koei
Latest
E308: Pop Cutie does a little turn on the catwalk
Maybe it's because the new season of Project Runway is premiering tonight, but we're feeling extra fashionable today. That's why we checked out these new screens of Pop Cutie: Street Fashion Simulation, which Koei is localizing for North Americans in September. We imagine the whole time we play, we'll be using "WWTGD" as our mantra (you know -- "What Would Tim Gunn Do?").Pop Cutie is about more than clothes, though. It's about fashion battles and designer dog costumes, too, for starters. At the very least, it's definitely a fashion game for geeks, if we ever saw one. So, if you consider yourself a geek who has a thing for chic, check out the new screens and art in the gallery below.%Gallery-25284%
E308: U.S. to gobble Prey the Stars this October
Koei has just confirmed a North American release for quirky eat-'em-up Prey the Stars. The game is due to appear this October, and stars four ravenous alien dogs (Gabu, Bari, Chuchu, and Pero), each with an overwhelming desire to outeat the others. The levels they nom through are almost entirely edible -- even whole buildings can be scoffed. Precisely why they're so hellbent on ingesting their world is never explained, though we suppose there was never a substantial story behind the Prince rolling that katamari of his.If that sounds like it may have limited appeal (it did to us), then the multiplayer modes at least sound extensive, offering both local wireless and WiFi play for up to four players. %Gallery-15253%[Via press release]
Say 'Hi' to new Saihai no Yukue info
Ever since our scout came back with information from the enemy lines, we've been wondering how we would gain more information on upcoming Saihai no Yukue (The Baton's Whereabouts). Thankfully, we remembered we had a whole closet full of the little guys, so we just plucked one out and sent 'em off. According to him, Famitsu has a rather lengthy look at the title, documenting the different stages of the game. Initially, there is a strategy stage where the players sets up all their pieces, which then transitions into battle. There's also a Persuasive mode, which looks to us like a way to move the plot along. It's kind of an interactive chat with the NPCs.%Gallery-27407%
Date one or ten guys in Neo Angelique Special
Here's another Japanese simulation game aimed squarely at the female audience: Neo Angelique Special. In this port of a 2006 PS2 game, you play a pretty young woman who battles demons with the help of various pretty young males. Of course, love is in the air. A lot of love -- there are ten guys shown at the official site for the anime version of Neo Angelique. For those who are interested, the game arrives in Japan on September 20th.We can see the marketing now: Ikki Tousen for him, Neo Angelique Special for her. A match made in PSP heaven.[Via PSPHyper]
The whereabouts of Saihai no Yukue's screenshots
Advance scouts on the field have reported back their findings on Koei's approaching force, Saihai no Yukue (The Baton's Whereabouts). In addition to receiving valuable intelligence on the army's troop strength and supply routes, we have also learned that the Omega Force-developed title will be an "adventure" game!According to intercepted communications, Saihai no Yukue will see an overseas release in Q3 2008 and will focus on 17th century samurai Ishida Mitsunari as he leads Japan's Western Army against rival and Eastern Army commander Tokugawa Ieyasu, also known as "the portly dude with the pipe."Our spies have send back photos of the game's formation, which we've filed in our classified gallery below! Is it just us, or does it look like Ishida, the guy in the background, has been wading through a knee-high river of blood? The way he's raising his fist, it looks like he's pretty angry about it. "These pants are dry clean only!"%Gallery-27407%[Via Koei Warriors]
Pop Cutie struts its stuff
Koei's Pop Cutie: Street Fashion Simulation may seem like it would be casual and light, but in motion it looks brutally insane and geek-focused. Superhero costumes, apparent Metal Gear references, and "Fashion Battles" aren't what we'd expect from a normal fashion game (A "normal" fashion game? Have we been writing about the DS too long?) In addition, the massive crowds wandering the streets at all times blabbing about fashion make the info-gathering part of the game seem pretty frantic. Pop Cutie apparently takes place in some area of fictional Japan where people yell at strangers about their clothes. Nice place to open a boutique!
Adventuring with Saihai no Yukue scans
We know. The DS handles storybook adventure games extremely well, so it's no problem hearing announcements for new additions to the genre. The latest Famitsu has revealed a number of new images for Koei's new anime-style adventure, Saihai no Yukue.The problem here is that it looks a little too eccentric for the American market, where our good friend Phoenix Wright just managed to sneak in and cause a stir. It's scheduled for a Japanese release in Q3 2008, so any news of localization should be heard relatively soon. Looks interesting and/or rad.[Thanks, Anticrawl!]
