A history of Vita games: Publisher Spotlight – Atlus

The seventh in a series of articles I’m writing, looking at the output of a number of Vita-supporting companies from launch through to the present day. I’ll be examining what the games they released were; (if the data is available) how well they sold; (in cases of them being ports) how well they ran; as well as a brief look at games which perhaps should have come to the console either in the west or in general.

This is the second article in this series where I look at a company who has a dual-role. Atlus the company are known for creating a number of interesting JRPG’s in their Shin Megami Tensei series; while the localization house Atlus USA exists to bring not only their own internal titles to the west, but interesting looking games from other developers. Compared to their PSP output, Atlus have been much quieter on Vita – yet the titles they’ve brought have almost universally been fantastic, making them an interesting part of Vita’s ecosystem.

 

Launch & 2012 – an awful year or an amazing year?

During Vita’s first year on the market, Atlus had just a single game released for the console – which would normally cause me to berate such a company in these articles, but in this case I have to make an exception as the game in question is regularly ranked as the hands-down best in the handheld’s library.

That title is, of course, Persona 4 Golden. An expanded port of the critically acclaimed PS2 title Persona 4, the game introduced new social links; characters; cutscenes and story elements, making it a fantastic improvement over an already brilliant JRPG. Releasing in Japan in June (providing a nice relief from the mid-summer software lull) and in North America in November (providing a nice holiday present for anyone looking for a meaty game on their new console), the game proved to be a massive critical triumph (currently the highest rated Metacritic game on Vita) as well as a surprise sales success – opening to 137k sales in Japan and providing a spike in hardware sales, it went on to ship more than 700k copies worldwide by the end of 2013. This puts it by far in the upper tier of Vita sales and was notably higher than previous Persona games too, showing the IP fit in well with the audience on the handheld.

However, that was all Atlus had available for Vita during 2012. Given their late-in-life support for PSP, which included a range of titles from Growlanser to Gungnir it was pretty disappointing; but compared with the early days in the lifespan of Sony’s previous handheld it wasn’t a massive surprise, as they only managed to push out two late ports in 2005 for PSP. Among titles that it would have made sense to bring to Vita was Persona 4 Arena, the Arc System Works fighting game spin-off to their beloved RPG – the tie-in potential with Vita’s audience was right there, making it a bizarre omission. The company also brought their remake of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment to PSP in 2012 following a remake of Innocent Sin in 2011 – which would have been another fantastic fit to cash-in on Persona 4 Golden‘s success and PSP’s dwindling popularity, but it never happened.

Still, given the outstanding quality of Persona 4 Golden it was hard to hold it against them; but what was a shame is that things didn’t improve drastically during 2013 despite the game’s sales success.

 

2013 – a vanilla showing

As with 2012, Atlus released just one game for Vita in 2013 (which was a title from a partner studio, not even an internally-developed one) but – as with 2012 – it was a absolutely great game which seemed to be a massive success on the handheld.

This was Dragon’s Crown from famed Japanese developers Vanillaware, responsible for the cult SEGA Saturn classic Princess Crown – which their new game acts as a spiritual successor to. Featuring gorgeous 2D hand-drawn art as well as some deep RPG systems and co-operative online play, the game resonated well with the handheld’s audience – selling more than 940k copies worldwide within a year of release (combined with the PS3 version). It would mark the beginning of a fantastic love affair between Vanillaware and the Vita that also saw the release of Muramasa Rebirth in 2013 under a different publisher (Marvelous).

As with 2012, that was it for Atlus – one extremely successful title and nothing else. What was bizarre about this was that the company were going all-in on 3DS during this period, showing they were big fans of the handheld market, but unfortunately that didn’t translate well for Vita – despite the potential for multi-platform games on both platforms, especially when other companies were managing this. Among games that were brought to Nintendo’s handheld were multiple Shin Megami Tensei games (Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers; Devil Survivor Overclocked and the next mainline entry IV) as well as smaller titles like Code of Princess. While they would’ve needed extra work to get running on Sony’s higher-resolution handheld (as well as adapting from the dual-screen format), I feel it would have been worth it to cash in on the early, dedicated Vita audience.

Amusingly, despite the runaway success of both Persona and Dragon’s Crown, Atlus would have even less output over the next two years – releasing no games until 2015, although at least Atlus USA picked up the slack during the following year with their own efforts – even if the quality of these games didn’t always work out.

 

2014 – Atlus USA to the rescue!

Sadly, my write-up about 2014 could quite easily been blank had Atlus USA not stepped in by both localizing games from developers other than their Japanese arm (who had absolutely nothing lined up for the console) as well as experimenting with publishing some indie games, which help kept Vita’s year afloat.

In late 2013, Atlus USA announced that they had picked up Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars for 3DS & Vita, which saw an eventual western release in April of 2014. Despite being a sequel to a PSP-only RPG which released only in Japan, this didn’t deter the company who released a dub for the game as well as physical releases on both platforms. The game itself was only a moderate success in Japan – selling less than its PSP predecessor with 19k on Vita and 5k on 3DS first week; but western sales seemed stronger with 18k on Vita and 13k on 3DS within the first month of sale. Reviews for the game were less than stellar, but overall the choice of localization seemed to be a success.

