A lot of impatient folk imported Fatal Frame IV when it came out in Japan this week, rather than wait around for someone to announce a US ship date, and they may be regretting it. The game shipped to stores with some crippling bugs unfixed. Most of the bugs are documented at the NeoGAF forum, the most severe causing the game to freeze and lock up. These sort of errors tend to be fixed before North American releases, but Tecmo has apparently released some extremely buggy DLC content for Ninja Gaiden 2 in the US.
Nintendo has acknowledged the bugs and problems in this post on their Japanese site, which also recommends some ways of avoiding them by not performing specific in-game actions. it also notes how severe issues like blank encyclopedia entries and a post-game option that fails to unlock are. The post notes that it is still totally possible to beat the game and that no bugs can damage save data, but admits that playing through the game with the bugs can be "annoying", an understatement that borders on the insulting.
The DS versions of Taiko no Tatsujin are just a few of many, many DS titles that have never quite managed to cross the Pacific despite being pretty awesome games. Ah, but it turns out that could change if enough Taiko no Tatsujin fans spoke up, requesting the DS titles come to the us. Check out Cubed3's interview with Taiko no Tatsujin's producer, Ken Nakadate, for the scoop (and good info about the upcoming second Taiko no Tatsujin DS title).
AR: Rhythm games have been extremely popular in the West, including the Bandai Namco-developed Donkey Kong series, as well as the extremely Japanese-themed Elite Beat Agents. Given this fact, will either DS Taiko no Tatsujin or the forthcoming Wii game be considered for a US or European release?
KN: We want the customers in Europe and US to enjoy the Japanese Taiko drum. The schedule for US or European releases is undecided but we would release them if we receive a lot of requests from US and European customers!
You know your duty, ladies, gentlemen. Go find Namco Bandai contacts on the 'net and make with the requests.
So, the Wii Freeloader was the answer to a lot of prayers. Like the GameCube Freeloader, it let you play imports on US hardware by simply swapping discs. Nintendo doesn't much seem to want people playing imports on their Wiis, though.
Not long ago they issued a 3.3 firmware update that broke Freeloader support, but it was labeled optional. The happy importer just had to ignore it. Now, information is surfacing that all upcoming games are going to require 3.3 firmware to run, forcing the Wii importer to choose between playing new games or playing the imports they've already purchased.
Nintendo has made firmware-based attempts to break modchips like the WiiKey with firmware updates, which have mostly failed. I can see why, most modchip owners DL games instead of buying them. Most Freeloader owners, though, are just people who want to collect Japanese games but don't want the hassle of keeping two Wiis in the house. Why you gotta be hatin', Nintendo? Importers aren't the bad guy. Breaking the Freeloader is just going to encourage more Wii owners to get modchips.
A couple of months ago, Japanese publication Famitsu released its 1000th issue. In celebration, they published a list of the top 100-selling Japanese-created games in Japan for each year going back to 1996, and the top ten games going back to '83. Looking at the raw numbers like that is pretty interesting to get an idea of what kinds of games Japan really cares about.
In particular, it gives you a view into how important Pokemon has been to Nintendo over the years. We all know the story about how it breathed new life into the old Brick GameBoy back in the mid-90s. But when confronted by the cold hard stats about the sheer dominance of the Pokemon franchise, like them or hate them, it's hard not to be in awe at the sheer popularity of these games.
So if you're interested in a window into the perspective of the people who create some of your favorite games, check below the cut. We'll have the official top 3 sellers for each year starting in 1996, the total games produced on each system, as well as a little commentary. Some of the results may surprise you!
(PLEASE NOTE: The information given is only for units produced and sold in Japan.)
Dungeon hacks. Dungeon crawlers. Roguelikes. Call them whatever you want; most people hate them. A roguelike is an overhead-view RPG that places you at the top floor of a randomly generated dungeon with no equipment, no skills, and no experience. You're tasked with finding your way to the bottom floor, using whatever randomly generated items you come across to fight monsters and gain experience. The odds are stacked against you, and if you die, you're placed back at the top floor and stripped of all items and experience points.
It sounds like a recipe for frustration, but because of their difficulty, depth, and replayability, roguelikes are greatly enjoyed by the more sadistic gamers among us. Last year's Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja sought to bridge the gap between hardcore roguelike fans and casual players by providing a gentler and more forgiving dungeon crawl. Izuna's recently released Japan-only sequel, Gouma Reifu Den Izuna Ni, brings many new features and improvements to the formula. Is it worth an import?
MTV's Multiplayer blog is excellent, and so I'm quite happy to have a chance to link to it. In this one Stephen Totilo takes on the fiendishly money-obsessed Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland.
It's not the first Nintendo spin-off to make a none-too-heroic character obsessed with gaining cold, hard cash. The earlier Wario Land titles were exactly the same in many respects, right down to coins doubling as Wario's health.
In the blog Totilo mentions putting the game down due to being disheartened, but it seems a lot of other gamers got fed up with disappointing gameplay (to the tune of 67% on Metacritic). Granted, Tingle is primarily being reviewed by European mags... and those guys are harsh.
Check out excerpts from a few reviews behind the cut, along with some videos. If you're interested in purchasing a copy of Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, you can easily order it online from retailers like Amazon UK.
Final Fantasy IV is a great game, and its upcoming 3D DS remake looks like it's going to be utterly mindblowing. One of FFIV's strong points is its incredible soundtrack, and the DS version is promising to have a new arrangement by Junya Nakano and Kenichiro Fukui. While there's no US release date for FFIV yet, a two-disc soundtrack CD of the DS arrangements streets in Japan on 01/30/08. The set comes packages with a promotional DVD that should have some movie goodness for folks with R2 players lying around.
Virtual Console: Alien Soldier
You may notice that when I was talking about Super Mario Bros. 3, I suggested saving your money for games you might not have played before. By that I meant "Maybe you'll want to download Alien Soldier instead." Its appearance on the Virtual Console is only the second time it's been available in the North American market (and the first time it was a SEGA Channel exclusive, which doesn't count). If you dig on Treasure's other run-n-gun shooter masterpiece for the Genesis, Gunstar Heroes, then you probably really want to go download Alien Soldier right this very second.
- << prev
- next >>
