Earlier this week, we got a look at the updated European box art for the physical copy of the Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster coming to Switch this April. The overly large download warning completely ruined the artistic beauty of this cover art.
If you've now decided to import a physical copy of the game to avoid this ugly box art, we've got some good news to share. According to a recent tweet made by the Play-Asia Twitter account, this upcoming Switch release will come packaged with two game cards. It means there's a game on each card!
https://twitter.com/playasia/status/1090108711798956033
When it was first discovered the Japanese and Southeast Asian copies would include English support and both games on card, the common assumption was X and X-2 would be packaged together on a single card. This latest update comes as a pleasant surprise. Still, it's a pity Square Enix didn't extend this to Europe and North America.
Are you planning to import Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster? Tell us below.
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[source twitter.com]
Comments 114
Does it come with English voices though?
Then Square Enix will stop releasing games on the NA, EU and AU because they be like, “West don’t buy our gamez” when in reality, everyone is importing from Japan because of the ugly box art for the west.
I don't import anything ever but this maybe too tempting not to.
now I really don't understand why Squeenix outright refuses to do this for U.S./Europe.
it can be done, but they just refuse to do it??? it's asinine nonsense.
@Dpullam i would assume so, being that english is a spoken language where this version is meant for
@DarkLloyd True, but this is an import which doesn't guarantee 100% that there will be an English language option. I hope you are right though!
Last week called, it wants its news back
Quick question, does the Japanese Amazon sell this version of the game? Play-Asia often takes weeks after release to arrive while Amazon will get it to me on day of release.
Just want to be doubley sure before I lay down the doe.
Any place where I’m able to see the whole asian box-art? I’m tempted to import, but I’d like to see for instance the back of the box, and perhaps the game’s menu before buying, before I’m stuck with something I’m not able to understand.
Even better than having both on one cartridge. Really glad the Switch is region free. Been needing to import a lot of games lately.
If the Japanese physical release supports English and does this, I will buy that. Otherwise I will just download both.
@nate83km My eyes called, it wants insightful commentary back. 🔥 💯 🔥
I will gladly accept a delay to get the double-cartridge treatment here in the US.
Bought it. Also went ahead and ordered World of Final Fantasy Maxima and Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy!. Just have to wait for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition as that's going to be digital only in NA.
How is that "good" news? If anything, that's just news
@Charlie_Girl I read in another comment that putting both games on card was forced upon them in Asia because some regions don’t have access to the Eshop. I don’t know if that’s true, but it sounds plausible!
Not interested in this collection, but, if I was, now i would totally try to get it from Play-Asia. It just sound kinda cool to have a collection with each game on its own cartdrige!
Definitely an import from me. Got a 200gb SD that's starting to struggle with just eshop purchases, updates and dlc.
Nah, I could not care less of FFX-2, and I will go to digital route. I just hope that I could buy only X, now I have to pay for X-2 even I never ever will play it.
Wow!
Both of them in cartridge.
I cannot wait to order them.
@IHateTombs I’ve ordered from them once. The shipping charge was like $15-$20 (2 or 3 games and Taito drum) and it took about a month to ship to the US
@Charlie_Girl I don’t get it either.
Makes no sense other than cost effectiveness.
Guess before the release time I will cancel Amazon Japan since they can't get a straight answer from SqEnix and emailing them with their reply is just worse. It's as though it was some secret playbook they couldn't tell you.
@Juanblue85 cool solatorobo avatar!
Sadly yes, I believe Asia or most of Asia doesn't have access to the eShop store. @gungho_trucker
@adh56 : Sounds like you got off pretty easy. My Play-Asia orders are usually at least $200 or more in order to subside the ridiculous costs of shipping.
The shipping cost of my order that included the Taiko drum controller (among other things) was AU$70!
@Friendly : If the Asian version of the game includes English (and it doesn't always include English) then the box art is almost always in English. I can vouch for the Asian versions of Katamari Damacy and Kunio-kun Collection which both contain English on the cartridge.