Fatal Inertia EX arrives in Europe on July 15th
A press release sent out by KOEI states that WipEout clone, Fatal Intertia, will be available to download from the PlayStation Store in Europe next week. Their exact release date is July 15th, which falls on a Tuesday. So either KOEI is wrong and their game will be released on Thursday the 17th, or Sony plans on pulling a PlayStation Day on us and having two PSN Store updates. This seems likely considering the E3 trade show will be taking place next week. As for what else we can expect to see during that week, we'll hopefully find out soon and will keep you posted.[Via Press Release]
Somebody's Ambition
There are so many Koei strategy games out there that it can be hard to keep them straight, especially when we can't read much of the text. It's even worse when there are two titles in the same series on the same system being promoted at the same time. In this case, the games actually interact with one another.The new Nobunaga no Yabou 2 (Nobunaga's Ambition 2) is a more traditional Nobunaga's Ambition game, focusing on the big (Japan-wide) picture rather than battles between individual units. It can connect to the more Advance Wars-like Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou via local wireless to unlock secret generals. While we wish either of these games would be released here, we just think it's neat to interface two different DS games to unlock stuff.%Gallery-19665%
Koei to romance Korea with preorder case
There's no sign that Koei ever intends to bring its Romance of the Three Kingdoms DS titles stateside -- likely because you didn't buy Opoona -- but it looks like the company will celebrate its 30th anniversary by releasing Romance Of The Three Kingdoms DS 2 in Korea. Though we're a little upset that we still haven't received the year-old turn-based-strategy game, what really grinds our gears is that Koei is throwing in a themed Nintendo DS Lite hard case with preorders. Where's our preorder incentives, Koei? Just because we don't pirate everything under the sun doesn't mean that we don't deserve to decorate our handhelds with third-century Chinese historical figures?%Gallery-25578%
Europe will Prey the Stars this October
Just when we were starting to wonder if Prey the Stars was something we completely imagined, news popped up about the game being rated by Australia's OFLC. Still, we had nothing tangible to hold onto until Koei Europe announced the company's upcoming games line-up. Oddly enough, the list included Prey the Stars, which is scheduled to release in the continent this October.We hope that means we'll get to find out more about this eating-based title before it comes out, but we're really just relieved to know that it is coming out somewhere outside of Japan. Gallery: Prey the Stars
G1 Jockey 4 2008 hits Europe in September
Today, Koei revealed a lineup of new Europe-bound games set for the rest of 2008. Out of a bunch of games hitting the region this year, there's only one PS3 title. What title is that you ask? It's G1 Jockey 4 2008! Europe really wins big with this one.G1 Jockey 4 2008 is a horse racing simulator. It's a horse racing simulation without the gambling ... which means half the fun of the sport is gone. Details on the game are scarce; however, taking assumptions from the "4" in the title, this could be a slightly tweaked version of the two year old PS2 title. That ... doesn't sound too good. The game is out September 26. [Via Press Release] [Image credit: JPGMag]
Try and play Nobunaga's Ambition, win green tea [Update 1]
In one of the oddest gaming tie-ins we've heard of since the glorious days of Yo! Noid, Koei and Coca-Cola have announced a cross-promotion between Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou (Domination Battle of the Brains: Nobunaga's Ambition) and ... some kind of Coca-Cola-branded green tea.We've not the foggiest how the two products are related (we find it difficult to imagine Sengoku period warlords indulging in some green tea-sipping action), but the deal did give us a chance to sample the game through the promotional site that's been set up (scroll down and click on the white box to get things rolling). It looks and plays very nicely, so give it a go!Famitsu also mentions that 100 Japan-based players who try the demo will randomly be chosen to win a six-pack of Coca-Cola's green tea. Alas, it's not the most import-friendly of games, so even if we did reside in Japan, it looks like we'd be purchasing our green tea supplies like everyone else who doesn't have the knack for turn-based strategy.[Update: Corrected minor details regarding brand of green tea and prize.]%Gallery-19665%[Via Famitsu]
Opoona's European release pushed back
Koei's RPG Opoona won't be arriving on European store shelves next month, as previously anticipated. According to CVG, the game has been pushed back to September, meaning RPG fans will need to wait a bit longer before they jump into the bright and colorful world inhabiting Koei's title.So why the longer wait? Apparently, localization issues and production delays are the culprit here. Considering how poor the critical reception was, we're wondering if you really care all that much right about now.%Gallery-15530%
What Was QT is now POP CUTIE!
