Keroro RPG: Kishi to Musha to Densetsu no Kaizoku trailer

And here... have a trailer!



I'm actually quite excited about this that I might actually try and make a fan translation if I feel so inclined!
From the gameplay you see, it's a topdown 2D RPG (Good! and the sprites look clean, too!) with what seem to be three different settings and Keroro dressed up as a knight, a samurai (?) and a pirate.
You can also see the LMBS in action. 8D
Those special attacks look a TREAT.
Epic Tamama Impact.

So! Game's set for next year! I should start brushing up on my hiragana.

And here it is! Project K66 revealed:

This week's fanmitsu has confirmed Project K66 to be... A Keroro Gunsou RPG!

The title has something to go as Keroro RPG: The Knight, Warrior and Legendary Pirate





Looks interesting enough for me to try and slog through when it gets released!
Unfortunately, my info stops there as my very minimal Japanese vocabulary can't help me. :/

According to Siliconera though, it uses the Tales series (Tales of Destiny, Tales of Phantasia, Tales of the Abyss) linear battle system and skits.

Sounds VERY promising to me!

WE'RE NOT DEAD! DS Tidbits Vol 3.

Alright, first, I apologize to my readers for the lack of posts during such an active month. In a nutshell, my comp went kablooey, projects were due and I didn't have any time on my hands. I apologize.
I have a few reviews to post however and to start things off, here's a bunch of News Tidbits for all of you.



-First off, rumors of a larger DSi hitting the market has been confirmed. Dubbed the DSi-LL (DSi-XL in English speaking countries), this model of the DSi includes a bigger screen and a fatter stylus. Note the size comparison between the DSi and the DSi-XL:



According to a Nintendo spokesman, this is due to Nintendo starting to focus on games that require you to play with people in person. So... they gave the DSi a larger screen. Apart from that, there don't seem to be any other upgrades for the system.
Hm. I dunno about you guys but I think the DS was doing fine in that department, larger screen or no. It's been barely a year since the DSi has been announced and already Nintendo's coming out with an upgrade. IMHO, the larger screen isn't really needed. I'm starting to wonder though if this means the slow phase-out of the Lite and the Phat but maybe I'm worried over nothing.
Though I must say the wine red looks extremely fetching...
The DSi-LL is speculated to be released by the Q1 2010.

-Secondly! Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyojuu , the second Blue Dragon game to be released on the DS has also been given a speculated English release date as Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow. Strangely enough, Namco isn't handling the publication but rather its subsidiary, D3.
Unlike other Blue Dragon titles, this one gives you a customizable main character which you can name, select a look for and a Shadow.



In this installment, everyone seems to have lost their ability to summon their shadows save for your main character who has a handful of them. These shadows gain levels and have different specialties and abilities.

-Thirdly, have some Luminous Arc 3: Eyes videos! This time around, the game focuses on the conflict between fairies and humans concerning the Eyes that give humans the power of magic. As usual, it's part strategy rpg and part dating sim.





--
That's it from me for now. In the following days, I'll be posting up some reviews for you guys so sit tight. I've got a lot on my plate at the moment.

To follow:
-Review: Nostalgia
-Review: Style Botique
-Follow up Review: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Review: Bleach the 3rd Phantom

First Impression:
So I've been on a Bleach fix lately, as those on my friends list would know thanks to the Rock Musical. (Twelve kinds of awesome, I tell ya.) Go figure as I was hyping myself up for this game. Now I'm only a Bleach fan as far as the Soul Society arc. Anything beyond that and I'm not too updated on. Maybe this game can shed some light on it...

Gameplay:
Unlike Bleach Blade of Fate and Dark Souls, The 3rd Phantom is an SRPG. Yes, you heard me right. An SRPG.
Battles are played out on a grid where you move your units beside an enemy to attack them. Fights are done on a one-on-one basis with full renders of your character and their opponent. Characters are classified as Power (Zaraki, Ichigo, Renji, etc), Speed (Hisagi, Soi Fon, Yoruichi, etc) and Tech (Ukitake, Hitsugaya, Rangiku, etc) and interact in a rock paper scissors fashion: power is weak to tech, tech is weak to speed and speed is weak to power. Unless you're a big fan, battles are rather slow as you're watching the same battle animation over and over again. Most people complain about it but I don't mind it all that much, really.



Battles aren't all that hard. During fights, you have options to move, attack an adjacent opponent and use skills but 3rd Phantom adds two other things.
First is the option to charge spiritual pressure. Getting it higher gives a higher chance of getting in a stronger attack during fights. Get it to maximum and characters with bankai can activate it to power up and deal some massive damage.
Bankai is a shinigami-exclusive skill that involves releasing the true power of their weapon. Bankai mode differs with each Shinigami and gives them a nice hefty boost to power and defense. Some characters will summon another heavily powered unit to join the fight and some others will have an altered sprite and new attacks during Bankai.
Another thing is the reiatsu field. All over the map are these brown panels (normally invisible until you press Y) which give a nice boost when you absorb them during Spiritual Pressure charge.


Before the game, you are asked to pick between Fujimaru or Matsuri; a brother and sister shinigami pair. Nothing much changes plot wise no matter who you pick. The only difference being in the shikai form of your zanpakuto which you get much later. Fujimaru, the brother and younger twin is a speed type while his sister Matsuri is a power type.
You can name the character you pick as well as give them a last name... and off you go.
Inbetween battles, you get some graphic novel style dialogue and plot progression. You don't select locations to go to. The game handles that for you. You can say it's more of a "read lotsa dialogue, deploy units on the set up screen and let's go kick some arse" sort of deal.
Some time inbetween parts of a chapter, you get something called Freetime. Kon is seen on the top screen and on the bottom screen are panels with different characters on them. These panels can be selected for scenes with that character and your main character. These scenes can net you some exclusive stat boosting items or raise your compatibility with that character which leads to better team attacks together in battle. These scenes have an AP cost and make Kon move forward a certain number of squares depending on the AP cost. On the way, he can pick up icons which can give you an AP discount for one scene selection, a stat boost for your character or restorative items.

Last words:
The 3rd Phantom is a simple enough game. The battles aren't crazy hard and the characters are well rendered. I'd recommend this for anyone who actually enjoys Bleach. For those who aren't, it's a fun little distraction. Beware for squee moments during the beginning of the game.

Protip:
-Items are hard to come by so make the most of them. You can get them sometimes when you defeat enemies and during Free Time.
-During Free Time, plan out your moves. You only get to keep panels you land on, not panels you pass through.
-You might hit a major snag in Chapter 9. During that battle, I suggest you make use of the suspend save function if Chad's El Diretso doesn't hit. Trust me. You'll WANT it to hit each time.
-If you're having a tough time, remember that free battle (accessible from the system menu on the pre-battle set up screen) is your friend.
---

Rating:
Graphics: 3.5/5
The sprites are well colored and true to the character design. The static images are alright but nothing that blows me out of the water. The fighting games had better renders for the action scenes.

Gameplay: 4/5
Some people complain about it being slow but as I mentioned, I don't mind that all too much. The SRPG scenario is simple enough and what can I say, Free Time is pretty fun because of the scenarios that pop up.

Soundtrack: 3.5/5
Voice acting isn't so grating and the background music is pretty nice. Heavy use of some rock rifts during fights. Seems they recycled sound clips from Dark Souls...

