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Doki Doki Majo Shinpan artwork rips
For those who place little value in the chase, that exhilarating, flirtatious period when nothing is guaranteed, actually playing through Doki Doki Majo Shinpan is secondary to groping its adolescent witches. Rather than have you labor through the text-heavy release's dialogue and plot setup, Stage Clear has posted artwork wrested from the Japanese game, enabling you to skip the journey and get right to your depraved destination. While none of the shots are scandalous enough to land you a ten-year stay in a federal prison, we wouldn't say that they're safe for work viewing either. The wiccan nymphets are depicted in poses that would leave Humbert Humbert dizzy with delight ("the king crying for joy, the trumpets blaring, the nurse drunk"), their faces reacting to the taps and strokes of an unseen stylus. Scurry shamefully past the post break for a couple of those images.
Take that! Presenting official Phoenix Wright manga
Sometimes the Internet randomly drops some delightful content on our laps. Depending on our mood, we feel that either the forces of the Intertron love us and are giving us wonderful gifts, or that they're conspiring to keep us from working.Case in point: we knew about Court Records and all of the good works they do for those of us afflicted with Gyakutendonitis. But until GoNintendo pointed it out, we hadn't realized that there were fan translations of official Gyakuten Saiban/Phoenix Wright manga available on the site right now. We'll, uh, try to keep posting while we read.[Via GoNintendo]
Japanese Phoenix Wright 3 gets boring bonus
If you buy the Japanese Best Price release of Gyakuten Saiban 3-- cue the chorus of "don't buy it or Capcom won't localize the next one"-- you may be entitled to a set of reversible box covers for the whole series of DS releases. It looks like they're designed so you can store 2 games to a case. However, the Gyakuten Saiban series already uses a consistent boxart design in Japan, meaning that all four of the DS games already match. And on top of that, the design for these bonuses is significantly less interesting than the original boxart. Of course, we're still getting this thing.We wish it was nicer-looking, but it's lovely of Capcom to hand out bonus stuff in general. We hope these get included with import orders (that's right, we're ordering the import!)
Gyakuten Saiban timeline
We still get occasional comments from confused readers who can't decipher which Gyakuten Saiban games correlate to which Ace Attorney games. This has been especially confusing recently, as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations (based on Gyakuten Saiban 3) was announced for the US at the same time as Gyakuten Saiban 4 was being released in Japan. 4cr must have gotten similar confused comments, but, unlike us, they decided to do something about it. Well, we're doing something about it now, but it's just linking their article, which is much easier. They've written a history of the series, detailing exactly which games were ported from the GBA, and the US and Japanese titles of each game. If this is too academic, you can always buy every lawyery-looking game you see, and figure it out when you get home.
The witch hunt goes international
SNK's Doki Doki Majo Shinpan has been doing great business in preorder, and seems to be getting a lot of attention. Now it looks like SNK is responding to this success by marketing the game in ... China! A new translated version of the website has appeared, offering the same content in Chinese. No, it doesn't help us any, but at least they're thinking about some international marketing. That's one baby step closer to an English localization, right? The Japanese page has been updated too, with the screen cleaner shown above (which some Japan-based reader should really think about securing for us) and new screens of the first-person Magic Battle Mode. Apparently, somehow, you can do something to upset the girls. Just touch the "Read" button to determine if it's a witch check out the screens.[Via Canned Dogs]
Gyakutan Saiban 4 impressions
Unfortunately, when we were getting ready to install the tiny chips into our heads to allow us to fluently speak and understand Japanese, we accidentally grabbed the German chips by mistake. Es kann sehr nützlich sein, but it doesn't allow us to play Gyakuten Saiban 4 anytime soon. Luckily, the guys at Siliconera have our backs.They've run through the Phoenix-less title's first case, and have gotten a fairly good idea of where the series is going. Rest assured, the quality of the plotting seems wholly intact, and the guys are enjoying the fully-integrated DS features (a la case 5 of the localized Phoenix Wright: Attorney at Law). For some more details, check out the full preview. Take that!Seriously. Take it.
Capcom to Japanese TV: "Take that!"
Well, this is just about the coolest marketing campaign ever; and, of course, after reading that, you'll be able to guess that it's for Japan only. Also, if you're familiar with our site, you should have no problem guessing what game it promotes. Gyakuten Saiban 4, the latest entry in Capcom's Phoenix Wright/Ace Attorney series, doesn't really need any more marketing, but we aren't complaining. Capcom will be running a 5-10 minute Gyakuten Saiban TV drama, which presents a case for viewers to solve. Later, the solution will appear on the Gyakuten Saiban 4 website. If any of our Fanboy friends are located in Japan, we hope they'll watch next week and tell us about it!
