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Evidently, 2D Metroid on the Wii would rock our world
It's unlikely to ever actually happen, but have you ever pondered what a new 2D Metroid on the Wii would look like? Artist Alchemist Defined evidently thought long and hard about it, before committing his vision to canvas. The end result is ... well ... frankly, it's stunning, and if there really is some almighty, omnipresent deity watching over us all, there'll be a game that looks very similar to this in development now at Retro.There's a selection of bigger, more wallpaper-friendly versions of this over at the artist's site, as linked below. Viewing them comes highly recommended.[Via CVG]
Widget Watch: DockDoctor lets you choose your Dock's dimensions
First we tweaked the app indicators, and then we tweaked the color, and now we've finally come all the way back in our Time Machine (oh yes, pun very intended) to two weeks ago. Innermind Media, the folks behind WidgetWizard, are probably a little angry at Leopard, considering all that Web Clip functionality, and so they've released a free widget called DockDoctor that will subtract a dimension from your Dock with the click of a button (and bring it back with another click, which is probably just as valuable).I know it's not for everybody. I know some of you love the new Dock, or at least have gotten so used to it that it doesn't bother you. But this is OS X we're talking about, and so you should have the right to make your Dock look the way you want it to.
GamePro agrees, you need Contra 4
If it's one thing we can't stress enough, it's that Contra 4 is the kind of game that can change your outlook on things. It can alter your state of consciousness and very much improve your love life. It can give you the moon and the stars and also fill in scratches on your car. This game can give your life meaning.So, we were glad to read GamePro's article on their top five lesser-known titles at E For All. Why? Because their best game in the piece was none other than Contra 4.
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 10/22/07
This week's releases on the Virtual Console might not look like much on paper, but we're sure the import NES title Ninja JaJaMaru-kun will surprise you. If there's any gem here this week, that is it. But, you can already tell we love it because you've checked the video above.
DS Daily: Jump on the hype train
It's no secret that certain games excite us (why hello there, Contra 4), and sometimes our tastes are a little off-the-wall. We can't help it; we're suckers for anything with an extra dash of humor, and that's why we're all over Barnyard Blast like flies on ... well ... let's say piles of manure. And you know what? If IGN's Matt Casamassina can conduct a hype train, so can we. This is it. We're kicking off the official Barnyard Blast hype train. Maybe it doesn't have pirates, but it does have monster-slaying pigs in a Castlevania send-up that sounds absolutely hilarious -- and really, what more do we need?Plus, y'know, our own Eric Caoili named it. That makes it extra awesome.
TGS07: Oboro Muramasa Youtouden looks even better in motion
We're already in agreeance that Oboro Muramasa Youtouden is one of the best-looking games announced for the Wii -- we shook hands on it, signed the appropriate forms, and even had a notary stamp the papers to make it official. Still, this first video glimpse of the 2D ARPG managed to leave us in a state of ecstasy, our skin alive with pleasure. What secret resource has Vanillaware tapped into that other developers have so far ignored? Most of the titles we saw at the Tokyo Game Show didn't look half as good as this.
Friday Video: Today, back in the day
This week has been video-heavy, so thought thought we would take a light-hearted approach with this week's video spotlight. You've seen tons of great new trailers and gameplay footage all week, so let's join hands and trek back in time ... to see the latest video games.Wait, what? No, that doesn't make any sense, and we know it ... at least, until you see these 2D renditions of some of Nintendo's most exciting upcoming titles. The videos aren't the newest, so maybe you've seen them before, but they're no less awesome for all of that.
Preorder Spyro for the GBA or we'll make fun of your mom
You already know from our video spotlight last month that Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night for the GBA is the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas, and the dog's bollocks, all wrapped into one game -- making it some sort of strange hybrid of insect joints, sleepwear, and gonads. Wow, that's really grotesque when you think about it.Never mind all that. In fact, erase every one of those images from your memory. The only thoughts you need to have in your head right now are that the upcoming Spyro 2D platformer/beat-em-up looks fantastic and that Amazon has listed preorders for it at $19.99, likely reflecting a budget price that other retailers will soon recognize as well. Don't even bother showing your face around here after October 2nd, the GBA title's release date, if you don't have a copy of the game in hand. That is, unless you want your mother's private matters brought to public light.
Oboro Muramasa Youtouden continues to ravish our eyes
You've likely seen these screenshots of Oboro Muramasa Youtouden already from when we covered the newly announced ARPG last week, but we'll grab at any opportunity to put the spotlight back on this beautiful looking game. Supplementing its weekly magazine, Famitsu has updated its site with direct-feed images, providing a more accurate display of the Vanillaware-developed title than what scanned pages can provide.We have a couple more images past the post break for you to check out if you're interested -- though we can't imagine why you wouldn't be interested in the most gorgeous 2D game coming to the Wii.
