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TalkBack / Flyer for “The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods”

« on: April 27, 2010, 09:33:43 AM »

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blogArt.cfm?artid=22981

 

I found this link online while searching for Zelda-related stuff in Japanese, hoping I might find something I'd never heard about the SNES game in English. I thought it would be a fun article for NWR readers, so I translated it.  Enjoy! - Matt    

Back in the day there was a period during which I was pretty game crazy. That being said, I still pick up a controller from time to time.    

In those days, in addition to reading game magazines I used to collect the sales flyers for games that were distributed at different toy stores (although I only ever picked them up for the titles I was interested in). This happens to be one of those flyers, and it is a bit unique as promo flyers go. Usually these are distributed in tandem with the release of a new game, however.....    

   

This is a flyer for “The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods” (known in North America as A Link to the Past), released on the Super Famicom in 1991. What’s interesting about it is that it was distributed pretty well in advance of the release of the game.    

  Here’s a quick explanation of “The Legend of Zelda”:  “The Legend of Zelda” is a popular RPG game that was put out by Nintendo and the “Legend of Zelda” series still continues to this day.  “The Legend of Zelda” was released on the Famicom Disk System in 1986 and it’s sequel “The Adventure of Link” was released the following year. And then, after a 4 year absence, in 1991 the “Triforce of the Gods” shown in the flyer was released.    

Interestingly, this flyer wasn’t distributed in promotion of the release of the new game, but rather to suggest that “since there’s still some time before the next Zelda is out, why not try out the previous “Legend of Zelda” games while you wait?”    

It’s pretty rare that a company makes a flyer suggesting that gamers try out the previous game before playing the latest one!    

That being the case, the upper half of the flyer displays the overworld map from the first “Legend of Zelda”. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include the maps of the underworld dungeons. But it still has the locations of the dungeons, shops and the like, so it’s still pretty useful to have.    

Since there was still a bit of time left before the game was going to be released, the name used on the lower half of the flyer showing game screens and explanations is simply “New Legend of Zelda” (Tentative Title). I guess they hadn’t even decided on a title yet!    

I would think that would be because it had been four whole years since the last title, and back then that was a pretty long time. 1991, the year that the new Zelda was released, had still only been 12 or 13 years off from the “Space Invader Boom”. Plus the history of video games was still pretty short at that point. At that point after 4 years there were probably a good chunk of people who were unaware of the first title’s existence.    

There’s also the fact that the previous “Legend of Zelda” was a Disk Sytem game (I originally wrote about the Disk System here).  The Disk System was a peripheral released for the Famicom that can be most easily described as the “Famicom’s floppy disk”. The system enabled easy game saving and overwriting of game data on the disks.    

Toy stores all over the country had machines called “Disk Writers” that allowed you to bring in a disk and get a get a different game written to it for 500 yen. Given that Famicom software was about 5 to 6000 yen a pop, and Super Famicom software was 8000 to 10,000 yen each, you can see just how cheap that was at the time!  You also pretty much never saw a four-year-old cartridge game still being sold at retailers, so there was something to be said of being able to bring your “Disk System” floppy in to the store and having a new game written to it.    

   

This is the instruction flyer you got when you got the new game written to your floppy.    

However, in 1991 the Disk System was dying off and new software was pretty much nowhere to be found, so perhaps this was all a ploy to raise the popularity of the Disk System at that time.

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TalkBack / Trying to Get to Square Enix’s Dragon Quest Bar

« on: February 07, 2010, 08:10:39 PM »

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blogArt.cfm?artid=21131

 

Last week Square Enix opened a Dragon Quest-themed bar to the public.  They’re calling it “Luida’s Bar”, based on the location in Dragon Quest IX.    

It just so happens that I work right around the block from there (as well as Konami’s head office!) in Roppongi, so I thought I’d head out there with my girlfriend on the way to a movie the other night. Unfortunately, in order to get in you have to get a number earlier in the day and wait, and since we were already starving we decided to put it off till next week.    