The Look and Feel: 4/5
Everything's right there. The top screen is used during battles as a map and to display stats and levels of whatever your cursor's on which is pretty handy considering the SRPG setup.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Naruto Shippuden Ninja Destiny 2

First Impression:
Hm. A Naruto game. I'm no big fan of the franchise but I need something to tide me over until the release of Bleach 3. It's a brawler, right? Let's get cracking.

Gameplay:
This game tries to be everything. Seriously. It tries to be a topdown RPG, a fighting game and a roguelike/dungeon crawler all at once. I have NO idea why.
Naruto Shippiden: Ninja Destiny 2 is NOTHING like the first Ninja Destiny game. NOTHING LIKE IT AT ALL. The first game was a straightforward fighting game with powerups on the touch screen you can activate during a fight. Ninja Destiny 2 has that... as well as some... extras.
First is Story Mode.
Much like the first game, Story Mode takes you through several episodes of the Shippuden season with you fighting key battles in the series. The story is told in visual novel style with a dialogue box and static pictures appearing on the top screen. However, Tomy decided that this needed more...
So the decided to add a map and a dungeon feature. Why? I have NO idea. The map feature doesn't do anything apart from adding an unnecessary thing to wade through. There are no NPCs to talk to, no shops to buy items from and your next destination is merely pointed out on the map. There is only one place you can do this in though and that's the Konoha village.
Still pretty pointless.
The dungeon feature acts much like a roguelike. You end up wandering through a mazelike dungeon in hopes of finding an exit. There are random encounters in the dungeon against nameless ninja looking characters. These end up with a fighting game battle system. Again, why? I have NO idea either. These battles don't reward you with anything at all. No experience points, no power ups, nothing. Random power ups can be found in the dungeon though so I guess it's not a total loss.



After you finish Story Mode (which can be done in a matter of hours), you unlock quest mode and an extra character for your playthrough. Quest Mode is basically just a really long dungeon with the exception being that your character can level up. Why? Again, I do NOT know. Quest mode is slightly more fun, a little less tedious.
As a fighting game, I guess it's alright. There isn't too much to look at though. You have a small cast of characters (No Akatsuki?! Tomy, I'm hurt. Unless I haven't played enough to unlock everything...) and there are no button combinations you can do to unleash special moves. Well... you can unleash combos of weak and strong attacks but... no down, diagonal down, forward, A, B for you.

Last words:
As an RPG, this sucks. As a dungeon crawler, it's marginal. The battles can get annoying, though... as a fighting game, it's pretty basic. I suppose that this game was targeted to the younger Naruto fans. Sadly, there isn't much to go by for that. I wouldn't say it's a horrible game. I'd say that you should probably rent it rather than buying it. Unless you're a rabid Narutard, this game is SO not for you.

Protip:
-Make sure to keep your fingers on the L and R buttons. These are used to teleport behind your opponent and block, respectively. Spam for major pwnage.
-After you unlock a certain character, the game gets HORRENDOUSLY easy.
-Kyuubi Naruto... is HELL to control.
---

Rating:
Graphics: 3.5/5
During fights, the 3D models look pretty good. On the field, though, they look kinda weird.

Gameplay: 3/5
It's a pretty basic fighting game and a rather basic dungeon crawler once you unlock Quest Mode. Apart from that, there isn't much to look forward to.

Soundtrack: 3.5/5
The background music's pretty ho hum and some parts are stereotypically asian. Mebbe. I can't really tell if they were faithful to the Naruto soundtrack. Someone confirm this? As for the voice acting, it's there. Not as grating as I thought it would be and strangely, Naruto didn't say "Believe it!" every ten minutes.

The Look and Feel: 4/5
Everything is in-your-face and clear. No need to go digging around multiple options. The buttons are responsive and a simple tap on the control pad moves you quite well. Very colorful and pretty obviously targeted at the youngins.

Rating: 6.5/10

Playtest: Pokemon Soul Silver

And the Pokemon game I've been squeeing about has been finally released in Japanese. Of course, I got the chance to play it. Well, a good first half hour of it. Here's the rundown:

-The opening sequence now features a nicely rounded 3D Lugia or a Ho-Oh, depending on your version.
-The opening sequence also includes that guy who was chasing after Suicine in the Crystal version. Could Heart Gold and Soul Silver mean a combination of Silver/Gold and Crystal?
-I'm still not too happy with the female sprite design so I went with the male. The character of the opposite gender you choose from the start appears in game though. I'm not too sure if they play the same role as the opposite gender in Pearl/Diamond/Platinum.
-Yes, your pokemon DO walk beside you ala Pokemon Yellow. You can turn around and talk to them, too! When you do, you get little emoticons that tell you its mood.
-The biggest change would be with the menu. The menu can be activated by the X button but always remains on screen on the touchscreen part of the DS. As shown in said screenshot below:



So far, everything feels the same apart from the obvious changes. Makes me even more excited to get my hands on the English version!
Pokewalkeeeeeeeer~~ I WANT IT.

Okamiden Official Trailer

And it's finally here! Okamiden's official trailer.
Yes, this one actually has audio and it shows actual gameplay videos!

Playtest: Loving Love Plus?

And as usual, yours truly just HAD to check out another niche Japanese game which seems to be making waves.

So anyway, just WHAT is Love Plus and what sets it apart from the usual Dating Sim? Love Plus is what I would term as a smart dating sim.
You are (as usual) placed in the role of a lonely young man in highschool in search of his lady love. You have three options: the sisterly-ish Nene, the tomboy tsundere Rinko and the ojousama named Manaka.
It goes like any other dating sim: you spend time getting to know the girls and eventually, one of them confesses their love to you and you ride off into the sunset together.
Of course, this is where the game REALLY begins.

Remember what I said about Love Plus being a SMART dating sim?
Here's why.

After you snag yourself a girlfriend, the game starts to run with the DS' clock, prompting real time events. Visit her during different times of the day and different things can happen. During the first half of the game, you can see the RTC in effect already. I just started my game last night and it's September. The girls are in their winter uniforms and the calendar tells me it's fall.
Another thing is most of the girls' lines are fully voiced. Yes, even your name. This is pretty cool if you name is a common Japanese name. Thankfully, I knew how to spell my name right so... the girls are calling me Shin-kun, much to my amusement. When you input your name, you start off selecting the hiragana for it... which brings up a sub menu with Kanji.
Already I was greatly amused.
Also, eventually, the girls will start sending you text messages which you can reply to. You can also text them and they will text back. Messages are limited to pre-set messages tho so... no chance of sending them anything lewd in hopes of them getting blustered.

You schedule your day from morning to evening and certain activities give you certain stats. Minimal Japanese vocab aside, I can see stats for athletics and intelligence. The other two, I'm not so sure about. Of course, the girls have certain standards concerning your stats...



As you can see, the graphics are pretty good for a static picture. Of course, when you're talking to a girl, you are greeted by a pretty good 3D model. The girls move pretty good. They even have the little ticks some females have (IE, playing with their hair, swinging a bit).

If anything, this is an interesting enough game for those who are... lonely. XD;
It needs Japanese reading skills but if you don't have those, you can rely on audio cues. It's worth a look if for the experience alone.

