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John DiMaggio yells about spoilers in the first Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! trailer
What time is it? Why, time for the very first Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! trailer, of course. The isometric hack-and-slash co-op dungeon crawler from WayForward features the voice talents of John DiMaggio, Tom Kenny and Jeremy Shada, all of which are present to varyingly belligerent degrees in this first look at the game. Kenny, the voice of the Ice King and everyone else from your childhood, describes Princess Bubblegum's Secret Dungeon as more of a "fungeon," while DiMaggio (Jake the Dog) seems mostly offended that someone is talking to him in the first place. The single most important takeaway from this, however, is that Cinnamon Bun is a playable character in all his awkward, uncomfortable glory. Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! is headed to Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and 3DS sometime this fall.%Gallery-193988%
Mighty Switch Force 2 for Wii U, says PEGI listing
European body PEGI rated Mighty Switch Force 2 for the Wii U this weekend, suggesting the 3DS sequel is repeating the first game's mighty switch from portable to console. Patricia Wagon's premier adventure combined HD visuals with off-TV play in its Wii U 'Hyper Deluxe Edition,' so we'd expect the same for WayForward's follow-up, should it make the move. Mighty Switch Force 2 launched on the 3DS eShop last month. So says our JC: While Patricia's career change from cop to firefighter isn't that much of a change-up, the game's intrigue-packed bite-sized levels make for another "impressively economical" outing.
Mighty Switch Force 2 switches careers without switching gears
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Somehow, in developer WayForward's world, the professions of firefighting and law enforcement are almost identical, and primarily involve collecting the same five blonde women from dangerous positions atop tricky jumping puzzles. Between the Mighty Switch Force games, protagonist Patricia Wagon sought a career change from cop to firefighter, affecting the game very little beyond adding the occasional spot of fire, replacing her gun with a water cannon and ruining her hilariously punny name. I am totally okay with this, because Mighty Switch Force didn't need to change. It's an impressively economical 3DS game that packs a lot of interesting phase-shifting puzzle platforming into a relatively small set of levels, and the sequel fits the same description to a tee.%Gallery-183427%
Seen@E3: Capcom's DuckTales singing booth
Capcom sure seems to enjoy when people sing the DuckTales theme song, as its E3 section features an enclosed glass booth for that sole purpose. We took a quick video when passing by of one gentleman exercising his vocal chords to the enjoyment of viewers behind him. Listen closely for the "woo-oo" part of the song; he totally nailed it.
Mighty Switch Force 2 lights up 3DS eShop next week
Tireless public servant Patricia Wagon returns to the Nintendo 3DS eShop next week in a follow-up to WayForward's 2011 dimension-shifting puzzle-platformer Mighty Switch Force. Mighty Switch Force 2 sees Patty trading her police officer's badge for firefighting equipment, and players will need to douse flames and solve new water-based puzzles in order to rescue a gaggle of distressed damsels. Mighty Switch Force 2 will launch in North America on June 13. A European release is set for June 27.
DuckTales Remastered coming to PC via Steam, other services
Capcom announced today that its globe-trotting, pogo-jumping platformer DuckTales Remastered is coming to PC platforms via Steam, Origin, Impulse, GamersGate, Green Man Gaming, and "numerous other places PC gamers download their wares." Helmed by Double Dragon: Neon developer WayForward, DuckTales Remastered was first revealed as a downloadable game for Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and the Wii U's eShop back in March. Capcom later announced plans for a PC port, leading up to today's announcement. The PC version of DuckTales Remastered will launch this summer, "within or around same window as the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U versions," at $14.99. Capcom will reveal more details at E3 next week.
New Adventure Time, Regular Show games from WayForward this fall
What time is it?! Well, Adventure Time obviously, but it's also Regular Show time and, most specifically, new games from WayForward time. The house responsible for Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!! and Ducktales: Remastered has announced that it will be putting out two new games this fall based on what we believe to be Cartoon Network's most hilarious/magical franchises. Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I don't know! tasks players with exploring the Secret Royal Dungeon underneath the Candy Kingdom. The game features multiple selectable characters, including Finn, Jake, Marceline "and more," has co-op for up to four players and includes the voices from the show. Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward is once again involved in production, though his specific role is unknown. The game will be available on Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and 3DS. Meanwhile, Mordecai and Rigby make their non-iOS gaming debut in Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby In 8-Bit Land for the 3DS. As the name suggests, our heroes must survive being transported inside of their favorite games, which sounds about right for an episode of Regular Show. The game is being developed "in close collaboration with show creator JG Quintel," according to the press release.
