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Little King's Story to be told in Europe
Where would Europe be without Rising Star Games? Answer: in a very, very dark place. The European publishing arm of Marvelous has already announced localizations of Muramasa: The Demon Blade and No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, and has now confirmed plans to bring Cing's hat-obsessed strategy title, Little's King Story, to the region next March. You can watch a trailer for the game here, if you like, and make yourself queasy with the cloying cuteness of it all. Not only that, but nine new screens (sadly not wearing adorable hats) sneaked into our gallery! %Gallery-24969%
Attention future Kraftwerk tribute bands: where to buy Korg DS-10
When the Korg DS-10 synthesizer program comes out on November 4, you won't be able to purchase it just anywhere. GameStop, for one, doesn't care to stock a $40 DS non-game, apparently. In fact, the list of stores who are carrying the feature-rich synthesizer cartridge, as sent to 1UP by publisher XSEED, looks a bit paltry. According to the list, only Amazon, Fry's, Micro Center, Best Buy, J&R, Game Crazy, and EB (in Canada) are planning to stock DS-10. Amazon, by the way, is taking preorders for $36.99. Also they bring games directly to your house, so maybe it isn't so problematic that more stores aren't carrying DS-10.%Gallery-27318%[Via 1UP]
DS Daily: Saving up for a Flowery, Sunny, and Rainy day
Marvelous announced a 2009 release for the DS version of Grasshopper Manufacture's Flower, Sun, and Rain, probably to avoid having the game get lost in the holiday rush. But it's set to come out this year in Europe, which means that importers will have the opportunity to play the game in English several months before it's available in the US.If a game is available in English before its US release, do you import? Did you pick up the Japanese DS versions of the Phoenix Wright games? If not, is it because of the price difference? Or is supporting efforts to put games like these in US stores worth a few months?%Gallery-12911%
Flower, Sun and Rain DS remake coming to NA in 2009
If you're itching a "murder and mystery in paradise" kind of game, you need look no further, but you will have to wait. Marvelous and XSEED have announced (via press release) that the DS remake of Suda51's Flower, Sun and Rain is coming to North America in 2009. While it's not specified when in 2009, the ever-reliable (not really) Amazon UK page lists November 14, so we're hoping early in the year. Flower, Sun and Rain revolves around the eponymous hotel where the main character must repeat the same day -- and terrorist attack -- over and over again. Basically, it's just like Groundhog's Day except with an unfortunate dearth of Stephen Tobolowsky. Gallery: Flower, Sun, and Rain
TGS08: Arc Rise Fantasia to make North American dreams come true
We've known about Arc Rise Fantasia for quite awhile now. Up until today, we've had to look at screens with envy, as the title was not confirmed for a North American release. Sure, we hoped it would happen, but there weren't any guarantees. That is, until now.According to the press release that just hit our inbox, fresh from TGS, the game is scheduled to release sometime in 2009. Sadly, we don't have any kind of idea as to when in 2009 we'll be able to get our hands on this game, but, hey, at least we now know it's coming.%Gallery-26466%[Via press release]
Flower, Sun, and Rain in North America in 2009
No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle might be the biggest news of TGS involving Suda 51 and the letters "D" and "S," but it's not the only such news. Marvelous and XSEED have confirmed a US release for the DS remake of Suda 51's PS2 adventure game Flower, Sun, and Rain, which stars Sumio Mondo, a man forced to relive the same day, in which a sunny resort is blown up by terrorists.Of course, the game is coming out in Europe this November, so waiting until the US release may only be a cost-cutting measure on the part of impatient Suda fans. But we're happy to be able to go into a store -- eventually -- and buy it!%Gallery-12911%[Via press release]
Little King's Very Cute Little Trailer
We're completely dying of charm here. The TGS trailer for Cing's Little King's Story has dialed the quirky adorableness to levels that are potentially hazardous to human sanity. Look at Howser the Bullknight and his faithful companion, Pancho! One of the job classes is "Carefree Adult!" Seriously, every aspect of this game has been designed by Science to melt hearts and fill the air with joyous laughter. We're going to have to do our very best to overcome our natural aversion to games about ordering a bunch of people to build stuff for you and try this. Speaking of which, we're looking forward to finally reading more hands-on impressions from TGS! %Gallery-24969%
Vanillaware's Muramasa: The Demon Blade coming stateside
The publishing duo of XSEED and Marvelous Entertainment announced plans to bring Vanillaware's Wii-exclusive ninja-action title, Oboro Muramasa Youtouden, to the US sometime next year. The game, which will be redubbed as Muramasa: The Demon Blade for the local market, marks the second title to emerge from a co-publishing deal inked in May, following this week's release of Valhalla Knights 2 for the PSP. Muramasa looks to continue the tradition of Vanillaware's eye-poppingly gorgeous titles, Odin Sphere and Grim Grimoire, promising hand-drawn 2D sprites and side-scrolling levels. Beyond this, details are scarce, though more is expected to be revealed next week when the game is officially unveiled during TGS.
