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PantherLotus · Mar 18, 2007

~Exclusive to Wii~

**The Official Opoona Media & Hype Thread**
Haters be damned. The crew working on this reads like an RPG fan's wet dream. Better than expected graphics, original characters, original story, wonderful music all in a brand-new IP--and it's all played with one hand, the way RPGs were always meant to be played. Please enjoy the thread and give it a moment to load. This is definitely a media-intensive thread. Please notice that nearly everything is clickable and it links to either futher information or a bigger picture.

Enjoy!

___________________________________________________________________________

GAME INFO
___________________________________________________________________________

Box Art

Developed by - ArtePiazza (DragonQuest VII)
Published by - KOEI (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)

Release Dates:
JP - ~Summer 2007~
NA - TBA
EU - TBA

Genre - RPG
Modes - Single-player
Price - TBA

Websites
Official Opoona Site
Opoona @ Wiki
Official ArtePiazza Website
Opoona @ 1up

Previews & Hands-on Impressions

1up said:
What the Wii needs more of are daring, bold, innovative and new games. We're starting to see more of these as time goes on, and Koei's joined the fray with Opoona, and there are some heavy hitters landing their talents to this quirky adventure.

First, the setup. Opoona is not only the game's title, but the name of the main character, as well. Opoona, a descendant of the brave Cosmo Guards, is visiting the planet Landroll with his family, when he's separated from them and find his parents in the hospital for series injuries and both his brother and sister completely missing. What happened? In Opoona, it's your job to earn a license to travel to other colonies and find out. These licenses are different jobs -- rescuer, idol, detective -- and players pick and choose what they'd like to become.

Despite the somewhat serious sounding subject matter, Opoona's art style suggest the game is anything but. Shintaro Majima heads art direction on this project, while Sachiko Yukimura, who has worked with Yuji Hori several times on the Dragon Quest series, joins as planning director. Most exciting for RPG fanboys, however, is Hitoshi Sakimoto, the composer of Final Fantasy XII's excellent soundtrack, penning the music.

___________________________________________________________________________

STORY
___________________________________________________________________________

said:
Opoona, a descendant of the brave Cosmo Guards, after being separated from his family during a visit to the planet Landroll finds himself injured in a hospital and unable to remember how he wound up there. It is your Job as Opoona to earn a license to travel to other colonies and find out what exactly happened to his brother and sister.

Characters
Playable
● Opoona - The main protagonist from the planet Titia. He has an orange Energy Bon Bon above his head which he can use as a projectile.
● Porina - Opoona's younger sister. She has two yellow Energy Bon Bon above her head that resemple pigtails.
● Copoona - Opoona's younger brother. His Energy Bon Bon is in the place of his legs and is pink.

Other
● Dadina - Opoona's father. He has two blue Energy Bon Bon stacked vertically above his head.
● Momina - Opoona's mother. She has two pink Energy Bon Bon similar to Porina's.

Enemies

Dark Rogues
● Bee
● Screw Fly
● Bad Cell
● Shadow of Sun
● Crusher Potato
● Flower
● Tree
● Space Bubble
● Jammin
● Before The Mask
● Ultima-Golem
● A Long Time Ago
● Bubble
● Forest Wonder
● Ghost
● Giant Bat
● Phenomenon
● Dance-Jin
● Sword Bull

___________________________________________________________________________

GAMEPLAY
___________________________________________________________________________

● Controlled with one hand - The Nunchuck!

said:
In a bit of a twist, Opoona is controlled without touching the Wiimote whatsoever. We only have a brief description of combat from Koei, but they claim movement and "Active Bombom Battle," which encompasses the game's combat scenarios, is controlled entirely by the nunchuck, allowing for one-handed play. Snapping the nunchuck fires projectiles at enemies, whose trajectory can be changed by moving the nunchuck.

said:
To progress through the game, Opoona will acquire Licenses for different jobs (rescuer, idol, detective) with players being able to choose what they would like to become. The game is played one handed using just the Wii's Wii Nunchuk attachment. In battles, jerking the Nunchuk will fire a projectile at enemies with the trajectory able to be changed by moving the Nunchuk. This style of play is named the Active Bon Bon Battle System.

___________________________________________________________________________

MEDIA
___________________________________________________________________________

Videos
First Video Presentation!
Official Opoona Trailer <---hotness

Screens
Click to enlarge

Artwork
Click to enlarge

=================================

Got anything you want added to the top? Post it and consider it done! Try not to spoil anything profound about the story. Any clarification or interesting tidbits about the game you learn will definitely be added in. Thanks and enjoy!

