Phantasy Star and the soundtrack was good but I think the game itself was poo.

 

[Reveirg]

I've played some of this. I thought it was half good and half terrible and I think the 'good' part was only from it being something new.

It reminded me a bit of Phantasy Star and the soundtrack was good but I think the game itself was poo.

Is it anything like Dawn of Mana? Kinda looks like it. I just "played" through that one, terrible game.

 

[ponpo]

Is it anything like Dawn of Mana? Kinda looks like it. I just "played" through that one, terrible game.

Have never played that but looking at videos, maybe barely. The look of the 'gameplay' seems similar when looking at it generally but that might be where the similarities end.

 

[Oregano]

I don't think it's ever been confirmed if the localization was complete when Nintendo pulled the plug on it, but it did get as far as an ESRB submission.

I might have it wrong but I think someone asked Sakaguchi about when TLS was coming out and he said it was a mutual decision because the quality wasn't what they had hoped.

More on topic: Code Age Commander was the first game directed by Toshiyuki Itahana(I think so anyway), Crystal Bearers was the second. Not sure he will get to direct a third.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

It was a pretty big failure in Japan as far as I know, and a shitty game to boot.

Surprised to hear it had been fully translated though.

 

[Femmeworth]

Sounds like only the script had been translated and not that they had touched the code, which isn't entirely the same case as Type-0.

 

[Ridley327]

I might have it wrong but I think someone asked Sakaguchi about when TLS was coming out and he said it was a mutual decision because the quality wasn't what they had hoped.

More on topic: Code Age Commander was the first game directed by Toshiyuki Itahana(I think so anyway), Crystal Bearers was the second. Not sure he will get to direct a third.

Quality of the localization, or the game in general? ASH definitely has a reputation of getting quickly swept under the rug when anyone talks about Mistwalker's output, so maybe they had second thoughts after it floundered in Japan.

 

[Oregano]

Quality of the localization, or the game in general? ASH definitely has a reputation of getting quickly swept under the rug when anyone talks about Mistwalker's output, so maybe they had second thoughts after it floundered in Japan.

I think the game. I imagine it was localised by Treehouse.

EDIT: I can't find a source anyway. Maybe I dreamt it up.:S

 

[DMiz]

Memory serves, the reception to the game was lukewarm; it was lauded for having amazing art direction and setting, but it didn't follow through and was ultimately forgotten.

It's so strange how that all went down, too: the game was originally marketed as being the new 'arm' for S-E (alongside Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Kingdom Hearts) but it never held on. There was also other multi-media franchises tied with it - manga, several 'side titles' to be released in a staggered schedule, and a cell phone game, which I believe was better received but, being a cell-phone game, had limited appeal and marketability - but, alas.

I don't think we're missing out on anything here, to be honest; you can YouTube some gameplay footage and see that it really is basically a somewhat quirkier version of Kingdom Hearts and, on some level, Dawn of Mana. It is gorgeous, though:

 

[BLCKATK]

Dude, I remember seeing footage of this game on Cinematec (or whatever it was called) on G4 back in the day and being very interested in this game. Sucks it was never brought over.

 

[vagabondarts]

This pisses me off. I was really hoping to play this game back then.

Why fully translate a game and not release it?

I love Unlimited Saga but we got that instead of this. Just think of that.....

 

[DangerMouse]

Yeah, I don't remember where but I also vaguely remember seeing something from this and being interested in it back then.

 

[Sinople]

And nothing of value was lost.
It's a good looking but really forgettable game.

 

[davepoobond]

i cant believe that it isnt at least worth releasing digitally. it would cost almost nothing to distribute at this point, wouldn't it?

 

[DMiz]

i cant believe that it isnt at least worth releasing digitally. it would cost almost nothing to distribute at this point, wouldn't it?

There's probably still the issue of paying Sony any necessary fees for putting the game on the store, and definitely some porting work in order to ensure that it runs properly. It's definitely not something that can be done for little to no money.

Furthermore, the fans aren't really clamoring for it, and the fans that have played it usually say that the game isn't worth seeking out. That doesn't really have the most effective marketing message to recoup the said costs mentioned above.

 

[KojiKnight]

i cant believe that it isnt at least worth releasing digitally. it would cost almost nothing to distribute at this point, wouldn't it?

The text was translated, but none of the programming aspects of that translation were likely completed. You can't simply translate text and shove it over the Japanese text. You have to reprogram large portions of the dialogue system mostly because Japanese text takes up less screen space.

There is also the matter of localizing any of the voice work or subtitling all of the cutscenes, etc.

 

[davepoobond]

There's probably still the issue of paying Sony any necessary fees for putting the game on the store, and definitely some porting work in order to ensure that it runs properly. It's definitely not something that can be done for little to no money.

Furthermore, the fans aren't really clamoring for it, and the fans that have played it usually say that the game isn't worth seeking out. That doesn't really have the most effective marketing message to recoup the said costs mentioned above.

