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Atlus lovers, head to Amazon
We've already established that having the Atlus name on the front of a box is usually A Very Good Thing, and look! Somebody at Amazon must clearly have been listening to us, as the uber-retailer has the following Atlus-published titles up for sale: Rondo of Swords -- $19.99 Draglade -- $13.39 Ontamarama -- $10.04 Contact -- $23.44 Touch Detective 2 1/2 -- $9.99 That's not all -- while we were scrounging though Amazon's bargain basement section, we found a couple of other potentially worthy additions to your DS library: Children of Mana -- $20.09 Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble -- $10.04 You can also get Ping Pals for $4.29. But like that deserves a functioning link. %Gallery-14108%
DS releases for the week of May 12th
It's a good week to be a DS owner, no matter where you are in the world. For once, every major region has at least one interesting title hitting shelves this week, and while Australia's line-up isn't necessarily the most exciting, it's at least varied. If you are a) desperate for a new game and b) a citizen of some place with DS games, it's probably okay to be you. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Drone Tactics Myst What's out in the rest of the world's major markets? Take a little trip past the break to find out.
Custom headphones for Custom Beat Battle Draglade 2
In order to entice customers into picking up the new sequel to last year's brawling pseudo-rhythm game Custom Beat Battle Draglade, publisher Namco Bandai has decided to offer a bonus that makes it seem even more like a rhythm game: free headphones.Japanese gamers who preorder Draglade 2 will receive, along with the game, a pair of over-the ear "Super Beat Headphones" just like the ones worn in the game by the new protagonist, Shibuya Goku Raio. The bonus will be available in limited quantities, though Draglade is a fairly niche game anyway. If you manage to get a set of these through an importer, you can pretend you're in a critically-acclaimed but low-selling action game while you listen to our Muxtape!
Draglade fights for a cheaper price
Most of you probably skipped over Draglade, since the title flew under the radar in a slew of great games this holiday season. We think it's a fun game, though, and shouldn't be ignored -- especially now that it only costs $14.99 at Amazon. The quirky 2D fighter by Atlus is worth a look at that price. We're sure Cheapy D and the folks at CAG are fond of it as well, since the sale was put on the front page of the site.Of course, if you'd rather have a pure rhythm game for cheap (as opposed to the fighter/platformer/RPG/rhythm hybrid that is Draglade), Atlus has you covered there, too.[Via CAG]
Draglade to launch in Europe in March
If you thought 505 Games and feeble DS shovelware went hand in hand, you'd be absolutely correct. Seriously, it's hard to argue the case for the likes of My Pet Dolphin, Fashion Designer: Style Icon, and I Did It Mum! This patchy track record makes it all the stranger that 505 Games is bringing Draglade, the musical fighter that we slapped an encouraging eight out of ten on, to Europe.It launches on the continent in March, a month which appears to be filling out very nicely for us Euro folk.[Via press release]
DS Fanswag: End of the Year Blowout!
It's been a good year, but sadly, like all those other years, it must come to an end. Before we roll out the red carpet for 2008, however, we wanted to give 2007 the send-off it deserves -- and what better way to do that than by offering up huge prize packs for our loyal readers? All you have to do is leave a comment on this very post telling us which DS model(s) you own, between now and December 26. The giveaway closes that night at 11:59 p.m. EST, and we'll announce the winners, chosen in a random drawing, on December 27. You may only enter once per day, and as usual, entries are limited to legal U.S. residents age 18 and older. Please check the official rules for any other questions.But enough of the details -- let's get to the prize packages!DS Fanboy's End of Year Fanswag BlowoutGrand Prize Limited Edition Gold DS Lite + The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (bundle) ($149.99) Nintendo DS headset ($9.99) Custom Robo ($29.99) Dementium ($29.99) Drawn to Life ($29.99) Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game ($19.99) John Deere: Harvest in the Heartland ($29.99) Mega Man ZX ($29.99) Pokémon Diamond ($34.99) The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night (GBA) ($19.99) Geometry Wars: Galaxies swag Dementium skin Pokémon Diamond stylus Cruise on past the break to see the rest of the prizes!
DS Fanboy Review: Draglade
If you've heard of Draglade, one word that may have come to mind is, "What?" On the surface, you might expect another anime-like fighter akin to Bleach: The Blade of Fate. Then, upon further reading, you might see bizarre words like "Grapping," "Glade," and "G-con," with claims that the game is a rhythm-based fighter. Whether such strange details send you running to the hills or make you want to learn more, it's important to the video game industry that unique titles like Draglade don't slip through the cracks.Draglade, in its essence, is a 2D fighter that introduces you to the world of Grapping. Combining elements of martial arts and music, Grapping is a new sport that seems to have taken the game's world by storm. The characters you can choose for the story mode all have the same ultimate goal: to become a Major Grapper. Each character has a different motive for wanting to do so, but each must go through a series of tournament-style exams to earn the coveted title. The weapons used in the game are called Glades, which can emit sounds when they strike (this is where the musical element comes in).
