Author Archives: Steven

About Steven

Editor-In-Chief of The Wired Fish since 2010. Suggestions, praise, and hate mail can be sent to steven@thewiredfishnetwork.com

If Easing Myself Into The 3DS Was My Goal, Getting This Game Was A Dumb Move

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Let me start of by saying that that the game I chose is not a bad game. It’s actually a damn fine game. No knocks on quality here.

Anyway, around two weeks ago I decided to finally get a 3DS. My late arrival mirrored many who waited it out on getting a 3DS. The price for the system itself was simply too high for my liking, and I waited for a price drop. It happened, but I still wanted to see if something else was going to happen, namely a console redesign of some kind. I’ve been burned before by launch units and I didn’t want to get shafted again.

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Xseed Looking Into Localizing Senran Kagura Games, But Afraid Due To “Cultural Differences” [UPDATE]

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Now THIS is something I was afraid of. Once the vocal minority got super vocal after a stonking pair of humdingers graced the internet in early April, other companies would become afraid to localize anything Japan makes due to content (instead of sales like before).

For those who don’t know, Senran Kagura is a brawler with two entries on the 3DS (Senran Kagura and Senran Kagura: Burst) and one on the Vita (Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus). The 3DS and Vita games play a little differently on each platform. The 3DS games play like a regular brawler while Shinovi Versus on the Vita plays more like a mix of Dissidia meets Dynasty Warriors. One of the major defining features of this game is the copious amounts of… action on screen. I guess you call it a brawler with Japanese fighting game sensibilities (huge combos, juggles, and crazy ass attacks).

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Mighty Switch Force 2 “Is A Wrap”, HyperDrive Edition Updating With A New Character

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WayForward, via their blog, have reported that they have wrapped up development on Mighty Switch Force 2.

Mighty Switch Force! 2 is a wrap! It’s pencils down for the dev team. Next stop, testing, testing, and more testing. Poor Patty… not even cybernetic citizens of Planet Land can escape the wrath of final exams.

If you missed the original announcement (or forgot), MSF star Patricia Wagon is now a Fire Fighter and must save the now reformed Hooligan Sisters. Check out the previous article for info and screenshots.

In other Mighty Switch Force news, the HyperDrive Edition on Wii U is getting an update. This update will include fixed audio levels, a smaller file size, and a new Pixel Patty character. My guess is that this will be Patty as she appeared in the 3DS version. WayForward states that they’ll announce a release date “soon”.

Mighty Switch Force! 2 News, MSFHD Update Details! [WayForward Blog]

Censorship In Fire Emblem Awakening: Which Region Got It Worse?

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Secondary Headline: This Week in Censorship – Tharja Can’t Catch A Break Edition.

Nintendo had released Summer Scramble, a DLC for Fire Emblem Awakening that sees our heroes in a beach episode like an anime. Given that this was a beach, we were bound to see much skin from both the male and female cast of characters. This included the much loved Tharja, who unfortunately got her ass censored by Nintendo of America (and Europe by extension).

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How A Red Balloon Showed Me How Wrong David Cage Is

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During the PS4 Press Conference, David Cage of Quantic Dream stepped on stage to show off his company’s new tech demo for the PS4. In the moments leading up to the infamous head of an Old Man popping up on screen, he referred back to previous games his company worked on, like Omikron and Indigo Prophecy, showing off how many polygons made up each character. He relates the mode of storytelling in videogames to how exaggerated storytelling in movies were back during the silent era. And it’s true, some things had to be exaggerated in movies since cameras back then had no sound capabilities. When sound was introduced, things only got better for the movie industry, bringing out classics like Frankenstein, Trouble in Paradise, and Citizen Kane.

But I can’t really say the same for videogames, at least not to the extent that Cage suggests.

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Killer Is Dead: Mondo Girls English Trailer

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I’ve been somewhat ignoring this game for a while now. Don’t know why. Probably because I didn’t quite get a good grasp on how this game was going to be played when the first trailers were shown. There’s also the fact that a lot of the KID stuff is in Japanese without English subtitles, so I did quite get a grasp of the story either. However my recent need to gravitate to the free spirits of the game industry has brought me here, and now I’m hyped as hell for the game!