Gyakuten Saiban 4 is huge
Capcom announced today that Gyakuten Saiban 4 passed the half-million mark in shipped copies today, a new record for the series. It's no surprise that being on the DS boosted sales; it's likely to boost sales of anything. But let's not diminish the accomplishment. Gyakuten Saiban 4 is a hit! This milestone has contributed strongly to another milestone: as of today, the Gyakuten Saiban (Phoenix Wright) series has shipped 2 million copies in Japan alone. That's pretty great for any series, much less a text adventure series! If there were any objections within Capcom about spending the money to localize GS4, they've probably been shot down by now.
Another look at Doki Doki Majo Saiban
We've talked at length about SNK's suggestive Doki Doki Majo Saiban before, mostly about the controversy involved in the game. We've discussed the most obvious feature of the game, which is the witch-hunting mode that has players investigating young girls with the touch screen to determine witchery.Well, we'll focus on the other part of the game today. As self-avowed adventure game freaks, we feel that we should focus on that part of Doki Doki Majo Saiban at least once; we've chosen new screenshots to that effect. We are interested in the adventure aspects of the game. We like SNK, and to be honest, if there's real puzzle solving and item collecting to be found, then we'll actually be interested in Doki Doki Majo Saiban. If it's just a matter of walking from location to location trying to find the right girl to talk to, then we aren't as thrilled. The fact that the main character keeps a log is promising, indicating that there is stuff worth keeping track of. We've been surprised by DS games before. Remember the comedy game about murder trials? That turned out okay. If the gameplay's there, we might even be able to see past the questionable content. With a C rating, the game shouldn't be too out of control. There's always the chance, too, that the game is actually satirical and pokes fun at the assumed perv audience. The website supports that theory.
Doki Doki Majo Saiban gets C rating
Whew. The official Doki Doki Majo Saiban website has been updated, and it looks like SNK's troubling game isn't as troubling as it ... could be. CERO, Japan's equivalent to the ESRB, rated its content a C, which means it is appropriate for ages 15 and up. At least we know it's definitely not full-on pornography, and that following the development of this game is somewhat less like watching a train wreck in slow motion than it was when we thought it was going to get a Z rating (18 and up). The website also corroborates our idea of the story and gameplay; the player, as a high-school boy, is compelled by an "angel" called Lulu to hunt witches by staring and prodding at girls to make their hearts beat quickly; their facial expressions and the background indicate their level of tension. [Via NeoGAF]
Let your fingers do the objecting
Excuse us if this post has a typo in it or something. We're dividing our time between writing it and packing up all our worldly possessions.You see, it's ... well, there's a Gyakuten Saiban 4 cell phone theme for the FOMA 903i that makes your phone's menu look like the game's menu, and puts GS4 backgrounds, animations, and sounds on the phone. It even has special screens associated with things like sending mail and receiving phone calls.Every time we use our only partially-themed phone (which only has a Phoenix Wright background and ringtone, and nothing else) causes us pain. We have to go to Japan, immediately.
Rumor: Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations
What's the opposite of OBJECTION!? Oh, we know! APPROVAL! A Gamecrazy employee posted this screen from his store's computer system over on the awesome Phoenix Wright fansite Court Records. It shows a game called PHOENIX WRIGHT-TRIALS TRIBU, to be released on September 25. We'll go ahead and deduce that the full title would be Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, and that since it names Phoenix in the title and not the new guy, that this is a DS port of Gyakuten Saiban 3. Retail computer systems aren't the most reliable sources of information, but we doubt Gamecrazy would make up a title. Plus, we've had evidence that GS3 was going to be localized for a while. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to go to Gamecrazy and reserve our copy of the game. If they aren't open yet, we'll just break in. No problem! [Via NeoGAF]
New Gyakuten Saiban 4 screens
We're having a pretty hard time coping with our Gyakuten Saiban withdrawals. Ever since we learned that we wouldn't be able to play the Japanese release in English, we've had to turn to alternate means to get our daily allowance of fake Japanese law. We refresh the GS4 website obsessively, play the translated demo until it hits question-mark land, and shout "OBJECTION" at every opportunity that is even a little appropriate.We found some screens on Famitsu to torture ourselves with. They show the intro to the second case, a witness in Chapter 1, and Chapter 2's defendant. If you want to make yourself feel bad about the lack of Ace Attorney in your life, then by all means, have a look. If you can't handle the wait, we suggest trying to put the whole thing out of your mind.
Gyakuten Saiban 4 demo translation is a heroic effort
DS Fanboy pal Zachary Hinchliffe is powerfully awesome, and you can quote us on that. He's working with Croik of the Phoenix Wright fansite Court Records to translate the Japanese Gyakuten Saiban 4 Flash demo, which actually consists of part of the first case.It's in a very early stage right now-- essentially, once you get past the intro and into gameplay, the text switches over to question-mark speak that is even less useful than the original Japanese dialogue, but you can at least watch the introduction. And you can set your bookmark now to play more as more gets translated, because we're sure you'll get to play this demo to completion in English before the game gets an English release.
