Freedom Wars

Not to be confused with Freedom Force (2002 video game) or Freedom Fighters (video game).
This article is about the video game. For other uses, see war of independence.
Freedom Wars
Developer(s)Dimps[a]
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Bandai Namco Entertainment (Remastered)
Director(s)Takashi Tsukamoto[5]
Producer(s)Junichi Yoshizawa[6]
Designer(s)Toshiyuki Yasui[6]
Composer(s)Kemmei Adachi[7]
Platform(s)PlayStation Vita
Remastered
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 5
Nintendo Switch
Windows
Release
Remastered
  • JP: January 9, 2025
  • WW: January 10, 2025
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Freedom Wars (フリーダムウォーズ, Furīdamuwōzu) is a Japanese action role-playing video game developed by Dimps and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Vita.[8] Released in 2014 and set in the distant future where the majority of humankind is imprisoned in penal city-states known as Panopticons which wage war against one another, the game involves players cooperating to fight enemies and contribute towards their Panopticon.[9] The game was one of the most successful first-party PlayStation Vita titles in Japan, achieving the second highest all-time opening sales for Vita software sold there.[10]

A remastered port published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, simply titled Freedom Wars Remastered is currently set to launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows on January 10, 2025.[11]

Gameplay

In-game screenshot showing the combat interface

The game is a third-person battle action game, and features local and online multiplayer functionality, both co-operative and competitive, for up to eight players.[12] The game features a grappling whip that the player can use to zip across the battlefield and pull giant enemies to the ground.[13] Different classes of thorns also grant various special techniques, such as traps, healing, and shields.[14] Players fight alongside androids known as Accessories which provide combat support during missions; the player gives a set of commands to their Accessory that they execute, which include holding a position, collecting materials, or rescuing civilians.[14]

The game features a system known as the "League of Panopticons", where players are separated into 47 Panopticons within the Japanese version of the game, with each representing one of Japan's 47 prefectures, and 50 Panopticons representing select global cities within the Asian and western localised releases. Each Panopticon competes with the others in development, where players set out to seek natural resources and invade other Panopticons. Developed Panopticons have the capability to place other ones under their control, and leaderboards are used to compare each City-State. Within this mode, criminals fight amongst other criminals from rival Panopticons.[15] At the end of each mission, players can choose to give the materials they collect to the Panopticon as a "contribution" which reduces their sentence and adds points to their Panopticon on the leaderboards, or they can keep the material for personal use later on;[16] however, refusal to hand over certain prohibited material will result in the player being penalized with additional years in their sentence. The top few Panopticons with the highest total score are granted special rewards and bonuses.[17]

Missions involve players fighting against giant mechanized weapons known as Abductors, and rescuing civilians captured by them.[18] Accessories can be abducted by enemy Abductors once they have fallen, and in such cases the player is required to rescue them.[14] There are also item collection and capture the flag missions. In some missions, players will need to fight against other teams from other Panopticons, and attempt to rescue civilians for their own side. Players collect resources known as abductor parts which fall from enemies, which are used for crafting or contributing to the Panopticon; those who contribute to their Panopticon are rewarded with customisation options for their accessory and player appearance.[15] At the beginning of the game, the player has no rights, and is required to "buy" back their privileges to do certain things using points gained from contributions in the form of entitlement requests, such as lying down or walking more than five steps in their prison cell, customising their appearance, or having access to certain weapons; violating any restrictions results in a penalty of years being added to the player's sentence.[17] The Japanese and other Asian versions of the game utilise text-to-speech functionality to generate accessory voices triggered during the game which can be customised by the player.[19]

