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Top 5: Gaming in Japan
Recently, I took a week to visit my brother who teaches English at a Japanese university near Nagoya. Hundreds of thousands of words could be used to describe the wonderful food, the beautiful temples, and the unique culture of the country. But being a life-long gamer, I paid special attention to the distinct connection between the country and the gaming scene we all know and love. For the Top 5, I usually come up with a topic, then list the top five items for that topic in order. For this edition, it was truly difficult to narrow it down to only five. With that in mind, here's my best attempt at listing the Top 5 gaming elements of my time in Japan.
The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, check out What Are You Playing?, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up. Chrono Trigger DS countdown ends, 'reveals' Chrono Trigger
After much speculation and painful hours of sitting on pins and needles, Square-Enix confirmed that their chronometric teaser was, in fact, counting down to the big reveal of a Nintendo DS adaptation of Chrono Trigger. The countdown just ended, revealing the first pseudo-trailer for the game; following Squeenix's promise for a "newly revamped" version of what many consider to be the greatest RPG of all time, our hopes were high for a 3D remake, ala Final Fantasy III and IV -- though the trailer shows that the visuals will retain their charming 16-bit aesthetic.
The trailer doesn't show off the game's new features, like the new dungeon, wireless play and touch screen support -- though it does end by touting the Winter 2008 release window we'd previously heard. Hopefully, future media for the title will show us exactly why we'll need to purchase the game again (other than the fact that it's frakkin' Chrono Trigger) -- until then, we'll be anxiously awaiting Christmas morning, when we'll scurry to the foyer to discover that Ho-Ho has left us stockingfuls of heartwarming nostalgia.
Update: We've got the post-countdown trailer posted after the jump, courtesy of GameVideos.
Guitar Hero: On Tour peripheral lends a hand to homebrew painting app
We know there are probably one too many prerequisites for you to find this story truly interesting -- but if you're one of those rare DS Lite owners who recently purchased Guitar Hero: On Tour, and is also into homebrew applications for the handheld, and also fancies themselves a modern day Botticelli, then there's a new homebrew painting application with some surprising peripheral functionality that the four of you should really consider picking up.
The app in question is BassAceGold's UAPaint (v1.02), which allows the use of the On Tour guitar grip buttons for easily accessible short cuts to important tools, streamlining the digital painting process. It's a really sleek setup -- unfortunately, we're not entirely convinced that DS doodlers really need faster, more powerful methods of etching poorly-rendered genitalia into their luminescent screens.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 trailer full of whimsy, tactics
It's actually pretty difficult for us to tell if the above trailer is any good -- you see, when the original Final Fantasy Tactics Advance came out, we played it until our GBA SP's brilliant backlight peppered our poor eyeballs with cataracts. From what we can tell through blurs and blind spots, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift looks similar to it's last-gen predecessor, with a few minor graphical tweaks and improvements in sound. Considering Square-Enix has added a handful of new classes and races, and yet another lengthy single-player campaign, we're wondering where we can find a black market eyeball dealer/installer in our neck of the woods, and if they can pencil us in before the game's June 24 release date.
First Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia trailer is awesome, whipless
We've yet to play a DS incarnation of Konami's vamp-slaying franchise that we didn't thoroughly enjoy -- if this debut trailer for the next installment in the handheld series is any indication, that streak appears to show no signs of stopping. This stylish trailer introduces us to the protagonist of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia -- the raven-haired Shanoa (who looks a bit too similar to Bullet Witch's Alicia for our comfort), and her many, many methods for murdering and dismembering ol' Vlad's minions. Sure, she may not wield the Vampire Killer whip made famous in other Castlevania titles, but she does dispatch a Giant Enemy Crab with a falling elevator, which arguably possesses a bit more panache than the Belmont family's legendary cord.
Joystiq hands-on: Tecmo Bowl Kickoff
It's been 19 years since the original Tecmo Bowl hit the field on NES, making it one of the earliest football sims, not to mention one of the most famous. For its return on modern hardware, Tecmo drafted its first US executive producer, Ryan Gilbo, to head the project, and he promptly set out to update the game just enough, but not change too much.
Read on for our full impressions and see first video of the game in action after the break.
Gallery: Tecmo Bowl Kickoff
Pokemon Platinum revealed, set for fall release in Japan
Following the pattern of pokéreleases thus far, it will serve as a companion to the two current-generation titles, Diamond and Pearl -- much like Yellow, Crystal, and Emerald did for their respective generations. That means we'll likely be treated to new sprites for many the monsters, and a few tweaks to the story, but not many new entries into the ol' Pokédex. Perhaps that expansion will come in the franchise's next generation, Pokémon Ununbium and Cadmium.
[Thanks, Vinay.]
Nintendo not dropping Wii or DS Lite price anytime soon [Update]
Update: Oops! We've realized we covered this before, but think of it this way -- now you're two times more aware of these firm, firm prices as the other denizens of the internet.
Whether you've yet to join the hunt for the Golden Ticket-esque Nintendo Wii, or you're one of the eight people yet to buy a Nintendo DS of some shape or color, we certainly hope that the reasoning behind your reluctance to join Camp N isn't the anticipation of a price drop for the two (relatively) affordable consoles. According to a recent statement from Ninty's Satoru Iwata, there are currently no plans to lower the retail price on either of their money-printing apparatuses.
