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[Varion]

What did the interview say? After Ao no Kiseki, are Falcom planning to leap straight into the next Kiseki game without a break? I do agree that would be a mistake; as much as I'm loving Trails in the Sky, I wouldn't want Falcom to get stuck in one series.

Nope.

All the interview says is that Mikage, ImageEpoch's CEO, likes Falcom's way of releasing at least one title a year, at the same time each year, and that he thinks it's a good model to follow. This isn't anything new, Falcom have been releasing a game every September for quite a while now. Sometimes they also release titles around April and in December as well, but the September slot has stayed consistent.

09/2006 Sora no Kiseki FC PSP
09/2007 Sora no Kiseki SC PSP
09/2008 Zwei 2
09/2009 Ys Seven
09/2010 Zero no Kiseki
09/2011 Ao no Kiseki

Not a single one of those is a bad game, and I've got no reason whatsoever to believe that the cycle will produce any bad games in the future. Yes, naturally they realise the Kiseki series is their biggest seller, but Ys Seven's sales were certainly not poor either, and they've never given any indication in any other interviews that they intend to somehow abandon all their other franchises. Just recently Ao's announcement came with word they're working on another title for the NGP launch, for one thing, and they briefly alluded to the future of the Ys series (no real details, though) in that Falcom Magazine issue 1 interview.

So yeah, you have no reason to worry.

 

[Aeana]

My point wasn't that those are bad games, but that if they keep churning them out so quickly, the potential is very high for the quality to suffer, and for brand burnout for the fans.

As for Ys, it hasn't been doing very well at all. Ys 7 underperformed, and the other Ys ports did very poorly.

 

[Grimmy]

Ys 7 sold 70,000 copies in Japan. Not too bad to me, although Zero no Kiseki did sell around 120,000. Previous Kiseki PSP entries seem to hover around 100,000.

 

[duckroll]

Here are the sales of Falcom's PSP titles to date, based on Media Create's tracking, accurate to the end of 2010.

SnK FC - 114,161
SnK FC (Best Collection) - 14,787
SnK SC - 92,954
SnK 3rd - 80,030
SnK Super Price Set - 28,298
ZnK - 126,007

Ys7 - 70,280
YsF - 30,218
YsC - 31,456

YsvsSnK - 44,220

Zwei!! - 16,581
Brandish - 15,920

It's pretty clear that Ys isn't anywhere close to the popularity the Kiseki series enjoys, and when ports of well received classic Ys titles sell about as much as a SnK 1-3 bundle (don't let the name fool you, it wasn't really budget price!) released after the original ports individually each sold much more than Ys7 itself, I think that says everything.

 

[Grimmy]

No Vantage Master?

 

[Aeana]

Vantage Master Portable - 22,097

 

[Grimmy]

More than Brandish? Surprising....
In fact, Brandish being the worst-selling Falcom PSP game is quite depressing

 

[Yuterald]

Whoa, Vantage did better than Zwei and Brandish!? Over the weekend I borrowed my friends custom firmware PSP to try out the JP versions of Zwei, Brandish, and Vantage. I really, really dug Zwei and Brandish from what I played, but Vantage seemed the least interesting to me. Now, that may be because it was the most unplayable due to the amount of text/tutorials it had and my inability to read it, but still. I am surprised at those numbers a bit.

On a side note, I've been contacting XSEED about all three of these games and they are aware and fans of all of three. I would honestly be content with getting just Zwei and Brandish. I hope they don't just consider sales numbers if they choose to localize one of the three.

 

[krYlon]

Vantage Master Online is great (and free and in english).
It's probably best to play that first so the portable version is easier to understand..

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

It's unfortunate (but not surprising) that Ys and any other non-Kiseki property haven't been that successful for Falcom. Still, as long as they keep putting out good games and don't completely forget about Ys and such, I'll continue to have faith in them.