Weapons are categorised into six groups, namely small swords, large swords, spears, personal firearms, multipurpose firearms, and squad support firearms. Hammer-type weapons and longswords also fall within the large sword category, sniper rifles, submachine guns and shotguns are included amongst personal firearms, whilst the squad support and multipurpose firearm categories include weapons such as gatling guns, laser guns, rocket launchers, flamethrowers and net guns. Weapons feature varying degrees of rarity, attributes and perks, and players are able to equip two simultaneously, whilst Accessories are able to equip one.[20][21] Weapons can be collected off the field, or they can be crafted and enhanced. Consumable items vary from healing items to combat types such as grenades and land mines, and the player can equip boosters which provide in-combat modifiers. Production, modification and strengthening of weapons and consumable items takes up real-world time determined by the Vita's system clock, gives outcomes that are randomised to some degree, and occurs at the weapons plant, medical supply plant, and auxiliary arms plant; resource accumulation and management is an important aspect of the game.[14]

The game offers a selection of five different control schemes that cater to different players' suitabilities; the default and dash types are suited to general players of third-person action games, the hunter type is suited to players who prefer the control layout of games such as Monster Hunter and Gods Eater Burst on the PlayStation Portable, which allows the player to control the camera via "finger clawing" the directional pad as an alternative to the right analog stick, the shooter type is suited to players of third-person shooting games who prefer shooting firearms via the shoulder keys, and the technical type allows the player to switch between actions that bind to the right shoulder key.[22][23] All control schemes are compatible with DualShock 3 and DualShock 4 controllers, for players using a PlayStation Vita TV.[24]

Story

Setting

Freedom Wars takes place on Earth, in the year 102014.[b] The world surface lies in ruins and is no longer capable of supporting life. As such, humans live in underground cities called "Panopticons", where they struggle to research how to be able to live on the surface once more.[12] A Panopticon functions as an artificial nation in the form of a city state that provides security for its inhabitants, in exchange for contributions each inhabitant is obligated to make towards the state. This system forms the overall societal structure of each separate Panopticon, which were created following the disintegration and demise of countries. Due to lack of resources, each Panopticon has developed conflicts with others, and large portions of the populace are forced into serving sentences in order for these cities to maintain effective control.[9] All inhabitants of a Panopticon are constantly watched by the state to ensure they abide by the draconian laws put into place, essentially forming a collective of dystopian surveillance societies at war with one another.

Criminals serving sentences are forced into providing labor for the state, in the form of participation in war as "volunteers", in order to regain their freedom. Overpopulation has become such an issue that the Panopticons have implemented a drastic measure: anyone arrested for any crime is found guilty, regardless of whether or not they actually are. Based on the philosophy that newborns waste resources, the very existence of a person is a crime; more than 100 million people serve as criminals throughout the world. Criminals are forced to battle giant monsters called "Abductors" as punishment. Defeating the Abductors, which are known to capture civilians, reduces the Criminals' sentences, which start at 1,000,000 years.[9] Criminals are placed under constant surveillance and have their rights stripped; personal rights can only be gradually regained through labor. Surveillance of criminals occurs in the form of dual-purpose androids known as Accessories, which watch over criminals whilst serving as partners to them during combat.[9]

The player assumes the role of a young male/female customisable protagonist who received a prison sentence of 1,000,000 years for "the crime of living" upon their birth. While in a restricted area deep within the Panopticon, the protagonist stumbles upon and rescues a captive woman named Beatrice Anastasi from a secret facility. She is a human from On High (天獄, tengoku, lit. "sky prison"), a city-state that exists in the sky which has a high degree of civilization and technological prowess that frequently makes incursions and assaults against the humans living on the earth, during events known as "retribution" (天罰, tenbatsu, lit. "divine punishment"). Eventually the protagonist's Panopticon comes under attack from the hostile Hourai Panopticon, home to Abel Balt, one of the world's most powerful criminals.

Development

Demonstration of the game's unique text to voice functionality used for Accessory customisation. This feature was removed in the North American and European releases.