Okamiden Chiisaki Taiyou first footage

So by now, you guys have probably heard that an Okami sequel has been announced for the DS. I've heard a lot of people complaining and saying that it won't be as good as the original or it's gonna look shitty... But come ON, guys. Give the little guy a chance. You can't really compare a handheld game to a console game. Treat em like two separate animals, sequel or no.
Personally, I'm happy that the DS is getting an Okami game. I've long wanted to play it seeing as I'm fond of legends and anything remotely mythical in origin. I always thought the touch screen would make for a great Celestial Brush.
My prayers have been answered!
For Okamiden, it seems you play as Amaterasu's... son? Chibiterasu. And he is ADORABLE. Two seconds into seeing the picture, I squeed in joy. And you can take along other characters who ride on your back and help you in battle.

Anyway, here's the first footage of the game! No sound yet... I gotta say... it does look pretty good. I'm excited!



No, there is no audio for this video.

Trailer: Atelier Annie

And once again, NISAmerica brings us a niche Japanese game! You have to thank NIS for things like Rhapsody and Disgaea. It's a hit and miss with these niche games though. Let's hope Atelier Annie is a hit for the West so we can get more of them in english. :D



Apparently, there won't be any dubbing this time around. Word is unconfirmed if this is due to budget constraints or just for the hell of it.
Either way...
Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island hits us all by October!

Review: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

First Impression:
Ah, another Layton game! About time that it came out as it's been out in Japan for a while now. Luke and the Professor are yet again off on another whirlwind adventure and chasing after a mysterious box that kills those who try to open it. Sounds like fun. Let's do this thing.

Gameplay:
Like the game before it, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, you control Professor Hershel Layton and his young apprentice Luke as they solve a great baffling mystery. This time, Layton's going after a mysterious box and somehow, this involves a train ride.
As always, the entire thing is stylus controlled. You use the stylus to do most everything: move around, investigate your surroundings, open up the menu and solve puzzles.
AND BOY WILL YOU BE SOLVING PUZZLES.
This world seems to be a strange alternate universe where people spend their time thinking up brainteasers and almost everything reminds someone of a puzzle. Tapping on a vase of flowers might remind Layton of a puzzle. Talking to someone on the street will suddenly cause them to challenge you to solve a puzzle they've been thinking of. Strange world. Not complaining.

As far as I've observed, puzzles can be categorized into a few major types: There are your visual puzzles which have you staring at something for a long while in order to figure out just what the puzzle needs. There's your math oriented type which makes good use of the memo feature seeing as you'd end up writing your equations there. There's the maze type which has you solving a maze and... my love-it-or-hate-it, the slidey puzzle. You know. The one that has you sliding pieces around the board to form a picture or get something from point A to point B?
During puzzles, the top screen has your hints and puzzle explanation while the touchscreen has your puzzle itself. You have a memo tab which you can tap to bring up a translucent white sheet over your puzzle. Handy for mazes and such where you have to trace over parts or mark them. If you're stuck, you can buy a hint for one hint coin with three hints per puzzle. The first hint is usually pretty obvious while the last hint is usually all you need. Sometimes.



Normally though, your screen looks like this (as pictured above). You have a map on the top screen and on the bottom screen is a large static picture of your current location. Here, you can interact with NPCs, click through dialogue and poke around (quite literally) for puzzles and hint coins.

Over the course of the game, you get to unlock several other goodies which make the game much more enjoyable. First is the camera which you have to put together much like the mechanical dog from the first game. (Where the hell is that dog?!) After you put the camera together, something cool happens.
Second is an overweight hamster. Some puzzles give you hamster toys as prizes and using these toys, you make tubby walk. The more steps he takes, the fitter he gets. (If only it was that easy...) The hamster exercising scene happens with somewhat 3D-ish generated images. Not bad.
Third (And my personal favourite) is a tea brewing section. Some puzzles award you with tea leaves and these tea leaves can be combined to create different sorts of tea.



Last words:
It looks, feels and sounds kinda like the first game. Level 5 took the rule of "If it's not broken, don't fix it" which is good for this sort of thing. All in all, you can say that Professor Layton is a puzzle book done in such a way that it doesn't feel like a boring puzzle book. Fans of puzzles will be happy. There are a LOT to do.

Protip:
-When you reach a new location TAP EVERWHERE. You never know where a hint coin or a puzzle may be hiding. Try windows and lamps and little pebbles on the ground.
-If you miss a puzzle, they go into Granny Riddleton's shack where you can solve them without penalty.

---

Rating:
Graphics: 5/5
I'm fond of the graphic style used for the Professor Layton games. They're crisp and clean. The animated cutscenes are a treat. The backgrounds are colorful and detailed.

Gameplay: 5/5
Everything is controlled by the stylus. One tap brings up a menu, interacts with an NPC and scrolls through dialogue. The puzzles are numerous and vary in both type and difficulty. Some are easy, some are total headscratchers. Both make you think, which is good. The minigames are a great addition. All in all, this is a good pick up and put down game which you can play in bursts of hours... or five minutes.

Soundtrack: 4.5/5
The sounds are nice and the background music played during puzzles I find rather relaxing. Some other tracks aren't all that memorable though. The voice acting isn't tooth grating (Did they get a new voicer for Layton? I'm not quite sure.) and though some people may hate Luke's voice, I rather don't. XD;

The Look and Feel: 4/5
Menu isn't at all awkward. Everything's laid out before your eyes the minute you pull up the menu. Navigation is easy and fairly simple. Some puzzles are easy to miss though but thankfully, they get gathered in one place if you miss their location outright.

Rating: 9/10

Review: Fossil Fighter

First Impression:
I like dinosaurs. Growing up, before I'd had this strange obsession with dragons, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. Naturally, time to check out a game with nothing but dinosaurs and dinosaur battling.

Gameplay:
I suppose I have one formula for this game:

Dinosaur King + Pokemon + Spectrobes = Fossil Fighter.

You play as a boy who journeys to an island to learn how to be a Fossil Fighter which is technically a pokemon trainer who uses dinosau-- right. Vivosaurs, as the game calls them.
Much like Spectrobes, you can find prospective new members of your team by digging them up off the field and cleaning them. However, you can only revive Vivosaurs once you find their heads. Revival is automatic and any other body parts you find from the same vivosaur are added in to give extra experience points and attacks.



And the main point for finding these Vivosaurs and making them stronger? For battling, of course! Your character's main goal is to be a Master Fighter and to have the strongest team of Vivosaurs on the island.
Battle is a simple point and click affair. at the start of each round, you have a set number of FP which are consumed with every attack. Some attacks cost 30 FP, some 50, some 100 or more. Your FP are recharged with every round.
Each team can have up to three Vivosaur in battle at once. One Vivosaur stays in your attack area, the other two in your support area. Those in your support area give status boosters to the attacker and sometimes minus status to the opponent's attacker.



At first, only one dig site is open to you. In order to get to more places, you have to level up your fighter rank by passing a Level Up Exam. One takes place after you've completed the story events of your current chapter.
Level Up Exams are composed of a Cleaning Exam and a Fossil Battle. You will be given a point limit to reach for your cleaning and obviously, you have to win all your battles. You start off with one battle and eventually, you'll have to get through a preliminary battle.
Of course, there's more to island life than just digging up fossils and battling. Where else would an intrepid young adventurer be without foiling an evil plot or two? This game's Team Rocket comes in something called the BB Group (Big Bad Group? I'm not sure. You make the call.) and chapters usually end with you beating a member of theirs or their leader.

You have the option of using the stylus or the button controls. Either one works rather well. Obviously, only the stylus can be used during a cleaning session. On one other note, I was pretty surprised about how fast your character runs, really.

