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Yumi's Odd Odyssey journeys to 3DS eShop on March 20
Agatsuma Entertainment's sealife-themed puzzle-platformer Yumi's Odd Odyssey (yes, it's an apt title) is hitting the Nintendo 3DS eShop in North America next week, publisher Natsume announced. Released in Japan last year (as Sayonara Umihara Kawase), Yumi's Odd Odyssey is part of a long-running series that, to date, has never seen a Western release. The game equips players with an elastic fishing line, which can be attached to walls, floors, and ceilings in order to swing to faraway platforms, Bionic Commando-style. You'll also need to keep an eye out for wandering koi, eels, and other undersea critters, who have grown to monstrous size and sprouted legs in their pursuit of delicious human flesh. Yumi's Odd Odyssey was initially announced as a localized port of a PSP entry in the Umihara Kawase series way back in 2008, though the title was abandoned in the years since and reassigned to next week's 3DS release. Yumi's Odd Odyssey will be priced at $29.99 when it premieres on March 20. [Image: Natsume]
Code of Princess producer likes PS4, Xbox One for a sequel
Atlus' 3DS brawler Code of Princess sold "beyond" expectations in the US and producer Yasuo Nakajima thinks the PS4 and Xbox One would be great fits for a sequel. "Kinu-san already has ideas about Code of Princess 2 in mind already," Nakajima told Siliconera. "If Code of Princess 2 goes into development maybe it will be for consoles like PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. I want to develop a sequel to Code of Princess for core gamers like fans that are anticipating Dragon's Crown now." A sequel, as of now, has not formally entered development. Code of Princess was developed by Agatsuma Entertainment in collaboration with Bones animation studio. It's a hack-and-slash brawler made available as a physical cartridge release last October, followed by an eShop launch in January of this year. The game launched in Europe back in March, available exclusively as an eShop download.
Nautical grappling platformer Umihara Kawase returns on 3DS
Umihara Kawase is a bizarre series about a young girl with a fishing line. It's been released on Super Famicom, PlayStation, DS and PSP in Japan, and nowhere here – though there are ways to get it. It's the kind of gameplay you know from Bionic Commando, but focused entirely on the grappling.Members of the original team have reunited for a sequel on 3DS, Famitsu reports. Called Sayonara Umihara Kawase, the latest release appears to maintain everything that makes the series what it is: insanely complex grappling/line physics, weird fish enemies, and abstract level designs.The new version adds multiple versions of the main character, including a 20-year-old Umihara, and unlockable costume items for completed levels. The 3D character models don't look great, but this game was never much to look at anyway.A new Umihara game is exciting in its own right, but it's also another opportunity for someone to localize it. Natsume tried with the PSP version, but it never happened – and that was probably a wise choice given how that game turned out.
Code of Princess review: Royal brawl
In reviewing games at Joystiq, our mission is always to attempt to convey the actual experience of playing a game, as opposed to just listing its features and capping things off with a score. In the case of Code of Princess on the 3DS, that experience boils down to tapping the B button like a caffeine addict, with the occasional special move thrown in for flavor.It's not as though Code of Princess is the only brawler to succumb to this pattern, however, and like other brawlers, it still manages to be enjoyable in spurts, but rings hollow by the time the credits roll.%Gallery-168513%
Code of Princess gameplay trailer still needs more armor
The latest trailer for Code of Princess is more unabashed than previous ones about its lead character's clothing (or lack thereof). The 3DS brawler offers plenty of better-armored playable characters, along with co-op and versus modes which can be played both locally and online. It comes to our shores next week on October 9.
'Let's Draw,' says Majesco to Nintendo DS owners
Majesco's Let's Draw is ridiculously cute. Chances are it won't be as cute in untrained hands, but that's no reason not to try! Let's Draw combines minigames with Drawn to Life–style customization -- it's part drawing book, part game -- and adorability varies (based on the player's skill). Kids (and yes, this is for kids) draw and color images as prompted by the game, which are then animated in minigames like Whack-a-Mole and Air Hockey. Let's Draw also includes simple drawing lessons, based on a Japanese drawing book series. Drawn to Life was a big success for THQ -- we'll see how this younger take on the idea works out for a somewhat bruised and beaten Majesco when the game releases this March for $19.99. %Gallery-83630%
It seems obvious now: Drawing training
Do you like to draw or paint, or maybe just sketch or doodle? Well, if you do, chances are you have the interest needed to buy You Can Draw Well in Ten Minutes a Day (1-nichi 10-pun de E ga Jouzu ni Kakeru DS). A DS adaptation of a popular how-to-draw book series, Draw Well uses audio and animation to walk kids through a simple drawing every day.Using collections of basic shapes, the game teaches kids to draw a collection of more than 100 animals, insects, and vehicles. The drawings can then be integrated into a set of minigames or used in animations.A training game about drawing fits not only the DS's most popular genre, but also its unique capabilities better than just about anything else on the system. It's just a perfect idea for the DS.