 

[Augemitbutter]

brandish got a budget release too a few months ago.

it's actually the next falcom game i want to play, i hope they decide to localize it. i don't think it's too text heavy. the arranged soundtrack is godly btw.

 

[Ricker]

Wow I was lucky lol...doing the escort quest with the journalist and the photograph girl,Joshua died,I had nothing to revive him and one floor left,I go up,see a chest and it`s a Potluck chest item,an actual recipe that revives,would of been hard with only Estelle to finish the place(especially if you get surprised attacked) ...

 

[duckroll]

The popularity of the Kiseki series in comparison with Ys is pretty shocking really. Think about it, with just ports of the 3 Kiseki games, between releases and re-releases, if you count the Super Price Set as 3 unit sales per unit since it is essentially just the 3 games bundled in a pack, SnK1-3 has sold 400k on the PSP alone. ZnK has sold 126k so far.

Between 3 releases, one of which is a brand new numbered title for the PSP, the Ys series has sold 132k. That is a combined figure which has likely already been eclipsed by ZnK by now. Ys fans really need to stop being delusion, and look at the reality of what Falcom is facing. They are a small developer, and the same teams essentially work on both Kiseki and Ys games. Given how the consumers have responded, it makes sense for them to just keep pumping up Kiseki games as their main games, while releasing other lower budget original titles at the side.

I won't be surprised if we don't see Ys for another few years, while Falcom decides how they can make it popular again, since obviously no one gives a crap now.

 

[Pinko Marx]

Wow I was lucky lol...doing the escort quest with the journalist and the photograph girl,Joshua died,I had nothing to revive him and one floor left,I go up,see a chest and it`s a Potluck chest item,an actual recipe that revives,would of been hard with only Estelle to finish the place(especially if you get surprised attacked) ...

Would have.

Anyway, loving this game so far. The characters are awesome. Especially Oliver.

 

[Aeana]

The popularity of the Kiseki series in comparison with Ys is pretty shocking really. Think about it, with just ports of the 3 Kiseki games, between releases and re-releases, if you count the Super Price Set as 3 unit sales per unit since it is essentially just the 3 games bundled in a pack, SnK1-3 has sold 400k on the PSP alone. ZnK has sold 126k so far.

Between 3 releases, one of which is a brand new numbered title for the PSP, the Ys series has sold 132k. That is a combined figure which has likely already been eclipsed by ZnK by now. Ys fans really need to stop being delusion, and look at the reality of what Falcom is facing. They are a small developer, and the same teams essentially work on both Kiseki and Ys games. Given how the consumers have responded, it makes sense for them to just keep pumping up Kiseki games as their main games, while releasing other lower budget original titles at the side.

I won't be surprised if we don't see Ys for another few years, while Falcom decides how they can make it popular again, since obviously no one gives a crap now.

I think the way you're looking at it is silly, though. Falcom is a small developer, yes, but they do have more than one internal team and can work on more than one game at a time. They have always had a single franchise that was inordinately more popular than the rest - that franchise used to be Ys - and that did not stop them from making other games along the way. They will make a new Ys game, yes probably after re-evaluating the direction they should take it, although I still say it's about god damned time that they made their own version of Ys 4.

Right now, I expect they've got people on Ao no Kiseki and other people on their PSP2 launch title which is unlikely to be Kiseki-related, and probably isn't Ys-related either.

 

[SpaceDrake]

The popularity of the Kiseki series in comparison with Ys is pretty shocking really. Think about it, with just ports of the 3 Kiseki games, between releases and re-releases, if you count the Super Price Set as 3 unit sales per unit since it is essentially just the 3 games bundled in a pack, SnK1-3 has sold 400k on the PSP alone.

And it's worth remembering that for the SnK games, PSP sales count for less than half the series' total sales. And there's no way everyone who bought the PC version bought the PSP version too. (If anything, the sales of Zero seem to indicate there are some people holding out for PC versions of the Crossbell games.)

