Pandora's Tower Coming to the US This Spring

Operation Rainfall rendered a rousing success!

The Last Story, released on the Wii earlier this year, ended up being XSEED's most successful game ever. So it should come as no surprise that the publisher has gone back to the Operation Rainfall well and have announced that they’ll be bringing Pandora’s Tower to US shores this spring.

Pandora’s Tower is the last of the Operation Rainfall titles to finally be released in North America, a major win for the fan driven movement that’s likely asking itself “Now what?” since their initial mission has now been accomplished.

“It’s fantastic to be bringing such a highly-anticipated title like Pandora’s Tower to such a vocal fan base,” said Shinichi Suzuki, president and CEO of XSEED Games, in reference to the Operation Rainfall fan movement.

Developed by Ganbarion, Pandora’s Tower was labeled by many as the least likely of the Operation Rainfall titles to make it to US shores. The recent launch of the Wii U made it all the more unlikely that US gamers would ever get a chance to play the game without resorting to importing – a processes that is difficult due to Nintendo’s decision to region lock their systems and games.

Pandora’s Tower is a riff on the classic fairytale genre, complete with a maiden in distress. But this isn’t your ordinary Mario themed adventure. The twist is what makes this game stand out, as the protagonist, Aeron, must render the flesh from over a dozen monsters in order to free our maiden, Elena, of a particularly gruesome curse that sees her turning into a savage beast herself. Oh yeah, and time is against you!

No specific release date was given other than the general spring 2013 time frame, but rest assured that we’ll let you know more, including that release date, as soon as we get word.

Press Release

XSEED Games Announces Pandora’s Tower for Spring 2013 Release

Fan Favorite Wii-Exclusive Action RPG to be Released for the North American Market

Torrance, Calif., (January 16, 2013) – XSEED Games, an independent-minded publisher, today announced they have come to an agreement with Nintendo that will bring the highly anticipated action role-playing title, Pandora’s Tower™, exclusively to Wii™ in Spring 2013. Developed in Japan by Ganbarion, Pandora’s Tower takes the classic fairytale theme of a maiden in distress and adds a violent twist, with the protagonist setting out to slay over a dozen giant monsters and collect their flesh in order to free his beloved from an evil curse. The agreement with Nintendo grants XSEED Games exclusive publishing rights to Pandora’s Tower in North America.

“It’s fantastic to be bringing such a highly-anticipated title like Pandora’s Tower to such a vocal fan base,” said Shinichi Suzuki, President and CEO of XSEED Games. “North American gamers have been very patient in waiting for this game to be released, and we’re confident they will be pleased when they get their hands on the title.”

A tale of unfortunate circumstances, Pandora’s Tower opens in the Kingdom of Elyria, where an unassuming singer named Elena succumbs to a wretched curse during a festival performance. Bearing an arcane mark on her back, she starts transforming into a savage monster, causing the town guards to attempt to kill her in order to prevent it. A young ex-mercenary named Aeron, whose heart has forever been pledged to Elena, whisks her away in the nick of time – and with the help of a mysterious witch named Mavda, he learns what must be done to avert her wretched fate. He must descend into The Scar, a massive chasm tied down by twelve chains connected to a floating island in its center, atop which sit thirteen interconnected towers. There, he must use his sword and a sacred chain to battle his way through each tower and extract the flesh of the boss “masters” that dwell within, which Elena must consume in order to reverse her ongoing transformation. But the clock is ticking! The longer Aeron takes to vanquish each beast, the less human Elena becomes, affecting her character and the game’s final outcome in a profound manner. Time is of the essence...

Pandora’s Tower was developed in Japan by Ganbarion in conjunction with Nintendo, exclusively for Wii. The game will be published by XSEED Games in North America in Spring 2013. XSEED Games will release more product updates in the coming months.

©2011 - 2012 Nintendo / GANBARION. Published by XSEED Games. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo.

About XSEED Games

XSEED Games was formed in November 2004 by a small group of industry veterans with a common vision; to cross pollinate the avid gaming culture of Japan and North America. Delivering unique, innovative titles across multiple platforms and genres, XSEED Games is dedicated to publishing products that appeal to and enrich the North American market. The company is a 100% wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based MarvelousAQL Inc., a publicly-traded company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. More information on XSEED Games can be found at http://www.xseedgames.com.