That being the case, we did take a look at the menu and got a couple of pictures from the outside.  The menu is small but includes some fun Dragon Quest-themed food and drinks (with cute names such as Hoimi Chai Tea). You can even get a Slime-themed steamed bun to go!    

Anyhow, we’re planning on going and getting some video of our visit next week, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here are some pictures we took outside the entrance to tide over the Dragon Quest fan in all of our readers.    

Every traveller to Luida's Bar is greeted by a friendly Slime out front.

   

The front door: cozy, yet classy, don't ya think?

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TalkBack / Hands on with Frank West in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom for Wii

« on: September 29, 2009, 03:21:35 AM »

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blogArt.cfm?artid=20066

 

During Capcom’s press only demo event held across the street from TGS this year, I had the opportunity to try out the latest addition to Capcom’s team of characters - Frank West.    

This was my first time playing TvC, and while I’m actually a huge fighting game fan, I was unaware of any of the new systems and game play mechanics introduced into Capcom’s latest cross-over fighter. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of an idea of what was going on. That being said, I thought it would be a fun opportunity to try out Mr. West before the general public had a chance to use him upon the game's release.    

As with the rest of the cast Frank’s arsenal of attacks hearken back to the game that he was introduced in - Dead Rising. His regular attacks include normal short kicks and jabs, as well as stronger attacks where he utilizes  objects, including a baseball bat, that he can use in the game.    

His special moves involve his camera, as you would expect, as well as zombies. One special move has him covering his head as a zombie falls from the sky (performed with a backwards dragon punch motion with kick); another one involves a shopping cart coming from behind him. Depending on the strength of the attack you use, the cart's passenger seems to change. Another special move involves him whipping out the camera and snapping a shot of a zombie that stumbles out into the arena.    

One of his super moves is an homage to the ability he has in Dead Rising to don different outfits - he suddenly appears in a Mega Man outfit and shoots a huge stream of energy out of the Mega Buster, which happens to be exactly what Mega Man’s super is in the Marvel vs. Capcom games.    

I only had a chance to play two matches with him, and wasn’t particularly sure what kind of strategy would best fit his play style. Aside from the obligatory jab attacks, all of his regular and special moves seemed quite slow. However, I didn’t take the opportunity to check and see if the amount of power dealt by registering one of those blows would be a sufficient trade for his lack of speed.    

In any event, I like that Capcom is taking its newer franchises seriously by adding characters from them to their now seemingly flagship crossover games. It would be fun to see more of their newer characters in future crossover games, but for now, we can all look forward to playing as Frank West in the Western release of TvC, scheduled for release in January of 2010.

[NWR guns n slashes its way through the crowds of TGS.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Red Steel 2

« on: September 29, 2009, 01:38:54 AM »

NWR guns n slashes its way through the crowds of TGS.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=20065

 Ubisoft brought its much anticipated Wii MotionPlus title Red Steel 2 to the Tokyo Game Show, and NWR stopped by the Ubisoft booth to play the demo.    

The Red Steel 2 demo starts out with you, as the main character, tied up and being ridiculed by some punk biker. He soon gets on his bike and drives off - dragging you along for the ride. This starts off a somewhat exhilarating fast paced sequence where you watch as he drags you through the desert, and then some sewers where he ends up wiping out, and a large explosion allows you to break free.    

Once you’re free you’re able to walk around, pick up a gun, and finally start searching for the bastard that wronged you and get revenge. As with the previous Red Steel, this game is a FPS allowing you to aim projectile based weapons with the Wii Remote’s IR as well as wield melee based weapons by swinging the Wii Remote.    

