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Europe to explore Mysterious Dungeon in March
They might well be a teensy demographic, but DS-owning, Europe-based fans of hardcore dungeon-crawling have had it tough in recent times. Etrian Odyssey has yet to make the trip across the Atlantic, leaving only Orcs & Elves -- albeit a title of respectable quality -- as the only option.Until now, that is, because SEGA has informed French site Wiiz that Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer DS will be available in Europe from March, where it will probably sell around a dozen copies. Why, it's like having Dreamcast-era SEGA back, the one which didn't give two hoots about selling stuff. We love it![Via Go Nintendo]
Growing items in the Mystery Dungeon
One of the new systems in Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 3 allows you to imbue items with elemental (or other) attributes at certain locations around the dungeon. When you happen upon a spot marked with (for instance) a lightning icon, you can set an item down and allow it to "grow" a lightning attribute. This is done by first setting the item down in the right spot, then using scrolls to create a barrier around the item. After a few turns, the barrier will break down and the item will be ready! And you'll probably be dead anyway, but the item will be there just in case you aren't.Famitsu has screens showing off this process, as Shiren turns his sword into a Dark sword. It looks just like it did, but, it's got like a different icon on it in the menu.
Mystery Accessory: Koppa the Adorable Wiimote Stand
We didn't realize until about five minutes ago how badly we needed a Wiimote stand, but now we're pretty sure we're going to die of hypo-standia without one. Specifically, the promotional Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 3 Wiimote stand seen here (in concept art), in the shape of Shiren's weasel companion Koppa.Thanks to Sega, the novelty Wiimote stand will be the Wii's version of the novelty stylus, and we could not be more okay with that. What we could be more okay with, however, is the method of obtaining one of these. It's a limited-edition preorder gift for the game (due Febuary 28th), and we're not about to spend the $60+ on an unusable Japanese disc just to get one of these Wiimote stands to serve a function that we didn't know existed.But we thought about it. [Via GAME Watch]
Mystery Gallery: Shiren the Wanderer
Sega has posted some new screens of their Roguelike remake, Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer DS, and they look ... pretty. Even though we probably can't handle the actual game, we appreciate the Japan-centric setting (or really any setting that isn't Generic Medieval RPG Land). While the graphics look pretty much identical to the Super Famicom game (the backgrounds are completely identical), we think we can see subtle improvements in color and sprite definition. Or maybe we're imagining things.Chances are you won't be concentrating too much on the nice graphics, anyway, instead focusing entirely on staving off yet another death. We're curious to see how American gamers react to such an anachronistically hardcore game when it arrives in February.%Gallery-11488%[Via GamesPress]
TGS07: Imabikisou, you're like an open book
If you don't get the subject line's incredibly clever pun, so clever we're going to take a typing break to eat a cookie ... then tell you the game is an interactive horror novel. Anyway. Chunsoft and Sega are bringing this horror novel to life and from the Tokyo Game Show floor, life is a bit of a stretch. While interesting in concept, it sounds like plodding through walls of text and then selecting a path intermittently isn't as scary as we'd hoped. The strange choice was to use all live-action and real scenery in the background. Nothing pre-rendered, nothing animated.Still, the production values are hailed as top notch and the backgrounds do have a breath of life in them. Fires will twist and dance, the hair on a character's head will flutter momentarily, and voice-overs are not uncommon. Rumble is also featured, adding a fairly scary jolt to your hands whenever a character screams or, we assume, windows break and/or hell breaks loose. Chances are this is import only, unless you trust Sega to write up a smart script and hire voice talents who can actually scream appropriately.
Shiren the Wanderer 3 soon to punish Wii owners
Chunsoft's ridiculously difficult Roguelike series, Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren, is getting a new installment on the console that we kind of thought would be the least likely destination for crazy-hard games. The new edition, Fuurai no Shiren 3, will be in (very nice-looking) full 3D, and will contain a new item-growth feature in which items left in certain spots will improve after a certain number of turns.Perhaps our favorite thing about this game is that it renders a common criticism of the Wii invalid. As of right now, the Wii officially has the most "hardcore" game of any next-gen console. We do feel a little bit bad about Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon, which is pretty much redundant now.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 commercial inspires us to confront our bullies
There's a clear divide at the Fanboy office between those who've actually played through a roguelike game and the rest of us who've never been able to boast such bravery. The dungeon crawl veterans have the best parking spots, use the newest computers, and even get to cut in front of everyone in the lunch line.Whenever one of us who hasn't meddled with the genre walks past the "popular" table in the cafeteria, some jerk inevitably sticks their leg out to trip us. As we push ourselves back up, searching for our glasses amongst the mess of food spilled from our plastic trays, the group of bullies howl with raucous laughter. We find our glasses and put them on just in time to see our crush look away in disgust.After years of cowering, we've decided that it's time to finally tackle the roguelike genre. Seeing Japan's latest commercial for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2: Time Exploration Team and Darkness Exploration Team was just what we needed to convince us. Both games look adorable enough, and from what we've heard, they're not as difficult as most other dungeon crawl titles! It won't be long before we'll be able to stand up to those roguelike ruffians! Drink some milk, do a bunch of push-ups, and join us past the post break for the video.
