Even though the video game industry is now both centered and dominated by the Western market it’s still normal for one or two Japanese exclusives to pop up here and there. Compared to the heyday of the Sega consoles, PS1, or even the PS2 we may not see a plethora of cool Japan only games these days but such a thing does occasionally happen. One game that caught the attention of Western gamers and in turn had them hoping for an international release was Guild 01.
Released by Level-5, Guild 01 was a 3DS game collection that featured unique projects from the likes of Yoot Saito and Suda 51. Released in Japan back in May it seemed as if the chances of Guild 01 being released abroad was low but now such a thing may indeed happen albeit in a trimmed form.
While Level-5 may not release the complete package that is Guild 01 in Western markets, Level-5 has filed American trademarks for both Crimson Shroud (the Yasumi Matsuno RPG game) and Liberation Maiden (the rail shooter from Suda 51 and GhM). Additional trademarks have not been filed for the two other games in the Guild 01 collection, but seeing as how those consisted of a game about forging weapons and another in which gamers were tasked with overseeing an airport’s baggage claim system I doubt those may be headed our way anytime soon.
Level-5 have yet to release additional details about a Western release of Guild 01, but based on these recent trademarks it appears we can expect the two core releases, which also happen to have Western appeal, released sometime soon. Both Crimson Shroud and Liberation Maiden aren’t entirely substantial enough on their own to receive individual retail releases so we’re either going to see both games bundled together into one package or perhaps sold individually via the 3DS e-shop.
Both Crimson Shroud and Liberation Maiden have received mixed reactions from those who have played the Japanese version so it’s hard to tell if American gamers will embrace both with open arms or entirely cast them aside.
[via Siliconera]