Koei's That's QT, a fashion management simulation in which players created fashion lines based on input from chibi moppets in the virtual streets of Tokyo, seemed like a long shot for localization. Why would Koei sink valuable resources into something like that that could be used on painting very serious portraits of historical warriors?But the DS allows companies to make crazy decisions that sometimes pay off. Koei will release POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation (known henceforth as Pop Cutie, because we have a strict budget of capital letters and exclamation points) in the U.S. in September. Pop Cutie puts players in charge of a fashion boutique. The game involves running the boutique, hiring staff and models, and decorating their shops. It also involves fashion design based on capturing and combining "images" from kids on the street. Two-player "Fashion Battles" are also possible, limited only by the ability to find someone else who has a copy of Pop Cutie. As for us, we think it looks insane, ridiculous, and therefore irresistible. Screens and character art (featuring psychotic "fashion") can be found in our gallery.%Gallery-25284%
G1 Jockey gallops aboard Balance Board bandwagon
We're not vain people who fret about occasionally looking silly (a quick peek inside our wardrobes would more or less confirm this), so stretching, swiveling and gurning on the Balance Board in front of others was never a huge deal for us.However, our indifferent attitude might yet be tested by G1 Jockey. Koei announced today that its horsey sim would also utilize the Balance Board, allowing players to adjust the position of their on-screen jockey as they "whip" their invisible steeds with the Wiimote. Picture somebody playing that game for a moment; doesn't it sound just a little too ridiculous? Apparently not. "Assuming a jockey crouch and powering to victory should brighten up even the longest of faces," lies the press release.Fortunately for us, we are just about vain enough not to be seen in public purchasing a copy of G1 Jockey.%Gallery-25251%[Via press release]
Prey the Stars actually coming out somewhere?
Koei showed off a weird eating-based game called Gabu Gabu Planet, developed by their Koei Canada branch, at TGS last year -- as if they intended to release it. Since then, Prey the Stars (the game's Western name) has been a fixture in retailer release lists, though with no projected date. The Australian OFLC database now suggests that Koei may be planning to release the game soon (even though it's not about Chinese historical warfare). A rating for Prey the Stars has appeared, with THQ as the publisher. Of course, Prey the Stars was rated by the ESRB as well -- in February of last year -- so gobble this news with a grain of salt. %Gallery-15253%[Via Siliconera]
Nobunaga's Ambition Dominates our Brains
Look, Koei, this relationship -- you and us -- it can work. It's really quite simple. We have money. You have Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou (Domination Battle of the Brains: Nobunaga's Ambition). Announce a western localization and the twain shall meet. It's mutually beneficial, y'see.Game Watch has new shots of the turn-based strategy title, including first glimpses of the extensive multiplayer modes (you may recall that both local play and Wi-Fi Connection battles are supported), the usual line-up of terribly stern Japanese army generals from a simpler, more violent age, and lots of cryptic-looking maps we can only pretend to understand. Charge headlong into our gallery for 21 fresh screens.%Gallery-19665%
Come see futuristic racing in new Fatal Inertia trailer
Fatal Inertia EX is already out in Japan and there's also a demo available on the Japanese PSN (which just so happens to be completely in English). We advise you to check the demo out if you're interested in this title -- well, only after you watch this new trailer for the game. As for the North American release date, as far as we know, the game was supposed to come out late last month. That obviously hasn't happened. Perhaps we'll be seeing it soon.
Nobunaga's Ambition exceeds that of its rivals
Our recommendation of Kunitori Zunou Battle Nobunaga no Yabou (Domination Battle of the Brains: Nobunaga's Ambition) as an alternative to Advance Wars is looking safer by the day, with Koei revealing to Impress Watch that the game would support certain modes that not even Intelligent Systems' title featured.In particular, the multiplayer seems to have had considerable attention lavished upon it. Not only is there wireless DS-to-DS play and the ability to play others with a single card, but there's also Wi-Fi Connection battles for -- get this -- up to four players. Which is precisely what Advance Wars: Days of Ruin needed, if you ask us.Aside from this super-happy news, Impress Watch profiled the eight daimyo (warlords from Japan's feudal period) that will appear in the title, all of whom are historically accurate figures (with probably-not-historically accurate special abilities). Apparently, players will have the option of fighting actual battles that took place. Oh yes, and there are screens. Lots of lovely new screens. Many of which contain this strange device. What is it? No idea. First one to tell us gets our everlasting admiration.%Gallery-19665%