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Dragon’s Crown North American Website Finally Updated

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In the midst of all the tasty hoopla surrounding Dragon’s Crown, I thought why don’t I go check out the website of the game I covered extensively since its UTV Ignition days. I already knew that the Japanese site was updated with new U.I. and enchanting music courtesy of Hitoshi Sakimoto. So I wondered if the North American site was still the same as we saw it when UTV was still publishing it. Lo and behold, they did give it the same facelift that the Japanese site had gotten, though it probably took long for them to change it. Last time I checked was around the release of the Sorceress trailer.

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Rayman Legends Launching on September 3rd, Just Barely Avoiding GTA V

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Pictured: Rayman and crew barely escaping GTA V

One of my biggest fears regarding the Rayman Legends delay was that it would be absolutely slaughtered and wasted by Grand Theft Auto V, which still has a release date of September 17th. Well those fears have subsided a bit as now Rayman Legends will be releasing before the Kraken is unleashed, launching on September 3rd in the U.S. It’s still pretty close to GTA V by two weeks, but I think this could spell good things for the game. I’d still prefer it got released some time in August (Europe will get the game on August 29th), that way the psyche of the gaming populace isn’t affixed to the September = GTA V mentality and forget about Rayman Legends. Then again, the fate of a smaller game vs. a bigger game is much more grim when the small game comes out after the bigger game. So for now, we wait for the results.

Rayman Legends launching on 360, PS3 and Wii U Sept. 3 in North America (update) [Polygon]

Screw You Ebay/Amazon! Shantae Coming To 3DS Virtual Console This Summer

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Dancin’ for joy!

With the might of a hundred clasping fists, I raise my hand in the air with absolute jubilee! Last year came news that the original Gameboy Color game Shantae might come to the 3DS virtual console. Wayforward’s Matt Bozon confirmed today via Twitter that the it will be released this summer. “Shantae Virtual Console update: looks like mid June-early July. Will keep you posted!” the tweet reads. This comes as WayForward continues to kick much ass on Nintendo’s handheld, prepping Mighty Switch Force 2 and Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse.

This also comes as the equally expensive Earthbound was announced for the Wii U’s virtual console last week. If you traverse the secondhand market regularly, you’ll see that prices for these games tend to be very high. Shantae here was one of the last GBC games released, becoming rare right from the get-go. The asking price on eBay usually hovers around $200, sometimes even higher. Amazon is no better. Keeping the price up was most likely the lack of any kind of re-release of this game (like Earthbound). There’s also the fact that most emulators can’t handle Shantae, with the only compatible one (that I know of) being rather terrible.

Hopefully this should drop those physical prices down hard, should you decide to go that route. I’ll be playing this on my shiny new 3DS XL!

Shantae hitting 3DS VC sometime around June/July [GoNintendo, via NintendoLife]

If New Super Mario Bros. Is Platform For Experimentation, Then…

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Back when I first played New Super Mario Bros. on the DS in 2006, the idea of playing a new, 2D-platformer Mario Bros. was pretty damn cool. While the rest of the gaming world continued to move in 3D, Nintendo looked to its roots to bring forth a new Mario game for its handheld. 2D Platforming was going to make a comeback, and the advent of XBLA, PSN, WiiWare/eShop, and Steam helped facilitate that comeback. The indie dev scene mostly used 2D platforming as their go-to style for their games, adding new wrinkles into the mix. Some told a story about heartache using a time travel mechanic. Another used ultra-difficulty to tear out our hair. Most recently, the clone of Mario made a name for itself with a “twist” mechanic in its new game.

And so I look at Nintendo and its New Super Mario Bros. series. Nintendo has chosen this series as their platform for some of their experiments. With these experiments, the good ones would be carried over into future, non-Mario games. So what have they done so far, and what can they do in the future?

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Shin Megami Tensei IV Will Have A Special Edition As A Standard

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So Shin Megami Tensei IV was announced for North America two weeks ago. Nintendo Direct was this morning. Put both together and you got… more SMT IV news! This time around it’s about the Special Edition that’ll come with all first-print all first print copies of the game. It will come with the game of course, along with a Soundtrack CD, Artbook/Strategy Guide, and a slip case for it all. Looks like Atlus is paying attention to what XSEED for The Last Story.

