Bakunyuu Baka! - Pixels and Polygons

Stuff coming down the Capcom pipeline (1 reply)

R-9 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 10:48:45 -0700

All right, first off is an enhanced re-release of the Dungeons & Dragons arcade games, both together in one bundle to be released over XBLA, PSN, Wii U, and Steam. the main features will be high-def sprites and such, "houserule" settings that change how some aspects of the game play, unlockables, as well as possibly permanently upgradeable characters. Oh yeah, and drop-in/drop-out multiplayer.
[www.youtube.com]

Second- Woo-oo.
[www.youtube.com]

Mega Man x Street fighter. (1 reply)

R-9 — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 20:33:11 -0800

Not a joke. It's actually a crossover fangame that got picked up by Capcom and is now available for free at:

[www.capcom-unity.com]

I'm actually rather impressed: Most Mega Man fangames and romhacks tend towards the ludicrously hard, but this one is actually about as difficult as a regular Mega Man game. Unfortunately, it's lacking any method of recording progress at the moment.

SoulCalibur 5 (no replies)

Djoser — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:59:27 -0800

I know it has been out since the first trimester of this year, and that maybe I won't gain nothing from advertising here where only a few loyal people would see me, but I have finally got interested in the char creation tool. So if you have this game for the 360, enjoy the casual fun and like boobs, I'd deeply appreciate if we had some matches someday.

Cya!

Someone just let R-9 near a microphone again- (no replies)

R-9 — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:25:50 -0700

And another Let's Play came out. Starting from my mad, mad plan to actually to an LP of the Valis 1 for the Sega Genesis, I have gotten into doing one of every version of Valis II I could get my grubby mitts on. Here's the sum total of what I've done so far.

Valis 1 Genesis
[www.youtube.com] Valis 1 Part 1- A magical Warrior is You!
[www.youtube.com] Valis 1 part 2- Wrath of the Exposition God.
[www.youtube.com] Valis 1 Part 3- Fire, Wind and Lighting (AUDIO DESYNC)
[www.youtube.com] Valis 1 Part 4-Two roads diverge in a blah blah blah
[www.youtube.com] Valis 1 Part 5- This can only end in fire and tears.

Valis 2 Sharp x68000
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 x68k part 1- We done a bad thing.
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 x68k Part 2- Attack of the gunsnails.
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 x68k Part 3- Digging with a sword
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 x68k Part 4- Shoot the Core
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 x68k part 5- It's not just a cigar this time.
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 x68k Part 6- Unfinished Murder Business.

Valis 2 Turbografx CD
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 TCD part 1- Second verse, same as the first.
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 TCD Part 2- The not-so-great Cave Adventure.
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 TCD Part 3- People live here?
[www.youtube.com] Valis 2 TCD Part 4- Yuko vs. the Volcano.

More updates will be posted as they come. Also, I use a fair number of annotations.

La Mulana- Again! (1 reply)

R-9 — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:49:26 -0700

Just thought I'd give you all a heads up- the remake of La-Mulana, originally bound for Wiiware in North America, is instead coming, in English, to the PC. Basically, in May, Nicalis '86ed the remake's release in North America because "Wiiware was dying", and so Nigoro, the three people who made the original and developed the remake, kicked Nicalis to he curb and joined up with Asterizm to finish the porting to PC. As such, the game will be coming out tomorrow through Playism games's upcoming English website.

So, why do I care? Why should you care?

The original La-Mulana was one of the few very hard games that I not only enjoyed playing through but actually went on to beat. The whole game was full of atmosphere and the like, even though they hewed closely to the graphical and musical limitations of the original MSX2 when developing the game itself. It's a game I really like pretty much from start to finish, and I consider it to Metroidvanias what God Hand is to beat 'em ups.

And remember, I've never done you wrong. :)

A few videos to brush you up.

History of La-mulana: [www.youtube.com]

Promotional video: [www.youtube.com]

What to expect in La-Mulana (with previews of the optional Hell Temple): [www.youtube.com]

Beginner's Guide to La-Mulana: [www.youtube.com]

Game to look out for: Ys Origin. (no replies)

R-9 — Sat, 26 May 2012 11:56:41 -0700

So, not too long from now, Ys Origin is going to be released on Steam.

So what is Ys, and how do you pronounce that thing?

It's one syllable, y as in subtlety.

Ys is a very long-running series of action RPGs whose beginnings were roughly contemporary, time-wise with the original Legend of Zelda. Until recently, not many of the games were ported to the US- Ys I and II were only on the Turbo CD system, and Ys III, Wanderers From Ys, did see a more general release, but had gameplay problems up the wazoo. Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim did see an eventual release for the PS2 and a horrible PSP port in the US. However, thanks to a partnership between XSEED games and Falcom, more of the YS titles are being released in English, and a separate port was made of Ys I & II for the DS, which wasn't all that great.

The main Ys series deals with the adventures of Adol Christin, the red-haired swordsman who goes about the usual heroing things. he's mute protagonist, but this is because the framing story for the main Ys games is that each installment is a translation from Adol's memoirs, and the only thing he didn't talk about was himself. He is known mainly for his ability to kick enormous amounts of ass as well as having a fairly large string of love interests that he generally ignores (most of them aren't good relationship material anyways).

As the main series is episodic, one can generally jump in whenever one feels like, but you should probably play Ys I & II at some point- it is available for the PSP and DS, and it's the first action RPG to really deliver an in-game story (the reason I list them together is that they're two parts of the same story, and were originally supposed to be one game- nowadays they're packaged together).

However, Ys Origin is a 700-year prequel to Ys I, so you can be double-unconcerned with continuity.

So, what's the deal?

Pretty much anything that can be said about the story is on he website, which i will hand y'all a link to.