Thanks
1. Wiki Members
2. JeuxFrance Media Staff
3. GameTrailers
4. Various Fan Sites
5. (Your name here?)

schuelma · Mar 18, 2007

Has this been officially confirmed to get a N.A. release?

ethelred · Mar 18, 2007

Um... while you did an excellent job in the first post, and while the game does seem cool and looks like it has potential, I'm not sure it's quite the sort of game that we should really be hyping up months before its release...

Also, "adventure with RPG elements?" It's a standard traditional, turn-based RPG -- random encounters and all.

Kintaro · Mar 18, 2007

ethelred said:
Um... while you did an excellent job in the first post, and while the game does seem cool and looks like it has potential, I'm not sure it's quite the sort of game that we should really be hyping up months before its release...

Also, "adventure with RPG elements?" It's a standard traditional, turn-based RPG -- random encounters and all.

What he said. I mean, dang man. Looks ok and everything, but sheesh. Now out till Summer.

PantherLotus · Mar 18, 2007

I respectfully disagree. The developer, ArtePiazza, worked on DQVII, one of my favorite games of all time. The music is being handled by the same guy that did FFXII, and the one thing that everybody is already agreeing on is that the music is top notch.

The artwork is divisive, and the one-handed gameplay is definitely intriguing. On top of all that, this is one of the first major RPGs announced for the Wii. This definitely deserves hype.*

Will it deliver? Ultimately, that's what we're all here to figure out.

*And the amount of media being released indicates a sooner-than-expected release date.

RiZ III · Mar 18, 2007

Ahh that music sounded familiar, I figured it was Hitoshi Sakimoto. Wii fails tho.

Bildi · Mar 18, 2007

Love the artwork. Think I'm gonna make myself a new avatar.

Chris Remo · Mar 18, 2007

PantherLotus said:
I respectfully disagree. The developer, ArtePiazza, worked on DQVII, one of my favorite games of all time. The music is being handled by the same guy that did FFXII, and the one thing that everybody is already agreeing on is that the music is top notch.

The artwork is divisive, and the one-handed gameplay is definitely intriguing. On top of all that, this is one of the first major RPGs announced for the Wii. This definitely deserves hype.*

Will it deliver? Ultimately, that's what we're all here to figure out.

*And the amount of media being released indicates a sooner-than-expected release date.

What do you mean sooner than expected? They JUST announced Summer for Japan, like three days ago. Are they suddenly going to realize they've been putting out all this media, so they must be further along than they thought they were?

Lobster · Mar 18, 2007

From now on we should let Panther handle the Official threads. Keep up the good work.

The game doesn't look that great in pictures as it does in motion.

PantherLotus · Mar 18, 2007

Chris Remo said:
What do you mean sooner than expected? They JUST announced Summer for Japan, like three days ago. Are they suddenly going to realize they've been putting out all this media, so they must be further along than they thought they were?

Yes!

Chris Remo · Mar 18, 2007

PantherLotus said:
Yes!

Maybe they'll see this thread and realize how misguided their estimate was.

Mejilan · Mar 18, 2007

Holy shit, the game's actually an RPG? Rawk!

Panther, your threads rarely disappoint. Nicely done.

Galactic Fork · Mar 18, 2007

I think it's a little soon for Hype, but I'll survive. Nice to see another game focusing on the pointer aspect of the Wiimote.

Community Forum · Mar 18, 2007

GreenGlowingGoo said:
I think it's a little soon for Hype, but I'll survive. Nice to see another game focusing on the pointer aspect of the Wiimote.

It doesn't even use the Wii remote.

PantherLotus · Mar 18, 2007

GreenGlowingGoo said:
I think it's a little soon for Hype, but I'll survive. Nice to see another game focusing on the pointer aspect of the Wiimote.

I'm going to have to be the one to point out that...there's no pointing. Like, at all. It's all nunchucking baby. Apparently you use the ball on Opoona's head in combination with different options to attack the enemies, all down through different motions with the nunchuck. I assume the wiimote sits in your lap while you do this.

But, I have to say--this defintely reminds me of a one-handed controller I saw a long long time ago, for the SNES. It basically looked like a hand-held mouse and was designed purely for turn-based RPGs. Move....A A A A A A A B B A A, etc.

More later.