If there is only Chinese and Japanese on the cartridge, then I assume that the packaging will be in Chinese.
Two games on separate carts? I wish more companies did that.
@Charlie_Girl greed, I guess Asian games don't stand for this nonsense, if they thought they could get away with it they would.
@Justifier You could always wait and buy it used later on for cheaper then you won't feel like you pay for both and FFX-2 would had being redeem by someone else like me already so you won't get that game along with it anyways.
@IHateTombs with cheapest shipping it takes 2 to 4 weeks, more expensive shipping by Fedex or UPS takes few days.
Charges are as follow, duty free up to $200 and up to €22 for EU countries but for EU you can prepay import fees which makes it all cheaper (because when doing so there are no administration fees above the import fees, the administration fee depends per EU country, so you pay the import tax only then)
For EU up to €150 and above €22 the fees are tax only of the country of destination, above €150 it's tax + regular import fees.
I didn't make the rules, EU and US made themself, as you can see for US importing is dirtcheap (as a EU citizen that sucks).
Also EU and Europe is not same, the EU (European Union) rules apply for countries in it.
My experience? Well there is no Amazon in my country (and because of that their support sucks for me) and 8 out of 10 times they refuse shipping to me, with small packages like a small game a lot of times I've never had any fees to pay because they blantly don't always check all packages, with big ones I always prepay it because they pick them out mostly for the fees.
PA is good but expensive and a lot of times they are the last place for me to import stuff, but I never get anything than asia/japan exclusive stuff over there, because of the higher prices.
@BensonUii
I also have friends in the US and they confirm it's up to $200 duty free for such stuff.
@Charlie_Girl because it's square enix lol
@Charlie_Girl I think the assumption is that people in the west have faster internet so they can get away with it. I have 1000 mbit/s, though I still would prefer having the complete games on card.
@Justifier If you bought it physically you could sell the unwanted game card.
I want to import, but the price... I can't justify considering I already have this set on PS3.
@IHateTombs The Japanese version hasn't been confirmed to include English yet though.
Also, Bandai Namco is publishing this game in Asia (not Japan) so people need to calm down on the Square Enix hate
@IHateTombs Yes, but Japan and Asia are two different "game regions". Japan is Japan while Asia is Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc. Play-Asia is a Hong Kong based company. They sell Asian Chinese versions and Asian Japanese versions in addition to European and American versions. The FF X copy in question is the Asian English release and not the Japanese release.
And adding to the confusion, Singapore and Malaysia use the American game region.
For reference, the Vita version was separated intoc two different releases in both Japan and Asia, but only the Asian version had English.
@Snow-Dust the % of people who import games is tiny. Will hardly make a dent in western sales
The X-2 cart will be a nice little collectible down the road. I'm leaning towards pre-ordering this Asian version because I prefer physical but also because I didn't own a Playstation until the PS4 so I've never played these games.
@Charlie_Girl @Madder128 I think it's the other perspective of not so much they refuse to do it in the West, but they have to do it in the East. For whatever reason (no eshop in Asia etc), chances are X2 would be digital in Asia too if they could do it.
@IHateTombs Indeed, I'm waiting for confirmation that the JP release will have English before I buy it from Amazon Japan
@GrailUK Yeah and I think this is one of the reasons that Square doesn't publish in Asia themselves
@Nico87 Indeed.
@IHateTombs
You get to choose the deliver options. This depends on the weight and if you want tracking.
You can choose to pay the import taxes during checkout. I would personally just pay it.
It usually takes between 2-3 weeks.
The Final Fantasy VIII 20th anniversary edition on Switch actually comes on four game cartridges.
@GhostGarrity
LOL
FF VIII on Switch will come in 1 cartridge.
