“I can’t say that it’s entirely out of the realm of possibility, ” says project director Masahiro Sakurai and an interview with IGN. He goes on to state that while there is a chance that Capcom characters could be included in the next Smash Bros, they would have to fit in with the universe that is forged by Nintendo characters. To be honest, it doesn’t make too much sense since that didn’t stop Snake from being included, and he arguably the most out of place character in the game (but still awesome though). But, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Iwata revealed during the E3 press conference that the next Smash Bros. we be made for both the 3DS and Wii U and that the two versions will work together in some way. So far, development hasn’t started yet, but Sakurai and Project Sora are looking for people and developers to help in making the game. No release has been set (obviously)
Motohide Eshiro, producer of Okamiden, mentioned the possibility of Okami and God Hand sequels in an interview with Gamesradar. However, that all depends on whether there’s a demand for them.
“We’re certainly willing to explore the option of another Okami game if the market is there for it. If people want it, we’ll be pleased to deliver it.” When the cult popularity of God Hand was brought up, Eshiro said “I personally am quite the fan of God Hand – I thought it had really dynamic gameplay of focusing not on blocking but on constantly dodging and moving. It was really fun and refreshing, and it would be great to see that turned into a series. Once again, it boils down to demand – how many people want it, what kind of ideas we have that would be fresh and make it worth exploring again, and we could come up with a plan that could fit the users’ needs and the market’s needs at the time.”
Hello Fellow Fishes. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s time I bring back The Breakdown. Before starting The Wired Fish, I used to do reviews of games on DeviantART. My last review was The Conduit, which I reviewed July 27, 2009. At the time it was my only platform to do any form of blogging. But now, things have changed, and I have more tools at my disposal for writing something with a bit more pizazz. One thing that I stand by still is my review format. I detailed at one point how it works on dA, so go ahead and read it to get an idea of how The Breakdown works. To put simply, there is no overall score, only individual ones. And it is impossible for a section to get a perfect 10.
Anyways, onto the show at hand: Okamiden. This sequel to Okami’s been a long time coming. First appearing on the PS2, and then The Wii (complete with IGN’s Stamp of Approval), Okami was an amazing experience that I would never forget. Unfortunately, the game didn’t really sell well. It did garner a cult following though. What made matters worse for the possibility for a sequel to Okami is that 1) Clover Studios shut down, only to independently reopen as Platinum Studios. and 2) ReadyAtDawn, the guys that handled the conversion of the game from PS2 to Wii, went back to work to make another God of War game for the PSP. So things looked pretty grim for Okami fans. Then one day, Capcom revealed that Okamiden was being made, and it was for the DS. I, unlike many, welcomed the fact that it was a DS game, as now there is some tactile feedback with the celestial brush techniques (I’ll be getting to that later). So, Was all that worry for an Okami sequel worth it? Or did Chibiterasu piss on all of our hopes. Hit the jump to read the full review. Continue reading →
This time on Game Music w/ the James, I bring an assortment of tracks that I can’t stop listening to. Most of these games deserve individual attention that might come over time, but for now they’re in an assortment of tracks that I can’t get out of my head for one reason or another.
What better place to start than… Mega Man 10?
I’ve run a game music presentation arguing with moderate success that Mega Man 10 has a superior soundtrack to 9 and deserves a little more attention than it seems to get. Not only is there a lot of good music, but it seems to have more variety as well. Take this track for instance, it has that little bit of heart put into it that gives it luster.
Our old friend, the high square wave with its flute-like timbre naturally gets the soprano treatment and almost feels like a vocal-soloist, especially in the last passage of the loop where it’s just gushing in its high notes and stealing the show. The accompaniment in lower register is brilliant, and while it never overpowers the soprano or tries to steal the spotlight, it provides a great counter-melody of its own. The same passage where the soprano is going all out has the accompaniment taking a more rapid, guitar like presence. The precussion/bass are cool, but what really shines is the interaction between the two top voices.
Typically I dislike remixed video game music. It loses a lot of the original flavor in the conversion and sometimes the new music sounds dull and lifeless. Then again, I’ve never really been an orchestral music kinda guy either until understanding it better. Regardless, this track, formerly in the SNES version of the game is given an amazing orchestration and is also part of one of my unforgettable gaming experiences.
The first time you hear this track on the battlefield is in the middle of a thunderstorm. When played connected to my TV, the thunderstorm with its loud booming and flashing made the battle more dramatic than it needed to be, but I loved every second of it.