Last words:
I can't help but compare this game to Dinosaur King and Spectrobes unfortunately, because it just reminds me of them so much. I have to say that I've enjoyed this title more than I did those two. it takes the enjoyable qualities of both games and brings them together. There are plenty of dinosaurs to dig up and collect which can hold my interest for a while as I seek out my Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Also, it doesn't have Spectrobes' annoying wannabe wapanese vocabulary. I swear. Several dialogue points in that game made me wanna choke something.
Fossil Fighter is targeted for a younger audience. It's easy to get the hang of and the battles aren't all that tough.

---

Rating:
Graphics: 3.5/5
The entire thing is done in a simple sort of 3D. The characters aren't all that memorable but they do have a colorful palette to work with. They... also kinda move weird, IMHO. Of course, prolly just me.

Gameplay: 4/5
The battle system requires good timing and some strategy which is good. Needs more brains than a button masher. Working for good fossils makes it worth it, as well as looking for parts to power up your team. Pretty fun. Lots to look out for and do.

Soundtrack: 3.5/5
Audio cues are quite important in this game, I think. Sound cues help locate fossils on your radar and they can help while cleaning a fossil. That's good... sometimes bad if you need to play and keep the noise down. The BGM unfortunately isn't too memorable. It's pretty generic.

The Look and Feel: 3/5
The menus are slightly strange. Instead of one menu where you access everything, they've assigned the menus to three separate buttons. X takes you to your status screen and the fossils you're carrying around. Y takes you to your team menu and the list of all the Vivosaurs available to you and start takes you to the save and options screen. Would've been easier if they'd just put it all in one menu screen.

Rating: 7.5/10

Heart Gold and Soul Silver announced for English Release!

A few months ago, pokemaniacs around the world were treated to a bit of good news: the return of Gold and Silver as HeartGold and SoulSilver. We held our breath, hardly believing the news. For the more pessimistic, it was more of "Oh no. Yet ANOTHER pokemon game." and for the fans, much screaming and fangasming was to be had.

Be prepared to fangasm yet again.... for I bring you...



THE ENGLISH TRAILER.
Now go watch it! No further commentary from yours truly is needed. Shoo! Git!

Speculated release is Spring 2010.

Good things come in threes?

More details emerged about Rune Factory 3. Lots of details, really! Japanese release date is set on October 22. Those who pre-order get a nice swag kit with a drama CD and an book containing character illustrations and an original comic.



Fanmitsu also revealed other things about the game:
Your character, Mais can turn into a monster which shows you another side of farming life. I wonder how much fun can be had if you prowl around as a werewolly...
Also new to Rune Factory 3 is the Active Seed System.

Active seed grow immediately when planted and can do a number of useful things like help in battle or with the things you've planted in caves. So far, three Active Seeds have been revealed:



Jack:
-Has a pumpkin-like form
-Sucks up enemies and deals damage

Haslider:
-Shaped like a leaf (Lilypad?)
-Can be used as a floatation device over bodies of water.

Mizubasou:
-Floral in shape
-Generates water for sown seeds

Also, Fanmitsu revealed two more eligible young bachelorettes for Mais' perusal. The so far cast list is as follows:



Shia
A kind girl who took care of you when you were unconscious at the beginning of the game. It's because of her recommendation that you started farming.

Touna
A silent girl who works at the city's weapons shop. Why she avoids relating with people is apparently a secret.

Chocola
A girl who dreams of being a chef like her father and now works at a restaurant in town. Despite her tiny size, she has a huge appetite.

Marion
An apprentice witch who also serves as a nurse in town. She dreams of being either a fine doctor or a sorceress like her grandmother. She's childhood friends with Chocola, whom she used as a guinea pig for conducting tests for her magic cures



Rune Factory just recently grew on me... Of course I'll have my eye on this one. No english release has been scheduled as of now but considering that the first two games have been ported... well... three time's a charm, I suppose!

Via [Siliconera.com / Andriasang.com ]

Oh... oh yes please...

Yup. You're seeing it right. Luminous Arc 3: Eyes. Marvelous has started to promote it. Now I know most of the population has mixed reactions about the LA series but I for one rather liked it. The first game... I believe I have to take another look at but the second was actually quite fun. I'm rather mad for the character designs and the characterizstion for some of the cast.



LA isn't a crazy intimidating SRPG which is what made it fun for yours truly. Me and SRPGs, we have a love-hate relationship. I want to love them but they hate me sometimes.

This time around, you play as a student of the Ulgard Magic Academy and inbetween fights, you'll be interacting with your party members and other students. There seems to be a bit of a dating sim aspect with this too, much like the past two installments.
Image Epoch (Sands of Destruction, 7th Dragon) is handling development and Yasunori Mitsuda has been credited as sound producer. The game's due out this winter in Japan. So far, no English release has been scheduled but knowing Atlus... we'll prolly see one come 2010. As Luminous Arc and its sequel has been ported, there's a good chance this'll come up, too.



No doubt I'll have my eye out on news related to this game.

via [Siliconera/1up.com]

Review: Wacky Races Crash and Dash

First Impression:
Ah, Wacky Races. What a part of my childhood. I remember watching this along with Laff-A-Lympics on Saturday mornings. Now everyone thinks I'm ancient. Now that they've decided to revive a game kids today won't prolly know... Will I be able to have fun and reminisce the insane episodes and the randomness of it all? Will I find myself playing a decent racing game that will prolly be fun to spread around to other people I know? Will anyone under twenty actually pick this up? More importantly, will I be able to play as Dick Dastardly? Let's find out, shall we?

Gameplay:
I was expecting a racing game. You know. You're in control of a character in a car and you try to beat other racers. I was expecting control using the directional pads and have a camera angle akin to Mario Kart.
Oh man, was I wrong.

Wacky Races puts you behind the wheel with the entire cast at your disposal. There's no one to unlock. Everyone's there to begin with, from the Slag Brothers to Penelope Pitstop minus Dick Dastardly. Minus major points from yours truly as my one wish of getting behind the wheel of the Mean Machine was shot down. There are no alternate cars to unlock, no extra powers, nothing but an alternate difficulty setting. THAT'S IT.
The rallies play like an episode of Wacky Races: you have three tracks to race in and in the middle of the races, Dick Dastardly tries to stop you from advancing by sabotage and dirty sneaky tactics. In the game, these are represented by mini games. If you pass, you retain your race position. If you fail, you end up at the back, bringing up the rear.



Much like the cartoon, you also get powers. There's an offensive booster which helps you speed up and damages your opponents' cars, an offensive which has you poking the other cars with the stylus to damage them, an aerial power which has you flying over the rest of the cars and a booster that makes you zoom right ahead of the competition. You activate these powers by tapping the icon when it becomes available after you pick up a powerup on the track.

Everything is controlled via the STYLUS. Yes, you heard me. The stylus. You put the stylus in front of your car and move it in the direction you want to turn. There's no way to accelerate or slow down. Now I don't know about you... but that makes racing a bit.. I don't know.. Awkward? The challenege of getting in first place lies in using your power ups and passing Dick Dastardly's minigames of doom.
And the last stretch to the finish like... Oh BOY.
This involves BLOWING into the microphone and scratching on the touch screen with your stylus while your car goes on autopilot. Why? I don't know. It works. I don't know why. But it works.



