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Onyxia's Lair getting revamped for WoW's 5th anniversary

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 13th 2009 at 10:00PM }

When World of Warcraft first launched in 2004, Onyxia's Lair was the toughest challenge that players at the highest level (back then, it was 60) could take on. Now that the game has been flooded with more difficult -- and ultimately more rewarding -- content, players rarely visit the flame-toungued Brood Mother. In order to stave off her draconic loneliness, Blizzard is planning on revamping the encounter in time for the game's fifth anniversary, returning it to the pinnacle of difficulty it once represented.

This update, which will appear in the upcoming patch 3.2.2, will change the dungeon into a more difficult 10-man and heroic 25-man dungeon. Loot will be improved to compensate for the enhanced challenge -- Blizzard even promised that "a normal drake-sized 310% speed flying mount modeled after Onyxia" will be included as a boss drop. Man, that's adding insult to injury, isn't it? "Yeah, we just killed you. Now, we're going to ride you."

There's no release date attached to the patch, but it's assumed to come before the game's November 23 birthday.

[Via WoW.com]

Adventures to Go brings ... adventures to go on PSP

by Andrew Yoon { May 19th 2009 at 12:00PM }

We love straightforward titles. That's why we approve of Natsume's newly announced Adventures to Go for PSP. It's yet another addition to PSP's expansive SRPG library, but Natsume plans on taking a more humorous approach than traditional strategy games. Players will take control of Finn Courtland and his "band of misfits" on a quest to fight demons and save the world (real original, right?). Players will be able to set up the game's randomized dungeons by choosing the terrain, the size of the dungeon and the types of monsters players will face. The riskier dungeons will provide even larger rewards.

Adventures to Go has a planned summer release, and will make its first public appearance at E3. You can check out the first screenshots in our gallery below:

Gallery: Adventures to Go

EA Japan reveals DS ninja game

by JC Fletcher { May 1st 2009 at 11:40AM }

EA in Japan isn't much like EA in the West, at least in terms of DS games. Well, maybe it is in that it delivers exactly the kind of stuff its target audience wants to see -- to the point of being stereotypical. In the US, that means licensed games, racing, and The Sims. In Japan, it means DS nongames, pervy stuff, and dungeon crawlers.

The latest game to be revealed by EA Japan falls into the latter category: Shonen Kininden Tsumuji is about a young ninja whose mountain home is attacked by enemy ninja types. To save his family and friends, Tsumuji takes off into a series of dungeons, battling ninja with a large magical shuriken called "Senpuuki" ("Wind Demon"). Along the way he can find more ninja tools hidden in walls and under the floor.

EA has only revealed one piece of artwork from the game, but it's enough to capture our interest. We eagerly await the details that should come from a Coro Coro Comics event tomorrow.

[Via IGN]

Firefly delays Dungeon Hero, says game 'lives on'

by Jason Dobson { Apr 2nd 2009 at 8:00AM }

Now, there's no easy way to break this to you, so we're just going to come out and say it. Dungeon Hero, one of the last remaining remnants of Gamecock's feathery empire, has been delayed. For how long, we can't say, though Firefly Studios assures us that the tongue-in-cheek dungeon crawler still "lives on."

According to the developer, Gamecock's purchase last October "created a number of challenges" for Firefly, forcing the company to put off the game's eventual release. Still, the dev has confidence in the property, writing on its site that in addition to Dungeon Hero, the studio is also working on "a couple of exciting projects built around the Dungeon Hero universe." Firefly also teases that it may be announcing a new Stronghold game in the "very near future." Until then, keep your chin up. It's not all bad.

Atlus brings The Dark Spire to light

by JC Fletcher { Dec 19th 2008 at 11:00AM }

Atlus has confirmed the theory that their upcoming The Dark Spire is a localized version of Success' Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite -- either that or they dropped whatever game they had planned under that name after they saw that everyone thought it would be Genmu. Probably not, but it's a fun idea.

The Dark Spire is a first-person dungeon RPG playable in two distinct graphical styles: a vintage "wireframe" look straight out of Wizardry, or a striking, high-contrast "modern" look. Players control a band of adventurers who attempt to survive the tower stronghold of Archmage Tyrhung in order to gain possession of a magical jewel. According to one baffling screenshot, characters will be able to learn skills including dance, knitting, and "arts and crafts" along the way.

