Tag Archives: Nintendo of America

Pier Solar & The Great Architects HD Trailer: The Return of Watermelon’s Modern Retro JRPG

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I only own ONE copy of Pier Solar at the moment (one of the reissues with the Sega CD/CD soundtrack bonus), but that’s about to change soon when the fully revamped HD version of game FINALLY makes it to PC (for a few operating systems), Sega Dreamcast (!), PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Wii U (yes!) at some point this year. Or is it next year? It’s hard to say, but I’m sure it’ll be well worth the long wait in the end. The visuals certainly benefit from the transition, the new cut scenes also look great and yes, I’m betting the game is still as tough as it was when it was initially released. Anyway, the fine folks at Watermelon are to be commended for getting this new and shiny version out on pretty much anything that can play it as it needs to be played (on a large screen, of course). Nothing more to say here other than let the waiting begin!

Hyrule Warriors Direct: It Would Seem That The Missing Link Is MORE Action…

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Hyrule Warriors may not have BUY ME stamped on it in shiny gold letters, but based on the response to the game so far in video form, I’d say Nintendo has a hit that’s not just for Nintendo fans only. The long-running Dynasty Warriors franchise is indeed “niche”, yet it has mass appeal to action game fans who may or may not be into The Legend of Zelda games. As you can see in this Direct presentation, the gameplay is quite similar to the Dynasty Warriors games down to the packs of enemies, powerful attacks, large battle maps and multiple objectives that need to be tackled as they pop up. But seeing it all with familiar faces from the LoZ series makes me grin a lot and my wallet hurt even more.

Oh yeah, and Gannon(dorf*) pops up as a playable character (oh, this should be interesting, folks):


 

As I’ve said previously… SOLD. Hell, this was sold from the first moment I heard it was being made. Anyway, I’m betting Nintendo gets a nice surprise once this ships and they see it sell faster than even they anticipated. If it does, Team Ninja and Omega Force will have to probably hire a semi-permanent HW team for the inevitable sequel and perhaps even consider a 3DS version that’s some sort of side story, as that handheld certainly isn’t outputting HD visuals anytime soon.

*I tend to call Gannondof “gannon” as that’s the name I first encountered him under and “dorf” makes me think of the always hilarious Tim Conway because I’m as old as the hills and not one of you under a certain age will get that reference at all unless I clue you all in. Get it? Got it? Good. Now you can call him Gannon as well…

Hyrule Warriors: One Of Nintendo’s Not So Secret Weapons This Year…

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I’ll admit to grinning a wee bit too much when I heard about Hyrule Warriors, the latest mash-up of Koei’s fan favorite Dynasty Warriors series with an even more popular Zelda franchise and based on these videos, I’m betting Nintendo sees this one exceed their expectations. The pick up and play simplicity, hefty amount of playable characters and longevity of the DW series crossed with the massive appeal of the Legend of Zelda universe is pretty much a license to print money and I’m surprised that this hasn’t been done previously. Then again, the Wii U absolutely NEEDS an unbroken string of flat out hits and surprising sleepers in order to survive and it sure looks as if Nintendo is finally getting more consistent in terms of delivering better games for the console.

If this game is anything like the DW series (and it sure likes it’s going to be), there’s NO way anyone will blow through ALL the content on a rainy weekend. Sure, you MAY complete the game with one character by playing through for a few straight hours or breaking up gameplay sessions over that weekend, but you won’t have seen everything the game has to offer at all. It generally takes me a few months of playing to get as much out of a DW game and even then, I’m back for more if it’s a slow week and I have some free time… Continue reading →

SDCC 2014: Little Orbit’s Got A Pair Of Nice Surprises For Gamers Soon…

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As a fan of last year’s Adventure Time game (released by D3Publisher of America), I’m happy to see that this year’s installment, Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom is going to be closer in spirit to a Legend of Zelda game as opposed to a Gauntlet and Diablo-inspired chase & chop. Sure, I’ll miss playing as Marilese and some of the other characters, but as long as this new game delivers the goods, I’m not complaining at all. This one’s coming sometime in the fall for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC (via Steam) and Nintendo 3DS.

