nanaon-sha
Latest
'PaRappa the Rapper' comes back as an anime series
You sadly aren't about to see another PaRappa the Rapper game any time soon, but you will get some kind of fix the near future. Fuji TV has announced that it's airing the pilot episode for a PaRappa anime series, PJ Berri no Mogu-Mogu Munya-Munya, during the variety show Hi Poul on August 18th. More episodes will surface in October. As the name implies, it'll focus primarily on the DJ bear PJ Berri (at left) instead of the game series' namesake rapping dog.
Vib-Ribbon launching in North America via PSN tomorrow
At last, Vibri is free. Sony announced today that PaRappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura's vector-graphics rhythm game Vib-Ribbon will hit the PlayStation Network tomorrow, marking its long-awaited North American debut. Released for the original PlayStation in 1999, Vib-Ribbon puts players in control of Vibri, a bizarre rabbit-like creature who must vault on-screen obstacles in time to a backing music track. In a novel twist at the time, Vib-Ribbon allowed players to insert their own music CDs and create playable levels based on individual tracks, often upping the game's challenge far beyond the difficulty of its default soundtrack. Though Vib-Ribbon was released in Japan and Europe, a North American version never surfaced. This week's PSN release will be the first time Vib-Ribbon is officially available in the United States, and Sony notes that its CD-scanning feature will arrive on the PlayStation 3 fully intact. [Image: Sony / NanaOn-sha]
Sony files for Vib-Ribbon trademark in Europe
Vib-Ribbon, an early Sony rhythm game that is almost entirely forgotten in our modern era, may be making a comeback, if a European trademark filed by the gaming giant is anything to go by. The original Vib-Ribbon appeared on the first PlayStation in 1999. It was designed by Masaya Matsuura and developed by his studio, NanaOn-Sha, the same development house behind PlayStation-era rhythm game classics Parappa The Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy. Unlike those two colorful games, however, Vib-Ribbon is a spartan, monochrome affair in which 2D, side-scrolling stages are generated from a user's own music – a feature that made Vib-Ribbon unique in 1999, and one that remains a rarity in rhythm games to this day. Unfortunately, the trademark filing offers no information on what Sony has planned for the long-dormant series. Our attempts to pry more information from Sony's representatives bore no fruit, so until the company opts to share its plans all we can say for sure is that Sony has some latent interest in the addictive, bizarre Vib-Ribbon. [Image: Sony]
Haunt spooking XBLA on January 18 for $10
NanaOn-Sha's spooky Kinect game, Haunt, may have missed its original launch ... erm ... year, but it turns out that it won't be by much. A representative from the studio told Joystiq this evening that the game will be available via Xbox Live Arcade, on January 18 for 800 MS Points ($10). Haunt is materializing exclusively on XBLA and is the first of several neat Japanese Kinect projects first announced at Tokyo Game Show in 2010.
Haunt house: a visit with NanaOn-Sha
Just before TGS this year, I paid a visit to NanaOn-Sha's small studio in Tokyo's Aoyama neighborhood. The majority of the tiny studio is the meeting and testing room seen in our gallery below, where I spoke to founder Masaya Matsuura and director of development Dewi Tanner, and played a demo of the studio's upcoming XBLA game, Haunt. Despite the relatively cozy surroundings, there's room for an impressive array of Parappa and Um Jammer Lammy merchandise. Was the Lammy pillow really something that was marketed? And just outside the door, there's (barely) room for all the awards NanaOn-Sha's games have received. Improbably, there's also room for a bathtub in the small studio, something that Matsuura told me has been useful in the impossibly hot and humid summer Tokyo's experienced. "Especially this summer," he noted, "Japan has difficulty using electric power" as a result of conservation efforts following the March earthquake. They offered to let me use the bathtub, but there will unfortunately be no Joystiq review, as I declined. Past the break, Matsuura and Tanner speak about their studio, partnerships with Western companies, Haunt, and not baths.%Gallery-134204%
Parappa the Rapper could return via new business models or Vita
Parappa the Rapper hasn't been heard from since the PS2's Parappa the Rapper 2 -- unless you count the Japan-only cartoon, or the PSP port of the first game. However, creator Masaya Matsuura told me during a pre-TGS meeting that the flat, self-doubting puppy remains in his thoughts. "We always think about the possibility of remaking or rebuilding or making sequels," Matsuura said. He told me that he prefers handheld platforms to consoles for rhythm games, because the built-in screens reduce the risk of latency between the controller input and the on-screen display. And thus the PlayStation Vita represents a "good chance" for him to revisit his signature series.