In an interesting move, the company also experimented with publishing an independently-developed title on Vita with the release of Rollers of the Realm. The studio had done this previously, with games like Rock of Ages from ACE Team releasing in 2011, but it wasn’t something they did too often. Rollers was an ambitious project mixing pinball gameplay with RPG mechanics which received a fairly muted reception on Vita, but reviews were more complimentary of the Steam and PS4 versions.

However, nothing else came from either Atlus USA or their Japanese counterpart during the year. It’s a good idea to provide the background of what was happening to Atlus during this period which may explain the slower output. See, the studio’s parent company – Index Holdings – filed for Bankruptcy in late 2013, with the Atlus brand subsequently being acquired by SEGA in September. This change in ownership might have disrupted the company’s release schedule due to the uncertainty of ownership, despite the fact that the studio seemed to be given full autonomy under SEGA to continue producing games as they were doing.

This meant that games such as Persona 4 Arena Ultimax again managed to skip Vita, despite Persona 4 Golden sales on the handheld going from strength to strength, especially on the back of the release of the anime in Japan. The quirky spin-off Persona Q also managed to release as a 3DS game despite including the cast of the third and fourth Persona titles, both of which are fan-favourites on Vita – but this may be due to the fact that the game is based on the Etrian Odyssey engine which has never ventured outside of Nintendo’s handhelds.

After 2014, Atlus’ output on the handheld would step up significantly – with a published game each year alongside multiple localizations. Arguably, they also influenced SEGA to bring more of their niche titles across in the coming years, as well as assisting with the localization of Valkyria and Yakuza series; which was a great turnaround compared to their earlier, muted release schedule.

 

2015 – Atlus’ best Vita year?

2015 would be the year Atlus finally released numerous games within a 12 month period for Vita, led by the first internally-developed Japanese title since Persona 4 Golden way back in 2012; alongside multiple localization projects including some surprisingly good titles.

The year kicked off with the studio publishing the Earthbound-inspired RPG project Citizens of Earth as a digital-only game on the handheld. It marked an interesting project for the studio as it was not only another indie pick-up but was a game which originally appeared on Kickstarter and failed to reach its funding goal – meaning the title wouldn’t have happened at all had Atlus not stepped in. The title received mixed reviews from critics, but was definitely a nice addition to the Vita’s library.

Atlus USA’s year was also defined by two very smart picks for localization from external studios. The first of these was Lost Dimension in July, a tactical turn-based RPG from FuRyu that was developed by Lancarse, a studio who collaborated with Atlus on multiple occasions in the past with titles such as Etrian Odyssey and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. Despite being a clearly low-budget effort featuring iffy production values and repeated content, the game was well-received among fans who enjoyed its tactical combat; traitor system and mechanics (I was definitely among the people who loved it – check my review here).

Their second localization project for the year was part of a long-running partnership with Japanese developer Aquaplus, responsible for titles such as the fighting game Aquapazza and the strategy-RPG Tears to Tiara II. Atlus grabbed Dungeon Travelers 2, the first-person dungeon-crawling RPG that was widely regarded as along the best in the genre thanks to its challenging difficulty and interesting mechanics. The game caused a minor news storm thanks to its need to be censored for western release and sales are unknown – but given the company continued to work with Aquaplus going forward, signs are good that things turned out well.

The biggest game of the year for Atlus was by far Persona 4: Dancing All Night, a rhythm game spin-off of Persona 4 Golden featuring a brand new story. Reviews were mixed on its success in transporting the game’s cast into the new setting and the slightly off-rhythm gameplay, but thanks to some brilliant production values and the series’ trademark funky music the game was a sales success – opening to 94k copies in its first week on sale in Japan with a western release following in September. The company would go on to announce two more spin-offs in this vein based on Persona 3 and Persona 5, showing that the project as a whole had worked well for them.

Definitely the busiest year for Atlus on Vita, it’s still a shame that 2015 only saw one internally-developed title from the studio (and a spin-off at that). Thanks to some solid work from Atlus USA the console’s release schedule remained filled for the year, which is sadly something that would take a bit of a dip in the following twelve months.

 

2016 – back to basics

Back to the old days of just a single release within the year, 2016 mirrored 2012 in a lot of ways – only one game released, but a stonking title that received rave reviews (and much like Persona 4 Golden, was a remake of a PS2 release).

That game was Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, a full remake of Vanillaware’s seminal PS2 action-RPG Odin Sphere. Beginning development in 2013 (and surely on the back of the success of Dragon’s Crown), the game added a host of additions and refinements to the formula of the original game while keeping the well-received story and visual design in tact. It clearly worked, as the title received a stunning 93 on Metacritic (placing it just one point lower than Persona 4 Golden) and opened to strong sales in Japan, with 95k copies sold across all PlayStation platforms (and 43k from Vita).