While this fact isn't exactly surprising considering the systems' sales success at their current costs, Iwata's reason for the set-in-stone price is rather intriguing -- should either system undergo a cheapening, he explained, it would upset those who bought the console at its former price. Yes, we're sure it has nothing to do with the near completion of Miyamoto's personal, Scrooge McDuck-style gold coin swimming pool.
Gently weep over your DS with Bandai Namco's 99 Tears
We can all think back to particular moments in certain video games that have penetrated the thick, black crust which envelops our hearts and caused us to tear up. Perhaps it was that heartbreaking moment in Final Fantasy VII, or the ending to Shadow of the Colossus. Maybe it was the time your mom made you go to bed while you were in the middle of a particularly gripping Karazhan raid, or when you finally finished Steel Magnolias Adventures, a game so awesome that it hasn't actually been created yet.
Bandai Namco is making a pretty heady claim -- not only is their newest game going to make you cry, it's going to do it about 100 times. Calling the aptly titled 99 no Namida (or 99 Tears) a game isn't actually accurate. It's more of a handheld therapeutic crying assistant, providing you with a sad graphic novel to read for 15 minutes at the end of each day, with a brief questionnaire following shortly after, the results of which will help move you closer to the story which will more effectively tug at your heartstrings, and further from the respect of your bros on the wrestling squad.
Rumor: Novels on their way to European DSes
The techno-literary world is abuzz over Kindle, Amazon's handheld electronic reading device which is quickly gaining popularity in the small circle of people who love books, aren't afraid of computers, and have $400 in disposable income. According to a recent Nintendo investor report, European DS owners might be able to ride the e-book wave this coming winter -- the tentative release date for the tentatively titled DS Novel.
Details about the game are non-existent, though DS Fanboy speculates that it's an English language version of a Japanese title which allows the user to peruse over 100 complete books. We hope to hear more about this later in the year -- the thought of being able to sit down with our favorite editions of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" without all the fuss and muss of ink and pulp fills us with anticipation.
Super Mario Galaxy DS video a hoax
About ten days ago, we got our first glimpse of a video showing a downloadable, Nintendo DS version of Super Mario Galaxy, supposedly hidden inside the Wii version of the game. We watched with rapt attention as the shaky-cam footage showed Mario and Luigi jumping from the Wii to the DS using a previously unknown, hidden galaxy and the DS' WiFi download capabilities. We were surprised to see low-resolution versions of Mario and Luigi running around low-resolution versions of familiar Mario Galaxy levels. We were shocked and hopeful when the video promised each DS star would be redeemable for 10 Wii shop points.
We weren't ready to definitively declare the video real or fake at the time, but now, after some digging, we're ready to set the record straight on this hoax. Read on for our evidence and thoughts on the matter.
See the sexy new Zelda, Nintendogs DS bundles
We already knew this was coming, but Nintendo affirmed today that we'll be seeing two new DS models on the day after Thanksgiving, and they sent along these sexy new box shots to prove it. The first is a Phantom Hourglass bundle that comes with a "glimmering Gold edition" of the DS. If you're ready to take DS gaming from something you can do in public places to something you can do in dimly-lit public places full of non-judgmental people, this is the package for you.
For the ladies there's the Rose DS (check it out after the break), which comes bundled with Nintendogs. It's the "Best Friends" edition of the game, the one that should be rated M for "Most Adorable Thing Ever". Both packages are available for the bargain price of $150.
For the ladies there's the Rose DS (check it out after the break), which comes bundled with Nintendogs. It's the "Best Friends" edition of the game, the one that should be rated M for "Most Adorable Thing Ever". Both packages are available for the bargain price of $150.
Nintendo uses natural selection for its quality control
"If [publishers] publish for any of the three, if the product does not sell well, it fails on its own. If they cannot get shelf space, it fails on its own. If consumers don't buy it, it fails on its own. So I do think that the poorer stuff does get sifted out and the really good products do rise to the top," Kaplan said.
There's logic to what she's saying, of course. But it must be easy to advocate survival of the fittest when all of your games are Jack Lalanne.
Ys I and II being remade for DS
Originally released in the late 80s for PC, Ys I and Ys II were the foundation of what would become a fairly popular RPG series spanning across several systems. Now, gramps and grandma are getting a fresh coat of paint for the bajillion or so DS owners in Japan. This new version will offer new animations, a multiplayer mode and boss fights. The kicker is that the games will be sold separately from each other for the equivalent of $44 ... a piece. Hey, we just finally figured out how to pronounce Ys properly: "ball-sy."
Rumor: Nintendo to offer flash cards for Game Boy downloads
You might remember that yesterday we linked to a rumor-rich story that Animal Crossing could be going the MMO route. While we still have no idea on the validity of that, buried within that story was the equally interesting (and equally rumored) nugget that Nintendo would be releasing a DS flash card designed so Nintendo could sell Game Boy and Game Boy Color games though some sort of download service.As you know, GB and GBC carts do not work in the DS, because, scientifically speaking, they would look stupid, so we're happy to see some of the classics become available. That said, the big question (just after "Is this actually happening?") is how much we'll be paying. As we've learned, where Nintendo's concerned, nostalgia can often come at a premium.
[Via DSF]