Haunt preview: Spirited entertainment [update]
During a visit to NanaOn-Sha's Tokyo headquarters, I had the opportunity to try Haunt, the company's new XBLA Kinect game. And despite the superficial, high-level similarity to Rise of Nightmares -- both are "scary" Kinect games in which you can walk around freely -- Haunt couldn't be a more different experience. NanaOn-Sha founder Masaya Matsuura classified it as more of a "haunted house" experience. Think Casper. Think profoundly charming. The Haunt demo begins on rails, on a cart guided down a railway like a haunted house ride, but that's just to ease you into the game. And, like any good haunted house, as you're slowly clack-clacking your way through the halls, spooooooky ghosts and skellingtons jump out to scare you. You dodge and avoid taking damage by moving your body to one side.%Gallery-134582%
'Haunt' to materialize on Kinect in 2011
PaRappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura's studio NanaOn-Sha is working on a Kinect game entitled Haunt. The "horrible" game was just announced during Microsoft's TGS press conference. All we know so far is that there's a spooky mansion, first-person flashlighting and cartoon ghosts. The game will arrive in 2011. We'll get more details up as soon as we can. %Gallery-102400%
Square Enix leading Major Minor's Majestic March in Japan
Square Enix has picked up Majesco's Major Minor's Majestic March for Japan, releasing the title on April 23rd. They've launched a site for the game to get some buzz going, but it's kind of bare bones at the moment. You'll find little there, save for some character descriptions and an explanation of how the game works. Look for more later, though, as there is space reserved for videos and the like. If you want some new screens to eyeball, check out Famitsu. They've just uploaded a few.%Gallery-15020%[Via Go Nintendo]Source - Major Minor's siteSource - Screens at Famitsu
E308: Wii Fanboy leads the band in Major Minor's Majestic March
Click for larger image Ever since it's been rumored, the whole team has been patiently awaiting PaRappa creator Masaya Matsuura's next project. Once it was revealed, I found myself puzzled as to what to expect. Would it be as good as PaRappa? Has Matsuura lost it? Well, that confusion is gone now that I've had time to play the game at E3. Is it good? Well, read on and find out!%Gallery-15020%
Majesco parades a Major Minor trailer
We won't even front -- this rhythm game's cartoonish design isn't for everyone, and there are a lot of you who won't appreciate the "Dreamcast-era" graphics, either -- but we still think Major Minor's Majestic March looks like the cat's pajamas. If you need any proof, there are actually saxophone-playing cats in striped sleepwear in the clip above. We can't tell you how many nights we've spent marching in place to the tune of some distant melody in our living room, waving an imagined, magical baton and granting tubas to dancing pigs. It has been a fantasy we've indulged in for years. %Gallery-15020%
Major Minor's Majestic March screens parade in
The first actual screens of Major Minor's Majestic March have arrived, and we've been anticipating the first look at the new collaboration between Masaya Matsuura (and his NanaOn-Sha development studio) and Parappa character designer Rodney Alan Greenblat for some time. It's really weird seeing Greenblat characters in full 3D!The game partitions the screen into two areas: on the top, Major Minor walks through the town, gathering up new musicians. Also, there's some kind of ... gumball machine meter? On the bottom, your current band of animals is presented in side view. We're hoping that the return of Greenblat will help make Majestic March a work of Parappa-level excellence instead of another Tamagotchi Corner Shop. %Gallery-15020%
Tamagotchi Connection: Cuteness Shop 3
We're well aware that the Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop series is a success despite its quality. The two entries in the series have received middling reviews that belie their enormous sales. We know that we're not the intended audience for the minigame collections based on Bandai's virtual pet toys.But we can't help but be temporarily rendered incapable of rational decision-making by the aggressive, highly concentrated cuteness contained in every piece of media related to this series. We've got three new videos of the latest game, Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3, and we've added a bunch of screens to our gallery. We just want to squeeze them.%Gallery-12928%
PaRappa creator: 'DS software bubble has burst'
NanaOn-Sha chief Masaya Matsuura created Vib Ribbon and PaRappa the Rapper, so we kind of have to listen when the man speaks his mind. It's, like, the law. Then again, even we find his opinion on the DS's future in Japan a little hard to swallow. When asked by Gamasutra how long he thought the DS and Wii would remain popular in Japan, Matsuura suggested that "Some people have said already that the DS software's bubble has burst."Matsuura then discussed how one company sold 200,000 copies of a DS training game, only to make a sequel that shifted 8,000 units. "These kind of things are going to happen," he concluded. Man, tell that to the sales figures, Masaya.
Majesco believes, publishing new NanaOn-Sha game
We knew the folks behind one of the best and earliest rhythm-based video games around were thinking about working their magic with the Wii, but now word has hit the street that Majesco will be handling publishing duties for the new game, which is being made exclusively for the Wii. Sweet, right? Well, it gets better. The new game is in the rhythm-based genre. That's right, the folks behind one of the most influential and amazing rhythm-based titles ever created are working to repeat that kind of success on the Wii. Head past the break for the full press release.
PaRappa creator to rock the Wii
PaRappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura recently spoke with gamesindustry.BIZ about the current state of consoles and revealed that NanaOn-Sha is in the planning stages for a new game on the Wii. We couldn't be happier to inform you of this news, as PaRappa the Rapper was one sweet piece of gaming. Why not go with the PS3 for your new project though? "It's too big for the Japanese."OK, so the physical size of the console is preventing the Japanese from enjoying it? Sure, we'll go with it (we thought it was the price tag). So, the Wii should be just right? "Wii is a very good piece of hardware. Many talented people from Nintendo make great ideas for game hardware, of course. Already I've been starting to think about Wii software, but it's very hard sometimes. Because can you keep shaking the controller for hours? Players can't spend a long time on gameplay, so this can be tough. So I respect Nintendo's activities, but for software designers like us, it's very hard."We'll relay information on this new game as it comes in.
