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Treasure put a lot of work into (optional) fake transparency for Radiant Silvergun
Nobody would ever accuse Treasure of lazy development, but a recent report from a Microsoft presentation showed just how deeply into the XBLA conversion of Radiant Silvergun the company is. President Masato Maegawa told assembled press that Treasure had worked for about half a year to get the game running on Xbox in a way that closely resembled the Saturn version. Some elements had to be reprogrammed, because they relied on Saturn hardware features. Speaking of Saturn adaptations, the XBLA remake will have user-selectable transparency levels. Because the Saturn couldn't handle "real" transparencies, it used screen-door style pixel meshes to simulate it. If you want that authentic Saturn feel, you can use those, or you can opt for true transparency effect. More modern additions include online co-op, and an Ikaruga mode that implements the "chain combo" scoring system from that game, and is only playable if you have at least one achievement in XBLA Ikaruga.
Choose My Adventure: Dirty fightin' and treasure huntin'
My pirate life continued this past week in Pirates of the Burning Sea, and thanks to your feedback, I took on some new swashbuckling skills. Based on the poll results, Dirty Fighting came out as the winning choice, and I happily retrained at my port. I also popped over to Treasure Aisle, the in-game cash shop. I had some Station Cash burning a hole in my pirate chest, and since I had so much fun on my last treasure hunt, I decided to purchase a new map case and try my luck once more at finding the giant red X. In this week's Choose My Adventure, I'll tell you how my respec went and whether I found any treasure. In addition, I'll give you a sneak peek at some new bling for my pirate ship!
XBLA Radiant Silvergun includes both arcade and Saturn modes
Before the famous (and, soon after, very expensive) Sega Saturn version of Treasure's Radiant Silvergun arrived, the shmup was an arcade game. The Saturn disc included both the arcade original and a "Saturn mode" with new voice acting, extra levels, and additional bosses. The upcoming XBLA version will maintain the choice between "arcade mode" and "Saturn mode," both with optional updated graphics, Andriasang reports. The XBLA version also offers two-player online co-op, leaderboards, and an "Ikaruga" mode, which Treasure still hasn't detailed. Radiant Silvergun will cost 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15, or so much less than the Saturn game's cost) when it comes out sometime this year.
Choose My Adventure: Out of drydock!
It was a happy return to the high seas for Arienne Sauvage. You might have noticed that Choose My Adventure went dark for a couple of weeks, and that's because of the unexpected downtime from the attack on Sony Online Entertainment. Now that things are back up and running, I'm ready to set sail for the last few entries of my adventure in Pirates of the Burning Sea. Join me this week as I evaluate the Welcome Back rewards, polish up my ship combat skills, and search for buried treasure!
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury review: Harried Treasure
Shmups aren't known for how easy they are to complete, if only because the genre's roots are based on a coin-op business model that relies heavily on player failure. Treasure's games take this philosophy to the extreme, putting equal importance on fun and hardcore psychological punishment. Yet even considering this pedigree, the company's Bangai-O series can't be pigeonholed that way. Its cruelty, its madness and the fires of its bullet hell cannot be restrained. Such is the case with XBLA's Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury. Any illusion of narrative has been stripped away entirely and only pure, unadulterated shooter insanity remains. %Gallery-116339%
Guardian Heroes gameplay trailer is too short
It ain't much, but when it comes to Guardian Heroes, we'll take what we can get. Sega has released the first gameplay footage of the XBLA remaster and it's ... well, it's brief. At the very least, it appears that the updated graphics look better in motion than they did in those screenshots.
Guardian Heroes' XBLA updates detailed
When we heard Sega was releasing Guardian Heroes on XBLA, we were like :D And then when we saw the first screenshots, we were like :/ And then we heard that you could turn the aggressively smooth filters off, and we were like :D again. Now, in a post on the Sega blog, the company detailed the changes being made for the XBLA version. Even with the visual filters turned off, it's not just the Saturn version emulated. Developer Treasure has changed the AI, rebalanced the versus mode, changed the fonts, and, of course, altered the aspect ratio. In addition, some voice work has been re-recorded. We don't really have an emoticon for "cautiously optimistic." Whatever it is, that's what we're like.
