The launch of the Wii U is almost upon us. Since its reveal, the latest Nintendo console has garnered the most skepticism since the reveal of the original Xbox. Almost every facet of this console has been monitored by both press and fans alike. “What’s the CPU?” “What’s the tablet gonna be like?” “Are the games gonna suck again?” Now, it’s our turn. What do we hope Nintendo does with the Wii U? What games, features and tablet controls do we want to see? Hit the jump to see what we speaketh.
Luigi’s back, and this time he’s got more than one mansion to deal with. With Poltergust and dance moves in hand, he’s ready to be a Ghostbuster again.
Prota: To be honest, I don’t feel I had enough time to give a decent opinion of the game. We were kind of rushed out of the area even though our time there was miniscule compared to one of the other attendees playing New Super Mario Bros. 2. Regardless, what I played still felt very much like the original Luigi’s Mansion. The demo had some entertaining moments, such as forcing a fan to spin in order to get the key that was trapped above it to fall over. However, the game felt a little too slow-paced for my liking. Then again that’s probably because I was lost half of the time. As big of a Luigi fan as I am, the few minutes I played of the game didn’t really draw me in. This could be because I never got the chance to run into any ghosts or because I hardly played the original. But if you liked the first title in the series then Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon will probably be right up your creepy ghost-filled alley.
“Oh, this looks like Catherine” is what some of us said when we saw the gameplay of Pushmo. And, much like Catherine, it was quite addictive, especially for our resident Pushmo fan Suikoinfinity. So we thought it proper to let him have a go at the sequel, Crashmo.
Suikoinfinity: I haven’t had much of a chance to express how much I love it, but while the rest of the team was playing Catherine, I was learning to solve Pushmo puzzles like a pro. I like to save my on the go time for puzzle games and on 3DSware, Pushmo is among the best. The similarities to Catherine is in the idea that you’re climbing a structure by pushing in and pulling out parts of that structure; in Catherine it’s boxes and in Pushmo it’s entire walls/floors that can come in any shape. Usually the goal is at the highest (or most difficult to reach) point on the structure. The major difference is that a Pushmo puzzle is embedded into the rear wall, so, while you can push segments in or out, it’s impossible to slide them left or right. Crashmo might feel more like Catherine, because puzzles are in the middle of the floor instead of attached to a wall, so you can slide in any direction. Gravity also becomes a factor, and entire segments of the puzzle can come crashing down with a slide, hence the title. As you can see in the demo, I wasn’t exactly prepared for the change in pace, but from what I played, Crashmo seems like it’s going to be just as addicting as its predecessor. Fans of the first game should love it, and to those new to the series, I recommend giving it a shot, especially if you love puzzle games! Also, my performance is embarrassing in this video — enjoy!
Sorry we took so long. But duty called, and it said “rendering: 2 hours.” But enough of that, here’s some gameplay footage from our time at New York Comic-Con 2012. Here, StevenDPX was playing Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for the Nintendo 3DS.
StevenDPX: The gameplay felt like a mix of a 2D platformer mixed with Okamiden. You’ll see that at first I tried to manually fill in the Mickey Mouse insignia. But then I realized that I just had to trace out the outline. I ended up glitching the game when I tapped the screen before pressing X to initiate painting. The rep there told me that that particular 3DS was acting weird all day, but I had a feeling it was the game. Hopefully it gets ironed out in time for release.
I was about to chastise some sites for being ultra late on news that we already broke weeks ago. Then I noticed something off with this trailer. The trailer for Shin Megami Tensei IV looks the same, starts the same, sounds the same. Then things seem off once the Titan shows up onscreen and doesn’t have that… er, titanic voice. Then you hear that line some seconds later. I thought there was a lag in the audio. New stuff becomes apparent at the 2:24 mark. For those who don’t know Japanese (or were fighting over how some of those names were spelled), they finally introduce the characters and their names in Romanji characters. Considering they’re supposed to be samurai, the names sound rather western. International samurai perhaps? A new character, Steven, is briefly shown sitting in a chair in some demonic looking chamber. A bit more fusion is shown off as well.
