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New trailers, screens for Hotel Dusk's sequel, Last Window

by David Hinkle { Dec 23rd 2009 at 4:15PM }

There's a bounty of new media from CING's Hotel Dusk sequel, Last Window, to check out. Screens and a pair of new trailers await anxious looky-loos and should provide Hotel Dusk fans with a comfortable familiarity -- Last Window pretty much looks like a Hotel Dusk sequel.

You can peep the two trailers over at Nintendo of Japan's site, while you'll have to hit up Game Watch for the new screens. Just remember to pace yourself. We wouldn't want you overdoing it like the dude above this chunk of text.

Source - Last Window trailers [Via GoNintendo]
Source - Screens at Game Watch

See this Again media for the first time

by David Hinkle { Dec 7th 2009 at 5:15PM }

Tecmo just sent over a bunch of new media for CING's upcoming DS CSI-er, Again. Created by the Hotel Dusk dev house, Again follows supernatural FBI agent Jonathan Weaver -- a man looking for answers to his family's death. He does this through his uncanny ability to look at past crimes while examining those same locations in the present. It's kind of like that black light they use on hotel rooms in news exposes, except there's less chance of seeing something that will scar you for the rest of your life because this is a DS game.

Aside from a healthy amount of new screens to examine, we've also got two new videos showing off puzzles surrounding a clock and a shower curtain, the latter of which shows you how Jonathan uses his special ability. You can check out the first video above, but you'll need to see your way past the break for the other.

Gallery: Again (DS)

Continued →

Again and Monster Rancher DS also headed to Europe

by JC Fletcher { Nov 18th 2009 at 11:45AM }

Tecmo has just announced a spring release date for Monster Rancher DS and Again ... again. But in Europe this time! Last week, Tecmo announced March release dates for the Cing-developed adventure game and monster training game. Tecmo Koei Europe has followed suit, though with a less specific spring release window.

Monster Rancher DS, of course, is a game about creating and training monsters -- in this game, monsters are generated either by speaking into the microphone or drawing. Again is an adventure game about an FBI agent who investigates crime scenes in both the past and the present.

Gallery: Monster Rancher DS (11/10/09)

Gallery: Again (DS) (11/10/09)

Rumor: Hotel Dusk sequel coming to DS in Japan early next year

by JC Fletcher { Nov 12th 2009 at 11:05AM }

The blog Sinobi seems to have found some retail listings for two new Nintendo games due in the first quarter of 2010 in Japan. Last Window: Mayonaka no Yakusoku (Last Window: Midnight Promise) is a sequel to CING's DS adventure game, Hotel Dusk, set in Los Angeles in the 1980s. It will apparently be out in Japan on January 14!

Zangeki no Regenleiv is the Wii action game revealed in October 2008 as "Dynamic Zan" and not heard from again until just now. It's being developed by Earth Defense Force creator Sandlot, and will include online combat for up to four players when it's released on February 11.

All of these details are unverified, but the fact that Sinobi had the images above for both games (which may come from a retailer catalog) add some credence to the rumor.

[Via NeoGAF]

First vestiges of a Trace Memory sequel discussed

by JC Fletcher { Sep 16th 2009 at 5:30PM }

Another Code R, the Wii sequel to Trace Memory, isn't out in North America yet (and nobody's mentioned anything about it ever coming out), but the gears are turning at Cing regarding storyline elements for a sequel. Cing's Rika Suzuki told Cubed3 that the character "Matt" still has a story that has yet to be finished, and that the character has "a grand future ahead of him from which to use as source material."

Suzuki also said that all of this story would be "expressed through the world of Another Code, including how his friendship develops with Ashley and more on the story of his father, Michael." While that could mean spinoff novels or something, the likeliest explanation is more video games!

[Via GoNintendo]

Little Burger King's promotion for Little King's Story

by JC Fletcher { Aug 21st 2009 at 3:00PM }

Marvelous is taking an extra step in Japan to market the upcoming release of Little King's Story, and it's one that makes a lot of sense: the company is partnering with Burger King to promote the strategy game. Burger King restaurants in Japan are displaying the poster depicted to the right, and will also have LKS placemats. According to Andriasang, Burger King's mail magazine will also include Little King's Story information. In addition, a small army of Burger King employees, led by a real little king, will lead an assault on a nearby McDonalds in an attempt to take down Ronald. We may have made that up.

It's pretty amazing that Little King's Story is a big enough game to get this kind of promotion, which is reserved in the US for huge franchises. Either that, or Burger King is a small enough operation.

Marvelous planning a 'Super Little King's Story'

by JC Fletcher { Jul 30th 2009 at 1:15PM }

Little King's Story creator Yoshiro Kimura had previously said that he's interested in making a sequel to his strategy title. Now, speaking to Siliconera, Kimura explained that he is in the early stages of working on just such a thing. "We are planning to make a sequel to Little King's Story, like Super Little King's Story," Kimura said, "but we're still in the process idea phase."

At the moment, Marvelous is looking for funding for the sequel, as well as "partners" to help make it. The first game was developed by Cing and Town Factory, along with some high-profile freelancers. While we don't want anyone involved with the first game excluded from this potential sequel, we can understand the appeal of having a single team make a game, if that's Kimura's intent.