As much as I know some people want to see a new Ys game (and as Aeana pointed out, Falcom's always worked on titles aside from their "big" franchise of the time), it's really easy to see why Falcom is so invested in continuing Trails; there's a big, eager market there and Trails is a Big Deal in Japan at this point.

I actually do suspect that plenty of planning has gone into this and that they won't "go Activision", however; there was a three-year gap between Trails The Third and Zero no Kiseki, in which I suspect the entire "Crossbell plotline" was sketched out. I've got little worry about quality.

Oh, and for people wondering how awesome the music eventually gets? This is what you get in Zero.

 

[Grimmy]

The popularity of the Kiseki series in comparison with Ys is pretty shocking really. Think about it, with just ports of the 3 Kiseki games, between releases and re-releases, if you count the Super Price Set as 3 unit sales per unit since it is essentially just the 3 games bundled in a pack, SnK1-3 has sold 400k on the PSP alone. ZnK has sold 126k so far.

Between 3 releases, one of which is a brand new numbered title for the PSP, the Ys series has sold 132k. That is a combined figure which has likely already been eclipsed by ZnK by now. Ys fans really need to stop being delusion, and look at the reality of what Falcom is facing. They are a small developer, and the same teams essentially work on both Kiseki and Ys games. Given how the consumers have responded, it makes sense for them to just keep pumping up Kiseki games as their main games, while releasing other lower budget original titles at the side.

I won't be surprised if we don't see Ys for another few years, while Falcom decides how they can make it popular again, since obviously no one gives a crap now.

Sorry but that's pure overreaction.

1) 70k for Ys7 is hardly a disaster, especially since most likely it didn't cost as much as the Kiseki series to make (since the Kiseki series has such a detailed world and script). It's also not a blockbuster, but Ys is their flagship series, and it's silly to think that it's not gonna continue.

2) If the Kiseki games are their main series now, they would have called "Ys vs. Sora no Kiseki" "Sora no Kiseki vs. Ys". But obviously for Falcom the Ys brand continues to be very important for them and their recognition.

3) Overseas-wise, even though the sales are at best modest, but most likely the Ys games sell more than Trails in the Sky. And if Falcom wants to continue expanding overseas, they will need to make more Ys games.

4) How did you figure that Falcom only has one main team? It's actually clearly not the case. Otherwise how did Ys vs. Sora no Kiseki come out 2 months before Zero no Kiseki? Seems to me that they have one team for Ys, and one team for the Kiseki series. Or something approximate to that. Plus, one team is clearly working on an NGP game at the same time as Ao no Kiseki.

5) Didn't Falcom recently tweet about a grown-up version of a character from Ys V? Seems like they have something new brewing...

 

[Aveyn Knight]

5) Didn't Falcom recently tweet about a grown-up version of a character from Ys V? Seems like they have something new brewing...

That turned out to be Ys Nexus, a mobile social MMORPG.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Just made it into Grancel, with 42 hours on the clock. Everything's rapidly building towards the climax, but I still have no idea what that climax will be. I can't wait to find out!

Spoiler

This game does like turning seemingly sensible, kind-hearted allies into vile enemies. First the Ruan mayor, now Colonel Richard. I wonder if the Colonel is the one doing the brainwashing or if he will end up having been brainwashed as well.

 

[Attackthebase]

Here are the sales of Falcom's PSP titles to date, based on Media Create's tracking, accurate to the end of 2010.

SnK FC - 114,161
SnK FC (Best Collection) - 14,787
SnK SC - 92,954
SnK 3rd - 80,030
SnK Super Price Set - 28,298
ZnK - 126,007

Ys7 - 70,281
YsF - 30,218
YsC - 31,456

YsvsSnK - 44,220

Zwei!! - 16,581
Brandish - 15,920

:-D
So many quality games for me to play! Quite excited to start my vacation to become a true Falcom fan!

