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The few new features in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky
The official site for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky now features new screenshots and info for Chunsoft's latest roguelike, which is a slightly updated version of Explorers of Time/Darkness. It's the Mystery Dungeon equivalent of Pokémon Platinum, basically -- same game, with a few new Pokemans and new quests. Thanks to the Pokemaniacs at serebii.net who immediately got to translatin', we can all read about the added content.The critters featured in Platinum will show up in Explorers of the Sky, including Shaymin and the new, wormy Origin Forme of Giratina. At least two new sidequests will be available, which help fill in the game's story. "Genius Igglybuff" stars the leader of the Wigglytuff Guild (in his past as an Igglybuff, and man is this getting weird to write) on an adventure with a Smoochum, a Wooper, and a Budew; "In the Dark Future" follows the game's ending, which means that we probably shouldn't talk too much about it, in the interest of keeping spoilers locked safely away in a Pokéball.%Gallery-42308%[Via Serebii]
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explore Clearer Screens
Nintendo has started distributing media for Chunsoft's Pokémon Mystery Dungeon threequel, Explorers of the Sky, starting with clearer versions of the screens that debuted in those CoroCoro scans.To the amazement of nobody, it looks exactly the same as the first two. This was as inevitable as the game itself existing, but hey, you know you'll still be buying it once the localized version is announced. And at least now we get a less blurry look at some of the new starter monsters, such as Riolu and Vulpix. Hit up our gallery for the rest.%Gallery-42308%
Pokemon to Explore the Sky in new Mystery Dungeon
The latest edition of CoroCoro is off the presses, and look: new Pokémans!Okay, well maybe "new" is stretching it. The game you see above is Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky, a sequel to last year's respectable Explorers of Time/Explorers of Darkness duo. The screens in the scans posted by Gamekyo are teensy, so we're not sure you'll get much out of those, but there is confirmation on the five starter Pokémon: Vulpix, Riolu, Eevee, Shinx, and Phanpy.CoroCoro states that Japan will get its hands on the Chunsoft-developed roguelike this spring. While we cross everything for a 2009 release in the west, hit up Gamekyo for the full scans, including some cute Pokémon art.
DS Daily: Chocobo vs. chocobo
With two chocobo-centric games heading to the DS, cash-poor gamers may have to make a terrible decision: chocobo, or chocobo? Oh, the horror! They're both adorable, but one is packed with mini-games based on familiar stories, and the other is based on familiar (as in, old school) gameplay packed with aspects that will kick your ass. Similar in some ways, they are, but in the end? Very different.If forced to choose, which would be your one chocobo game to rule them all: Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: Maze of Time DS+ or Chocobo and the Magic Storybook: The Witch and the Girl and the Five Heroes.
Go Baroque without spending a lot
Sales on Atlus games have become more common in this hardware generation, but it still feels special and a little bit transgressive to buy an Atlus-published game for less than it cost at release. Of course, novelty is hardly sufficient reason to buy Sting's Baroque, but there's also the fact that it's a pretty good game -- and some people may be starved for a Wii RPG experience by now.Amazon is featuring both the Wii and PS2 versions of the sorta-roguelike as their Deal of the Day, for a scant $16.98. At that price, you could buy both versions for comparison purposes and still pay less than regular price. Or you could save money!%Gallery-11716%
Chocobo dresses up for Halloween in Europe
Square Enix has just announced that their adorable rogue-lite, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon, will launch in PAL territories on October 31. Quite an appropriate release date for a game about dressing up in various Final Fantasy job-related outfits! We also see the appropriateness in a Halloween release in a genre that you should be quite afraid of. It's kind of unfortunate that almost four months will have elapsed between the North American and PAL releases, but at least the release date is cool, right?Despite the cutesy exterior, Chocobo's Dungeon is still a for-real RPG, and, according to reviewers, one worth checking out for its soundtrack as well as its challenge!%Gallery-9664%
Fanswag: Baroque goes to ...
Well, our latest giveaway has come to a close and it's about time we crowned a winner. It was a tough decision (not really, we choose the winner via random drawing), but we managed to do it. Who won? It was none other than: comtar, who is a fan of Run Saber Congrats to our winner and thank you all for entering this giveaway. Better luck next time!
