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[Parakeetman]

*Updated 07/26/2014

#1:

Q: What type of game is this?

A: Its a first person dungeon crawler, based off of the Wizardry Xth series. This company Experience Inc. / Team Muramasa, first person dungeon crawlers is pretty much all they make.

#2:

Q: Im new to dungeon crawlers should I buy this game?

A: Have not had hands on with the game yet, but have played the previous titles in the series, so would imagine the design is very similar to the Xth / Cross Blood series. Will update this answer when the game comes out on the 24th. If you want something that has been released in the West by the same company check out "Demon Gaze". Click on the name to go to the |OT| for that game.

#3:

Q: Does this work on a "Western" VITA?

A: Yep the physical version should work just fine. Digital also as long as you have a JPSN account to download with. Though you will need JPSN point cards also if you do plan on doing a digital purchase through the JPSN.

#4:

Q: Do I need to know Japanese to play this game?

A: Not exactly, but at the same time it would help or else you wouldnt know what the skill / item effects are. On top of missing out on the story. But if you just want a dungeon crawler to play by all means import away.

#5:

Q: Any word on localization for the West?

Nippon Ichi Software America will be doing the localization for the US on June 9th 2015 and in Europe June 6th 2015.

#6:

Q: Does this game have any connection to other series?

A: Yes its connected to the XTH series, which also includes Cross Blood. Tokyo New World Record: Operation Abyss is supposed to take place before Cross Blood.

Contains Swimsuit Character DLC. Click on the following below to view.


Artbook

There is some other "early bird" bonus stuff also, but didnt have time to do up the graphics for it. Its the "Chaos;Head Noah" character download. Among 2 other things.
And the Game Cart itself. If you want to see what it looks like. Scroll down to my next post after this one. Have photos there showing how massive it is.

The Famitsu Dark Hero Portrait DLC comes out in the 07/24 Weekly Famitsu magazine.
6 different portraits each with 3 color variations.

http://www.amiami.com/
http://www.nippon-yasan.com/
http://www.play-asia.com/
*Disclaimer: Neither GAF nor myself has any sort of affiliation with the following sites above. These are just the most common ones members frequently speak of when it comes to online import shops and these links are for the convenience of the members who are still interested in importing the Japanese or Asian version of the game. Mods if you feel this is inappropriate let me know and will remove this section.

Thanks goes out to Experience Inc. for the resources used to make up the graphics in this OT along with Font.
*Disclaimer: I Have no official affiliation to Experience Inc.

Special Thanks goes out to my close friend who helped assist with the all the translations which helped take a huge load off of my back with my current work schedule. Thanks for the great work! Also thanks to all of those who pitched in with the opinion in regards to which "Title" image they prefered. Went with the majority of the votes and thank you all for taking time out to answer the PMs!

*For those curious the image below is the other OT Title Image that went unused.

 

[Parakeetman]

As always clickable images lead to either larger images or more information. The Male / Female symbols in the class section will show you the male or female graphic. The "BC" icon stands for Blood Code and shows you the class Blood Code information.

Saving a space below JIC.

PT2 in regards to questions folks may have after viewing the new recorded gameplay footage. (this was posted on the 2nd page but brought it up to the front and please excuse that the formatting is reversed from the original FAQ)

• You have so many character portraits!
  

  These are all DLC contents from the following.
  1 from the Limited Edition (Swimsuit Heroines) #17-22
  1 from the Famitsu Game Magazine (Dark Hero Pack) #23-28
  1 from First Print Bonus (CHAOS; HEAD NOAH) #29-34

• Where is the Monk and Summoner? I didnt see them when you were scrolling through the portrait images.
  

  They are not available from the start of the game.

• Do you really have to reroll so many times to get the highest possible number for stats point allocation?
  

  Not really but it does make things easier. If you really are hardcore do what I do sometimes when I do a second playthrough and roll only once per character.

• What does the extra text for personality do after you pick your alignment?
  

  Apparently nothing, its just "flavor text" that will show up sometimes in battle. Does not really have any impact on the actual game itself as far as I know.

