DS Daily: Saving up for a Flowery, Sunny, and Rainy day
by JC Fletcher 
{ Oct 11th 2008 at 10:30AM }
Marvelous announced a 2009 release for the DS version of Grasshopper Manufacture's Flower, Sun, and Rain, probably to avoid having the game get lost in the holiday rush. But it's set to come out this year in Europe, which means that importers will have the opportunity to play the game in English several months before it's available in the US.If a game is available in English before its US release, do you import? Did you pick up the Japanese DS versions of the Phoenix Wright games? If not, is it because of the price difference? Or is supporting efforts to put games like these in US stores worth a few months?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Psalm Bowser @ Oct 11th 2008 10:51AM
For those of us lucky enough to live in England, or unlucky (FUCKING ICELAND), there's a special edition of this game. But I can't find out what's so special about it. Halp.
But, then again, I'm not the greatest Suda fanboy, so I'm still on edge whether I should get this at all.
aj @ Oct 11th 2008 11:14AM
No, the cost really is what does it for me. I could get two or even three games for the cost of one import game. So.....why import when I could go down to the used video game shop and pick up a bunch of stuff for 10$ a pop.
Gewurz Man just wasted 200 Wii points @ Oct 11th 2008 11:14AM
I haven't imported any games before. However, if there was some must-have that I could not live without, and it was in English somewhere else, and a US release was far, far, far away... then, maybe, just maybe, I'd import it.
Curious though I am about Flower, Sun, and Rain, it does not yet meet the aforementioned must-have criteria.
Ujn Hunter @ Oct 12th 2008 10:32AM
I usually only import games that have no U.S. release in sight... because I really would like to support the U.S. releases so that they keep bringing them out here. That being said... if there is some sort of Special Edition Euro version of this game... I might have to buy it... then buy the U.S. version too! Ahhh! ;)
Zealot @ Oct 11th 2008 11:54AM
No one should import Flower, Sun, and Rain. It's getting an entirely different translation by Marvelous when it comes to the US and will probably be superior to Rising Star's efforts with the European version.
Anyway, the last time I imported a game was when I was 13. I was a newbie to gaming and didn't know of the existence of licensed shovelware. I was a huge fan of Robot Wars when it aired (albeit butchered) on TNN, and when I discovered that there was a Europe-exclusive GBA game (Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction) I happily ordered a copy from the UK. The problem? It was complete crap, I had paid $40 for it, and there was nowhere to exchange it or trade it in. I know better now and would be open to importing, but we live in a different age and it's cost-prohibitive, with DS games being upwards of $60 on ebay after shipping. I'll break my own no-import rule with Fire Emblem because I love the series that much. The handheld versions take just as long to play and beat as the console versions, so technically they're all worth at least $50.
chibi_wings @ Oct 11th 2008 12:17PM
I'm a very patient person, so I never get the urge to import if I know the game will eventually make it over. But even if the game isn't coming over, the language barrier (for japanese imports) and price barrier usually deter me. If there was a game that I absolutely loved and it came out in Europe only, then I would probably import. But even then I'm not too sure, because I usually have a long list of games I want to buy locally, and they get my money first.
Roto13 @ Oct 11th 2008 12:46PM
The Phoenix Wright games are given much MUCH better English translations for their western releases. It's not worth the import, really.
I'll probably wait to get my hands on this game. I love Suda 51, but I'm not really dying to play this or anything. :P
Strike Man @ Oct 11th 2008 10:20PM
You have a source on that? If anything, from my memory, I'd say the translation in the dual-language Japanese releases of PW 2 & 3 is the _exact_ same as the one Capcom used for the US release (right down to the occasional grammatical error or Canadian joke).
For the record, even though I purchased both the imported and domestic releases of PW 2 & 3, as Zealot pointed out, we are getting a different translation from Xseed, and I will likely wait for their release to purchase it.
Matt G. @ Oct 11th 2008 2:07PM
To be blunt, I don't understand why people can't just wait a little longer for a release in their own country. I understand importing in the cases of 1) no European release = import to EUR from US and 2) import from JPN to US because there will be no localization, but that's it.
aj @ Oct 11th 2008 11:55PM
Sometimes Europe does get good exclusive games. The only one I can think of off of the top of my head is Breath of Fire III on PSP, but that one is definitely worth the import.
Unless you already own it on PS1. In which case you can rip it and play it on your PSP anyway, and there's no point importing.
nil @ Oct 12th 2008 10:20AM
I am a steady importer. I generally stick to games that are not being released domestically. I own lots of DS, Gamecube, SNES, N64 and PS3 imports. I pre-ordered the European Flower, Sun and Rain when it seemes unlikely to reach the states. I'm debating whether or not to cancel that order. I'll definitely buy the domestic release but I may want the European release as well. I'm a huge Suda51 fan and so is my wife. Maybe I'll buy the US release for her and keep the European for myself.