In conjunction with the North American release of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, the English dubs of two anime shorts have been released.
The shorts focus on a human who has mysteriously been transformed into a Pokemon, in this case an Oshawatt, following Mystery Dungeon’s recurring transformation theme. Paired up with his new partner Pikachu, no not that Pikachu, the two set out to create a “Pokemon Paradise”. The shorts also show a run in with Kyurem, the legendary dragon, who seems to be getting quite a reputation in the anime.
Though just released in North America, Australian fans will have to wait until May 18th, for the chance to play as either Snivy, Oshawott, Tepig, Axew or Pikachu (this is a Pokemon game after all, of course you can be Pikachu).
Check out the anime shorts below and dive into the world of Pokemon, literally.
Naruto Powerful Shippuden Developer: Inti Creates Publisher: Namco Bandai Games Platform: Nintendo 3DS Release Date:March 5, 2013 Price:$39.99 – Available Here
Overview:
It was roughly a year ago that the Naruto SD spin-off anime series begun airing. Propelled by the popularity of the Naruto franchise, Naruto SD also known as Naruto Spin-Off: Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals, has been a smash hit in all regards. So it really comes as no surprise that Naruto SD would follow suit of the main Naruto series and spawn a video-game adaptation. So how does it fair compared to other Naruto games? Does Naruto Powerful Shippuden live up to the Naruto name?
Quick guys, grab my balls!
Story: Naruto Powerful Shippuden features two different stories for players to dive into. The first of which follows titular protagonist Naruto Uzumaki and the second follows the real star of the Naruto Spin-Off anime Rock Lee.
The Naruto story generally follows along with the Naruto Shippuden anime story for the most part while Rock Lee’s plot is unique to the game and seems to be all about the random adventures that Rock Lee gets caught up in while Naruto is off fighting the big bads of the ninja world. Both stories are conveyed in brief segments before and after missions and always are done to comedic effect in keeping with the style of the Naruto Spin-Off anime.
The plot is of course not the main focus of this game and exists simply to add some flavour to the gameplay and with the insanity that goes on in this game it is certainly quite a unique taste at that.
Shucky ducky quack quack!
Gameplay:
The game itself is relatively simple by design yet has a surprising amount of depth to it. It focuses completely on single-player gameplay to great effect as it feels incredibly well thought out with a great level of attention spent on designing both main story modes. As previously mentioned you can play as either Rock Lee or Naruto and go through each of their stories and take on a variety of different missions all played out in a side-scrolling beat-em-up style.
The missions themselves vary to a great degree which does go a long way to ward off any feelings of repetition, with similar types of missions spread out from one another with a lot of variety in between. It works well as once the same mission type inevitably comes back around it doesn’t feel tired. The main types of missions that you will face are a survival type which requires you to fight off a number of enemies for a certain time limit, an adventure mission which generally focuses on getting through a level, a simple task of taking out a certain number of enemies, boss battle missions and a plethora of other mission types that keep things fresh.
Rock Lee’s Sexy Justu needs a little work.
Both story modes are incredibly long in their own right and have a great deal of replay ability to them due to the RPG like elements in the game. You can level up your character and customize your abilities and team of comrades. You will unlock a number of companions throughout the story mode which can be allocated to a button command to summon, certain ninja pals have certain abilities which are useful in different situations.
Once you have developed your own character enough you can also unlock a second form transformation that will power you up and allow you different abilities. The RPG stat-building aspect of the game provides a lot in the way of customization and adds a great depth to Naruto Powerful Shippuden.
Tornados? Ain’t nobody got time for that!
The game also features an Endless Battle mode which is unlocked as you progress through the game. This mode is pretty self explanatory and revolves primarily around fighting off waves of enemies for as long as you possibly can. It is a fun little mode that is a great place to hone your ninja skills and have a bit of simple fun.
Naruto Powerful Shippuden is a game that is exploding with fun. Its genius is in its simplicity. Sometimes less is more and in the case of this game that much is very true. It dials back on the superfluous and focuses in on its core gameplay brilliantly. Whether you like Naruto or not it hard to deny that this game is one hell of a good time.
Talk to the hand Naruto!
Visuals and Audio:
Aesthetically Naruto Powerful Shippuden utilizes the super-deformed chibi art style of the Naruto Spin-Off anime series to great effect. The chibi character designs look great and really match the comedic tone of the series in all regards. It goes a long way to giving this game a very distinct and unique visual style in comparison to the rest of the Naruto games on the market. It makes decent use of the 3DS’ 3D stereoscopic view, which a great level of immersion but it does feel non essential all things considered.