Vanillaware brings its 2D talents to the Wii
Vanillaware, the same developer behind GrimGrimoire and Odin Sphere, both gorgeous 2D PS2 titles, revealed in Famitsu's latest issue an ARPG for the Wii, Oboro Muramasa Youtouden. It looks absolutely stunning, almost to the point where we're disappointed in other companies for not working on their own 2D games at a similar level. Loading up the magazine scans, which you can see for yourself past the post break, was like sighting the promised land, a brand new colony, from a distance after months of wandering our ruined, post-apocalyptic Earth. JC fell to his knees beside me, tears in his eyes. The amaranthine sun slipped out of view behind us, leaving our caravan to celebrate its newfound hope. We had many hard months still to weather, but we'd finally found a place to call home.
Metroid Dread resurfaces in MP3: Corruption
Unofficially announced in a 2005 issue of Game Informer, Metroid Dread was rumored to be the 2D follow-up to Metroid Fusion for the DS. Despite never actually being confirmed by Nintendo, "insiders" later claimed that the project was canceled, bludgeoning our hopes into a bloody pulp. Two years and two E3s have passed since the grapevine reports, and two titles for the series, Metroid Prime Pinball and Metroid Prime: Hunters, have been released in its stead, without so much as a single Metroid Dread screenshot to corroborate its existence.IGN, who've insisted several times over that the game is in development, noticed a nod to the mythical project in its review copy of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Scanning a particular panel with Samus Aran's visor reveals the following message: "Experiment status report update: Metroid project 'Dread' is nearing the final stages of completion." Could Metroid Dread really be on the way, or is this just a friendly prank from Retro Studios? We'll keep photoshopping dreadlocks and rasta hats onto the bounty hunter until we find out!
Go ahead, Jump! Ultimate Stars sale
As if language barriers aren't enough to dissuade would-be importers from ordering Japan-only games, the pricing on these titles often border on lunacy when compared to what new releases usually cost in the states. So while Play Asia's Jump! Ultimate Stars sale for $29.90 might not seem like much of a bargain, keep in mind that the online fighter usually sells for a staggering $48.90.It's a great game though; many have even compared it to the Super Smash Bros. series, except in 2D and with twenty hojillion playable manga characters. Since Play-Asia will be honoring the reduced price until next Monday, that gives you plenty of time to consider whether or not this discount is deep enough to warrant a purchase. We think that it is!
Capcom working on new 2D arcade fighter
A tiny teaser site popped up on Capcom Japan's site today, advertising a new, original 2D fighting game from the company oh-so-famous for sequalizing ad nauseum.The teaser page, which is labeled "2D Kakutou" (or 2D Fighter), features a fiery video full of words that we can't read. Unfortunately for us, our Japanese-translating robot is out sick this week, and Babelfish doesn't get along with flash too well. Still, we do know that the title is arcade-bound, and that our loving readers will probably help us figure out the rest of the site's content. In the meantime, let's rejoice knowing that Capcom continues to embrace 2D, as we look forward to this mystery title, as well as the super-pretty Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and try our hardest to forget that the Street Fighter EX titles ever existed.Update: Joystiq reader Sizer provides the following translation of the kanji: "For the first time in 3 years, an original Capcom 2D fighting game... Coming Soon!" Thanks, Sizer!
Crush developer open to Wii sequel
Crush, the PSP's 2D/3D puzzle platformer, may have waggling in its future, according to an interview with Paul Mottram, senior producer at Crush developer Zoë Mode. We're talking faint "may" and distant future, since this was all idle speculation on his part. When asked the weirdly pointed question of why they made a PSP game instead of putting it on a Nintendo platform, Mottram responded, "There is no reason why it couldn't be transferred to multiple different platforms especially the Wii, DS and PS2 and this is something we are thinking about." He went on to describe the level editor they wanted to include, but couldn't. That definitely sounds like something well-suited to the DS or Wii, right?[Via Joystiq]
Joystiq interviews Odin Sphere's Bill Alexander
Odin Sphere evokes an odd sense of unwavering tradition. Everything about it appears to be old-fashioned, meticulously crafted and heavy. It's the dusty painting hanging in a cluttered museum compared to next-gen's LCD television mounted on a pretentiously bare wall. That's the impression you're left with after first encountering Atlus' "traditional" action RPG for the PlayStation 2. But you've been fooled. When you weren't looking, the flashy television and the painting traded places.That isn't to say Odin Sphere completely reinvents the role-playing genre -- the game has its fair share of ancient artifacts, warring nations and apocalyptic scenarios -- but its delicately crafted and strikingly beautiful approach seems in sharp contrast to what has become our own modern tradition of manufactured glitz. The game shuns the third dimension, telling its tale with bold 2-D artwork and gorgeous sprites. Gone are science fiction trappings and effervescent dialogue, replaced with Shakespearean drama and criss-crossing character arcs.Giving the characters their English voices is Atlus, a publisher which has made localizing unusual Japanese games its tradition. We spoke with Odin Sphere's project lead, Bill Alexander, about the crucial translation process.%Gallery-3133%
SNK bringing Art of Fighting Anthology to Wii?