Other than that, though it's a really good action RPG, with a rockin' soundtrack, impressive boss fights, and so on- Falcom may not be great innovators, but when they choose to do something they often do it extremely well, especially since they give us a game with three playable characters that catually play pretty differently overall, and Falcom is still one of those companies that does really cool things with sprites over polygons.

Plus, Yunica Tovah is the best action girl.

The game will drop on the 31st of this month, and will probably cost around 15-20 dollars. Y'all might also want to pick up Ys: Oath in Felghana- that's also seriously good.

Main site: [worldofys.com]
Intro Movie: [www.youtube.com]

Phantasy Star IV (and really, the classic series besides) (1 reply)

R-9 — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:39:11 -0700

So, I decided to pick up Phantasy Star IV again, because of my heresy that it's the best RPG of the 16-bit era, and there are a few things that I've noticed, from the top.

-Our hero, Chaz Ashley. While he does have a couple of tropes attached to him that would become more common in jRPG protagonists, they exist in just enough quantities to make him interesting rather than infuriating. He has a bit of melancholy about him, but it only ever really comes out when things get bad, and he's never so brooding that he pushes people away when they want to help. He's just dense enough for it to be funny, such as when he can't quite figure out why the cute android girl would prefer him to turn around when she installs a new weapon in herself, but not so infuratingly dense that he can't catch onto when the cute monster girl is hurting too, and wants some hero cuddle-time, or not know when he's in over his head and needs outside help.

-Subtleties! Even though this game doesn't have the benefit of a Ted Woolsey translation, there are some fin things in there, like how the cute android girl- being a far more recent model of android, has a much wider range of emotions and human-like behaviors than a much older android you meet later.

-The game throws you into the main plot pretty quickly- you never really feel like most of the early game is spent following false threads.

-Just what definition of "basic education" includes things like "cracking the internal network security of a thousand-year-old spaceship?

Really, this game is full of callbacks to the history of the series- one of the advantages of having a game series that's actually one complete story, I guess.

They call me Hadouken 'cause I'm Down, Right, Fierce- Fighting Games! (14 replies)

R-9 — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:55:17 -0800

Yes, I know there's a thread on this about five years back. However, it's not my thread, so Soundwave- etc. etc. A short history.

The same people responsible for popularizing the beat-em-up are also the same ones responsible for the popularization of the fighting games. The first one to make any sort of splash was by our old friends at Technos Japan, called Karate Champ (1984), which contained the first elements of what would become part and parcel of the modern fighting game- side-view perspective, single opponents, and a variety of moves executed by certain directional and button combinations. The two contenders were identical except that Player 1 had a white gi and player two had a red gi (Sounding familiar?). Other companies began to follow and create variations on this, one of the earliest ones being Konami's Yie Ar Kung Fu. So, Capcom, being the enterprising sorts that they were, created Street Fighter in 1987, which included the six-button layout (which was actually a replacement for the original pressure-sensitive buttons that would determine the strength of punches and kicks, as well as unique combinations of directionals and buttons that would produce powerful special moves, the most powerful of which was unblockable, could potentially defeat an opponent in one hit, and was solely in the hands of the player. And it was terrible. The controls were muddy at all times, and the timing for the special moves was difficult beyond modern belief. Its sole strength were its visuals, which were incredible for 1987.

Capcom's second attempt managed to metamorphose into Final Fight, but in they had taken a good, hard look at Street Fighter, made some rather important adjustments (easier timing on special moves, the addition of throws to stop perma-blocking), and released Street Fighter II onto the populace. No longer was there only one selectable character, but also six other distinct, unique characters to play with (Ken was still a Ryu clone at this point) with their own sets of normal and special moves with their own properties. Capcom wasn't the only one with ideas, however- SNK had beaten Capcom to the punch, as Fatal Fury, the first entry in the King of Fighters series, had been released a few months earlier than Street Fighter II, but with only three selectable characters with largely similar performance, it was overshadowed by Capcom's giant. The early '90s saw an explosion of franchises. Mortal Kombat was released in 1992 by Midway, 1993 saw the release of Virtua Fighter, but 1994's Battle Arena Toshinden was the first truly 3D fighter with the inclusion of the sidestep maneuver. SNK contributed Samurai Shodown and Art of Fighting to the mix as well, and Variable Geo saw its origin in this period also.

By the time of the late '90s, however, Fighting games had dug themselves into a hole. The rapidly increasing complexity had shut out more casual players, and Street Fighter 3 launched to a rather lukewarm reception. there were certainly gems in that period, such as the release of Soul Edge, which kickstarted the Soul Calibur series, as well as the jiggletacular Dead or Alive games. For the most part, these were the exceptions rather than the rule. The Street Fighter Alpha series failed to capture the public the same way that Street fighter II did at the beginning of the decade.

Around the year 2000, though, the genre was revitalized. It saw the real start of the massive crossover games, such as Capcom vs. SNK 1 & 2, Marvel vs. Capcom, and so on. Nintendo created one of the first casual fighting games in a long time, Super Smash Brothers. Arc system works created one of the most batshit insane fighting games ever made, Guilty Gear X, with incredible array of extremely distinct characters all with a very unique visual flair. The indie fighting game Melty Blood proved so engaging that it was picked up for an arcade release. And of course, the soul still burns. There has been a second explosion of fighting games, and we still haven't seen the end of it.

I do love fighting games, though it's more accurate to say that I love the concept of fighting games, and the character nonsensibilities (Mai), but there are some spots where such games really need to start moving forward.

The first is the execution barrier. While not like some PC sims, most fighting games still effectively require a player to study before being able to really attempt to use their character. Fighting games are only rarely a pick-up-and-play experience, and skills in one fighting game are not always transferrable to another, as each series has its own ins and outs that can drastically alter the play experience.

