Every day I wake up and remember that I can’t buy The Legend of Dragoon – one of the finest RPGs on the original PlayStation – from the PlayStation Store, I feel sad. Sad for the company that steadfastly refuses to take my money. Because I would buy it, no questions asked, without the slightest hesitation. That game was awesome and, even though I own it in its original format, I would still like the security that comes from owning it in a digital format.

I know that in these days of services being stopped and consoles lacking backwards compatibility, digital is far from a certainty. But at least downloads aren’t subject to bit rot or the necessity of physical storage space. Room in my room is at a premium.

So my emotions were doing backflips late last week when I discovered that masterpieces of JRPG Suikoden and Suikoden II were coming to Vita… but only in the US. Konami why. Konami please. Luckily, they seem to have listened to my plaintive wails (or rather, the collective wails of EU masses).

Yesterday evening, I was that Konami have made plans to give us the goods in January of next year. While it’s a little longer to wait than those across the pond who can play it right the fuck now, I’m just thankful we’re getting it at all. In a world where region locking is still a thing for English-language games, we have to be thankful for small victories. And as small victories go, this one is bloody huge.

If you consider yourself an RPG fan and somehow missed these games the first time around (perhaps on account of being 5 at the time, oh god I’m getting older), then slap yourself. I don’t care if used PAL copies still sell for over £60 on eBay – the games are totally worth that. People pay more than that for marginally shinier versions of Call of Duty each year that come with super-exclusive paint for your pretend guns! Let me assure you that Suikoden and its amazing sequel are nothing short of RPG crack.

These are two games which I’m incapable of reviewing because I love them too much. It’s like trying to ask me why I love the flavour of IRN BRU or Hot and Spicy pizzas. I don’t know and I don’t have the vocabulary to even begin to tell you why I don’t know. What I do know is that there are a fuckton of other people out there who also like IRN BRU and Hot and Spicy pizzas and holy shit you need to try some because they’re delicious.

I feel like I’m getting off-topic here. What I’m trying to say is that you should get these games. If you’re unfamiliar with Suikoden, take 2 minutes to Google some info about it. Bask in the nigh-universal praise of the series. Ignore IV and Tactics, they don’t count. The first two instalments are either here or coming soon, depending on which part of the world you live in. Now when I wake up in the mornings and can’t play The Legend of Dragoon, I will have a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps one day. One day, it will happen and I will rejoice. Hell, let’s push the boat out entirely: maybe we’ll even see Xenogears and Chrono Cross in the UK? Today, I feel like anything’s possible. Just take. My fucking. MONEY.

© 2014, zero1gaming.com. All rights reserved. On republishing this article your must provide a link to this original post