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Magical Vacation dated, renamed for the US
- Thread starter Kobun Heat
- Start date
Joe Molotov
Member
Magical Starsign is the prequel to Tales of Doom Sign.
DIrtyWeasel
Member
jesusraz
Member
Really is a missed opp not bringing MV GBA over here. The game's great, but I'd love it more if I could actually follow the story properly!
And did I pick up a hint of dislike for Starfy a few posts ago? Tut tut...Starfy 3 is almost as good as Mario's 2D games...If Kirby can be popular in the West, Starfy certainly could.
Still tempted to import MV DS. October just seems too far away.
And did I pick up a hint of dislike for Starfy a few posts ago? Tut tut...Starfy 3 is almost as good as Mario's 2D games...If Kirby can be popular in the West, Starfy certainly could.
Still tempted to import MV DS. October just seems too far away.
Quick and dirty impressions of the game after 3 hours of play.
- I hate the control system. I swear. The dpad and face buttons control direction. L Trigger lets you open chests and talk to people, etc. R Trigger is used to dash.
Or you can just use the stylus for everything. I hate that shit, seriously. Maybe there will be some situation where I'm going to NEED the stylus, but I can't see it now.
- The battle system is pretty traditional (turn-based) but I like some of the twists involved. You can change the top screen to see an overview of the solar system that you're in, which directly affects your magic powers. The night and day cycles also affect your power
- The graphics are good. Nice and colorful. The bosses are quite big (I ran into two or three already)
- The story is good, although I HATE how the game handles the text. I know that it's a game aimed at younger kids, but the writing style is messed up. There's some kanji but then some words that you'd think would be kanji because they'd be easy to read aren't. I'm only at an intermediate Japanese level, and I can understand it, but it's just annoying at times. They also use a ****ing ass crap font for one of the characters which makes it hard to read... and all of his speech is in katakana too. Argh.
Overall it's a good game though, although some of the little things just anger me (especially the control system)
- I hate the control system. I swear. The dpad and face buttons control direction. L Trigger lets you open chests and talk to people, etc. R Trigger is used to dash.
Or you can just use the stylus for everything. I hate that shit, seriously. Maybe there will be some situation where I'm going to NEED the stylus, but I can't see it now.
- The battle system is pretty traditional (turn-based) but I like some of the twists involved. You can change the top screen to see an overview of the solar system that you're in, which directly affects your magic powers. The night and day cycles also affect your power
- The graphics are good. Nice and colorful. The bosses are quite big (I ran into two or three already)
- The story is good, although I HATE how the game handles the text. I know that it's a game aimed at younger kids, but the writing style is messed up. There's some kanji but then some words that you'd think would be kanji because they'd be easy to read aren't. I'm only at an intermediate Japanese level, and I can understand it, but it's just annoying at times. They also use a ****ing ass crap font for one of the characters which makes it hard to read... and all of his speech is in katakana too. Argh.
Overall it's a good game though, although some of the little things just anger me (especially the control system)
Sorry, I forgot to mention that all menus are handled via stylus. It's really annoying because I'd much rather play this game without the stylus. Instead you're forced to use it... which makes using face buttons/dpad pretty much irrelevant. I dont' see why I can't do everything using either method. It's just as bad as Xenosaga I/II DS not using the touch screen at all during menu navigation
thanks for the impressions. it sounds great. i like the idea of controlling everything with the stylus.
great news about the release in october. i agree the name isn't great, but i remember thinking the same thing about magical vacation, so magical starsign might grow on me.
in the blog it says brownie brown is 'a now independent group of square-enix designers', they were owned by nintendo, has this changed?
great news about the release in october. i agree the name isn't great, but i remember thinking the same thing about magical vacation, so magical starsign might grow on me.
in the blog it says brownie brown is 'a now independent group of square-enix designers', they were owned by nintendo, has this changed?
or is it referring to brownie brown being independent of square-enix?
Reno said:
That doesn't sound too bad to me at all, really. I've long since thought that the DS has been screaming for an RPG that handles menus through the touch screen -- that's one of the best things the system can offer RPGs, and the ones released so far have botched that.