Shooting felt natural and easy enough to pull off. I was able to consistently pull off head shots on enemies at various distances. Melee combat, on the other hand, didn’t feel as natural. Once the player picks up the katana, there is a room in the next area where you can practice your melee control on a dummy that resembles an enemy. Here you can practice striking the dummy vertically and horizontally. Additionally, depending on the way you swing, the strength of your slash changes. Normal and weak attacks are done with a quick swipe, where as stronger attacks can be carried out with a more deliberate swing of the Wii Remote. I wasn’t able to always pull off the strong attacks, but I assume that the strength and perhaps length of the swing you unleash with the Wii Remote would play a role in determining what kind of attack your character pulls off.    

You can also use the sword to block by holding it perpendicular to the ground. When fighting enemies with the sword, the game will indicate that enemies wearing armor must first have their armor destroyed by using the strong attack swing. My inability to consistently pull off strong attacks mixed with needing time to recuperate between swings (I would quickly begin my next swing with the Wii Remote immediately after landing a hit) led to a lot of real life arm flailing with little reaction from my on-screen counterpart. While it may very well be that I just needed more time with the game to understand the nuances of its control, I was a bit turned off by what I perceived as being unresponsive or hard to grasp control.    

The game’s graphics and art direction look great. The level I played moved from the aforementioned sewers into a Western-themed town with different signs in Japanese all over the place. The town had a nice Western feel and nothing felt out of place. The enemies in this level were huge muscle-men wearing masks and wielding either guns or katanas. While masked men in katanas might not seem like the natural choice for an enemy to fight in a Western-style town, the town and the characters both looked very good and didn’t feel out of sync with each other.    

The demo ends with a boss fight where you have to hit the enemy from behind in order to take him down. At this point, the rep explained to me that I can make a quick hop to the side by holding C and pressing the A button while holding the control stick in either direction. After using that technique, I was able to take down the boss quickly.    

Red Steel 2 offers beautiful art direction, a cool setting for the story, and solid FPS control - all of which will help entice gamers to put their money down on it when it comes out. However, the biggest draw for the game is going to be its support of Wii MotionPlus, and will probably succeed/fail based on how much fun players have with that control. I, unfortunately, didn’t have enough time with the game to determine whether my less than stellar experience with the melee control was due to poor implementation or simply my inability to grasp its nuances in the short amount of time I had with the game. That being said, I look forward to giving it another go in the future.

[NWR goes hands on with the re-imagining of this survival horror classic.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

« on: September 28, 2009, 02:12:01 PM »

NWR goes hands on with the re-imagining of this survival horror classic.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=20063

 While walking the floor at TGS I had the opportunity to try out Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for the Wii. The game is a reimagining of the first Silent Hill. You control the main character, who is searching for his daughter in the town of Silent Hill after experiencing a car accident there.    

Movement of the character is performed using the analog stick, while aiming his flashlight and looking about the screen is done with the Wiimote’s IR. Pressing down on the control pad makes the character look behind himself, which should be helpful when trying to figure out where the game’s various enemy creatures are in relation to the character, and when trying to make an escape from them. The other directions on the control pad bring up the character’s cell phone, which includes a GPS function and a camera function. In the preview trailer for the game, the camera was used to take pictures of different areas which then revealed frightening imagery of spirits. One such image showed a person hanging himself, for instance.    

The graphics and atmosphere of the demo were suitably scary, and seemed very polished. The game also uses sound and controller vibrations to add to the frightening atmosphere. That being said, the gameplay itself was a bit confusing.    

The demo starts the player off with no weaponry, and no way to attack the oncoming enemies, like faceless dwarves and child-like creatures that run up to the main character and jump on him. Knocking the enemies off requires you to move your arms as if you are actually trying to knock someone off your front or back. Unfortunately, the control wasn’t always responsive and I found myself repeatedly thrusting my arms backwards trying to shake the bastards off.    

Additionally, the pacing of the demo was hard to understand. At first I tried to take a look at my surroundings and get a sense of what was going on, but after a certain amount of time the enemies suddenly bum rush you, and the only way to stay alive is to run away from them as fast as you can. Not knowing what I was doing, I quickly died.    