@IHateTombs Just check the different box arts. The Japanese one is the classic white box, the Asian one follows the global release and is blue with the counterfeit of the main characters. You are right that Japan is a country in Asia, but Asia is quite big, so don't expect them to have one release for whole Asia. Just think about Europe. Almost every country gets its own box, even if the cart itself is the same. You hardly find any English language boxes in Germany for example.
@Anti-Matter ever heard the term "sarcasm"¿?
Can someone share a source that says the Japanese version also includes English support? Cause all the article links to is the Play-Asia shop listing of the Asian version and the Play-Asia website does NOT indicate multi-language support on the page for the Japanese version.
I'd much rather import the Japanese version since I typically never have to pay customs taxes on Japanese imports but I consistently have to for anything that comes from Play-Asia.
@Silly_G tnx! I’ll probably order it this weekend then
@mazzel In Europe, localised boxarts specific to certain countries, or for "groups" of countries where descriptions on the back of the box are in multiple languages, are identified by a colour coded triangle at the bottom of the spine on the boxart. Green is for UK for example, Dark Blue for Germany, Magenta for France, Orange for "France and Benelux" and Purple for "Multi Language" boxarts that can have English and French or both of the above plus Italian and Spanish for example. There may be more that I have simply never seen, that's just in my own experience, looking at my shelf.
It's been like that since the Gamecube days as far as I know and that carried over to DS boxes and all subsequent Nintendo systems since.
@RudyC3 Yes, this is exactly what I said, your description is just way more detailed
If I wanted to import to the United States and I didn't care about getting the game several weeks after release what would be my cheapest option?
@RudyC3 My suggestion is to wait until it is listed in the Japanese eShop. Then you can check which languages it supports.
@TheAwesomeBowser Why? Did you really want the Atari Flashback Collection to come on 150 different cards?
If it has English voice acting then my preorder on amazon Uk is gone, only problem is the time it takes to deliver. I preordered battle princess Madelyn it was “sent” the day it came out (December) but still not delivered (uk) and no real info except it’s on its way
@IHateTombs You also had to realize that Japan unlike mainland Asia use different infrastructure on how they power their network. Japan like all of North America and some areas of the Pacific Islands used NTSC whereas mainland Asia, Europe, Australia, South America and probably Antarctica used PAL infrastructure.
They aren't compatible with one another because of that which is why the Japanese version is different from the Asian release and thus had no multiple language support. The Asian version may had multiple languages but if play on an NTSC console the game may have minor hiccups probably in the framerates categories rendering the game a bit slower or glitchier. Your best option is either the NA release or the Japanese version if you live in NTSC regions.
I just buy my imports from videogamesplus.ca they are based in Toronto Canada and ship to the USA. Usually get my games quick. I think they ship to europe too.
@Nintendudesid Bought child of light and onimusha warlords import this weekend
Bought child of light and onimusha warlords import this weekend
@retro_player_22 PAL and NTSC times are gone. All switches are exactly the same globally. You can play any game on any switch without any hiccups.
Rikku and Yuna are way too cute.
@mazzel Really damn I must still be living in the past. Oh well then there's no problem I guess, it's up to preference now.
playasia is pro-gamergate though
@Justifier Yes hear hear! Exactly this
@Mijzelffan Right and? You say that like its a bad thing
I skip this, I have (both) on Ps Vita.
@retro_player_22 it's still existing, but modern TVs can deal with both formats, so for the customers it doesn't matter anymore
Only if you do video editing you need to take care of PAL and NTSC as they have different fps. So combining a PAL with NTSC video is difficult.
Tl;dr: doesn't matter for consumers anymore
Implying people care about Waifu Fantasy X-2
@Justifier I wish that too! I had the PS2 originals but rarely touched X2. I also have the PS4 versions and have never played X2 on that one. I just want the X on the switch.
That's really cool. Would import if I cared about these games. Can't wait for XII and eagerly awaiting a release date for IX which is the greatest FF game of all time for me.
Yeah. I'll just import from PlayAsia.
