Freedom Wars: New Details on PS Vita’s Upcoming Action RPG

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Freedom Wars: New Details on PS Vita’s Upcoming Action RPG

It’s my distinct honor to bring you more information regarding one of the biggest PS Vita titles you’ll see this year – Freedom Wars! The futuristic action game launched last week in Japan, so we wanted to bring a few more details to our North American “Prisoners.”

Those who were able to visit the PlayStation booth at E3 might have had a chance to play our multiplayer co-operative demo – thanks to all who stopped by! I saw a lot of expert thorn-wielders soaring across the skies of the Panopticon, sawing Abductors apart and saving civilians to decrease their 1 million year sentence of penal servitude, and I must say, I was very impressed. However, the one recurring question I continue to hear from the community is – “How’s the story?” Well, let’s take a peek:

Freedom Wars promises intense co-op action with a captivating storyline. I’d like to leave you today with a message from our Japan Studio Producer, Junichi Yoshizawa. Yoshizawa-san has been tirelessly promoting Freedom Wars throughout Japan across the past few months, so I asked him to share a few words with the community:

Last week, we were finally able to release Freedom Wars in Japan. To celebrate the successful launch, I wanted to take a moment to write a message to our eager fans in North America.

Freedom Wars is a title I created to realize a dream of mine. My vision was to develop a PS Vita game that took advantage of the handheld system’s unique features, enabling gamers to come together via ad-hoc and Wi-Fi to overcome terrifying enemies. PlayStation has a storied legacy of creating innovative experiences and our collective goal was to create a Vita game that brought gamers together in a socially connected, location-based, co-op experience.

In order to do that, I gathered a number of well-known developers with an impressive pedigree for creating some of Japan’s most beloved titles – developers Shift and Dimps. These two developers both produce high-quality, interesting titles, but in this case I wanted to utilize both of their strengths, so I asked Shift to be in charge of game design, character design and story, while Dimps handled programming, graphics and direction.

Freedom Wars on PS Vita

Freedom Wars on PS VitaFreedom Wars on PS Vita

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The collaboration between these two developers has been wonderful and the “Freedom Wars” that they have helped create has three distinct strengths:

The first is the outrageous world and story, where prisoners are bound by 1 million years of penal servitude for the sin of “living” and need to fight for their freedom.

The second is a new game where the goal isn’t to just defeat your enemy, but to save people from your defeated enemies and create a multiplayer experience where you can clearly divide up responsibilities among your teammates.

The third is a ranked competition where players can contribute to the areas they actually live in and battle on behalf of their own “city state.”

With the coordination of each of these pillars, we created Freedom Wars – a testament to our collective vision of delivering a frenetic, co-op action game that we believe will please the Western community when it launches later this year.

Take care!

Junichi Yoshizawa

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315 Comments

129 Author Replies

  • @160
    If the game is anything like god eater (which by the way had a great dub cast) there will be alot of talking.I dont want to hear jpn voice overs and again Sony is bringing it over they should have the cash to dub it,but like I said they are just being cheap.

  • @162
    I read your reason and again its BS.This is again being brought in by sony not a lower funded company.Again how can NIS do this buy not sony themselves.The rush will also keep those away who want an english dub.

  • @162
    I am not whining about this release. I can’t wait for it. I think you may have been referring to Souledge94.

  • oops I meant @159 :p

  • ok just notice the website is messing up the number now.What the heck is going on.

  • Also, subs won’t bother me at all and I could care less. Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate will also be Japanese voices with English subtitles as well so I can deal with it. I’m just glad Koei is actually localizing that game, I thought they won’t because it’s almost been a year it came out it in Japan and they haven’t said anything about it for months.

  • Please have mercy on the difficulty!
    I saw the reviews saying it suddenly gets difficult!
    I was waiting eagerly for this game to come out but my control skills is that of a 5-year old!

    I saw some games having different difficulty settings when they come abroad, please do that here too!

    • We’ll do our best!

      (Plus, we’ll be there to help you get through it too!) Thanks for your support!