The game’s soundtrack is a great array of tracks that carry the ninja feel quite well, but it was somewhat disappointing that the awesome theme of the anime ‘Give Lee’ isn’t featured in the game as far as I could see. Despite that the overall soundtrack is well composed and well suited to the game. It is worth noting that the game does not feature an English dub instead it features the original Japanese cast, this won’t be a problem however as the majority of dialogue is in text form, so it doesn’t affect the game in any way.
Rock Lee laughs in the face of danger.
Overall:
What we have here is somewhat of an anomaly, it is a spin-off game based upon a spin-off anime series. The general nature of spin-offs denote that they are of no consequence in the grand scheme of the series. Naruto Powerful Shippuden blows all preconceptions away and becomes what is one of the best Naruto games in the series.
Inti Creates have brought their rich history and experience to this game and made it something special. They should be applauded for what they have done with this game. It is bursting at the seams with energy and playful affection for the Naruto series and is a game that truly feels like it was made with love. Not just a love for the Naruto series but also love for good games.
Naruto Powerful Shippuden is one of the 3DS’ finest action games and is a must for Naruto fans. Forget all your preconceptions and jump in and have some fun with Rock Lee and all of his Ninja Pals.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Today Viz Media announced that they will be holding a special contest for those who are looking forward to attending Anime Expo and are fans of the Naruto franchise. The contest which starts today and will end at midnight on April 16th is being held in conjunction with WeLoveFine.
Anyways, fans of the franchise are asked to create an original piece of Naruto or Naruto Shippuden artwork that will be placed on a t-shirt. The artwork can be stylized or chibi looking and submit it to their contest page at WeLoveFine. All submissions must be original and cannot have traced images from the Naruto manga or anime on them in any way. The submissions will be judged by WeLoveFine as well as guest judges Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, Joe Otsuki, the editor of the Naruto manga and Hayato Date the director of the anime series.
The Grand Prize winner will be given a paid 3-days 2-nights trip to attend Anime Expo 2013 which is being held in Los Angeles, CA, July 4-7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The package includes a 4-day pass for the event as well as lodging near the convention center and 1 round trip airfare that is limited to the US only.
If you don’t win the grand prize, don’t fret as there are other prizes to win as well. The three guest judges will have a “Judges Pick” where they select one piece of artwork as their favorite and the artist of those images will be given $300 while one runner up will receive a $150 gift certificate to WeLoveFine and five honorable mentions will get a $50 gift certificate to WeLoveFine. Full contest details and rules can be found here.
Gazillion Entertainment announced at PAX East that the free-to-play massively multiplayer online action RPG Marvel Heroes will launch around the world on June 4.
Players who have purchased the Founders Packs as part of the Marvel Heroes Founders Program will receive early access to the game up to seven days early, beginning on May 28. The Marvel Heroes Founders Program lets players purchase limited-edition Founders Packs which enable them to extra benefits online. These include access to their favorite heroes, unique costumes, early game access, and in-game currency that can be used to buy in-game items at launch. The value-packed Marvel Heroes Founders Program is available until June 3.
David Brevik, President and Chief Operating Officer of Gazillion Entertainment has said
“When we started working on Marvel Heroes we knew exactly what we wanted to make – an unrivaled multiplayer free-to-play action-RPG experience that allowed gamers and comic fans to play as their favorite Super Heroes.This is an incredibly exciting day for all of us at Gazillion and we can’t wait to let gamers experience the Marvel Heroes world and our fresh take on the massively multiplayer online genre.”
Marvel Heroes is the Marvel MMO that enables you to play as Iron Man, Thor, Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America and many more as they attempt to stop Doctor Doom from devastating the world with the power of the Cosmic Cube. The game features a leveling system which is unique to each Super Hero. It also includes diverse locations set across the expansive Marvel Universe, a complex crafting system, action-packed PvP and much more.
Marvel Heroes will be available on June 4th as a free download for PC and will be available for Mac OS post-launch.
Today details were revealed for Gust’s next Atelier game which has previously been called “Project A15.” The game will feature two protagonists and will be using the Dynasty Warriors engine according to Dengeki PlayStation and it will be called Atelier Escha & Logy: The Alchemists of the Twilight Sky.
The title is set to be released in Japan on June 27th and the female protagonist shown above and in past promo art is called Escha Malier who is a fifteen year old female protagonist who seems to either be waring or actually has a tail for an unknown reason while the male protagonist is Logix Ficsario who is eighteen years old who wields an alchemical sword.