The second are the increasing twitch requirements- Street Fighter 2 and the original Samurai Shodown were very deliberate sorts of games, but ever since Capcom's Turbo craze the required reaction times have largely gotten more absurd. A game with a more casual pacing would be welcomed.

The third is narrative. While many fighting game series have plots that are incredibly intricate (King of Fighters) batshit insane (Waku Waku 7) or both (Guilty Gear), a given character's story never really comes to the fore in a playthrough of a fighting game. Guilty Gear XX and beyond were the first ones to take a real stab at it in the home releases, but it is still sorely lacking. When I was doing research on Ryu's story for a conversion to Fight!: The Fighting Game RPG, there was apparently a time between tournaments where he was half of a tag-team pro wrestling duo, partnering with Andore from Final Fight. It's awesome and ridiculous things like this that I would love to see played out within fighting games themselves to give characters extra dimensions.

The fourth is that Fighting games often have terrible single-player experiences. engaging a computer that does not suffer from the execution barrier suffered by meatbags means that it often feels like a player only overcomes his silicon-based opponent by the grace of god. A single player experience should be different from a competitive experience, and that's something that more or less every genre of game has embraced outside of fighting games (with the notable exception of the Touhou-based fighting games, the only ones I play regularly). The only usual bone thrown in this directing is the overpowered boss character, which no one likes ever.

The last obstacle is something that cannot be corrected by game design, and that's the greater fighting game community. Most discussion of fighting games on the major sites is largely dominated by the tourney wonks and other "hardcore" folks like David Sirlin who have little to offer to people new to the genre other than "Bend over, it's your turn." The online play community does all it can to shove out the casual fighters, and will even actively interfere with RL tournaments that aren't being done "right".

While I've mainly switched over to the tabletop role-playing game "Fight! The fighting game RPG" to get my fighty goodness, there are still a few fighting games that I boot up from time to time- Immaterial and Missing Power, Scarlet weather Rhapsody, Capcom vs. SNK 2, and Virtua fighter 4.

Beat 'em ups! (8 replies)

R-9 — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:16:27 -0800

So, for some reason I'm twigged to talk about this sort of genre. and since i care about history, here's the history.

Beat 'em ups as we know them really began with a little game by Technos Japan in 1986 called Nekketsu Koha Kunio-Kun, localized in the west as Renegade. It was the first brawler that contained all of the elements familiar to the genre- multiple on-screen antagonists, vertical and horizontal movement, multiple combat commands/grappling, and boss fights. While the game was a success, the scrolling brawler wouldn't really hit its stride until the following year, when Technos released Double Dragon. This game was a smash hit, and converted to just about every gaming platform ever. Aside from the Double Dragon sequels, there were a flood of beat 'em ups that flooded the arcades and homes in the 1980's, some better than others. it also saw the beginnings of the Golden Axe series, and Capcom even scrapped its initial plans for Final Fight to be a one-on-one fighting game to change it into a beat 'em up to ride the trend. 1989 also saw the release of River City Ransom*, probably the most insane and well-loved of the old school beat 'em ups.

When it came to the '90s, Beat 'em ups were Capcom's house, seeing the release of numerous quality titles, such as Final Fight 3 and Mighty Final Fight on home consoles,and in the arcades there was a wealth of such games, such as the Dungeons and Dragons arcade games, Knights of the Round, The Punisher, Captain Comando, Armored Warriors**, Aliens vs. Predator, and many more. This isn't to say there weren't stinkers (see Yuka Takeuchi Fan's game reviews), but one would more often come across solid entries than not. it also saw the rise of the Streets of Rage series by Sega, the second entry being by far the best of the lot, and there were a number of solid entries by other companies, such as Irem's Undercover Cops (play the Japanese version- it has more moves). By the end of the '90s, though the genre seemed dead in the water- Maximum Force was a flop, and there wouldn't be other notable entries for some time.

However, revival began in the year 2000, but mainly on home systems, as arcades had moved on. 2000 saw the release of Dynasty Warriors 2 for the PS2, the horde-based action serving as a showcase for the power of the PS2 to define the beat 'em up. It also saw the release of The Bouncer, which was... less well-received. Aside from the entries in the Dynasty warriors series, Capcom also returned to the game with its own contributions, Shadow of Rome, and the one game that's more insane than River City Ransom, God Hand. The genre isn't enormous, but it's still healthy.

Beat 'em ups are probably the genre where the concept and execution work equally well, and the fanbase is generally pretty chill, largely because there aren't any tournaments involved. There's still plenty of room for the genre, and when it is good, it is really good and cathartic and all that. My faves by system are as follows-

NES- River City Ransom. You knew it had to be here. RPG elements, BARF!, eating your swordfish in one go, plate and all, free smiles, "Stop hurting me!". Just full of the crazy that we love.

Mighty Final Fight. A kinda SD remake of the original game, this does have some very neat touches, like a leveling system, and the fact that it takes itself about as seriously as the game above.

Genesis- Streets of Rage 2. Has a very good move list, distinct characters (though I only ever play as Blaze), and absolutely awesome Yuzo Koshiro music. There isn't room for any others on the Genesis list.

SNES- Final Fight 3. The movelist for each character is even more extensive than it is in Streets of Rage 2, Add the usual high standard of Capcom music, and you're gold.

PS2- The Warriors. A movie adaptation that's good? Shows the strengths of making an adaptation of a movie that has already been out for decades, as there's no tie-in deadline. Combat feels heavy and rough enough for street-level brawling.

Shadow of Rome. Best scoring system ever. Encourages doing really crazy stuff, too.

Godhand. Hilariously insane. It's what happens when Capcom outright embraces the ridiculousness of its own writing. It's hard, but fair.

GBA- River City Ransom EX. as above, but somehow even better.

Double Dragon Advance. Probably the best entry in the Double Dragon classic series.

