Guwange for XBLA [2010] - Patch adding 4:3 support is now available for download

[adverse]

Given the survey results, Asada said he is going to make motions to publish this on XBLA (in the Japanese).

http://cave-game.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2009/09/post-cf28.html

Also a special English message for overseas users.  

[HVL]

Rightful winner.

Of course I'd prefer Sweets or Pork but they're new enough for a retail release.

I kind of saw the English message coming; 400-500 of the 1600+ votes were from overseas.

[SuperPang]

Suddenly my gamertag became even more awesome  

[NR777]

Given the survey results, Asada said he is going to make motions to publish this on XBLA (in the Japanese).

http://cave-game.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2009/09/post-cf28.html

Also a special English message for overseas users.  Glad I sent Kotaku that link  

Awesome!  The possibility of actually being able to play Futari on my NTSC-U 360 makes me incredibly happy...I would happily pony up the cash for Guwange if it were available for the US XBLA even though I have already put in countless hours with that game on MAME.  Thanks for sending the link to Kotaku.  i am one of the overseas users who sent Cave an email regarding region-free games as a result.

[HVL]

I'm pretty sure they're trying to get a localization contract instead of releasing region free versions. I really can't see RF happening and this "I believe it will be decided around the time of TGS" line coincides with their plans of talking [about Deathsmiles] to overseas publishers there.

Does XBLA game availability vary depending on the region? I've always thought they're the same globally.

[Megalixir]

I think there's a couple of JP-only XBLA titles, like that mahjong game and a few indie ones like Coron de Jump.

Anyway, I voted for Guwange, so this is fantastic news. Of course I'm definitely buying it once it comes out.

[NR777]

If anything, I'm surprised none of the Atlus-published games made their way over here ( assuming, of course, that Guwange will be available for the western marketplace ) sooner.  Atlus has always been big on localizing niche titles and providing fan service.  I also think RF is very unlikely.  Sounds like a Western publisher grew a pair of balls.

[KOMA]

  Sounds like a Western publisher grew a pair of balls.

And hope that will incl UE publisher too,because we aint see RFA in europe for example.

[gsl]

I'd sort of been teetering between making the decision to invest in a J-360 or just pick one up here and hope for the best.  The prospect of $50+ shipping, the $100 price difference, and difficulty getting a replacement in the event of a RROD has stayed my hand, and despite releases like RFJ and Raiden IV here, I'm still a little leery about the possibility of any of these games making it over, but news like this is really quite encouraging.  If nothing else it costs them little extra to make XBLA titles available for other regions, and things like Ikaruga HD have been pretty well received in any case.  The situation regarding imports looks to be slowly looking up.

[NR777]

And hope that will incl UE publisher too,because we aint see RFA in europe for example.

And that's a shame.  Europe seems to get screwed really bad when it comes to these games.  RFA got released here for 20 bucks, and it's an awesome deal. 

[skykid]

Unfortunately this means bugger all to me because I've got the PCB, but I'm extremely happy to see some Cave love on XBLA.

I am excited about the English message though, at least it means they acknowledge we're out there!  

[HVL]

I'd sort of been teetering between making the decision to invest in a J-360 or just pick one up here and hope for the best.  The prospect of $50+ shipping, the $100 price difference, and difficulty getting a replacement in the event of a RROD has stayed my hand, and despite releases like RFJ and Raiden IV here, I'm still a little leery about the possibility of any of these games making it over, but news like this is really quite encouraging.  If nothing else it costs them little extra to make XBLA titles available for other regions, and things like Ikaruga HD have been pretty well received in any case.  The situation regarding imports looks to be slowly looking up.

If you don't own an 360 already, I think going for the J360 is a no brainer. Not only you get all the STGs for sure, tons of US/EU releases are region free and thus playable on it. The latest revision (Jasper) has been very reliable and will likely eliminate all the little problems Falcons had. Additionally, there are several reports of getting foreign consoles fixed by local repair centers.

We're living interesting times, that's for sure.

Sorry for going slightly offtopic.

[gsl]

It's not quite so cut-and-dried.  There's at least a $150 difference between a JP and US system, and if I'm going to be spending $350+ I'd much rather get the system with an included hard drive.  Plus, while a good majority of US titles are compatable with JP systems, one of the handful of domestic releases I'm interested in--Raiden Fighters Aces--is locked to US systems only (according to Play-Asia's compatibility chart), turning what was a local $20 purchase into a $50+ import.  I'm not sure about Raiden IV, but that would be a definite deal-killer.

And regardless of individual people's personal experiences, while the Jasper revision is BETTER than the previous 360 models, it is by no means free of the previous generation's problems to the point where the console's failure rate now compares favorably to the other two.  Plus, I have no local repair option, so any problems I'd have would require me sending the console back to Microsoft.  There are people who have had success with MS repairing import consoles, but it's certainly not something they would be required to do by the terms of the warranty, and I certainly don't feel like shelling out another $300+ if they decide that non-US region consoles are no longer their problem.

Finally, if the import situation was more black and white, with no chance of any of these titles getting a release here whatsoever, I'd be much more willing to spring for a J-360, but as it stands the future's pretty uncertain, and I don't mind waiting a bit longer if it means I'd be saving money in the long run.  If from Mushi Futari onward the Cave titles are available to US players, I don't mind missing out on Deathsmiles--the savings would be worth about a third of the PCB, in any case, so I could always just go for the real thing eventually.

[fuse]

Great news Bit confused as to how Dangun beat MMP, but still...

