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Room escape games break free from browsers
For so long, we've begged for adventure games, and now we're getting them all at once. A suite of browser-based adventure games from creator Toshiyuki Takagi is getting ported to the DS courtesy of Success. His Crimson Room, Veridian Room, Blue Chamber, and White Chamber (all playable here) are all based on the concept of searching a mysterious locked room for a means of escape. The presentation on the DS appears identical, except that the inventory has been moved to the top screen, and arrows placed on the periphery of the bottom screen to allow touch screen-based movement throughout the rooms. The collection will be part of Success's Superlite 2500 series, which means, naturally, that it'll retail for 2500 yen ($21). Maybe a bit pricey for what are essentially free games (they use some inscrutable honor-system shareware model), but we wouldn't mind having something like this on the go. And we love the trend of interesting indie games getting console releases.
Do whatever it is you do in Shanghai on the Wii
We never learned how to play Shanghai, despite having countless opportunities to play it on consoles. We've played it before, but those sessions mostly consisted of messing around with the tiles for thirty seconds and not getting it. Wii players will soon have the opportunity not to know what's going on, because Success is working on a Wii version of the mah-jongg game. It'll feature four player modes for both time- and score-based competitions. Most importantly, you'll be able to pick up the little tiles with the Wiimote. Is that idea strangely appealing to anyone else? We're simple folks.
How disturbing: Tornado is kind of familiar
In order to clean up the mess caused by a drunken galactic king evil galactic prince, the tiny protagonist protagonists of Katamari Damacy Tornado must roll up pick up lots of stuff, including trees and buildings, in a big ball tornado. As you pick up more stuff, your ball tornado increases in size, allowing you to pick up bigger stuff.Of course, Katamari Damacy didn't have adorable furry characters (to its credit), and it didn't require players to constantly spin in a circle to generate momentum. Other than that, the two games look pretty similar. But if Tornado is a well-executed ripoff, we'll probably still be interested. We are slaves to rolling-stuff-up gameplay.
Izuna 2 employs the buddy system
While Izuna 2 looks, for the most part, exactly like its predecessor, it is getting one significant new addition: a tag system. Izuna will be able to tag out and be replaced by Shino (pictured) or another character, allowing you to continue in a dungeon past the period in which you'd normally need to bail out. It's important to go into dungeons with a friend! That's just basic ninja training.We don't know how many other dungeon crawlers have a character-switching mechanic, but it seems like a great way for players to manage difficult dungeons. In fact, we hope that hardcore players of this kind of thing don't think it'll make the game too easy.
Touch Detective 2 1/2 site goes live
Oh, Mackenzie. We can't help but love you, with your quirky little face and even quirkier cast of extras. And thanks to the brand new site for Touch Detective 21⁄2, we can wallow in new screenshots, character profiles, and more. The best part? The site is filled to the brim with the two things that are best about this burgeoning franchise: the art design and the humor. Also, if anything was ever great avatar material, it is Space Salmon. Someone slap a Mario hat on that guy and use him on Joystiq.
Touch Detective 2 1/2 trailer
Game|Life did some investigating (possibly involving touching something-- at least a keyboard) and came across a new trailer for the US version of Touch Detective 2 1/2. This trailer is impressively fast-paced and exciting, and is doing a pretty good job of getting us interested in the sequel to a not-that-great game! We really want to root for it, because of the adventure-ness and the bizarre art style, but then, we felt the same way about the first game. The trailer is relatively light on the Funghi, so you can watch this at work with impunity. That is, unless you want to look like you're working.
Izuna finds steady work
Get ready for another kick in the face! We mean that in a good "a hard game is coming out" way, and not the more literal "we have already kicked you in the face at least once, and are about to do so again" way.Success announced that they're working on a sequel to Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja, tentatively called Gouma Reifu Den Izuna Ni (Devil-conquering Soul Badge Izuna 2, which is the same as the first Japanese title, but with a 2 on the end). It'll be out in Japan this fall. We don't know anything else about it, except that there will be a new character, and that the game will no doubt be brutally difficult. Hey, Japanese game companies: how about a Roguelike Training game while you're all training-crazy?[Via Insert Credit]
Ask WoW Insider: To wipe or not to wipe?
Our own Barb, who usually runs the Friday afternoon Ask WoW Insider column, is off speaking prestigiously at a very prestigious conference (go Barb!) today. So instead, I'm going to step in, and put your considerable brainpower, dear readers, to work deciphering what I think is a pretty philosophical conceit. Ken asks, very succintly:A quick one for you, the boss is down but everyone died... Is it a wipe?What do you think? You kill the boss, but everyone in your UI is dead. I'll even make it tougher-- everyone who had a soulstone or an ankh in the fight has used it, so the only way you're going to get that loot is if someone runs back. Wipe, or not a wipe? Is it possible to both wipe and down a boss, or does "wipe" expressly imply failure? And if not, what do you call both death and success?If you've got a question, silly or serious, pensive or practical, that you'd like to ask the readers of WoW Insider, sent it to ask AT wowinsider DOT com.