*River City Ransom was also part of the greater Kunio-Kun series, which, for a while, had more entries than Mega Man. The localizations of other games in the Kunio-kun series include- Super Dodgeball, Crash n' the Boys Street challenge, and Nintendo World Cup.

**Seriously, Armored Warriors is awesome.

Katawa Shoujo released (13 replies)

R-9 — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:32:39 -0800

What is this madman on about now?

Hard to say, really, but here's some background. In the YEAR 2000!!!, a doujin artist named RAITA sketched out, as a bit of a joke, a possible dating sim taking place in a school for the disabled. Including things like character profiles, conditions for relationships and so on. This image eventually ended up colored in and scanned a few years later.

In 2007, this image made it to 4chan, as with ever image ever put on a computer ever, and admist the various usual chatter, some people saw it, and were all like- "We must make this game now!"

Well, 'now' has a very loose meaning when it comes to fan projects like this, but a great deal of serious volunteer work went into this visula novel project, and the team went through five versions of the demo of act 1. The response was enormously positive, so much so that there's even a Japanese fandom that has produced a translation patch. Yes, a Japanese fan patch for an English game. the team has been invited to Retaisai and Comiket as well to peddle their goods.

Now, after almost five years of development, the full version of the game has finally dropped.

So, just what is this thing?

As explained above in the origin of the project, Katawa Shoujo is a visual novel taking place in a school for the disabled. It's like a graphical choose your own adventure book, with the player's decisions in the first act determining which of the major female character's path he'll be locked into for the rest of the game. This is distinguished from a dating sim as it's not free-roaming, there's no time management, and there aren't any stats to keep track of.

The main setup is that our dude, Hisao, starts the game in what could be the conclusion of another VN. He finds a a note from a girl asking him to come out on a snowy day so she can confess her feelings to him, and as she starts his heart starts pounding from the surprise and tension of it all as the girl starts.

It pounds really hard, then stops. Hisao Nakai, teenaged high school student, has just had a heart attack.

Four months in the hospital later, Hisao is finally released and given a list of medications as long as his arm for his heart condition, but he is going to be transferred to Yamaku Academy, a well-funded boarding-school for the disabled made to accommodate people like him. He's not too enthused by the idea, but since when are protagonists, right from the outset?

All right, why should I care?

Well, first off, it's free, in English, and made by folks who pout a good deal of hard work into a project they wanted to do.

Second, they avoid most of the usual tropes of disabled people in media, avoiding the 'tragic life cut short' angle, as well as the whole 'Inspirationally disadavantaged/saintly cripple' thing that crops up in a whole ton of other works (see the Kids in the Hall 'Academy Awards' sketch for a parody of those). It also doesn't replace them with worse tropes either, which can be hard to avoid. It's probably odds on one of the most respectful treatments of the disabled in media- they can be cranky, have feuds, or can just plain be incomprehensible (usually Rin). On the same end, it doesn't fetishize the disabilities themselves, keeping it far away from creepy territory.

Also, while it is played fairly straight, the game does have a good bit of humor in it. Not Disgaea-level wacky (but what is), but it still has that levity that may not exist even in other visual novels, which can even take the tragedy porn to the extreme. It is a very well-written piece of work. While there is possibly H-content, it is likely inconsequential, as it can be turned off in the options menu.

So, have some screenies.

[WIP] At least the Belmonts Get a Warning- Valis: The Fantasm Soldier. (1 reply)

R-9 — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:44:52 -0700

So what is this Valis thing? Isn't that a Philip K. Dick novel?

Of course, but you can't like, own names, man. :)

The Valis series of action-platformers saw its first release by the now-defunct Telenet Japan in 1986 for the PC-88, PC-98, MSX, and a Famicom version in 1987, all versions of the original following the first adventure of Yuko Asou, schoolgirl and wielder of the mighty god-defying Sword of Valis and her struggle against the evil sorceror-king Rogles.

All of these versions are terrible and ought not to be played by anyone.

However, the game apparently did well enough to warrant a sequel in 1989, which was released on the MSX2, PC98, and PC88 (and a bit later on the mighty Sharp x68000). This one was a vast improvement over the original in just about every aspect, from gameplay options and variety to the story presentation, which used extended cutscenes and dialogue similar to the way that Ninja Gaiden did. Another version, which became the canon version of the game, was released for the PC Engine CD (Turbo Duo hereabouts), and was the first Valis game to be localized in North America. the second sequel, Valis III, was first released in 1990 for the PCE CD and Sega Genesis, and was later localized as well, the Genesis version arriving in the middle of 1991 and the Turbo CD version arriving in 1992.

However, Telenet recognized that the only versions of the first game that existed were the really terrible versions, and so worked on a Genesis remake of the first game, which arrived in 1991, getting a US release in December of that year, arriving on American shores in the same month as Super Castlevania IV. Oops. This is the version that will be played.

There was a fourth game in the series that was released for both the PCE-CD and the SNES. However, the SNES version is known quite well as the one where almost all of the story got cut, and this is the only version that made it to the US, which is rather unfortunate. Later saw the release of a PCE-CD version of Valis I.

However, as Telenet's fortune's waned, their decision-making became clouded- their main subsidiary studio, Wolfteam, split in half over creative differences with Namco over Tales of Phantasia, the halves forming both Tri-Ace studios and Namco's Tales Team. Telenet became desperate to make one last cash-in as it collapsed. As such they farmed out the license to another company to retell the stories in H-game format, which was hated by everybody on both ends of the Pacific. This was not only because it was bad even by the low standards of H-gaming, but it was marketed as the 20th anniversary release in 2006. The outrage by both the fans and original creators of the series alike was such that Valis X is regarded as the game that Killed Telenet Japan, the company breathing its last in 2007.

The Valis IP, along with all other Telenet properties are currently owned by Sunsoft, and they are allowing compilation re-releases of the Valis games to be created and published.