Once I realized that there’s a certain amount of time before the enemies come after you, I chose to run frantically from one area to the next with no regard for my surroundings. This got me through the demo unscathed, but I have a feeling I missed a ton of stuff in the process. For instance, I found one place where I could hide under a bed, presumably to shake the enemies off of my trail, but I never had the opportunity to utilize this mechanic since I found it more effective just to high tail it from the get go.    

According to the Konami rep, the game presents the player with a series of questions at the beginning; the answers of which are supposed to have a huge impact on the way the game is presented to the player. Depending on the answers to these personal questions (one example was whether or not you have ever cheated on a significant other) the game’s environment, the character’s clothing, and even their personalities are supposed to vary quite a bit. Additionally, depending on the player’s play style various things will change. Allegedly, players who choose to take their time and study their surroundings are supposed to get a different experience from those who choose to rush through the game. Unfortunately, for some reason the person assisting with the game demo chose to forego the questionnaire part of the demo and have me jump right into the game. However, the game’s trailer did indicate that this was the case - when watching the trailer twice in a row I noticed that the clothing of one of the NPCs was quite different between each viewing even though it was exhibiting the same scene both times.    

Unfortunately my rushed play through of the game did not give me a very good indication of what the gameplay will be like in the finished product, but I can say that the graphics and atmosphere were impressive enough for a Wii survival horror game and that it is supposed to offer some interesting ideas in the form of the game varying play style dependent mechanic that the game alleges to offer.

[NWR is mesmerized by Capcom’s sequel to its Japanese-themed adventure game.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Okamiden

« on: September 27, 2009, 07:24:51 AM »

NWR is mesmerized by Capcom’s sequel to its Japanese-themed adventure game.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=20053

 One game that Capcom did not have at its press-only special demo event was the newly announced Okamiden for Nintendo DS. Instead, they had a gorgeously decorated play area dedicated to the game on the TGS show floor, complete with statues of the main characters, a Tori (a gate used in Japan to represent the divide between the real world and the spiritual world), a Shinto-style altar, and even a fake cherry blossom (sakura) tree that cherry blossoms would fall around when a play session was over. To top it all off, everyone who tried out the demo received a complimentary Japanese-style Okamiden fan (which we will be giving away on the website).    

Okamiden takes place several months after the first game, where once again evil begins to plague Nakatsukuni. You control Chibi-terasu, a smaller version of the wolf from the first game, and her partner, Kuninushi. Movement of the characters is relegated to the control pad, the B button jumps, the Y button attacks, the X button is used to make Kuninushi mount/dismount Chibi-terasu, and the A button is used for contextual events such as talking to locals and opening chests.    

The emphasized play mechanic is once again the ability to draw on the screen, which is done by switching into the drawing mode by pressing one of the shoulder buttons and then drawing with the stylus. The demo at TGS showed three different abilities that this mode offers: Kiru (Slice) which is done by drawing a horizontal straight line over the area you wish to slice, Michibiku (Guide) which allows you to guide Kuninushi somewhere on screen by drawing a line from him to the destination, and Saku (Bloom) which is done by drawing a circle over a bare tree, which causes it to grow sakura blossoms.    

The TGS demo includes two modes of play: a basic play mode that gives an introduction to all of the play mechanics, and a story mode that allows the player to use the techniques learned in the basic play mode to progress through a challenge.    

The game’s initial draw is its gorgeous art direction. Any Japanophiles will be instantly enchanted by the game’s look and atmosphere. Perhaps I just haven’t been playing many DS games as of late, but I thought it was beautiful for a DS game. The game’s use of vibrant colors and paint stroke-like outlines of its various characters and environments make for an immersive and breathtaking experience. In fact, I was so impressed that I chose to play the demo twice.    