Not sure this article is worded to ensure no confusion. The only version of the game that seems to have the 2 carts is the Asian one. Not the Japanese one.
Neither Play Asia or Amazon Japan claim that the Japanese version of the game has 2 carts.
It'seems only the Asian version that Play Asia list have having 2 carts.
@XenoShaun Amazon will only sell the Japanese version. You can pick faster shipping from Play Asia but of course it costs.
I think it was a wise of Nintendo's part of having there Switch be region-free for those who prefer to buy imports.
@IHateTombs yes I would expect all copies to have multi language as they get released around the same time as US & UK.
This is the current standard for games released at the same time. Which is great for people needing to import to have physical copies.
OK just checked Play Asia again. Earlier this week/last week when i ordered my copy on the page for the Asian version it said
"Note:
Now it just says
"Note:
I'll ask them to confirm and report back if get a reply
Final Fantasy X/X-2 Switch English Asian Version
World of Final Fantasy Switch English Asian Version
Chocobo’s Dungeon Switch English Asian Version
@IHateTombs
English is confirmed. It’s a multi-language release.
And shipping is only $7.95 for the cheaper option, and does not take a month. Maybe 2 weeks. I order from them all the time. There is a more expensive shipping option which will get it to you in 3 to 5 days. Personally I’d rather pay a little less and wait an extra week.
Also, it’s not very complicated. Japan is its own region (JP). These games are made only for Japan. The rest of Asia, that speaks Chinese and English, is a separate region and typically includes English by default. Most importers opt for the English Asian versions of games, because they almost always have English while only a few, select JP region games include English (although some do, like Okami HD and Onimusha Warlords).
Best to buy English Asian if it’s an option, unless the JP version has English (which is more rare), but if it does you can buy directly from Amazon Japan. Otherwise, Play-Asia should be bookmarked on your internet browser for the English Asian versions of games.
Play-Asia Switch Games
Click “Language” on the left, and select “English”
edit
I can’t speak for Europe, but in the US I’ve never payed any import fees. Ever. I think the package has to be over $200 before it’s even eligible to be charged fees. And nothing I’ve ever imported has been more than that, barring the Rathalos Edition PS4 Pro. But nobody at the post office opened the box to see what it was and therefore I never got charged fees.
Is there any other place that lets me import this version? OPlay-Asia isn't an option for me.
"Ruined the artistic beauty of this box art" of a remade game three times over is a ridiculous opinon. Like collectors will lose out if that disclaimer is on the box. Stop it.
I'll be buying this regardless. Half digital, two cartridges, it doesn't matter. Buy the game or don't, but find another hill to die on.
That works too...a totally acceptable solution, unlike the download code mess in the West.
I did contact Amazon JP and SqEnx and SQ reply is confusing at best they don't confirm dual cart or single cart of the game either. But Amazon JP did say it comes with EN option.
Was it confirmed to not only have English support, but not just via subtitles? If it's English that includes English voice acting, then I'll definitely go this route to have it all physically.
@IHateTombs until 50€ there are no taxes, over that, you must pay an import tax. I import from playasia all the time to Germany and never had problems.
Anyone thinking English voice is good need to have their heads checked. Far to many times EN voice butched the dialogue of JPN Voice emphasis to the storyline.
@mazzel That's a fair point about checking the eShop listing. Didn't think of that. That actually prompted me to check Amazon jp and see if that brought up any info but no, couldn't find anything. That makes me nervous too because the Japanese PS4 version was Japanese only, both for audio and text. I don't wanna have to pay 100€ total just to import from Asia :/.
EDIT: At least FFXII is confirmed on Amazon JP to have dual audio on it, so it's safe to assume that one would have English text as well as the audio, but I don't have to import that one to have it complete on cart though, so that's useless to me XD.
@setezerocinco I imported my North American version of Cave Story+ from Play Asia (because it was easier to order from them). Game + Shipping amounted to €32.33 and I still had to pay 27€ in taxes when it arrived, nearly doubling the cost of the game in the process.