A teaser trailer for the game was released on May 16, 2013, which led to the assumption that the game would be named Panopticon. On May 21, 2013, the game was revealed to actually be named Freedom Wars.[25] Development for the game began in March 2011,[26] two years before it was first announced to the public in 2013. According to Junichi Yoshizawa, development was distributed amongst the various studios involved; Shift was allocated the task of game and character design, in addition to storywriting, whilst Dimps was responsible for programming, graphics and direction.[27] On June 12, 2014, the first playable open beta test of the game was released on the Japanese PlayStation Network.[28]

During the SCE Worldwide Studios keynote speech at the 2014 Taipei Game Show, producer Junichi Yoshizawa announced that the game would have a simultaneous release in Japan and Asia, and would also be localised in both Japanese and Traditional Chinese.[29] Sony Computer Entertainment later announced in April 2014 that the game would be localized for a western release.[30] North America[31] and Europe[32] both have physical retail releases of the game. A Korean language localization was also announced and later released on August 7, 2014.[33] The Chinese-language version of the game released in Taiwan and throughout Southeast Asia was released on the same day.[34] Whilst the Japanese version of the game features a map of Japan's 47 prefectures for its competitive multiplayer mode, the Chinese-localization Asian version was announced to have players select Panopticons from regions such as Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.[29] According to Nick Accordino who is in charge of the western localisation, the English release would feature 50 Panopticons based on cities located around the world.[35]

At the Japanese launch, the game features the singleplayer story, free volunteer missions, four-player ad-hoc co-operative play, and Panopticon leaderboard rankings in City-State War mode; later updates after launch introduce new missions and additional features.[36] The 1.04 update patch released on July 11, 2014 adds changes to game difficulty, including enemy spawning times in certain missions and allowing the thorn to be used whilst dashing. In addition, new control schemes are introduced.[37] The 1.10 patch released on August 1, 2014, introduces infrastructure mode online play, voice chat, invasion missions against enemy Panopticons, and the ability to play story missions with other people.[38] On October 16, 2014, the 1.20 patch introduced support for eight players in online player-versus-player mode, and the Ideology War game mode.[39] The 1.20 update for the western localisation of the game was released on day one of the North American release.[40]

Ahead of the 2014 Gamestart Asia convention in Singapore, producer Yoshizawa explained during an interview that the setting of the game is intended to act as a social commentary for modern society, with the game's imprisonment system being used as a comparison with government taxation imposed on a country's citizens, a system that individuals taking part within may often find unreasonable.[41]

Server closure

On 19 November 2021 it was announced via the Japanese PlayStation Vita Online Service Information website that the servers for Freedom Wars would be terminated on 24 December that year.[42]

Media

CD cover of Super Contribution Propaganda Music Collection, depicting (from left to right) Opti, Connie and Panna

Two music videos were released on Niconico to promote the game prior to its release, featuring the original songs "Let's Contribute: Imprisonment of Love for 1,000,000 years" (Let's貢献 ～恋の懲役は1,000,000年～)[43] performed by Shiina Natsukawa, Sora Amamiya and Momo Asakura,[44] and "Panopticon Songs of Labor No.1" (パノプティコン労働歌 第一) performed by Momo Asakura.[45] The songs are sung by a fictional in-universe Japanese idol girl group known as the "Propaganda Idols", who are tasked with spreading government propaganda to the masses and keeping the population under control.[43] A third promotional song, a cover of the Kagamine Rin song "Nananana" (ナナナナ) performed by Sora Amamiya and arranged by Kemmei Adachi alongside Oppiroge P, surfaced on the day the game was released in Japan.[46] The final in-character solo track by Shiina Natsukawa, titled "Ibara Lullaby" (イバラララバイ), was introduced on August 1, 2014, following the game's first major update.[47]

The original game soundtrack was released in Japan on July 23, 2014, and features three CDs covering 46 music tracks.[48] A music CD titled "Contribution Girls: Super Contribution Propaganda Music Collection" (貢献Girls：『超貢献推進楽曲集』) featuring four promotional songs for the game sung by the fictional propaganda idols Panna, Opti and Connie was sold by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia at Comiket 86 on August 15, 2014.[49]

A spinoff novelisation written by Masachika Kobayashi and illustrated by Kei Watanabe and Erika Ide was announced under the title Freedom Wars: Blue Thorn of Prison (フリーダムウォーズ 牢獄のアオイバラ), and began serialisation on August 28, 2014.[50]