Galactic Fork · Mar 18, 2007

PantherLotus said:
I'm going to have to be the one to point out that...there's no pointing. Like, at all. It's all nunchucking baby. Apparently you use the ball on Opoona's head in combination with different options to attack the enemies, all down through different motions with the nunchuck. I assume the wiimote sits in your lap while you do this.

But, I have to say--this defintely reminds me of a one-handed controller I saw a long long time ago, for the SNES. It basically looked like a hand-held mouse and was designed purely for turn-based RPGs. Move....A A A A A A A B B A A, etc.

More later.

Oh wow... You know, I actually knew that. I read it in the other thread! It sounded really interesting. But when I saw that video, that fact completely left my mind. I really need some sleep.

PantherLotus · Mar 18, 2007

GreenGlowingGoo said:
Oh wow... You know, I actually knew that. I read it in the other thread! It sounded really interesting. But when I saw that video, that fact completely left my mind. I really need some sleep.

That speaks to the power of how well the control is implemented and its presentation on screen! HYPE!

RubxQub · Mar 18, 2007

I'm not entirely sure why, but I think I just may want this game.

The music was really nifty and the animations during fights looked pretty nifty.

Nifty!

PantherLotus · Mar 18, 2007

Bildi said:
Love the artwork. Think I'm gonna make myself a new avatar.

success!

farnham · Mar 18, 2007

this looks like one of those weird ass skip RPGS

which is a good thing

i still want Giftpia on my PAL GC/PAL Wii

there are plenty of such games that look weird and the char design isnt bishojo but have better gameplay or story then most of the whacky japanese RPGs.. (Baten Kaitos Character design is laughable except Mizuti but the gameplay is much better then Xenosaga)

chibcicylist · Mar 18, 2007

I'm still neutral on the character design of the protagonist, but I must say, he can be quite cute. Potential icon to boot because he's just so different. I mean a floating ball above your head that can be used as a weapon. A ****ing floating ball.

edit: Dadina actually has three floating balls above his head, not two.

NPC · Mar 18, 2007

Uhg, take it from where it came from not that crappy rip that was uploaded to gametrailers.
http://www.impress.tv/host/common/ad/intcm/viewer/index.php?bw=700&cd=ogm070315_02&no=all

xaosslug · Mar 18, 2007

this is indeed an impressive 'official' thread. I don't much care for the subject matter though.

Dascu · Mar 18, 2007

Something about this game isn't clicking for me. I think it's the face of the main characters. It reminds me too much of a baby/toddler TV show. Too be honest, I'd say this game really is "kiddy". I like the art style and colours in general, but...eh. We'll see how it turns out. At least it's good the Wii's getting more 3rd party support in the form of original content and RPGs.

Lobster · Mar 18, 2007

Dascu said:
Something about this game isn't clicking for me. I think it's the face of the main characters. It reminds me too much of a baby/toddler TV show. Too be honest, I'd say this game really is "kiddy". I like the art style and colours in general, but...eh. We'll see how it turns out. At least it's good the Wii's getting more 3rd party support in the form of original content and RPGs.

I get that vibe too...but in a happy cheerful way not a console mocking way.

Dascu · Mar 18, 2007

BlindN-Fan said:
I get that vibe too...but in a happy cheerful way not a console mocking way.

I get an "Edutainment Game for Kids"-vibe when I look at this game, instead of a "Fun for All"-vibe like I'd get from Katamari Damacy or Animal Crossing. :\
Maybe it'll change, but I'm really not that interested in this game right now.

Pureauthor · Mar 18, 2007

I'd say it's a bit premature, but who cares, great thread, Panther.

Polari · Mar 18, 2007

I'm cautiously optimistic that this game will be worth playing.

u_neek · Mar 18, 2007

This game is so gay - I love it!

PantherLotus · Mar 18, 2007

NPC said:
Uhg, take it from where it came from not that crappy rip that was uploaded to gametrailers.
http://www.impress.tv/host/common/ad/intcm/viewer/index.php?bw=700&cd=ogm070315_02&no=all

Not loading? If I get the right link I'd be happy to add it to the OP.

pswii60 · Mar 18, 2007

The environments look ace - especially in the video. Music in the trailer is awesome too. But those characters just totally put me off the game!

Haunted · Mar 18, 2007

Damn, this might be the best thread created much too early NeoGAF has ever seen... kudos Panther!

Chris Remo said:
Maybe they'll see this thread and realize how misguided their estimate was.

:lol :lol

Moz La Punk · Mar 18, 2007

This game should shape up real good thanks. Looking forward to it.

justchris · Mar 18, 2007

I'm not sure what to think on this just now.