Aside from this, the company released nothing else for Vita in 2016 – either as an internally-developed title; externally-published game or localized release, which is a massive shame. At this point it wasn’t surprising that Atlus weren’t developing many games for the handheld – it wasn’t something they’d done during the early successful years of Vita’s life so it was unlikely they’d change during the twilight years – but it was surprising to see Atlus USA not pick up any games for localization. Thankfully, the team would step up their efforts heading into the 2017 – providing arguably their best lineup of third-party titles ever, as well as some glimmers of hope for beyond that.

 

2017 & 2018 – to be continued!

2017 saw Atlus USA leverage a number of long-standing third-party partnerships to bring a handful of well-received games to the west on Vita, cementing them as one of the longest-standing supporters of the handheld out there. Amazingly, their Japanese arm also announced plans to release games on the console in 2018 too – showing a level of commitment far beyond a number of their contemporaries.

The year kicked off in May with the release of Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception, the latest fantasy tactical-RPG from Aquaplus and sequel to a PC/PSP game that never saw a western release. This was somewhat of a surprise pickup due to this being a narrative-heavy series in which we’d missed the previous entry – but thankfully Atlus weren’t afraid to take that chance, much like they’d done with with Conception II years earlier (which thankfully didn’t have the same narrative ties).

Despite the heavy visual-novel focus which often puts off western gamers, reviews were mostly positive – focusing on the strong characters and plot developments alongside enjoyable combat. In Japan, the game received a sequel a year later entitled Mask of Truth which concluded the story of the trilogy and – thankfully – Atlus also confirmed localization of this title which released in September of the same year, which received a similarly positive feedback. Notably, formed Atlus social media manager John Hardin explained he had pushed hard for a physical release of both games on Vita, something other similar companies were beginning to drop.

Sadly, Hardin’s pushing didn’t manage to get a physical release for the company’s next western Vita game – The Caligula Effect. Released by FuRyu in Japan in 2016; written by Persona series veteran Tadashi Satomi and developed by Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment alumni Aquria, the title saw a digital-only release for the handheld in May. Reviews for this game were more mixed (although I personally liked it), with many focusing on the poor execution of elements such as camera angles and performance; yet praising the story and character development. Sales figures are unknown, but were likely handicapped by the game’s digital-only status.

While there’s still time for other localizations to come from Atlus throughout the rest of the year, it seems unlikely at this point and as such Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth may be their last for 2017 – but that’s still a solid year with a number of quality releases. What’s most interesting is that this is normally the point in the article where I say that there’s little support to look forward to in the future from the company as releases dry up – but with Atlus it’s the opposite, as the company recently announced not one but two titles for release in 2018 in Japan (with likely localizations to follow).

These games are Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night – sequels to 2015’s Persona 4: Dancing All Night and spin-offs of the successful RPG’s of the same name from the Persona series. While little information is known about them so far, the company promised gameplay improvements over the predecessor (including a more coherent story mode) while maintaining the same level of graphical fidelity that was by far the most impressive aspect of P4D. It also marks a level of commitment to the platform far beyond some of the company’s rivals – a nice change in pace given the evaporating support seen throughout 2017 from Japanese developers.

Sadly, there were still missed opportunities during this time even with new games pledged. The well-received DS RPG Radiant Historia released in Japan for 3DS in June 2017 opening to lukewarm sales of 21k – it was later revealed that the game was originally planned for a release on Vita before development was sidetracked by the Wii-U exclusive Tokyo Mirage Sessions, when the team revisited the project, it was shifted over to 3DS. It was a shame to see this title unable to break out of the DS family of systems, especially since it would likely have been a great match with Vita’s audience.

Still, this was a small disappointment in some otherwise fantastic late-in-life support for Vita from Atlus (bolstered by the announcement of Catherine: Full Body, even if it is only getting a Japanese release) – a company who had always been there in a small capacity, but really stepped up their game for the final stretch (even if there were plenty of questionable choices along the way).

 

Conclusion

Atlus have undoubtedly been a constant presence on Vita – much like they were on PSP – but just like on PSP, their support has been scattered and slower than some of their contemporaries. Their localization arm in Atlus USA have been strong at bringing nearly every viable title to the west, based on some useful partnerships with long-standing collaborators, but their Japanese side has been more mixed bringing a handful of fantastic games; but ignoring almost all of their smaller-scale RPG’s and dungeon crawlers that seemed to thrive on the 3DS.

For me, this was a very disappointing choice as RPG’s have been the lifeblood of my gaming time on Vita – and although there’s nothing wrong with rhythm games and scrolling platformer/beat ’em ups, they just don’t scratch the same itch. Many of their 3DS releases would have worked brilliantly on Vita (aside from Etrian Odyssey due to its dual-screen format) and it’s a shame the company didn’t experiment with releases across both platforms, especially while so many of their early Vita games sold so well.

Still, I don’t think fans can really hold it against them since they provided the handheld with its highest rated (and most beloved) game in Persona 4 Golden alongside many hidden gems such as Dragon’s Crown; Lost Dimension and the Utawarerumono duology. And hopefully, judging by their intentions for 2018, there’s every chance we’ll get more brilliant content from them well into the future too – something that can’t be said for some of their rivals.