Last words:
If I was looking for a racer, I'd pick up Mario Kart. I suggest getting this from a rental. Once you've played it, you prolly won't want to play it again... unless you're a big Wacky Races fan. Even if you are, I'm not really sure you'd like it all that much. This game is a once in a lifetime experience: Once you've experienced it, you don't need to experience it again.
I was sorely disappointed by this game. If they'd stuck to the behind-the-wheel camera and kept the powerups and the minigames... this might have been a good contenteder for Mario Kart due to sheer nostalgia power.

---

Rating:
Graphics: 3.5/5
Alright, I'll give them points for retaining the classic Wacky Races look. The characters are done in a clean 2D during cutscenes and character portraits. The cars however are done in a semi-3D. Nice looking. The tracks however... are slightly grainy. They were trying to do the 3-D on 2-D methinks..

Gameplay: 2/5
Seriously. This would have been a fun racing game if it was done LIKE A RACING GAME. The top view doesn't do much for gameplay and controlling your car with the stylus was purely ridiculous. For Wacky Races, ridiculous is good... but that was a SERIOUSLY bad idea. The finish line stretch... SHEER. MADNESS. Horrendous idea. Once again, they tried to incorporate the touchscreen where it wasn't needed.

Soundtrack: 3/5
Nothing too memorable about the sountrack... but it was rather authentic. Points for nostalgia factor... and the fact that they kept the voice of Racing Commentator Guy. (did he have a name?)

The Look and Feel: 2/5
It looks good... the minigames were kinda fun, I admit... but apart from that, it kinda sucked majorly.

Rating: 3/10

Screenshots: Phantasy Star Zero

After a long moment of silence, it seems that some screenshots of PS0 have emerged... confirming an english release. Thanks to news on Joystiq, it seems that Sega IS working on the English port. Hopefully, we'll see a release by fall of this year as promised.

Click on the picture for more images c/o Joystiq.



via[Joystiq.com]

DS Tidbits!

Firstly! XSeed has confirmed localization of RIZ-ZOAWD. Strangely, they've chosen to change the title to Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road. I really think they should have stuck to RIZ-ZOAWD. No release date has been confirmed but this does look exciting. Feel free to check out the Japanese trailer below. So far, it looks like a very very pretty game and the soundtrack sounds good.



Via [Joystiq.com and siliconera.com]

--

Secondly! Here. Have a trailer. It's for Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. Yep. The full length animated feature is already underway.



--
Thirdly!
Here are my anticipated releases for the next few months:

August:
10 - Fossil Fighters
24 - Professor Layton and Pandora's Box
25 - Monster Racers/Harvest Moon Frantic Farming

September
14 - Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
15 - Bleach 3rd Phantom/Scribblenauts
22 - Spore Hero Arena
29 - Battle of Giants: Dragons (*coughs* Can't help myself.)/Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

October
20 - Bakugan
29 - Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island

November
10 - Phantasy Star Zero

Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

First Impressions: Shin Megami franchise game for the DS, yay. Yours truly being a mythology fangirl, double yay! QUETZACOATL AND LAKSHMI?! HONEY, I'M SOLD!

Gameplay: The only experience I've had with anything from the Shin Megami Tensei line is Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. That, as far as I've observed is nothing like the recent Persona games.
SMT: Devil Survivor has you in the position of the silent main character (who I will call Hero from now on). You pick his name, dialogue and which stat gets boosted every time you level up.
Hero and his two friends get trapped in Tokyo during a sudden lockdown. All of a sudden, demons start appearing. Hero and his buddies now have to fight back the demons with demons of their own and modified DS units comps.

SMT: Devil Survivor is a strange mix of SRPG, turn based RPG and Visual Novel. You pick the locations to go to via the main map. Key scenes are played out ala visual novel with dialogue boxes and static pictures. Some locations pass time and some locations have battles. As time passes through a day, certain things can happen and you can meet certain people.
Battles are done on a grid where you start out by positioning your party members and having the option of which skill you want to steal from your opponents. It starts out like a strategy RPG where you choose where your party members should move. On the grid, you can use demon skills to heal or up movement. When you attack, the scene shifts to a first person POV turn based battle sequence that lasts for at least two turns, depending if anyone gets any extra turns.
Repeat as much as necessary.



Strangely, there are no items at all available. Your only chance of healing is via heal spells. However, if you run out of MP, you're pretty much on your own.
The strategy comes in where you place your party members. Leave someone alone on the field and it's quite easy for monsters to surround and outnumber them.
You can recruit demons into your party via the auction (where you can bid for them or buy them directly) or fusion. When you get access to higher leveled demons for fusion, the auction is a good place to get fusion material sometimes. Upgrading your team is a VERY good idea, might I add?

As fun and engrossing as this game can get, it doesn't quite feel like a DS game. Everything plays out on the bottom screen. The top screen is hardly used at all. There is also no need for the stylus whatsoever. No touch screen application. It... actually feels like a possible GBA game, really. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. A game like this doesn't really need the touchscreen as it does work fine without it. I do wish they did something more with the top screen though. A field layout at the start of battle or some sorta something else would have been good.



Last Words: This game has high replayability because of the multiple endings possible. This is also hours of entertainment for mythology buffs like yours truly. brb. Squeeing over Quetzalcoatl.


---
Rating:

Graphics: 4.5/5
The characters are well designed and colorful. I love their interpretations of the various dieties. I think they captured them just right. Sprites are crisp and nothing really bothers me much about the graphics. I'm slightly of two minds about the static pictures during battle but that could be just me. The overall presentation is modern and edgy which fits the setting of it all.

Gameplay: 4/5
Controls are good enough. No sloppy or confusing ones for this. Selection is your typical move-with-diagonals-confirm-with-A-button=B-is-cancel thing. Of course, this shows little use for the stylus. Then again, there isn't really any need for them anyway.
The battle system made me wonder at first as to why there was an SRPG element to it all but if anything, it does add a nice twist of strategy to your usual RPG. The turn based part makes me feel comfortable as I'm not really a big fan of SRPGs.
I find fusing fun. I dunno about the rest of you. This time around, you can customize your resulting demon by picking which skills it'll inherit from its parents. Always a plus.

Soundtrack: 5/5
There's a mix of techno for the visual novel scenes and rock tracks during the battle scenes. Catchy and good for the mood. One of the best parts of the game.

The Look and Feel: 3.5/5
I'm still a bit iffy about the fact that the top screen is barely used. There should be more use to it especially when you're dealing with an RPG. Yes, it is used in battle for displaying the profiles of your opponents and your party but I also would have liked possibly an overview of the map I'm fighting on.
Menus are a breeze to navigate through. Unfortunately, scrolling through your demon collection in the Fusion section can get a little messy and distracting even if you have the option to arrange them. Somehow, I still get a little lost.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

Review: The Legendary Starfy

First Impressions: Hmm... quirky Japanese game... plays kinda like Kirby... oh why not?

