Class of Heroes II Deluxe Edition - $59 Kickstarter

Gamelore

Gamelore

CAGiversary!
Previously noted in the CAG News section, the physical UMD deluxe copy of Class of Heroes II (English translation) for PSP is being attempted by former Working Designs president over at Kickstarter. It will only be sold if they reach $500K in pledges by April 27th!

$59 shipped, covering costs for printing such a niche run. Link.

The details for the Deluxe Edition are not yet known, other than it will supposedly blow away what most companies call "Deluxe". If successful, the game will only be printed in one run (~7,000 copies), never to be reprinted. Also, if successful, it will prove there is a market for more official English translations of obscure JRPGs!

As a Kickstarter, if not successful, this won't be released and nobody pays a dime.

Since I disregard anything that isn't released as physical/DRM-free, I'm extremely excited about this! Locked/DRMed distribution puts game ownership back in the arcade days, where you are just the client of a service. This is the only opportunity to truly own it.
 
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[quote name='Darknuke']I have a feeling they aren't going to make their goal. They've only raised like 60k in 10+ days.[/QUOTE]

They're barely at around 10%, huh?
 
[quote name='Darknuke']I have a feeling they aren't going to make their goal. They've only raised like 60k in 10+ days.[/QUOTE]


Unfortunately, I have to agree. I would really like to have this deluxe edition, too, since it has the chance to be valuable. But this is looking like fail. :(
 
There are too many things Victor Ireland did while at Working Designs that I did not agree with and therefore will not support this endeavor. He could not sustain his business model in the industry, and is now trying to get money directly from the fans, which if it works out to completion, then everyone wins, but I will have to see it first.
 
Fact of the matter is, this game is coming out regardless. The kickstarter is for a more advanced localization, and a physical set.

Now, I'm all about physical copies for games, but for a nearly dead system? the 59 dollar set doesnt even come with the digital copy, gotta pledge 100 for that.

I, too loved Working Designs growing up, bought both Lunar Sets, Arc the Lad, Growlanser, but the game they chose was poor, as the first installment wasn't very good. If they had picked a better title, they could have hit their goal. It looks they're going to be way short which is a shame.
 
while i support the idea behind this, and like aaronrodgers, I'm all about physical copies for stuff, this probably wont fly. Im not sure how people can throw down 60 bucks for a 'delux' edition with no info on what theyre actually getting. If they actually had mock ups and all the info laid bare on what it would come with thats one thing. But this is too shakey. I doubt it will make it
 
What a total shame on this. I am a huge...class of heroes fan, moreso a huge Wizardry fan and old school style games like this, Etrian Odyssey, etc etc....

Im not sure i feel 500k is the kind of goal they should of shot for, maybe thats just me. But i think it will be ashame if this games release is based off this.
 
Found a copy of the original at a gamespot near my dad's house. Had him pick it up ($12!) and I'll get it next time I see him. I think the kickstarter is a good idea and I'll definitely be in if I like the original even though it doesn't look like the're gonna meet their goal.
 
Am I reading the FAQs right? When you pledge, the money isn't taken until the goal is reached? Because if it is, I'm getting my name in the credits.

Yeah, those things we never look at anyway.
 
[quote name='Fighterspledge']Am I reading the FAQs right? When you pledge, the money isn't taken until the goal is reached? Because if it is, I'm getting my name in the credits.

Yeah, those things we never look at anyway.[/QUOTE]

Correct! If the goal isn't reached, then you're not going to pay anything. It also means you don't get the product as well lol.
 
[quote name='LoneGun']There are too many things Victor Ireland did while at Working Designs that I did not agree with and therefore will not support this endeavor. He could not sustain his business model in the industry, and is now trying to get money directly from the fans, which if it works out to completion, then everyone wins, but I will have to see it first.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. Atlus has done what WD did, but much much better. As for this game, a UMD won't do much in my Vita so I have no interest right from the start. Sounds like (another) poor business decision for Vic.
 
This should be a Vita title. Smaller audience but they would be one of the first games in this genre for the Vita...and as argyle said, my Vita doesn't support UMD...
 
I might just do this so that he can get some support.

MAYBE WE WILL SEE HIS STUDIO TURN INTO ANOTHER WORKING DESIGNS?!
 
[quote name='remag']I might just do this so that he can get some support.

MAYBE WE WILL SEE HIS STUDIO TURN INTO ANOTHER WORKING DESIGNS?![/QUOTE]

And go bankrupt, after you pay? =P
 
Shockingly (not really) no takers yet at the 10k+ level, but I am interested enough to go for the $59 pledge. Hopefully there will be a surge in pledges soon...
 
I plan to pledge 200 if I can afford, if not I'll go 60. Not looking good of meeting the goal though so I probably be paying anything.
 
I'll never understand why companies are so intent on recording English versions of Japanese opening songs. I'm sure that most people that buy niche JRPGs are fine with the original Japanese song.

I mean if its like Kingdom Hearts where you got Hikaru Utada who was born and raised in the US and speaks perfect English that's one thing. You're keeping the same artist and everything so it feels right. But then in cases like Bonnie Pink and BoA, who did English versions of their respective "Tales" songs, you have the slight accent which is somewhat off-putting and distracts from the song. They can also go with an entirely different artist but then it's almost always some unknown jobber so they can save a buck and it always feels like it lost something.