One element we were not aware of in the Japanese version is the running narration on the bottom screen, which makes The Dark Spire feel much more like a text adventure. The narration, combining atmospheric storytelling with Atlus humor, is just one of the reasons this game is going to make us attempt to play a hardcore dungeon RPG.

Gallery: The Dark Spire

[Via press release]

Away: Shuffle Dungeon in motion

by JC Fletcher { Aug 8th 2008 at 6:00PM }

For a game whose central gimmick is a constantly-moving environment, video seems like a natural fit for promotional materials for Away: Shuffle Dungeon. It's easier to explain the "shuffling" of the dungeons by just showing you. And yet there really haven't been many trailers for Mistwalker and Artoon's collaboration.

This one features a bit of everything: cutscenes, battling, and lots of walking around in dungeons that get all messed up before your eyes. The boss battles look particularly epic, with the camera zoomed in and panned down for a more cinematic perspective. It's like the game shuffles between a Zelda: A Link to the Past look and an Ocarina of Time look.

Gallery: Away: Shuffle Dungeon

DS Daily: Like a rogue

by Alisha Karabinus { Jul 25th 2008 at 9:00AM }

Yesterday, we spent a little time talking about roguelike games, with the review of Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns. This particular brand of dungeon crawl has been pretty popular on the DS of late, which means, of course, that we've got to ask you if you're into it. Do you enjoy the occasional roguelike experience, or do you find them frustrating? Perhaps uninteresting? Inquiring minds and all.

More classic-style dungeon wandering: Elminage DS REMIX

by JC Fletcher { Jul 21st 2008 at 8:45AM }

The popularity of Etrian Odyssey, based on an absolutely dusty style of role-playing game, and the proliferation of other hardcore, gameplay-focused RPGs (like roguelikes) make the DS the go-to platform for punishing dungeon crawls. The suitability of the DS for this style of game has even attracted dungeon games from other platforms, as is the case with Starfish's Elminage DS REMIX.

Elminage DS REMIX, based on a PlayStation 2 game, runs a party of six adventurers, in professions chosen from a list of sixteen, through fifteen dungeons (plus a bonus dungeon). Our gallery features six screens, and more are available at Famitsu. Do not dare enter the ~~dungeon~~ gallery unless you have an affinity for van-worthy 2D fantasy art.

Gallery: Elminage DS REMIX

[Via Famitsu]

Away: Shuffle Arsenal

by JC Fletcher { Jul 20th 2008 at 12:00PM }

Dave mentioned multiple weapon classes in his hands-on report of Away: Shuffle Dungeon, and now Famitsu offers new screens and descriptions of each of the four classes. They're all pretty standard accoutrements of the adventuring business, but we'll take any details we can get about Mistwalker's (otherwise) innovative dungeon RPG.

The sword is (obviously) balanced in speed, attack power, and reach. Spears attack straight forward and can knock down enemies. Daggers have short reach and low strength, but allow Sword (the character, not the weapon) to attack quickly and use combos. The axe is the slowest, but most powerful class of weapons. It can hit multiple enemies simultaneously.

Really, in a game about dungeons whose landscapes periodically shift like slot machine reels, it's probably okay for a few things to be conventional.

E308: Screens of the Monster Lair

by Chris Greenhough { Jul 15th 2008 at 10:30AM }

Atlus has unleashed further shots of its dungeon-building RPG Master of the Monster Lair. Mostly, these depict some of the rooms that will be available to players from the get-go, including a musty cellar (apparently, hobgoblins are drawn to these), a warrior's dojo, a king's bedroom, and rooms featuring a hearth or water features. No jacuzzi in which orcs and goblins can unwind yet, but there's still hope, right?

There's also a brief glimpse of the game's local wireless mode, in which players can share their dungeon creations with friends; we're only sorry that none of our friends are likely to buy this. We need new friends, frankly.

Gallery: Dungeon Maker

[Via press release]

Delay: Shuffle Dungeon

by JC Fletcher { Jul 4th 2008 at 4:30PM }

Away: Shuffle Dungeon has already been announced as a PAL release (and sort of announced as a North American release), even though the Japanese version of the game isn't out yet. AQ Interactive, Virgin PLAY, and (probably) Xseed should be able to give us firmer Western release dates for the dungeon crawler now, because the delayed Japanese game finally has its own date. Of course, that date is even later than the vague "summer" named in the last delay statement.