The basic play mode takes place over some cliffs and chasms high up in the night sky. Here you are given a primer on how to control Chibi-terasu and her partner. The story mode offered in the demo presents the player with a more varied environment in the form of a lovely little Japanese town near the mountains. While I didn’t get very far in either of the demo modes, just past the town was a cave where I experienced some combat with enemies.    

Combat is handled by attacking enemies with the Y button which, when pressed in rapid succession, will cause Chibi-terasu to execute a combo attack. The drawing mechanic can also be used during combat, in particular the slice technique mentioned earlier. Certain enemies will only be beaten by using a combination of regular attacks and the drawing mechanic, presenting the player with a somewhat puzzle-like combat experience.    

All in all, Okamiden presented a very enjoyable experience at TGS. While I have not yet actually played the first Okami, playing this demo has inspired me to pick up the Wii version and give it a go.

[NWR goes hands-on with Capcom's newly-announced spiritual puzzler.]

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TalkBack / IMPRESSIONS: Ghost Trick

« on: September 27, 2009, 03:21:55 PM »

NWR goes hands-on with Capcom's newly-announced spiritual puzzler.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=20048

 This year's TGS has been relatively low key, but that didn't stop James Charlton and I from visiting a special press-only play session dedicated to Capcom's TGS games. One of the games shown there was the newly-announced Ghost Trick for the Nintendo DS, and I had the chance to test it out.    

Ghost Trick seems to be a puzzle game where the main character, Sissel -- a suave-looking blonde man in a red suit -- has the ability to send his soul out to different objects in the vicinity. To do this, you switch between two different worlds: the spirit world, where you can see clearly what objects in your vicinity you are allowed to possess, and the real world, where you watch the reactions to the objects you've possessed.    

Once you possess an object, you have the option to either move to another object in close proximity or manipulate the object you've possessed. Once you've chosen to manipulate an object, you can switch back to the real world and find out how manipulating that object affects the environment. What action is carried out by the manipulation varies depending on the object. For instance, possessing a guitar and then manipulating it causes it to play a chord, manipulating a suitcase opens it up, and manipulating a deceased person brings him back to life.    

It seems that may be the main object of the game: to transfer your spirit from one object to the next, solving puzzles in order to get closer to a deceased person whom you are trying to resurrect. The story seems to involve Sissel suffering from amnesia and attempting to save other characters who have kicked the bucket, all while trying to recover his memory.    

Directed by the creator of the Ace Attorney series, Ghost Trick has a very crisp visual style with vibrant colors and fluid animation, due to the 3D cel-shaded look used to render characters and objects. While the demo at TGS was incredibly short, the game's visual style, combined with its interesting premise and unique gameplay, indicate that it will be an enjoyable niche title when it is released.

[Matt takes a look at the short playable demo of the new Tingle game on Japan's Wii Nintendo Channel.]

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TalkBack / PREVIEWS: Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip

« on: August 08, 2009, 01:09:50 AM »

Matt takes a look at the short playable demo of the new Tingle game on Japan's Wii Nintendo Channel.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm?artid=19510

 Today I finally took a look at the updated Nintendo Channel on my Wii, and while looking around, I spotted a trial version of the new Tingle game due out on DS in the next couple weeks, titled Iroduki Tingle no koi no Balloon Trip, or something to the effect of Coming of Age: Tingle's Romantic Balloon Trip.    

While I had originally heard nothing about this game other than its announcement with a promotional DSiWare widget a month or two ago, today I booted up the demo and found out that it is an adventure game similar to Monkey Island or Maniac Mansion. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that control is done with the touch screen, tapping an item or location once to direct Tingle to walk towards it, and then tapping it again to have the game offer you a choice of what action to perform on it.    

Once you have tapped a second time on the item the screen will shrink a tad, offering a border around the play area and revealing text-based options in the top left, such as 'Speak' or 'Open,' and several boxes showing the items you are in possession of on the bottom of the screen. The game offers rather large icons for each item, so in order to cycle through your items you spin a blue handle in the bottom right. In order to try an action or use an item, you simply tap to make your selection.    