WRUP: Rhythm 'n Fighting edition
In checking out this week's releases, we only found one title here in the states worth mentioning. We were kind of excited by the hybrid gameplay with both rhythm-based elements and fighting aspects. Sounds like an amusing mixture, wouldn't you say?We were wondering if you thought the same, or perhaps had something else you were looking forward to playing? What will you be playing over this weekend? Anything new, or will you be chiseling away at something a bit older?
DS Daily: Reformulated
We thought we'd do a little thought experiment today. The DS is home to a few games that combine two unrelated genres unexpectedly, to varying results: the (nominally) rhythm-based brawler Draglade, and the puzzle RPG Puzzle Quest, to name two. We'd like you to come up with a design idea for a game combining two divergent genres or styles? How about a real-time strategy game about one-on-one fighting? Or an abstract music-based racing game? No idea is too crazy -- not after Puzzle Quest.
DS releases for the week of December 3rd
Fans of rhythm and fighting (righting?) might want to cast their eyes toward the release of Draglade this week, but the real excitement (at least, to us) is everything releasing outside the U.S. Well, maybe not everything, but there are certainly some interesting titles to consider, including Arkanoid in Japan and Myst in Europe. Alvin and the Chipmunks American Girl: Julie Finds a Way Draglade The Golden Compass Left Brain Right Brain Strawberry Shortcake: The Four Seasons Cake Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008
Friday Video: Rhythm and blades
After Atlus announced at E3 that they were bringing Draglade stateside, we hoped to see a little of the localization -- and instead of starting small, with screenshots or extra press releases, they put out a video just in time for our weekly video spotlight! That was pretty nice of them, don't you think? If nothing else, we're interested in this title because it is a fighting game with Wi-Fi multiplayer on our beloved DS, which is something American gamers have been often denied. Toss in a few other elements, like rhythm? We're ready to get down.
DS Daily: So about those new Atlus games ...
With yesterday's announcement of three all-new (well, one is only half-new) games for the US from Atlus, we thought it might be a good time to ask which one sounds the most interesting to you. Do you want to do a little detecting with Mackenzie and her suspiciously-shaped sidekick? Are you more the type to get down with the rhythm, particularly when it looks inspired by Jet Grind Radio? Or do you want to be a Grapping superstar?So what'll it be? Ontamarama, Draglade, or Touch Detective 2½?
Atlus USA announces new games for E3
Quirky game champion, Atlus USA, today announced several new games to be shown during the E3 media summit. Featuring medical professionals, touchy-feely detectives and gyrating combatants (sadly not in the same game), the lineup focuses primarily on the Nintendo DS. Draglade (Nintendo DS)It's a beat 'em up, you see, where "it's not just about how hard you hit or fast you move, it's also how well you can groove." Released in Japan earlier this year, Draglade features clashing combatants equipped with "glades," weapons that emit distinct sounds when struck against something -- preferably your opponent's head. With the sounds of battle forming a symphony of destruction, we're half expecting a playable Pied Piper character.
Atlus confirms Ontama, Touch Detective sequel, Draglade for US
If there's one thing to love about E3 -- even the all-new, scaled down E3 -- it's the flood of new game announcements that tend to come with the show. On that front, Atlus has certainly not disappointed us; this morning, they let fly with a bevy of localization announcements. One -- Touch Detective 2½ -- we expected, but the announcements that Draglade and Ontamarama are headed to English-speaking gamers are news indeed. For rhythm game enthusiasts, those last two are very good news indeed. Ontamarama follows the story of Beat and Rest, two "Ontamaestros" who discover an evil demon (as opposed to all the good ones) is cajoling villagers into trapping Ontama, the sound spirits who bring music to the land. Of course, that means our heroes have to get their rhythm on in order to save the day. Also, the word "Ontamaestros" demonstrates why we love Atlus-style localizations. We've been cooing excitedly over this game for months, so unless you've been living under a rock that didn't have wifi, you've probably seen a screenshot or two. Draglade is the intriguing mix of rhythm and fighting that the world has been waiting for. Well, we've been waiting, at least. In the world of Draglade, the premier spectator sport of the day is "Grapping," which sorta makes us think of breakdance fighting -- just with more potential violence. The game tracks the rise of four hungry Grappers, Hibito, Guy, Kyle, and Daichi, and their struggle to make it to the top. Can someone get us a hip hop version of "Eye of the Tiger" up in here? Obviously, Touch Detective 2½ is the sequel to the BeeWorks game released last year. We have such a love-hate relationship with this game that we can't help but look forward to the sequel, if only because we're masochists.[Via press release]
Blood on the dance floor
As you've probably picked up from our coverage of Puzzle Quest's RPG/Bejewled mix and Kanji Ken's beat-em up training game, we are in love with titles that mix genres in new ways. Banpresto's Custom Beat Battle: Draglade does just that, weaving together rhythm, fighting, and RPG elements into an exciting pattern.You customize and arm your fighters with beat combos, pulling off special attacks by timing button presses with a meter that displays a rhythm sequence. You can also level up your characters and buy items for them at shops. Punch and kick your way past the post break for some Custom Beat Battle: Draglade trailers. Now that we've got rhythm fighting, rhythm action, and rhythm platforming on our handheld, what's next? We're hoping for a math-and-music-based shoot-em up where you solve equations with the beat while trying to dodge bullets. We'll call it... a logarhythm-up.