Guardian Heroes remastered for XBLA this fall
If you've been intensely monitoring eBay, hoping to nab a factory-sealed copy of Treasure's rare Sega Saturn beat-'em-up, Guardian Heroes, it's time to relax. Sega revealed this morning that it intends to release the game for Xbox Live Arcade sometime "this fall," with flashier 2D visuals (HD!) and online play (both co-op and battle modes). And it won't cost upwards of $50 to get it, unlike that eBay auction you've been eying. (Our condolences to the sellers, though!) "Players have been clamoring for this treasured favorite from the Saturn days, and we cannot wait to show them what we have got for them," Sega VP of digital business Haruki Satomi noted in the announcement, calling the fan response to previous Dreamcast re-releases "overwhelming." So overwhelming, in fact, that Sega had to step back to an older console.
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury shoots to XBLA on May 4
The arcade antics of Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury will teach players how to avoid the most insane missile attacks when it blasts onto Xbox Live Arcade for $10 on May 4. Developed by Treasure, the game unleashes the same "sensory overload" players may be used to from the company's other well-known shooter, Ikaruga, also available on XBLA. Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury features 100 levels, a level editor and co-op -- the latter being the reason given for the game's delay to this spring. If your brain doesn't get overwhelmed by hundreds, nay, thousands of projectiles being tossed at you in hectic succession, you'll be in for a treat shortly.
Protect your slingshots with an authentic Zelda treasure chest (with sound!)
Are you looking for a quick-and-easy storage solution for the adventure-ready knick-knacks you've got laying around the house? Oh, sure, you could probably just tuck that slingshot, Deku stick and empty bottle into any old Rubbermaid tub, but if you're looking for a more authentic way to put things into other things you need a real-life Legend of Zelda treasure chest, complete with brief musical interlude. (You know the one.) You can follow the instructions posted on Instructables to make your own Hylian lockbox, and check out the video after the jump to see (and hear!) it in action. Just be sure that you make everything to scale -- if you make the chest too large, you're going to have to put something way more awesome in it.
Bangai-O HD Missile Fury preview: Co-overboard
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury feels a lot more like an Xbox 360 successor to Bangai-O Spirits than it did when I played it at TGS. The demo available in Tokyo seemed a lot more straightforward, more "here are a bunch of enemies for you to shoot" -- in other words, more original Bangai-O -- than the cleverly-designed, semi-puzzle stage design that the DS game brought. But that was just the TGS demo. Most of the elements that made Bangai-O Spirits what it was have carried over into the XBLA game, with a few important changes. Perhaps the most notable change is the addition of multiplayer. You might not think putting one more thing (another player) on the screen in a game about filling the screen with objects would be a big deal, but it doubles the unfathomable insanity.%Gallery-118474%
Ikaruga model kits due in Japan this June
When verbal communication fails to adequately convey your immense love for Ikaruga, it's time to invest in an intricate, 1/144 scale replica of one of the game's ships. And we do mean invest: the gorgeous "Hitekkai Ikaruga" injection-plastic kit from Japanese manufacturer Kotobukiya requires time, art supplies, assembly and painting. Depending on your level of interest, you're either seeing "fun weekend project" or "help help I've glued my blue fingers together again." According to Tomopop and HobbyLink Japan, the Ikaruga kit will ship in June. Early pre-orders, from now until April 6th, can get it for a discounted price of 3,840 Yen ($46). Motivation: If you've already mastered Treasure's intense test of polarity clarity, what challenge could there be in a pile of fiddly, plastic pieces?