The problems with the US releases of the original game boiled down to two- First is the bizarre release order of the games. Here's the release order-

Valis 2 (Turbo CD)
Valis 3 (Genesis)
Valis 1 (Genesis)
Valis 3 (Turbo CD)
Super Valis 4 (SNES)

The second problem is apparent- while all four games had a release on the Turbo in Japan, one had to own three separate systems to play all four installments in the US.

So, Why? Aren't there better games you could be playing for the Intertrons?

Sure are, but first, most of them have already been played, and second, this is an action/platformer franchise that hasn't yet lurched from the misty bogs of gaming history to the modern day, at least in terms of new releases. I also wanted to try my hand at this whole LP thing with a game that I enjoy, know I can beat without too much trouble, and one where I have a fairly good grasp of the lore. Even though Telenet was never really all that solid on gameplay design, there's about as much to like as there is to dislike. It's really more of an acknowledgment of what Telenet tried to do than anything. Besides, if gaming classics were only defined by sound gameplay design, then the of old-school gaming classic canon would be a much shorter list. :)

Secondly, this is an extremely selfish decision and is really a personal indulgence in my own nostalgic recollections. Granted, I may have rather currently played these games, but it sure isn't because they're especially outstanding as games, as far as design goes.

Third, doin' it for the fandom. There still is a rather small but fierce Valis fan community out there, and I've seen people who could barely form rational thought back in the days when the series had its heyday come right on into the fan community, so there probably is something to it (and if your answer is 'fanservice', that's probably wrong, as modern games have more sophisticated design structure and graphical excellence that allow them to deliver a superior fanservice experience).

Fourth, this will really be a test-bed for any possible future WIP projects done by me- this is where I will likely end up putting all my mistakes so that I can learn from them.

So, how is this going to go down anyway?

As the mini-WIP this is, it will be played in five episodes, with videos posted as I complete the audio commentary, as all of the principal video recording and rendering has already been done. The videos will be put on youtube, and I will also be experimenting with ways to make the source videos available for download for higher-quality viewing. They are encoded with Xvid MPEG-4, as a fair warning.

Well, fine. Since this isn't Progress Quest, the WIP won't make itself.

Episode 1: A magical Warrior is you!/Only slightly worse than a normal commute.

Must have: Senran Kagura: Shoujotachi no Shinei (3DS) (9 replies)

Muhznit — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:36:51 -0800

Gentlemen, I honestly don't know HOW in the infinite hells of the 10th dimension this went under radar (or how I forgot to post it here) but this game.... oh sweet frozen nipples of Morrigan, this game...

How should I describe this... remember Milktank's games? Saa Ushida, Spanner-Chan: The Assault Engineer, and Mighty My Master? Guess what. He's not the only guy making action-intensive games with busty protagonists anymore. In fact, these guys are making a 3D, hack 'n slash beat-em up with a cast of girls whose bra sizes are no smaller than D cup. And it's going on the Nintendo 3DS. Dragon Crown's Sorceress can eat her heart out, if she can even reach it.

Main web site:
[www.mmv.co.jp]
First trailer:
[www.youtube.com]
Opening:
[www.andriasang.com]
Info on a few of the characters:
[www.andriasang.com]
A trailer detailing the gameplay:
[www.youtube.com]
A few scans of various characters:
[the-magicbox.com]

Finally, the most important link of all:
[www.petitiononline.com]
Sign this thing. Now. Drop whatever the fuck you're doing, and sign. I'm not too sure how much I have to stress that you sign this. We MUST get it localized. This is not a request, this is a command and a mission. WE MUST GET THIS LOCALIZED.

Chelsea and the 7 Devils review? It just might be. (5 replies)

Yuka Takeuchi Fan — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:20:23 -0700

Short review: Game that controls like complete ass + Platform Hell = This is not going to be a positive review but hoo boy is it gonna be a fun one.

I fucking hate this game and plan on savaging it on my site at some point. Someone ask me about the insane contest I plan on putting into the review.

Dragon's Crown (Or the only thing that got my interest at E3) (19 replies)

R-9 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 10:50:46 -0700

So, what is Dragon's Crown anyway?

Apparently, it's going to be a co-op dungeon bash for the PS3 and upcoming Playstation Vita in the same vein as Capcom's old Dungeons and Dragons arcade game, brought to you by the fine folks that also brought us Odin Sphere, Grim Grimoire, and Muramasa: The Demon's Blade. it certainly looks the part, both as far as the developer and what they're claiming the game will be like.

Anyway, here's the trailer: [www.youtube.com]

xbox 360 online games (8 replies)

importgamer13 — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:23:42 -0700

I've had bad luck getting defective 360's in the past,but i seem to finally have one that's working.if anyone wants to play games online,send me an invite!My ID is...

TantalicPanic7

games I play online...

TMNT Arcade
Castlevania- Harmony of Despair
Left 4 Dead
Marvel Ultimate Alliance Gold edition

guilty pleasures (4 replies)

importgamer13 — Wed, 04 May 2011 21:21:06 -0700

Was there ever a game that was so bad,you're the only person you know who plays it,because somehow...you enjoy it,despite what the rest of the world thinks?Then this topic is for you!To start the topic,here's 2 of mine...

Friday the 13th (NES)- You take on the role of 6 different counselors(some can jump high or run faster than others,etc.),and you gather weapons as you protect the kids and coulselors of Camp Crystal Lake from Jason.You can kill the severed head of Jason's mother to get some extra goodies,plus there'salso a few zombies,wolves and bats,too.Overall,this game is hailed as 'worst horror game ever' and 'worst movie game ever',and yet i'm pretty good at the game and have beaten it quite a few times,but it's not an easy game either.It gets pretty hard near the end.

