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Ninja Gaiden 3 announced
Tecmo Koei revealed Ninja Gaiden 3 during a behind-closed door event today (in conjunction with TGS), reports VideoGamer.com. The announcement was accompanied by a teaser image showing blood-soaked franchise protagonist Ryu Hayabusa removing his mask. According to VideoGamer, the image represents themes that will be explored in the new sequel: both the "human side" of Ryu and a "more violent and bloody experience" (if you can believe it). Neither platforms nor further release information was given. Shortly before E3 last year, Team Ninja boss Yosuke Hayashi talked up his studio's commitment to furthering the Ninja Gaiden series. Today's reveal is the first hard evidence of Ninja Gaiden 3 since that time. Update: GamePro confirms the reveal went down at a private event hosted by Team Ninja, and adds that Ninja Gaiden 3 "is so early in development, the developer only showed journalists a piece of concept art" (above; see a bigger version after the break).
3DS Dead or Alive subbed 'Dimensions,' new screens and info
Famitsu has revealed a few new tidbits regarding the Nintendo 3DS rendition of Dead or Alive, thoughtfully translated by andriasang.com. The game, now known as Dead or Alive Dimensions, is being developed by Team Ninja under the direction of Yosuke Hayashi (who most recently worked on Metroid: Other M). The hallmark features of the series (counters and impossibly proportioned women, presumably) are set to make a comeback. The game is also supposed to be accessible to players that have avoided 3D fighting games in the past. The article confirms that Raidou -- super cheap boss character from the original Dead or Alive -- will be making a return appearance (we thought that was him in the E3 screenshots!). Head over to Famitsu to check out a handful of new screens.
Metroid: Other M review: a successful fusion
When I started playing Metroid: Other M, I didn't know what to make of it. Basic movement felt nothing like the previous games. The story was front and center. Samus talked a lot. The cutscenes were unskippable and initially intolerable. As I became acclimated, I began to realize that the game wasn't that much of a departure for the series at all. In fact, the elements that make this feel like a Metroid game gave me a better idea of what it means to be a Metroid game.
Metroid: Other M ads focus on nostalgia, overacting
A recent Metroid: Other M trailer promoted the game by taking us through the series' history. A Japanese TV commercial ties the game to the past even more directly, showing the original NES game morphing into Other M gameplay footage. The ad even goes so far as to declare this "a Famicom game with the latest technology," a tagline that also came up several times in the last Iwata Asks interview. Meanwhile, the American commercial focuses on the "other M," as in: melodrama -- total melodrama. See the beautiful slow-motion, live-action TV spot unfold just below the Japanese ad after the break.
Get up to (hyper) speed with this Metroid: Other M trailer
With the release of Metroid: Other M only days away, it's probably time we all got caught up on the series. Thankfully, Nintendo has released a handy video that condenses the entire story into seven minutes -- minus most of the portable entries and the entire Metroid Prime series, anyway.
Metroid: Other M is an action game in this trailer
We can forget our worries about Metroid: Other M for just a few minutes, thanks to this trailer. While we watch it, we can let our continuing concerns about the number, length and melodramatic content of cutscenes within Team Ninja's upcoming Wii game fall away as we enjoy wall-to-wall action. We learn nothing at all of Samus's past in these clips, nor about her feelings, save for the fact that she feels like not being eaten by a lava worm thing. Instead, we see Metroid: Other M as we first imagined it: as a Metroid game with the speed and intensity of the combat dialed way up. We'll find out soon enough how realistic this version is.
Metroid: Other M team under the Iwata Asks microscope
In an Iwata Asks interview about Metroid: Other M, Team Ninja head and Other M director Yosuke Hayashi classifies the game as "a NES game with the latest technology," an ideal that went on to inform much of the design. "Yes, we thought that if we could make a game that could be controlled with just one Wii Remote controller," Hayashi told Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, "we'd enable players who were put off by complex controls to enjoy 3D action games as well." The automatic movement of perspective enabled the game to have 3D environments while maintaining simple controls, and clever Wiimote movements like pointing at the screen to explore in 3D allowed the team to avoid "resorting to the Nunchuk," as producer Yoshio Sakamoto called it. At the same time, Sakamoto wanted the story and action to blend seamlessly, so the team worked with video production company D-Rockets. Director Ryuzi Kitaura described creating detailed storyboards to impress Sakamoto: "I think I drew more than 300 storyboards in total. The image count was over 2,000. By this stage, I was also accounting for camera work and action, so they became really elaborate production storyboards. I think I took over six months to finish them."