For those wondering why the game was $50 dollars instead of $40, this is why, and this is pretty damn sweet. Still wondering if we’ll be getting that SMT IV 3DS XL (god what a mess of initialisms). Also, it’s now official that it will release on July 16th.

[via Nintendo Direct, 34:28 mark]

A Link To The Past Sequel Announced For Nintendo 3DS

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The very last announcement for today’s Nintendo Direct came from the Regginator himself. He called back to how he views A Link To The Past as his favorite game of all time (it’s my second favorite Zelda game, behind Wind Waker). With that in mind, he showed off a new game that’ll take place in the same Hyrule as depicted in A Link To The Past, this time with 3D graphics. Gameplay and movement is the same as it was in A Link To The Past (and Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks minus the stylus control). Sporting his classic Brown/Green tunic from the original game, Link will traverse the land of Hyrule in oldschool fashion. However height will now play a bigger role than before. On top of this, Link can become a 2D picture on the wall and turn corners that he wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Think Sideways NY, but with a lot more Zelda.

Currently Nintendo of America hasn’t chosen a name for this sequel, but Nintendo of Japan is currently calling it Triforce of the Gods 2 (referencing ALttP’s Japanese name). Will it be called A Link To The Past 2, fall prey to the punny A Link 2 The Past, or will we get an entirely new subtitle? The game will be made available for the 3DS around the holiday season of this year.

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Earthbound Is Now U.S. Virtual Console Bound!

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Sorry for the pun, but it had to happen. Late this morning, Satoru Iwata in the latest Nintendo Direct announced that Earthbound will be headed to the North American Wii U Virtual Console by the end of this year. This news came as a result of North American fans practically bombarding the Mother 2 Miiverse with pleas of a U.S. release when it launched in Japan in March.

Earthbound (known as Mother 2 in Japan) was a commercial flop when it launched back on the SNES, leading Nintendo to ignore markets outside Japan whenever games in this series popped up. This also lead to Earthbound 2 (aka Mother 3) never getting launched here either. However, the series has gained a passionate cult following, clamoring for some kind of release in this series. It also helped that Ness, the main character of Earthbound, was something of a mainstay in the Super Smash Bros. series and helped give exposure to the game he came from (like Marth and Roy for Fire Emblem). Some, including myself, want to get into this game to see what all the hubbub is about. Unfortunately, the asking price for the cartridge alone is well into the $100+ range online. Maybe those assholes can lower the price now.

No word yet if the music will be changed since many fans believed it was the many music samples that prevented a re-release in the U.S. But now, more of the U.S. can finally play an RPG that some call one of the best RPGs of all time.

[via Nintendo Direct 4.17.13 around the 23:13 mark]

3DS Nintendo Direct Scheduled For This Wednesday, 10AM EST, 7AM PST

Nintendo announced that they’re be airing a new Nintendo Direct this Wednesday. It’ll be starting at 10AM EST/7AM PST. The focus will be on the 3DS. Will we be seeing new games on the horizon. Will we have new info on Shin Megami Tensei IV‘s U.S. release? We’ll get those answers this Wednesday. So mark those calendars!

And Europe, you’re getting a Nintendo Direct too. It’ll start at 3PM GMT.

3DS-Focused Nintendo Direct Coming This Wednesday [NintendoWorldReport]

Footage From Cancelled Mega Man X Reboot Surfaces

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Some time last week, it was revealed that Armature Studios were working on a gritty reboot of Mega Man X. Armature Studios is comprised of former Retro Studios employees who left after Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Now given that pedigree alone, it’s a shame that their MMX game, codenamed “Maverick Hunter”, got the boot. I mean, these are the Metroid Prime guys. They turned a revered 2D action/adventure game into an FPS that had a good blend of action, platforming, and atmosphere — all staples of the Metroid series. Plus, like Mega Man, Samus had a pea-shooting armcannon and it stayed a pea-shooting armcannon in the transition. The game was in good hands.

Then you look images of the game they were making. And then the footage that’s leaked online. All I can say is, it’s probably a good thing that Maverick Hunter was cancelled.

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