There isn’t much doubt that Square Enix will surely find success in Kingdom Hearts big debut on the 3DS. At Jump Festa (which took place over the weekend), a release window for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance was finally announced for Japan, with Sora and friends set to jump into a new 3D adventure in March.
We have already heard quite a bit of information on this next chapter in the franchise and by the looks of it, this entry is sure to fill in even more of the gaps of the famous Disney-tuned story and add in a ton of new roads for players to travel on. Sadly, no release window has been given for other regions as of yet, but once Square make that announcement, we will be sure to post out an update. Stay Tuned!
While here in North America we were treated to a Harvest Moon title on the Nintendo 3DS with the DS title being ported to the new handheld, in Japan there has not been a single Harvest Moon title on the platform. That is all to be rectified in Marvelous AQI’s next title Harvest Moon: Hajimari no Daichi of which you can see the trailer below.
In this trailer we see a number of new features in this title such as the ability to create your own character by selecting your gender, hair style, hair color, facial expressions and more. There seems to be plenty of new features added in to this title, now we just need to wait and see if Natsume Inc. in North America will be willing to localize the title as well.
Although we still haven’t heard any news about tri-Ace and Konami’s 3DS dungeon RPG Beyond the Labyrinth, the Japanese release date is less than a month away. With the release of the title expected on January 19, 2012 Konami has released the below trailer on the title’s official website in an effort to raise the anticipation level for those looking to buy the title when it is released.
As you can see in the video below we see a bit of the fighting mechanic, though most of the video involves the yet to be named white haired girl that players will meet inside of the labyrinth who will then accompany them until they reach the exit. Who is hoping for good news from Konami about a North American release? I know I am.
ComicDive 6 went down without a hitch, from stepping out from the train station you could feel the vibe almost instantly and even catch a glimpse of what was to come with people putting their final touches to their Cos-Play outfits in preparation for the event. I have to say that Cos-Play is very much alive in China as you can see with the pictures taken below (over 200 gallery images) a lot of effort and time has gone into some of these outfits which I must say were very interesting and amazingly well designed. Cos-Play here at ComicDive 6 was probably one of the best I’ve seen anywhere in the world, YES even as good as the Cos-Play at Tokyo Game Show.
The event was jam packed with fans, as mentioned in my previous article ComicDive 6 Dives In Beijing, the bottom part of the map was where all the action happened, with stalls stocked with amazing Comics and Dojinshi’s, toys, clothes and a variety of other cool stuff (see image gallery for more details) If you wanted your favorite book or comic, the plan was to make sure you knew were it was by doing your research and then hightailing it over to the stall to buy it. Wasting time by looking at all the stalls one at time to see what they had would certainly on some occasions leave you very disappointed when you finally made it to the stall where your favorite book would be, as it would of been sold out by then. I ended up purchasing a variety of comics/Dojinshi books most of them were video game related, such as Assassin’s Creed, Monster Hunter, Metal Gear, Alice in Wonderland but also picked up some awesome fan drawn transformers postacards, batman and vocaloids books and even somre amazingly fan drawn Resident Evil badges plus much much more.
The event opened its doors at 9am and by about 4pm everyone was preparing to go home. On a side note related to video games, I did bring my trust Nintendo 3DS hoping that I might pick maybe 2 or 3 street passes, boy was I wrong. I ended up picking up over 60 + new Mii profiles, swapped puzzles in the new Puzzle Swap and also nearly finished a run through on Puzzle Quest 2. Not a bad effort at all considering I had very low expectations on picking up anything. (image below shows a Mii from Japan / 3DS don’t have a China region so most of the Mii’s found were setup to be from Japan)
The next major Comic Book convention will be Comicup 9 which is actually the biggest comic book show in all of China, and will be held in Shanghai on the 19th February 2012, for more details check out the link to the official website here: ComicUp 9.
