My other commitments in life have kept me from playing many games in recent months, which is the main reason I chose to pass upon Destiny Connect upon its release in Japan in March. The issue for NIS, however, is that a LOT of people did what I did and decided to pass up the game upon its release as well. The game landed with a thud, with the Switch version debuting in 34th place in weekly sales charts, the PS4 version performing even worse with a 47th place debut, finishing the week with a combined sales figure of 2683 units between the two versions. Destiny Connect flopped, and the game has tumbled in price since, meaning it’s likely that, for any chance of the game turning a profit, it will have to sell well when the game releases in the West, a release we now have a date for thanks to a new western trailer for the game.
I’ve been following this title since its first Japanese trailer was released, even covering the news for Otaquest when it was unveiled. I think the game looks like a fun JRPG with a warm art style and a fun cast of characters, likely nothing too challenging from a gameplay perspective with its family-oriented approach but fun nonetheless. Plus, the music was nice and gave the game an interesting tone that left me curious. For the Western trailer of Destiny Connect, however… well, they removed that entirely.
The trailer we got instead replaces its soft musical backing with an out of place guitar riff that not only clashes with the tone of the game itself but the scenes shown within the trailer, while an awkward voiceover track distracts more than it introduces elements of its gameplay. Admittedly, compared to its Japanese debut trailer it does showcase more of what the game is about, but not in a way that I think is very effective. While that first Japanese trailer drew me in, this Western trailer for Destiny Connect actually pushes me away from the game, while my brief (albeit unscientific) survey of other people’s views on the trailer regardless of their knowledge of the game was mostly negative.
I don’t feel the trailer here does a good job at making a potential buyer interested in picking this game up, which is a shame since the Japanese trailers for the game as well as gameplay I have seen of the title suggests a fun experience that isn’t fully captured here. I would hope that this trailer doesn’t taint the opinion of too many potential purchasers to impact the game’s sales, as I would like to see it succeed as someone who will pick up this release if I haven’t already stumped up the cash for the Japanese release by this point.
At the very least, the trailer does provide us with a date for when we will get our hands on this game, with a release date being penciled in by NIS America for October 22nd in the US and October 25th in the UK. If the Western or Japanese trailer for Destiny Connect has tempted you into a purchase for the title, you can pre-order a limited edition version from the official NIS America store.