The brass is what really sticks out, setting the flavor of the overall piece as well as dishing out the main melody, with phenomenal support from the strings. The woodwinds play a bigger role in the parts that bridge the main theme such as in the mysterious flute section, but what really gets me pumped is whenever the brass comes in, main melody and between.
My game of the year last year, Nier was great in story, presentation and especially the music. I remember the first time I heard this song, I was still measuring whether I loved or hated Nier. I had no expectations for it and only bought it because Kmart had a really good sale going on for the game. It was the middle of March and I just caught the flu. Somewhere in my fluctuating consciousness, I came across the area where this song played and I drifted off in sickness, thinking I was dying or something. I came back to Earth shortly after, but whenever I hear this it feels like my soul is slowly drifting away and… blah, this ain’t the place to get poetic.
The layered presentation of this piece is amazing. Beginning with light then heavy percussion, then adding in either a cello or a double bass and an electronic instrument before bringing in the Ooooo’s in the vocals and finally the main vocal melody where the entire ensemble stays in until the end. The soundtrack version kinda cheats by taking out the percussion for the final iteration of the main verse and giving it a proper ending, but it doesn’t happen like that in game.
Enjoy, and See you next Video Game Music w/ The James!
For me, this March is all about two things : The 3DS and the lovely RPGs coming out that also happen to be sequels : Okamiden which I’m halfway through and partially reviewed, Pokemon Black/White – my next review in progress, (Tales of) Ar Tonelico Qoga which I might get time for if I can finish the first two, The 3rd Birthday and the upcoming The Legend of Heroes : Trails in the Sky.
Original games also came out this month to great reception, but I’m here to talk sequels, and in this case, the two for DS and which of the two is more worthy of a purchase.
Getting both games on the same day, I was biased. As great as the last generation of Pokemon was (I beat one of every generation up to now, so the battle system has been growing a little stale), White and Black looked like it would be the same style with a little of that 3d effect, while Okamiden happens to be the successor to one of my top 5 PS2 games. The plan was to spend 80% of my time on Okami and 20% on the new Pokemon which surely could not achieve the magic of the old games…..
Well, it's either a Japanese puzzle game, or the weirdest prison rape movie I've ever seen.
It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a huge fan of the Ace Attorney games. Sure, the gameplay can get a little boring, and outright irritating at times, but the incredibly well written characters, the intriguing storylines, the catchy, memorable music, and the frequently laugh inducing dialogue, all combine to make an experience that you certainly can’t find anywhere else.
So why have I devoted a paragraph to a game that is most certainly not the one I am reviewing? Because one cannot talk about GT:PD without mentioning that its creator is the same man who created everyones favorite spiky haired lawyer; Capcom wunderkind Shu Takumi. But is his new game another slam dunk of enjoyable creativity, or just a sad shadow of his courtroom opus? Continue reading →
Current Status : 7 hours in, 3 major bosses defeated
It’s so awkward whenever Chibiterasu moves into a new screen, jumps into the portal and the camera zooms into his butthole…
Okami was quite possibly my favorite mid-life PS2 game. Ar Tonelico 2 was good, Persona 3 was fun (I was going through a big RPG phase at the time), but Okami is the game that I always swear to my friends blows even the Zelda games that came out around its time : Wind Waker and Twilight Princess out of the water… and more memorable than AT2/P3 for that matter.
It had everything I wanted : a nice variety of weapons (always was fond of the beads myself), one hell of a soundtrack/atmosphere, a beautiful art-style, a memorable cast and most of all, it had a lot of meat to it – plenty of dungeons and huge areas to explore and purify… and explore again. There were secrets all over the place and unique abilities to use on the canvas were abundant. Viewtiful Joe might be the series most people remember Clover for, but I was not a huge fan. Instead I’ll always remember them for one of the best adventure games I’ve played.
The second game, development switching to Capcom this time around had me skeptical for the longest. Intentionally I had not looked at any news or details until my copy came in. Chibiterasu is cool and all, but the way the first game ended, it looked like Amaterasu was going to move on to bigger things, different places. At first I was thinking that Chibiterasu would explore brand new regions in his stead, but I spoiled myself when I bumped into a track listing for the soundtrack… it was the same places you go through as Ammy!
Not sure what they're jumping at, but the boxart seems to give off the impression of great battles to come.
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