I was thinking about it, then I read this post at Gamefaqs and it clenched it.
There's a reason why they aren't shipping a lot of copies - this team at Koei set out to make this inspired game, not to focus on a cinematic, angsty mess of a game copping off the approach Square's already run into the ground, simply in hopes that Americans will latch onto it because it's ZOMGDARK. Koei knows the game isn't going to be a big seller here - not unlike Natsume with games like Chulip and MetropolisMania 2. These games were released - and given very small print runs - solely to please a very small, niche group of fans. And in and of that, we should be thankful Koei's acknowledging us like this. And that's just what this game is - niche - as in not even remotely mainstream. It wasn't designed for the mainstream gamer, and it found its niche in Japan, just as it is here. But to those who worry about the game's depth or complexity, they should check out its Gamestop page - the features list nails down pretty well just how deep and vast this game is.
And likewise, it was praised for its old school gamer oriented difficulty level upon its release in Japan as well. A challenging game with a cute aesthetic design (Not unlike Dewy's Adventure, a great game many passed on because they couldn't get past its aesthetics.), in a very fresh, well designed world. The reality of it is, kids won't be getting their hands on this game - and it wouldn't appeal to them beyond the visuals if they did - largely because of the small print run and gameplay/design focus on older hardcore gamers. The visual appeal is essentially that of a modern 8/16-bit era RPG - rather than focusing on the tired and played out "dark and moody pretty people grumble and wave swords around" cliche we've seen far too much of in the past decade.
It's an exciting and inspired game made to cater to and challenge once more those of us who grew up loving the Dragon Quest games, EarthBound, and their ilk. A visual approach like this - giving things more of a living childhood toy look reminiscent of the simpler character designs and sprites we grew up with - is a lot more interesting than the "make it realistic"/"make it look like living anime!" approaches we're seeing overdone these days. Something to be said for praising originality - daring to be different, rather than conforming to the mainstream status quo.
It's not kids who're dying to get their hands on this game. It's a small cult audience with an appetite for something different, and gamers who grew up in a very different era than today's teens who grew up with Sony and never quite developed that appreciation for older games. And those of us looking forward to it - we're gonna have a blast. That's what matters. :)
wish me luck.
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