Freedom Wars, a fan-favorite multiplayer action game often celebrated as one of the PlayStation Vita’s top titles and having sold over 230,000 units in Japan, is making a return after a decade.
Bandai Namco has announced a remastered version of Freedom Wars for modern platforms. This updated release will feature 4K resolution, 60fps support, and other enhancements. Originally released in 2014 exclusively for Sony’s PlayStation Vita, Freedom Wars was developed by Dimps, the studio known for games like Sonic Advance and Sonic Rush.
Freedom Wars was developed in collaboration with Dimps, Shift, and Sony’s now-defunct Japan Studio, highlighting Sony’s shift away from its legacy intellectual properties toward more progressive live service titles.
Sony has effectively ceded the rights to Freedom Wars, with Bandai Namco stepping in to publish the remastered version on PC, PS4, PS5, and the popular Nintendo Switch.
This collaboration between Dimps and Bandai Namco was a given considering how both parties have an established working relationship, particularly in producing Sword Art Online games such as Fatal Bullet and Fractured Daydream.
Ten years after its original 2014 release, this game is being revived for modern consoles, retaining its unique core elements such as a dystopian world, fast-paced combat, and the inclusion of android “accessories.” It has also been updated to improve playability on current platforms.
Set in a future where world resources are depleted, the game depicts a society where individuals without special skills are branded as criminals for merely existing.
These “criminals” are imprisoned in the city of Panopticon. The protagonist, a customizable character, has lost their memory and is sentenced to one million years in prison simply for existing. The only way to reduce this sentence is by taking on perilous combat missions known as “volunteers,” serving as soldiers in the ongoing battle against the alien Abductors.
The gameplay is reminiscent of older Monster Hunter titles, featuring strategic combat and mission-based objectives.
Panopticon operates under an oppressive surveillance system where even the most mundane actions are considered crimes, leading to extended prison sentences. Android “accessories” monitor the protagonist 24/7, echoing what has become the norm in today’s Western society.
In this world, everyday actions are criminalized, and sentences are increased by decades for the smallest infractions. Walking more than five steps inside a cell is a punishable offense, while running in the city carries even harsher consequences.
It’s illegal to be separated from your accessory, to interact with the opposite sex, or even to lie down on your bed. No matter what you do, every action is a violation, further lengthening your sentence, everything you do is a crime and you will be ticketed for it.
The other criminals in the city are in a broken state, their minds unraveling from the constant surveillance and punishment. Many chant slogans or lament their hopeless circumstances, trapped in a cycle of misery.
In interviews with Japanese outlets 4Gamer and Famitsu, Dimps’ Takashi Tsukamoto and Tetsunosuke Seki shared new insights on the remaster. Tsukamoto, who directed the original release. While Dimps initially sought to create a proper sequel to Freedom Wars, they received approval from Sony for a remaster instead, with Bandai Namco stepping in to publish the game.
The remaster will include full English voiceovers, along with the original Japanese, but players will only be able to choose from Japan’s 47 prefectures as their affiliated Panopticon, as opposed to the global cities featured in the Vita’s Western releases.
Additionally, the game will not support cross-play, except for internal PlayStation cross-play between the PS4 and PS5 versions.
Considering the original Freedom Wars launched on the PS Vita in 2014, the hardware limitations of the handheld were evident. The Vita’s modest specs, featuring a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 512MB of RAM, and just 128MB of VRAM powering its PowerVR graphics chip meant the game was immensely constrained by hardware which underperformed commercially.
The remaster’s primary improvement lies in its vastly enhanced graphical fidelity, as modern home consoles have exponentially more power than the Vita, making this remaster a necessary first step toward an eventual sequel.
The original’s potential was largely underutilized as a first-party Sony title on the underperforming PlayStation Vita, but this revival aims to correct that when Freedom Wars Remastered releases on January 10, 2025 for modern platforms and PC.