I try to avoid Play Asia as much as possible cause here in Belgium they have an habit of always opening packages that come from China, Hong Kong or the US for that matter. I never had to pay any customs taxes for any of the many packages I had delivered from Japan though.
Then if you order with FedEx, UPS or DHL, you not only get those customs taxes to pay, but those private companies have you pay additional administrative costs because they had to pay a guy to open your package and that caused paperwork. I had one package from Play-Asia once for a total value of about €100 that costed me again about €25 in customs taxes and no less than €55 to pay to UPS in administrative fees! I never use those carriers and stick to regular post, they just as fast in my experience and never charged me any extra besides the customs taxes on those occasions when I had to pay something.
@GauBan Thanks for the info. That's a shame but will keep an eye on Play-Asia's listings.
@Anti-Matter ffviii isn't even coming to switch. Hopefully they do it eventually.
@Snow-Dust i hnestly dont know why you would go through the trouble of importing over cover art. you can simply print out a new insert.
@retro_player_22 pal and NTSC was simply 50 and 60 Hertz refresh rates of TVs back in the 1980s. The issue hasn't existed since then. I'm in Australia and we've had NTSC TVs since the late 80s, same goes for everywhere that used to be a pal territory. It's only relevant now to retro gaming hardware, and when companies republish the inferior pal version of old games like nes and snes and PlayStation on modern hardware, the pal versions still play slower because of the slower frame rate.
The PS classic mini console got a bit of attention for including several pal games for instance, such a bad decision for modern times when the NTSC version of those games is better, just plays smoother. In 1990 we had no choice, but now it's just mind boggling Sony didn't use all NTSC time on the mini console.
Why can’t They do this for North America? sighs
@RudyC3 hmm sounds like there still is a risk... Also, it is not confirmed that the Japanese version will have both games physical. Imgaine the worst case, where you end up with a Japanese only version and X2 as a download code
as I guess you played the games before and don't need them day 1, maybe it is worth to wait with the leader at least 1-2 days after the release to be sure what you get...
That’s fine with me. I used the affiliate link on the last article to pre-order my import version. Looking forward to getting my copy, however long it takes.
@Oxman I don't know of any game that has this feature. So I would be surprised if Scenic adds this for X2. There for my guess is: No savegame sharing between platforms
@SwitchForce The original X voice over was horrible, especially because they changed the script a little bit. Me as a not English native speaker used English voice plus subtitles and they didn't match. If I have the option, I will always use Japanese voice plus subtitles, as I usually don't like the English voice acting.
@NTELLIGENTMAN I only meant stuff like 2-game packs such as this. Good grief, I've been wording things very poorly here lately.
@RudyC3 that is odd or the import rules are more restrictive for Belgium. I order only games from Asia there. Cave Story+ I bought direct from Amazon US and did not pay taxes as well because the price with shipment was lower than 50€. To tell the truth, I had just one problem with PlayAsia and was my fault: I ordered something to my business address and then the package was retained because customs thought I was avoiding business taxes or so. Otherwise, when I need something from Japan I buy direct from Amazon JP, AmiAmi or FromJapan.
@companyoflosers it is not for the cover art, it is because the second game in USA and Europe is download only and in Asia it comes in a cartridge.
I wouldn't mind if the Western version of the game was either entirely physical or entirely digital. Why have us settle for a middle ground nobody asked for?
This is exactly the reason I refused to buy Spyro Reignited Trilogy in physical format - when you need the disc for just one of the games, why bother with a physical version at all? That's exactly what might - and in case, will - happen with FFX on my Switch.
I really don't understand why this is being treated like a good thing. It makes an extreme amount of sense for companies to not double the cost of producing games physically. The only reason it's happening in SE Asia is no eShop.
@IHateTombs a lot of times I can find games on Amazon as well. Ship a lot faster, but puts the "fees" up front in that the games are usually priced at $80ish instead of $60.