Gyakuten Saiban 4 wallpaper
In addition to Capcom's official Gyakuten Saiban 4 page, retailer Tsutaya has their own, with the same screenshots, character art, and story information as that on the Capcom page. We saw on Dengeki Online that the Tsutaya page had a new GS4 Flash game up, and we got excited. Turns out it's a personality quiz that tells you which character you're most similar to, which is neat, but it's also totally in Japanese and not really something we can recommend.Poking around the site a little more, we found this sharp wallpaper featuring new hero Odoroki Housuke, and figured that you would enjoy it! Put it on your desktop and start memorizing the title kanji. It's a good first step toward learning enough Japanese to play the game! Gyakuten Saiban 4 wallpaper800x600 1280x1024 [Via Dengeki]
Gyakuten Saiban 4 hates English speakers
Previous Japanese incarnations of our beloved Gyakuten Saiban series, a.k.a. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, a.k.a. the greatest courtroom drama in the history of mankind, have included an English language option for those who wanted to get their fix early. In fact, savvy importers were able to play the superlative Phoenix Wright 2: Justice For All back in October, months before their blissfully ignorant counterparts.Alas, it appears that the next installment of the series, Gyakuten Saiban 4, will not contain an English language option for importers. However, we would like to note that GS4, though the third title in the series to be released on the DS in Japan, is precluded by the currently GBA-only Gyakuten Saiban 3, which has not yet been localized in any form. According to preliminary reports, the storylines of GS3 and GS4 are not directly related (GS4 doesn't even star our man Phoenix), but you never know with those crafty writers.For people not completely obsessed with Phoenix Wright, please rip out your own colon please ignore the above paragraph and simply know that you won't be able to import GS4 from Japan.>.>[Via Siliconera]
Capcom blogger interviews Phoenix Wright localization staff
We just found out about the employee blogs that Capcom USA has on their website. One in particular, belonging to "Scarlett," is especially cool because it features an interview with a member of the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Justice For All localization staff, Janet Hsu!The interview provides some fairly interesting information about working at Capcom Japan, and about trying to make something as Japanese as Gyakuten Saiban make sense to American audiences. There's also the incredible statement from Ms. Hsu that she only took Japanese classes for about 2 years before coming to Japan. Certain members of the DS Fanboy Blogging Squad have taken much more Japanese than that and can't translate their way out of a paper bag. It's official: Janet Hsu is our new hero, and so are her colleagues JP Kellams and Brandon Gay.[Via GameSetWatch]
Cases were plead, results are available
Remember when we told you guys about this? Well, Capcom took the liberty to collect all of the results of said contest on a flickr page, for our viewing pleasure. Some of the comics are just downright hilarious (I BROKE YOUR BUGLE!), so hilarious as to woo the fine folks at Capcom enough so that they bring Gyakuten Saiban 3 to territories outside of Japan, which is looking to be a strong possibility as each new day passes.
Japan gets a Gyakuten Saiban 4 calendar and we don't? OBJECTION!
Capcom put this gorgeous "school calendar" (it starts at April) up for sale in their Japanese store today, and we're dying over here. Look at that cover! That is better than most posters, there. There's Ema Skye, and Phoenix Wright, and the whole group is surrounded by new guy Odoroki Housuke's bracelet thing.And there's six pages of official art inside. This is too much. We don't really have anything clever to say about it. Look at it. It's a thing we want, a lot, and probably won't be able to purchase.Oh, man, we feel so inadequate. How can we be Phoenix Wright fans if we can't look at some Gyakuten Saiban characters when we want to see what day it is? We're going to have to look into placing an order for this thing. 1,260 yen turns out to be ... $10.45.Oh, and while you're at the e-Capcom store, check out these other just-out-of-reach Gyakuten goods!Sample calendar page after the break. You could resize it and make a very blurry, artifacty wallpaper out of it!
Ema Skye returning for Gyakuten Saiban 4
Ema Skye, the science-obsessed, Luminol-toting teen sidekick from Case 5 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Gyakuten) is making a return appearance in the new DS sequel, pink goggles and all. Her new character art portrays her as a little more grown-up, so maybe she'll be less annoying. Even if not, we really started to feel sympathetic to Phoenix's junior-detective friend in that case (Don't know what we're talking about? PLAY THE GAME!).Speaking of return appearances, you know who else will be returning when this comes out? Us. Our frothing demand for this game increases. You might as well call us "Phoenix Wright Fanboy." Click past the post break to scientifically investigate a few screenshots.
