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Messages - Rwinterhalter

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TalkBack / RE:Japanese VC Gets MSX, NeoGeo, and Ocarina

« on: February 23, 2007, 12:11:33 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: 18 Days
Virtua Fighter? WHAT WHAT?

It was a sprite based remake for the Genesis.

TalkBack / Japanese VC Gets MSX, NeoGeo, and Ocarina

« on: February 22, 2007, 10:43:36 PM »

Nintendo announces MSX and NeoGeo support on the virtual console.

Japanese Virtual Console lovers have quite a month ahead of them. The final Tuesday in February sees the release of the much-vaunted Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and March doesn’t look so bad either, even in the shadow of Zelda. Fondly remembered games like Excitebike, ActRaiser, and Ganbare Goemon fill the Japanese release schedule. In addition to these titles, Nintendo announced that MSX and NeoGeo games would be appearing in spring and summer respectively. Only two titles were listed, Eggy and Aleste for the MSX at 800 Wii points apiece. No games were listed for the NeoGeo.

March Japanese virtual console games:

NES:

Lode Runner
Yoshi no Tamago (Yoshi/Mario & Yoshi)
Valkyrie no Bouken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu
Excitebike
Donkey Kong Jr. no Sansuu Asobi (Donkey Kong Jr. Math)

SNES:

Ganbare Goemon: Yukihime Kyuushutsu Emaki (Legend of the Mystical Ninja)
Heracles no Eikou 3
ActRaiser

Genesis:

Puzzle & Action: Tant-R
Sonic Spinball
Dyna Brothers
Wonder Boy V: Monster World III
Virtua Fighter 2
Alex Kidd Tenkuu Ma Jou (Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle)
Alien Storm

Turbo-Grafx 16:

Double Dungeons
Fire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag
Galaga '88
Kaizou Chounin: Shubibinnman (Shockman)

TalkBack / REVIEWS: Final Fantasy VI Advance

« on: December 26, 2006, 08:17:55 PM »

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Square-Enix has given us GBA remakes of Final Fantasy IV and V, and the company has already released the sixth installment of the series in Japan. Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III as it was called when it was first released in North America for the SNES) follows in the footsteps of Final Fantasy IV by offering a meaty (by the standards of the time) story along with the RPG action. It is a favorite amongst the fans of the series, and stands up just as well as any of the previous 16-bit remakes.

Final Fantasy VI is more about story than gameplay. While Final Fantasy IV laid the groundwork, it was Final Fantasy VI that brought the series into full bloom. Featuring fourteen characters, showcasing moral ambiguity, and touching upon issues such as teen pregnancy and suicide, Final Fantasy VI’s narrative packs a punch. However, this narrative power comes at the expense of gameplay.

Final Fantasy VI is divided into two halves: the first guided and linear, the second free -roaming. If a player knows where to go and what to do, like many fans of the series such as myself do, leveling up to an unbeatable party in eight hours is possible. The end game comes down to hitting enemies with the same spell or technique repeatedly. Not a single enemy encountered – save for one exception – requires a different strategy. That being said, the instant death, vanish/x-zone trick has been eliminated, adding a bit more challenge to the game.

Characters have their own unique special talents, and individual stats that pre-dispose thenm towards a certain role. You can influence certain stats and teach characters magic by attaching summons (called Genju in Japanese or Espers in English) to your characters. Once you have taught every character his or her best ability or the Ultima spell, something easily accomplished in twenty-five hours if you know what to do, the game is almost impossible to lose. However, new content adds a slight challenge to the game for veteran players.

The four new summons and a new, hidden, boss-filled dungeon also contribute to the new challenge. Beating this dungeon unlocks endurance-battle mode. You can also continue exploring the world even after you have beaten the final boss. Nevertheless, even these extra challenges eventually fall to leveling up rather than provide a new kind of challenge.

Several new touches beyond the new bosses and summons have been added. Portraits now accompany the dialogue of main characters, and a handful of new weapons and spells appear as well.

The game looks exactly like it did at the time of its SNES release. Aside from the new dialogue portraits, no new art has been added. Despite the lack of a graphical upgrade, the game slows down during the more elaborate spell effects, though gameplay is never affected by it.

The SNES had a powerful and unique sound chip. Emulating it, especially on the GBA’s speakers, is difficult. While most of the tunes sound close enough to their originals, a few key pieces, namely the ending theme and the now famous opera scene, are noticeably different. Purists may abhor the thought of such famous scenes being anything less than faithful to their originals, but I found the changes – in the opera scene at least – to be an improvement.

