Vanillaware’s beautiful action-RPGs released on the PS2 and Wii may be coming to XBLA and PSN in high-definition.
Japanese developer Vanillaware is known for one major aspect of its games: gorgeous 2D sprite-based graphics. The company has never released any of its titles on a console that supports high-definition (unless you count the Wii’s 480p upgrade), but games like the PlayStation 2’s Odin Sphere and the Wii’s Muramasa: The Demon Blade have dazzled the eyes of players anyway. According to rumors, those dazzling games could become even more dazzling-er sometime in the future in HD.
Sources have told 1up that Vanillaware is in the process of porting Odin Sphere and Muramasa for HD release. No specific console was named, but the ports are said to be downloadable, meaning that Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network are really the only places for them to logically go.
Both games have quirks but are still enjoyable for action-RPG fans. They’re noticeably Japanese, with Odin Sphere requiring that players take breaks in-between battles with the gods of Valhalla to grow fruit and sheep (yes, I said sheep) that restore health. Muramasa puts players in the roles of two different blade-wielding protagonists that must forge more than 100 different katana.
The detailed character designs for the two games should look amazing in HD. Their art was reportedly developed in HD first and downgraded for release on the PS2 and Wii, so porting may not be as much of a challenge as it was for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Though the rumor is said to be coming from multiple sources, it’s not officially confirmed yet, but keep an eye out.
Source: 1up