DS Daily: Arino's Challenge
Retro Game Challenge is a collection of small games designed to imitate both the look and the gameplay style of classic early-era NES games. That's pretty risky in and of itself, but not unsellable. However, it's also a game based on a show that isn't available in the US, starring a comedian that nobody has heard of. You know our stance on Retro Game Challenge (100% awesome), but what about people who aren't us? Is a game built around a (for all intents and purposes) nonexistent license going to work? Will people be confused by the Arino character? Or are there enough nerds out there who know all about Game Center CX that it doesn't matter?%Gallery-27519%
Retro Game Challenge keeps the spirit of the original
Finally, 1UP provides us with our first look at Retro Game Challenge, the English-language version of Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou. When XSEED showed the newly-announced US version of the game at E3, they simply used retail Japanese cartridges in the demo units. We asked the XSEED rep at the time how they planned to approach localization, but they weren't talking yet.The good news is that not much has changed, other than the words being in English. The young Shinya Arino character is still Arino, and the Famicom on the floor still looks like a Famicom. We can see from a very quick flash of the menu that the magazines are still there; we were a bit worried that they would be left out.[Via Ray Barnholt's 1UP blog]
Marvelous! Oboro Muramasa Youtouden announced for US
Marvelous Entertainment told The RPGO earlier this week that they had three unannounced projects for the US in the works. NeoGAFfer Botticus reports that the latest issue of Nintendo Power confirms the identity of one of those projects as Vanillaware's Oboro Muramasa Youtouden! The publication announced that Marvelous/XSEED plans to release the side-scrolling ARPG from the Odin Sphere creators as Muramasa: The Demon Blade sometime in 2009. Having heard absolutely nothing about the game's progress since troubling news in April, this announcement, in addition to letting us know it's coming out here, serves to reassure us that it's coming out at all.
XSEED placates forum, will 'look into' Ougon no Kizuna
XSEED seems to have replaced companies like Atlus and Mastiff as the go-to publisher for random imports, after releasing a couple of Wild ARMs games, Victorious Boxers Revolution, and other Japanese games, and announcing a localization of Namco Bandai's Game Center CX DS game.NeoGAFer "Hero of legend" sent an inquiry to XSEED about the possibility of picking up Jaleco's sketch-filtered action RPG (or just action game, we don't actually know!) Ougon no Kizuna. He actually received a response from a "Ken," who we assume is XSEED marketing and business development head Ken Berry. The statement, while entirely noncommittal, is at least not entirely dismissive of the idea: "Thank you very much for writing us about Kizuna, we will definitely look into it."Now, if you want to see dismissive, check out what he said about Shiren the Wanderer 3: "Shiren 3 is a request that we've received before, but Shiren the Wanderer sold pretty poorly on the DS so it's very hard for us to justify bringing over the Wii version when we're likely to lose money on it."
