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Options for gamers in Final Fantasy IV
We recently discussed some of the other new elements in Final Fantasy IV, but the math mini-games and the event theater aren't the only things we have to look forward to (besides an awesome game). This time around, options are being throw in; for example, if you don't like the voice acting? Turn it off! There's a setting in the configuration screen. And for those gamers who hate rewatching a cut-scene ten times (I doubt I'm alone in this), they're skippable if you so desire. Anyway, you can always rewatch them at your leisure in the event theater!%Gallery-3278%
Fantasy, math, and theater
It must be Final Fantasy IV update day! Jeux-France has some screens of some of the new additions to the franchise's fourth installment's DS version, like the event theater for viewing cutscenes, and a math mini-game that promises to unlock a new character. Yes, you read that correctly -- they've gone and put math all up in our Final Fantasy. Why, God? Why?We will say this, however: math is still better than blitzball. We'd rather do calculus than play blitzball ever, ever again. Really. Bring on the math. And check out the new screens in our gallery below.%Gallery-3278%
Evidently, 2D Metroid on the Wii would rock our world
It's unlikely to ever actually happen, but have you ever pondered what a new 2D Metroid on the Wii would look like? Artist Alchemist Defined evidently thought long and hard about it, before committing his vision to canvas. The end result is ... well ... frankly, it's stunning, and if there really is some almighty, omnipresent deity watching over us all, there'll be a game that looks very similar to this in development now at Retro.There's a selection of bigger, more wallpaper-friendly versions of this over at the artist's site, as linked below. Viewing them comes highly recommended.[Via CVG]
Dragon Quest V coming out (again) in spring 2008
Square Enix has announced a release window for the next in their series of rapid-fire Dragon Quest remakes. Dragon Quest V: Bride of Heaven is scheduled for a spring 2008 release in Japan. This is one that we should be really hoping for, because it has actually never been released outside Japan. Unlike Dragon Quest IV, which just hasn't been released outside Japan in a long time. But with the Enix side in charge of Square Enix, and with Dragon Quest IV selling like it is in Japan, expect to see the money spent for localization of all three remakes. Dragon Quest V features the ability to catch and tame monsters. Much like Torneko's quest in Dragon Quest IV spun off into its own game (and then the Mystery Dungeon series in general), this mechanic was the genesis of the Dragon Quest Monsters games. Japan loves their Dragon Quest.
Ghostbusters DS inspired by ghosts of Ghostbusters games
We never thought for a second that the Ghostbusters DS game would play like any of the console versions. Rather than swinging a proton pack around and fighting ghosts and all that annoying stuff, the DS version focuses on the most compelling part of the movies' universe: running a business. As a Ghostbusters franchisee, you'll be in charge of managing your franchise, busting ghosts to earn money so you can buy better equipment. This sounds exactly like the old 8-bit Ghostbusters game, the "best" version of which can be found on the Sega Master System. That game involved driving and action sequences during ghostbusting missions. We don't know yet how much action will be involved in the new version, whether it will be a remake of this game or an expanded strategy/tycoon-type game. The timeline is different, occuring after Ghostbusters II rather than during the first movie (which means no Keymaster and Gatekeeper wandering the streets). We hope the gameplay is different in some significant way from the original game, at least in the "being profoundly terrible" department.[Via GoNintendo]
J.B. Harold Murder Club rises from the grave
J.B. Harold Murder Club was one of those early CD-ROM games that combined investigative gameplay with tiny, thumbnail-sized windows of grainy, awful video. It was originally released for the Turbografx-16 CD-ROM in 1991, with the sequels appearing on the Pioneer LaserActive. And now, following the trend of dusty old adventure games getting dug up and dusted off for the DS, Murder Club is back, courtesy of a cell phone content publisher called fonfun. We're actually pretty positive about this development. Never having gotten a TG16 CD system, we missed out on the game the first time around. In addition, we generally avoided the FMV-based games because they were ugly and horrible. In so doing, we seem to have missed a good game. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that there was some quality in that stuff, though at the time we were just worried that all games were going to look like that. Hey, maybe the video will either be better or nonexistent in the DS version!
