Saturday, June 06, 2015

This game's title is a mouthful, but I want it anyway (or, PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari is heading to North America later this year as Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale)

First, for those of you who don't know your PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari from your Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke, the former is a 3DS title that curiously combines elements of two different game series, PoPoLoCrois Monogatari and Bokujou Monogatari.

I say "curiously" here because Bokujou Monogatari is what the ages-old Harvest Moon (now Story of Seasons) series of farming simulators is called in Japan, while PoPoLoCrois Monogatari is a rather well-loved series of role-playing games that previously were released for the original PlayStation, the PS2 and the PSP.

In other words, PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari--or Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale, as it will be known in North America--is going to be a 3DS cart that allows folks to do all of the things that traditionally go hand in hand with playing a Japanese RPG (traversing a sprawling overworld, challenging a variety of baddies to turn-based tussles) while also giving them an opportunity to lovingly tend to a farm in their spare time. (To get a glimpse of all of the above in action, check out this Japanese trailer.)



Anyway, I've had my eye on this sucker, which is being made by Marvelous and will be published in North America via Xseed, since it was first announced some time ago. I've hemmed and hawed in regards to pre-ordering it, though, due to the fact that I assumed the text in it would be too much for me at this point in time. (Plus, it'll hit store shelves in Japan on June 18, and the last thing I need right now is for another game to arrive on my doorstep that I won't be able to play for a month or more.)

So, the revelation that it's being localized as Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale--officially, it's Return to PopoloCrois: A STORY OF SEASONS Fairytale, but I refuse to support Xseed's all-caps abuse--but won't actually released until sometime this winter has me feeling pretty stoked.

Are any of you also looking forward to getting your hands on this 3DS game? If so, feel free to share the love in the comments section below.

14 comments:

Zaphod65 said...

Interesting. That game wasn't on my radar, but I'll have to check it out as the release nears. I love my portable RPGs.

TheGameroomBlitz said...

Seems like this crossover has potential. When you're done fighting monsters, you can cool your heels planting veggies, and when you're bored with tending your crops, you can beat your plowshares into swords and go after some slimes. I wonder how elements from one effect the other? Maybe you could use dead monsters as fertilizer, I dunno.

thegaygamer.com said...

Glad I could help put it on your radar, Terry! Hopefully the end result is as good and enjoyable as I think it's going to be :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Yeah, it's definitely going to be interesting to see how the two genres work together in this game, Jess. The guy from Xseed who participates on NeoGAF is really excited about it, which I know should be taken with a grain of salt, but it still has me excited :)

Justin Difazzio said...

Well, now I am.

thegaygamer.com said...

Yay! I really wish it were coming out sooner than "winter," but what can you do? Plus, like I said earlier, I don't exactly have the time to play it right now anyway...

golly_loli said...

My buddy has been trying to get me to play Song of Seasons along with her for months. But when it comes to Harvest Moon (or any game in which you have to pick someone to woo) I usually try to make everyone happy and come off as a terrible flirt.

thegaygamer.com said...

Ha! That's pretty much what happens to me, too, Golly :)

Allison Kleon said...

This sounds a lot like Rune Factory, I'll still buy it lol

thegaygamer.com said...

Actually, Allison, based on what I’ve read of both games/series, I have a feeling Return to PopoloCrois will be different enough from Rune Factory to be worth your while. That said, I’ve yet to play a single Rune Factory game, so take what I said here with at least a small grain of salt J

Franggio Hogland said...

Aaahhh!!! That's why it's 3DS. Harvest moon colab :)
I think....honestly I still can't figure this one out but hey! We're getting a new PopoloCrois game so yay! (*≧∀≦)人(≧∀≦*)♪

thegaygamer.com said...

Yep. Plus, even if it weren't, a Vita PoPoLoCrois game doesn't make a *whole* lot of sense these days, does it?

Franggio Hogland said...

Yepp, still believe it could had made decent numbers but the effort in comparison that would be required? Nah, that wouldn't make sense no. But I reckon it's still a 2016 title for us in Europe :( so I have a lot of time to "figure" it out ^^

thegaygamer.com said...

Yes, you're probably right about it being a 2016 title for you Europeans, especially if us North Americans only are going to get it late this year. Sigh...