 

[Grimmy]

That turned out to be Ys Nexus, a mobile social MMORPG.

Ah, that makes sense. Still wondering what this "new series" Falcom talked about before is...

 

[Augemitbutter]

That turned out to be Ys Nexus, a mobile social MMORPG.

if mobile wasnt bad enough, they had to stack mmorpg on top of it for the extra kick in the nuts.

 

[Hours Left]

Just arrived at the final dungeon, and I'm approaching the 90 hour mark.

I love this game.

 

[Akainu]

Can someone tell me the size of this game? I looking into downloading it when psn is back up.

 

[SpaceDrake]

Can someone tell me the size of this game? I looking into downloading it when psn is back up.

The download is a hair over a gigabyte.

 

[Akainu]

The download is a hair over a gigabyte.

thanks

 

[duckroll]

Sorry but that's pure overreaction.

Facts are not an overreaction.

1) 70k for Ys7 is hardly a disaster, especially since most likely it didn't cost as much as the Kiseki series to make (since the Kiseki series has such a detailed world and script). It's also not a blockbuster, but Ys is their flagship series, and it's silly to think that it's not gonna continue.

I never said it was a disaster, just that it is far less profitable than Kiseki games now. As for the cost, don't be stupid. Falcom has the same 30-40 people working on all their main games. The cost of a game is hence has nothing to do with the amount of content in the game but rather how long it takes them to make it. A game being in development for 2 years would cost more than a game being in development for 1 year. It takes them about a year to make a Kiseki game, and it sells well over 100k.

Ys is no longer Falcom's flagship series, that is why for their 30th anniversary title, it is a new Kiseki game.

2) If the Kiseki games are their main series now, they would have called "Ys vs. Sora no Kiseki" "Sora no Kiseki vs. Ys". But obviously for Falcom the Ys brand continues to be very important for them and their recognition.

Doesn't matter what they call it. Most people bought the game because it had SnK characters, and a preview of ZnK. Not because of Ys.

3) Overseas-wise, even though the sales are at best modest, but most likely the Ys games sell more than Trails in the Sky. And if Falcom wants to continue expanding overseas, they will need to make more Ys games.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Lol.

4) How did you figure that Falcom only has one main team? It's actually clearly not the case. Otherwise how did Ys vs. Sora no Kiseki come out 2 months before Zero no Kiseki? Seems to me that they have one team for Ys, and one team for the Kiseki series. Or something approximate to that. Plus, one team is clearly working on an NGP game at the same time as Ao no Kiseki.

I "figure" that they only have one main team because I actually read game credits. It is clearly the case. Ys vs SnK is not a main game. It's a cheap side game. It's developed on the side while everyone is working on the main games. How many people do you think work at Falcom? Lol.

5) Didn't Falcom recently tweet about a grown-up version of a character from Ys V? Seems like they have something new brewing...

Falcom has also tweeted about having meetings with ImageEpoch! Maybe ImageEpoch is taking over Ys! Lulz

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Picked up all the Carnelia volumes. I'm glad I was following a guide, because some of them had extremely obtuse requirements to get.

On another note, I'm loving Joshua's second S-Break, Black Fang. It completely breaks all the battles I've used it in.

 

[Aeana]

Right now, you can answer surveys about various Falcom games and have a chance to win the Oath in Felghana JDK Special CD. I rushed to the Ys 7 one so I could let them know how I felt about that (they give you a space to write comments, which is cool), but I'll do all of them.

http://www.falcom.co.jp/falclub/open.html#quest

Speak, Falcom fans! Although I'm sure Japanese is better, you can probably get away with writing your comments in English, since Falcom seems to have at least a few people around the office who can understand it.

 

[Aeana]

I've finally made significant progress in the English version, nearing the end of the game, and I guess I should probably take back a lot of what I've said about the translation. I still have my gripes, but overall it really is better than I expected.