Ireland himself struggled with it while working on bringing Magic Knight Rayearth to the US. I remember he posted a preview of the English version of the opening on the WD website and a lot of people complained that the vocalist they hired was doing to many runs and it didn't sound like the Japanese version anymore so they had to find another singer and rerecord it. I'm sure Vic would have saved himself some headaches and money if he had just gone with the Japanese version.

All I know is that when SE released the PSP Star Ocean remakes in the US nobody rioted in the streets because they left the Japanese songs in there. Heck I even discovered a certain band from it ↓.
 
"English Opening Song and Video in both releases"

They lost me at this point. It's a niche game, there's no reason to waste money on this. Clearly they [still] have no idea what they are doing. I'd much rather see that $500k go towards a more deserving game/franchise.
 
[quote name='SynGamer']"English Opening Song and Video in both releases"

They lost me at this point. It's a niche game, there's no reason to waste money on this. Clearly they [still] have no idea what they are doing. I'd much rather see that $500k go towards a more deserving game/franchise.[/QUOTE]

*cough*VC3*cough*
 
I went for the whole shebang and pledged $100. I'll be happy to drop a hundie if this goes through, but I doubt it will, so at least I'll save a theoretical hundie. :)
 
I'm so conflicted about this. On the one hand, I love the idea of Kickstarter being utilized to localize niche Japanese games.

On the other hand, Victor Ireland has an awful track record with localizations, and his promise to "improve" the localization again doesn't bode well.

I would buy/donate in different circumstances, but not with Ireland at the helm. I don't want OJ Simpson and Bill Clinton in my JRPGs.
 
This petition was pretty much doomed to fail from the start. The only reason I considered donating was because it WAS Class of Heroes and NOT VC3 or something of that kin.

Actually, I still haven't decided if I'm getting CoH 2 or not. It may depend on its price tag and EO4.
 
I have a Vita so would need to donate at the $100 level... tough sell. If CoH1 is a digital download, I may check it out before committing.

As for those asking why no Japanese voices... they said that they would secure them if the exceed their top goal by 15%, meaning the Japanese voices cost an extra (15% x $500k) $75k for them to license. dubbing new voices likely costs significantly less, otherwise they probably would have done a Japanese-only option form the start.

Also, I think this project has hope, it's just that no one has heard about it yet. Drive more awareness, bump this thread, start similar threads on other gaming and anime forums. There is still time.
 
I think plenty of people have heard about it, apterous. It's been passed all around the internet as a textbook example of a bad Kickstarter.
 
[quote name='Vegan']I think plenty of people have heard about it, apterous. It's been passed all around the internet as a textbook example of a bad Kickstarter.[/QUOTE]

Ahhhh I see. I hadn't heard of it until this thread, but agreed that this is probably not the best title to start on, and the business objectives are outrageous. I would start with digital only, so costs would be lower, and see if we could do a title everyone really wants (VC3, yes), abd agreed on all points with Japanese vs. english voices if within costs. Then this thing would be on fire.

However, if this doesn't work, then I doubt anyone would even try something more expensive and ambitious like VC3. The licencing on this is probably downright cheap even at 500k, something like VC3 would likely need to be over a million before Sega would even look at the offer.

I may throw $100 into the pot with a note that they really should have taken a survey of what titles people would actually support through kickstarter.
 
[quote name='apterous']However, if this doesn't work, then I doubt anyone would even try something more expensive and ambitious like VC3. The licencing on this is probably downright cheap even at 500k, something like VC3 would likely need to be over a million before Sega would even look at the offer.[/QUOTE]

The game IS licensed, and being released digitally, NO MATTER what happens to the Kickstarter. So the problem to people is, why do they need $500k for just the physical items?
 
[quote name='elessar123']The game IS licensed, and being released digitally, NO MATTER what happens to the Kickstarter. So the problem to people is, why do they need $500k for just the physical items?[/QUOTE]


Pretty much this. I know there are most likely major taxes involved and maybe outsourcing to make sure that the plushes get made, sure. But it shouldn't cost this much for all of that and it shouldn't cost $75k to add that extra EXTRA stuff.

I'm glad that Acquire is able to bring this over and I'm glad that CoH 2 is a Wizardry-based game which is what I truly enjoy. I can't figure out which game...Labyrinth of Lost Souls and its add-on, CoH 2, or EO4 will be the most enjoyable and I only have room for 2 max.
 
how does kickstarter work? if people donate, but say they make it to $400k... do they just get to keep that money or is it returned to those who kickstarted? Plus, if I give $59... do I get the game when and if its done? Just curious.
 
[quote name='GrimmTrixX']how does kickstarter work? if people donate, but say they make it to $400k... do they just get to keep that money or is it returned to those who kickstarted? Plus, if I give $59... do I get the game when and if its done? Just curious.[/QUOTE]

If they make 500k (the goal they set) then any money you donated will go to them, if they don't make it to 500k then nothing will go to them and the project gets scrapped. If its successful and you pledged $59 then you'll get everything listed for that tier. I don't want to list everything so go and read what is included
 
If all you want to do is localize already made games with the current state of PSP/VITA, you might as well only focus on digital downloads and lower that target for funding. I wonder if that amount is the WHOLE shebang. No risk to them at all to try and sell 25-50% of copies on their own.
 
They really should have picked a different game for the "best deluxe pack ever" treatment.

I'd love a great old school deluxe pack... just not for friggin' Class of Heroes 2
 
[quote name='lorddct']Should have choosen a better game.[/QUOTE]
No one that owns the rights to a better game would let them try a Kickstarter. They did the best they could.
 
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