The game won’t see a stateside release until February. If you are familiar with the original, you might be able to navigate FFVI Advance with little Japanese knowledge. Those who are experiencing Final Fantasy VI for the first time will probably need to be at a fairly advanced level in order to know where to go and to understand the effects of weapons and spells.

The difficulty is a joke, and hardcore RPG fans will likely want to play it for the story, or avoid the game all together. For casual RPG fans, this game is perfect. Its deep story and simple but fun gameplay are sure to please.

If you think you are capable of navigating this RPG in Japanese, give it a shot. For the rest, you will just have to wait until February.

Pros:

Classic 16-bit Role-playing action on the go.

A great story.

Accessible to new players.

New dungeons, weapons, summons, and bosses.

Cons:

Maybe too easy for hardcore players.

Minor slowdown in battles.

Sound is not always faithful to the original.

       Graphics: 6.0
   Authentic, but the GBA can do better.

       Sound: 8.0
   Final Fantasy VI arguably has the greatest soundtrack in all the series. But, but a few tracks don’t sound quite as good as they did on SNES hardware.

       Control: 9.0
   The game features the same tried and true controls that have held the series together since the SNES.

            Gameplay: 8.0
   The game is accessible to anyone, but the lack of difficulty may disappoint hardcore JRPG fans.

Lastability: 8.0
The game has remained popular for over a decade. No game maintains that without a decent level of replay value.

Final: 8.0
Final Fantasy VI is still fun in the age of epic, 50+ -hour, RPG’s.

TalkBack / Final Fantasy Tactics Advance A2: Fuketsu no Gurimoa announced!

« on: December 17, 2006, 07:35:28 PM »

Square-Enix continues its string of "Ivalice Alliance" games.

Square-Enix loves Ivalice. As part of their newly announced Ivalice Alliance line up titles and just days after revealing Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP, Square-Enix announced Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Fuketsu no Gurimoa for the Nintendo DS (Tentatively translated as “Sealed Cave of Gurimoa" for now).

According to Famitsu.com, the Ivalice Alliance lineup includes Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP, and the newly announced Seal of Gurimoa for the DS.

NWR Forums Discord / RE:Calling All Other Japan Corespondents Out, I've had it up to here!!!!

« on: December 05, 2006, 07:38:54 PM »

Awesome? I think not

NWR Forums Discord / Calling All Other Japan Corespondents Out

« on: December 05, 2006, 07:15:47 PM »

That's it S-U-P-E-R it's ON! Because the internet is

TalkBack / RE:REVIEWS: Final Fantasy III

« on: October 08, 2006, 01:57:03 AM »

You guys should check out 1up's Retronauts podcast, it's all about FF III, and they bitch about the same things I talked about in the review.

TalkBack / REVIEWS: Final Fantasy III

« on: September 19, 2006, 11:17:30 PM »

We waited sixteen years for this?

Sixteen years after its original release in Japan, Matrix Software has remade Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS. Final Fantasy III came at the end of the Famicom (NES) lifecycle in Japan. As such, it was the most technically advanced of the three original Final Fantasy games. The game eschews the epic story line and deep characters, which began in Final Fantasy II and later became the hallmark of the series, in favor of the more combat oriented style of the original. This gameplay has aged considerably in the past sixteen years and does not hold up well today.

FF III is a dungeon crawler at heart. Do not come expecting the epic stories of later games in the series. I can already hear the cheers from those who have chastised the series for being overwrought with drama and who welcome the return to a simpler time, but not so fast. Matrix Software did not leave the story alone; they added personality to the formerly faceless and nameless characters and expanded on a few story sequences as well. This compromise between story and action, between character development and gameplay, is actually worse than either extreme. What has been developed is a game that has a minimal story and almost zero character development but has pretensions of being a grand adventure story. The dialogue is terrible, filled with Japanese clichés and overdramatic word choice (this may yet be changed in localization). The story itself is predictable, and when it does take a dramatic turn, the ham-fisted dialogue robs the scenes of any dramatic flavor.

The game does try to spice things up with humor occasionally, but these attempts fall flat or seem incredibly out of place. For example, if you activate a piano in a certain inn, the patrons of that inn will dance rather crudely to "Grease Lightning". Most other attempts at humor revolve around the "old man" stock character familiar to Japanese audiences.

