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

  • The main problem with doing it in english is that some of the voices are synthesized. Japanese is easy to do with voice synthesizers, unlike english.

  • I’ve saw the Chainsaw weapon and Drill spear weapon in action, those two weapons definitely looked the most appealing to me.
    Nice sound effects on both weapons and very cool attack animations.

    On the japanese audio thing. That’s perfectly fine fine me.
    That’s how I prefer it, original audio + english subtitles.

    Good job Sony.

    • Thanks KKAtan! I appreciate the kind words!

      Look forward to hearing what you think about the game! Thanks for the support!

  • Looks Amazing! cant wait!

  • Man, I forgot all about Oreshika Tainted Bloodlines but after looking at the screenshots again I’m really excited to play it! I am really going to be eagerly awaiting more info regarding Freedom Wars because Japan Studio really has got me loving my PS Vita more than ever. I’m going to pray that Gravity Rush 2 also happens on PS Vita in the West.

    • Thanks Phoenix! Look forward to sharing more info with you soon!
      I’ll share your kind words with the Oreshika team! :)

  • Day 1 for me. Was looking forward to it ever since it was announced in Japan.

    • Thanks BlaqMagiq! Great to have you onboard!

      Let’s take down some Abductors together once the game launches!

  • I pre-ordered this a few weeks ago. Very excited. I love my Vita!

  • @201
    isint that just when your AI is talking to you?

  • Hey Nick will you guys be livestreaming the game anytime soon.

    • Hey Jimmy-DeBABA,

      Promise I’ll let you know if there’s any livestreaming plans! (None currently, but that could change very soon!)

      Thanks for your interest in Freedom Wars!

  • Any plans to release the soundtrack for purchase?

    • Hey RE_Player –

      Thinking about it! If it’s possible, I’d love to do it, so we’ll see!

      -Nick

  • “with a captivating storyline.”
    ^
    I haven’t been looking at this game because I don’t recognize the trend setters of this kind of action, Monster Hunter, as having a storyline (not that I’ve tried yet). I’m much more one for the single-player experiences (Journey aside), so without a scenario to play through, I’d have no incentive to dive in if I’m not already hooked on the gameplay on offer. Good to read this snippet…though I’m still Vita-less until I get an income in order, heh.

    • I promise you’ll really enjoy the story whenever you have a chance!

      There’s still time before release, so good luck!

  • @210
    Well its made by the god eater developers and the story mode for that was entertaining.They also did a good job in making your avatar matter and not just background wallpaper.

  • I’ve pre-ordered the game. I can’t wait to play it!

  • How long is the game?

    • Multiple, multiple hours! (Story will take you dozens, but the multiplayer content will keep you going for as long as you’d like!)

  • First let me say how glad I am to see such a high level of response to the people’s questions. Most times questions are completely ignored here and this is very refreshing

    Now on to the real problem for me. The game looks great and I would be interested in buying it, but I don’t see myself buying it without English audio. I don’t know why English speaking people would want Japanese audio since most, if not all, can’t understand what’s being said. To me, the only time subtitles are acceptable in gaming (especially an RPG) is when the game uses a made up language like what Ico had. There’s enough reading involved in RPG games without adding to it with the spoken dialogue. A lot is lost in translation when you don’t understand the spoken language in games and have to read subtitles. The emotion of the characters just doesn’t carry over

    • Hey Bahumat,

      You’re very welcome with the response rate – I love talking to you guys, so thank you for your interest in Freedom Wars!

      In terms of your problem, I’d challenge you to still give the game a shot with its original audio – it’s an amazing game, and I think you’d really be into it. I promise you the Japanese voice cast is solid, and if you’ve ever watched a foreign movie or anime, I’d hope you understand that there’s an element of authenticity that only comes with the original audio. That’s what we’re trying to preserve here, and I’m so proud to see that we’ve got so many people that appreciate the native flavor of the game.

      The game will have a wonderful localization, so I implore you to still give it a shot. Missing out on this because you don’t want to read the subtitles is an awful shame, so please don’t let that happen!

  • @211 Souledge94 – Heh, another title I’ve barely any hands-on with. I’d prolly have to set myself to the task to playing one of these kinds of games. I fear they wouldn’t mesh with me, and too lazy to try disproving those suspicions. At least, should I ever, Plus has provided me with some examples.

  • @213
    If its anything like God eater your looking at a good time sink.

  • @214 BahumatIsBack – Even with English audio, I’m always sure to turn on subtitles. Prolly a multi-faceted compulsion: Subtitles have typically been there for me, I often play with a lower volume, I may be paying too much attention to something else of the game and space out on the spoken dialogue, the sound balance may be against it (hellooo Asura’s Wrath’s opening!), or even made-up terms (as opposed to a whole language). It’s added clarity above all else, though.

