Rejoice at last! Namco Bandai has finally released not just one, but three iDOLM@STER games for Western audiences. Based off the original iDOLM@STER Shiny Festa, which was was released on PSP last year in Japan, being three separate games primarily having rhythm gamplay without any of the band management mechanics and VN-Dating Simulation aspects.
So barring the above gameplay elements that don’t appear in these titles, which is a bummer, there’s also another kicker that will probably make Square Enix’s previous attempts on iOS pricing look tame in comparison. All three titles are priced at $54.99 each! Outrageous, if I’m being perfectly honest, but will fans bite the bullet to finally play any of the iDOLM@STER titles in the franchise they’ve so craved since its arcade debut in 2005 and the Xbox 360 port in 2007? Well that’s for them to decide if it’s really worth putting down $165 for all three games. Though it brings the question, could this stunt potentially hurt its chances at reaching a bigger audience, or was it already doomed to stay niche from the beginning?
From word of mouth of importers, all three sound like solid rhythm games that were worth the import costs. Who knows, if all goes well, we might see other titles from the past or upcoming future games be localized as well – though I’m getting ahead of myself. The links below will direct you to all three if you’re interested.
THE iDOLM@STER SHINY FESTA Rhythmic Record – $54.99
THE iDOLM@STER SHINY FESTA Melodic Disc – $54.99
THE iDOLM@STER SHINY FESTA Harmonic Score – $54.99