If you do not have a solid grasp on the Japanese language, it's better to just wait for the localized release in November. In order to understand the basics of the game, like where you need to go and how to get there, you will need to be able to read Japanese on a level most students don't obtain until at least their third year studying the language at a university level. Understanding the story (as simple as it is) would take an even higher level of proficiency. However, if you are a fluent reader, you can import the game from our partners at http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=275&products_id=5831&>Lik-Sang.

The game is hard, and difficulty is something that tends to be rather rare in games these days. In the past sixteen years, developers have realized that being creamed by enemies within minutes of the first encounter is not fun. In this respect, Final Fantasy III is definitely old school. Most of the enemies you encounter will not be that difficult. There are a few annoying enemies that will replicate themselves if you cannot kill them in one hit, but this is more of an annoyance than a problem. The normal enemies are deceptively easy; the bosses are where the real problem lies. You can waltz through a dungeon, barely taking a hit, and then be slaughtered in two turns by the boss. The bosses in Final Fantasy III have moves that will kill most party members in two hits, or just one if it is a critical hit. This issue, combined with the fact that bosses have between two and four actions per turn, means that your characters will drop fast. Victory in combat is determined by the luck of the draw; if the enemy decides to take out your White Mage, and you do not have any precious and rare Phoenix Down items, there is not much you can do other than take the punishment the boss gives you and try again.

The turn system only aggravates the issue. You issue orders to all four of your characters at the same time. The character's speed stat is then used to determine who goes first. This means that whether or not you can heal your party (healing is effectively required every turn in boss battles) before a boss gets his lethal strike off is just a matter of luck. Should a character die and you have to resurrect him, the battle turns into a game of whack-a-mole, with you reviving one character just as another is taken out. In most RPGs, you can level up if a boss is giving you trouble, and while this is a possibility in FF III, it doesn't do a whole lot of good. How much damage you deal and take is determined more by equipment than by level. There are many places in the game where the next best armor and weapons are available only after you take out a boss. This asinine system results in you having to fight boss battles repeatedly until you get lucky and actually win. As victory in battle is a result of being lucky rather than work or skill, it saps away a good chunk of the rewarding feelings you would normally have from beating the boss.

Final Fantasy III introduced the “Job System" to the series. Since then variations on what FF III developed have appeared in no less than five Final Fantasy games since. The system in Final Fantasy III can be obtuse and counter-intuitive. It takes third fiddle to equipment and level in terms of taking and dealing damage. There was a large chunk of the game where my white mage was dealing as much damage as my character I was guiding through the fighting classes because I found a good staff for her, but I could not find a good blade for my Knight. Even worse was when my geomancer and my archer were outperforming him, in physical damage. The job effects how fast certain stats level up, but equipment and level are so much more important.

The art style resembles that of Final Fantasy IX, which is not surprising as that game was a tribute to the older Final Fantasy games. The character models, while simple, remain faithful to the style of the original. What's more, the towns and dungeons are fully rendered, unlike the pre-rendered backgrounds of Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX. These dungeons are actually the most impressive graphical feat of the game, which is good because you will be looking at them a lot.

The game is controllable either through traditional a D-pad/button combo or the touch screen. Touch screen controls work pretty much as you would expect: you tap a command, then tap the character you want to attack or heal. The touch screen controls do not add much to the game though, and the D-pad is far simpler and more intuitive.

The soundtrack is exactly what you would expect from Final Fantasy. Nobuo Uematsu's soundtrack hits all the right notes, and the new versions of these old tunes are perfect. There is even one track where the original 8-bit sound has been kept, and it is without a doubt the best track in the game. However, no new songs were composed for this remake. This results in a handful of excellent tracks being reused for a great number of scenarios. There is the town track, the castle track, the dungeon track, and the melodramatic story turn track, and over the course of the thirty or so hour quest, there are very few surprises. The sound is great but the lack of variety hurts it.

It is only the production values: graphics, music, and pedigree that make this game stand out. At its heart, Final Fantasy III is a dated and mediocre RPG that will only please the most die-hard Final Fantasy fans. With all its problems and the North American release only two months away, with hope that the localization will be an improvement, there is little reason to import Final Fantasy III.

Pros:

Great graphics accompanied by a fantastic art style

Incredible music (but see cons below)

Cons:

Dated gameplay

Ridiculous difficulty

Little diversity in music

Terrible writing

       Graphics: 10.0
   The DS hardware is rarely shown off as in Final Fantasy III. The well-done art only highlights this technical feat.