I was going to wait for the PC version of Zero no Kiseki to come out before I played it, but after hearing about the copy protection (constant online check) and censorship, I think I'll just jump on the PSP version right away. After reading some stuff about Ao, I want to finish Zero so I can get Ao on day one.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Finished the game today in 58 hours with max BP. I do not have enough superlatives to express my love of Trails in the Sky. There are few games as carefully and lovingly thought out as this one. Bravo, Falcom. Bravo.

Of course, bravo also to XSEED for taking on a localization task of this magnitude and doing an excellent job. I can't compare it to the original Japanese, but aside from the occasional typo and awkward NPC sentence, I have no problems with the translation. All of the main characters (and even some of the side ones!) have very well defined personalities; I feel as if these are flesh-and-blood people living in a real world. Estelle and Joshua are two of my favorite protagonists ever. Individually they're fascinating, and together they have very strong chemistry. I loved watching their relationship develop.

But here's what this game has done to me: I'm seriously considering importing SC despite only having the absolute basic knowledge of Japanese. I just don't know if I'll have patience for XSEED to finish the localization! That ending!

Spoiler

Maybe I was dense, but I never in a million years would have suspected Alba as being the true mastermind behind everything. Of course Lorence was pulling strings being Colonel Richard, but the scope of this was beyond what I suspected. What is this shadowy Oroborus and what are they scheming? And that final scene was just too cruel. How could you leave like that, Joshua? I can't stand to leave things like this!

 

[Pureauthor]

So, I just bought this game completely on impulse without knowing anything other than that it is a Falcom RPG.

Tell me whether or not I messed up, GAF.

 

[Aeana]

So, I just bought this game completely on impulse without knowing anything other than that it is a Falcom RPG.

Tell me whether or not I messed up, GAF.

If you read the last few pages, you'll find nothing but positive comments. Some people even calling it their favorite RPG.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

So, I just bought this game completely on impulse without knowing anything other than that it is a Falcom RPG.

Tell me whether or not I messed up, GAF.

You made the right choice. Play it now! Get immersed! Fall in love!

Spoiler

Though I should warn you that it's not Ys, if you were expecting an action RPG. As a narrative-focused turn-based RPG, it's extraordinary successful.

 

[ULTROS!]

So, I just bought this game completely on impulse without knowing anything other than that it is a Falcom RPG.

Tell me whether or not I messed up, GAF.

If you liked Grandia and Lunar and/or you like to read a lot in RPG, then this is the right game for you.

 

[Hours Left]

So, I just finished the game with max BP at 95:45:11. I can easily say this is one of the best games I have ever played. The world, characters and storyline are some of the richest and most engrossing experiences I've ever had with an RPG, and by the looks of the future installments, it's just starting!

Falcom has done an incredible job with this game, and XSEED's localization was top notch. (With just few very minor little text issues.) I am very excited to see where both companies are going to take this series in Japan, North America and beyond.

And even though I was partially spoiled for some of the ending's reveals, I was still completely entranced by what I was seeing.

Spoiler

I was not really a huge fan of the romantic side of Joshua & Estelle's relationship during the first part of the game, but the ending really has me sold on it now. And all the intriguing plot developments with Weissman and Ouroboros were handled very well with plenty of excellent and suspenseful dialogue. Some of the new status portraits during that scene really creeped me out. (In a good way!)

The entire cast of characters and story lines are so fascinating, I'm already going through withdrawal waiting for the next game. Second Chapter please XSEED!

 

[Augemitbutter]

So, I just bought this game completely on impulse without knowing anything other than that it is a Falcom RPG.

that's already enough to warrant a purchase.

 

[Aveyn Knight]

I was going to wait for the PC version of Zero no Kiseki to come out before I played it, but after hearing about the copy protection (constant online check) and censorship, I think I'll just jump on the PSP version right away. After reading some stuff about Ao, I want to finish Zero so I can get Ao on day one.