Our network of crow spies have reported to us that the mountain pass is blocked, enemy troops are amassing at our eastern border, and Art of Fighting Anthology for the Wii has been spotted on the ESRB's list of future releases. Eager to learn more about any possible wartime advantages, we've consigned a scout to gather more information on SNK's 2D fighter.The Art of Fighting Anthology collects the entire Neo Geo trilogy of releases (Art of Fighting, Art of Fighting 2, and The Path of the Warrior: Art of Fighting 3). 33-characters strong, the anthology will feature series hallmarks like spirit gauges, desperation attacks, and a graphical-scaling camera system. It hasn't been revealed yet how the Wii's unique controls will be used, but we hope it won't turn out to be a debacle like Metal Slug Anthology's implementation.With hints of a Wii port accompanying Art of Fighting Anthology's PS2 and PSP releases, could this also mean that SNK's Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 1 might have a version for our fair console too? And how long will it be until we see some Neo Geo games like Garou: Mark of the Wolves and Neo Turf Masters on Nintendo's Shopping Channel? Jump past the post break for a showcase of super moves from Art of Fighting 2. [Via Siliconera]
2D sprites get massive for the HD generation
While the arrival of HDTV has generally been a boon to the game industry, it's definitely caused headaches for at least one shrinking but still important sector of the industry -- 2D sprite artists. As the above illustration of the Ryu sprite for the upcoming Street Fighter II HD Remix shows, drawing good-looking 2D characters in HD requires a lot more attention to detail than the old standard-resolution sprites.This problem is not exclusive to Capcom. Castlevania designer Koji Igarishi remarked at GDC on the labor involved in creating high resolution 2D art and SNK President Ben Herman lamented in an IGN interview that bringing the company's fighters to the 360 and PS3 would require artists to "re-draw every single older game."The extra work leads to extra benefits, though, as the sleek new Ryu above clearly demonstrates. Still, the proof will be seeing these beautiful high-def drawings come to life. All the graphical fidelity in the world doesn't matter if the animation is on par with Star Wars Adventures.
2D Ocarina of Time creator dies in car accident [update 1]
The creator of a 2D fan remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time recently passed away in a fatal car accident. Dampe (as he was known on the forums) devoted himself to the OoT2D project for months. With his death, the game, the official OoT2D webpage as well as the forums are closed forever. A video from late last year shows the game in action.Thanks for your dedication. Thousands of people you never even knew appreciate your hard work.[Thanks, Christian][Update: Identity confusion corrected]
Puchi Puchi Virus has surprisingly excellent art
Puchi Puchi Virus is a puzzle game from Keys Factory, a company that generally sticks to game accessories. It's published in Japan by JALECO, who published things like the NES port of Maniac Mansion and Irritating Stick for the Playstation-- we didn't even know they still existed. The gameplay looks like a slightly novel puzzle game based around capturing same-colored items inside a wide beam. But the art is stunning. The DS can do some excellent 2D in the right hands, and Puchi Puchi Virus has some of the best we've seen recently. The characters are vibrant and presented in an anime style, while the backgrounds are more in the whimsical, highly-stylized form of modern Western animation like Dexter's Laboratory.
Elemental Monster: new card battler from Hudson
Card-battling games seem like a natural for the DS-- the second screen is especially well-suited for managing cards while the game is in play. But we haven't gotten that many card games-- in fact, SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS is the only one we can think of, and that one's not even out yet.Hudson's Elemental Monster is a turn-based card-battling game that uses some pretty great 2D sprites. Between battles, the game has an RPG-style story mode, which also uses a lot of hand-drawn 2D. We're actually surprised to see a DS game coming out that has this much non-polygonal art (some backgrounds are 3D, but that's fine!) How about a US release, Hudson?