• Reused monster graphics
  

  This really isnt all that uncommon for Experience Inc. nor is it a unique situation for them, Starfish and ZeroDiv are 2 other well known devs within the genre who do the same. Am certain it is done to help cut production costs as they are a small studio and not a massive dev house with huge financial backing from a publisher. Generally all the fans of the company are used to this and dont seem to mind that much as long as the actual game content itself is enjoyable.

• Reused graphics, sound effects, tile set for dungeon.
  

  Same answer as above.

• Character art for characters in game vs. character art for character portraits look different?
  

  With the DLC ones aside, for the main vanilla game there are 2 different artists working on character design. Kurosawa Tetsu クロサワテツ and Oxijiyen 沖史慈 宴（おきしじえん）

• There is no MP for magic?
  

  Magic is by the old system of allocated points per magic level. Not standard MP. What that means is the following example of a Wizards lv 1 spell tier below.
  
  3 - Fire, Wind, Avoid Down
  
  You have 3 points to use in all of those lv 1 spells. Once that runs out you need to go back to HQ to recover the MP said number of points per level increases as your character gets advances in levels.

• Combat seems simple.
  

  For the time being it may seem that way since its the start of the game, but later on things will ramp up a bit. Also a separate issue in the point below explains another combat related feature.

• You cant target individual targets in a group. Example target Monster #1 in Monster Group A .
  

  Game has you targeting groups instead of individual targets, then the AI decides on what gets hit apparently.

• Why do you have no class skills?
  

  Those come into play later on a lot of the classes gain skills from lv 7.

• Characters are not leveling up in the dungeon map?
  

  To level up you need to return to HQ and allow your characters to rest in the medical facility which costs money. This is the older type of leveling system that Wizardry used.

• What is that numbered Gauge in the upper left corner of the screen which seems to fill up more and more as you fight?
  

  It shows the added strength of monsters in the dungeon, the more you fight the more the gauge fills up. The higher it is the more levels will be potentially added to the monsters in the dungeon. Very simple pros and cons of this below.
  
  Pros: More Exp / Money / Better item drops.
  Cons: Chance to get totally roflstomped also rises.
  
  The level of this meter is also saved when you exit the dungeon which will bring us to the next question.

• How do you decrease the level of the gauge if leaving the dungeon does not reset it?
  

  Successfully running from battles will drop the gauges level by 1. Also the less desirable solution is if your party wipes the gauge is totally reset back to 0.

• Dungeons look a bit bare?
  

  Its just the way this particular game was designed. This series was one of Experience's first titles when they went off on their own after Michaelsoft folded.

• Why are some items in red text during the item creating / powering up video?
  

  Red text means that you dont meet the level req for the particular item. Level req shown in upper left side I think it was.

• I dont understand all of the things listed in the item details.
  

  That has always been the games weak point is the item descriptions are a bit of a mess. If folks were having trouble with the simple and fairly easy to understand Demon Gaze item details, I have a feeling they will be crying over this one. The scrolling text at the bottom too which is supposed to be the "description" doesnt help also due to how small the scrolling text section is. They should have just made a separate window to switch to that had all the description text.

(these "should" work...)

*Now on Sale! These were taken from tweets the producer Chikami-san received.

Also this is what the LE looks like (Soundtrack not included)

 

[CrovaxPSO]

Another great looking OT. Super excited for this and can't wait for the LE to arrive. I think I'll probably use the new portraits even though I think they're keeping the "classic" character creator as well, since the UI looks so good with the new stuff.

 

[Lucentto]

Game looks great. I want it, NISA pls.

 

[Parakeetman]

Another great looking OT. Super excited for this and can't wait for the LE to arrive. I think I'll probably use the new portraits even though I think they're keeping the "classic" character creator as well, since the UI looks so good with the new stuff.

Thanks! Yeah Ill do a run with the updated artwork, then for a second one might switch to the original art lol.

Most def want to get a clear data made though to get ready for Cross Blood Infinity Unlimited as from what I understand the save data from this game will net you something.

Game looks great. I want it, NISA pls.

