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3DS Jam with the Band game coming from Fire Emblem studio
Fire Emblem series developer Intelligent Systems is helming a 3DS sequel in the long-dormant Jam with the Band series, Nintendo confirmed via a newly launched teaser website. Intelligent Systems' Daigasso! Band Brothers P uses Vocaloid software to turn a player's voice into a synthesized in-game instrument. Nintendo revealed the upcoming rhythm-action game in a Nintendo Direct presentation earlier this month. The first entry in the series, Daigasso! Band Brothers, premiered for the Nintendo DS in Japan in 2004. An enhanced English-localized version, Jam with the Band, launched in Europe in 2010, but was never released stateside. A North American release for Daigasso! Band Brothers P has not been announced.
User-generated content rules Band Brothers DX
For most of us, Band Brothers DX is just one of many unattainable titles in the Japanese market. We want to play it and love the crap out of it, but our inability to understand the Japanese squigglies keeps us from realizing just how great the game is. Thanks to Spencer at Siliconera, we can keep up with the most beloved content for the title.You can see the top 100 downloads yourself right here. It's not going to mean much to a majority of you, but if you're looking for the top downloads of this week, then peep this: Shuchi Shin (Shuchi Shin) Gake no Ue no Ponyo (Miyazaki movie theme?) Nakanai de (Shuchi Shin) Kiseki (GReeeeN) Nando mo (Aoyama Thelma)* created by Nintendo [Via Siliconera]
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 7/7-7/13
There's so much DS software love in the top ten that we don't know what to highlight! If pressed, though, we'll have to choose Densetsu no Stafi 5, because 1) Stafy is just the cutest and 2) it performed better than the rest. Band Brothers DX is inching toward 200,000 sales, though, and will probably hit that landmark next week.The other DS love goes to Hana Yori Dango: Koi Seyo Onago, an otome based on an anime/manga/j-drama. Although the chances of it happening are about ... zero ... we'd love to see that one localized, as Hana Yori Dango is one of our guilty pleasures. Last but not least, we'll mention the sometimes inappropriate Gegege no Kitarou, which debuted in ninth. (Oh yeah -- there's also Derby Stallion, but really.)Software sales gave DS hardware a small boost, but Nintendo's handheld is still stuck behind the PSP: PSP: 56,998 (559) Nintendo DS: 48,540 (1,085) Wii: 41,768 (2,757) PlayStation 3: 12,458 (1,901) PlayStation 2: 10,405 (1,363) Xbox 360: 3,807 (969) To check out the Japanese software sales numbers and rankings, just click past the break. (Our apologies -- we could only find translations for the top ten games!)
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 6/30-7/6
The most recent Japanese charts showed us that musical instruments have more legs than horses, as Band Brothers DX jumped up into the first place spot. Meanwhie, Nanashi no Game made its debut in the top ten, but only sold a total of 30,000 copies. Hardware sales were also interesting, as the DS stubbornly held onto the second spot: PSP: 56,439 (2,442) Nintendo DS: 47,455 (1,429) Wii: 44,525 (3,955) PlayStation 3: 14,359 (3,614) PlayStation 2: 11,768 ( 4,095) Xbox 360: 4,776 (328) With the Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G craze finally starting to quiet a bit, we don't think it will be too long before the PSP dips closer to DS sales (as long as Nintendo's handheld can maintain its own momentum). Enough about the future, though -- it's all about the now. So, go on and see how software fared last week in Japan by clicking past the break.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 6/23-6/29
Oh, Japanese gamers, how we love you -- after all, only you would buy 150,000 copies of Derby Stallion in one week. Such sales were enough to put this DS horse racing sim into first place, above Band Brothers DX and even the Wii's Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Besides Derby Stallion and Band Brothers, another DS title that made it into the top ten was Higurashi no Naku Koru ni Kazuna, a murder mystery visual novel.The beauty of it all is that this DS software success managed to propel DS hardware into second place, barely skating past the Wii: PSP: 58,861 (490) Nintendo DS: 48,884 (12,285) Wii: 48,480 (7,443) PlayStation 3: 17,973 (2,363) PlayStation 2: 7,673 (1,327) Xbox 360: 5,104 (2,549) To see sales numbers and rankings for the top ten games, just click past the break.
