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Translate! Ultimate Stars
Jump Ultimate Stars is one of the most popular DS games with importers. Since it's a fighting game, it's not a huge deal to play Jump without knowing Japanese, but there are a lot of missions that may be difficult to figure out. Also, the game actually tries to tell a story, which is rare for a fighting game. Abel Tamayo wrote in to tell us about a wonderful wiki project he's managing, called, appropriately enough, the Jump Ultimate Stars Translation Project. We've seen amazing fan translation projects from single translators, but never a project done in a collaborative wiki format. It's a great idea, one that will allow tragically busy people to help out. If you know Japanese, why not sign up? Translating a fighting game-- that's another rarity. SNK never bothered to do it.
DS Daily: Overabundance and dearth
The number of DS games given stateside release is now probably beyond 500 (we'd count up all the entries here but we're too lazy), but as in college campuses around the country, diversity can be a tricky beast. We've seen some great titles across the board, of course, but haven't you felt that the DS was a bit lacking in some areas, while watered down in others?The most obvious absentees are the general JRPG and fighting genres. RPG experiences themselves aren't too difficult to come by, but standard fare (outside of remakes) is a bit harder to find. By and large the best fighting game for the DS, Jump Superstars, has never even been localized. When it comes to puzzle and racing genres, however, we're flooded with low-polish trash. Which genres do you feel are over- or under-represented, and of which would you like to see more?
Forum Post(s) of the Day: Patch 2.1 changes females?
There was some hullabaloo this week over various changes that some thought had been made to the female avatars in patch 2.1. These changes made me think about who makes decisions regarding what female avatars should look like, and if these decisions tell us anything about ourselves as gamers.First of these alleged changes came to light when somehow some people got it in their minds that the... um... well... that uh... their... um... human and other Azerothian females wouldn't have to buy such large bras if they made a trip to the department store, because the two relevant glands had been reduced in size.Well, this time it was Death and Taxes to the rescue! Xaviera took up the supposed change with dedication, comparing "old" and "new" screenshots with the utmost precision, and proved for all to see that in fact NO change had taken place! As Xaviera says at the end of her conclusive argument, "you can sleep safely, take it easy."Stay tuned for more female avatar-change headline news and expert analysis after the jump.
DS Daily: Adapting anime
We recognize that the fanbase for video games and anime overlap quite a bit, and so do a lot of companies out there. It's no surprise, then, that popular anime properties get adapted into game form quite a bit. We've seen it on the DS with Fullmetal Alchemist and Bleach, not to mention the ultimate in anime tie-ins: the Jump Super Stars series.If you like anime, does this kind of thing have any influence on you? Do you get excited hearing about a game version of your favorite show, despite the years of punishment licensed games have dealt us? Or do you get worried that a game will somehow tarnish the reputation of the source material? And if you don't like anime, have you run across any anime-based games that you love separate from the license? The GBA slot in our DS is often occupied by Sega and Treasure's brilliant Astro Boy: The Omega Factor despite our not being the most devoted Astro Boy fans.
Mario Kart DS shortcut demonstration [update 1]
It's embarrassing, I know. To be so thoroughly destroyed by yours truly in Mario Kart DS is a humbling experience. Still, any master such as myself still wants a bit of competition now and then, and thus this video, posted by the folks over at Nintendo of Europe, highlights some of the games' numerous shortcuts and tricks. There are even one or two even I didn't know about (Delfino boardwalk jump!), so with this video in mind, perhaps you'll all fare better in the future. MK:DS won't be back in the rotation for a few more weeks, but the day will soon come. Train, young warriors, and perhaps you might stand a chance.Oh. And that blue shell dodge at the end is a thing of beauty.[via 4cr][Update 1: And typos shall inherit the Earth]
Final Fantasy: Ring of Fates trailer
And rounding up the recent deluge of Square-Enix trailers from their annual Jump Festa event, this Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates trailer certainly impresses. There's some shiny text, and then a long, confusing sequence in which one tries to focus on five different scenes in the picture at once. Leave it to SE to try and simply overwhelm your senses ... they're rather good at that.The original Crystal Chronicles was a bit of a let-down, but this title can hopefully bring FF:CC out of the "crappy Final Fantasy spin-offs" category. Oh, and for a slightly higher quality version of the trailer, click here for the official movie from Square-Enix's website.(And did anyone check out what appeared to be a stylus-based fire spell around 1:41? Awesome.)[via Penny Arcade]
Today's hottest game video: Gears of War 'jumping glitch'
Wanna do a Mario-esque superjump in Gears of War? Check out the video that has Marcus Feenix boosting himself across the map like Carl Lewis on steroids. Carrying all that gear, sporting all those muscles, you know that Feenix must weigh close to 350 lbs, so there's some serious leggage going on here. Maybe he had some bionic implants dropped in during his stint in prison. Whatever he's doing, we want to know how to practically sword-fly our COG soldiers a la Halo. Check out the glitch-osity after the 'jump' ... get it? JUMP? HA HA HA, er ... um, yeah.