『真・女神転生IV』セカンドトレーラー ノーカット版 [Youtube, via Kotaku]
Ever since the news of Project X Zone‘s small chance of localization caught steam, the efforts of the PXZ Localization Community have picked up. According to an FB post, the leader of the Facebook Group, Anthony, took to Twitter to ask Katsuhiro Harada, the producer of the Tekken series, what it would take to convince Namco (the game’s devs) to bring the game Westward. His response was “I think they don’t localize that. That is unpopular out of Japan.” Not a good sign, but it almost echoed the statement from that Namco rep in the previous article. However ten minutes after that, Harada came back with this tweet, “I’ll ask project marketing team. ‘Let’s localize.'” Things were starting to look up. Finally several hours later, Harada did the deed and followed up with, “I proposed localization of Project X Zone.”
This is an unprecedented move in the efforts of the PXZ Localization Community. Harada is a well respected man in the videogame business, especially in the eyes of the Tekken community (and harbinger of shuttin’ fools down). Not sure how much involvement he has in the project, but his characters are in the game. Not that his characters in the game might matter, but his position in the company might have some kind of impact. Still, there is a chance that is proposal may not be considered. But the fact that it’s even being proposed in the first place by someone in the company might give Namco enough of a hint that people outside Japan want the game as well. It could be the beginning of something big. Fingers crossed guys!
PXZ Localization Community (aka 100,000 Strong to Localize Project X Zone) [Facebook]
Some time ago a trailer for Shin Megami Tensei IV surfaced. It didn’t show much in the way of gameplay and story, but it did show some scenes that looked to take place in multiple eras. But now a New trailer has surfaced, this time from Atlus themselves. We can see more actions being performed with the armbrace that was shown briefly in the previous trailer. From the looks of it, it looks like a augmented reality device the main character wears to get info on his surroundings.
On the action side of things, the dungeons are your usual MegaTen demonic fare, with battles reverting back to the old-school first person view (instead of all characters being visible like in Nocturne, the 3rd mainline SMT game). Very briefly (around the 1:35 mark), we can see that battles are not random and are initiated by pixel-men. The enemies themselves are sprite based. A little bit after that, we can see what looks to be a fusion taking place, a series staple. The music from the website can also be heard.
More info on Shin Megami Tensei IV will be divulged this Saturday during the Tokyo Game Show.
『真・女神転生IV』セカンドトレーラー [Youtube]
Project X Zone, the big crossover SRPG/Fighter between Capcom, Namco, and Sega, is close to release in Japan. Some of us at TWF want to see the game released here. However Namco never showed signs of bringing the game over to the West. That is, until now. According to 100,000 Strong To Localize Project X Zone, someone in the community was able to talk to someone from Namco Bandai (the developers of the game) during the GameStop Expo in Texas this week, and the rep said that they’re waiting to see if the game sells well first. On their Facebook page, they say that they’re “waiting to see how PXZ sells in japan first before they start getting the license again from Sega and Capcom.” It goes on to state that if it does come over, it’ll be in late 2013/early 2014. 100,000 Strong does stress that an earlier rumor of some characters being nixed if it was localized is completely wrong.
Remember though that this is still all speculation. Even if the game sells well in Japan, there’s still the possibility of the game not making it over. But hey, at least they’re saying something and are aware now instead of staying silent like they’ve doing since the game’s reveal.
Fresh off the leak of the the Shin Megami Tensei IV trailer, Atlus updated the website for the game. Instead of a shot of the city and somber music, we now have black and white background with an outlined silhouette of what could be the main character. As Siliconera points out, the bottom of the image says, in Japanese, that Devil Summoner Soul Hackers will contain the first trailer for SMT IV, with then concludes with “And then…” What could this point out to? More info on the game when the 3DS port/remake Soul Hackers is released? Maybe a direct link to Soul Hackers and SMT IV?
Who knows. but for now, let’s enjoy that awesome music on the website now. I wanna say it’s Shouji Meguro (since he took over all composing duties for the MegaTen franchise since Nocturne), but this doesn’t sound like the band/soundset he usually works with. One thing’s for sure, if this game’s gonna have music like this, it’s gonna be a hardhitting and atmospheric soundtrack.
Shin Megami Tensei IV Website Says: “And Then…” [Siliconera]
Square Enix laid out its schedule of DLC for their 3DS rhythm game Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy. Among the list is a song from Final Fantasy Type-0, “What Becomes of Us.” This is an interesting addition to the game since Type-0 has yet to be localized for Western release. Many have been clamoring for this game to cross the Pacific since its release in Japan last year. The game was released for the PSP and was to be the start of a new series for just handhelds. Of the three Fabula Nova Crystalis games, this one, once light-hearted under the Agito XIII name, became the darkest of the three with its new Type-0 moniker. The market for the PSP is vastly different between Japan and the West, with the West’s market being a virtual ghost town. This might’ve been the deciding factor for Square Enix and their lack of interest in bringing the game over here.