Gameplay: The Starfy series wasn't originally planned for an English release, being billed as "Too Japanese"(?!) for the Western market. Sure, the fact that you play a starfish prince who lives in the clouds who has to go rescue a rabbit in a space suit who gets amnesia does seem pretty strange but it equals good fun.
In every level, you end up either underwater or on land. You have different controls for either one with Starfy doing a turbo swim underwater and dashing on land. You use your Star Spin to beat up the bad guys as well as collecting pearls and treasure chests along the way. You can exchange these pearls for outfits to dress up Starfy and his sister Starly on the menu screen. Match up an outfit with the right accessories and you unlock a scene.
There are also hidden doors that lead to sidequests which you can complete unlock secret areas for you to visit on the world map between levels.
The world map is where you select levels and is divided into several subworlds with a different theme and a different boss at the end.
At some point in the game, Bunston, the rabbit in a space suit gifts you with different forms like a dragon that breathes fire and a seal that can break through ice. These forms can only be used when Bunston is on screen and the appropriate icon for said form is over his head. Sadly, these forms aren't usually available for big boss fights.
This game also allows for wifi connection with a friend. Your buddy can play as Starfy's sister, Starly and you can explore certain levels together or beat up a boss.
That's one of the unique features Starfy has... but sadly, it's also one of the drawbacks. Starly has different abilities than Starfy and these abilities allow her to reach points Starfy can't. A cluster of pearls right over your head you can't get to can be hella annoying. It's not that big a deal, really. Just a bit frustrating.
Levels are pretty linear and getting from point A to point B is pretty obvious sometimes thanks to an obvious path or a trail of pearls.
Between levels, you can access a special menu with a plethora of choices. There's a shop where you can spend your pearls on clothes, a section where Starfy's sidekick, Moe interviews different characters, a minigame section and a cinema where you can replay all the game's cutscenes.
Speaking of which, the story is told in an adorable comic format with no voiceacting whatsoever... unless you count Starfy's squeaks.

Last Words:
This is fun for a pick up and play session. The storyline is quirky and the characters are enjoyable to say the least. The wifi thing can be a bit frustrating specially if you're used to playing alone but it's nothing to lose sleep over. Levels are still enjoyable even without the wifi.
Personally, I'm playing it for the dragon suit.

---
Rating:
Graphics: 4/5
It's a cute, colorful game. The sprites are crisp and clean and the backgrounds are nicely rendered. The bosses are also awesome. My only complaint lies slightly in the 3D models of Starfy and Starly you dress up. Something just doesn't rub me the right way.

Gameplay: 4/5
Controls are responsive but the Star Spin itself can get a little out of hand. Spin too many times and Starfy gets dizzy, leaving you open for attack. Not a good thing just because you tapped Y a little too many times. It's a fun little adventure game with plenty to do and see for the perfectionist collector.

Soundtrack: 4/5
The music's nice and quirky. Fits right in with the game.

The Look and Feel: 4.5/5
Most of the gameplay happens on the top screen while you have an option to pick what you have on the touchscreen during levels. You can pick from a mermaid that gives you advice, to Moe who warns you when you're near a treasure chest, Bunston's collection screen where you see how many forms you have and how many crystal shards you've gathered and Old Man Lobber who gives you stats on how far you've travelled and how many times you spun.
The comic style storytelling works great for the presentation and makes for a fun little game all in all.

Overall Rating: 8/10

E3 Videos!

Scribblenauts is looking interesting. Your main goal is to gather pieces of Starite in the level using any means possible. With over 100,000 words to play with (check out the video to see what I mean) this can lead to some very interesting puzzle solutions!

--


Pokemon Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky has been given a trailer which shows stuff that isn't present in Explorers of Time/Darkness (As far as I've encountered). I see a Shaymin... and an Igglybuff... Intriguing.

--


Also, Golden Sun is looking awesome.

----
In other news from Siliconera, it seems that Gaijinworks is now thinking of porting Visual Novels?
Gaijinworks' was responsible for the localization of Miami Law and its president was former president of Working Designs, Vic Ireland.
Sounds like a good idea to me! The Visual Novel genre is greatly underrated but I don't really know how Americans would take to it. Always worth a try, though!

First Impressions: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Well, it's finally out and I've gotten myself a first taste of it. Mm.. My first Kingdom Hearts game.
Anyway, we all know how big the KH franchise has been and if you guys know me, I'm actually quite skeptical about it. I thought the first game was innovative and the second was nothing more than pure fanservice without a point.
Let's see if this edition will change my mind, shall we?

I can't really comment on the plot for now as I can't read Japanese for the life of me and there aren't any audio cues for me to pick up so... we'll have to wait until the English edition for me to judge the plot.
For now, I'll tell you what I think of the game in terms of graphics and gameplay.

You play as Roxas, a member of Organization XIII and as a member of said Organization, you get to be Xemnas' (At least I think it was Xenmas and not Saix) errand boy and go on different missions with the rest of the Org members. Most of these missions as far as I've noticed involve taking out a certain enemy.

Graphics wise, this is a very impressive DS game. If I didn't know better, I'd say I was looking at a PSX game. Yes, PSX. Not PS2. FMVs are slightly rare after the first day and these are done with full voiceover. Said FMVs are also skippable with the start button. GOOOOD Squeenix. You learned.
During game story sequences, you find yourself with moving characters that have static faces. I still find it slightly strange when you're talking to a guy whose mouth isn't moving.

I have a slight tick with the camera though. It keeps moving around and at times, I've had Roxas slashing right at me in the heat of battle. It gets to be a bit annoying at times but at least it hasn't caused any fatalities yet.
Action happens on the top screen while on the bottom screen, you have your map, a picture of the world you're in (Or your target for the mission) and the mission gauge which tells you if you've done enough carnage for a silver or gold ranking. Also, you can swing the camera around by swiping on the touch screen. Not for the squeamish as the camera swings around REALLY FAST.

The panel system... can't really comment on it since I don't really know the extent of the items. The things you get are segregated into consumables, equips and magic making things easy enough to find when you need to do some sorting.
You're only allowed to access the menu when you're at the Castle Oblivion. Once you're on the field and on a mission, you're pretty much on your own so make sure you're done equipping those panels before leaving.
In the field, your magic is selected by pressing the X button and choosing it from the menu on the corner left. The number of times you can cast a spell depends on how many you have equipped in those panels. You can assign a shortcut to these spells and to your consumables which makes things handy in a pinch.

---
So far, it looks like a pretty solid time killer but I can't really enjoy it much without knowing what the hell this is all about so I'll have to wait til the English release to give my final verdict on the matter.
It's shaping up to be a pretty fun ride though!

DS Tidbits!

Alright, first off, I apologize for the lack of news. I've been in a bit of a sticky widget for a while but everything's cool now and it's back to work for me!

FIRST!



Level 5 has somewhat confirmed that the sequel to the first Professor Layton game will be seeing an english port within the next six months.
During a Q&A sesson at GDC, Hino was asked about the future of the series outside Japan. He said he'd like all the games to be released in North America and Europe and that his company is currently working on localising the second game in the series (UK title yet to be confirmed).

The sequel has been out since November 2007 in Japan. Seems that the good Professor and Luke have a bit of a Pandora's Box situation on their hands.

Via [officialnintendomagazine.co.uk]

---
NEXT!



Natsume is announcing another Harvest Moon game for this year which is called Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands. I'm not entirely sure just how different this is to Islands of Happiness but I did hear something about looking for Sunshine Stones to raise up some islands which had sunk during a freak storm.

Via: [Siliconera.com]

--
THIRD!
Have some announced games from E3!

Activision:
-Marvel Ultimate Alliance

Atlus:
-Knights in the Nightmare
-Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

Capcom:
-Megaman Star Force 3: Red Ace/Black Joker

Ignition Entertainment:
-Nostalgia

Koei
-Monster Racers

Sega:
-Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympics
-Planet 51

XSeed:
-Ragnarok Online DS

--
Steal Princess was released this week so expect a review when I get my hands on a copy... and possibly a firsthand look at Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days.