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury's first trailer is (naturally) explosive
You might have thought you had seen all of the explosion-themed XBLA media you were going to today. You were spectacularly, explosively wrong. D3 Publisher sent out the first gameplay footage of Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury for XBLA today, and it promises to test the limits of your tolerance for exploding projectiles. In a good way. If you're not totally weary of bullets by the time you watch that, you might be able to handle the new screens in our gallery. And if you're still not satisfied you've seen enough stuff blowing up, well, the game is out this spring!%Gallery-116339%
Now you can play Gunstar Heroes on iPhone, if you want
Of the Genesis games ported to iPhone by Sega so far, we would suggest that Phantasy Star 2 was the best idea. It's turn-based, which means that you don't really need to rely on the virtual controls for quick, reflex-based actions. On the exact opposite end of the "good idea" continuum is Sega's latest iPhone port: Gunstar Heroes. You could think of it as an "expert" edition. If you've somehow managed to master Treasure's run-and-gun masterpiece on the Genesis and/or Game Gear and/or Virtual Console, now try it without the benefit of knowing where the buttons are! Gunstar Heroes for iOS does have one rather impressive feature going for it: Bluetooth-based multiplayer. Perhaps it's time to invest in a set of Tactile+Plus stickers! %Gallery-108041%
Star player earns success in Sin & Punishment contest
Nintendo and "official" game score authority Twin Galaxies have named a winner in their Sin & Punishment: Star Successor contest. "Andrew F." from Milwaukee, Wis. claimed the title with his 68,126,154-point score in Level 3 of Treasure's Wii rail shooter -- on hard mode, of course. And using the Wiimote and Nunchuk, of course. For his feat, Mr. F. wil be awarded two black Wiimotes, two black Classic Controller Pros, two Zappers and a plaque. His achievement will also be submitted for consideration in the Guinness World Records 2011 Edition. In addition, he received a commemorative Joystiq post for his achievement. This has been Joystiq Post About Andrew F.'s High Sin and Punishment 2 Score 2010, In Honor of Andrew F. Seriously, though, that's an awesome score.
Bangai-O HD delayed until spring, Treasure adding multiplayer
Okay, we have some bad news and some awesome news. First, the bad news: you won't be blowing up robots, houses, mines, and everything around you with bajillions of projectiles in Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury this fall. D3 Publisher announced that the XBLA title has been delayed until spring. How can a delay be awesome? Developer Treasure is using the extra time to add multiplayer gameplay, including both cooperative and competitive modes. Despite Bangai-O Spirits on the DS having wireless local multiplayer capabilities, Missile Fury was originally announced without any. We suppose we can wait a few months if it means we can share Bangai-O with our friends. Find the statement from D3 after the break.%Gallery-102643%
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury preview: the tension is getting good
It was an amazing feat on Treasure's part to fit Bangai-O, a game about intentionally letting the screen fill with bajillions of bullets, onto the DS. I was then extremely interested in seeing how the developer would fare with Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury, an updated sequel to the N64/Dreamcast/DS series on a system that is, for all intents and purposes, free of technical restrictions. As it turns out, despite having much more screen area to stuff with robots and missiles, Bangai-O HD is actually a bit less insane than its DS predecessor.%Gallery-102643%
Radiant Silvergun shining on XBLA
Was Bangai-O HD not enough Treasure XBLA awesomeness for you? How much awesomeness can you endure? During Microsoft's TGS keynote, the company announced an XBLA version of the developer's beloved (and expensive) Saturn shooter, Radiant Silvergun. The new version features online co-op, upgraded graphics, and a new "Ikaruga" mode, as well as a mode wherein you save a couple of hundred dollars by playing it on Xbox. It'll be out in 2011, exclusively on XBLA. %Gallery-102402%
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury blowing up XBLA this fall
In the mood for explosive news about explosions? Treasure's multi-scrolling, fruit-collecting shooter series Bangai-O is heading to XBLA this fall, published by D3 Publisher and priced at 800 Microsoft Points. Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury features over 100 levels of omnidirectional blasting. Like its DS predecessor Bangai-O Spirits, it also features a level editor, though presumably the XBLA version won't require levels to be traded as sound files. The game will be on display this weekend at PAX for attendees who feel like hitting giant soccer balls into ninja robots -- with a baseball bat, in exchange for giant fruit.
Treasure hiring for a new 3D shooter
Fresh off the North American release of Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, Treasure is beginning work on another 3D shooting game. If you live in Japan and have strong programming skills, perhaps you could be among the first to find out what it is. By making it! The news comes from a job listing on Treasure's website, seeking a programmer for a "new project '3D action shooting game.'" In addition, a cryptic image on the front page, advertising the job listing, looks like it might be some kind of hint. Treasure has made four games in the past that would fit in this genre: the PS2's Silpheed: The Lost Planet, the licensed Dragon Drive: D-Masters Shot on GameCube, and the two Sin & Punishment games. It is, however, a company that usually expresses more interest in original games than sequels, so past games are not necessarily any indication of future plans. Perhaps it's the company's long-awaited Xbox 360 shooter -- although that one was originally meant to be 2D.