       Sound: 8.0
   The sound is great but it could use more variety. By hour fifteen, you will be turning down the volume and playing your own music out of boredom.

       Control: 9.0
   FF III uses the same basic controls you've known since the first Dragon Warrior, and they work well enough. However, the touch screen option seems tacked on.

            Gameplay: 5.0
   Dated, frustrating, and boring, FF III's gameplay has not aged well. The remake is faithful to the original, but that is not a good thing.

Lastability: 8.0
The quest is notably shorter than modern Final Fantasy games, but you'll die so often that while the clock may read twenty five or thirty hours, your actual play time will probably be closer to forty or fifty, which is not bad for a handheld game.

Final: 6.5
Great graphics and sound cannot make up for poor writing and frustrating gameplay.

TalkBack / REVIEWS: Rhythm Heaven

« on: September 09, 2006, 04:33:58 PM »

Simple and playable for any stretch of time, Rhythm Heaven almost demands to be imported.

In 2003, Nintendo released WarioWare on an unsuspecting public. The game's frantic pace and variety had never been seen before. The series has appeared on three Nintendo platforms in less than three years, and is due to hit the Wii soon as well. Given the popularity of the franchise, it's a bit surprising that the WarioWare team's newest game, Rhythm Heaven, while structurally and mechanically similar to WarioWare, doesn't bare its name.

Rhythm Heaven is a collection of mini-games all based around, well, rhythm. Each of the 46 mini-games in this collection is based around performing actions (from marching in time to hiding a troupe of mice from a hungry cat) in time to a varied and fun collection of music. Games are a bit longer than the five second variety seen in WarioWare, but most still take no more than one or two minutes.

Rhythm Heaven's collection is organized in a grid, and the games are loosely ordered from easiest to hardest. Each column is headed by a 'Remix' where the games change every ten seconds or so. These remixes are the closest thing Rhythm Heaven has to boss fights, offering the game's ultimate challenge. Even those who have become experts at other rhythm games will find that this game is brutal in its evaluations. While other rhythm games have a large window of opportunity surrounding each beat, allowing players to fudge their timing, Rhythm Heaven is strict and unforgiving to those without near-perfect rhythm.

But there's no need to worry if you don't have such a keen sense of rhythm. The game allows players to hone their skills in mini-games outside of the main set, and will offer a beat by beat evaluation, telling you if you're too fast or too slow.

As you play through the various remixes you'll unlock other new mini-games. These games are different in that they are more freestyle affairs, allowing you to jam to the beat with various instruments.

The variety of mini-games available in Rhythm Heaven is astounding, from games involving simple, well understood concepts, such as baseball, to more abstract games that almost defy explanation. In one remix alone you’ll guide a bouncing rabbit over breaching humpback whales, cast magic to protect plants from anthropomorphic weeds, perform a dance routine in space, and jump on a trampoline. The game overwhelms you with variety, and oozes that particular Japanese charm seen in titles like Loco Roco and Ouendan.

Using the GBA for a rhythm game seems a bit odd. The GBA isn't known for its incredible achievements in sound, but Rhythm Heaven shows what the little handheld is capable of. The majority of the soundtrack sounds great and fits the action. There are even a few fully recorded Japanese pop and rock songs sprinkled throughout the mix. While these songs aren't CD quality they are an incredible showcase of what the GBA is capable of.

The graphics have a simplistic and charming art style that's far from boring. It won't wow anyone with its graphical prowess, but given the game's other merits and the music-based nature of its gameplay, this is hardly a fault.

This game is unlikely to be released in the United States at the moment, given Nintendo of America's push for the DS. Importing may be the only way to go. While the game text is completely in Japanese, the mini-games are simple enough that they can be enjoyed with no knowledge of the language, and players should have no trouble figuring out the menus with five to ten minutes of exploration.

Rhythm Heaven is the perfect portable game; playable in short increments or long sessions, intuitive, and fun. If there has ever been a game to import, this is it.

Pros:

Great Music

Simple yet challenging gameplay

Cons:

Sparse graphics

Really, really difficult

       Graphics: 6.0
   The graphics aren't going to wow anybody, but they have a varied and charming art style that's easy on the eyes. Even when the graphics are bad, the action changes so fast you don't have to look at it for long.

       Sound: 10.0
   A game called Rhythm Heaven better have good music, and it doesn't disappoint. Music is varied and mostly very good. The few Japanese pop songs that show up are fun to listen to and while it's obviously not CD quality, it's a lot better than anything else on the GBA.