And finally an update!

And after a slow news run... I finally have something to update about!



First off: XSeed has announced that it'll be bringing Ragnarok Online DS over as an English release! For those unaware, the Japanese version was released some time ago. It plays like a sort of Zelda game where you point at enemies to attack them or to walk to a certain location. It's your typical RO fare with a plot and a couple more character classes thrown in: the dark knight and the shaman.

--

In other news, more details for Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul silver have come up. Here's what I understand so far:

I was right about the whole thing with the starter Pokemon following the trainer around! Apparently though, this may hold true not only for the starter but for any specific pokemon in the party. Not too sure about that, though..
The menu's gone a significant change, too if visible from the screenshot below. Everything's more touch screen oriented and most likely ala PDA style.



Also, the female protagonist has gone through a really big change. I dunno if it's for the better. See for yourself.



I'm not too fond of the big hat myself...

Also, there seem to be some preorder bonuses for the upcoming Arceus-centric movie. You get a Pikachu colored Pichu (??) and a notch eared Pichu which trigger a cutscene in Crystal's Celebi location as well as a special Arceus that brings up some sorta history lesson on the world of Pokemon!

--
Source:
DS @ Joystiq.com
Siliconera

Pokemon Sunday Reveal

And S.S. delivers! Here's said episode of Pokemon Sunday where Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver were revealed. Along with the reveal, a few seconds of gameplay was shown. Seems that Gold was being followed by Chikorita. Are we looking at something like Pokemon Yellow again?
Of course, things can change when the actual game comes along but... this is pretty exciting news!
The entire video is in Japanese without subtitles so... I apologize to those who don't speak Japanese but as far as I understand, the release date is set to Fall of 2009 as early speculation gave out.

A Witch's Tale Trailer

And after a long period of no news from this game... we finally have a trailer and a speculated release date!



You play as the witch in training, Lidell and battle through the six kingdoms to save the Princesses and do some odd jobs for the citizenry on the side. Battle is done by sliding runes around and tracing them using the stylus.
Already, the art style reminds me of Disgaea which is a good thing. I had a bit of a Disgaea obsession a few months back.
It's NIS so we can expect something quirky and fun. The game itself has a gothic overtone with the horror theme and the dolls you have to find in each Kingdom.

The game is set to release by Fall so... perhaps around Halloween?

CONFIRMED

According to IGN and several other sources, Nintendo has confirmed the release of a Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver remake. Entitled Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, the release has been dated in Japan by Fall of 2009. Prediction of an American release by... oh, say, 2010.
As well as updated graphics and system, there was something about a new element being released as well.

It's been ten years since Gold and Silver was released. Only fitting a remake would come out by now. Since its release in 1999, the game has sold over 23,000,000 copies worldwide.

Personally, I'm pretty excited about this. One of my favourite Pokemon of all time have come from the Kanto region and I have pretty fond memories of this game. I'm expecting more than just a graphical overhaul but I'm sure Nintendo knows better. Yes, I've also added a Pokemon tag seeing as it's not really a dying genre and I am a self confessed Pokemaniac.
Now if you'll excuse me... I have to squee.

Sources:
Original article on Official Japanese Pokemon site

Well this is interesting!

Hang on to your hats, people. It seems Pokemon Gold and Sliver might get a remake! Of course, this is all speculation stemmed from this little screenshot:



This was taken from last week's Pokemon Sunday which is a Pokemon themed variety show in Japan. They have reruns of episodes, answer viewer questions... the like.
Anyway. See the two balls?
Yes, the large gold and silver ones up there.
No, I will refrain from making any large shiny ball comments.

This May 10, Pokemon Sunday has announced that those balls shall be opened and will reveal the new major Pokemon game.
Many (much like myself) are hoping for a Gold and Silver remake... seeing as those balls up there are, well, gold and silver.
Personally, I'm pretty excited about the remake.

KH 358/2 Days Storefront Trailer

Obviously, this trailer is in Japanese but this is what I've gathered.
-The black haired girl is Xion.
-There is much existencial angst to be had all over the place.
-I see Sora (Yes, not Roxas. Sora.) somewhere in a screen there. Playable in Multiplayer mode, perhaps?
-I feel much Axel abuse from yours truly. Hm.
-Final release date for Japan is March 30, 2009.

In my honest, unbiased, Squeenix skeptic, KH hating opinion...
This game looks like an interesting ride. For a fandom I've billed as nothing but bull and fanservice, my interest has been piqued. I want to see how they'll pull this off. Maybe after this game, I won't hate the franchise so much...
Maybe.

EDIT: Thanks to the people over at Nico for the subbed version of the video. Sorry about the lack of news, people. Slow news week. Who knows though. When the Japanese version of KH 358/2 Days comes out, I might post a little preview here...
When June comes along, though, things are going to be WAY more lively.
---

In other news:
Ace Attorney Investigations has been rumored for a release by Winter in America. (Possibly around Q4)
Here. Have an English trailer.



Miles Edgeworth gets his hands dirty by going to the crime scene and digging in dumpsters! Alright, maybe he doesn't... but he does go to the crime scene.

-Players will interact with witnesses and dig around for evidence.
-There's a new Logic system which makes you piece two pieces of information together and combine them to create new clues.
-The new character's name is Kay Faraday and she seems to be a phantom thief of sorts.
-We get to see actual crime scenes... with bodies.. and blood.
-The trailer soundtrack is pretty kicking and the last few seconds on the trailer = major lolz.

Interestingly enough, Miles runs around the screen rather than the first person POV that was used during the past 4 Ace Attorney games. I still see some sort of defense part is present in play but instead of being in court, you go face to face with the criminal?
Either way, we'll see come Q4.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Updates!

In this entry, I bring you a somewhat long rant... and a couple of pages of translated Fanmitsu scans!


Page 1
Page 2

Other information:
- Roxas is shown using the Bond of Flames keyblade
- Xion was the only member not appearing in the multiplayer select screen
- Donald and Goofy made appearances


- The style graphics have changed since Jump Festa like:
- Addition of names under character's face icons
- The limit gauge

- Scenes concerning Xion's connections are replace with ones reflecting her character
- At the Castle That Never Was, Xion picks up a seashell like that of Destiny Island and puts it to her ear, saying she can hear the sounds of the ocean
- In the back alley of Twilight Town, Hayner, Pence, and Olette gather at the side of Axel and Roxas
- Axel and Xion talk in the Castle of Oblivion, was Roxas there too?
- At the Castle That Never Was, Xion hangs her head low and says, "I... I'm not me..?"
- In the white room of the mansion in Twilight Town, Xion faces Namine and asks, "What should I do?"
- Xion appears to be crying in her bed at the Castle That Never Was
- Xion and Axel appear to be be looking for something on a computer then they both collapse
- Only Xion rises and leaves Axel behind
- Xion places a pebble/shell beside Roxas who is sleeping and then leaves silently
- After that, a scene where Xion encounters and speaks with Riku in Twilight Town

Taken from Heartstation.org

There is no specific release date as of late but there have been rumors of a Japanese release come September 2009. Of course, when a date has been officially announced, you can bet I'll post it here.

