Nathan Mallory

Stories By Nathan Mallory

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  Gaming

  Gaming By Nathan Mallory

  Chocobo gets a job in the Labyrinth of Forgetting

  This week's Famitsu sheds some new light on Chocobo's Dungeon: Labyrinth of Forgetting, Square Enix's randomly generated dungeon romp announced earlier this year for the Wii. It will apparently forego use of the nunchuck, but players will be able to choose between pointing the Wii remote at the screen and holding it sideways. The Final Fantasy series' Cid will join Chocobo this time on his quest to restore the memories of people in the labyrinth, created by a boy named Raphaelo. Chocobo will also venture into dungeons more familiar to the series, with randomly generated levels, enemies and boss encounters. The new Chocobo title will also feature a job system not unlike its Final Fantasy progenitor. Although Square is remaining tight-lipped on exactly which jobs will be featured, executive producer Shinji Hashimoto does mention we can expect to see around ten jobs in all, though he won't say which (but we can see both white and black mages from the magazine's screenshots). Jobs gain levels by collecting Job Cubes after battle, giving new spells and abilities, naturally. Be sure to check out more shots of the multi-talented Chocobo in action after the break!

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  Rumor: Metroid goodness coming soon to VC

  Using a Firefox browser workaround, intrepid Virtual Console fans can occasionally get a peek into the future of Nintendo's retro gaming plans (and the dripping irony is not lost on us). Aiming their black-hatted crystal ball at Nintendo's U.S. VC servers, their recent exploits have today turned up images of the start screens for both the original Metroid (already available in Europe) as well as Super Metroid. Could Nintendo be priming these titles to coincide with its release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption later this month? Don't you know it! [Via GoNintendo]

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  DS conquers all competitors in UK, prepares to assault mainland

  The British gaming industry sales watchers at MCV are reporting today that the DS has overtaken both the PS2 and PC in unit sales and overall market value in the UK. They attribute the little portable's triumph to its strong sales since Easter, as well as bumper crop of high quality releases, including Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and More Brain Training, that currently account for over 15% of the all game sales! While sales of Apple's iPod might indicate otherwise, one has to wonder how long the DS can hold onto its worldwide domination. But by then, it'll be time for some new colors or an even sleeker form factor. Onboard flash memory, anyone?

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  Endless Ocean teaches everyone how to sink a game with nasty, nasty bugs

  Endless Ocean was released into the wild today in Japan (as Forever Blue on that side of the pond), and it seems not all is flowing smoothly for Arika's peaceful diving game. Early adopters are reporting large numbers of game crashing bugs, with specifically reproducible instances when adding shark rays into your aquarium. While there's still time before it's arrival on U.S. shores later this year, this certainly doesn't bode well for its prospects in either country's waters. Some of us weren't all that excited about Arika's glorified aquarium screensaver anyway, but now we have an excuse to be downright critical of it! No word yet on whether the much beloved penguins have the potential to fry your system as well. [Via Kotaku]

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  Final Fantasy Tactics A2 hits Japan on Oct. 25

  While we may be a little disappointed with some of what Square Enix is offering us with Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, that certainly doesn't mean we stop hoping. Of course, the first FFTA was no slouch, and a game building off that formula still makes us take notice, even if it's not going as far as we (or any touchscreen-enabled, Wi-Fi connected DS owner) might like. In preparation for the game's October 25th Japanese release, Square Enix has continued to shed light on some of the additions to the races and jobs that will be available. As we've mentioned previously, we know about the Hume, Moogle, Viera, Bangaa and Nu Moh races, with two more yet to be revealed. On the job front, they have recently added Yojimbo for the Humes, Chocobo Knight and Magic Gunner for the Moogles, Green Mage and Magic Fencer for the Viera, Master Monk and Cannoneer for the Bangaa, and Arcane Mage for the Nu Moh. This brings the total number of jobs announced for all races to 49, with another three still a mystery. Squeenix has also released a handful of new images with the new classes in action, so check 'em out! What do you think, does it look good, or does its younger target demographics and lack of touchscreen use damage its appeal? %Gallery-5422%

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  Taito announces Arkanoid DS, special paddle included

  Those boys over at Famitsu are at it again, breaking news that Taito Corporation will be bringing its much loved and often ported classic, Arkanoid, to the Nintendo DS. It's currently set for release in Japan on December 6th, and from what we can tell will also include multiple game modes like Quest Mode (which will presumably involve you heroically piloting your space paddle to save a princess from the evil clutches of Doh). But what really tricks out this otherwise mildly noteworthy release is that Taito will include a special controller reminiscent of classic arcade paddles. The paddle will plug into the GBA cartridge slot below the Nintendo DS and come in four DS Lite-friendly colors. Nostalgia Get! Hit up the break for the scan from this week's Famitsu, including shots of the paddle controllers and the long, dual screen Break Out action.

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  Super Papier Mario folds effortlessly across Europe on Sept. 14th

  After only a five month lag since its U.S. and Japanese releases, Nintendo announced today that Super Paper Mario for the Wii will be released across the continent of Europe on September 14, 2007. In case you haven't had a chance to pick the game up, it's quite delectable and well worth checking out. One of its strongest points in the American version was its witty, tongue-in-cheek localization courtesy of head translator Nate Bihldorff. Given that Final Fantasy and other relatively text-heavy games often take far longer than this to translate into one language (English), it's rather impressive that NOE can ready this game for release in at least five (UK English, French, German, Spanish and Italian) in as many months. If their work can stand up to the quality of the U.S. localization, Europeans should be in for a tasty treat, indeed.