Reception

Freedom Wars received "mixed or average" reviews according to aggregator Metacritic, with a score of 73/100. Famitsu gave Freedom Wars a review score of 35/40.[60] 4gamer notes in their play trial that the game provides tightly packed content with plenty of customisation options.[61] A review by Inside from Japan praised the game for its graphical and overall performance, in addition to the amount of detail placed into the game, however did find that enemy infantry often seemed overpowered during higher missions, raising the difficulty level of the game during these later stages.[62]

Destructoid called Freedom Wars the biggest PS Vita release in 2014.[52] IGN's Colin Moriarty writes that the game features plenty of content to keep the player occupied, and never forces them to play alone or online, allowing the player to choose their own pace progressing through the game.[58] Hardcore Gamer rated the game 3.5 out of 5, describing it as a solid action RPG with good premise and deep themes, albeit feeling repetitive at times.[57] PlayStation Universe gave Freedom Wars an 8.5/10 score, noting that the narrative and customization were positive aspects, even though the endgame relies on a large amount of grinding.[63] PS Nation notes that the singleplayer and multiplayer modes are enjoyable overall, and that the game plays well on a PlayStation TV device, giving a score of 9/10.[64] Metro gave a score of 6/10 stated "There's plenty of potential here, to make a Monster Hunter clone Western gamers can really get behind, but all its best ideas are sacrificed to endless grinding and repetition."[59]

Sales

The game sold 188,888 physical retail copies within the first week of release in Japan, taking first place within the Japanese software sales rankings for that particular week,[65][66] and maintaining the top charting position for the first two weeks in a row due to continued high sales during the following week immediately after.[67] During its opening week, the game sold through approximately 80-100% of its initial shipment.[68][69] Freedom Wars was also the most purchased digital download game from the Japanese region PlayStation Store within the first two weeks following release.[70] The game sold 35,000 digital copies within the first month in Japan, adding up to a total of approximately 300,000 digital and physical copies.[71] Freedom Wars marks one of the highest openings of a new first-party Sony Computer Entertainment intellectual property in Japan, and is the second highest opening PS Vita title behind God Eater 2 and ahead of both Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f and Toukiden: The Age of Demons. According to Media Create, Japanese retailers state that the primary demographic of customers purchasing the game were students, and that platform penetration of the Vita slightly increased amongst that particular audience.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Additional work by Japan Studio and Shift[4]
  2. ^ Within the English localisation. The original Japanese version introduces the game as being set in the year 102013.

