I got my first console back in the late nineties when I was around twelve — a PS1. In the preceding months, I spent hours thumbing through gaming magazines and getting excited about specifically playing Final Fantasy VIII (which was due out soon) and Final Fantasy VII (which I’d bought a magazine walkthrough for even though I didn’t yet own the game). When the PlayStation was finally in my hands, those were the first two games I played, along with a couple of platformers which I quickly realised were too frustrating and absolutely not for me. Final Fantasy, RPGs, and especially turn-based battle systems absolutely were, though. Those two games were my gateway into the genre, and I made it my mission (or main story quest, as it were) to play as many RPGs as I could get my hands on. Little did I know, this would lead me to a bunch of really fantastic games and also some significant disappointment.
If you were an RPG gamer from the early years right up to the PS3 generation and lived in Europe, you understand the subtext here and probably feel my pain. Not only did we often have to wait a year or more after the US to get games, we were overlooked for releases frequently and missed out on some absolute bangers because of this. Games that have since become revered cult classics or exemplars of the genre that we may never get to experience. In some cases, Europeans finally have access in the form of a digital or remastered version. In other cases, we are still waiting, hoping for one to materialise. Let’s look back at some of the biggest, most popular, and strangest omissions from the European RPG back catalogue.
While I’m on the subject of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Tactics seems like a good place to start. Back in the nineties, FFT wasn’t really on my radar because I hadn’t yet discovered the strategy RPG genre. Over the years, I’ve heard so much about this game: its intricate and well-crafted story, the depth of the customisation and job system, and fantastic soundtrack. By the time I was ready to give it a try, the PS1 was ancient history. This was lucky since I discovered this game had not released in Europe anyway until its more modern portable versions. It was also surprising to me, especially considering the love this game gets in the community and its influence on games like Triangle Strategy, Fire Emblem, and the entire SRPG genre. I’m now in a position where I need to play it but want to hold off in case a certain rumoured remake gets announced. FFT wasn’t the only early big-name SRPG skipped in Europe, either. I’m looking at you, Tactics Ogre.
Next, I want to look at some games missing from long-running series, starting with one of my favourite of all time, Suikoden. Suikoden I and II both released in Europe and didn’t sell any differently than other regions, which makes it even more disappointing that Suikoden III, the first one on the PS2, never saw a European release. Suikoden II is a fantastic game, setting a high bar for political storytelling full of plot twists and drama with the tale of Riou, Jowy, and Nanami forming a peak in the five mainline game-long series. The decision to skip the game following this and return to Europe with the very mediocre Suikoden IV was certainly a choice! Suikoden III was eventually available in Europe digitally on the PS3.
A second series already established in Europe decided to skip its third entry — Grandia. Both Grandia I and II were favourites, and I remember being very excited when a third game was announced, only to have that dashed when a European release date was not. The one thing that makes this a little easier to be at peace with is that many regard Grandia III as the weakest of the main games. A forum comment I spotted even described it as “one of the biggest mainline sequel disappointments in the entire RPG genre.” What a burn! Even though it retained the brilliant combat system of its predecessors, there was a very clear drop in the quality as a whole, particularly in character and story, both highlights of the first two games.
Fans of Tri-Ace games might remember that their early games were rather hit-or-miss as to whether they would release outside the US or even Japan. On PS1, the first Star Ocean (one of the longest-running series mentioned in this article) was not released outside Japan until 2008 on the PSP, over ten years after its original release. Valkyrie Profile was another huge cult classic that did get a US release on the PS1 (though copies of this version are rare and expensive) but never made it across the Atlantic until Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, the PSP enhanced port.
This version snuck up on me back in the mid-2000s. I had obviously heard of the game and how well-regarded it was: the pacey, unusual battle system and heavily Norse mythology-inspired, emotionally impactful story set at the end of the world. I was also very keen to play it because of how much I love the Star Ocean series but somehow missed that it was getting a re-release. On a shopping trip, I came across a US import (the US version of Lenneth came out a year before the EU version, because of course it did) and, knowing the PSP could play imports, I dropped the cash right there. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to play it again, as a European release hadn’t been confirmed at that point. The last of Tri-Ace’s main console games to not release in Europe was Radiata Stories on the PS2.
Speaking of imported copies of games, here’s a short list of significant games I discovered in a local gaming shop: Legend of Mana, Threads of Fate, and Chrono Cross. Teenage me used to go in and wish I could play these based on the box art. You know that face characters pull in anime when they look at something delicious/sexy/cute, with the huge starry eyes and watery-mouthed grin? It was very that. Especially with Legend of Mana, whose beautifully illustrated watercolour-like cover really resonated with me. Of these three games, Legend of Mana was the only series with games released in the EU, namely its predecessors Final Fantasy Adventure and Secret of Mana.
Threads of Fate was a standalone game and Chrono Cross a sequel to Chrono Trigger, which was JP and US release only. These three games make more sense to me in terms of why European versions were never greenlit, but it still stings. Thankfully, Legend of Mana and Chrono Cross have modern remasters that show off the stunning pre-rendered backdrops and pop with colour. Unfortunately, a release of Threads of Fate seems unlikely due to poor sales of the original, even though it’s often looked back on with a lot of fondness. We can hope!
I wanted to end with probably the most baffling of the EU omissions. First off, Xenogears. I have heard so much about this game and its controversial second half with game format changes due to budget constraints, but even with these issues, I’m pretty confident I’d love it. As a big fan of media involving mechs and bleak sci-fi drama, it sounds right up my street. Without Xenogears, there is no precedent to release the follow-up first episode of Xenosaga in Europe, either. And indeed, no release, which makes the decision to go ahead and release Xenosaga Episode II truly puzzling! Naturally, I’d heard of the series and bought myself a copy, even though it’s an episode midway through the story. (It did come with a DVD film of cutscenes from Episode I.) “I don’t mind going in on Episode II because surely Episode III will follow so I can play most of the trilogy,” I thought to myself. Wrong! Episode III also bypassed Europe. Imagine watching only the Empire Strikes Back, reading The Two Towers, or playing Mass Effect 2, and being fine never experiencing the first or last parts of their respective trilogies. No, I can’t either. At least we’ve had all three parts of the magnificent Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy and can live in hope that we might get a Xenogears and Xenosaga trilogy re-release someday. Please!
Now, I can’t cover every single RPG that didn’t release in Europe in this article, and I’ve clearly missed some other big names. So, I thought I’d do a short honourable mention section to finish things off, containing some other games I wish I’d been able to play earlier (or at all, in some cases): Final Fantasy VI, Tales of the Abyss (the PS2 version), the Lunar series, Grandia Xtreme, Wild Arms 2, Chrono Trigger, every Dragon Quest before VIII and SaGa Frontier.
Thankfully, staggered and region-specific releases for RPGs seem to be rarer and rarer since the PS3 era. There are still some, mainly down to the lengthy localisation times, including some popular series like Trails, but at least these are releasing worldwide and aren’t gated to particular regions. Finally, RPG fans of Europe, we have some form of justice!