As for Falling Skies: The Game? Color me surprised and impressed. Sure, it’s basically a reworked version of the XCOM reboot from a few years back, but this is actually a good thing because I’d imagine the only other options were a boring run & gun game or some type of MMO that only a tiny percentage of people would actually play. While this one’s only coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360, I’m betting that it gets bought and played by gamers who like turn-based strategy who don’t mind maybe discovering a show they haven’t seen yet as well. This one’s out PS3, Xbox 360 and PC (via Steam) on September 24, 2014.

Hyrule Warriors Trailers: Four Times The “You Need To Buy This Game!” Courtesy of Nintendo…

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screenshot0As a longtime fan of the Dynasty Warriors franchise and its odd and always interesting offshoots, Hyrule Warriors is going to not only be a must buy game for me, I predict it may move a few Wii U’s if it’s got the same sort of longevity the other games based on the Musou engine have. One thing the DW franchise has done perfectly over the years is give players way too many characters and so much action that every entry is an exercise in joyous overkill some love. Granted, the repetition tends to set in after a while and yes, can get to be tedious is you’re sucked in for too many hours. On the other hand, the land of Hyrule in the hands of veteran developers Omega Force and Team Ninja will no doubt make for such a brilliant teaming that this one will be nearly impossible to dislike.

 
On the other hand, I may have a slight gripe with the game if it’s just a series of battles and very little plot. I’m sure we’ll get cut scenes and a general plot working away here, but I’m hoping for something that does a good job of showing why Princess Zelda finally gets to kick a bunch of butt after all these years of needing Link to get her out of harm’s way. Actually, I hope that the game does well so we can see some sort of follow up that’s less a Dynasty Warriors re-skin, but something more akin to the highly underrated PS3 exclusive Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll. Take that game, add the ability for local co-op play (and perhaps online if the frame rate can be kept stable) and you have an even more excellent game that bridges a few genres and franchises… Continue reading →

E3 2014: Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley – Not The Only Thing Natsume Showed This Year, But…

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Alphadia Genesis Wii UYou wouldn’t know this by looking at their North American YouTube page. Now, I’m not singling Natsume out for anything mean here at all, folks. They’re a solid but much smaller publisher than some of the bigger and busier ones who show stuff at E3 and to me, that’s precisely why they NEED more updates on their main video page. Granted, they DO have a nice social presence on facebook with a page that’s updated fairly frequently. however, not everyone has or wants a facebook account and YouTube works quite well as far as letting potential customers see what’s coming (despite the pain in the butt that is Google+ hampering some basic functionality there).

Anyway, as I’ve been trumpeting, Alphadia Genesis is also coming (a port of an iOS and Android JRPG) and I posted about the rest of their lineup before the big show. Hey, I just want to see the little guys succeed, so if I can generate some thrills and hits for Natsume and their cool lineup of upcoming and already available games, I’m doing my job here.

E3 2014: Two More Nintendo eShop Future Hits, Indie Style!

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Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse is a game I’m looking forward to because I can play it on the Wii U at home on a big screen and not have to worry about missing my stop on the bus or subway, someone clubbing me over the head to steal a handheld or some kid with better skills than me yelling at me from my left or right to jump faster. I hate it when that happens. Darn kids. Anyway, Wayforward Technologies is doing this 2D action/platformer up right as rain and it’s making me grin to see it all coming together so well.