Seeing how its the same art team as Demon Gaze Id imagine NISA would be going after this title with how successful Demon Gaze was. At least Id hope thats what they are planning.

 

[LMN]

Subscribed! You just keep rocking on OT as always, Parakeetman =), Since I enjoyed Demon Gaze, I can't wait to hear more impression on this one too.

NISA, don't think, just do it

 

[Quixzlizx]

I'm not willing to buy/play an untranslated RPG, but I'll definitely be on this if it is licensed.

 

[Parakeetman]

Subscribed! You just keep rocking on OT as always, Parakeetman =), Since I enjoyed Demon Gaze, I can't wait to hear more impression on this one too.

NISA, don't think, just do it

Thanks the praise is much appreciated! Really am looking forward to this game. Even more so since its portable which means Ill be able to bring it to work with me. Its the one disadvantage of the 360 version of Stranger of Sword City which made me D:

The wait is going to be long for the Vita version of that one... Really hope we hear something about it at the TGS.

 

[yaffi]

Very nicely done OT.

The vita really is dungeon crawler heaven.

 

[djplaeskool]

DRPG GOOOOOOOOoooooo

Parakeetman, please continue doing god's work and making these import OTs.
Getting this and UNiB next week.

 

[Parakeetman]

Very nicely done OT.

The vita really is dungeon crawler heaven.

Thanks! Sure does seem to be going that direction lol. Really hope that Dungeon Travelers 2 does well so that they will make a third title on the Vita. Granted that game is a huge fanservice mess it has one of the more challenging dungeon crawling experience around. All thats missing from the party of the usual "Wizardry" type of game developers is Starfish.

DRPG GOOOOOOOOoooooo

Parakeetman, please continue doing god's work and making these import OTs.
Getting this and UNiB next week.

Thanks man much appreciated!

 

[Verelios]

Great OT Parakeetman! Loving this title and hope to get this sometime next year. Though I could also import it, but my Japanese is basic-basic.

Wonder how hard the game is.

 

[Parakeetman]

Great OT Parakeetman! Loving this title and hope to get this sometime next year. Though I could also import it, but my Japanese is basic-basic.

Wonder how hard the game is.

Thanks!

If they kept the design the same as the other XTH games / Cross Blood it shouldnt be too bad. In the previous games once you get kitted out proper things get a bit easier. Though am curious to see if they changed things up difficulty wise for this title in particular, since it looks like they are trying to reboot the series with this title.

---

I just realized I should have made the product information text white... also forgot that I have images which can be used as avatars. Will have to put them up later. I forgot what the GAF size specs were...

 

[mrjohill]

Parakeetman, you doing God's work man lol

 

[Shizuka]

I'm going on a limb and say that this would be the one EXP DRPG that'd fit my taste the best, even though I loved the fuck out of Demon Gaze. I really hope NISA localizes this game, even if Demon Gaze didn't set the world on fire for them.

 

[CrovaxPSO]

Great OT Parakeetman! Loving this title and hope to get this sometime next year. Though I could also import it, but my Japanese is basic-basic.

Wonder how hard the game is.

My Japanese is also relatively basic, and mostly conversational. I'll assume this game will be pretty similar to Cross Blood Infinity, so I'll use that as a reference. There are a lot more menus in that game compared to Demon Gaze, with more complicated words/kanji. I mostly had trouble figuring out the specifics of the blood code stuff during character creation. Luckily the official site for this game lists the corresponding blood code for each class. I also thought that it was significantly more difficult early on compared to Demon Gaze, but once your characters get a few levels and some new items, regular battles were much more manageable but there were some bosses that took several tries for me to beat. Overall it was more difficult than Demon Gaze on higher settings, but not THAT much more difficult.

 

[Parakeetman]

I'm going on a limb and say that this would be the one EXP DRPG that'd fit my taste the best, even though I loved the fuck out of Demon Gaze. I really hope NISA localizes this game, even if Demon Gaze didn't set the world on fire for them.

Wat? Demon Gaze apparently did quite well from them considering. Where did you hear otherwise?