But then there’s this. Now this can be interpreted as ramping up interest. But it could very much be them trying to keep a consistent release schedule between all territories. And with potential money involved, leaving this out because a game isn’t here yet is lost cash. And — to tangent a bit here — in both Dissidia and Duodecim, Type-0 icons (then still called Agito XIII) were unlockable. But I digress, here’s hoping something happens with Final Fantasy Type-0. Anything positive for this game is a positive for a future release on PSN (or elsewhere).
Theatrhythm DLC Schedule Has A Final Fantasy: Type-0 Song For U.S. [Siliconera]
Remember back then when Game Freak made Pulseman? This was before they were heavy into making Pokemon. Sure they had Drill Dozer, but that was in 2005, which was 7 years ago. But now they’re experimenting again, this time with Rhythm Hunter HarmoKnight. Revealed in this morning’s Nintendo Direct, It’s a hybrid Action Platformer/Rhythm Game. Think a mix between Theatrhythm meets Rhythm Heaven. A better comparison would be that Platform Hero stage from the upcoming Rayman Legends. I always like it when a company tries something a little different from what they usually do (especially the guys at Game Freak).
Rhythm Hunter HarmoKnight is set to release on the 3DS eShop sometime this year (I think). A U.S. release doesn’t look out of the picture since much of the commands are in English, so it may not cost much to bring over.
You can see a video of HarmoKnight it after the break.
Looks like Nintendo’s gonna do another Nintendo Direct. According to the message on the streaming page, they’ll only be focusing on Wii and 3DS software. They make it very clear that there will be no Wii U news on this. I have a feeling this is primarily going to be a 3DS showing as the Wii is on its last legs. If they’re going to show anything on the Wii, it’ll probably be extra stuff for games currently released, maybe some Fatal Frame II and Kirby 20th Anniversary news, etc. Remember, this is the Japanese Nintendo Direct, so any news coming out of this may not necessarily apply to the U.S. But who knows, maybe Iwata might break the flow, become aware of the U.S. audience watching it, and suddenly announce at the last minute that Pandora’s Tower‘s coming to the U.S.!
Since the broadcast starts at 8PM JST, using a timezone converter, that means it’ll start at… 7AM EST? Huh… I think I might have to wake my ass up early for this then. Use this. If I’m wrong, please correct me.
Now you might be thinking, “huh? Isn’t Strange Journey the fourth mainline SMT game?” Well it’s actually not. Our colleague Hachi76 told us this during a podcast tapings some weeks ago. You can pretty much pin this on Atlus just slapping the SMT name on a lot of things and confusing us on which is a side-story and which is mainline.
So then. What do we see in this trailer. Well, it starts off looking like something out of Avatar: The Last Airbender. A large fortress is shown with what looks like shots of the inside flashing onscreen. It then shows three people looking over the fortress (probably from inside the walls) and then cuts to a someone with a mysterious looking arm-brace that looks way too advanced for the time period this is set in. The screen flashes white and fades back in to these same individuals now in a modern setting (most likely Japan) with words being spoken by different people. Quick shots of some shadows and a ruined city are shown. Finally, we see an in-game shot of what could be the protagonist standing still as the environment around him changes from parts of a ruined street to a large desert. Lots of mysteries abound in this trailer.
Shin Megami Tensei IV is planned for a 2013. Accoding to the website, it looks like it’s headed for the 3DS.
Shin Megami Tensei IV Trailer [via Youtube]
Confirming the scans that popped up some weeks ago, Tron Bonne has joined the Project X Zone cast of characters. Alongside her is a Servbot (a separate character). She’ll be without her fighting game staple Gustaff and fight on-foot (but will bring her MvC moves with her). Still on the Capcom side there’s Lady from Devil May Cry 3. On the Sega side is Bahn from the cage bashing fighting game Fighting Vipers. Finally on the Namco side, Lindow bumps up the Gods Eater crew to three. And the main characters from prequel Namco X Capcom, Reiji and Xiaomu, will represent Namco.
Character art after the break.
Ahoy one and all to Episode 3 of The Wired Fish Podcast. Today, we talk about the reveal of Battlefield 4 and wonder if companies will ever learn their lesson. Next, we take a look back at the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3 one year later. Finally, we talk in-full about DRM and why this is a bad thing for the industry.
Time-Table of Contents breakdown after the… er, break.
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