References

  1. ^ "Freedom Wars Hits Japan This June, Will Not Have Online Multiplayer At Launch". Siliconera. March 18, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  2. ^ "New on PlayStation Store: Freedom Wars, Unfinished Swan, Lords of the Fallen and more". Playstation Blog EU. October 29, 2014. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  3. ^ "Freedom Wars on Vita: Western Release Date, Pre-Order Bonuses". IGN. August 19, 2014. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  4. ^ "God Eater And Street Fighter IV Developers Are Making Freedom Wars". Siliconera. November 19, 2013. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  5. ^ "Freedom Wars Game's English-Subtitled Story Promo Streamed". Anime News Network. April 29, 2014. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Freedom Wars being developed by three teams as DIMPS and God Eater studio join project". vg247. November 20, 2013. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  7. ^ "FREEDOM WARS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK". VGMdb. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  8. ^ 【速報】『フリーダムウォーズ』2014年夏発売決定！ 期間限定体験版の配信や、ポータルサイトの立ち上げも決定 [Freedom Wars summer 2014 release confirmed! Portal site established to deliver time restricted trial version]. Famitsu (in Japanese). January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d "Freedom Wars due out in Japan this summer". Gematsu. January 26, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Freedom Wars Sold Mainly To Students In Japan". Siliconera. July 4, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  11. ^ 『フリーダムウォーズ』リマスター版が2025年1月10日に発売決定、高速戦闘のマルチプレイアクションがPS5、PS4、Switch、Steamで甦る【動画付き先行レビュー＆開発者インタビュー】 ["Freedom Wars" remastered version to be released on January 10, 2025, high-speed battle multiplayer action revived on PS5, PS4, Switch, and Steam]. Famitsu (in Japanese). September 18, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "In Freedom Wars, You Play As Criminals Trying To Earn Their Freedom". Siliconera. May 21, 2013. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  13. ^ "E3 2014: Freedom Wars: Vita's Most Promising New Exclusive". IGN. June 10, 2014. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  14. ^ a b c d オリジナルの性能を持つ武器を生産！治癒＆防壁サポートも可能な「荊」アクションも堪能できた「フリーダムウォーズ」プレイインプレッション [Craft weapons possessing original abilities! Freedom Wars play impression of healing and protective support actions using the "thorn"]. Gamer (in Japanese). June 27, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Freedom Wars introduces new characters and systems". Gematsu. March 18, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  16. ^ "《自由戰爭》6 月 26 日發售 揭曉「艾露芙莉妲」「卡爾洛斯」等角色情報" [Freedom Wars to be sold on June 26, information regarding the characters Elfride and Carlos publicly released]. 巴哈姆特 (in Chinese). March 31, 2014. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "PSV共斗新作《自由战争》有爱评测" [New PS Vita co-op title "Freedom Wars" gets favourable reviews]. NetEase (in Chinese). June 30, 2014. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  18. ^ "Freedom Wars: Eight-person action-RPG multiplayer goodness for PS Vita". Destructoid. June 10, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  19. ^ "Freedom Wars Makes It Easier To Talk To Other Hunters With Text To Speech". Siliconera. March 4, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  20. ^ "Freedom Wars trailer introduces weapon categories". Gematsu. April 24, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  21. ^ "PSV 最期待作！自由戰爭 FREEDOM WARS 詳玩後感" [The PS Vita's most anticipated title! Freedom Wars detailed gameplay review]. Yahoo! News Hong Kong (in Chinese). June 26, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  22. ^ "操作タイプ - SYSTEM - フリーダムウォーズ" [Control types - System - Freedom Wars]. Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  23. ^ "『フリーダムウォーズ』体験会の要望を受け、操作やレーダーなどの改善点を発表" [Improvements to controls and radar et cetera announced for Freedom Wars due to popular demand from player trials]. インサイド (in Japanese). June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  24. ^ "フリーダムウォーズ". Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  25. ^ "Monster Hunting in Dystopian London: Freedom Wars Hits Vita in 2014". Kotaku. May 21, 2013. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  26. ^ "Freedom Wars Has Been In Development For Three Years". Siliconera. March 3, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  27. ^ "Freedom Wars: New Details on PS Vita's Upcoming Action RPG". Sony Computer Entertainment America. June 30, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-07-22. