Raiden 4 Overkill and Caladrius getting PS3 release

[Friendly]

Is there any evidence that Sony had an anti-2D policy on the PS3?

One of the most promoted PS3 games was Littlebigplanet...

No, there is not, but old rumors die hard. Willfull ignorance, maybe. Microsoft money-hatted the first 360 shmups, and the other developers followed. I assume there were timed exclusivity deals in place, too; the exact same shit MS is trying to pull with indies right now. That's all the mystery there is. There have been lots of 2D releases on PS3, mostly on PSN, but retail too (current example: Dragon's Crown). In fact, Sony has become very indie-friendly in recent years which is why there are tons of 2D games like Hotline Miami, Guacamelee, Machinarium, Spelunky for PS Vita/PS3; these games even have their own section on PSN.

[stryc9]

Wasn't that the reason why Mamurakun and Under Defeat both got wide modes, to circumvent some screen real estate issue that Sony had with these games originally? Obviously not in effect any more of course.

[danholo]

Very good news. Thanks for this.

Don't have US/Jap 360 to play Raiden 4 so this is very welcome.

[Sugar Rush Games]

Wasn't that the reason why Mamurakun and Under Defeat both got wide modes, to circumvent some screen real estate issue that Sony had with these games originally? Obviously not in effect any more of course.

It's certainly possible, but again, there doesn't seem to be any hard evidence of this.

[Pretas]

Wasn't that the reason why Mamurakun and Under Defeat both got wide modes, to circumvent some screen real estate issue that Sony had with these games originally? Obviously not in effect any more of course.

It's been speculated that Sony requires all retail PS3 games to have a 16:9 display, which allegedly forced the creation of Under Defeat HD's New Order mode and Mamoru-kun PS3's Wide-Han mode. The existence of Ketsui PS3 would seem to deconfirm this, though.

[FRO]

Japanese PSN only, unless a US publisher picks it up (most likely UFO, as they handled Raiden III and the 360 version of IV).

Let's hope that happens, then, because as little effort as it would take to port that to the US and European PSN stores, I would totally be all over both releases, but especially Raiden IV. I still don't have a 360, and have been debating buying just a Japanese 360 strictly for importing, but cost has been a factor thus far, as Japanese shmups are expensive, and my gaming budget is pretty small right now, and I'm concentrating primarily on older titles to fill holes in my collection. That said, I'd snap up Raiden IV in a heartbeat if it hit PSN.

[Sugar Rush Games]

Japanese PSN only, unless a US publisher picks it up (most likely UFO, as they handled Raiden III and the 360 version of IV).

Let's hope that happens, then, because as little effort as it would take to port that to the US and European PSN stores, I would totally be all over both releases, but especially Raiden IV. I still don't have a 360, and have been debating buying just a Japanese 360 strictly for importing, but cost has been a factor thus far, as Japanese shmups are expensive, and my gaming budget is pretty small right now, and I'm concentrating primarily on older titles to fill holes in my collection. That said, I'd snap up Raiden IV in a heartbeat if it hit PSN.

A Raiden IV PSN release is about as low risk as shmup releases get these days. Not sayings its a total slam dunk by any stretch, but at least UFO wouldn't have to sink a ton of money into the port.

I'd love a US physical release, but the chances of that happening are pretty much nil, especially considering that the PS3 is now "last gen"

[Pretas]

UFO has renounced the physical retail business, and now only releases games digitally.

[Cuilan]

Releasing Raiden IV as digital-only seems like a smart move. It gives MOSS a potentially higher profit margin and more control over the price. But it also kind of implies very low confidence that a retail release would sell well. On a related note, it's kind of interesting that they're taking their chances on a retail release of Caladrius, rather than going digital-only for it too. I guess they're willing to take a chance since it's both newer and more marketable than Raiden IV. Retail release aside, it's not too surprising that a PS3 port of Caladrius is happening; the 360 release only sold something like 6,000 copies during its first week of release, so MOSS probably didn't get much return on their investment. I think it would have been better for everyone if Caladrius had been released in the arcades first before any console.

It's been speculated that Sony requires all retail PS3 games to have a 16:9 display, which allegedly forced the creation of Under Defeat HD's New Order mode and Mamoru-kun PS3's Wide-Han mode. The existence of Ketsui PS3 would seem to deconfirm this, though.