Fanswag: Get lost in Baroque
We've got another giveaway for you all, with the prize being one copy of Baroque. Folks who enjoy the roguelikes will likely want to bounce on this one. Or fans of Atlus overall. Either way, free stuff is good stuff.How do you enter? Simply leave a comment telling us what your favorite Atlus game is. If you've never played an Atlus title before, check out Wikipedia. You can leave one comment per day, between now and 11:59PM ET on Monday, September 1st, which is when the giveaway ends. As always, this latest giveaway is only open to current and legal residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec). Also, entrants need to be at least 18 years of age. Read up on the official rules right here.%Gallery-11716%
Fanswag: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2
Hey folks, it's time for another giveaway. This round we'll be hooking up two lucky readers with copies of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. Also, one of those lucky two readers will get a free Pokemon T-shirt that Nintendo sent over with the game. If it isn't your size, we'd suggest you give it to one of your cousins or something.What's up for grabs: One Grand Prize winner will receive Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (valued at $35) and one Enter the Dungeon T-shirt One runner-up will receive Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (valued at $35) In order to enter, you must leave a comment telling us what your absolute favorite Pokemon is. You can leave a comment once per day, and before entering, make sure you are a legal and current United States or Canadian resident (excluding Quebec) and at least 18 years of age. The giveaway starts now and ends on Sunday, August 10th at 11:59pm ET. Don't forget to give the official rules a read, as well!Best of luck to all of you and, as always, thanks for reading DS Fanboy!
Castlevania, Chocobo, and Valkyrie coming in October ... to Japan
The Japanese release date for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia might not seem like useful information to you readers out west, but the desperate, Castlevania-starved gamers among you will at least now know the exact day their import copy will begin its trans-Pacific journey towards their hands -- October 23rd, 2008.Furthermore, considering that the US release for Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin was only three weeks after Japan's, we also now have a general idea of when Order of Ecclesia will see its stateside release -- mid-November.Square Enix also has two titles scheduled to hit Japan during the tenth month, Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One (October 2nd) and Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: Labyrinth of Time DS+ (October 30th), the latter being a roguelike remake of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon.Perhaps the publisher will keep the promise it made back in March to aim for simultaneous worldwide releases with its new titles? It's unlikely, but we can dream ...%Gallery-22992%%Gallery-27055%
DS Daily: Like a rogue
Yesterday, we spent a little time talking about roguelike games, with the review of Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns. This particular brand of dungeon crawl has been pretty popular on the DS of late, which means, of course, that we've got to ask you if you're into it. Do you enjoy the occasional roguelike experience, or do you find them frustrating? Perhaps uninteresting? Inquiring minds and all.
Review: Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns
Izuna may not be the most legendary of figures in the world at large, but around here, she's a star. She's only unemployed in the ninja sense; she's got other gigs on the side. And for a second time, she's back with a roguelike challenge set to kick you all around the dungeons.Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns is a lot like its predecessor -- it's tough, it requires more than a bit of caution, and there are a lot of silly jokes about boobs and being in a game. If you didn't play the first one, that's okay; feel free to pick up the sequel, as all you'll miss out on is a little bit of the backstory and relationships between characters ... none of which is particularly important. The story of Izuna 2 is merely stage-setting. It gives you something to watch between dungeons.%Gallery-15250%
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sales
Not all of us are up to the challenge of a brutal roguelike, and that's okay. In fact, that's what roguelike-lights such as Pokémon Mystery Dungeon are for. Just because said games don't beat your spirit to a pulp, though, doesn't mean they're not enjoyable, especially for Pokémaniacs. Today's a good time to become an explorer of time or darkness, as both Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness are being offered as Amazon's deal of the day. Each one is currently on sale for $22.99, and will be until 12:00am PDT. Yet, if you're not familiar with the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, you might want to check out our review of the game (well, games) first.
Izuna 2: Hands-on with an Unemployed Ninja
If you enjoyed Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja (or at least thought you might), then there's good news: the sequel is just as charming, just as engaging, and perhaps even a little more fun than the original. The sequel has a lot of new things, including a second baby step toward making Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns a hair easier on your sanity and frustration levels. That's right -- while Izuna's games definitely fall under the roguelike label, they're a fingernail easier than the traditional dungeon crawler. That doesn't make them any easier to me, but the hardest of the hardcore may scoff at Izuna's differences, while the rest of us can actually attempt the game without "accidentally" dropping the DS or anything. What's different? In both Izuna 2 and its predecessor, when you die (and will you ever die), you keep your levels. In keeping with the roguelike tradition, you lose everything else, but it's not absolutely everything in a square-one sort of way. Izuna 2 adds something else on top of that: the tag team system. And that's where things get a little sticky.%Gallery-15250%
Wark! Two Chocobo trailers waddle into view