Summon Night 1 and 2: The other, other simultaneous RPG remakes
We recently learned via scans that the first two Summon Night RPGs were being remade for the DS, joining other tandem series remakes like Dragon Quests IV, V, and VI, and the simultaneously (but separately) releasing Ys I and II. These two Summon Nights, rather than coming out on the same day, will be a few months apart, the first planned for spring and the second for summer.They are, however, being promoted and previewed in concert, with Famitsu posting separate screenshot posts on the same day. That's ... actually a bit strange, in that the preview for the second game talks about all the improvements that were made over Summon Night, like being able to select your character's sex, and what looks like an improved map view. It's just slightly awkward to hint about a game's relative obsolescence in an adjacent piece.Read - Summon NightRead - Summon Night 2
FFIII: Not ridiculously expensive for once
If you made a point of not picking up Final Fantasy 3 DS after seeing its redonkulous $40 tag when it first hit stores a year ago, you'll be happy to hear that the 3D remake's price has been slashed in half with an Onion Sword! Already, Amazon and GameStop/EB are selling Final Fantasy 3 for $19.99. Even if you already have the game, it's so cheap now, you won't mind buying it again (provided that you aren't still broke from buying it the first time)!
DS Daily: Bring out your dead
Yesterday's discussion of Myst and the continuing saga of DS remakes made us a little nostalgic, and we can't stop thinking about other titles that should be remade. Sure, we did an entire focus on it not long ago, but so long as companies keep pushing out the remakes, we'll keep dreaming. Today, we're fondly dreaming of a King's Quest compilation for the DS. Wouldn't that be lovely? Sure, games like Myst that promise extra content, or ports like Geometry Wars: Galaxies (also with beefed-up content) are nice, but multi-packs of old, untouched games would do us up right as well. Can you think of anything older you'd like to see come to the DS as-is (or close?)
Space Invaders streamed
We've been hyping Space Invaders Extreme relentlessly since we saw the first screens. And now that Ruliweb has made a gameplay video available, we're going to have to up our efforts. The screens and description do nothing to convey the brilliance of this game, which not only speeds up the pace of Space Invaders significantly, but adds power-ups and quickly shifting challenges, all set to a thumping soundtrack (which, to some DS Fanboy ears, evokes Genesis's "Invisible Touch") and flashy visuals.Space Invaders Extreme, in imitation of Rez, seems to time the collisions between bullets and enemies to the music, such that every explosion sets off an appropriate sound effect in time to the music. It worked to give Rez a rhythm-game feel without actually making it a rhythm game. Along with, of course, the cyber-psychedelic visuals and the optional Trance Vibrator, the musical integration just helped to make the whole experience more hypnotic. We knew that Space Invaders would probably feature something like that, but seeing it in action really shows how effective the technique is. We have watched this video at least five times already, and we're going to keep watching.
Original NiGHTS into Dreams coming to PS2
While Wii owners will soon be enjoying the first NiGHTS sequel, it looks like PS2 owners will eventually be enjoying the original. Famitsu Magazine reports that an enhanced port of the original Sega Saturn game NiGHTS into Dreams will be coming to the Playstation 2 in Japan in February of next year.The PS2 version will display in 16:9 widescreen, and feature slightly improved graphics. The game will also include galleries of video, art, and stills from the marketing and production of the game. We're pleased as punch that the original NiGHTS is being revisited, but it is a bit odd that the Wii will be graced with NiGHTS Journey of Dreams and not its predecessor. Perhaps the odds of a Virtual Console release have slightly increased?Check out the Famitsu page scan after the break.
3D Link to the Past 'interests' Aonuma
OK, show of hands, please: who fancies a 3D remake of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past? If your arm just shot up, know this: you're far from alone. Series director Eiji Aonuma wants it, as well. Or at least, he's "very interested" in adding an extra dimension to what is arguably probably unquestionably the greatest Zelda game ever conceived.Aonuma, who most recently acted as director on the DS's splendiferous Phantom Hourglass, revealed his wish in the latest issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine (the UK edition), stating that "The first Zelda game that I played and felt potential in was Link to the Past. I'm actually very interested in what it would be like if we remade that title as a 3D game."Now, we confess that's a loooong way from us actually getting a 3D Link to the Past, but the mere fact that Aonuma has even considered this makes our legs go all wobbly. If you've never played the game, and therefore can't comprehend that reaction, then we suggest you stop reading, head over to the Virtual Console now, and commence downloading. For $8, it's a quite obscene bargain.
New Final Fantasy IV videos continue to impress
True to the form of Square Enix, we still haven't seen much gameplay for Final Fantasy IV. But, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy more videos showing off the prettiness. The company just added three of them to the game's official site, each one detailing a different character.We put the one featuring Kain up top, but check after the break to see the videos with Cecil and Rosa.*Note: The videos were enlarged from the ones on the official site, which is why they are low resolution.