Nintendo delays Daigasso! Band Brothers bootlegging
In a likely accidental move similar to Square Enix's FFCC "Moogle of Death" screen, Nintendo has temporarily stalled pirates from completely enjoying Daigasso! Band Brothers DX. Not long after the rhythm game shipped out in Japan, crooked gamers around the world downloaded the ROM only to find that it didn't work as expected. According to initial reports, because Band Brothers DX uses a 1mb save instead of traditional 512kb saves, the ROM refuses to load on many flashcarts. Of course, determined delinquents have already found a workaround, and some flashcarts will load the ROM successfully without any required hacking, but pirates are also finding themselves unable to access the 200 downloadable songs available through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.Seeing as the game comes with only 30 tracks installed, the online songs are a huge draw for people playing Band Brothers DX! Though we expect hackers and flashcart manufacturers to fully "patch" the ROM in a few days, if not in a few hours, it's nice to hear that there are still a few things out there capable of temporarily flummoxing the DS piracy scene.%Gallery-24427%
Bust ghosts and wish upon stars with Band Brothers DX
As we've previously noted, there's a lot more to Band Brothers DX than J-pop. Nintendo just updated the list of the game's downloadable content, and there are several tracks (most of which tick the "shamelessly camp" and "80s" boxes) that will be recognizable to western eyes. These include cheesy power rock anthem "The Final Countdown," "Last Christmas," "Y.M.C.A.," and ... the Ghostbusters theme?! Man, you better believe that we're just one Thundercats theme away from getting our import on right this second, Nintendo! Here's what being offered up, complete with YouTube linkage: "Ghostbusters" "Last Christmas" "Daydream Believer" "Stand by Me" "The Loco-Motion" "Saturday Night" "The Final Countdown" "When You Wish Upon A Star" "Gonna Fly Now" "Highway Star" "ABC" "Y.M.C.A." As if choosing what to download wasn't already difficult enough! Hit the gallery for a dozen fresh shots of the title. %Gallery-24427%[Via Siliconera]
Band Brothers DX: choose your DLC carefully
It feels churlish to complain about the expansive range of DLC offered up by Band Brothers DX. In case you forgot, the game will allow users to download up to 100 extra songs from a choice of 200 (far outstripping the amount of tracks offered by any other DS music game), yet posters on NeoGAF have now discovered that once you've downloaded one of your 100 tracks, that's it -- there's no way to delete tracks, or replace them with new songs.Curious about this limiting feature, N-Sider's Matt Behrens checked out the official site for the game, which seemed to confirm the findings. On the site, Nintendo explains that this is due to rights restrictions that prevent the erasing or replacement of the music, and urges players to use "Audition Mode," a feature that plays songs before you elect to download them. Sounds like solid advice![Via N-Sider]
Check out the track lists for Band Brothers DX
The Band Brothers DX website lists all the jammable tracks available in the rhythm title, including both downloadable and in-game songs. Since the list is in Japanese, we did our best to translate (read: search the internet for a translation), which we've posted after the break.For classical music lovers (like this blogger), the in-game song list is like a piece of cake wrapped in brownie batter. Everyone else may be a wee bit disappointed, though, as the tracks only include five J-pop songs among a plethora of Mozart and the like. To keep it interesting, the classical songs are remixed in different styles, like tango, Eurobeat, pop, jazz, and more. Some unique combinations include a reggae version of Beethoven's "Pathétique Sonata" and a Famicom version of Schubert's "The Trout" (click here and here to listen to them in their original classical styles).The list of downloadable songs is much more J-poppy, however, offering tracks like "Flavor of Life" by Utada Hikaru, which is the recurring theme of J-drama Hana Yori Dango. There are also a handful of anime songs to help tickle your J-fetish.If you want to see both of the translated song lists for Band Brothers DX, just click on past the break. Gallery: Band Brothers DX
Jam with the screens of Band Brothers DX
With all the new features that are being added to Band Brothers DX, the sequel to Daigasso! Band Brothers, we can't help but really, really hope it gets localized. Sure, importing is always an option, but we want access to all the drool-worthy downloadable content. We wouldn't mind English menus either, to make navigating around the software easier.At the moment, though, all we can do is stare at screens for a game that we hope we get. So, mosey on past the break to check out the newest images, and hope against all odds that Barbara the Bat's appearance as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be enough to kick-start the series outside of Japan.
New Band Brothers on DS uses Wii 'Speaker Channel'
The sequel to the currently Japan-only DS music game Daigasso! Band Brothers takes advantage of the rarely-used Wii/DS interface, with awesome-sounding results. Band Brothers DX, in addition to a host of neat Wi-Fi features, will connect to a downloadable Wii "Speaker Channel." The channel allows players to stream their user-created music to the Wii, for a more public performance.Long ago, the first Daigasso! was to be released in the U.S. and Europe as Jam with the Band! Maybe now that the sequel will show off the Wii's connectivity features, and its use of "channels," in a unique way, Nintendo will see fit to release the sequel worldwide.
Import your games for cheap during Play-Asia's Easter Egg Sale
If you're keen on importing games, it seems like there's no better time than now. Play-Asia is having an "Easter Egg Sale," which means that all in-stock items that weren't released in the past thirty days are 20% off. The sale ends on March 31st, but you might not even want to wait that long, as items are going out of stock quickly. Some games that might be worth picking up: Ouendan 2 -- $24 (it's been on sale before, but $24 is the cheapest we've seen it) Taiko no Tatsujin - $39 (you've gotta love the cute little Taiko drum) Arkanoid DS w/ Paddle Controller - $39 (yes, this is being localized for Europe and likely NA, but it's not too bad of a deal if you're impatient) Paddle Controller - $16 (or, you can just get this -- currently only available in pink) Archaic Sealed Heat - $16 (not the most import friendly, but you should be able to get by on a tactics title -- especially for this price) Power Pro Kun Professional Baseball - $23 (one of the best baseball options for the DS) Choushoujuu Mecha MG - $16 (mmm, mechas) Daigasso! Band Brothers - $39 (another good rhythm game, with lots of instruments included) Feel free to add any of your own import recommendations in the comments below.[Via CAG]