The text was translated, but none of the programming aspects of that translation were likely completed. You can't simply translate text and shove it over the Japanese text. You have to reprogram large portions of the dialogue system mostly because Japanese text takes up less screen space.

There is also the matter of localizing any of the voice work or subtitling all of the cutscenes, etc.

Well, of course. The point is that it is much less prohibitive nowadays I would think to release back catalog games and even if you have a team spending at most 100 to 200k or something programming the translations in, you're bound to make the money back if you port it over to PC and PlayStation marketplaces.

Obviously each product had its own economics behind it, but having multiple low cost releases coming out throughout the year that are mostly already developed should be something more viable through digital-only distribution.

 

[Dali]

While we're digging in S-E's vaults, do you remember Ambrosia Odyssey?

That's new to me. There was a huge push the franchise the OP mentioned though.

 

[Ridley327]

Well, of course. The point is that it is much less prohibitive nowadays I would think to release back catalog games and even if you have a team spending at most 100 to 200k or something programming the translations in, you're bound to make the money back if you port it over to PC and PlayStation marketplaces.

Obviously each product had its own economics behind it, but having multiple low cost releases coming out throughout the year that are mostly already developed should be something more viable through digital-only distribution.

I imagine that the opportunity cost just isn't there. Look at how many people in this thread alone forgot about this game, and we're more clued into this stuff than most places out there.

 

[DMiz]

Well, of course. The point is that it is much less prohibitive nowadays I would think to release back catalog games and even if you have a team spending at most 100 to 200k or something programming the translations in, you're bound to make the money back if you port it over to PC and PlayStation marketplaces.

Obviously each product had its own economics behind it, but having multiple low cost releases coming out throughout the year that are mostly already developed should be something more viable through digital-only distribution.

It's less prohibitive, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's profitable.

I mean, compare how quickly this thread has grown compared to a thread for, say, FF Type-0. There is almost zero interest on a gaming-enthusiast forum - this means that Square would also have to spend money on marketing to get word of mouth out to try to convince people to play this game, which is a PS2 game (when we're already playing on PS4s).

If they want the game to be relevant to the mainstream, then, they'd have to go for an HD remaster... which is even more money for a game that is ostensibly not very good and has no interest.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Wikipedia has a decent overview of this game:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Age_Commanders:_Tsugu_Mono_Tsuga_Reru_Mono

The setting was a Dyson sphere, sorta like Terranigma's underworld or FFXIII's Cocoon.

Remember how Yoichi Wada was pushing his concept of "polymorphic content" all the time back then? Compilation of FFVII, World of Mana, Crystal Chronicles, Code Age, Ivalice Alliance, etc. were all polymorphic content projects. But Code Age was the only original one, not based on an existing franchise.

The development team even had a proper name: "Warhead" (a part of Akitoshi Kawazu's Product Development Division-2). Imagine if the game had been a success. Naora would likely be a top producer by now, spearheading big projects like Nomura and Tabata. I would have loved to see more Naora-produced games. His ideas for "Seventeen: Angelic Impact X Devil's Shock", the game concept that became Final Fantasy X, were pretty cool:

Toshiyuki Itahana, the director of Code Age Commanders, would probably have directed more games too. Poor Itahana had to endure the failure of the Code Age project AND whatever happened during the long-ass development of The Crystal Bearers that resulted in a subpar game that almost killed the Crystal Chronicles franchise.

 

[Foffy]

I don't think it's ever been confirmed if the localization was complete when Nintendo pulled the plug on it, but it did get as far as an ESRB submission.

I believe someone on GAF admitted to playing a build of the localized version, which may or may not have had localized voices. I also believe something similar applied to Soma Bringer, minus the voice acting.

Funny how the hacking scene got those games in English for us instead.

 

[Ridley327]

I believe someone on GAF admitted to playing a build of the localized version, which may or may not have had localized voices. I also believe something similar applied to Soma Bringer, minus the voice acting.

Funny how the hacking scene got those games in English for us instead.

Never underestimate the abilities for hardcore fans to make games playable in English. Where there's a will, there's a way.

 

[DMiz]

I would have loved to see more Naora-produced games. His ideas for "Seventeen: Angelic Impact X Devil's Shock", the game concept that became Final Fantasy X, were pretty cool:

.

... This is amazing. Is that a flying angel baby?!

It's also good to know that Square has always used crazy names for internal projects.

 

[Sakujou]

More importantly, the game flopped right out the gate in Japan, so I imagine Squenix just doesn't want to revisit a past failure.

There are definitely games out there that have been fully localized into English that could fit that criteria. Considering the fanbase, I'm still amazed Nintendo has never released Earth Bound (Earthbound Zero, that is), even though all the work has been done for over 20 years now.

I assume the programming part of the localization was not done/complete. If that's the case, I doubt this will ever happen.

Releasing a fully translated game? I seriously wonder why square Enix wouldn't do that.

This is just nuts and back then, games like Katamari were also released I doubt that they cancelled so many games based on poor sales. And of course there are also games out there which sell more in the West than in Japan, right? So I don't get it... Why not publishing that game if all the work is done?