Demon's Souls

[erwos]

Yes, the Asian version has both english subs and english text. That is why it is so weird that it hasn't already been brought over. If it's all done, what's the hold up?

Legal crap, or nocompany interested yet in bringing this over here.

Probably because "insanely hard" is not really going to move too much anymore.

[Eusis]

Seeing as how it's about 2 months old in Japan, they could just be waiting to announce it. Possibly being stupid and saving it for the fall crunch. Oh, and dubbing.

[Jet16]

The game has already been dubbed. The Asian version has english text and voice work as well. So, yeah, they're probably just waiting to announce it.

[Ramza]

Well I plan on importing the "Asia" version, and hope for minimal differences to the North American version (if one's coming) so that when it hits, I can say "hey I already played this!"

[Jet16]

Got the Asian version today. Surprisingly, although the manual is completely in Chinese, there is a small English pamphlet that details the games interface. So far, it's been a fun game. I can imagine the online portion to be even more fun than this.

[Robert Boyd]

Got the Asian version today. Surprisingly, although the manual is completely in Chinese, there is a small English pamphlet that details the games interface.

Yeah, that was pretty standard with the games I bought while I was in Taiwan, even for games that were completely in Chinese or Japanese.

[Akira]

Review posted!

Whad'ya think?

Worried about the difficulty?

Turned off? Turned on?

Maybe I exaggerated a bit much with the Iron Maiden analogy...

[Geop]

I must say...  I envy you.  After reading your review, all I can say is wow.

...Oh wait.  I can say more.  Fuck.  There we go.

I seem to enjoy games where you'll probably die a lot. Also, that autosave thing seems like a bitch. :D
As I haven't heard anything about it coming here to NA (or even tried looking any info regarding that matter) I have a question.  Would I need a lot of knowledge of the Japanese language in order to enjoy this badboy if I do decide to import?

[Akira]

Japanese version has English voices.

Asian version has English everything. Import that.

[HolyKnight]

after reading your review if this gets a us release i'll definitely be picking it up.  i'm almost ashamed to admit i've never even heard of this game before i came across the review on this site.  definitely something worth some research.  well written review also!  definitely a way to get someone interested in a game.  i've been looking for QUITE some time for a game i can't beat in my sleep.

[Geop]

Rather, I think this game would beat me in my sleep.  Like a red-headed stepchild. With the console unplugged. 

Yeah.

[Lard]

This sounds somewhat like Drakengard, in terms of gameplay. Am I far off?

[HeeHo]

I've seen gameplay footage and I would assume that you are WAY way off. Each single encounter looks like it's serious business as opposed to taking out legions of enemies quickly.

[macirex]

Hey Akira, what´s the closest game you have played in term of difficulty that matches demons souls hardships?

[Akira]

Nothing of the last three generations. Console RPG's usually have sporadic difficulty, a hard section or area, or boss. Most of the time you can just back track and grind your way to victory. This game is far more challenging than even SMT games on hard mode, and is beyond any FPS or hack-and-slash title I can think of. Granted I haven't played every single game, so I'm sure people can think of balls hard games that might compare.

One thing that makes it tricky is that grinding is very hard in Demon's Souls because of the risk of losing all your souls from an accidental death. Even if you spend hours boosting stats, the difference is relatively small since you are boosting one stat one point at a time, and each successive boost costs more than the previous. It gets expensive after a while and the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Grinding is kind of good after you beat the first boss. I recommend grinding enough to get some basic magic and upgraded weapons, but character advancement overall is really incremental.

The best analogy is really Contra or Ninja Gaiden on NES. You only beat those games without cheat codes in one of two ways: Get really good, or memorize every scenario by rote and through grueling trial and error you might win. Demon's Souls is like that.