  • Just think people complain still complain about the ps vita not having any games coming out this is another stellar title coming out.

    • Thanks for the kind words, tusunami! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts once the game’s out!
      Stay tuned to the blog for a lot more info!

  • @gamerzlimited

    yea this seems to be a pattern now.Which makes me rather sad.Now when I see a JPN is coming over I cant get excited anymore till all the details are out.I thought since sony was bringing this game over I wouldint have to worry but i guess not.Im a big supporter of JPN games just not JPN voice overs.

  • Hey, Nick, you are awesome. It’s no fun listening to a bunch of complaints and still be nice.

    I’m going to get this game, since you say there is a campaign. I like games and movies in their original languages so that’s fine with me. I love my Vita enough to actually support it by buying games.

    • Thanks for the kind words, lisatsunami – I’m doing the best I can!

      The campaign is fantastic, and the story is very tightly woven into everything you’ll do in Freedom Wars – I can’t wait to hear what you think!

  • @lisatsunami

    Actually hes more talkative on his twitter and I give it to him he was a nice guy about it.I just dont approve of how they are handling this translation.

  • @Souledge94 Koei was the one who started that pattern to begin with. First Warriors Orochi 3, then One Piece: Pirate Warriors 1 & 2, Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2, and Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires. I will still buy Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate on Vita, but the only things that bugs me is that they are digital only in the US and not EU. Because of that, I never bought any of those games (Except the Warriors Orochi series, I’m a big fan of that one so I don’t care if it’s digital or not). I find it BS and unfair now since Aquapazza and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle has disc releases. Makes me not want to consider buying Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn and Samurai Warriors 4 when they come out here.

  • @gamerzlimited
    Didint know they started the trend.Since most of the time I saw their games they were dubbed.

  • @Souledge94 Yeah, I was quite pissed. Warriors Orochi 3 was understandable since there is too many characters in the game so it was way to expensive to dub them in English. But not dubbing their other games as well? Now they are just being cheap. The last game they dubbed was Dynasty Warriors 8 and the Xtreme Legends expansion. That’s the only game they even dubbed since Dynasty Warriors 7.

  • @gamerzlimited

    Yea the kens rage stuff they could of just had the cast come back and the one piece games has a dub cast for the anime already so what the heck.

  • Looking good. I’ll definitely be picking this up day one.

  • @Souledge94 I know, right? Those games have way less characters then what Warriors Orochi 3 offers so they could have squeezed at least a dub or two.

    Anyway, sorry that my comments went off topic a bit. Whether Freedom Wars have dub or not, it’s going to be great nevertheless. I used to not pay attention to it at first, but now it already caught my interest. I’m still quite happy it even got a physical copy still. I thought it would have been prevented by SCEA.

  • @gamerzlimited

    Im not going to lie I know I would enjoy this game since god eater devs made it and that was a game I enjoyed alot mainly for the story.Just it being sub is a HUGE break for me.Im mad cause I care and hearing this was like a kick in the balls. I just cant support this.

  • @168 Damn you don’t know when to quit ?
    You have been going at it for over 4 hours now…

  • @Souledge94 Up to you, it’s your choice so do what you want. I probably will though since I’m already used to the sub only thing and it doesn’t bother me. As long as it gets a physical release, I’m happy with it.

  • Can this game be played solo? it looks awesome but i know i could never get any of my friends to buy something this niche. thanks and great article Nick.

  • Can this game be played solo? it looks awesome but i know i could never get any of my friends to buy something this niche. thanks and great article Nick.

  • Can this game be played solo? it looks awesome but i know i could never get any of my friends to buy something this niche. thanks and great article Nick.

  • sorry for the triple post, new here haha

    • No problem, Duncan! Yes, the game can absolutely be played solo, and a taste of the story can be found in that trailer within the blog post.

      We’ve got an awesome assortment of interesting characters and amazing battles to keep you busy while you earn back your freedom, so I hope you’ll give it a shot!