IMHO, I'm a bit skeptical about this. It smells like a large chunk of steaming fanservice fodder like most of Squeenix's productions as of late. Yes, I'm not a big fan of the Kingdom Hearts franchise. I think after the first game, the sequels have been nothing more than cheap attempts to produce a game that is nothing more than a collection of HOMG CUTE BOIZ and POPYEWLUR CHARAKTURS WHO CAN BE GHEY FOR EACH OTHUR.
Yes. I don't like it.
HOWEVER!

I will gladly review this game when it comes out in the most unbiased manner possible. Looking it over as an adventure/RPG game, it does sound quite promising. I'm curious as to how they'll manage to port a PS2 game over to the DS.

Review: Kuroshitsuji Phantom and Ghost

One hell of a butler... and pretty much one hell of a game, too! Alright, maybe I was fishing for a connection to Sebastian's catchphrase there but it's a pretty good description for this game!

First Impressions:
Mhmhmm... Kuroshitsuji as a DS game. Might not be too interesting seeing as it's a Japanese visual novel. Peh. I suck at reading Japanese. But then... it is a rather epic anime an I do like my chibi-centric mini-games... Let's check it out, shall we?

Storyline:
Alright. This is what I garnered from VERY bad Japanese vocabulary and basic knowledge of the anime. Ciel Phantomhive is the young earl of the Phantomhive house. They own a candy/toy company and seem to be pretty influential around England. Ciel needed to strike a deal with a demon in order to avenge his parents' deaths and find the killer. This game has you going off to some manor or something off in the countryside in the company of the Rose family. Somehow, there is a curse and a ghost named Stella who posesses Ciel's rabid fiancee, Elizabeth. There is much lulz to be had somewhere along the way.
Typical Kuroshitsuji fare, I'd like to think but quite enjoyable nontheless!
TL;DR: There's a mystery and Ciel's been called on to investigate for the queen again.

Gameplay:
As with any Japanese visual novel, this one is CHOCK FULL of dialogue. You have your audio clips every now and then (which... kind of help) but no full motion videos or completely voiced over scenes. In each chapter, you get to choose Ciel or Sebastian's point of view. Picking a certain POV at a certain time will net you key items and mini games. Between scenes, there is also a Tanaka Search mode where you can go looking for the chibified senior citizen in certain rooms of the manor. This can net you other items and sometimes, you'll be able to unlock sound clips and CGs for your collection.
As far as I know, there are around six minigames to unlock: a mouse catching minigame, a dancing minigame, a dish washing one (This one had been revealed before), a battling...kind of first person shooter where you use knives.. and... this:



I... was actually stuck because of this blasted game. Good thing you can actually skip it if you make the right dialogue decision. I'm still trying to figure out how to win. I think you have to get rid of all those red pieces.
Anyway, post game, you unlock the CG gallery, the audio gallery, the minigame gallery and a special chapter. It'll take a few playthroughs to actually unlock everything so there's plenty of replayability there especially if you want to replay your favourite minigames and if you happen to be a fan of the anime.

Last Words: It's a Visual Novel. Expect a lot of text and groping in the dark. You'd probably appreciate this game if you're a fan of the series... or a fan of victorian era costumes at any rate. Wouldn't reccomend it to someone who knows nothing of the series. All in all, the minigames are pretty fun and a good reason to try and unlock em all. After that, though, there's not much else to be done for the non-Japanese reading crowd... but like I said. It's a visual novel.

---
Rating:
Graphics: 4/5
Typical graphic novel fare. Characters are static pictures which change every now and then in attire and emotion. The look is close to the anime and the backgrounds are nice and crisp.

Gameplay: 4/5
Stylus clicks through dialogue and is used for the various minigames. Those are pretty fun and are a good reason to play the game.

Soundtrack: 4/5
Fitting for the scenarios. Some lines of dialogue are voiced.

The Look and Feel: 5/5
It's a fun, short VN with sprinklings of minigames. Unlocking the minigames and the CGs are a good reason to keep playing.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Lux Pain

Well, I suppose the visual novel genre isn't for everyone. Fortunately, I rather like it!

First Impressions:If you don't like reading, you probably won't like it either. Well, maybe. Visual novels are a big hit in Japan. Some examples are the infamous H-game and the not-so-innocent dating sim. Thankfully, Lux Pain is neither one. If it was, I doubt there would even be a translation.
So where do I begin with this review...

Gameplay:
Lux Pain starts off at a rather confusing point. You're an agent for this group called Fort which seems to be getting rid of things called Shinen which reside in humans and cause them to have moments of violence. You control a pretty boy named Atsuki who has the powers of Sigma which lets him see these Shinen.
I can see why most of the reviewers were turned off by this game.
It shoves you right into the thick of things with no tutorial, no explanation and no introduction whatsoever. You have to figure out for yourself just what you can do and what happens when you press this button on this here doohickey.
Atsuki ends up enrolling in the local highschool in order to continue his investigation. There, you end up introduced to the rest of the cast who will eventually take part in said case.
Strangely enough, a fortune telling place opens some time by chapter 3 or so and charts how your relationships are going. Hmm.. possible dating sim aspect? Maybe. But a minor and a few males are included in said list.
The mind boggles.
Another charming aspect to the game is a BBS of sorts where people comment on certain things that you uncover during the course of the game. The first thread posted is a rumor about a transfer student. Yes, you. Here, you read about several female students starting to gush about how gorgeous you are and how you made their heart stop.
When interacting with the other characters, at times, you are given the ability to choose your responses, either from a couple of sentences or from a range of emotions, from anger to joy. You also have laughter, sadness and playing it cool. I suppose this sort of thing changes your relationship with them.

Apart from the high school drama you have to endure, there's also the Original and Silent investigation. You go through the usual mess of using your Sigma ability to seek out Shinen which come out as keywords you can use to unconsciously draw information out of your subject. This is timed and you get experience points when you've uncovered all the Shinen. The Shinen reveal to you phrases and fragments of sentences which sometimes make no sense but give you an insight into the character's mind. Some are sad, some are interesting... but there are those that are downright disturbing.
At times, the subject you may have uncovered might be a bit too touchy and you'll be faced with a "boss battle" against a Silent. At the end of the day, you report to your superiors and the chapter ends.
As far as localization goes, I do have a few gripes with the script. There were a few visible typos but nothing so annoying as to distract you from the story. I can't comment much on the voice acting because I had partaken of one option most games have forgotten to give us: the ability to turn off the voice acting.

Last Words:
It seems I have quite a way to go with this game. It's not the sort of thing that turned me away. The story starts off as quite confusing seeing as you start off in the dark but it's half the fun trying to figure out things for yourself. The social aspect of Lux Pain made me wonder if this is the sort of game that ends like a Dating Sim and I'm also rather curious as to who you can end up with.
I fully disagree with what Gamepro and IGN have said about this. With a little patience, I believe Lux Pain is an enjoyable experience for those who prefer to do some thinking and reading rather than mindless carnage.

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Rating:
Graphics: 3.5/5
Typical graphic novel fare. Characters are static pictures which change every now and then in attire and emotion. The colors are nice but there's something a bit off putting about it.

Gameplay: 4/5
Stylus clicks through dialogue, map and used to battle Silent. Pretty sensible and responsive. There was a relationship meter between characters that didn't really do much.

Soundtrack: 3.5/5
Er... ya can't really hear much often but there is some background music during boss battles and some scenarios.

The Look and Feel: 4/5
Fun little VN. Could use some improvement in the translation department. Scratch that. A LOT of improvement. Otherwise, the story is quite interesting..

Rating: 8/10