So yeah, I'm not at all bothered by the news. Your impressions are making me want the game even more, too -- the only thing negative you posted was the controls, and I like the way they sound.
oops, typo.Jiggy37 said:
regardless, i didn't think brownie brown was independent of anybody in a business sense. creatively they probably are or at least have a certain amount of freedom.
had a quick check and brownie brown's definitely owned by nintendo and unless something unreported has changed, it's still the case:
http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=344&page=3
similar info is at ign and wikipedia:
http://games.ign.com/objects/027/027351.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_Brown
i also came across a decent interview with brownie brown about the original magical vacation (where they also say nintendo owns the studio):
http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=244
i've been a fan of brownie brown since they started. i love their art style and think they have really talented artists. the graphics in mv2 are amazing. i played a little of mv, but the language barrier was too much, but it looked like i would enjoy it, so it's such great news mv2 is being localised. i even liked sword of mana. it wasn't amazing, but it was enjoyable enough for me to remember it with a certain amount of fondness.
even though the interview says they were content with being small, i'd guess they've now expanded, since they've helped create mother 3 and develop mv2 at virtually the same time. i'm really looking forward to seeing what their game, dubbed 'gofuku', turns out to be, it's probably in development for wii.
Well, being a junior member, I can't create threads, but at least I can revive them!
Sorry for bumping this from beyond, but, given that I'm looking forward to this title, I find it quite perplexing that it's basically getting no spotlight. Since it's been out for so long, where are the Japanese impressions on the game? All I've found is the 31/40 on Famitsu, as well as the occasional review that doesn't go into much detail. Basically, I've been able to muster that it's 'good'. But what else? Anyone else played the Japanese version? How's the story, the writing, the characters?
Sorry for bumping this from beyond, but, given that I'm looking forward to this title, I find it quite perplexing that it's basically getting no spotlight. Since it's been out for so long, where are the Japanese impressions on the game? All I've found is the 31/40 on Famitsu, as well as the occasional review that doesn't go into much detail. Basically, I've been able to muster that it's 'good'. But what else? Anyone else played the Japanese version? How's the story, the writing, the characters?
trancejeremy
Banned
Is it actually out yet? From what I've read, it's either just shipping today, or possibly hitting stores today.
It's funny how it seems a lot like Contact (RPGs involving spaceships, anyway), and is releasing at about the same time. The reviews I read made this seem better, though.
It's funny how it seems a lot like Contact (RPGs involving spaceships, anyway), and is releasing at about the same time. The reviews I read made this seem better, though.
Yeah, the controls were the biggest complain I saw on the MV GFAQs board when it was released. Well actually they weren't complaining, I was. :lol I mean why **** up the normal controls? Just to make people use the touch-screen? It seems they've done changes to the game for the English release though since I don't remember the Japanese version having WFC, hopefully they were also smart enough to iron out the button controls.
Symytry said:
It was reviewed in the November EGM. 5.5, 6.5, 6.0. The main complaints seemed to be that it was repetitive, the battle system was pretty much bog-standard outside of the planetary alignments affecting characters' powers, and the fact that the game forces you to play it with the stylus. (Michael: 'Hey, I like using the stylus, but I don't need to play a 20-hour RPG with a stylus in my hand. Nor do I need to spend five minutes fiddling with a frickin' menu because I accidentally chose a "Frog shirt" instead of a "Cat suit." A. Fitch: 'And all was right with the world... Oh, except it wasn't! Because the stylus controls practically every damn thing in the game, making the simplest of RPG maneuvers, like talking to the right townsperson, a Hagrid-sized pain.') They did seem to feel that the story was fun and liked the 'clever, charming' script, though, so it's not a complete wash.
Barry Lightning
Banned
thank god
:/
This game's not horrible... It's just a little bit above average so far (2.5 hours in).
There's a strong SNES-era vibe here, which is cool. I don't mind the stylus much (it's used in ways like tapping a character who's about to get hit to deflect some damage).
The graphics are really colorful and battles don't happen so often that they get mind-numbing.
The battle system's unique in that there don't seem to be melee weapons... just foot attacks and magic. You get armor & accessories too, which makes it weirder.
The story hasn't really taken off yet (think Harry Potter with a cast of furries), but there's the typical nintendo-level stellar English translation. I still only have 2 characters in my party, so that might make the game feel more simplistic than it ultimately turns out to be.
