GameLight - Demon Gaze

Official Japanese Site: http://demongaze.jp/
Source: Youtube Channel SuperPlayUp

[This section is mostly talking about cRPGs.  Skip to the bottom for Demon Gaze]

Are Computer Role-Playing Games (cRPG)/Dungeon Role-Playing Games (dRPG) making a comeback in the game industry?  Probably not since they've always been around.  That is to say, classic dungeon crawling RPGs never died out and has always been played by a niche group of gamers.  The classic first-person perspective in a maze-like labyrinth with custom building parties, graphing out maps on grid sheets, and turn-based battles was the videogame interpretation of pen-and-paper RPGs that RPG fans loved back in the day.  It focused less on story development and more on the experience and journey through level progression.  As videogames evolved, the abstract mechanics of numbers, statistics, and turn-based feel are more hidden in place of more adventure and action orientated games that we have now such as Mass Effect 3, Phantasy Star Online 2 and Fallout 3.  One of the more prominent cRPGs throughout the decades is the Wizardry series.  I didn't play much cRPGs back in the day and the closest game I played to a cRPG was Ultima Exodus on the NES.  In the past few years though, I have been dabbling in the cRPG genre unknowingly by trying out games I haven't heard before.  I've played Legend of Grimrock and thought it was okay but got lost and haven't played it since (I probably will soon).  A few years back, I tried out the NES version of Wizardry and found it to be tough.  I played a few cRPGs on my palm pilot and graphing calculator back in high school made by fans.  I tried out The Dark Spire for the Nintendo DS just last week and realized a lot of time and dedication was needed to play that game.  In fact, most cRPGs do require a decent amount of time, patience and commitment to play through.  Etrian Odyssey had great graphics and music, but it was also super grindy.  What I'm trying to get at here is that cRPGs have always been around, but they're not talked about very often in the mainstream gaming community.  Then in the past few years, Legend of Grimrock and Etrian Odyssey 4 was talked about quite often.  Because I didn't get very far with Etrian Odyssey, I didn't bother taking a look at 2 and 3.  But when 4 came out with a demo, I decided to give it a try and found it to be a lot more easier to get into and enjoy.  That has probably been one of the biggest problems with cRPGs is that they're too much like the old school ones where they're super hard-core, making it difficult for newcomers to enjoy.  Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls for the PS3 and iOS had this exact problem as many reviews by players found it to be confusing, frustrating, and too abstract for those unfamiliar to the genre.  Despite having originated in the West, cRPGs had become a very popular genre in games in Japan and still holds true now.  This leads to the actual topic at hand: Demon Gaze for the Sony PS Vita.

[Demon Gaze article starts here]
Source: Youtube Channel kadokawagames

I apologize for having such a long rant on cRPGs, but that was my original intention for today's post.  It just so happened that I found out about another cRPG today that was released for the PS Vita in Japan back in January 24th of this year called Demon Gaze.  At first glance, it looks very Japanese with animé style graphics, lots of fan service, and animé tropes everywhere.  But in the end, the game is very much tied to its cRPG roots with first-person exploration in a dungeon, turn-based battles, and custom party management.  The animé nature of the game may bother some or many here in the West, but the game was obviously made with Japan's audience in mind.  With the success and widespread exposure Etrian Odyssey 4 has had in the West, there's a chance that Demon Gaze could be picked up by a publisher in the US and get localized.  If it does get brought over and I get a PS Vita, perhaps I'll consider checking this game out.  Like I've said before, these types of RPGs to require a bit of time and commitment to play and I'm not sure if I'll have that.  If old school dungeon crawling RPGs and animé themes is your thing, be sure to keep an eye out for a name called "Demon Gaze".  Kadokawa did file for a trademark in the US, perhaps they'll publish it themselves rather than wait for another publisher to pick it up.

Source:
-Joystiq - Kadokawa trademarks 'Demon Gaze' in US