Insect Wars preorder papercraft
Now that Kanji Dragon's release is behind us, it's time for us to set our sights on the next Success Corp. release that we plan to obsess over: Insect Wars (Konchuu Wars). The latest update on the tactical RPG's site shows off a papercraft model of a horned beetle -- just one of the dozens of customizable units in your army of mechanized bugs -- equipped with an intimidating cannon on its back. This will presumably be offered as a limited gift to gamers who preorder Insect Wars in Japan. Scurry past the post break for a better look at the paper replica.
Insect Wars is the bee's knees
We shooed Insect Wars (Konchuu Wars) away when the game's beetle-filled screenshots first flew into our periphery, believing the bug to be an uninspired pest. "Go away," we said, "and bother us no more." In our defense, language barriers kept us from understanding what the Success Corp. title was trying to communicate with its antennae and movement patterns. Having studied its habits, we found that the game isn't a Mushiking clone as we'd originally assumed, but a tactical RPG where you command an army of customizable, mechanized insects. Our mouths were agape, monocles falling from our faces when the truth was revealed. Below is a sampling of Insect Wars' creepy crawlers: a rifle-mounted praying mantis with buzzsaws -- my god, buzzsaws! -- for arms a lightning bug that terrorizes foes with its beam cannon tail a heavily-armored, treaded snail (pictured above) which acts as a transport for other units while healing them Not since Puzzle Quest have our loins ached for such a game. Insect Wars swarms into Japanese stores this August 2nd. Head past the post break for a minute-long trailer.
Confessions of a Warrior Noob [edit]
How well I remember the day I that created my warrior. I had seen a gnome walking around with an adorable name, a cute hat, and all that plate armor much too big for her, and I was suddenly inspired with a character idea that I just had to make real. As a roleplayer, I was fiercely excited to play this undauntedly brave gnome who would proclaim in an adorably child-like voice: "I am NOT cute! I'm the most fearsomest warrior you'll ever see!" The character was wonderful fun to roleplay for a long time, and brought plenty of laughs with my friends, but after finally reaching level 40 and getting my cute mechanostrider mount, I realized I was getting killed way too often, killing monsters way too slowly, and just not having that much success at the actual "war" part of being a warrior. I had heard of a number of warriors complaining in the forums and it seemed that the class was just way too weak. So I gave up and blamed Blizzard for my bad experience -- but oh, how I was wrong...
Siliconera drives Mr. D out of town
We aren't even sure anyone was looking forward to this one, but we kinda were, a little. The Japanese puzzle-action game Go! Go! Minon is about a superhero who can materialize trails of dominoes. His super power is also his Achilles' heel, since his movement is limited to those trails. Mastiff is rumored to be planning a US release for this as Mr. D Goes to Town. Any time a Japanese game is colorful and quirky, the word Katamari comes out and our ears perk up. In fact, Siliconera mentioned both Katamari Damacy and Gitaroo Man in the first sentence of this article, ensuring that we would read it. Gitaroo Man is a certain blogger's favorite game, and Katamari is pretty close, despite neither of these actually being on Nintendo consoles.Unfortunately, the palette and the wackiness are apparently the only similarities between this and Katamari. Siliconera cites excessively limited domino-dropping gameplay, movement that is also hampered by the domino mechanic, and checkpoints that drop Minon in seemingly random, nonsensical locations as game-breaking issues. It's really too bad the game isn't great, because dude, look at that boxart.
Touch Detective sequel continues to taunt us with fungus
Before Touch Detective hit shelves, we were obsessed with it -- the dark, unique look, the intriguing characters ... we couldn't get enough! The game itself, however, didn't really deliver; there was too much going on to enjoy Mackenzie's wackiness on the top screen, and the puzzles were less-than-optimal.And yet ... faced with a sequel ... we're back on the love train. We can't help it. It must be the rapidly multiplying shape of Mackenzie's sidekick, Funghi, shown in the opening movie. He's hypnotic and we're powerless before him. We love the music, we love the wacky parade of characters, and when the localized sequel lands near us, we'll probably pick it up again and hope for the best.Sometimes, even knowing better just doesn't matter in the face of pretty, pretty art.