What's this about censorship? I rarely frequent Chinese sites, although I am aware of the online check from the product description.

 

[Augemitbutter]

....

this makes you the most dedicated gamer in this topic i noticed a few typos in the last town myself. there was one sentence that broke out of the text box as well. no big deal though, it just looked like there was more pressure at that part of the game.

 

[Aeana]

What's this about censorship? I rarely frequent Chinese sites, although I am aware of the online check from the product description.

I had heard rumors of it being "river crabbed" as it were, like The 3rd was. I hope that there's a decensor patch like there was for 3rd if it's true.

...But I think I'm just going to go ahead and play it on PSP regardless. I don't want to wait until August, and I want to get Ao right at release. Maybe I'll play the PC one later.

 

[Yuterald]

I am so excited. I forced my brother to get into this game about two weeks ago and he is finally up to the final chapter/dungeon area. I have been hyping the FUCK out of the game and its crazy awesome epilogue/ending. He was pretty hesitant to believe me though. He's into RPGs just as much as me, even more so sometimes, and he is kind of stuck in the "every RPG in the PSone era was the best and everything's been done before" mindset.

I told him the game/story really starts to click in around the 20-25 hour mark and it did for him. This is the kind of game that needs to be discussed and I've been recommending it to all my friends as well. It's a REALLY hard sell for a lot of people though. I have one friend who is pretty much sick of turn based RPGs, but I KNOW he would love this if he gave it the time. The first half of the game kind of turned my brother off, but I kept telling him to stick with it because its the sum of all the little parts that makes this game completely worth it.

 

[Aeana]

I bought Falcom Magazine volume 3 last night and just finished reading through the interview with Kondo. There was some pretty interesting stuff (Zero and 3rd developed/planned at the same time?) I think I just barely managed to dodge a Zero spoiler in there at one point, though. Since I just finished the US version of FC, I think I'll just move on to Zero right now.

 

[fates]

I wonder how this is doing for XSEED

The word of mouth going about for it is so positive. I've seen more talk about this than their Ys release, honestly.

 

[atomsk]

Spoiler

What is this shadowy Oroborus and what are they scheming?

Spoiler

COMPLETE. GLOBAL. SATURATION.

 

[vall03]

I wonder how this is doing for XSEED

The word of mouth going about for it is so positive. I've seen more talk about this than their Ys release, honestly.

there was a post a couple of pages back that there is no need to worry about sales and it was not a flop.

 

[Ricker]

Kinda stuck again trying to move the story forward...also retry is cool but if you died because of a surprise attack,which is the only 2 times I died in the game so far,it restarts with the surprise attck condition again hehe...some ennemies are really annoying in this game also(get surprised attack by those bushes of flowers and it`s pretty much game over).

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Kinda stuck again trying to move the story forward...also retry is cool but if you died because of a surprise attack,which is the only 2 times I died in the game so far,it restarts with the surprise attck condition again hehe...some ennemies are really annoying in this game also(get surprised attack by those bushes of flowers and it`s pretty much game over).

Save early, save often, let no save point go unused, alternate 2+ saves...these lessons still ring true.

 

[Hours Left]

Kinda stuck again trying to move the story forward...also retry is cool but if you died because of a surprise attack,which is the only 2 times I died in the game so far,it restarts with the surprise attck condition again hehe...some ennemies are really annoying in this game also(get surprised attack by those bushes of flowers and it`s pretty much game over).

Where are you stuck? Did you check your Bracer Handbook?

 

[Ricker]

Where are you stuck? Did you check your Bracer Handbook?

Spoiler

Trying to refind the journalist and the photographer in Bose or near,after talking and reporting back about the general who hates the Bracers

 

[jackdoe]

Nightmare is painful as hell when you do a clean start. I enjoy it though since the default difficulty is a cakewalk for the most part. But its really telling when enemies can kill you in two hits in a tutorial dungeon.