Preview: Metroid: Other M
With the game set to land in a mere 25 days, I had one last chance earlier this week to play the final version of Metroid: Other M -- though not as much as I would have liked. Nintendo had hand-picked a couple of areas for me to try. The first covered a good amount of ground in a botanical area of the Bottle Ship (the space station where Other M begins), while the second, far shorter one was meant to show that the game's combat isn't always as straightforward as in 2D Metroids past. %Gallery-98881%
Metroid: Other M's cutscenes compiled into two-hour movie in 'theater mode'
Do you feel like living through a full-fledged Metroid experience, but can't be bothered to do all that item-hunting? No, you couldn't care less about those stray E-Tanks and absent missile expansions -- you care about the deep, rich lore of Samus' Zebesian struggle. Metroid: Other M will contain a menu option suited to your bizarre desires: Theater mode, which compiles the game's cutscenes into a streamlined, two-hour, non-interactive story. The series' godfather, Yoshio Sakamoto, explained to 1UP that the mode, which unlocks after completing the game, would allow returning players to soak in all the dialogue and events of the story without having to replay the whole thing over again. Why, that sounds a heck of a lot like the full-length Shenmue movie which accompanied the game's sequel. Only -- and this is just a wild assumption, mind you -- we think Metroid: Other M: The Movie will have way, way fewer sailors.
Metroid: Other M's latest Japanese trailer beams in
We can't tell you everything that's being said in this newest trailer for Metroid: Other M -- not because we're jerks and don't want to, but because it's in another language. Japanese, to be specific. Thankfully, the characters introduced during this montage of CGI and in-game footage have their names kindly provided in English. Names like Lyle Smithsonian, Adam Malkovich and Brad "U.S." Treasury. (Only one of those is made up.) There's also a look at some good old fashioned gameplay, from Other M's first 45 minutes or so, but also in later, more planet-y environments. The purpose of most of it is to show Samus using the various beams at her disposal -- plasma, grappling and the like. If you're more of a still-image person, Nintendo has also released some new shots from the game, which lands on August 31, including the really cool box art we won't be seeing in the States. Check 'em out below, and watch the trailer beyond the break.%Gallery-98487%
Dragon Quest IX map, Metroid: Other M demo available at Comic-Con
Yes, there will be lots of interesting panels, swag, premieres, celebrities and other stuff at Comic-Con. Whatever. Nintendo just gave us the real reason the July 22-25 event is worth attending: a new Dragon Quest IX map. If you bring your DS to Nintendo's booth, with the game running in Tag Mode, you'll automatically pick up the "Mortamor" treasure map, being offered for the first time in North America. Presumably, other people will be there doing the same thing, making it your best chance at multiplayer. If you aren't playing DQIX yet, you'll be able to spend some demo time with it at the booth (#2944). You'll also get the opportunity to play Metroid: Other M, over a month before its August 31 release. Now that's an opportunity worth fighting the cosplaying crowd for.
An ice cold Metroid: Other M boss fight
The E3 demo of Metroid: Other M featured a boss fight in which the Galactic Federation worked to freeze a giant monster so Samus could shoot missiles at it. Now you can watch this dynamic battle for yourself, courtesy of CVG's week-long Metroid: Other M video series.
Metroid: Other M trailer features the 'birth of Samus'
CVG is posting new footage of Metroid: Other M all week, starting with a weird cutscene depicting Samus as a space baby. We're happy to see these videos now, but we're also slightly hesitant, knowing that we're going to see them again as unskippable in-game FMV.
Metroid: Other M rolls into Europe in September
The "Q3" window for the European release of Metroid: Other M has been clarified. An ad in the MCV magazine listed the game for "September." Nintendo subsequently confirmed the release period to Eurogamer. Back when the American release date was slated for June, that Q3 European release seemed depressingly far off. But thanks to the delay of the American version to August 31, and the Japanese release date of September 2, we can all enjoy waiting together.%Gallery-95759%
Metroid: Other M trailer keeps things in perspective
Metroid: Other M isn't just a side-scroller. It's a first-person shooter. And a third-person exploration game. And seemingly everything in-between. This trailer features a hodgepodge of perspectives, but how does it play? Stay tuned for our hands-on preview this weekend.