Parakeetman, you doing God's work man lol

Thanks man! At least now I dont have anything to worry about for the rest of the month OT wise. Next month is another story. D: I actually wanted to do that Lost Dimension game, but dont want to overload myself. So if no one else does anything with it, might just do a simple impression thread.

 

[Parakeetman]

My Japanese is also relatively basic, and mostly conversational. I'll assume this game will be pretty similar to Cross Blood Infinity, so I'll use that as a reference. There are a lot more menus in that game compared to Demon Gaze, with more complicated words/kanji. I mostly had trouble figuring out the specifics of the blood code stuff during character creation. Luckily the official site for this game lists the corresponding blood code for each class. I also thought that it was significantly more difficult early on compared to Demon Gaze, but once your characters get a few levels and some new items, regular battles were much more manageable but there were some bosses that took several tries for me to beat. Overall it was more difficult than Demon Gaze on higher settings, but not THAT much more difficult.

Click on the BT icon in the "Class" section of the OT. Will have the general information for the Blood Code there, which includes what bonus stats you will get from choosing between the two Blood Codes for a specific Class.

 

[vagabondarts]

Amazing OT!!!

I hope it sells great so that it comes out in America.

Will preorder a physical copy if it does.
Eager to hear all the impressions in this thread

 

[Bassmastergeneral]

Thank you for making this thread, and drpg threads in general! I have had this preordered for awhile but didn't realize it was coming so soon. Really looking forward to it.

 

[CrovaxPSO]

Click on the BT icon in the "Class" section of the OT. Will have the general information for the Blood Code there, which includes what bonus stats you will get from choosing between the two Blood Codes for a specific Class.

Haha, the one thing I didn't click on in the OT. Very cool that you got those translated as well. That should really lower the barrier of entry for anyone who doesn't want to wait for localization, since it seemed to me that picking the wrong blood code could really make things tough early on.

 

[Parakeetman]

Amazing OT!!!

I hope it sells great so that it comes out in America.

Will preorder a physical copy if it does.
Eager to hear all the impressions in this thread

Thanks man!

As mentioned before Id really like to think that NISA has this secured already for the US.
If not folks can tweet this OT to them to remind them about the game lol.

Man if there was one thing Id really want is a poster of this game and Stranger of Sword City. Its too bad they dont sell the actual official game posters. D:

Haha, the one thing I didn't click on in the OT. Very cool that you got those translated as well. That should really lower the barrier of entry for anyone who doesn't want to wait for localization, since it seemed to me that picking the wrong blood code could really make things tough early on.

Argh I just realized I called it BT instead of BC lol. Yeah if you pick the wrong ones most def you are going to have a bad time... Only have so much space, which is why in general Im sticking to the style of clickable images to take folks to more information. Had started that as an idea with the Sword Art Online OT initially and found it to be pretty useful. Though just need to keep reminding folks about some of the images are actually links.

Thank you for making this thread, and drpg threads in general! I have had this preordered for awhile but didn't realize it was coming so soon. Really looking forward to it.

Its one of the few genres these days that I play. That and am a collector of them in general. Its just good to see other fans of the genre around.

 

[Shizuka]

Wat? Demon Gaze apparently did quite well from them considering. Where did you hear otherwise?

6k at retail in the US is not "quite well". That's the only concrete info we have so far.

 

[CrovaxPSO]

6k at retail in the US is not "quite well". That's the only concrete info we have so far.

Experience recently said that Demon Gaze had sold 200k units worldwide and I think that was even before the release of the Global Edition in Japan. It did very well in Japan (~25k first week for the original release) but I don't think it could have done 200k with such low sales in the US (and EU). When they said it sold that much, my first thought was that it must have done really well here. I definitely could be wrong and maybe it really did keep selling a ton in Japan.

 

[Parakeetman]

6k at retail in the US is not "quite well". That's the only concrete info we have so far.

From their online sales of the LE version it all sold out and not quite sure what the number of those were.