#Operation rainfall #Xseed #Wii #Pandora

Julian Titus Senior Editor

01/16/2013 at 02:53 PM

Is there actual evidence that these games came out due to Operation Rainfall? As much as I'm happy that they all got brought over I don't like the idea of internet whiners getting their way all the time.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

01/16/2013 at 03:11 PM

Evidence? The internet knows not of what you speak.

Angelo Grant Staff Writer

01/16/2013 at 03:26 PM

I'm not so sure about Xenoblade, but I think XSEED is the kind of publisher that pays very close attention to what happens in social media.

I think it's a double edged sword. On one hand, I think what Operations Rainfall appears to have accomplished is a very good thing. Convincing publishers to release games in the US that we otherwise would never see is great for our industry. On the other hand, there's stuff like the Mass Effect ending.

Jesse Miller Staff Writer

01/17/2013 at 08:22 AM

I don't think this is a case of whiney gamers getting their way. The Last Story was XSEED's most successful release ever (which prompted a second running and a price drop), so it only makes business sense that they would target the only remaining Operation Rainfall release. After all, they don't have to spend any money on localization, just production and packaging. This seems like a win-win to me, more than "whiney gamers" getting their way in spite of good business practice.

In that sense, I think this has everything to do with Operation Rainfall. If Pandora's Tower wasn't one of the games in their campaign, people over here would never have heard of it (except a much smaller minority).

01/17/2013 at 10:35 AM

I really don't even see this as a "whiney gamer" thing. I think publishers looked at the market and believed there was nothing here for them, but gamers spoke out and attempted to prove, successfully I might add, that there was.

Matt R Staff Alumnus

01/16/2013 at 09:47 PM

Another win for gamers. I hope it turns out to be successful.

01/17/2013 at 07:45 PM

When the whole Rainfall thing was in full swing, the vibe that I was getting was that these games were getting released in Europe and how dare Nintendo not release them in the States. It was a very entitled "do this because we say so" mentality, at least from where I was looking.

Obviously Xenoblade and Last Story did well, but they would have done well without the Rainfall movement. They're core games that are exclusive to a system that people love, released in a time when not much is being released for the Wii. They probably got a bit of a bump from collectors, sure. I just wonder how much an online petition really had with this.

01/18/2013 at 10:57 AM

I disagree that they would have done well without the movement. They represent a niche genre on a system that, while many people owned one, didn't have great software attachement rates.

Do you think Nintendo would have marketed those games? Would anyone besides the absolute hardest of the hard core have ever heard of those games? The movement spread the word and people became interested in games they otherwise would never have noticed. And the movement itself was handled very professionally - I didn't see many "nerd rage" comment threads like I did with Mass Effect 3's ending (not nearly that), nor even close to the discourse that came with DmC.

No, I think Operation Rainfall is the only reason these games came over. If Xenoblade didn't sell well enough to turn a profit, XSEED never would have brought The Last Story over (Nintendo certainly wasn't going to at that point), and if The Last Story wasn't as big a success as it was for XSEED, then Pandora's Tower never would have made it here.

Fact is, people asked for it, they received, and then they put their money where their mouth was. It's a win-win, but if not for that initial spark, none of this would have occurred. In a cynical world, where the entitled gamer bitches and moans over Dante's new hair color, files suits over Mass Effect 3's ending, and other nonsense, Operation Rainfall shows how a crowd supported movement can and should work.

01/18/2013 at 07:58 PM

Did these games sell to anyone but the hardest of the hardcore? It's not like Nintendo or XSEED did much marketing. I got the sense that the people who wanted these games already knew about them long before Operation Rainfall.

I definitely saw plenty of nerd rage type comments in regards to this little experiment. Not nearly the levels of of Mass Effect and DmC because as you said, these are niche games within a niche.

I'm not saying it's not great that these games got released here. I'm just hesitant to award all the praise to an internet petition movement. That gives them the victory. Victory leads to empowerment. Empowerment leads to entitlement. Entitlement leads to petitions. Petitions lead to me rolling my eyes.

DarthViking

02/25/2013 at 11:02 PM

Love The Last Story so far, I'm definately looking forward to Pandora's Tower.

PixlBit