I'm planning to get SB 3 hopefully.
And maybe SB 4 if it comes to the states
While Samurai Heroes is a great game (with a GLORIOUS dub that shut my hater weeaboo mouth), it's largely outshadowed by the expansion, Sengoku Basara 3 Utage. The character count alone says it all - SB3 has 16 PCs and Utage has 31 (3's 14 NPCs made playable plus the PC debut of Matsunaga Hisahide). Furthermore, Utage introduces TAG mode that allows you to take two characters unto the field as well as add new skills and retune all the SB3 veterans with new skill properties and cancel options.
And it costs a dirt cheap 2,500 JPY right now.
And I highly doubt SB4 will see the light of day in the West. If you're not familiar with the series, it's one of Capcom's two Japanese cash cows (the other being Monster Hunter) but while MonHun sells like hot cakes, the best selling Basara game so far is SB3 at around 500,000 units...which, let's face it, is not much. Where Basara really rakes in the green is with merchandise and events. There's a large amount of stage play adaptations, including one by a well known all female troupe. And that stuff obviously doesn't stick Westside.
And if you look at Samurai Heroes, you can tell Capcom NEVER bothered making any sort of promotion for the game (not even a freakin' stream session). If you weren't a fan of the series by then, chances are you didn't know 3 was being localized.
I think Basara is a very unique phenomenon in the industry given that it's a somewhat fanservice-heavy action game marketed for girls.
I wish things were different and Capcom give the series a honest attempt at selling the brand in the West, but I don't see it happening.
I'd gladly settle for a subtitled only digital release.
The games are very import-friendly, with the HUD having enough visual cues for the player to understand what he's supposed to do and for the most part, the objective is just KILL EVERYONE. Rarely, if ever. will the game make you babysit NPCs. But it is a shame to miss out on the dialogue because these games have pretty entertaining stories, be it the dramatic or comedic type.
Does the HD collection have English subs?
As Cybermanworf pointed out, there are no subs but almost everything in SB2H has been translated by diligent fans. As said above, the games are very import friendly.
If you haven't already, I'd extend the suggestion of getting Utage instead. By now the game alone costs a measly €17 and the core gameplay experience completely blows the prequels out of the water. I personally love SB2H and I think it's better than both 3 and Utage in terms of stages (they're more and overall more fun to play) but the way the character "handles" and the number of options the player has is just miles better.