Check out all the great pics from the even below, let us know what you liked the most or which Cos-Play character you thought was the best dresses. Mine were Ezio & Altair from Assassin’s Creed, they even had retractable hidden blades which scared the crap out of me as I thought I was a gonna.
Welcome to this weeks instalment of Capsule Theatre of Vision, with me your host, Linkage Ayexe. In this fine instalment of our off again / on again series that delves into the videos of the internet, we look at this most recent posting by Little Kuriboh, NGE One-Shot.
In this video, Little Kuriboh parodies one of the most influential (and one of my most favorite) Anime shows of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion. What results from this parody is a hilarious take on the Evangelion universe, with a craptonne of references to various pieces of popular culture.
This is a pretty hilarious video and everyone should check it out, embedded below.
It was a big day for Japan today, as Jump Festa was in full swing. The much anticipated Dragon Quest X was a hot topic at the event, and producer Yosuke Saito and director Jin Fujizawa were in attendance to give the world some new details on the first ever MMO for the series. Aside from saying that both the Wii and Wii-U versions of the game would be “very fun”, Saito also stated that a beta would be approaching during the “time period of chocolate” (which is looking like Valentine’s day) for Japan (via Andriasang). We are also expected to see more job classes added in after the game releases next year, with certain classes being a complete first for the franchise.
As exciting as the news for a beta and extra classes is, I am just ready to find out more about an eventual western release as it would be a shame to see such a monumental released shunned outside of Japan. If you are in the land of the rising sun though, you now can look forward to a first dip into a brand new Dragon Quest experience.
Developer: Sonic Team Publisher: Sega Platforms: XBLA (Reviewed), PSN, iOs Release Date: December 14, 2011 Price: 400 MSP (Available HERE)
Overview
As Sonic has aged as a gaming icon, players have been offered a very large multitude of re-releases of various Sonic titles. The Megadrive/Genesis era is undoubtedly the most utilised in this respect, with Sonic 1 through to Sonic and Knuckles receiving the re-release and “classic collection” treatment more times than many fans like to count. However, despite this, there are still several Sonic games that have shone far less brightly in this regard, namely those which were released on Sega’s follow-up system to the Genesis, the Sega Mega-CD. One of the keystone titles from that particular console is still one of the most significant in Sonic history: Sonic CD.
This reviewer must admit that, although I am a huge Sonic fan and have played almost every game since inception in 1991, Sonic CD is one of the few games that I had not yet experienced. As such, I found myself quite excited at the prospect of playing through what is to me, an entirely new adventure, in what is often referred to by Sonics’ vocal fanbase as the ‘golden era’. Recently re-released for the Xbox Live arcade for all to enjoy, Sonic CD offers many fans, like myself, the chance to finally experience a very unique part of this gaming icon’s history. But how well will it stack up for a series that is all too used to compiling scrutiny?
Story
The central plot of Sonic CD revolves around the once a year event that takes place where a small planet appears over Sonic’s world. The appearance of the planet, and in fact its very existence have has been shrouded in mystery, as the planet seems to have the ability to transcend the universe’s usual temporal dimensions. In other words, this is a planet where time travel becomes possible. Wanting to check it out for himself, Sonic arrives at the appearance site of the planet, only to see it chained and occupied by an army of killer robots. To no-one’s great surprise, Dr Robotnik (now referred to as Eggman due to the modern adaptation) is responsible and hopes to utilise the planet’s time bending abilities for his own evil ends. Naturally with a whole world to save, Sonic springs into action, ready as ever to thwart the villain’s plans.