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  28. ^ "『フリーダムウォーズ』体験版は6月12日より、アドホック通信とセーブデータの引継ぎには非対応" [Freedom Wars trial version from June 12 onwards, will not support ad hoc or save data transfer]. インサイド (in Japanese). May 22, 2014. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  29. ^ a b "Freedom Wars Will Have A Simultaneous Release In Japan And Asia Regions". Siliconera. January 23, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  30. ^ "Freedom Wars, Soul Sacrifice Delta, and Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines coming to North America and Europe". Gematsu. April 14, 2014. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  31. ^ "Freedom Wars' Western Release Will Have 50 Cities Instead Of Japanese Prefectures". Siliconera. July 7, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  32. ^ "Freedom Wars on PS Vita to get full retail release". Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. July 22, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  33. ^ "섬란 카구라 신작 한글화! 소니, 상반기 라인업 공개". ThisIsGame (in Korean). April 21, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  34. ^ "PlayStation Vita專用"奪還"多人遊玩動作遊戲 『自由戰爭 FREEDOM WARS』繁體中文版決定於8月7日發售！亞洲限定「Collector's Edition」 亦將同時上市！" [PlayStation Vita exclusive multiplayer action game "Freedom Wars" traditional Chinese version to be sold on August 7! Limited Asian "Collector's Edition" to also be released!]. PlayStation Taiwan (in Chinese). July 8, 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  35. ^ "Vita action game Freedom Wars offers Japanese audio only". Joystiq. July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  36. ^ "Freedom Wars details and screenshots: City-State War mode, Elfriede and Carolus, first-run bonuses". Gematsu. March 27, 2014. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  37. ^ "『フリーダムウォーズ』天罰とバランス調整のアップデートが同時に到来！天罰は期間限定" [Freedom Wars update containing Tenbatsu and balance fixes arrives! Tenbatsu available for a limited time]. インサイド (in Japanese). July 11, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  38. ^ 【速報】『フリーダムウォーズ』大型アップデートついに配信開始！ インターネットプレイや敵地侵攻ボランティア、前日譚ムービーなどを実装！ [Major update for Freedom Wars finally released! Internet play, enemy territory volunteer missions and story movie implemented!]. Famitsu (in Japanese). August 1, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  39. ^ "「フリーダムウォーズ」，「PvP（対戦モード）」や「イデオロギー戦」などの新要素を追加するアップデートver1.20の配信がスタート" [Distribution starts for update version 1.20 in Freedom Wars, adding the new elements of PvP, Ideology War, et cetera.]. 4gamer (in Japanese). October 16, 2014. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  40. ^ Jason Dunning (October 22, 2014). "Japanese Freedom Wars Update Coming Day One in North America, Adds PvP & More". PlayStation Lifestyle. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  41. ^ Mary-Anne Lee (October 28, 2014). "Freedom Wars is more than just a game, and this helps players relate to it". Tech in Asia. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  42. ^ "『フリーダムウォーズ』オンラインサービス終了のお知らせ" [Notice of termination of "Freedom Wars" online service]. フリーダムウォーズ オンラインサービス情報 (in Japanese). November 19, 2021. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  43. ^ a b "AKB48 Eat Your Heart Out, Freedom Wars Has Idols, Too". Siliconera. April 29, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-03. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  44. ^ 『フリーダムウォーズ』のプロパガンダ アイドル（声：夏川椎菜さん、雨宮天さん、麻倉ももさん）のソロ楽曲開発プロジェクトが始動！？ [The propaganda idols of Freedom Wars (CV: Shiina Natsukawa, Sora Amamiya, Momo Asakura) begin their solo project]. Famitsu (in Japanese). June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  45. ^ 『フリーダムウォーズ』のプロパガンダ アイドルのユニット名決定！ 脳内ループが止まらない、コニー（声：麻倉ももさん）のソロ楽曲も公開！ [The unit name of Freedom Wars' propaganda idols finalised! An intracerebral loop that does not stop in your head, Connie's (CV: Momo Asakura) solo song released!]. Famitsu (in Japanese). June 12, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  46. ^ "『フリーダムウォーズ』プロパガンダ アイドル"貢献Girls"オプティ（声：雨宮天さん）のソロ曲は、鏡音リン楽曲のカバー曲！？" [The solo song by Opti (CV: Sora Amamiya) of "Contribution Girls", the Freedom Wars propaganda idols, is a cover of Kagamine Rin's tune]. Famitsu (in Japanese). June 26, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  47. ^ "『フリーダムウォーズ』"貢献Girls"ソロ楽曲プロジェクト第3弾！ パンナ（声：夏川椎菜さん）のソロ曲公開！" [Third Freedom Wars "Contribution Girls" solo music project! Panna's (CV: Shiina Natsukawa) solo released!]