Gallery: Little King's Story

Review: Little King's Story (Wii)

by JC Fletcher { Jul 23rd 2009 at 5:15PM }

When I started Cing/Town Factory's Little King's Story, I expected to find a cute, very charming little strategy game whose flaws prevented it from greatness, like most games this heavy on the quirkiness factor. I was blindsided by how much fun I continued to have through hours of play. It's rare for a game to be this cute and odd, but also this good. I found this game utterly magical, and I hate strategy games.

Gallery: Little King's Story

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Little King's Story sequel could have multiplayer

by JC Fletcher { Jul 22nd 2009 at 11:45AM }

Yoshio Kimura, producer on Little King's Story, originally planned to include multiplayer in the strategy title, according to an interview with 411mania. "This game used to have a 2-player mode," he explained, "but we couldn't make the QA and debug in time, so we had to take it out. And this is one of the things that I really wanted to have."

If setting competing armies of townspeople against one another, or collaborating to expand your shared kingdom, sounds great to you (like it does to us), you know how you can make your voice heard. "But if Little King's Story does well and a lot of people get to play it and if I have a chance to make a sequel, that's definitely something I want to implement."

Aside from gameplay-focused matters, Kimura had a lot to say in this interview. Check it out for discussion of the character designs and how, uh, a talking squirrel inspired him to create the game.

Gallery: Little King's Story

[Via GoNintendo]

Europe to learn 'Little King's Story' first

by JC Fletcher { Feb 19th 2009 at 5:00PM }

Marvelous is still assuring everybody that Little King's Story is coming out, announcing yet another release date. Unless another delay is in the forecast, the latest news should make European Wii owners happy: European publisher Rising Star Games is planning to release the game on April 24, before it comes out anywhere else.

The last announced North American release date for the town-building RPG was February 17, but XSEED said even before then that the game was likely to be delayed -- which it obviously has. GameStop currently has a May 15 release date -- not to mention an adorable pre-order bonus!

Gallery: Little King's Story

Another Trailer R

by Chris Greenhough { Jan 22nd 2009 at 5:20PM }

Here's another look at Another Code R, courtesy of the official Japanese site. This is the lengthiest clip we've watched yet, and is a useful summary of everything we've seen to date: the point-and-click mechanics, the puzzles, the cut-scenes (that also utilize the rest of the game's cel-shaded style), and heroine Ashley doing her hilarious miming thing.

We could contentedly watch this game all day (and probably will when we finally acquire a copy, and are forced to stare at the screen for hours, frustrated by our lack of puzzle-solving smarts), but you know what would be even nicer? A localized version. Get on it already, Nintendo!

Gallery: Another Code Wii

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Another Code R trailer a treat for the senses

by Chris Greenhough { Jan 14th 2009 at 7:30PM }

Our lack of Japanese skills meant we lost the thread pretty quickly in this Another Code R story trailer, but heck, sometimes it's enough to just look and listen.

This was found on the official site, which currently also has the videos we posted recently, and some character profiles, all in (sadly impenetrable) Japanese. If it wasn't for the small issue of gender, we'd almost be tempted into indulging in some Another Code R cosplay. Yeah, we actually just typed that -- live with it.

Gallery: Another Code Wii

Source: Story trailer
Source: Official Japanese site [Via Go Nintendo]

XSEED warns of possible Little King's Story delay

by JC Fletcher { Jan 12th 2009 at 9:56AM }

NeoGAFfer "Hero of legend" periodically sends emails containing other forum members' questions to XSEED's Ken Berry, and actually gets substantive responses! Most of the questions are in the area of "would XSEED localize (game)?" -- and those are illuminating -- but occasionally a question about the company's existing lineup slips through, as was the case in the last round.

In a response to a query about the Little King's Story release date, Berry mentioned that the company has been "shooting for a February release date, but good chance that it will be delayed past that right now." The question related to Canadian stores, but we would expect the release date to be the same across North America. So, yeah. That February 17 release date on Nintendo's Q1 releases list? Don't count on it.

Gallery: Little King's Story

Another Code Resplendent

by Chris Greenhough { Jan 5th 2009 at 7:00PM }

With the release of Another Code R just one month away, Nintendo has started posting brief clips of the game in action. It seems every bit as relaxed and laid-back as the DS titles, though we suspect the soft-focus visuals and mellow soundtrack are a cunning facade for some brutally hard puzzles. The 3D character models look great, and we are officially amused by protagonist Ashley miming all of her actions.

Another three videos follow the break, and we've a dozen new screens in our gallery. Also after the jump, because we've not yet had an opportunity to post it: the amaaazing Japanese boxart.

Gallery: Another Code Wii

Continued →

Japan waits another two weeks for Another Code R

by JC Fletcher { Dec 26th 2008 at 10:00AM }

If Another Code R, Cing's Wii sequel to the DS adventure game Another Code (Trace Memory) is going to make the trip overseas, and we firmly ~~hope~~ believe it will despite no announcement to that effect, we'll at least have to wait another two weeks for it beyond the hypothetical unknown release date. Nintendo has announced a delay from the original January 22 release date to February 5.

The two-week delay is intended to allow extra development time, which suggests that publisher Nintendo wasn't happy with the quality of the game -- although a delay of just two weeks means that it's probably more a matter of a couple of bugs than the actual game design.