Shiren possibly wandering to the US
One of the best examples of the Mysterious Dungeon subgenre of roguelike RPGs appears to be on its way, one step per turn, to the US. Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Furai no Shiren (Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer) was one of the few entries in Chunsoft's series that didn't carry a license-- it's actually numbered as a sequel to a Dragon Quest spinoff game, despite the total change in setting. It's been ported from the SNES to the DS, and was released in Japan in 1995. If, as Gamestop says, Sega is releasing it in February, it'll be the first American release for the game, which also recently came out on the Japanese Virtual Console.The DS has some experience with the genre: Chunsoft is working on their second Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, and Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja is similar in gameplay. So if you've played those, you have an idea of what to expect. If you like random dungeons, unknown items, and permanent character death (and, really, who doesn't love permanent death), you'll probably enjoy Shiren the Wanderer. If you're a normal person, you'll probably cry a lot. Still not sure? Check out this exhaustive two-part writeup of the SNES version![Via NeoGAF]
Stay away from the Mystery Dungeon if you value your humanity
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon featured the story of a human who gets transformed into a Pokemon and ends up exploring a big dungeon with a team of Pokemon. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 features the story of a human who gets transformed into a Pokemon and enters the fast-paced world of fashion design. Or does the human explore a big dungeon? We always get the two mixed up. Now that we think about it, it's definitely the dungeon one.We're willing to accept that an entire society is built around the concept of capturing animals and making them fight. We're okay with the idea of technologically rendering said animals pocket-sized for convenience. But this? Preposterous.
More Pokemon, more mystery, and more dungeons
Chunsoft is already hard at work on the sequel to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, a process that they should have down by now after God knows how many licensed Roguelikes. The new one looks pretty much just like the last one, but with new critters. This should not be a surprise to anyone who has ever played, seen, or heard of Pokémon. Check out the screens at GAME Watch and see if you're interested in another journey into the cave of monsters.We have two theories about the sales of this game: either they'll be boosted by renewed Pokémania due to the recent release of Diamond and Pearl, or they'll be reduced due to the fact that fans are satisfied with the real games and don't need to go into spinoff land. What do you think?
Chocobos Wark onto Wii
Why don't scientists show a little more imagination? Genetically engineered Chocobos would solve most of the world's problems in a stroke. Traffic jams would be a thing of the past and all those cute yellow beasties running around would keep everyone way too happy for war or, y'know, other bad stuff.It may be some time before this vision becomes a reality, leaving us with Chocobo's Dungeon: Labyrinth of Forgetting, which is heading to Wii in the not-too-distant future. The Chocobo's Dungeon games feature randomly generated levels, making them a little different every time you play. Details on the new title are pretty thin on the ground at the moment; expect more news at the end of the month.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 in the works
A sequel to last year's Pokémon-infused roguelike, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, was announced in the latest issue of Famitsu. The original was received with mixed reviews, but fans of the dungeon-crawling formula welcomed the game with open arms. Both versions (Blue Rescue Team for the DS, Red Rescue Team for the GBA) sold well enough in the states, so we can probably expect to see this follow-up translated for English audiences eventually.Not much else was revealed about Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2, except that WiFi support is planned. An "enhanced" story and changed format were mentioned, but neither were discussed in detail. The premise for the first game was a bit goofy, featuring a human character transformed into a Pokémon, but it was enjoyable enough to make us hope for a similar scenario with this sequel.[Via NeoGAF]
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon review [update 1]
Is it us, or is IGN scoring tougher? Not that we think this a bad thing. In fact, we admire brutal honesty if a game is not up to par. Just because the title says Final Fantasy Pokemon, doesn't mean it will be great. Just look at Final Fantasy X-2 Pokemon Dash. From the sound of it, turning into an actual Pokemon seems pretty rad. After all, Ash and the others shouldn't have all the fun. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is throwing a different ball your way by showing the softer side of these normally lightening-hurling captured creatures. And as the good Pokemon you are, you join the Rescue Team and help out any pals in danger while trying to figure out why you are a Pokemon. Best thing about it -- you finally understand what the heck those little guys are saying when they scream "Pika!" While IGN gave the game compliments for Pokemon doing what it does best in gameplay, they were disappointed in the game as a whole, claiming it hasn't really evolved in the direction they had hoped. Their main complaints rest in the repetitive battle system, rarely used touch screen and drab GBA appearance. Best way to describe it -- Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is a mere placeholder until the real Pokemon comes out on DS. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon was rated a 6.5, making it a "passable" game. [Update: Fixed a typo]
A plethora of Pokemon games announced
You've been warned. Love it or hate it (I kind of like it), the Pokemon franchise is not going away anytime soon. On top of the soon-to-be-released Pokemon XD, Nintendo has announced about six new Pokemon games that they plan on giving us over the next few years or so. The first series is Pokemon Ranger for the Nintendo DS, which will coincide with the Pokemon move of the same name set for release next year. The first part, subtitled "The Road to Diamond and Pearl," will feature sequels appropriately dubbed "Diamond" and "Pearl." Coming in October, Japanese Nintendo DS owners can pick up Pokemon Torouze, which is a puzzle game akin to Yoshi's Cookies (mmm, fond memories). The last two are Pokemon Mysterious Dungeon Blue Rescue Force (DS) and Red Rescue Force (GBA), which are set to be released in Japan come winter. Expect at least half (if not all) of those to be released in the United States, because Nintendo knows that they will make about 100 billion dollars with each game. The invasion is still upon us.