@mikegamer
"Implying people care about Waifu Fantasy X-2"
I played FF X-2 NOT because the Waifus (Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Le Blanc), but i was positioning as a Female gamer who joined in Girl's Slumber Party (Be pretty, be Pop singer, be girlie, etc)
@SwitchForce
"Anyone thinking English voice is good need to have their heads checked. Far to many times EN voice butched the dialogue of JPN Voice emphasis to the storyline."
Yuna singing Real Emotion English version = BLAH
But...
Thousand Words English version = better than Japan version in my opinion.
Btw, i like Tara Strong voice as Rikku than Marika Matsumoto. Both of them are great, but i still prefer the sweet voice from Tara Strong, as the voice actor of Timmy Turner from Fairly Odd Parents / Omi from Xialin Showdown / Dhil from Rugrats / Benjamin Tennison from Ben 10 / Bubbles from Power Puff Girls / etc.
Listen to BoTW in Japanese and then the English version and you see better emphasis in the story Narration.
That's absolutely better then "1 game on card, the other as download"!
@SwitchForce That's not "English butchering", that's Square Enix' garbage recording directors.
@Anti-Matter Err, Real Emotion is the same singer (Kumi Koda) for both the EN and JP language. It's her actual (hit single) song. Sony just licensed it in the game because it was popular in Japan at the time, and she, like all artists, was signed to Sony as her label, so they basically get all licensed music royalty free.
She also happens to be the JP VA for Lenn, however.
Why is the fact that you have to switch cards good news? I preferred the assumption that both games would be on one card. I feel stupid since I don't get it - enlighten me please The only reason I can think of is if you only like one of the games and plan to sell the other.
@Anti-Matter Yeah that definitely sounds like a compelling element in a JRPG alright
@NEStalgia "That's not "English butchering", that's Square Enix' garbage recording directors."
Called butchering regardless of how one wants to sugar coat it. Poor English lacking emphasis/emotions in voice can make or break a good gaming experience.
@SwitchForce maybe. But se has always had that "se sound" with the English dubs.... As though it's intentional.
@JaxonH Thanks for the links and information.
@NEStalgia for some odd reason US voice never seems to quite capture the emphasis spoken JP voice does. And to listen it on BoTW compare to English puts more emphasis on it then english does. I watched enough Anime JP vs EN voice and find JP voice more appealing and gets the points across with english txt and helps foster a better understanding of JPN language.
@SwitchForce Generally speaking there's nothing more or less expressive about one language versus the other other than that expression is emoted differently in each. Ultimately language itself doesn't alter emotional context, though dialect/localized tonality is different for each.
The big differences are acting and direction. Not actual real-world English and Japanese, but the schools of theater and acting have exceedingly different methodologies taught for expression in acting. The American school of acting is very different from the British school of acting, and the Japanese school of acting is quite different still, with different standard approaches to conveying certain feelings etc. Not a language difference as much as an acting method difference. I.E. Japanese actors applying their acting technique in the English language would come across similarly to how they do in Japanese language sessions.
The second problem endemic to S-E is directing. Their stuff always has a certain flat, dry, sound to it that is particularly unique to S-E. It seems intentional as though it's a misunderstanding, at the corporate level, about the different schools of acting and they believe American actors should act differently than American listeners would actually expect to hear.
In either case it's not so much about the language but about regional method acting technique and the poor understanding of whoever S-E seems to pay to direct people.
@mazzel Following up on this, FFX listing showed up on the Japanese eShop in the upcoming games section, and English is listed as a language, so I'll import from Japan .
@RudyC3 Nice!
OK for me it's a big temptation to import it from US rather than buy in EU, but.. Can anyone tell me is there any difference in the content of the games? i remember that in oryginal version there were a few differences between PAL and NTSC. PAL had Dark Aeons and NTSC didn't.
Any clue?
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