The Economist on Apple's journey as a lesson to other companies
The Economist has published an article that explores some of the lessons other companies can learn from Apple's journey through the industry, as well as it's unique practices towards product design and customer relations. Specifically, the article outlines four lessons other companies should take notes on, including the fact that some of Apple's innovation comes both from without and within, highlighting the fact that some of its strongest products like Mac OS X and the iPod are either built on the foundation from open source (Mac OS X's BSD Unix core), or originally conceived by an outside consultant (like the iPod). Another great lesson the article mentions is an ability to not listen to customers or the market when one's instincts say otherwise. Both the iPod and Nintendo's Wii are cited here: while the iPod was originally criticized for being too expensive of a gadget, the market has clearly spoken otherwise. In the case of Nintendo's wildly successful Wii, the company was criticized for betting on a portion of the market that was more or less completely ignored by the other video game manufacturers: non-gamers who haven't picked up a console yet.It's a good read that takes a realistic approach while spotlighting some of the lessons that companies can learn from Apple's wild success in recent years.Thanks Adam
Kanji Dragon blows through Akihabara
Sunday came and went, taking with it our hopes of ever meeting Kanji Dragon's martial artist. The kung-fu character posed for a few shots at Success Corp's Akihabara event over the weekend, hyping the kanji-training action title. Just looking at the photos and all the fun we missed out on feels like getting crane-kicked right in the heart.Though we didn't get to attend the soiree, it certainly wasn't from lack of trying. We stuffed our Pokemon backpacks with dozens of DS and GBA games, our favorite G.I. Joes, and a plastic baggie loaded with Pringles (these were crushed into little flaky bits before we even zipped our Squirtle bags shut) before heading out to hitchhike a ride to Japan, but we didn't even make it past two blocks before the police picked us up and drove us home. Our parents were pissed. Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon DVDs containing all of the game's promotional videos, including an unreleased action clip, were passed out to attendees. Peek past the post break for another exciting image from the event and a look at the multicolored shirts that were given to those who preordered the title. You might also see us hugging our knees in the corner, sniffling and trying to pretend like we just didn't spend all afternoon crying.
Enpitsu de Oku no Hosomichi is lovely
Sometimes writing about the DS is kind of surreal. Like when we get to make a gallery of preview images for a poetry book. We doubt the Xbox 360 Fanboy dudes are doing that right now. They're probably writing about games.In addition to being as subtly beautiful in presentation as we're sure the original poetry is, Enpitsu de Oku no Hosomichi now appeals to us in another sense: it includes free junk. As a limited bonus, Success is throwing in a pencil stylus. Because "Pencil (Enpitsu)"is right there in the name.%Gallery-3547%
Kanji Dragon scheduled to kick Akihabara's ass
We're well aware that the gaming press couldn't care less about Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon; interest for a kanji-training beat 'em up is niche at best, and to be honest, this whole kung fu theatre advertising push is a bit silly. But are we going to let that stop us from inundating you with every single scrap of Kanji Dragon news that we come across? Of course not!Success Corp. will be celebrating the educational brawler's June 7th release with a special event this Sunday at Akihabara's Sofmap amusement complex. Attendees will be able to play the game and will even receive a limited edition T-shirt if they pre-order a copy. The title's fumbling mascot will also be making an appearance, handing out Kanji Dragon Director's Cut DVDs. Make sure to check past the post break for a larger version of the disc's explosive cover.To say we're disheartened by the fact that we won't be able to attend is an understatement. We wept bitter tears as we read the press release's jumbled Google translation, yelling out in grief when we learned that we'd miss out on free souvenirs. Rod Stewart poignantly sang "So Far Away" as a montage of us drowning our sorrows with too many drinks and loose women played right before fading to black.
Bug-hunting game looks like edutainment done right
Insects are huge in Japan. We don't mean in the Mothra kaiju sense, but in that they're very popular. Kids like to collect and battle stag beetles (sound like another popular Japanese form of entertainment?) Therefore, a bug reference guide on the DS seems like a pretty good decision.Quiz & Touch Kensaku Mushi Sukan (Quiz & Touch Insect Encyclopedia) is our kind of non-game: not only does it provide visual and sound information about many species of bugs, but it also has quizzes and minigames about the bugs, including games based on identifying particular insects by sound and color. Librarians and those training to be librarians will probably agree: more reference books should have games in them.%Gallery-3479%
Explosions! Car crashes! Kanji Ken!
Mentioning Kanji Ken earlier this afternoon prompted us to make a beeline for the Japanese game's official site, scrounging its pages for any new developments on the kanji trainer/brawler. Amidst a pile of nonsensical videos, we were able to unearth a pair of magnificent downloadable wallpapers of incalculable value. Just seeing them will blow your mind right out your ass. Keeping with the game's kung-fu theatre theme, the desktop decorations parody martial arts movie posters with cliches like city skylines in the background and uh... a man screaming for no visible reason. Needless to say, they're every bit as zany as Kanji Ken's cover art! Sweep kick right through the post break for the new trailers and previews of the wallpapers.
DS Daily: Popularity
The DS is truly a juggernaut, enjoying a success most home consoles yearn for, and that most handhelds could never dream of matching. Even more impressive is the sheer lack of negative press about the DS. Except for the occasional PSP vs. DS bitterness, no one seems to have much to say against the DS. Is it just that good? It seems hard to believe, but there may simply be little to criticize outside of friend codes. Obviously, you probably like the DS just a little, or you wouldn't be at DS Fanboy, but we want to know: do you think the DS has really earned its incredible success, or is it some sort of fluke?