So, yeah, not GOTY or anything, but it's enjoyable for what it is. I am sure it will bomb horribly, but it is definitely less a bad game than a derivative one.
There's a strong SNES-era vibe here, which is cool. I don't mind the stylus much (it's used in ways like tapping a character who's about to get hit to deflect some damage).
The graphics are really colorful and battles don't happen so often that they get mind-numbing.
The battle system's unique in that there don't seem to be melee weapons... just foot attacks and magic. You get armor & accessories too, which makes it weirder.
The story hasn't really taken off yet (think Harry Potter with a cast of furries), but there's the typical nintendo-level stellar English translation. I still only have 2 characters in my party, so that might make the game feel more simplistic than it ultimately turns out to be.
So, yeah, not GOTY or anything, but it's enjoyable for what it is. I am sure it will bomb horribly, but it is definitely less a bad game than a derivative one.
If I'd noticed this got bumped, I wouldn't have posted elsewhere. That said...
Hmm. I hate thinking I'll still only have two characters one hour further in... But more involved use of the stylus than I've encountered sounds great. I already liked the battle system anyway.Unison said:
jesusraz
Member
Magical Starsign isn't as heavy on the random battles as its GBA predecessor. MV was a cracking game with some lovely retro-SNES graphics and MS seems to be carrying on it that vein, except with an extra little bit of dazzle thrown in.
As for the complaints about the touch-screen, I don't know what the problem is. It feels like playing through Animal Crossing at times, which is not bad thing is my view.
I will certainly be aiming to give this a 7/10 come final review time (from what I've played so far of both the Japanese and US versions). We shall see if my opinion changes the more I play
As for the complaints about the touch-screen, I don't know what the problem is. It feels like playing through Animal Crossing at times, which is not bad thing is my view.
I will certainly be aiming to give this a 7/10 come final review time (from what I've played so far of both the Japanese and US versions). We shall see if my opinion changes the more I play
It's a damn shame more people aren't playing this. This is a classic, SNES-style RPG. The touch screen controls are actually quite nice once you're used to them, and the 2d graphics are consistently gorgeous.
People, don't ignore this game. It's growing on me the more that I play it.
People, don't ignore this game. It's growing on me the more that I play it.
MoxManiac said:I dunno, I was turned off by the fugly character art on the box
The boxart is hideous, and the actual in-game character art isn't much better.
But the writing is superb, the actual sprites and animations are great, and I'm rather liking the battle system. As everyone else has put it, it's a really nice SNES RPG.
ethelred said:
I don't think there's enough interest in the game to warrant one, honestly, which sucks. This game should have come out in August or something.
I will spam some screens of the game, just to show everyone how awesome this game looks:
Apparently it's a long game too (i.e. 25-30 hours), which is a nice contrast to Contact (which is awesome but a bit short).
Pureauthor
Member
Fudge.
I have just enough money to spare to get ONE DS game tomorrow. Contact or Magical Starsign, guys?
...I don't wanna choose...
I have just enough money to spare to get ONE DS game tomorrow. Contact or Magical Starsign, guys?
...I don't wanna choose...
JonathanEx
Member
What happened to Wi-Fi? At one point Nintendo were going to add it, and without comment it was "removed".
JonathanEx
Member
Ah! Then... why isn't it being advertised as such? Nothing on the press room.
JonathanEx
Member
Thanks for the confirmation. Does it have the logo on the box? (I'm just curious, Nintendo aren't showing it as Wi-Fi on their site and all.) It seems an old version issued to the press has it, but the one currently available... doesn't.
ethelred said:
I'm mildly interested, but there's a bunch of DS stuff that I want to get that's higher prority, first (Contact, Castlevania PoR, FF3, YI DS plus older software like Age of Empires, Metroid Pinball, and Kirby CC)
I'll probably get it eventually. They need to fire that artist, though
MoxManiac said:I'm mildly interested, but there's a bunch of DS stuff that I want to get that's higher prority, first (Contact, Castlevania PoR, FF3, YI DS plus older software like Age of Empires, Metroid Pinball, and Kirby CC)
I'll probably get it eventually. They need to fire that artist, though
It's tough to argue for getting the game over most of those, but this is a great old-school RPG for fans of the genre, no doubt. I can't imagine many would be disappointed with the purchase.