Operation_13 (Tales of Xillia Localization) Fan Campaign!
Hey, everybody! This is RRPG here, and I just wanted to let you all know that Operation_13 has been made to support the cause of getting the JRPG, Tales of Xillia, localized in the North American and European markets since the game is slated to be representing the 15th Anniversary of the Tales franchise by Namco Bandai Games. The latest update we have gotten about Tales of Xillia is the new set of trailers that were show at the Japan Expo in Paris, France, not too long ago. This was where the game's director, Hideo Baba, asked if the West would like this game localized, and the response that the fans game was extremely positive. The scenario writer, Makoto Yoshi-zumi also further hinted at a possibility of the game being localized if fan demand is strong enough. Now, I know what you all may be thinking. Namco Bandai may already have plans to localize this game in the West, but that should not stop us to let Namco Bandai and Namco Tales Studio to let them know that we still have a place in our heart for the franchise. Granted, JRPGs in the past decade have not been that extremely popular, but it seems to be making a comeback thanks to the Wii RPGs that were released in Japan and are bound for Europe. Of course, I am talking about Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower. As you would have guessed, Operation Rainfall came to be where fans of Nintendo who appear on IGN rallied together to make the fan campaign a truly strong one. Operation_13 is inspired by the strong popularity of Operation Rainfall, and we wish to make a difference as well.
As things stand now with the current shift in today's gaming world, JRPGs and RPGs in general seem to be forgotten by the mainstream crowd and it only focuses more on the core audience of the genre and toward independent companies who take interest in anime-esque JRPGs like Atlus, NIS America, Ignition Entertainment, and Xseed Games. Namco Bandai seems to not share that same enthusiasm as these companies do when localizing JRPGs that we never thought would make it over here, but they are extremely passionate about it, and most of those games receive really big praise from journalists and the gaming community, alike. And with things as they are now for Operation Rainfall, it seems that the time for JRPGs to make a comeback has come at the right time, too.
Now, before you go on and say that you don't care or it will never come to the West, let me offer you this bit of advice. Don't be a negative-nelly about this case. It's really easy to become one when you have your doubts about a game, and when you do play it you immediately criticize yourself for seeing how awesome that game was. Kinda like how I was when Lunar: Silver Star Harmony arrived on the PSP. I was very skeptical about that game being another remake, but was very surprised to how much the gameplay was more redefined to make it a more enjoyable experience. I'm sure some of you were skeptical about the Disgaea games when they came out, but were really intrigued by how well done they were. Even some of you had doubts about Tales of Symphonia when it came out on the Gamecube, but look how much of a huge success that game came to be! You see, being a negative-nelly is only going to have severe consequences on yourself if you decide to be like that.
Also, we do know that Tales of Graces F is bound to be released in the West in 2012 while Tales of the Abyss 3D will be arriving on the Nintendo 3DS, this fall; both games that I am really looking forward to. Buying these games at launch will be a great way to show that you want more games to come out, much later on. It would be a really great help because I know for a fact that the Tales series has really big potential to rival the bigger JRPG franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. While Final Fantasy hasn't been getting the reputation that it deserved from over 2 decades ago, now seems like a good time to get a really big contender on their hands.
Another thing you might all be very skeptical about the franchise is the fact that it is one that isn't heavily marketed like many big Triple-A titles out there. Why is that? That I do not know about, but it seems to be one of those things that Namco Bandai has left us another can of worms that is left unopened as something seems to be gone astray in their marketing department. Marketing the games correctly and strongly are the things in what will make the game become such a resounding success; kinda like it was for Final Fantasy VII at the time. Even though that game is deemed overrated to many people's eyes, today, we all have to agree that it bridged the gap between regular gamers and JRPG fans, back then. That was a good thing as it got more people interested in the genre, like me.
If you still don't believe in what I say, then take a look at these trailers with the gameplay, the design it shows, and the various extra content that it offers.
Trailer #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJqmqCabaqg
Trailer #2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5vY2CLd2Es
Trailer #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgdw0TeyCPg
Battle System Gameplay Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNh44mcIiMY
As you can clearly see from the trailers shown, the game has really big production values that will work if it were to get the localization treatment in the West! Just from looking at it, the game has a more realistic feeling as in the towns are very huge, the dungeons have incredible detail, and the camera is directly behind you instead of being over the shoulder like all the other games out there. Just to sum up things in a nutshell, this could actually be the best Tales game in the series, by far. Every show of interest toward this title will be a really big help to get the game localized in the West, and this could mean that sales for the PS3 would be really big for a release like this if Namco Bandai puts in some marketing and advertisements of this game to enjoy the series' 15th anniversary. Let Namco Bandai know that you want this game to make it over here in both North America and in Europe! We know that they plan to be more consistent with the localization of the games from now on, but rally together and let them know that we do care!
If you wish to be a part of the fan campaign like how most of you are a part of Operation Rainfall, then follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tales-of-Xillia-Localization-Official-aka-Operation-13/125522917536265
Twitter - http://twitter.com/Operation_13
We are currently working on a Blogspot site so that way you can be up-to-date on what we hear from Namco Bandai about the game, or possibly even the chances of the PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia that we have been craving for almost 2 years now. Also, be sure to follow Namco and it's community manager, Rich Bantegui, on Twitter, as well.
Namco - http://twitter.com/namcogames
Rich Bantegui - http://twitter.com/Filthierich
Also, watch my video about my thoughts on this Campaign as well as VesperiaPS3 since both campaigns want those Tales games over in the West. Every view counts and every bit of help to get it more public will become very good in the long run!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys6EouirYls
Also, be sure to follow me on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter to see what is happening with the franchise!
YouTube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/RRPGReviews
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/RRPGReviews
Twitter - http://twitter.com/RRPGReviews
Rally together folks, and hopefully the day will come when both games and future titles will make it to the West! Long live the Tales franchise!
By the way, here's the petition to sign if you want Tales of Xillia to be localized!
http://www.petitiononline.com/toxl6478/petition.html
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