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  Viva Pinata goes portable on the DS

  As had been hinted at earlier this year by Microsoft VP Shane Kim, Rare officially confirmed at the San Diego Comic-Con that its much overlooked fiesta / garden sim Viva Piñata will be smashing its way onto the DS. While all we have currently is a blurry photo taken at the convention of what the game will look like, Rare has confirmed on the popular pinataisland.info forums (well, popular if you played the Xbox 360 version) that Viva Piñata DS will use the same gameplay principles as the original garden-sim title, as opposed to the recently announced party game for the 360. That means all the produce-tending, romance dancing, and savage piñata-on-piñata combat your little portable can handle. Beyond that, all we can tell you at this point is that it's being cultivated by the original Viva Piñata team and according to Rare, "The DS team have done an amazing job at getting most of the features from the original into the DS version." Wi-Fi connectivity and official release date are still unknown, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it sprout up for purchase in time for the holidays. We're expecting an official announcement from Rare any time, but for now, check out that action shot after the break.

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  Third-party Wii Pedometer available for the fitness-oriented gamer

  We're sure all our readers out there are gearing up for the forthcoming Wii Fit and the plethora of exercise accessories that are sure to follow. In the spirit of that, you can now purchase a quirky "Wii"-branded pedometer to track your fitness goals in a more traditional way. Although it appears a little light on features, the Sports "Gage" Pedometer for Wii Gamers is as inexpensive as it looks at only $6.98, though why it comes shaped like a dog bone is beyond us. The vendor and producer also seem unable to agree on the proper spelling of the word Gage... or is it Guage? (For the record, it's Gauge) But don't let little details like that discourage you! A word of caution, however: the ever-so-slight alteration of the trademarked Wii logo (and complete absence of the word "Nintendo" from its packaging) likely indicates this to be an unlicensed product without any approval from the big N, so don't be fooled that this is any kind of official companion to Wii Fit's balance board. But for such a low price, it might still be of interest to Wii-oriented gyms out there.

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  Gaming

  Gaming By Nathan Mallory

  NEVES of steel required to play this puzzle game

  Yuke's Company of America announced yesterday that it will bring its grown-up puzzle game NEVES (previously mentioned here as Hamekomi Lucky Puzzle DS in Japan) to the States. According to the press release by U.S. publisher Atlus, players must "think critically as they align pieces and build figures that correspond to a silhouette. Each puzzle features seven wooden blocks, requiring the player to combine them to form specific figures ranging from simple items like a sword or key to more complicated ones such as birds or airplanes." The concept reminds us of a tangram version of the Touch Puzzle mode on Tetris DS, and that was just a single mode in a much larger game. We commend Yuke's for creating games on the more cerebral side, but unique as the concept might be, we hope the title can pack enough variety to warrant more than a passing time investment. There is hope, however, since it will feature more than 500 puzzle pieces to manipulate and game modes including puzzle mode, time mode, versus mode, and count mode. (AH! AH! AH! One puzzle piece! TWO puzzle pieces! sorry, couldn't help it.) Regardless, the DS is looking to be the premiere platform for the puzzle genre, and NEVES will bring a more mature tone when it arrives on American shores later this year. %Gallery-5249%

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  Super Mario Bros. ceiling fan on eBay until noon tomorrow!

  Are you a fanatical collector of all things Nintendo? Do you need something prismatic to circulate air in your newborn's nursery? Or are you as much a Nintendo fanboy as we are, and just think something like this is TOTALLY SWEET? According to the auction, the fan was produced in 1988 and is still in good working condition. The sale ends at 11:57 AM tomorrow morning, so be on the lookout for auction snipers. Currently sitting at $51.00 USD, it's a steal even by ordinary ceiling fan standards. And you can rest assured, with this colorful relic of Nintendo's bygone hegemony wafting cool air down upon you, no one will doubt your allegiance to the boys in Kyoto.

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  Gaming

  Gaming By Nathan Mallory

  Endless Ocean surges its way onto Japanese television

  In case you missed your chance to unwind to relaxing clips of Arika's forthcoming Endless Ocean (or you happen not to live in Japan, where it goes by Forever Blue), GameTrailers has posted several Japanese commercials of this bluest of the blue ocean games, and we'd like to present them to you. They may not be exactly trailer-length, but they're still quite graceful and give a nice glimpse of the floral and faunal variety you'll encounter. (Psst, show 'em the penguins. Girls love the penguins.) If you have any doubt about that last statement, don't forget to check out the final clip, where several ordinary Japanese young ladies take the diving adventure for a test drive. Although in full disclosure, it's the dolphin that really sets them off.

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  Nintendo

  Nintendo By Nathan Mallory

  Nintendo releases Q1 sales results, thinks it's not going away

  It should come as no surprise to any of our readers that the Wii is selling pretty well, hindered almost solely by its own production problems. Today, Nintendo confirmed any suspicions in announcing its Q1 sales figures -- 3.43 million Wiis sold since the beginning of April, bringing the running worldwide total to 9.27 million. In light of the greater than expected success, it also upped its forecast for the entire year's Wii sales, now predicting to sell upwards of 16.5 million Wiis by April 2008. What do you think? Can it be done? And what do you get when you remove those pesky production constraints? The company also confirmed nearly twice as many Nintendo DS' sold in the same period (nearly 7 million), and it now thinks it can sell another 19 million this year. Between the two systems and the confirmed million sales of both Super Paper Mario and Mario Party 8 (and a couple little guys named Diamond and Pearl), Nintendo verified it's reaping windfall profits on the order of $666 million in just three months, an increase of 416% over last year. Some out there may think the company's recent success isn't going to last, but Nintendo certainly believes otherwise.

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