Little King's Preview
We've stared at Little King's Story for a while, so we're quite familiar with the look of the tiny monarch and his populace of multifariously-hatted thralls. But, partially as a result of being stood up at E3, we have only the faintest notion of what playing it entails. Like its contemporary tiny-king-building-a-town game, My Life as a King, Little King's town uses different buildings to determine what can be done. In Little King, the buildings serve to train the occupants in different skills, including fighting and farming. Unlike the WiiWare title, every townsperson is called into combat at your command, and their skills determine their abilities on the battlefield. Your population doesn't seem to be able to diminish; according to the preview, when someone dies, a new resident washes up on the beach, though this new person will have "no loyalties and no relationships." And when someone does die, you have to attend his funeral. It's a strangely personal touch for the strategy genre. You must also participate in hand-raising votes about the growth of the kingdom. If you fail to vote along with the majority of your constituents, your popularity will decrease and people will be less likely to do what you ask. %Gallery-24969%
Boldly go into the Rune Factory Frontier gallery
With all the fuss about Animal Crossing lately, we'd nearly forgotten about Rune Factory Frontier. That's not terribly surprising, considering that details on the franchise's Wii debut have been few and far between lately, and City Folk dominated the land-and folk-tending genre at E3. New screenshots have surfaced, however, and after ogling, we thought we'd ask you which you prefer: Animal Crossing or Rune Factory?%Gallery-27732%
Valhalla Knights 2 cuts into North America Oct. 1
Valhalla Knights 2 finally has a solid North American release date now that the game has gone gold. October 1 is the day to mark on your calendar for this Norse-flavored RPG from XSEED. The game features six-member party battles as well as ad hoc co-op and versus battles. With a story "penned by the scenario writer of Final Fantasy XII" and a $30 price tag, we'd say there seems to be a whole lot of value in the second Valhalla Knights title.%Gallery-28079%
Check out some battles from Valhalla Knights 2 in this video
Nothing can beat a battle montage. This trailer for Valhalla Knights 2 shows off several different battles with several different types of characters. The action seems very fast-paced and confusing, but it probably becomes second nature after playing for just a few minutes. Of course, the characters in the trailer seem way overpowered as well, but the game might be that easy. We'll find out when the title launches near the end of September.
More Korg DS-10 info than we can understand
1UP's interview with Korg DS-10 producer Nobuyoshi Sano and Korg staff covers a lot of little details that we would never think to ask! For example, about linking up eight systems playing the thing and using one as a master. And about interfacing with other synthesizers.But the parts of it that are simple enough for non-synth users (and non-programmers) like us to parse sound pretty neat. Prospective DS DJ types will be pleased to hear that Korg has, uh, "designed a type of limiter circuit in DS-10's internal mixer" in order to boost the program's sound output beyond the normal quiet DS levels. It's really not as technical as we make it sound, but we can't help but get into "WHAT IS THIS CONTRAPTION" mode whenever we see a screenshot of Korg DS-10 in action. %Gallery-27318%
E308: DS Fanboy plays God with Populous DS
It's been a very long time since I played Populous. In fact, the only version I ever got to play was the SNES port (the game first released on the PC, Atari ST-1 and Amiga) back in the day. But, I did play that port quite a bit in my youth, so seeing the game hit the DS is very exciting to me. Populous DS very much feels like the game of old, but in truth is nothing like the SNES title in both presentation and gameplay.%Gallery-11987%
Valhalla Knights 2 gets rebalanced for NA debut
Localizers Xseed have plans to tweak the US version of Valhalla Knights 2 and streamline the difficulty, according to Siliconera. Changes being made include easier level ups, which means less time grinding. Items will also drop more frequently. Lastly, save game data from the first Valhalla Knights can be used to get a free familiar and a helpful elf ally. The story is also said to be more cohesive than the first. An official date for North America has yet to be announced, but retail listings suggest a September 23, 2008 release.
E308: DS Fanboy hands-on with Korg DS-10
The Korg DS-10 is an incredibly interesting thing. It's not really a game, and it's not really a full-fledged synthesizer. Instead, it's like a perfect middle ground of both. And, it's also something that looked incredibly daunting when first loaded up.%Gallery-27318%