    But yeah, I prefer a competent English version any day. If even that loses its point, though… *eyes Arc Rise Fantasia*

  • @215
    heres the thing what made me keep going in god eather is the story mode and characters.Its kinda like monster hunter but much more leaniant.It never felt annoying or frustrating and you didint need to know all the in and outs to succeed in a mission.As long as you upgrade your gear,know how to heal and know element weakness which the game tells you your good to go.I even got a little addicted and started making more stuff but again you dont really need it. I say give god eater a try.Im not a fan of MH but I loved god eater.

  • @214 TJF588 – For me, I just prefer taking in the whole experience of the game and I just find subtitles to be a distraction. I’ve played games before where I miss a key detail in the scenery because I’m reading some subtitle and end up spending a long time running around in circles trying to figure out what to do next but can’t because I missed the clue. It ends up just aggravating me instead of being fun like it’s supposed to be

  • Hey, nice game =). But can you bring more SRPGs to Vita? I loved PSP for a lot of SRPGs and my heart thrills when I think about some sequels to Tactics Ogre, for example, or to Valkyrie of the Battlefield or even Jeanne’D Arc. And I think that SRPGs are the best to play on the go. Vita opens up so many possibilities for SRPGs =). I mean, It’s pretty cheap to make them on Vita and SE can even ressurect Front Mission series, agrh…. World can never have enough of Front Mission =). Anyway, looking forward to Freedom Wars.

    • Hi gemuvan,

      I love SRPGs too, although I unfortunately don’t really have any news about them here!

      Thanks for checking out Freedom Wars – can’t wait to hear what you think!

  • Freedom Wars should get a Limited Edition Console Bundle!
    With a Silver Colored PSVITA Slim Console.
    On the Rear Touch pad there should be a design of the Freedom Wars Logo, That Panopticon Symbol!
    It should have a Digital Voucher for the game.
    An 8GB Memory Card.
    And you can Possibly throw in some Limited Edition Headphones.
    >_>

    • Loving these suggestions, ShadowKing! I’m guessing you’d pick up an LE bundle with Freedom Wars?

      Thanks for your enthusiasm! :)

  • Been looking forward to this.
    Playing the demo missions over and over and I never get tired of it.
    What more if I already have the full version. weeee! :D
    Caaaan’t waaaaait. xD

    Ah, will there be an non-eng dub, Eng sub of this?
    Thanks. :)

    • Hi Laraku,

      Awesome to hear my friend – thank you very much!

      And yes, we’re actually going with the Japanese audio for the game, so I hope you love the original voice acting and audio!

      Can’t wait to share more information with you, so please look forward to it!

      -Nick

  • About multi-player…

    – Will there be regional restriction, like US playing with US only, EU playing with EU? (I assume English version will not be able to play with Japanese version.)

    – If so, is it based on the version of the game (US or EU or Asia English release), region of the PSN account playing it, or based on IP address (indicating physical location of the player)?

    – Is there going to be a big emphasis on mp, like trophies that require major time sink into mp grinding in order to get platinum?

    Once again, thanks for actively answering our questions. This is indeed a very refreshing change from the usual we get from Sony blog staff.

    PS. What’s with all the headsets? Just fashion statement? How about a free DLC making the Sony Pulse series headsets wearable in-game? :D

    • HI GummyCore,

      I appreciate all the questions from you! I’m going to do my best to get answers to your region-specific queries so that you know exactly who you’ll be playing with!

      Mum’s the word on trophies, but I truly think you have what it takes to get that Platinum!

      And who doesn’t love headsets? Stylish, no? :)

  • This seems like a pretty interesting game. I would still much rather have my localizations with english dubs, though, even if as DLC, just to get it out sooner with dub voices later. That would probably bring in even more money if priced right.

    • Thanks Ragnawind! I appreciate your understanding and look forward to bringing you more info about Freedom Wars!

  • I hope we have an opportunity to get the hover board!

  • Can’t say I’m too thrilled about the fact that a first party vita game can’t even get a dub. It’s not so much the game being subbed that bothers me, but more that it’s a Sony first party game that’s getting this treatment. I can see third parties doing it, but when it’s Sony it’s a little unsettling.

    That out of the way, it’s not going to stop me from getting the game. I’m used to watching/playing sub only stuff anyway, and the game does look great. Surely better than getting no game at all. Looking forward to it.

    • Hey Sevyne,

      After hearing the Japanese audio, (and wanting to get the game out to you guys this year) I wouldn’t have this any other way.

      Thanks for your understanding, and please look forward to more info about Freedom Wars!