AQ Interactive announced the final (probably) release date for Japan yesterday: October 16, right in the middle of the "fall" release window Virgin PLAY planned for Europe. Unless AQ Interactive is planning a simultaneous worldwide release, we expect the late release will cause the European version to get bumped into next year. The U.S. version still has yet to be officially unveiled.

Avalon Code heading west, Steal Princess, Luminous Arc staying put

by Chris Greenhough { Jun 19th 2008 at 8:45AM }

Marvelous has some intriguing DS wares on the horizon, yet it looks like that's where most of it will stay -- on a horizon far, far away from the majority of us. Sob.

Part of a recent financial report from the publisher contained forecasts for forthcoming releases, as spotted by a keen-eyed Siliconera commenter and posted on NeoGAF. The estimations for Avalon Code's were notable, as they included figures for the U.S. and Europe, which in turn tells us we'll be getting the diary-keepin' ARPG here in the west at some point before March 2009.

Alas, we'd only just finished chest-bumping one another and shouting stuff like "HELL YEAH" when our excitement was tempered by the realization that Luminous Arc 2 and Steal Princess didn't have figures for the U.S. or Europe. This (probably) means that those games won't be localized this financial year (despite our hopes for the former). That's not to say they'll never make the trip across, of course, but for now it's one in, and two out.

Gallery: Avalon Code

Gallery: Luminous Arc 2

[Via NeoGAF]

Metareview: Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard

by Alisha Karabinus { Jun 18th 2008 at 9:30AM }

Etrian Odyssey was a surprise -- it disappeared from shelves into an immediate shortage, as the demand far outstripped the supply, particularly after word got around that it was such a great game. It was so good, in fact, that it went head-to-head with some of the year's biggest titles right here at DS Fanboy, in our year-end poll. It might surprise you, then, to learn that its sequel, Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard, is picking up even better scores in early reviews. We'll be taking a look at it ourselves soon, but for now, check out what everyone else has to say about the sequel.

Electronic Gaming Monthly (A average) says, "This sequel feels like the original game on expert mode -- and that's a good thing. Etrian Odyssey constantly surprised me with its ability to keep me on my toes with a fairly limited palette of gameplay, and its successor throws in plenty of new wrinkles to make things even trickier."

RPGFan (89%) says, "While this frame story to the dungeon hack may seem trite and unengaging (and it is to a large extent), it contains enough zest to keep the players interested in finishing the game. This is completely different from the original Etrian Odyssey, which included a marginal narrative and provided the player with almost no motivation to finish the main quest outside of sheer will and determination. In addition to the main story, Etrian Odyssey II contains more than 100 side quests that provide the player with more information surrounding the region of Lagaard."

Gallery: Etrian Odyssey II

Steal Princess site updates with new video content

by David Hinkle { Jun 17th 2008 at 2:45PM }

The official site for visual masterpiece Steal Princess has updated, unleashing on us all a new video to watch. You like to watch things, right? We're not talking about boiling tea kettles here, we mean interesting things. Like video game footage.

And that's exactly what we're talking about here! Lucky, right? Indeed. Once you click on over to the official site (sorry, we can't embed it), you'll see the video in the bottom right-hand corner (the box that has the "PV" on it). Just give it a click and it'll pop up in a new window.

[Via Go Nintendo]

Etrian Odyssey, FFTA2 developers want to speak with you

by Chris Greenhough { Jun 10th 2008 at 10:15AM }

Even if it is really all about plugging their products, we love it when game developers choose to communicate directly with us, the dirty, huddled masses, and today has brought news of two studios who are inviting questions from gamers.

First up is Atlus, or more specifically Nich Maragos, Atlus USA Editor and Project Lead for both of the Etrian Odyssey games. Between now and June 17th, he'll be answering as many of your Etrian-related queries as he can here. Maragos is accepting questions about either of the two DS games, perhaps to accommodate for PAL region players, who only just received the first game last Friday. Ask him why Europe had to wait so long, if you like. Go on, do it.

Next in line is the entire development team for Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, who are clearly pretty confident that they'll be receiving an absolute avalanche of questions, as they're doing this as a group. You'll have to be a signed-up Square Enix member, though, which will mean having to fill in this form.

Ask Atlus!
Ask Square Enix!