As is classic Sonic tradition, the story hardly evolves beyond the basic plot premise, as Sonic systematically runs through and dismantles Dr Robotnik’s grip on the planet one zone at a time. However, this time, another story element has been added to the mix. The appearance of Metal Sonic and Rosey the Rascal, better known by the modern name Amy Rose. It turns out Sonic was not the only one interested in checking out the mysterious planet. Metal Sonic kidnaps Rosey, and thus adds another concern to Sonic’s list of problems. For the first time in Sonic history, Sonic CD introduces a very Mario-reminiscent character development: a damsel in distress, and potential female counterpart. It’s no secret that the fans have hugely mixed responses regarding Rosey/Amy, but for its time, the concept was treading unfamiliar, but character evolving territory for the blue blur. The addition of the evil counterpart in Metal Sonic was also a first in this regard. As a result, Sonic’s character seems all the more stronger for it. Overall the story is pretty appropriate for a classic Sonic title. Not too overwhelming on the facet of storytelling, whilst still allowing for controlled development, though not at the expense of gameplay. Retro fans of Sonic CD can rejoice in that this has hardly been altered.
Gameplay
The gameplay of the Sonic CD strongly emulates that of the hugely successful Genesis/Megadrive series of Sonic games, with the core gameplay being that of 2D side scroller platforming. Sonic’s overall speed, weight, momentum and abilities are identical to those of the previous games. Fans of Sonic’s other classic titles will find the controls and gameplay very easy to pick up. Many of the in game elements will also seem familiar, such as items like the 10-ring box, the speed-up, the shield and the invincibility. However, the game does deviate from standard classic Sonic gameplay in a few ways.
The most prominent of these features is integrated into the story regarding the time warping abilities of the planet. By passing any number of the marked ‘Past’ or ‘Future’ signs, Sonic is able to travel through time, should he pass a sign and gain enough speed. Something in this feels very nostalgic about ‘Back to the Future’, especially given that one of the first XBL achievements players are liable to receive is the ’88 miles per hour’ achievement for achieving time travel. Travelling through time on the planet dramatically changes the layout of the game level. Sonic is able to play in the past, present and future, all of which have been invaded by Dr Robotnik. The differences in each time phase shows visually, with a more lively and natural feel to the stages in the past, and a dark and machine like feel to the future. Gameplay wise, travelling to a level’s different time dramatically changes the layout of the level and provides players with access to areas that might be otherwise inaccessible in other time periods. As such, tonnes of bonus items and rings are offered as a potential reward. Players are also able to affect the final ending of the game if they are able to locate and destroy the robot transporter located somewhere in each level. Doing so corrects the time stream and creates a “good” ending at the end of each stage. This provides players with an additional challenge on top of simply reaching the goal post. This ‘good’ ending is also achievable if the player is able to obtain the chaos emerald replacements for this game: the time stones (which operate as the plot device of the day). However, unlike the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic 2 and 3, the time stones don’t offer any potential for a super form. Plus, this reviewer thinks a Chrono-Sonic would just aggravate the blue hedgehog’s already volatile fanbase even more.
It must be said however that the level layout and structure seems vastly different from those of the Genesis/Megadrive titles. While in games like Sonic 3, the level design existed to flaunt Sonic’s speed and streamline the hero’s progression through each level, the design of Sonic CD’s stages are far more oriented towards the facet of exploration. Sure Sonic will have his chance to utilise his signature speed, but the opportunities with which he is offered to use it are quite limited this time around. Instead, many of the levels offer a more explorative feel, especially given the presence of zone altering time-posts, which offers more potential for secret area access than a Jazz Jackrabbit game. This is by no means a bad thing, but players who are more used to Sonic’s streamlined level progression model may develop the wrong impressions too quickly.
One major change that was made to the base Sonic CD game however, which this reviewer feels is quite apt, given the exploration orientation of the level design, is the inclusion of Tails in the game. While not playable until after the first play through as Sonic, the inclusion of his fuzzy two-tailed sidekick I think is a great bonus for the players. Areas can be more easily explored and secrets unlocked thanks to Tails’ flight abilities. Plus it’s quite interesting to see how a confrontation between Tails and Metal Sonic would pans out.