It also depends on how many total copies they had and knowing them I doubt that they went and produced such a huge number which would have put them in the red. Seeing how they have kept in the industry being a niche publisher am pretty sure that they made out just fine. Since from what I understand it sold better than they expected.

 

[Shizuka]

Experience recently said that Demon Gaze had sold 200k units worldwide and I think that was even before the release of the Global Edition in Japan. It did very well in Japan (~25k first week for the original release) but I don't think it could have done 200k with such low sales in the US (and EU). When they said it sold that much, my first thought was that it must have done really well here. I definitely could be wrong and maybe it really did keep selling a ton in Japan.

They never said it had sold 200k. They said that the game (original + the best + latest worldwide release) had shipped (plus digital copies sold) 200k. We don't know how many copies are still floating on the market, across those three versions, and around the world.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

I swear that header image makes it look like the blonde is flying and has a brunette growing out of her elbow

 

[Shizuka]

I swear that header image makes it look like the blonde is flying and has a brunette growing out of her elbow

Floating without a destination over Sakura Tokyo.

 

[ZeroAKA]

Great job on the OT

Spoiler

as usual

! I'm going to Japan in a few weeks, still trying to decide whether I want to pick this up while I'm there.

 

[Parakeetman]

Great job on the OT

Spoiler

as usual

! I'm going to Japan in a few weeks, still trying to decide whether I want to pick this up while I'm there.

Thanks! you might as well save yourself on shipping costs lol

 

[CrovaxPSO]

The official site was just updated with the first DLC, the "Dark Hero Portrait" set from Famitsu. They look pretty cool, I wish the Vita supported multiple accounts.

http://opabyss.jp/information/famitsu.php

 

[cj_iwakura]

Also worth noting that Xth, *cough*, has a fan translation.

This looks a lot like it, though, which is great.

 

[Parakeetman]

Also worth noting that Xth, *cough*, has a fan translation[/url].

This looks a lot like it, though, which is great.

Sorry but I dont support fan teanslations nor will I write about them in any threads I do.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Sorry but I dont support fan teanslations nor will I write about them in any threads I do.

That's a strange outlook to have, but since you import, I don't expect it means as much to you.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

Despite all the effort that went into the OP, I still have no fucking idea what the actual game looks like.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Despite all the effort that went into the OP, I still have no fucking idea what the actual game looks like.

Did you try clicking the big happy demon with 'Media' slapped over it?

 

[Parakeetman]

The official site was just updated with the first DLC, the "Dark Hero Portrait" set from Famitsu. They look pretty cool, I wish the Vita supported multiple accounts.

http://opabyss.jp/information/famitsu.php

very cool ill have to update the thread when i get home. really hope stranger gets new portraits too for the other races on the vita ver

 

[CrovaxPSO]

very cool ill have to update the thread when i get home. really hope stranger gets new portraits too for the other races on tge vita ver

Yeah, some of them don't have many options. It would be nice to get some more to even things out.

Amiami emailed me saying they weren't able to secure enough copies of the LE for my pre-order, so I switched to Amazon.co.jp. I'll be paying a little more, which isn't such a big deal, but now I'll have to wait a few more days while Tenso handles things

 

[Parakeetman]

Yeah, some of them don't have many options. It would be nice to get some more to even things out.

Amiami emailed me saying they weren't able to secure enough copies of the LE for my pre-order, so I switched to Amazon.co.jp. I'll be paying a little more, which isn't such a big deal, but now I'll have to wait a few more days while Tenso handles things

im surprised amazon still had copies! glad to hear you managed to secure one though. mine from sofmap with the soundtrack seems to have shipped yesterday but am not sure if it will show up early or just be sitting in the shipping facility till launch. got a normal edition from amazon too.

 

[CrovaxPSO]

im surprised amazon still had copies! glad to hear you managed to secure one though. mine from sofmap with the soundtrack seems to have shipped yesterday but am not sure if it will show up early or just be sitting in the shipping facility till launch. got a normal edition from amazon too.

I thought about ordering from Sofmap for the soundtrack, but I don't really want the tapestry and I was afraid it would make shipping way too high, plus the higher price anyway. That's why I ordered so late from Amiami, so I don't really blame them for having to cancel my order. Definitely was relieved to see Amazon still had it available.