  • @169 I honestly think he/she is justified. Despite dub/sub preferences a move like this comes off as being VERY lazy, which can and will anger and put off potential consumers. Take Soul Sacrifice Delta for exampe. I was all excited for that game, right up until I found out it’s digital only. Didn’t buy it, won’t buy it until (if) it becomes full retail and this honestly does make me question my interest in this game.

  • I like The Graphics and it looks interesting but my main question is will the game be long or short?? because lately most games that’s been coming out were short I look forward to this game.

    • It’s got a lot of content, BlackNIndian! If you’re familiar with the length of modern day RPGS (which span dozens of hours), you’re in the same ballpark here!

      Thanks for checking out Freedom Wars!

  • Haha thank you! After finishing Ragnarok Odyssey ace, Toukiden, and Soul Sacrifice Delta, I was i the need to look for a game with an awesome and unique story! As well to fill the void after knowing that Lord of apocalypse nor God Eater 2 will not localize into the west.

    • Pleasure to bring this to you! Thanks for supporting Freedom Wars, and please look forward to more info heading your way soon!

  • @175
    Thanks for understanding why this pisses some people off so much and why its looked as very lazy.

  • Cant wait! Japanese voices for the win!
    Day 1 for me!
    Please keep doing this!
    I hope Oreshika and all other JRPGs/Japanese games follow this trend.
    Original Japanese voices > English dubs!

    • Thanks RidTheOne,

      I really appreciate your support, and it’s a pleasure to bring this to you! I’ll pass on your kind words to the Oreshika team!
      Let me know what you think when you finally get your hands on the game!

  • @179

    Its more about preference then fact of which is better dub or sub.

  • I am VERY much looking forward to this (you now have my pre order since you confirmed it as a physical release, hopefully one day, Soul Sacrifice Delta can get the same treatment), can’t wait to see more of the game! If there is a collector’s edition, I will be sure to pick that version up!

    • I love the enthusiasm – thanks for the preorder my friend!
      Can’t wait to share more with you in the upcoming weeks!

  • Can’t WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT :’D

  • Huh… I can’t take it anymore… SCEE is just like always ignoring us…

    And I’m more than afraid that all in all we won’t have retail edition in EU… Freedom Wars was the game for which I bought my Vita… in fact I bought for it 2 Vitas (one for my brother)… and SCEE is always treating us like a trash…

    Huh… so yeah… I’m starting panicking here that after all it was bad idea to buy Vita… if SCEE won’t release games than what is there left to do? Last resort will be importing games from NA like 50% of people already do in EU… but still as a pessimistic by nature person I get feeling that we won’t be able to play online on imported version of game.

    So… yeah… I am really suprised at ammount of your replies! Thanks for help today, I hope that when I will wake up someone will finally reply on EU blog :/ or twitter… or anything… but I don’t think so :/

  • I sense a PS3 port in the pretty near future.

    • I sense full PS TV compatibility for all those of you that want to play the game with a DualShock 3!

      Thanks for your interest in Freedom Wars!

  • @184

    Doubt it.That will cost money and sicne they already cheaped out on dubbing I dont think a ps3 port would ever happen.

  • I’ve been following this game before it was even announce in NA. Really glad it’s coming over and even more glad it has a retail release (skipped on SS Delta because it’s digital only). Thanks for bringing this over.

    Also, will the US get the demo with the sweet Thruster Board? And is it still 47 city-state or has it expand to 50 to match the US?

    • Thanks for the kind words, Ultimatel911! It’s my pleasure to help bring Freedom Wars to you!

      We’re working out right now whether we’ll be able to get out a demo for the US audience, so please stay tuned! And for the North American version, we’re looking at 50 different cities across the world that you can align yourself with, so choose your Panopitcon wisely! :)

  • Freedom Wars isn’t just the game we want, it’s the game we need. @Nick Accordino Your comment on the prefecture system was very intriguing as I was wondering just how exactly that would end up working. I would love to here more about the crafting, loot, and level system in place. (Future post idea hopefully)

    • I’ll keep this in mind, Joshen! Thanks for being a great fan, and please look forward to receiving more info on Freedom Wars soon!