. Famitsu (in Japanese). August 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  48. ^ "『フリーダムウォーズ』のオリジナル・サウンドトラックが7月23日に発売 CD3枚組で本編使用楽曲を完全収録" [Freedom Wars original soundtrack to be released July 23, a complete compilation of compositions from the original story spanning three CDs]. Famitsu (in Japanese). July 18, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  49. ^ 「フリーダムウォーズ」「コミックマーケット86」での限定・先行販売商品を公開 [Freedom Wars limited batch items for sale at Comic Market 86 announced]. 4gamer (in Japanese). July 31, 2014. Archived from the original on August 5, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  50. ^ "『フリーダムウォーズ』ノベライズ化＆Web連載決定！ 牢国都市パノプティコンの中枢機関"歴史編纂室"で新たな物語が描かれる！" [Freedom Wars novelisation and online serialisation confirmed! New story covering the prison city-state Panopticon's central institution "history compilation room" described!]. Famitsu (in Japanese). July 31, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  51. ^ "Freedom Wars". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  52. ^ a b "Destructoid Freedom Wars Review". Destructiod. Archived from the original on 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  53. ^ Starkey, Daniel (November 6, 2014). "Freedom Wars Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  54. ^ "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1332". Gematsu. June 17, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-06-18. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  55. ^ Bischoff, Daniel (October 31, 2014). "Freedom Wars Review". Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  56. ^ Signor, Jeremy (November 14, 2014). "GameSpot Freedom Wars Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  57. ^ a b Matt Whittaker (October 28, 2014). "Review: Freedom Wars". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  58. ^ a b "IGN Freedom Wars Review". IGN. 6 November 2014. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  59. ^ a b Hargreaves, Roger (October 30, 2014). "PS Vita Hunter". Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  60. ^ "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1332". Gematsu. June 17, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-06-18. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  61. ^ びっくりするほどディストピア。懲役100万年の主人公が自由のために戦う「フリーダムウォーズ」をプレイムービーで紹介 [Surprisingly dystopian: Our play video introduction to the protagonist's million year penal servitude fighting for the sake of liberty in Freedom Wars]. 4gamer (in Japanese). June 25, 2014. Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  62. ^ "気がついたら30時間？！思わず夢中になる『フリーダムウォーズ』レビュー&中盤攻略アドバイス" [Have you noticed it's already been 30 hours? The unintentionally dazed "Freedom Wars" review with mid-game hints]. インサイド (in Japanese). July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-06. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  63. ^ Timothy Nunes (October 28, 2014). "Freedom Wars Review: The best of many great franchises". PlayStation Universe. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  64. ^ Jason Honaker (October 28, 2014). "Review: Freedom Wars (PSV)". PS Nation. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  65. ^ "Media Create Sales: 6/23/14 – 6/29/14". Gematsu. July 2, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-06. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  66. ^ "「フリーダムウォーズ」18万8000本，「ウォッチドッグス」合計9万4000本，「仮面ライダー バトライド・ウォーII」合計約7万本の「週間販売ランキング＋」" [Freedom Wars sells 188 thousand copies, Watch Dogs total sales 94 thousand copies, Kamen Rider Battride War II total sales 70 thousand copies - Weekly sales rankings]. 4gamer (in Japanese). July 2, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  67. ^ "Media Create Sales: 6/30/14 – 7/6/14". Gematsu. July 9, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  68. ^ "Business Famitsu Weekly Sales Rankings TOP30 for the week 2014年6月23日～2014年6月29日". Famitsu. July 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014. (WebCite archive; )
  69. ^ "【週間ソフト販売ランキング TOP50】共闘アクション『フリーダムウォーズ』が推定18.7万本を売り上げ1位を獲得！（6月23日～29日）" [Weekly software sales rankings Top 50: Co-op action "Freedom Wars" achieves first place with 187 thousand sales! (June 23 to June 29)]. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). July 3, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  70. ^ "【PS Vitaダウンロード販売ランキング】『フリーダムウォーズ』が1位獲得、『ガールズ＆パンツァー 戦車道、極めます！』は5位ランクイン(7/4)" [PS Vita download sales ranking: "Freedom Wars" achieves first place, "Girls und Panzer: Senshado, Kiwamemasu!" ranks 5th]. インサイド (in Japanese). July 5, 2014. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  71. ^ "Freedom Wars Tops 35,000 Download Sales In Japan". Siliconera. July 29, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved July 30, 2014.