       Control: 9.0
   Controls are dead simple. Most mini-games use one button. The jam session games use the D-pad as well. This works well, and most games can be figured out in the first two minute session of play.

            Gameplay: 9.0
   Simple, fun, and portable and while the controls are simple, the games show a surprising amount of depth and an unheard of amount of variety.

Lastability: 9.0
This game is what a portable game should be. Mini-games are varied enough that even the most dedicated players will never get bored. The game is also so challenging that it will take weeks or months to master.

Final: 8.5
With simple, yet deep gameplay, fantastic sound, and great variety, Rhythm Heaven should find a permanent home in the DS or GBA of anyone who buys it.

TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Final Fantasy III

« on: August 28, 2006, 06:23:31 AM »

The DS remake of the classic RPG is released in Japan.

After sixteen years, gamers outside of Japan can finally play the "lost" Final Fantasy III. This title was originally released only in Japan for the Famicom (NES), and as per usual, Japan received the new DS remake nearly three months before the American release date. I recently got my hands on the Japanese version, thanks to our partners at Lik-Sang.

The Final Fantasy series has changed quite a bit from its Famicom roots. When Square said they were remaking FF III, that's exactly what they meant. This game, despite its 3D makeover, is still 8-bit at its core. The gameplay comes right out of the original, which isn't such a bad thing. FF III introduced the Job System, which has since gone on to become part of at least four other Final Fantasy titles. The system involves assigning characters a job (white mage, soldier, thief, monk, etc.) and upgrading the job independent of the characters' experience level. So while my white mage may be level ten, she only has access to level four spells because she's only a level four white mage. Jobs can be switched at any time.

The story also sticks close to its roots. The previously nameless and dull light warriors now have individual personalities. It's a nice touch, but the game's story still pales in comparison to the epic adventures of later entries.

Final Fantasy III's presentation is brilliant one moment and underwhelming the next. Nobuo Uematsu's score returns along with other classic elements, and it sounds just as you would expect it too. The graphics fall somewhere in between those of Final Fantasy VII and VIII for the original Playstation. While this is quite impressive, especially for the more elaborate spell effects, corners were cut in a few places. Characters never actually touch each other when attacking, so when you initiate an attack, your character will merely take one step forward, swing his sword or cane in the general direction of the enemy, and then step back.

As the first "new" traditional Final Fantasy gamers have gotten to play since 2003's Final Fantasy Origins (X-2, XI, and Crystal Chronicles weren't exactly traditional), FF III has some big shoes to fill. We'll have a full review of the import coming soon.

TalkBack / PREVIEWS: The Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book

« on: August 10, 2006, 09:27:05 PM »

The chocobos have yet another adventure in The Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book.

Last updated: 08/11/2006 by Ryan Winterhalter

Square has spun off the Final Fantasy chocobos into racing games and dungeon crawls. Recently announced in Japan, The Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book for the Nintendo DS is yet another spin off, featuring the loveable workhorses of the Final Fantasy games.

The Magic Picture Book begins when the Black Mage Kuroma brings a picture book into the village. When the book is opened it awakens the demon Bebuzu, who is still trapped in the book.. In order to resurrect and free himself from his prison, Bebuzu begins to suck chocobo after chocobo into the book. Realizing the danger, one of them avoids capture and, along with his companion, set out to thwart the evil that’s plaguing the land.

In order to save the world from the great demon you’ll have to engage in card games, as that’s what Magic Picture Book’s battle system revolves around. Each of these cards depicts a spell or an item. Even traditional Final Fantasy summons like Shiva have cards. You’ll gain more cards by defeating more enemies.

Mini-games abound in The Magic Picture Book. The stylus gets a lot of use in these games. The character art used for these mini-games looks like it was inspired by older games in the series. 8-bit versions of classic Final Fantasy I characters like White Mage and Fighter make appearances.

No details on a release date or a North American version have been given.

TalkBack / RE:PREVIEWS: Lunar Knights

« on: August 08, 2006, 11:01:26 PM »

Yes, that's the guy.

TalkBack / PREVIEWS: Lunar Knights

« on: August 07, 2006, 12:37:05 AM »

Kojima Production's Lunar Knights gets a new protaganist

Last updated: 08/07/2006 by Ryan Winterhalter

At E3 2006, Konami displayed Lunar Knights, a spiritual successor to the GBA’s solar powered Boktai series. The build at E3 was fairly basic and lacked many of the promised gameplay features, but since then, the game has undergone significant changes.

