Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment Arrives in North America this Summer

[roseofbattle]

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment Arrives in North America this Summer

North American Sword Art Online fans will be able to pick up the title this summer, coinciding with the series' anime adaptation of Sword Art Online II.

Bandai Namco announced its plans at its Global Gamer's Days event to bring Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment to North America this summer. It will be available only on the PlayStation Vita as a download-only title.

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Sword Art Online began as a series of light novels in Japan, but it gained widespread popularity with its successful anime adaptation, which aired in 2012. The second season, titled Sword Art Online II, is scheduled to begin airing this July. Hollow Fragment has a similar appearance to the first arc of the series, but it takes place in an alternate reality. Hollow Fragment features Kirito as the player's default avatar, but the player can do some basic customization to his appearance in addition to changing his name. The adventure begins on the 76th floor of Aincrad - familiar to those who have watched the animated series' first half - as the player clears dungeons and bosses with the goal of reaching the top floor.

Much like the series, the game has dating sim elements. The player can go on dates with the female characters and later talk to those characters in bed.

The game also has a multiplayer mode in which four players can each team up with one partner each.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment launches in Japan on April 24; it arrives digital-only in North America this summer.

Source: Dualshockers [http://www.dualshockers.com/2014/04/22/ps-vita-exclusive-sword-art-online-hollow-fragment-coming-to-north-america-this-summer/]


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[ryo02]

I pre ordered the Chinese/Taiwanese version as I hear its in English (text only) and I prefer physical copies.

 

[DaViller]

I never understood how that got so damn popular. We need more jojos bizarre adventure to teach children how real men act.

 

[circularlogic88]

Looks terrible. That's a Vita title? Looks like an early build of a Dreamcast-era game. Especially that one pic with the monster.

 

[Zontar]

I never understood how that got so damn popular. We need more jojos bizarre adventure to teach children how real men act.

Simple, the first episode was very well done, the one after that, not as much but still very good. The one after that, better then the one before it. The first three episodes where incredible, leaving the viewer with the promise of a fantasy epic following people trapped in a game. Then episode 4 happened, and it just went downhill from there (though at the very least the second arc had the "lets see just how bad this can get for entertainment" factor).

 

[SKBPinkie]

SAO should've ended soon after episode 15.

Spoiler

Starting up a new MMO at that point was kinda dumb. Lost interest very quickly after that.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

It's not an MMO itself? Why do I feel this is a fail?

Yeah, granted it wouldn't have reached WoW levels of popularity, BUT STILL...

 

[The Wykydtron]

So no EU digital release or did the writer forget to add that into the article? Has everyone forgotten that the EU exists again, christ it's not hard. Oh it's a VITA game? What, that thing is still alive?

They're doing a 2nd season too? Sorry but if it's in the same universe I have no idea how they could release a SAO2 and expect people to buy it. Also please, drop Kirito. I like him personally because sometimes there's nothing wrong with a overpowered wish fulfillment character BUT that's only up to a point. I haven't even finished it yet, on Episode 20 and i'm just expecting Kirito to be Kirito about every situation by now so there's no tension because it's fucking OP Kirito. I'll watch the 2nd season but i'll probably switch off eventually if they bring back Broken Tier Kirito.

What's with "help, i'm trapped in an MMORPG" settings now anyway? Log Horizon is doing it too, albeit outdoing Sword Art Online in every respect aside from animation quality. Fuckin' Shiroe man. Who makes the main character a support class? A support who took Scribe as his subclass to help him make more accurate maps.

 

[Quiotu]

It's not an MMO itself? Why do I feel this is a fail?

Yeah, granted it wouldn't have reached WoW levels of popularity, BUT STILL...

Because this is basically a poor man's .hack, and .hack was a single player game mimicking an MMO with problems.

 

[NiPah]

Ah sweet, the anime that managed to single-handedly piss off the entire tropes.com fanbase is getting a video game release.
On the one hand I get to play an interesting JRPG set in a universe I enjoy, on the other hand I have to hear hundreds of people ***** about how much they disliked a cartoon...but then again if they weren't complaining about SAO they'd be talking about shiny object like Attack on Titan or something, god unless they've already grown board of that one too...

Damn that's a lot of vinegar in that post... but I admit it people who complain about how bad SAO just annoy me, so it's staying.

Venom aside guess I'll need to buy a Vita, I've been putting it off but dang.

 

[Edl01]

Looks terrible. That's a Vita title? Looks like an early build of a Dreamcast-era game. Especially that one pic with the monster.

Because 2012 sucked for anime and it was either this or Eureka Seven AO. Given the latter was a sequel with an ending that completely butt fucked one of the core points of it's predecessor, I'll gladly take SAO over E7AO.

I actually like SAO legitimately but I can see a lot of the problems people have with it, even if they were exaggerated to ridiculous levels. I blame the company that got the anime rights to it. Instead of a true adaptation, they just made a well animated cliff's notes.

SAO's Light Novels have all the issues of SAO. Kiritio is still just as overpowered. The plot is still incredibly cliche. The plot still makes stuff up on the spot. The guy wrote SAO when he was 14 years old, he had no idea how to write good literature.
As well as this there was more anime in 2012 than just SAO and E7AO. 2012 was the year we got Fate/Zero, and yet for some reason the show everyone decided to talk abut was Sword Art Online.

 

[ClockworkUniverse]

The guy wrote SAO when he was 14 years old, he had no idea how to write good literature.

This made a lot of sense to me, and I wanted it to be true, but I looked it up. He was born in 1974, and wrote it in 2002. He was 28. He has no excuse.

 

[roseofbattle]

So no EU digital release or did the writer forget to add that into the article? Has everyone forgotten that the EU exists again, christ it's not hard. Oh it's a VITA game? What, that thing is still alive?

They're doing a 2nd season too? Sorry but if it's in the same universe I have no idea how they could release a SAO2 and expect people to buy it. Also please, drop Kirito. I like him personally because sometimes there's nothing wrong with a overpowered wish fulfillment character BUT that's only up to a point. I haven't even finished it yet, on Episode 20 and i'm just expecting Kirito to be Kirito about every situation by now so there's no tension because it's fucking OP Kirito. I'll watch the 2nd season but i'll probably switch off eventually if they bring back Broken Tier Kirito.

What's with "help, i'm trapped in an MMORPG" settings now anyway? Log Horizon is doing it too, albeit outdoing Sword Art Online in every respect aside from animation quality. Fuckin' Shiroe man. Who makes the main character a support class? A support who took Scribe as his subclass to help him make more accurate maps.

Bandai Namco actually hasn't said anything about it coming to Europe. The announcement was only for NA.

The anime takes place in the light novel's "Phantom Bullet" arc, so it's a different game.

You're right about the "trapped in an MMORPG" story -- that's certainly become popular the last couple of years. The light novels came out a while ago, but I think the anime adaptation came to light mostly thanks to the popularity of "trapped in a game" plots, which became more popular following the .hack series.

 

[Edl01]

The guy wrote SAO when he was 14 years old, he had no idea how to write good literature.

This made a lot of sense to me, and I wanted it to be true, but I looked it up. He was born in 1974, and wrote it in 2002. He was 28. He has no excuse.

Seriously? Because that explanation always made so much sense to me ;'(
Nevermind then, he's just a terrible author.