Alpha Protocol (PS3)- It's a secret agent RPG,not too unlike Mass effect,Knights of the Old Republic,etc...you get the option to make conversation choices,and even have romantic encounters with a few of the ladies of the game.However,the game got alot of bad reviews,both because of the hero's personality and a few nasty bugs in the game.Because of this,the sequel was cancelled.On occasion,the bugs still crash my game,but i've always been able to reload previous save and still get to the end and beat the game.

Phantasy Star favorites? (3 replies)

importgamer13 — Mon, 02 May 2011 06:01:12 -0700

I was surprised to hear on gamefaqs.com that many places are overcharging for copies of PSO Plus.I'm glad I preordered the game when it first came out,but it got me to thinking of the other Phantasy Star games I enjoy alot,in particular...

1. PSO Plus (Gamecube)- Offering 4 more quests (Central Dome Fire Swirl,Seat of the Heart,East Tower and West Tower) and the Ep2 Challenge Mode for offline gamers,Plus is my favorite of the PSO series.

2. PSO 3- CARD Revolution (Gamecube)- Many complained about it being a card- battling game,but to date,it's the only card playing video game I truly enjoy,and that's coming from someone who's played the Metal Gear Acid series.It also does wrap up the storyline featured in PSO and PSO Plus,so it is a sequel,it just doesn't play a repeat or a re-hash.

3. Phantasy Star Portable (PSP)- This one in the Universe series reminded me of PSO the most.Adding Beast characters into the franchise was a good move for the Universe series,and they are fun to play.Add in cameos by some PSO weapons and monsters and you have a good time in the making,especially with multiplayer mode.

Dynasty Warriors 7 (4 replies)

importgamer13 — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 07:54:02 -0700

Been playing this a few days now,and it's easily the best DW game ever.They made the characters look as detailed as the characters in Fist of the North Star-Ken's rage.

The 2 player mode is fun,and wait until you see Lian Shi. ^_^

PS3 online ID (2 replies)

importgamer13 — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 07:52:19 -0700

Sorry I haven't been around for awhile,been doing some online gaming on the PS3.
If you'd like to join me for a game,my PS3 online name is 'jernst21'.The following are the online games I currently play...

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
X-Men arcade game
Castle Crashers
Dynasty warriors- Strikeforce

On Strikeforce,my name is also jernst21,so I will be easy to find.In X-Men,MUA2 or Castle Crashers,if you see my name twice,it means my wife is playing those games online with me as well.Hope to see you soon!

The Humble Indie Games Bundle, The Sequel (3 replies)

Yuka Takeuchi Fan — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 11:06:39 -0800

Yes, I should have told you sooner, and yes, they're not kidding about the 'set your own price' option.

The games on offer are:
-Braid
-Cortex Command
-Machinarium
-Osmos
-Revenge of the Titans
...which you get as a nice package deal.

You have until about 4:00 PM (EST) on Tuesday to pick it up yourself. Please don't be a jerk and give an insulting amount if you decide to take them up on the offer.

download games topic (PS3,Wii and 360) (4 replies)

importgamer13 — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 05:58:37 -0800

Thought I'd make a topic for discussing download games.Here's a few neat ones I downloaded...

Scott Pilgrim VS The World (PS3) - Though the game rips off River City Ransom alot (As well as Final Fight and Megaman 2,among others),it's a fun game,and it supports 4 players.

Alien Breed Impact (PS3) - Seems to be inspired by the Alien films a bit,you fight your way through a spaceship,killing aliens.Supports 2 players.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (PS3) - A 2 player co-op Tomb Raider game. Quite fun,and the puzzles can be challenging to figure out.

Castlevania Adventure rebirth (Wii) - A remake of Castlevania Adventure,it's been completely redone,and it's very enjoyable.

James Bond games (6 replies)

importgamer13 — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 15:23:50 -0800

Recently beat the Goldeneye remake for the Wii,it was pretty fun.I liked the fact they had Blofeld as one of the multiplayer characters finally.Here's the ones I have...

Goldeneye (N64 and Wii versions)
Goldeneye Rogue Agent (PS2)
Nightfire (PS2)
Everything of Nothing (Gamecube)
From Russia with Love (PS2)

Minecraft? (2 replies)

Yuka Takeuchi Fan — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 15:00:17 -0700

I know that the fanbase is largely completely insane and filled with unreasonable jackasses, but since I know that you guys are neither completely insane nor unreasonable jackasses, I was wondering if anyone here had played the game and had anything to say about it. I've heard a lot of good things about it, like it's some sort of Super Legos, so I was thinking about picking it up once I had money.

Click here if you're curious about the basics, too.

favorites in franchise? (8 replies)

importgamer13 — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:51:07 -0700

With the franchises you like,what are your favorite games in those series?Feel free to list a few,and say why!

Resident Evil 2 and Darkside Chronicles... RE2 was the first Res Evil game I ever played.At the time,Code Veronica for the Dreamcast was the new game,and every place I went was sold out of the Res Evil games.I went to a used game store and the only game I could find was a copy of RE2 for the PS1.I bought it and I've been a fan ever since.I really enjoyed the gameplay,plot and characters,and William Birkin has been my fave Res Evil villian ever since.Darkside Chronicles provided me with a new version of RE2,and a new spin on it's story.Best of all,Darkside supports 2 players,so now my wife could shoot zombies alongside me.

Akumajo Dracula X- Nocturne in the Moonlight... Symphony of the Night was a fantastic game in the Castlevania series,and Nocturne is a sort of special edition of the game for the import Sega Saturn.What I liked most about it was the extra features...2 new areas of the castle(Underground Garden and Cursed Prison)to explore,plus extra weapons,armor and items for Alucard,some new music in parts of the game,and the fact that all 3 characters (Alucard,Richter and Maria) are already available at the beginning of the game.To me,it is the most complete version of the game,and it's a shame it will never be released in the USA.

Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2 Plus... I like it when a game company takes one of my favorite games and releases it with new content,such as Nocturne in the Moonlight or Rockman Mega World.With PSO Plus,Sega gives the offline-only gamers some of the extra missions and modes that were previously only available online. Quests like Central Dome Fire Swirl,Seat of the Heart,East Tower and West Tower await single players,while four players can tackle the Episode 2 Challenge Mode together.Overall,another great game,with added extras.PSO has always reminded me of Star Wars,with it's lightsabers,blasters and many droids,so I often think of PSO and the planet Ragol as 'that OTHER galaxy,far,far away...'

Dead Rising 2 (12 replies)

bakemono — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:12:50 -0800

There isn't a topic about the actual game so here it is....

Well, I'm one of the people that pre-ordered the game from gamestop,so I got it at the release date with an exclusive ninja outfit ingame.

I've been playing it since I got it, and man it has been very enjoyable.
The game's almost a dream come true for zombie game lovers, but there are still some drawbacks to this game.

First, you're really constrained by the game's time limit. There is so much to explore in the game, and the main missions you have to do stops you from doing it comfortably.
The bosses you encounter in the game (some optional, some aren't) are harder than you'll expect. You'll usually find yourself ill-prepared for these situations and might have to die a few times to get around beating them.
The side-missions, in which you have to save survivors add up even more to your time... they pretty much prevent you from getting a breather after doing a really hard mission. But, this is also optional.

Of course, there are plenty of upsides.
There are gigantic amounts of zombies on screen at a time, enabling you to have zombie slaughter fun.
Weapon combinations, through the use of combo cards, give you plenty of ways to kill them. There are also so many weapons (even guns!) to use against them....
Your surroundings are also so vibrant and detailed, that it'll sometimes distract you....

There are many more things to say here, but I'm short of time. I'll probably add to it once you guys reply.

For now, discuss!

Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale. (7 replies)

R-9 — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:46:33 -0800

In a rare occurrence, a Japanese indie game is actually getting localized, and damn, it's a good'un.

So, Recettear is a game where you play the owner of an item shop in a stereotypical JRPG world. The setup is that the main character's father took out a huge loan to buy top-notch equipment for his own adventuring career. However, he disappeared after a climactic battle on top of a volcano, and he never did repay a single cent of the loan, passing it on to Recette, his daughter. So, Recette gets a visit from Tear, the collections fairy, informing her that the loan was secured with the house. Rather than evict immediately, Tear suggests that she pay off the loan by opening an item shop on the ground floor.

The basic gameplay is about time, item, and money management. It's played out day by day, and you have to have a certain amount of money by the end of each week, or Recette gets evicted and it's game over. The required money increases with each week, and you have to last for five weeks in the main game.

While your regular source of items are the markets and the merchant guilds, but as you advance people will actually sell you items, which you can usually buy back for about half of what they're actually worth. Where you place the items in the shop matters- putting higher-quality or more expensive items by the window will draw in more customers, and customers are more likely to buy items you put up in the window.

Of course, the game has a second component. One of the risky but rewarding ways you can get more items is to hire your own adventurers, kit them out, and go into the dungeons around town to loot them for potential shop inventory. This part of the game plays a bit like a cross between Zelda and Diablo, but unless you've invested in better kit for your employed adventurer, it can be a bit unforgiving. Dying means you can lose a substantial part of your investment, as well as most of the time for that day.

The game is available for preorder on Steam and the demo is on the same, and the computer I had six years ago would have no problem running it. the localization is actually top-notch, amazingly enough.

Dead Rising 2 Pre-Game (13 replies)

Yuka Takeuchi Fan — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:57:45 -0700

Dead Rising 2 comes out on September 28 and let me tell you, there are no words to describe just how much I'm looking forward to it!

Though I'd like to mention that XBOX 360 owners also get the chance to buy "Dead Rising: Case Zero" for a mere 400 Microsoft Points, which allegedly bridges DR1 and DR2, in addition to allowing you to get a taste of what'll be in DR2, as well as allow you to upgrade your player character up to level 5, as well as a few other early-bird bonuses that'll carry into DR2.

Who knows, perhaps I'll be writing a FAQ for that game too, once I get enough of my bearings in it. What do YOU guys think of the upcoming, zombie-slaying goodness?

Reoccuring custom characters topic (3 replies)

importgamer13 — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:44:34 -0700

Have you ever created a character for a game that you liked so much,you also created that character for other games that you have?Here's your chance to sound off on your favorite custom characters.

1. Blast Hornet: I first created her as a Hunter for Phantasy Star Online,and shortly after that,I began to draw the character and created some fan fics about her.Since then, I have made versions of her for Dynasty Warriors 6- Empires,Smackdown VS Raw 2008, Syphon Filter- Omega Strain,Samurai Warriors 2- Empires,Phantasy Star Zero,Phantasy Star Portable,Star Wars- Knights of the Old Republic 2- The Sith Lords,Dragons Age Origins,Dragons AGe Origins- Awakening,and Saints Row 2.

2. Magi-Knight: Originally created as a Force for Phantasy Star Online,since then I brought her to Smackdown VS Raw 2008,Dynasty Warriors 6- Empires,and in Phantasy Star Portable,I recreated her as a Beast Hunter.

3. Anime characters: although there's a lot of them that I have done,especially for Dynasty Warriors 6- Empires,my favorite by far is Lita Kino (Sailor Jupiter), and I currently have versions of her in Dynasty Warriors 6- Empires,Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2 Plus,Phantasy Star Portable,and Smackdown VS Raw 2008.

(Reviews)R-9's Review Node (14 replies)

R-9 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:26:38 -0800

(No numerical scores from this guy!)