Original Shantae to appear on 3DS Virtual Console by June
The original Shantae is on its way to the 3DS Virtual Console at the end of June, developer Wayforward announced. This is the Game Boy Color version of Shantae first launched in 2002 and published by Capcom. Shantae will be available on 3DS eShops in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.A sequel to Shantae, Risky's Revenge, hit DSiWare in 2010 and iOS in 2011, and Wayforward is currently working on a third installment for the 3DS eShop, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. Meanwhile, Wayforward already has its hands full with the remastery of DuckTales, again working with Capcom.
Rebuilding Scrooge's money bin: WayForward dives into DuckTales Remastered
Fans of classic gaming tend to be a little overprotective of their favorites, so you can bet all of us obsessive weirdos breathed a sigh of relief when DuckTales Remastered landed in the best possible hands. And while I can't comment on the final product – or even a portion of it – there's no denying that the devs at WayForward know how to put together a solid platformer, with the same expressive, 2D graphics that drew so many of us to the medium back in the 8-bit days.Barring the impossible scenario of reuniting the original game's tiny team (none of whom still work at Capcom some 24 years later), it's hard to think of a more appropriate match than WayForward meets DuckTales.Still, when dealing with such a compact and complete package like Capcom's unassuming 1989 classic, the smallest tweak or change could result in a total upheaval of the experience that renewed hurtful Scottish stereotypes for a generation of Nintendo-addicted children. To assuage my fears, I recently spoke with three key members of the DuckTales Remastered team about reviving that special brand of Capcom/Disney magic for our modern world.
DuckTales Remastered runs on more than nostalgia
In a new weekly column, writer Bob Mackey will alternate between two of his passions: the Japanese RPG genre and classic games. This week Mackey discusses the recently revealed DuckTales revival. Game designer Warren Spector's preoccupation with Mickey Mouse ranks up there with some of the more notable wastes of time in recent memory. You can't say Spector didn't have his heart in the right place, though; while much of his love for Disney's mascot seems to be informed largely by his generation's exposure to the character as more than just a soulless corporate brand, both of Junction Point's Epic Mickey games carried forth the noble mission of teaching a new generation about Disney's often-overlooked catalog of animated shorts.I found myself on board after hearing the premise of Spector's original Epic Mickey, mostly because Disney held nearly all of their shorts hostage on a premium cable channel during my childhood. If I wanted to soak up knowledge about the studio's earlier works, why not do it in Spector-engineered video game form?According to critics and consumers, the experiment didn't turn out so well. Epic Mickey didn't aspire to greater heights than "competent N64 platformer," and gamers regarded the series as such. Tragically enough, Spector had been sitting on a much better – though not necessarily more popular – property while developing Epic Mickey: Disney's Uncle Scrooge comics, best known to children of the '80s as the animated adaptation DuckTales.Spector had written for the newly launched DuckTales comic between Epic Mickey installments, and during a PAX Prime 2012 interview, I managed to sneak in a few questions that confirmed his interest in making a game that starred Disney's crankiest curmudgeon. His vague, non-committal statements didn't exactly set the Internet on fire, but they at least gave us all a moment to pause and fantasize about what a modern DuckTales game would look like.
WayForward smurfing the Smurfs 2 game for Ubismurf
Yes, there's another CG and live-action Smurfs movie coming out this July, and Ubisoft is publishing the official game adaptation.However, instead of the truly off-putting dance game released for the first movie, Ubisoft has smurfed WayForward into making a 2.5D, co-op platformer for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and Wii U, and an "interactive storytelling book and collection of mini-games" for DS. All versions will march into stores this July.Each playable Smurf has unique special abilities: Papa Smurf can throw potions, Grouchy can stomp, and Vanity can ... pose to become a platform. We don't expect too much from a licensed Smurfs game, but WayForward has a particular talent for licensed games, with Aliens: Infestation and Adventure Time as recent examples.%Gallery-185246%%Gallery-185247%
DuckTales Remastered will answer the big questions
WayForward will add context to the bizarre storyline in the DuckTales game, in its remake DuckTales Remastered. Capcom producer Rey Jimenez revealed to Siliconera that a new cutscene is among the material being added in the remake, explaining the setup for the whole game – why Huey, Dewey and Louie need rescuing.The famous Moon level also gets a bit of backstory. "In the NES version, you fight a big rat and it didn't explain why you're fighting a rat on the moon," Jimenez noted. "That's explained in here because there are rats they're experimenting on and you let them loose and that becomes the rat down there. Also, how does Scrooge McDuck breathe on the moon? We explain that as well."In other words, it's going to be less of a duckblur.