Also, not really a surprise since Demon Gaze and Cross Blood Infinity had manuals, but nice to see that this will as well: https://twitter.com/CHIKAMI_EXP/status/491432615753170944

 

[Parakeetman]

Despite all the effort that went into the OP, I still have no fucking idea what the actual game looks like.

Those two vids in the media section is literally all I have to work with currently. Experience needs to work a bit more on their video side of things considering how little time it actually takes to make some footage in ones free time as while its uploading all you need to do is wait. Since the game comes out this week will be able to record footage and toss it up. Thats IF the damned thing works right out of the box with the PSV TV. Though it should since its already listed on compat titles for the PSV TV on the official Sony site.

Just found something, not the best but its still something. Though they are using the chaos head noah early bird special portraits. Am guessing they got it from their publisher since they are the ones who hold the rights to that series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbib7lVB7DQ

 

[Parakeetman]

I thought about ordering from Sofmap for the soundtrack, but I don't really want the tapestry and I was afraid it would make shipping way too high, plus the higher price anyway. That's why I ordered so late from Amiami, so I don't really blame them for having to cancel my order. Definitely was relieved to see Amazon still had it available.

Also, not really a surprise since Demon Gaze and Cross Blood Infinity had manuals, but nice to see that this will as well: https://twitter.com/CHIKAMI_EXP/status/491432615753170944

I really should make a twitter account, though i doubt id use it lol

Currently updating the OT with that special 07/24 Famitsu portrait DLC. Looks like that day Ill be using my keitai as a hotspot again with the vita in the office lol. I still remember downloading Freedom Wars that way. Dear god was that a stupid idea since almost went over my data limit.

 

[Fodder76]

Excited to hear how this turns out. Thanks for making these great OT's Parakeetman!

 

[names2hard4you]

This looks amazing, NISA bring this baby to us. You know we will buy it.

 

[Parakeetman]

Excited to hear how this turns out. Thanks for making these great OT's Parakeetman!

Yep my pleasure and thanks! Do think there will be lots of folks who got into Demon Gaze potentially importing this title so am sure there will be a decent selection of fellow members opinions to hear.

---

Just updated the OT with the 07-24 famitsu DLC thanks to CrovaxPSO for pointing it out and also added another video to the media section which shows some gameplay. Though dont worry about the portraits they are using its not the actual "official" one in terms of what originally comes with the game.

http://opabyss.jp/information/bonus.php

 

[ranmafan]

Nice OT! This game will be part of my big summer vacation game plans over the next month.

 

[Parakeetman]

Did you try clicking the big happy demon with 'Media' slapped over it?

unfortunately that is a pretty bad trailer lol. exp does need to work on their marketing in terms of media used. all the paid ads and articles are great but their videos need to show more meaningful content i think D:

ill see if i can make a screenshot section but those dont really help either...as most of the screenshots are pretty useless too

 

[Dorarnae]

Those two vids in the media section is literally all I have to work with currently. Experience needs to work a bit more on their video side of things considering how little time it actually takes to make some footage in ones free time as while its uploading all you need to do is wait. Since the game comes out this week will be able to record footage and toss it up. Thats IF the damned thing works right out of the box with the PSV TV. Though it should since its already listed on compat titles for the PSV TV on the official Sony site.

Just found something, not the best but its still something. Though they are using the chaos head noah early bird special portraits. Am guessing they got it from their publisher since they are the ones who hold the rights to that series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbib7lVB7DQ

just watched the video and this really seem to be a remake of Generation xth.
that dungeon, I remember that map hehe.

 

[Parakeetman]

just watched the video and this really seem to be a remake of Generation xth.
that dungeon, I remember that map hehe.

thats what early reports were saying that its a combination of the series being remade or something. will be interesting to see how it all plays out

♪ヽ(´▽&#65344/

 

[Parakeetman]

you guys are not going to believe how large the limited edition box is.

the size must be due to the art book

have the normal edition the le arrives later but saw the le box already