I have to say, I am really hating this art style. Cel-shaded characters over realistic backgrounds, with realistic effects. It really makes the characters look bad. I think this entire approach is inherently inferior to the approach of say, Zelda: Wind Waker, with cel-shaded characters, cel-shaded backgrounds and cel-shaded affects.

On the other hand, it's the same thing that was done with Dragon Quest VIII, and that didn't bother me when I was actually playing the game. So I think I'm going to really have to see this in motion before I decide whether the art style works or not. (Edit: No, still don't like it...if it's not out till summer though, I'm sure they can polish it.)

Gameplay wise, ****ing finally. Why we've had to wait so long for someone to even announce a one-handed RPG astounds me. The nunchuk only option was...unexpected, but does make an odd sort of sense.

keanerie · Mar 18, 2007

Fantastic thread for an extremely promising game. I'm loving the look of this.

Ravidrath · Mar 22, 2007

Strangely interested in this - hope it turns out well. I have a feeling it will, since Koei seems to be willing to take chances on original, charming games like Gitaroo-man.

Really like the monster artwork, too - this is exactly the kind of stuff I hope to be able to make in Spore. Would love to see high-res versions of all the ones on in that bottom pic.

PantherLotus · Mar 22, 2007

Ravidrath said:
Strangely interested in this - hope it turns out well. I have a feeling it will, since Koei seems to be willing to take chances on original, charming games like Gitaroo-man.

Really like the monster artwork, too - would love to see high-res versions of all the ones on in that bottom pic.

Complete and total agreement. Look at this seemingly innocuous screen:

Anybody can see a clear inspiration by Toriyama, and perhaps even an homage to him in this production of these two-eyed slime/slugs. Freaking awesome, and hella cute. I can't wait to see some of the boss designs.

Peru · Mar 22, 2007

I've seen better graphics in my toilet bowl, but the concept is mildly intriguing.

Imperial Hot · Mar 22, 2007

That looks pretty cool. I really like the art style. It is very similar to that Crackdown look.

AdamBot · Mar 23, 2007

The main characters remind me a little too much of Fisher Price toys. Other than that, the game looks all kinds of awesome.

GeneralIroh · Mar 23, 2007

I really hate the designs for the main character. Its so kiddy and lame.
They somehow turned bald space marines into fisher price toys.

KTallguy · Mar 23, 2007

This is probably the first Wii game that I'm really interested in.

birdchili · Mar 23, 2007

lego men re-interpreted by the japanese - i like the look. the monsters are fantastic, of course.

i shall (again) add my voice to the chorus of yays for one-handed rpg controls.

this and project O look to be the start of some nifty japanese sim/adventure/rpg movement on Wii - nice.

now nintendo needs to liberate the nunchuk from its cord.

ivysaur12 · Mar 23, 2007

Wow, that video looks fairly fantastic. Much better in motion than in the screens.

And yes, as an RPG buff, I can't wait for this game.

Stormbringer · Apr 12, 2007

By the way, in a new interview in Famitsu translated by livewii, beside some already reported informations, we learn that contrarily to what has been said and rumoured earlier, this is NOT a game designed exclusively for the kids : basically, it's for everyone. But, the creators admit that one of their goal was to design the game so that the adults players will identify themselves with the young heroes, which will allow them to "feel new, juvenile sensations". Encouraging, I think.

tanasten · Apr 13, 2007

I'm a Nintendo fan, I'm not a graphic whore... but dam... the textures and the models in this game are horrible, like N64 era. WTF...

C'Mon... lazy developers!

P.S: I just hope that the world is as big as it seems, and deep as it seems.

Great Rumbler · Apr 13, 2007

tanasten said:
I'm a Nintendo fan, I'm not a graphic whore... but dam... the textures and the models in this game are horrible, like N64 era. WTF...

C'Mon... lazy developers!

P.S: I just hope that the world is as big as it seems, and deep as it seems.

The trailer, on the other hand, looks very good.

Love To Love You Baby · Apr 13, 2007

The look of the game seems to be turning a lot of people off to it, but I'm a little surprised this game doesn't get more attention. There are a lot of talented people involved, and I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be a must have title.

Bildi · Apr 13, 2007

Great Rumbler said:
The trailer, on the other hand, looks very good.

I admit there are some really stretched textures evident in some pics, but many areas in the trailer do look surprisingly good. It's a very pleasant looking game overall.

speedpop · Apr 13, 2007

I think it looks cool.

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