Audio and Video
One element of the game’s audio and visual segment I feel is worth mentioning straight away is the inclusion of the very unique, but hugely iconic anime opening and ending movies. Anyone who saw the original Sonic the Hedgehog OVA (Or the Movie as was allocated for western audiences) will recognise the animation style. This inclusion will appeal to the inner anime fan in us all, and it was one of the very first times a Sonic game was given an opening movie sequence outside of the character sprites. It does a great job at setting up the story with no need for words. The inclusion in the XBLA version very much works in the game’s favour.
In looking at the game’s visual design, many players will recognise the Sprite animations used for both Sonic and Tails are ported directly from Sonic 2. In fact, when comparing the items and abilities available in the game, Sonic CD seems visually, exactly like Sonic 2. While the game does offer a few new sprite animations for dashing and bouncing, the game still feels true to those classic roots.
The only real criticism I can draw from the game has to do with the visual design of the levels. The flow of the levels is often very difficult to discern, and the colour palette seems far too busy in far too many instances. The game is dominated with overly bright or florescent colours in the levels, and often it is hard to place a level element from the background. Players will find many instances where they think they are about to land on a solid platform only to plummet into a pit of spikes, or an alternate, frustrating path. Perhaps the re-release would have benefitted from better discerning background from foreground for the sake of fluid gameplay. Players are liable to find this aspect of the visuals quite annoying.
In observing the game sound, the musical scores are well adapted to the bright feel of the levels. The soundtrack is particularly well changed when Sonic makes the transition through time. The future music has a dark scratchy feel, whereas the past seems light and paced, providing and great audio aid to the notions of a natural past and a machine dominated future. Sound effects are also well adapted, though again, still heavily borrowed from Sonic 2.
Overall
Sonic CD was still a real blast to play through. Getting to experience this missing gap in my own Sonic fan repertoire was still a hugely enjoyable experience, despite some level based frustrations. As a spiritual successor to the Genesis/Megadrive titles, Sonic CD works very well, and will provide players with that ‘golden age’ classic Sonic experience that so many fans crave. Even in the modern market it stacks up. Even for its few flaws, the game is a must have addition for anyone seeking another side scrolling Sonic experience, or for those who just want a kick-ass dosage of fast-paced old-school fun.
If you ever wanted to be a gangster, walk around in million dollar suits with flagrant disregard for the law, but don’t like the appeal of spending 20 years behind bars, look no further as Rockstar Games are answering your call. As part of a twitter promotion, Rockstar are giving 8 lucky people the chance to lend their likeness to a multiplayer gangster character in their much anticipated upcoming release Max Payne 3.
To enter, simply use the #MaxPayne3 on Twitter, and between now and 13th January, Rockstar will choose, every week 10 random people who will be asked to submit photos of themselves for consideration, with 2 of them being chosen to appear in the title. For the best chance of getting your face in the game
– Make sure you follow @Rockstargames on Twitter
– Use the hashtag #MaxPayne3 when you tweet or talk about the game with others
– Keep an eye out for any Twitter replies or messages Rockstar send out
It has been officially confirmed today through Shonen Jump’s twitter page, that a new One Piece film has been confirmed for release in December 2012. This news comes hot off the One Piece panel at Jump Festa 2012.
Perhaps the biggest news of all is that Eiichiro Oda, the man behind the One Piece, will be helming the project as director and executive producer. Not only that, but this will be the first One Piece film set within the New World. That is huge news for One Piece fans and coincides with the series 15th anniversary next year.
What do you think of this breaking news? Are you excited for a new One Piece film? Let us know in the shoutbox and comments section.
One of the most unique features in Final Fantasy XIII-2, besides all of the time traveling of course, is the fact that the third member of your party will be an actual monster that you can capture and then use in future battles. There are over 150 different monsters to collect throughout the title and each one of them has their own special attack where they will be able to team up with Noel and Serah to deal out devastating damage.
You can watch the below trailer to find all out all of the new gameplay aspects that are introduced with the party member monster addition. Like dressing them up with a bow tie and clown nose… either way you best watch the video now, as the release date of January 31st is slowly creeping up on us.