Making sure that you get the message -- the message being "Chocobos are really cute; buy our Chocobo games" -- Square Enix has posted trailers for its two recently revealed fall-bound Chocobo titles, Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: Maze of Time DS+ and Chocobo and the Magic Storybook: The Witch and the Girl and the Five Heroes.As you might be able to tell in the promotional clip and the game's title, Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon is an enhanced port of Chocobo's Dungeon (released in the U.S. for the Wii this week) with more focus on Final Fantasy regular Cid. Given the nature of roguelikes, this DS release doesn't look like that much of a "downgraded" experience compared to the Wii version!The Chocobo and the Magic Storybook clip isn't nearly as epic, but if you're enough of a Chocobo fan to have read this far into the post, you'll likely want to watch it anyway. Jump past the break for more of the flightless, chubby bird.%Gallery-27055%
Metareview: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon is warking on over to the Wii today, and this excites us for two reasons. For one, we're entirely ready for the cuteness overload that is sure to engulf us while playing the game. Seriously, dressing up Chocobos in cute little class outfits? We're not even sure we can handle that level of adorability. The second reason is that it's a roguelike RPG, and we can definitely use some more representation for this niche genre on the Wii.We don't want to play a bad game, though, so we're interested in seeing what the critics have to say before giving Square Enix our hard-earned $40. If you are, too, then look no further:1up (B+) found many redeeming qualities about the game, as long as you're willing to embrace the roguelike challenges: "It's difficult, and it's often controller-throwingly infuriating, but the challenge is fundamentally fair -- and the game looks and sounds so good that you'll keep playing to see what comes next. The dungeons are surprisingly pretty for randomly generated affairs, boasting colorful corridors and flashy graphical effects. And the soundtrack is nothing short of amazing, a collection of lush rearrangements of Final Fantasy standbys."IGN (84/100) thought that this title had a lot of polish, and that Squeenix fans should run to pick this one up: "On the surface, Chocobo's Dungeon appears to be another watered-down entry with its kid-friendly presentation and seemingly simplistic gameplay. But spend a little time with it and layers of depth slowly reveal themselves. This is one of the most engaging, challenging experiences on the Wii, proving that a kiddie presentation doesn't have to mean shallow gameplay."%Gallery-9664%
Square Enix announces new Chocobo Tales, Chocobo roguelike
As a promotion for its Virtual World -- yes, it's a virtual world titled Virtual World -- Square Enix held a special event in the beta 3D space unveiling two new Chocobo titles for the Nintendo DS -- Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: Maze of Time DS+ (fall 2008) and Chocobo and the Magic Storybook: The Witch and the Girl and the Five Heroes (winter 2008). Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: Maze of Time DS+, as you can guess, will be a roguelike starring Final Fantasy figures Cid and Chocobo. This will actually be Square Enix's fourth Chocobo Mystery Dungeon entry, an enhanced port of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon for the Wii, now with new jobs and a storyline told from a new perspective (Cid's).The chances of this one coming to the U.S.? Given the current "surge" of roguelikes hitting the States, it's very likely we'll get this one! You can preview some of Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon's first screenshots in our gallery below.The second title, Chocobo and the Magic Storybook: The Witch and the Girl and the Five Heroes, follows 2007's Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, a minigame collection with RPG and card-battling elements. If you remember our favorable review for the original game, we called it "just about the cutest thing ever." Screenshots below!%Gallery-27055%%Gallery-27058%[Via Duckroll]
Relax in Chocobo's Dungeon with screens and videos
We're one day away from the release of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon, which can only mean one thing: media blitz. Not that we're complaining; the graphics for this title aren't anything too special, but you can't deny that the Square Enix polish makes the game look pretty. Normally Squeenix charges a little extra for that polish, but not in the case of Chocobo's Dungeon -- the game is retailing for only $39.99 (shock, gasp!). So, we'll look at the shiny new images in the gallery below to our hearts' content.In addition to screens, Square Enix also gave us some videos to peek at. If you want to see a handful gameplay action (and, more importantly, the Chocobo looking adorable in different class outfits), then just click on the shiny blue "Continue reading ..." link below. %Gallery-9664%
Create Lulz of the Unemployed Ninja, win stuff
Do you enjoy the Izuna character portrait comics on the official website? If not, you probably haven't read them, because they're delightful. Atlus is now offering a chance for the fans to share their own Izuna comics, and get a shot at some free stuff for doing so! All you have to do is pick one of four templates (each one featuring interactions between different Izuna characters), add text to a form, and submit your hilarity to Atlus for judging. The winner gets a copy of Izuna 2 and all the posters -- even the one that they didn't pick for Amazon copies!%Gallery-15250%
Chocobo's Dungeon producer on a gentler roguelike
In an IGN interview, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon producer Yuki Yokoyama described the game as a toned-down roguelike, made in such a way that "users who have never played a dungeon crawler can enjoy it as well." Item and experience loss after death, then, is gone to make the experience friendlier. Good for new players, but roguelike devotees may be put off!Square Enix was motivated to return to the Chocobo's Dungeon RPG series, Yokoyama said, after the last Chocobo game on the DS. In Japan, the Chocobo Tales minigame collection was apparently popular, leading Yokoyama to believe it was a good time to make another game in the Chocobo's Dungeon series.While you're reading about the cutest dungeon RPG this year, be sure to check out IGN's new screens as well.%Gallery-9664%