Japan set to implode: Dragon's Quest IX is a DS exclusive
You heard it, folks: at Square-Enix's annual Jump Festa event, they let the bomb drop: the next entry in the venerable Dragon's Quest series, entitled Dragon's Quest IX: Defender of the Stars (another silly "DS" subtitle) will be coming exclusively to everyone's favorite little handheld. This is huge news: this franchise is second only to perhaps Final Fantasy in Japan, and still one of the most respected names in gaming worldwide. Having the title being developed exclusively on a Nintendo system is a clear show of faith from SE (they're also releasing a Final Fantasy XII sequel, Revenant Wings, sometime next year), and hopefully, even more Wii and DS support will follow.Development of the game is being passed over to Level 5 (also working on White Knight Story for the PS3), and it'll feature a four-player co-op mode as well. Of course, there's no definite release date, but the team mentioned that they'd like to have it out sometime in 2007.Let this news wash over your Tuesday, and make it full of glee and joy. Bring on DQIXDS![Thanks to everyone who sent this in, and GoNintendo for the pic!]
Jump Ultimate Stars imported, reviewed
Jump Ultimate Stars, the sequel to a title we wanted localized (and we weren't the only ones) because it's the best fighting game on the handheld, has recently been imported and reviewed by the folks over at Siliconera. Their verdict? It's pretty much the cat's pajamas.Citing the new character evolution system allows for a more import-friendly game overall, as well as incredibly large cast of characters, the game has a ton of depth. Also, let us not forget the Wi-Fi Connect-compatible multiplayer. We curse our inability to read and speak Japanese as this game truly is something that needs to be localized for territories outside of Japan. See also: Jump Superstars 2 announced Jump Ultimate Stars website launch
Jump Ultimate Stars website launch
The Japanese website for Jump Ultimate Stars, the sequel to the greatest fighting game on the DS Jump Superstars, has launched. The website features character bios on all of the fighters, as well as screens showing the in-game mayhem the title promises. The site also shows screens of utilizing Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connect service to battle opponents over the internet, which is one of the most appealing aspects of the first game and sure to be just as appealing in the sequel.
Bleach sequel confirmed
While we haven't even received the first game yet, Sega has let loose word that a sequel to the popular fighting game Bleach for the DS is in development. In the latest issue of Shonen Jump magazine, a single-page spread confirms that the game will be seeing the light of day, as well as depicting some of the combat to come. So Japan is getting a sequel, now how about working on getting the first game to US shores?
Jump Superstars getting an English makeover
If you're unfamiliar with Jump Super Stars!, it can be best summed up as a hodgepodge of anime characters brawling it out in one game. Goku is there, Naruto is there, and so is Yugi. Just about everyone who's bothered to import the title from Japan will hold it as one of, if not the, best games on the DS. Well, those without the desire to try and battle through screens upon screens of Japanese dialogue, there is hope! TranlastionRL seeks to take all that incomprehensible Japanese script and provide a translation into the Queen's English so that the full title can be enjoyed by those of us without the gift of Japanese gab.[Via Siliconera]