In May, Konami representatives said that while Lunar Knights is being developed by Boktai developer Kojima Productions, and used many concepts and themes of the series, it is not in fact a Boktai game. The story revolved around two vampire hunters Aaron and Lucien. A lot has changed in the past few months. The game recently resurfaced publicly on Famitsu.com with a new protagonist.

Well, new protagonist may not be the right word. Django, the hero of previous Boktai games, is now the main character. Along with Django comes the new name, Bokura no Taiyou DS; which translates simply to Boktai DS. The title is tentative, though, and the game will probably still be released as Lunar Knights in North America given Konami’s use of the title at the recent San Diego Comic Convention.

Along with a new Japanese name and character information, new gameplay info was also revealed. The game uses a simulated sun based on an in-game day/night cycle, unlike previous entries, which used an actual solar sensor built into the cartridge. This simulated sun, called “kigitai” in Japanese, is also affected by simulated weather and climate.

Temperature, humidity, and wind will all have an effect on gameplay. For example, if the humidity is high plants will thrive, and strong plants can be used as footholds to get to areas not normally accessible. In windy areas players can hang-glide. Hot weather will cause water to evaporate, revealing previously hidden areas. And rain will hide those areas, or perhaps raise platforms in closed areas like pools, allowing you to gain access to new areas.

Factors like temperature or humidity will be affected by the climate of the area your player is in. There are five climates in the game: a warm and humid climate, desert, tropical rain forest, a damp, cold, sub-artic zone, and a snowy landscape.

The game is scheduled for a release later this year in Japan, and Q4 2006 was the American release window given at E3, so this title may end up launching worldwide simultaneously.

TalkBack / PREVIEWS: Mario Hoops 3-on-3

« on: July 09, 2006, 12:24:43 AM »

The Mario Sports line expands into basketball with Mario Hoops 3-on-3

Last updated: 07/09/2006 by Ryan Winterhalter

Mario’s latest adventure into the world of sports takes him to the basketball court, in Mario Hoops 3 on 3.

Mario Hoops has some interesting control mechanics. While character movement is handled with the D-pad, almost everything else is accomplished with various movements on the touch screen. Dribbling speed can be increased by tapping the screen: the faster the tapping, the faster the dribbling. Faster dribbling is required for certain special moves and activation of certain power-ups. Sliding the stylus towards another player will pass the ball, and an upward stroke towards the net will shoot it. Get close enough to the basket and your character will dunk the ball. On defense, you can move the stylus downward to try stealing the ball from an offensive player, and an upward stroke will initiate a blocking jump.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Wario, Walugi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Bowser Jr. are all playable characters, with each character getting his own special move and unique stylus strokes for performing it. Mario, for example, starts his “fire shot” when an “M” is drawn on the screen.

Panels are scattered throughout the court. By dribbling on these panels, coins are collected. These coins are then added to the score when you take a successful shot. Panels can also contain traditional Mario power-ups like mushrooms, shells, etc.

Though this is a Mario game, the development has been farmed out to Square-Enix. While traditionally known for RPG’s, the company has branched out into other genres on several occasions. The game is scheduled for release on September 11, 2006.

TalkBack / PREVIEWS: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker

« on: July 01, 2006, 04:13:07 PM »

The Dragon Quest Monsters series returns on the DS.

Last updated: 07/01/2006 by Ryan Winterhalter

The Dragon Quest Monsters series is the handheld counterpart to the long running Dragon Quest series. Players are tasked with raising a corral of monsters and fighting with them ala Pokemon. The original Dragon Quest Monsters was released in late 1999 for the Game Boy Color under the series’ old name, Dragon Warrior Monsters. Two versions of Dragon Quest Monsters 2 were released for the Game Boy Color in 2001, but a GBA sequel never made it to American shores. Recently, Square-Enix revealed a new entry to the series for the Nintendo DS, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker.

The story revolves around a young prince who uses his “Scout Ring” to capture monsters. The Prince is depicted in most of the screen shots released so far. Little else is known about the story.

While details on gameplay are sparse, it is known that the game will make use of the DS’s WiFi capabilities. Players will be able to upload their monster date and compete in “Joker’s GP” mode; there will even be national tournaments in Japan, although specific details are not yet known.

Joker’s graphics are quite impressive. Both the world and the battles are fully rendered in 3D. The game follows in the footsteps of Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2, using a similar cel-shaded art style.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is scheduled for release in Japan sometime later this year, with no details on a stateside release available.