Besides these two characters the company has said more will be revealed in the future and Atelier Ayesha characters may appear in the game as well. Players will be able to select whether they want to play as Escha or Logix when they start the game and depending on who they select to play as various event scenes and point of views will change.
It is interesting to note that battles will now allow players to use six party members in a battle and they can freely switch between the front and the back rows during battle. It also seems that the game will feature lip synching, which Atelier Ayesha sorely lacked and the alchemy system will return and be similar to the one used in Ayesha.
According to the scans it says that the game will be built upon the themes of trust and friendship and while the main story will be the same for both characters, each one will have exclusive events to give each playthrough a different feel. Anyone who buys a copy of the game when it is first released in Japan will be given a download code for the PS2 Classic Mana Khemia 2. Check out the various scans from Dengeki PlayStation and the looks of the protagonists below.
Remember The Witch and the Hundred Knights? Well if you don’t it may be thanks to the fact that it was delayedback in September of last year after its initial delay. Since then there has been no information about the game from Nippon Ichi Software. That is until today when the game’s official websitewas updated with the teaser saying “Within the 100 cavalry summons…” so perhaps fans can expect some sort of update soon.
Oddly enough, almost a year ago NIS America announcedthat they would be bringing The Witch and the Hundred Knights overseas to North America but obviously with the delays in the game’s Japanese release, there is no release info concerning the game in the West at the moment besides eventually.
Today the trophies for Namco Bandai’s upcoming video game adaptation to the Vividred Operation anime have been leakedonto the internet and it appears that it may just be a simple game that is bundled with a special edition of the anime in the end or at least a digital download, if the Trophy amount is anything to go by.
The trophies are at least very focused on the anime itself and it seems whoever named them knows just what the protagonist of the anime loves, mayonnaise. As you can see on the list, there are trophies related to beating the game on various difficulties such as Vivid Easy for “Regular Mayo” and Vivid Hard for “Wasabi Mayo” and more.
Update: Turns out there is a good reason they are all Mayonnaise related achievements. These Trophies are actually for a mini-game spin-off that was recently released on the Japanese PSN called Vividred Operation: Akane to Mayo to Operation.
Today Atlus revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu that they are planning on creating a spin-off of the original Etrian Odyssey and are going to be calling it Etrian Odyssey: Millennium Girl. The game will feature an actual protagonist that is a spear-wielder from the Highlander clan who will be voiced. This protagonist is hired by the government to explore ruins and along the way three companions, called Simon York, Arthur Charles and Lacuna Sheldon join the team and along the way they encounter a girl suffering from amnesia called Frederica Irving.
The players will have the ability to change classes and since skill points are limited player customization is a main part of leveling the party. The event scenes will feature party members with various portrait pictures that will actually have expressions on them. The game is currently set to be released in Japan on June 27th and you can check out various scans from the magazine below.
Those looking forward to Sega’s English release of Phantasy Star Online 2 will have longer to wait it seems. Speaking with sources, Sega “can officially confirm that PSO2 has been delayed.” It seems that despite having a rather large fan-base in the West, Sega has seen fit to delay the game until an unspecified time. Originally the game was meant to be released sometime early in 2013 but at the moment Sega says that they do not have “any specifics but will update everyone as soon as there are more details to share.”
Considering the game was released in Japan and fans have already taken matters into their own hands by creating English patches faster than Sega themselves, this does not bode well for the official North American servers.
There is some sad news coming out of Square Enix in Japan today. The CEO of the company, Yoichi Wada, is going to be resigning from his current position in the company. The man who is going to temporarily fill his place until a proper CEO is announced is Yosuke Matsuda, who is the long time director and chief financial office of Square Enix Holdings.
There have been recent signs that Square Enix has been doing poorly with some of their recent games and after the massive failure that was Final Fantasy XIV the company was already reeling from significant money loss. Also according to part of Square Enix’s “Briefing Session of Revisions to Consolidated Results Forecasts” document which was released, and can be read here, the company has been suffering from poor Western sales and a number of other issues.
Today Viz Media announced that they will be holding a special contest for those who are looking forward to attending Anime Expo and are fans of the Naruto franchise. The contest which starts today and will end at midnight on April 16th is being held in conjunction with 
Today Atlus revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu that they are planning on creating a spin-off of the original Etrian Odyssey and are going to be calling it Etrian Odyssey: Millennium Girl. The game will feature an actual protagonist that is a spear-wielder from the Highlander clan who will be voiced. This protagonist is hired by the government to explore ruins and along the way three companions, called Simon York, Arthur Charles and Lacuna Sheldon join the team and along the way they encounter a girl suffering from amnesia called Frederica Irving.