If I remember correctly, RayStorm HD also had issues related to that. Ketsui was released much later than all of those though, so it's quite possible that Sony has relaxed their policies since then.

[cfx]

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[nZero]

I think it would have been better for everyone if Caladrius had been released in the arcades first before any console.

They probably needed the money from a console release to even make it to the arcade release. It's a solid game design but you can really feel the lack of polish in some places. Hoping the 360 version gets a patch to update it to arcade standard, a la Under Defeat.

[Limbrooke]

Good news, Raiden-wise, but I'm disappointed with the lack of a physical release.

[Sugar Rush Games]

Good news, Raiden-wise, but I'm disappointed with the lack of a physical release.

Physical shmup releases are going to become rarer and rarer.

[Battlesmurf]

Definitely a sad idea. There's something about holding them and looking at the case that adds to the experience lol.

That being said, Raiden 4 was nice. Not quite Raiden Fighters Aces level, but still very good. The damn wobble annoyed me much more than it should have o.o

[cfx]

.

[KAI]

Caladrius Blaze - 6/26
I hope the LE includes an arrange CD.
Siliconera

[Blinge]

Is there any news on a PAL release? All I'm seeing is NTSC, will it be free of those pesky regions?

[mastermx]

Finally, something to really look forward to this year.

Amen to that.

[Pretas]

Is there any news on a PAL release? All I'm seeing is NTSC, will it be free of those pesky regions?

Every PS3 game besides Persona 4 Ultimate is region-free, and the NTSC/PAL designation means nothing at HD resolutions, as long as you are using the proper hardware for your voltage.

[HydrogLox]

Caladrius Blaze - 6/26
I hope the LE includes an arrange CD.
Siliconera

According to AmiAmi and play-asia:

Soundtrack CD

[KAI]

Yeah I know. I hope Blaze has a new soundtrack.

[cfx]

.

[NeoStrayCat]

I hope it has Caladrius AC and some kind of "non pervert" option or mode. If I knew the latter I'd preorder right now.

They'd be crazy not to add the AC mode, and I though there was options already to turn off the character animations on the 360 ver., or am I missing something, but yeah.

[HydrogLox]

For the original Xbox 360 version: Options under Illust, set it to the very last option. It will turn off the no miss backgrounds and the cut-ins. It is anybody's guess whether the PS3 version will also have this feature.

I'm a bit puzzled that Caladrius got the physical release - I fully expected no physical release of either title and Caladrius being the one that gets the "privilege" seems strange.

[Pretas]

Caladrius is much newer, and has general otaku appeal with its character designs and clothes-bursting nudity.

[eatdogs]

Gonna reserve this on AmiAmi, only if it doesn't get all purvy...

[BulletMagnet]

It is anybody's guess whether the PS3 version will also have this feature.

I'd be very surprised if they bothered to take that option out.

[cfx]

.

[ACSeraph]

Caladrius Blaze - 6/26
I hope the LE includes an arrange CD.
Siliconera

Is that 3 new characters I see? Hyped...

For those worried about the fanservice, as mentioned you can turn it off in the options of the 360 game, but you should also know that AC changed the art pretty heavily, and Blaze is most likely going to be based on AC. It doesn't come off as ero like the 360 version does. The no-miss art in particular is drastically different. I took pictures of a lot of it at the AC location test you can check out here.

[eatdogs]

Caladrius Blaze - 6/26
I hope the LE includes an arrange CD.
Siliconera

Is that 3 new characters I see? Hyped...

For those worried about the fanservice, as mentioned you can turn it off in the options of the 360 game, but you should also know that AC changed the art pretty heavily, and Blaze is most likely going to be based on AC. It doesn't come off as ero like the 360 version does. The no-miss art in particular is drastically different. I took pictures of a lot of it at the AC location test you can check out here.

I hope you can turn it off. The fan service is one reason why I hate anime so much these days. I used to be a huge fan back in the late 90's, early 2000's, but it's become terrible now. Add to that the animation and characters all look so cheap and digitally drawn. I guess that's why studio ghibli is the best out there.

So yeah, I don't mean to complain. I'm glad this is coming out. I do hope you can shut it all off. It's just annoying to me. It's one of the things cave has been doing a whole lot with their more later releases. Ketsui might be the last one they made in they're older, more gruff style. Ugh, muchimuchi pork...