  • Just one favor? Please make the text on screen kinda big. I’ve played some games lately that the text is so small on the Vita screen that i almost can’t read it. Since there’s going to be a lot of subtitles, please let them be large.XD Thanks for listening!

    • Hey FifthDream,

      I’ll do my best – there’s a lot of text to fit in the game, so it might be kind of difficult!

      Thanks for supporting Freedom Wars!

  • Hey Nick. Gummycore had some great questions a couple of posts up about cross-region play, that affects me (as a gamer with a US account but an HK location) so would like more info.

    Glad to see the original Japanese audio. Localisation only ever works if you invest significantly in the process, and even at the highest quality it can change the tone of a game. I think the only Japanese game I preferred the dub was Ni No Kuni, and that was because of the Welsh accent on Mr. Drippy which was genius. The English dub in Valkyria Chronicles got switched over after about 2 minutes. Heck, I played (and ADORED) Remember Me thanks to PS+ recently and it’s one of my top ten games of all time in the original French audio. It reviewed fairly poorly, and the English dub was a big reason for that, it sucks the life out of it. I also played Metro: Last Light in the Russian, because all games get their best VA work done by the original team. Localisation teams almost never have the same access to funds, talent, or the guiding hand of the game director.

    Tl;dr – original language is just about always better. It’s true of movies, it’s true of games.

    • Love hearing that ParkingtigersX – I’ll try to get you more info about cross-region play soon!

      My appreciation for Japanese games and culture is deeply connected to the language itself, so I love hearing when people are open to experiencing something in a tongue outside of their native language.

      Can’t wait to hear what you think about Freedom Wars – thanks for your kind words!

  • @226

    Talk about complaining for the sake of complaining. First it’s crying about no first party games, you get one and now its complaining that its not dubbed. First its complaining about not having japanese voices, and now its complaining about not having english voices. Please make up your mind don’t be a wishy washy complainer who just likes to entitley whine all day.

    I remember when back then when jrpgs, and games had no VOs. Nothing wrong with listening to a game in its native language.

    And by the way a third party game that’s coming to vita is also not getting dubbed Tales of Hearts R

  • @224

    I would easily drop the extra cash if the game had a Dub voice pack released.In a freaking heartbeat.

  • @229
    If they want me to support their game I want my dub.Since it is coming over NA and other english speaking territories you would think they would put the effort but no they are not.Also tales of heart R another game that wont be getting my support.I dont think they deserve my cash if they arent putting the effort in it.

  • I have a bit of an odd question here.

    I’m currently playing the JPN version, and I noticed that are not one, but TWO different online passes for various functionality – one of them seems to be the whole District thing, and the other, cheaper one is…well, I have no clue but apparently buyers are pissed off.

    Will there be any differences with regards to these passes? In other words, will the international version be a single, boxed price, or will it get broken down into its base game (at reduced cost) with “plugins”?

    • Hey Aldracity –

      Thanks for your questions! We’ll have news about online functionality coming separately in the future, so please stay tuned!

  • @228
    Disagree with that comment.At least the games part of it.

  • Nick, do you know if Oreshika will have a retail release? I hope so, because otherwise I don’t see myself buying it until it’s on sale for less than $15, or on PS+. I’d rather just buy it. I was, and still am, bummed that Soul Sacrifice Delta was digital only. I’d be playing it now if it had come out at retail here. *sigh*

    I’m glad Freedom Wars is retail at least.

  • @231: Not putting in effort would be to not translate it at all. ie; no English text.

    Unless you are suggesting that translation Japanese to English is easier than hiring actors to voice said English. Which is silly.

  • @235

    Actually, the real complication with Freedom Wars is the Accessory/System voice engine. There are several segments which can and will use your choice of words, but the voice engine is coded for Japanese. Syllables like “See” or “Tea” are nonexistent in Japanese, and the end result of most English inputs is a half-ESL Japanese immigrant.

    Having full, proper English voice acting alongside a Japanese-trying-to-English system would sound rather awkward and out of place, especially considering how this voice engine is supposed to be one of the selling points for Freedom Wars.

  • @Lestatdelioncort You need to chill the hell out okay? Also I like how you falsely accuse me of complaining about all of these things I actually haven’t complained about. In fact, I don’t even post on the blog very often at all anymore. Here’s the thing; I’m not everyone, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to me as if I am. Now if you’d kindly shut the hell up, that would be fantastic.

    Hell, I even pointed out that I am personally fine with games/movies/ect being subbed. I can deal with it. Maybe YOU need to learn to deal with the fact that not everyone will be fine with it.

  • @Aldracity Now that actually does kind of make some sense. That voice engine would probably be an absolute nightmare to fully convert to English.