Ys 1 & 2 Complete
Developer: Falcom Corporation
Platform: PC
Released: 2001

Ys 1&2 Complete is the compiled release of Ys 1 and 2 Eternal, the PC remakes of Ys 1 and 2. The Ys series is, for the most part, a bit of a curiosity in the west, as only four of the numerous games were actually localized until recently. In Japan, however, it's almost as big as the Dragon Quest games. Ys 1 and 2 are almost always seen packaged together because they were originally intended to be a single game, but were split due to time and hardware limitations (the only one that actually plays as a single game is the famous Turbo-CD version, available on Wii's Virtual Console).

Ys 1 and 2 Complete doesn't really deviate from the main plot of the original games in any significant way. It is still the first adventure of Adol Christin, who has ended on the island of Esteria and begins to unravel the mysterious disappearance of the country of Ys in ancient times. However, the remake greatly expands the characterization of the minor characters of the games, and even incorporates some characters and events from the OVA (Adol being shipwrecked on the island rather than pulling into port at Minea). The sprites are smooth and well animated, and the updates to the game's already superb soundtrack and the new overall art style make the presentation of the compilation quite excellent. The remixes of Yuzo Koshiro's original soundtrack are some of the best Action RPG tracks out there.

For all of the updates in presentation, however, the gameplay remains the same as it was when the games were first released over 20 years ago for the PC-88. it is rather important to note that the gameplay of games in the Ys series is usually perfectly functional, though is usually a step behind the leading edge. Even though the original Ys 1 and 2 were contemporary with the original Legend of Zelda, Ys lacks an attack button, and hand to hand combat relies on ramming Adol into enemies. The position of Adol relative to his opponent when you slam him into a monster affects how much damage is done, and whether or not Adol is damaged in return. Bosses, of course, sometimes require different shenanigans. The biggest game-changer is when magic is introduced in Ys 2:, and only the last two bosses in the game are even vulnerable to Adol's sword-ramming technique.

Ys was probably also the first of the "Action/RPGs", in that is actually tracked things like stats, experience, levels, and so on. Grinding is helpful, but won't always save you: You'll probably hit the level cap of Ys I a little less than halfway through that installment, leaving you to get by on your skills and wits for the rest of the game. I would note that it is a tad refreshing to see games where the level cap can be hit through just actual play.

The game, however, is not without flaws, as the game's desire to hang true to the original games has caused some rather unfortunate oversights- or, rather problems that could be inherent in 1986 game design in general. In both games, it is sometimes unclear as to what you should be doing or where you should be going, despite the somewhat linear progression of areas, and retrieving one of the plot-necessary items in Ys I can be an absolute pain without some extreme inferences on the player's part. The game can be quite unforgiving, combat wise, especially when one enters a new area, or even a different floor of the same dungeon. The final boss of Ys I has his most difficult incarnation in this version of the game, making it something of a luck-based encounter even for veterans of other incarnations of Ys I.

This version of the games has been ported to other platforms, with Legacy of Ys for the DS and the upcoming localization of Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles for the PSP, but I will take this version over the DS version, which suffered somewhat in the transition to the handheld.

Still, though, if you can stand old school, any version of Ys 1 & II Complete is worth picking up, and Falcom is still selling this game new. there is also a translation patch for this game made by fans, so you won't have to do more guide-looking than absolutely necessary.

IG13's review topic (The Hodge-Podge) (30 replies)

importgamer13 — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 07:12:09 -0700

Hi!I thought I'd take YTF's advice and start my review topic here.Whenever I post a new review,it will be in this topic.I thought I'd call it 'The Hodge-Podge' because I will review a ton of different games,not just import titles I own,but while I will review games for current systems,I won't shy away from older titles,either.

Name: Rockman Mega World
System: Import Genesis
Players: 1
Other: Battery save system

Rockman Mega World is a Megaman collection that was also released in the UK as Megaman- The Wily Wars.It contains 4 games: Rockman 1-3,upgraded to 16-bit quality,plus a new game called Wily Tower.The story of the game is that Wily has built a time machine,so he can take a second stab at defeating Rockman in their first three fights.If that fails,Wily has 3 special robots which he's sure will win...

The improvements to Rockman 1-3 are much better graphics and music,but some of the sound effects(like explosions)don't sound the greatest.Oddly enough,when they redid everyone's graphic sprites,they didn't redo Blues' (Protoman) in Rockman 3,so that Rockman looks a bit taller than Blues.The layout of all the items in the 3 games are the same as the NES versions,so that is good.

In Wily Tower,you face off against Wily's 3 new robots (Buster Rod.G,Mega Water.S and Hyper Storm.H) plus a new castle with more bosses.Rockman's 3 new foes are so powerful,he can't copy their weapons,however,Dr.Light lets him bring a few of the weapons from Rockman 1-3 into each stage,so pick your weapons accordingly.The minor enemies you face in each level are all minor robots from Rockman 1-3.There are also some walls that can be blown up by Crash Bombs or Hard Knuckle,so be ready to look for hidden rooms.

The difficulty of the game isn't too hard,so longtime Megaman players shouldn't have much to worry about,once they get used to the new look,and the layout of the new levles in Wily Tower.At the end of Wily Tower,Wily attacks you with a new giant robot,and it will take some brain power to figure out his weak points,and what weapons to use on them.If you beat Wily,you get a nice,long ending sequence(I won't spoil it for you).The button layout(Jumping,shooting) can be changed in the main option screen.

Overall,it's a fun game,but may not appeal to non-Megaman fans.

Graphics: 6/10 Nice overall
Sound: 6/10 nice music,so-so sound effects
Controls: 7/10 standard Megaman 1-3 controls
Fun Factor: 8/10 very fun,particularly the Wily Tower
Replay Value: 5/10 Once beaten,depends how much you like to play again

Myself,I like to play it a number of times in a month,but I know not everyone would play it as much as I do.