First clear look at Populous DS
Hey, awesome! A Marble Madness level generator for the DS! ... Oh, wait, no, it's just Populous DS. That's okay too, we suppose. It's just ... it looks a lot like Marble Madness, and we like Marble Madness in general better than strategy-type sim games where you build OH HEY look at that guy! He's pretty impressive!Does anyone else find it interesting that Japanese publications get the scoops on this game? It's a remake of a very Western game from a very Western developer, published by EA! But so far, the only release date the game has is the Japanese date of December 31st. It could be that a Japanese EA team is porting it -- or maybe EA wants to give us plenty of time with EA Playground before announcing another big game.
First blurry look at Populous DS
Almost two months since its game was announced, Electronic Arts has finally published tangible details and the first screenshots for Populous DS in this week's issue of Famitsu.Due next February 21st, this remake of the god game will feature both touchscreen and classic controls, though these isometric sims seem to lend themselves to the former. In addition to four different modes -- Challenge, Free Play, VS (up to four players, and Gallery -- Populous DS will come packed with popular maps from its many, many previous editions on PCs and consoles. Peek past the post break for a camera-phone shot of the Famitsu page.
The heroes of Dragon Quest IV
In case you missed out on Dragon Warrior IV the first time around, or if you did play it but can't distinguish any Dragon Quest characters from one another unless they're Slimes, Famitsu has posted an introduction to the characters found in the DS remake of Dragon Quest IV. These are just some of the people who show up over the course of the game-- in particular, these folks show up starting in Chapter 2.Not counting the "Hero," who is, of course, a big blank, we have: Clift, a priest of the Santheim Kingdom who performs recovery magic; Alena, princess of the Santheim Kingdom with a desire for adventure-- and, of course, a natural talent for fighting; and Brai, a magician who serves as Alena's tutor, teaching her the art of having hair like Larry Fine.In the course of introducing these characters, Famitsu naturally posted a bunch of screens of the game. And it must be "Japanese RPG Remakes With 3D that Actually Looks Kind Of Okay Day", because the 3D actually looks kind of okay! Seriously, the more we see of Dragon Quest IV's look, the more we like it.
Ys I & II remakes look like Ys, on the DS
The Age of Remakes continues, as more old stuff is resurrected for the newly re-energized Japanese game market. Screens for the new Ys remakes for the DS have been released, and they look pretty nice! Somewhat controversially, the environments have been remade in 3D; while the change certainly doesn't make the game look any nicer than the recent PC releases, we think it looks okay.We're hoping for an American release of these games (at a significantly reduced price), because a handheld release would finally provide us with the impetus to spend some time with Ys I and II. Alternately, we could play the Turbografx-16 CD-Rom version on the Virtual Console in the near future (we're sure), but we'd enjoy the portable option.Check out our galleries of the games and see if you're up for some vintage action-RPG games!%Gallery-9295%%Gallery-9296%
Friday Video: Remake retrospective
There are two things we follow with a special level of interest around here: Final Fantasy and remakes. Thanks to Square Enix, we can even follow them together these days! The latest in Game Trailers' Final Fantasy retrospective series looks at the many remakes in the series and some of the translation issues the franchise has faced as well. Considering all of the upcoming (and past) remake excitement, this is definitely one of the episodes in the retrospective that's worth a watch, and so we've put it in our weekly video spotlight. Check it out after the jump!
Dragon Quest IV boxart, screens
The boxart for Dragon Quest IV (it's a remake don't you know) has made its way onto the internets, but as you can see above, it is the Japanese boxart. We have a feeling, however, that the general layout won't change as it hits other territories outside of Japan. And, should you want some new screens to gawk at, there are plenty of those to check out, as well.So, who's on the train headed for Excitementville with us?
Famitsu reveals new Star Ocean details
Interested in some new Star Ocean information? Famitsu has heard your internal cries via its giant Japanese thought catcher and, in response, has released a double page spread of images and text about the game. While most of the info will be familiar to you if you're a fan of the series, there are also a few snippets regarding new additions to the game. The game will feature a redone introduction, redesigned characters, fully voiced cutscenes as well as an enhanced battle system. Star Ocean seems to be having a complete makeover on the PSP - even moreso than Final Fantasy I and II. We're excited to see a series that has potentially been overlooked in its past incarnations be given such great treatment for its PSP conversion.