  • @232, From what I can see on the Asia PSN store (selling the Japanese version of the game and DLCs but all descriptions are in English), there are these:

    A) Online Pass:
    You will be able to enjoy the online function through the network connection of FREEDOM WARS.
    ※This content is the same as the Online Pass included in the package version.
    ※This is not necessary for those who has already purchased the download version of FREEDOM WARS

    B) Notification of changing Panopticon
    You will be able to change the Panopticon that you belong to for one time only in FREEDOM WARS.

    The latter is the cheaper one (about 60% of the former’s price).

  • thanks god you bring freedom wars to the west!
    i love japanese voice + english sub. i wish persona 4 golden is undub… oh well
    for me dub is ruining the games… coz its will not fit! (disgaea have a nice dub… still japanese dub is better)
    prefer my games using original voice
    *delay becoz of dub is insanely dumb man*

    oh also i’ve a question…
    1. is there any limited edition psvita with freedom war theme? soundtrack? exclusive dlc?
    2. is scea have a plan to release freedom wars demo? wanna taste some of the sugar nick hahaha

  • I can’t wait to get my hand on that game. Is there any chance that we can get a demo version for the North America in PSN?

    • Thank you very much!

      Looking into the possibility of a demo at the moment, but our main focus is just to get the game out to you guys as soon as we can.

      Can’t wait to share more with you – thanks for your interest!

      -Nick

  • Speaking of English dub. There are some games that have a good dubs such as Valkyrie Chronicle, God eater, Persona, and Disgaea. But there are some that are just terrible and annoying such as Phantasy Star, Final Fantasy Dissidia, and Conception.

  • I hope there is a preorder option on PSN soon. I have the money right now and I want to use it before I spend it on something else. The game looks awesome! I wanna I wanna I wanna!!!

    • Thanks afigueroa! So I take it you’re an all-digital type? :)

      I appreciate the enthusiasm – can’t wait to show you more about Freedom Wars!

  • I’d love to get this game but I just simply can’t unless this game gets a physical release in Europe. I hope this will happen since I wanna play this game just SO MUCH. Looks fun and very intresting :)

  • @Nick Accordino
    Hey, sorry patience isn’t really my strong side… I’ve been waiting for that game for so long… and finally when we got to see new trailer nobody really cares to say anything on SCEE side :/

    I’m more and more sure that we won’t get it… I mean there are many preorders offers for NA version, zero for EU… and like I said SCEE is ignoring us once again… they are always doing it when they don’t have good news :/ EU is bigger market than NA.. according to data more copies of console sold in EU… but we are always treated like a third world…

    That’s why I and many other customers from Eu would be grateful for info on that online… will we be able to play online on imported copy, without the need of creating fake? (yeah I know that’s bad… but pretty much everyone is doing it because of SCEE incompetency – sorry for that harsh words, I know that some of them might be your friends) It must be winter in hell if I’m thinking about creating US account… me… out of all people who always encourage others to buy more expensive versions of games on EU market :/

    And sorry… I know that you and many other great guys did perfect job with Freedom Wars… I’m greatful…

  • I pray to all the gods in the sky for a good lock-on target system in this game!!! pleasee, if this game has it, will be the best

    • I really enjoy the lock-on system that’s in place – it let’s you target Abductors’ individual limbs so that you jump on top of them and tear them apart, piece by piece.

      (Wolverine would be proud!)

      Thanks for checking out Freedom Wars!

  • Would be best if it were dubbed, It looks decent and has potential though the story concept is kinda lame in my opinion. I would much rather have the next Gods Eater game. Though all the post-apocalyptic monster bashing games are getting to be a bit trite. I honestly play my handhelds when I’m watching TV or Movies and never pay attention to subtitles, main reason why I prefer dubs, only time I really pay attention to subtitles is if I’m gaming on the TV.

    • Much more than decent my friend – I guess you play a lot of games where you start as a prisoner and fight your way to Freedom?

      I hope you give it a shot when it releases – thanks for checking out the blog!

  • Original dub is the best dub imo. Nothing beats the original voice actors that give each character their own personality! Great things will come out of this game it seems like! Looking forward to more ^^/

  • well Joystiq just confirmed that its subtitles only. Excitement killed – I HATE having to read while playing games. It really pulls me out of the action. This just went from a must-buy to a maybe-buy-if-on-sale.

    And seriously, if there is no translation, why isnt it coming out in the West at the same time as Japan? ugh

    • I can promise you, Mando44646, that there’s a huuuuuuge translation effort going on right now, so I hope you still give the game a shot!

  • I can’t wait for this to come out. [=

    • Thanks MOCHIIIx! I can’t wait to jump online, take down some Abductors and save some civilians with you!

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