Aside from an already-ported game winning the poll, I don't think there was such a thing as a 'bad' result from this. Will be interesting to see what (if anything) they have to do to get it onto XBLA, and whether it'll be Japan-only or not. I wonder if they'll carry on down the list if it sells well enough </wishful thinking>

[bcass]

Finally, if the import situation was more black and white, with no chance of any of these titles getting a release here whatsoever, I'd be much more willing to spring for a J-360, but as it stands the future's pretty uncertain, and I don't mind waiting a bit longer if it means I'd be saving money in the long run.  If from Mushi Futari onward the Cave titles are available to US players, I don't mind missing out on Deathsmiles--the savings would be worth about a third of the PCB, in any case, so I could always just go for the real thing eventually.

I doubt you'll be buying the MBL PCB for $15 (which is what the 360 MBL DLC costs) and you'll never be able to play DS1.1 on a PCB.

[EOJ]

MBL is $15, and it's worth about that much. The slowdown is so f'd up I can't even play the damn thing anymore. Such a shame, and probably one reason why the PCB is still selling for big bucks.

In other news, Asada posted another blog entry. He said he went to MS yesterday, and showed them the results of the survey. He said he is going to draw up a worldwide business proposal in English, and has clear plans to release the XBLA stuff worldwide, which should be good news for many people.

[bcass]

At which points is the slowdown fucked-up on the 360 MBL?  When you say fucked-up, do you mean that it ruins the game, that it affects scoring, or just that it's different to the PCB and you prefer the slowdown in the PCB?  

Does anyone know of any videos of the MBL PCB so I can compare the slowdown?  I haven't played the PCB version, but I've been happily playing 360 MBL and the slowdown hasn't been getting in my way.  Certainly not to the extent where I've felt that it's fucked-up or that it was affecting the quality of the gameplay experience.

*edit* maybe move this post to the DeathSmiles thread, I completely forgot this was the Guwange thread!

[SuperPang]

I still see ESP RaDe is a far more likely international release. Already translated, nothing to do to the scoring..

[NR777]

I still see ESP RaDe is a far more likely international release. Already translated, nothing to do to the scoring..

Really?  I actually found Guwange's scoring a lot more intuitive...maybe I'm just weird...

[MX7]

I still see ESP RaDe is a far more likely international release. Already translated, nothing to do to the scoring..

Really?  I actually found Guwange's scoring a lot more intuitive...maybe I'm just weird...

I bet you couldn't read your score at the end though

Guwange is the only game I can think of offhand that is so Japanese, even the score is in Japanese. And there's no Roman characters in the name entry screen. I feel if this is not localised, we can kiss goodbye to an international release. But surely it can't be too too hard to work that out, if they still have the original code?

But wow, yay, Guwange. Personally I would prefer it on disc though, packaged along with ESP Ra.De. The two games seem to have a strong relationship with one another, as evidenced by the fact that their soundtracks were released together a year or so back. Still, any Guwange is good Guwange.

[NR777]

I bet you couldn't read your score at the end though

True, though I still really like chaining in Guwange.  It just feels right, and it is very manageable.  Multiplier chaining in ESPRa.De is a lot more difficult, and occasionally frustrating.  Still love the game, though.

Guwange is the only game I can think of offhand that is so Japanese, even the score is in Japanese. And there's no Roman characters in the name entry screen. I feel if this is not localised, we can kiss goodbye to an international release. But surely it can't be too too hard to work that out, if they still have the original code?

I can't imagine that localizing a STG is that arduous a task. 

But wow, yay, Guwange. Personally I would prefer it on disc though, packaged along with ESP Ra.De. The two games seem to have a strong relationship with one another, as evidenced by the fact that their soundtracks were released together a year or so back. Still, any Guwange is good Guwange.

I'd like to see that, too, but any Cave title available internationally is a treat at this point.

[EOJ]

At which points is the slowdown fucked-up on the 360 MBL?  When you say fucked-up, do you mean that it ruins the game, that it affects scoring, or just that it's different to the PCB and you prefer the slowdown in the PCB?  

The ice palace is a mess from start to finish. Numerous parts in other stages are also screwy. Cave admits this. And yes, it affects scoring. Otherwise I wouldn't care that much.

*edit* maybe move this...to the DeathSmiles thread,

Sounds like a good idea.

[bcass]

The ice palace is a mess from start to finish. Numerous parts in other stages are also screwy. Cave admits this. And yes, it affects scoring. Otherwise I wouldn't care that much.

If you don't mind me asking, what's your best PCB score, and what's your best 360 score on MBL?  How do the best JPN scores on the PCB MBL compare to the best scores on the 360 MBL?

Also, being an admin, is there any chance you could move these posts to the DS thread?  It isn't my intention to divert this topic.

[EOJ]

Just post in the Deathsmiles thread, we've already talked about the slowdown in there before, so have a look. I can't split posts and merge them with other topics.

[gsl]

Guwange is the only game I can think of offhand that is so Japanese, even the score is in Japanese. And there's no Roman characters in the name entry screen.

That never bugged me as much as the bizarre freaking order of all the kana on the name entry screen.  I'm not sure if that's some method of arranging the language from bygone days, but it's always a race against the timer just to figure out where the hell the characters for my name are.

[EOJ]

Is it iroha?  That was the syllabic ordering system used until the Meiji period, when it was scrapped for the gojuuon.

[neomoe]

cool beans....

has there been any indication of when this should be available? 

[gsl]

Oh yeah, I think it's the iroha ordering.  I really need to start studying about classical Japanese, both in the literary and linguistic sense.

[EOJ]

New blog post showing the first screenshot of this game for XBLA



http://cave-game.cocolog-nifty.com/

Asada says they have it "up and running" on the system.

[PsychoDiver]

This is great news. I can't wait since this is my favorite game in MAME