  • I need this game in my life. Like… yesterday.

  • I went and checked this very article over on the EU Playstation blog. It’s like Bizarro world. It makes me grateful that we have such a clean layout.

  • Sorry but all the people saying Jpn voiceovers are better then English are stupid…. how is it better when we can’t even understand the language? It’s just blabbering gibberish to us. And how in the hell can you think subtitles are good? Any game I’ve ever played where I had to read subtitles, I miss half the **** happening on the screen cause I’m reading………

    Stop being lazy and do English dubs when you’re porting a game to this side of the planet….. >.< I WAS going to get this for my vita, idk now.

  • @Nick Accordino, Thank you for answering so many questions here on the blog. I really wish everyone is as responsive.

    I am also one who go for original audio + English subtitle. Japanese voice acting is always good, even if you don’t know what is being spoken. It fits any anime style game perfectly and should stay that way (at least made available as option) rather than wasting money on some quick and cheap English dub.

    Can I assume that the other 3 Vita games you are personally producing will all have Japanese audio?

    Can you tell us what those 3 games that we can look forward to are?

    • Thanks for the support GummyCore! I’m glad to hear you’ll be enjoying our Japanese audio for the game!

      The other games I’m producing are actually out of our SCEE X-Dev team, so I don’t think they’ll be including Japanese audio for our release. :)

      The games, since you asked, are BigFest and Invizimals: The Alliance. Please feel free to check them out!

      Thanks for your support of Freedom Wars!

  • @Nick Accordino, This line in your reply has me worried: “We’ll be bringing you lots more content soon, so please look forward to it!”.

    Nowadays so many games come with so many little pieces of DLCs, especially costume pieces for each character. BlazBlue Chrono Phantasma is one recent example. Though nothing beats DW7 – on the Asia store, there must be at least 1500 individual pieces of DLCs for that game (all English/Japanese/Chinese x PS4/PS3/Vita combinations, each piece of DLC multiplied by the number of characters in the game!). Even if one is willing to buy them all, it’s a nightmare to download them.

    I really hope your games don’t go down that road.

  • Any chance of getting translations for the FW Idols’ songs?

  • Oops, I should have said DW8. (Was using the Japanese numbering.)

  • Also, will we get wallpapers like the Japanese release got, with the characters and the panopticons?

  • bluenightmare941

    Reminds me of Deadman Wonderland with Attack on Titan lol. 1st day buy for me, if it has a physical copy.

  • Wow, great to hear more info about this game…you guys had it really hidden at the Sony booth at E3, good thing I found it and got to try it out, hope to see a release date soon so I can add it to my expanding Vita library…
    It’s a bummer that there’s no English voice over, but from what I heard in the E3 demo, I’m definitely okay with Japanese voice over.
    On the subject of the English localization, is SCEA doing its own localization for the game or using an existing one (like the Asian version)? The English text in the E3 demo was a little off at times, hope that’s not indicative of the final product…

    • Hi Zidane!

      Thanks for seeking it out at E3 – I really wanted more people to find it, so we’ll have to work on our signage for next time!

      The English localization for SCEA is definitely our own – there is no separate English localization for Asia. As for the demo, that text was most definitely placeholder, so no worries – the final product will be in much better shape!

      Thanks again for your interest!

  • @Archacus I imported a retail copy of WRC to NA and played online with guys from different countries. I also remember playing Dragon’s Crown online with people from around the world. Hopefully you won’t have a problem with Freedom Wars if you do import it. Good day!

  • I was about to post a comment about wanting this game with japanese audio when I decided to check in the comments xD
    couldn´t be more happy!

    That´s a day one buy for me ;)

    • Awesome to hear, StevenBezarius! Can’t wait to hear what you think about the game!

      We’ll be announcing release details here on the blog in the future, so please stay tuned!

  • Oh and it looks like I might have to import the Ratchet and Clank collection on the Vita. It releases tomorrow in Europe. NA hasn’t heard anything about a release date and I like many others, really want that game for my Vita.

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