R P G A M E R . C O M   -   E D I T O R I A L S

Casualties of War

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Michael "Macstorm" Cunningham
STAFF EDITORIALIST

With a flood of RPGs on the way this winter, some will undoubtedly slip through the cracks. I know that there are a lot of hardcore RPGamers around here that won't miss these titles, but the general populace will. Not all of these titles will be overlooked because of quality, just bad timing.

Baten Kaitos Origins
Being one of the earlier releases on this list with a September release planned, this GameCube RPG does have a better chance of survival. GameCube RPGamers should welcome this release, but it might be hitting at a time when people are wanting to save up for other titles, a Wii, or a PS3. Hopefully, the early release date will help Namco's prequel do well.

.hack//G.U. Vol. 1 & Tales of the Abyss
With these two titles scheduled for October releases, they will be coming out just prior to the launch of Final Fantasy XII. With a release so close to the Square Enix juggernaut, these titles, however good they might be, will be greatly overshadowed. Just look back to March's dual release of Suikoden V and Kingdom Hearts 2. Suikoden V was met with good reviews, but was overlooked by the general population due to Kingdom Hearts fandom. Tales and .hack couldn't have picked a worse time to launch.

Children of Mana
This game seems to be on a lot of wish lists, but it is getting lumped together with tons of other big name titles. The Mana name is not as widely known outside of RPGamers as it once was, so it does stand a chance of being passed over. Would you choose Children of Mana over Final Fantasy III? Maybe, maybe not, but it sucks to have to make that decision.

Final Fantasy V Advance
Final Fantasy XII is brand new and people have been waiting on it for quite some time. Final Fantasy III has never been released in the states and will be seeing a complete remake. Final Fantasy V Advance is coming out during the one week break between these two titles. I know that I'm going to be picking this one up, but I would guess that FFVA's overall sales will be hurt by its placement between these two titles.

Sadly, there can't be war without a few casualties. This winter will be a war in the RPG realm and some games are going to get shot down.

R.I.P.