The graphics are colorful and very cartoony, making somewhat stunning use of zooming in and out to make the environments more lively. In situations where you need to take a closer look at things, the screen fades out and then back in to a higher resolution image of what you're looking at, and offers you a back button to go back to the general play area.    

At the beginning of the game you start at what seems to be a small ranch, talking to your uncle. He asks you if you have that item he talked to you about. The object of the demo is to find whatever it is he's talking about in order to get yourself ready to go out towards town. When you realize you don't have what he's talking about in your inventory, he suggests you go talk to your aunt, who is in the front yard.    

After talking to your aunt you can then head into the house, which seems to be just Tingle's room, as the point of this game seems to be to make Tingle popular with the ladies, and the room has several items referencing beautiful women such as a poster and a figurine.    

The demo is incredibly short, ending before you even get a chance to pick up what it is your uncle was requiring you to get. All in all, its a fine sample of the kind of colorful, light-hearted adventure experience that this new Tingle game is sure to provide.  The game is scheduled to release in Japan on August 6.

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TalkBack / My Thoughts on the Tracks in Mario Kart

« on: July 08, 2009, 12:58:40 AM »

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blogArt.cfm?artid=19000

  So, I moved in with one of my friends the other day. Naturally the first thing I did after getting my bed set up was hook up the Wii to his awesome Sony Bravia (TM) television.    

Having it hooked up and ready to go, I was thinking about putting some more time into Wii Sports Resort and putting out some more impressions for our readers. However, I soon found out that my roommate used to play a lot of Mario Kart back in the day, so in no time we had that familiar Mario Kart music blasting from the TV speakers.    

Well, I expect you guys all know how it goes - you put Mario Kart in, and the next thing you know you've been racing against your friends and the computer for five hours and haven't moved from the spot you settled in to after selecting the Wii Disc Channel.    

While I was playing the game, I thought to myself, "The track designs for Mario Kart Wii are pretty solid. Definitely up there with some of the best." Personally, my favorite Mario Kart tracks are found in Mario Kart DS. What really makes me enjoy the DS tracks in Mario Kart DS is the fact that it’s clear their designers *actually played Mario at some point*. What I'm getting at is that a lot of those tracks have good, solid references to past Mario games.    

My favorite track, hands down, is the one on Bowser's Airship. First and foremost, IT'S ON BOWSER'S FREAKIN' AIRSHIP. I've beaten SMB3 more times than most games I've owned, so having that imagery pop up in Mario Kart DS really makes it feel authentic - like a Mario game.    

On the other end of the spectrum is- Mario Kart Double Dash. Seriously, who in God's name thought it would be really Mario-like to throw in a 'Baby Theme Park' track? Where, in any of the Mario games, was there a Mario theme park? Was it Yoshi's Island? Was that some special level I never got to? (Pah - preposterous. I've seen every level there is to see in that series.)    

And, while it may seem like sacrilege to some, by the logic I've stated above, I'm also not a big fan of the N64 tracks. Moo Moo Farm? Sure, if it was Zelda Kart maybe I could see them putting in a Lon Lon Ranch track, but I have yet to see a cow in a Mario platformer.    

Anyhow, having thought of this, I just wanted to get opinions from everyone else. What order do you guys all rate the Mario Kart games in term of track design? What do base your opinions on? Is there anything in particular that you like about a certain track?    

Finally - just for the heck of it, I'm posting a picture of a new drink that was recently released in Japan - Shiso Pepsi. I found this stuff at the convenience store and thought 'Wait... do what now?'. I thought you guys might enjoy seeing some of the zaniness that makes this country so magical.    

OH, and to my fellow Americans - Happy Belated Independence Day. Since I was  nowhere near a grill on the fourth, I hope you all had a burger and a dog for me.    

M