 
Shovel Knight is another eShop soon to be classic I’m REALLY looking forward to playing. That “retro” aesthetic is in full effect as you can see – the game looks like it’s straight from the late 80’s (and that’s a good thing). The game is still in development and available to pre-order for PC already, but I’m holding out for the Wii U version as again, I’d like to save my eyeballs a bit longer and prefer playing on a TV and not a tiny 3DS screen or too close to a computer monitor. Then again, as rusty as I am at these old-school platformers, I just may as well hire some kid to play them for me, ha and ha-ha…

E3 2014: Devil’s Third: Now A Wii U Exclusive (And Not for The Kids at All!), But Needs Some Polishing Up…

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Well, this was a surprise in a day filled with surprises. The last time I’d heard anything about Devil’s Third was about two or so years back when it disappeared off PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 lists, somehow got picked up as a mobile game, but now here it is… as a Wii U exclusive. Tomonobu Itagaki and his team at Valhalla Game Studios have whipped up a SUPER violent throwback to those late 80’s and 90’s action flicks, cranked things up to 11 and added a few packs of cigarettes and a case of booze to the mix. Granted, the build shown at E3 seems a bit unpolished and definitely needs work in some areas. That said, no game shown at E3 as a demo should ever be judged as final code, so I’m willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt as work continues on the game.

There’s no release date at all for this, so I’d gather that means Valhalla will be ironing out the kinks over the next few months to whenever it’s ready to go gold. During a live demo for IGN.com, Itagaki noted to the hosts that any issues with the frame rate or other bits would be fixed, and I definitely noted some things that required tweaking. as the game progresses, I’ll be keeping an eye peeled for updates, as while rough now, this could be one of those oddball sleepers that Wii U owners treasure because only they can play it (much like Bayonetta 2 will be this September). back with more on this M-rated blast of nostalgia in a bit…

E3 2014: Nintedo Direct – Surprises Galore With Some Wait Times Involved (But Well Worth It)…

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Of all the three big game company media events, Nintendo had the most to prove, mostly to non-fans and journalists who believe the Wii U is “dead” when the console has yet to show off all it can do. Well, Nintendo’s showing was pretty impressive on a few fronts as you’ll see above, below and later on when I run individual videos. The new (and untitled) installment in the classic Legend of Zelda with its open world and lush visuals was the biggest surprise to me, but Bayonetta 2 packing the full version of the first game enhanced with Nintendo-themed outfits for the character (and coming in September on a single disc). Hyrule Warriors looks spectacular, Yoshi’s Wooly World activated my “D’awwwww” gene (dormant for a while) and will be the first stupidly cute game I’ll pick up in quite some time.

The big JRPG X, now officially known as Xenoblade Chronicles X has slipped into 2015, but this is a good thing at the end of the day because it gives Wii U owners time to get through a few other big releases. I’m not normally a Smash Bros. fan, but the newly announced ability to use custom Miis in the game makes my eyebrow tingle (which means I’ll at least TRY this one out). A few new IPs like Mario Maker, Splatoon and others kept me grinning and overall, it was a successful show, closing with Miyamoto teasing his Star Fox game without actually showing it up close. Anyway, enjoy the show – back in a bit…

E3 2014: Alphadia Genesis: So It’s A Mobile Port. For Now, It’s The Sole JRPG on the Wii U…

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Well, until Monolith Soft’s “X”(or whatever it will be called once it’s completed) gets an actual release date (which should hopefully be announced at the Nintendo Direct broadcast later today), that is. Somehow, Nintendo’s home consoles have slipped a bit on the JRPG front since the Super Nintendo days, although there have been a few outright classic (and not so classic) titles released for every home system from the N64 up to the Wii. Natsume is publishing this former iOS/Android game later this summer as a digital-only eShop release and I’d say it’ll do well among those gamers who have a Wii U sitting at home and miss playing these games on a big screen. Sure, the 3DS family has PLENTY of JRPGs and more on the way and yes, is the preferred handheld for millions of users. Nevertheless, old farts like me who prefer playing games we can actually see that won’t have our backs going out from being hunched over a screen and our poor eyeballs swelling in our skulls will be welcoming Alphadia Genesis with open arms. Thanks, Natsume!