A few weeks ago, the folks at Nippon Ichi opened the proverbial floodgates related to its upcoming (it'll be released in Japan on Sept. 26) PS3-based ARPG, Arcadias no Ikusa Hime.
Shortly after it released a bunch of stunning screenshots of this Odin Sphere-esque game, in fact, it also unveiled its beautiful box art:
Call me crazy, but the first thing that came to mind after I stumbled across the box art above was the imagery that will front Japanese copies of another coming-soon-to-a-store-near-you PS3 title, Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
Granted, this kind of "arrange all of the game's characters in a circle" design is hardly new--see the cover art produced for Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, among others--but I was still a bit shocked when I realized just how similar the two examples above are to one another.
Late last week, I tweeted the following: "Assuming the PS3 gets a price drop later this year, I think I'm going to pick one up just so I can play Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn."
Although the main reason I want to buy A Realm Reborn (along with a PS3, of course) is its appealing looking gameplay, I'd be lying if I said its box art didn't have a little something to do with it, too.
The question is: which piece of Final Fantasy XIV box art am I talk about--the Japanese, North American or European one?
I'll answer that at the end of this post. In the meantime, let's take a gander at box arts in question.
For starters, here's the Japanese release's cover image:
And here's the illustration that's supposed to grace covers of the North American iteration:
As for the European version of Final Fantasy XIV, here's its cover art:
Last, but not least, there's the following, which will appear on the outer packaging of the Collector's Edition of the title that'll be sold in Europe and North America:
As for which one I like best, well, I can't help but go with the Collector's Edition. It has to be said, though, that I like the (rather busy) Japanese cover art nearly as much.
Which piece of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn box art is your favorite? Assuming you like any of them, of course...
Just in case any of you care what I think about what's been announced and shown (so far) for Sony's and Microsoft's systems at E3 2013, here's another stream-of-consiousness post.
Xbox One price--$499. Yikes. It's going to be very interesting to see how the masses react to this price after the holidays, especially with the PS4 being available for $100 less.
PS4 price--$399. Pretty surprising, actually. Maybe even stellar. Of course, it seems online multiplayer's no longer free. And the Kinect-like camera won't be included with the system. (It'll be sold separately for $59.99.) Still, that price should do a lot to sell the system in North America.
"PS4 Supports Used Games"--Speaks for itself, really.
PS4 system design--Yuck. But does it look better or worse than the Xbox One (above)? I'm not sure. Strangely, I'm leaning toward the Xbox One having the more appealing design at the moment--although that isn't saying much, if you ask me. (The PS4 can be seen below, by the way--just in case some of you haven't seen it yet.)
Puppeteer--This may only be a PS3 game, but I'm completely gaga over it. Of course, it reminds me of Treasure's Dynamite Headdy, so I guess I shouldn't find that too surprising.
Beyond: Two Souls--Can you say "uncanny valley"? I mean, I appreciate what developer Quantic Dream is going for with this PS3 title, but I can't say it appeals to me. Oh, well, hopefully it'll appeal to plenty of others.
Gran Turismo 6--Looks very good. Of course, haven't all the Gran Turismo games looked good? Regardless, it's not my cup of tea. (Seriously, F-Zero and Mario Kart are the only "racers" I play.)
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn--I'm far more interested in this Final Fantasy release than I am in Final Fantasy XV (aka the re-branded Final Fantasy Versus XIII). As such, I'll be paying close attention to both the PS3 and PS4 iterations of this MMORPG--especially if the North American versions retain the beautiful cover art of their Japanese counterparts.
Kingdom Hearts III--Although I'm happy fans of this series finally have a mainline sequel to look forward to after years and years of portable spin-offs, I can't say it interests me at all.
The Order: 1886--Love the setting. I'd like to have seen some actual gameplay, though. So many of these previews look the same--or at least leave viewers like me asking the same kinds of questions--when all that's shown are some cinemas.
The Dark Sorcerer--See above.
Don't Starve--See below. (Also see Ray's the Dead, another indie release being prepped for PS4.)
Transistor--No joke, this is more "my thing," in terms of both graphics and gameplay, than any of the other in-the-works games that have been shown for PS4 so far.
Where art thou, Vita?--Seriously, Sony knows it still has a portable to sell, right? Where are the games (other than Tearaway, I mean)? Where's the price drop? I guess they're wherever the brass at Sony packed away their interest in this system.
So, that's what I think of what Sony and Microsoft and associated third-parties have announced and shown at E3 2013 thus far. What do all of you think?
I may not own a PS3 (yet), but that doesn't mean I lack interest in Sony's third console. On the contrary, I have quite a bit of interest in both it and its catalog of games--especially when the latter sport the kind of delicious cover illustrations that can be seen below.
The following example is for Gust's Atelier Escha & Logy, of course. The game, which is the 15th entry in the company's long-running Atelier series, will hit store shelves in Japan on June 27.
No joke: I'd very likely pick up a copy of this game without knowing a thing about it if it were released in North America with the exact same cover art.
The box art below, on the other hand, was produced for the Japanese retail release of Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara (known there as Dungeons & Dragons: Mystara Hero Military History), which is due out on Aug. 22.
Although I don't believe I've ever played either of the arcade classics--1993's Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom and 1996's Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara--that will be included in this compilation, I'd strongly consider giving them a go if Chronicles of Mystara were given a physical release in my neck of the woods.
Last, but not least, we have the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn's slightly-cluttered-yet-still-brilliant box art. OK, so it's more than slightly cluttered. Still, I love it.
Yep, I'm gay. And I like video games. Old Japanese games and systems are my favorites--the Famicom, PC Engine, original PlayStation and GameBoy, especially--but I like plenty of newer ones, too. If you have similar interests and you don't mind perusing a blog that's got the word gay in its name and is practically slathered in pink, you'll probably enjoy your time here. I'm also on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter, by the way. Oh, and my Switch Friend Code = SW-5852-5514-6897.