April Fools: WayForward's 'Cat Girl Without Salad' has everything but salad
Cat Girl Without Salad! is the newest game from WayForward, combining "elements from several gaming genres, including puzzler, platformer, shmup, action, shooter, adventure, strategy, fighting, rhythm, arcade, horror, tactical, RPG, TPS, RTS, and visual novel" into one game, due this fall "exclusively" for 3DS, DS, Wii, Wii U, XBLA, PSN, PC, Vita, iOS, and Android."Cat Girl Without Salad! stars space bounty hunter/chef Kebako and a team of "Calamarites," fighting the 'notoriously-tardy NekoNekoNeko Clan." Or it would, if it were real. This cacophonous omnigame is WayForward's April Fools' Day gag, to the great relief of our attention span.
Capcom 'working' on confirming DuckTales Remastered for PC
A PC version of WayForward's DuckTales Remastered looks likelier than it did last weekend. The remake of the NES game was announced at PAX East for XBLA, PSN, and Wii U. Now, according to Capcom Senior VP Christian Svensson, a PC confirmation is in the works.When queried about a PC version in the Ask Capcom forum, Svensson said, "Working on it. When I can confirm it, I will do so but for now, hang tight." To us, that sounds very positive.And lo, did a chorus of PC owners woo-oo. We'll let you know if/when that confirmation comes in. Either way, DuckTales Remastered springs onto various screens this summer.
Original voice actors return for DuckTales Remastered
The full voice cast of the original DuckTales cartoon will reprise their respective roles for the newly announced nostalgiapocalypse DuckTales Remastered, Capcom senior vice-president Christian Svensson revealed in a Capcom Unity forum thread yesterday."We have ALL the original voice actors from the show," Svensson said, including Scrooge voice actor Alan Young, who "still came into the studio and did his thing like a pro. The voice work really adds a lot to the package.""Scrooge's voice actor," as a quick aside, is a man named Alan Young, who's been in the entertainment industry since the 1940s. Before he endeared himself to the hearts of millions as a penny-pinching old duck, Young's original claim to fame was as Wilbur Post, the star of Mister Ed. We wonder if Young knew at the time that talking animals would become a running theme for his 70-odd years in show business?Update: Joystiq has been contacted by a representative for Alan Young, who clarified the details of Mr. Young's entertainment career.
Mighty Switch Force 2 screens reveal Officer Wagon's change of vocation
These Mighty Switch Force 2 screens show Officer Wagon is giving up her police badge for a fire hose. Wagon and Corporal Gendarmor sign up with Planet Land's Fire Brigade as they vow to keep Tangent City cool in the 3DS sequel, set to douse the eShop this spring. %Gallery-183427%
WayForward staffers form Yacht Club Games
Sean Velasco, director of WayForward games including Double Dragon Neon, A Boy and his Blob, and BloodRayne: Betrayal, has formed a new studio called Yacht Club Games, along with other "top talent" from WayForward.The studio has yet to announce its first project, but teased it with a silhouetted horned sprite on the background of its Twitter page. "Our serious and solemn goal is to make really awesome original games that fuse modern and retro sensibilities, and we have the pedigree to prove it!" reads a statement on the developer's website.We'll learn more about their progress toward this "serious and solemn goal" at PAX East.
Mighty Switch Force 2 coming to 3DS eShop
The latest episode of Destructoid's Sup, Holmes? interview show was the venue for the surprise announcement of a sequel to WayForward's Mighty Switch Force. Director Austin Ivansmith told host Jonathan Holmes that Mighty Switch Force 2 will be released on 3DS "in the next few months." Officer Patricia Wagon is returning, but leaving her policework behind for "a surprise career change."Ivansmith also revealed that Mighty Switch Force was originally conceived as a sequel to the DS/PSP's Mighty Flip Champs. Trying to build the screen-flipping mechanics into a single-screen game led to enough changes that it became its own thing. "The Mighty series itself is almost a joke," Ivansmith noted, as none of the games in the series really have anything to do with one another.
Tomm Hulett looks WayForward, and looks back on Silent Hill
Speaking to Joystiq, former Silent Hill producer Tomm Hulett has confirmed his move from Konami to developer WayForward. He also told us the nature of his new job."I'm a Director, which means I set the creative vision for the game, and then work with everyone else to make sure we surpass it!" Hulett said. "In layman's terms, I get paid to talk about games all day." As for the specific games he's talking about all day, or working on: "Ha! Nice try."
Silent Hill producer Hulett leaves Konami for WayForward
Tomm Hulett, producer of recent Silent Hill games as well as Rocket Knight, Contra 4 and more, has left Konami to work at Silent Hill: Book of Memories (and Shantae, Mighty Switch Force, Contra 4, et al.) developer WayForward Technologies. Hulett reported the job change on his LinkedIn profile; we have also obtained confirmation from WayForward representatives. We've reached out to Hulett for more information on his new position, somehow managing not to beg for a lifetime of WayForward Contra sequels in the process. Meanwhile, we'd like to direct you to our Book of Memories development timeline for a look at Hulett's past work.