Metroid: Other M pre-orders include 'art folio' at GameStop
For most of us, "it's a new Metroid" is sufficient to ensure a pre-order of Metroid: Other M. That makes any extra items given away by retailers fully extraneous, though, of course, we'll take them. GameStop is offering a "collectible art folio" with pre-orders, containing 16 cards with art from Other M. The single preview image looks super classy. The "folio" design, by the way, means that these pieces of art will be easy to scan for use as desktop wallpapers. We appreciate that kind of convenience. It's safer than creasing the spine on an art book. [Via GoNintendo]
Nintendo explains Metroid: Other M, Sin & Punishment 2 delays
Nintendo delayed two of its big summer titles for Wii today: Metroid: Other M (to August 31) and Sin & Punishment: Star Successor (to June 27). When the company made the announcement, it provided no reasons. As it turns out, there is a decent reason for each delay. "As you may know, this game is the product of a unique partnership between longtime Metroid producer Yoshio Sakamoto, Team Ninja and many other individuals and groups, all of whom have set very high standards for this latest installment in the series," a Nintendo rep told IGN regarding Metroid: Other M. "Although it's taking slightly longer than expected to complete the project, we're confident that fans will find it to be well worth the wait." We can understand the game not being finished as a reason not to release it -- although if it were in that precarious of a position, maybe Nintendo shouldn't have been so optimistic with the date in the first place. As for Sin & Punishment, "A June 27 launch allows gamers to enjoy Sin & Punishment: Star Successor without having to rush through Super Mario Galaxy 2 (May 23)." Honestly, as Treasure boosters, we appreciate any effort made not to bury the developer's work -- although, again, we have to wonder why Nintendo set the original release date so close to Galaxy. %Gallery-86427%
Metroid: Other M, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor delayed
If you're a fan of Nintendo-published games about shooting aliens, prepare for disappointment. Nintendo just announced delays for the North American releases of both Sin & Punishment: Star Successor and Metroid: Other M. Sin & Punishment has been pushed back from June 7 to June 27 -- a brief delay. The Team Ninja/Nintendo Metroid sequel, however, has been bumped more substantially, from June 27 to August 31. We should have known the June date was too good to be true when all Europe got was a vague "Q3" announcement. %Gallery-86429%
This is the Metroid: Other M trailer we wanted to see
The last Metroid: Other M trailer confused us with its emphasis on storyline and dialogue over running and shooting. This latest trailer addresses that issue. Boy, does it ever. After Samus's armor mysteriously grows out of her glowing heart or something, we're treated to a nonstop barrage of the fastest action the series has ever seen. In addition to that, the trailer demonstrates the quick transition between third-person and first-person perspective, as well as some 3D movement in the third-person segments. Oh, and Samus faces off against Mother Brain in the end. [Via GoNintendo; thanks, Fernando]
Nintendo's Yoshio Sakamoto reveals Metroid: Other M's cinematic inspirations
Yoshio Sakamoto has had a rather diverse career with Nintendo, having worked on games like Metroid, WarioWare and Tomodatchi Collection. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata asked the Metroid: Other M producer to speak at GDC to "explore the secret of creating games for such a dynamic range of titles." One of Sakamoto's greatest inspirations seems to be film, noting directors Dario Argento, Luc Besson, John Woo and Brian de Palma as key figures. In particular, he found Argento's "Deep Red" to have a profound impact. Argento's manipulation of mood through music and timing is something he found moving; the use of foreshadowing helped transcend the film beyond other horror films. Other M will take these various inspirations by becoming a "synthesis of everything I've learned," Sakamoto told the audience. A new trailer screened for GDC attendees highlighted various cinematic moments in the upcoming Wii game, including a CG reimagination of Super Metroid's climatic ending. Sakamoto pointed out the return of Metroid Fusion's Adam, reminding the audience that foreshadowing will play a key role in creating suspense in the interquel. Considering the subsequent applause, it seems clear that Metroid fans approve of this new direction. %Gallery-86429%
