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Away: Shuffle Dungeon Official Thread

duckroll

Member
Title: Away Shuffle Dungeon
Genre: Action RPG
System: Nintendo DS
Publisher: AQ Interactive (Japan), Majesco (US)
Release Date: 16 Oct 2008 (Japan), 21 Oct 2008 (US)
Price: 4800yen

http://www.aqi.co.jp/product/away/pc/

The official site for the game is formally open and looks like it'll be getting quite a bit of updating and solid news so I'm not going to post the scans here. Basically here's what we know about the game:


Story

- In the village of Web there is a curse called "Away" that spirits away a villager mysteriously once a year
- This has been going on for a hundred years
- The main character, Sword, is a young man who loves adventure and creating music with self-made instruments, at 15 he is shipwrecked on the island Web is in
- Two years later it seems he is destined to be struck by "Away", but his girlfriend at the village saves him and is taken away instead
- Sword ventures out to find beams of light all over the island that lead to mysterious Shuffle Dungeons where he finds spirited away villagers and brings them back

Gameplay

- Top-down 2D in dungeons, third person 3D outside of dungeons
- The game is played like a typical Zelda game in dungeons (except there are levels and exp)
- Both screens are used for a single dungeon room
- A timer is always counting down on one screen and at the end of that the contents of that screen will be randomized (shuffed)
- You proceed to the bottom of each dungeon to rescue villagers that then tag along behind you until you get back to the surface
- Along the way mysterious blobs also spawn and tag behind you, they provide aid in offense spells or healing
- When you rescue villagers back to Web, they repopulate the town and expand it making more shops, events and clues available and moving the plot forward

The people behind it

- The scenario and game concept is by Sakaguchi from Mistwalker
- The character and monster designs are all by Oshima at Artoon, of Sonic and Nights fame
- The main theme that is heard on the site is composed by Uematsu


There is also a video on the site that shows gameplay in dungeons, I suggest everyone check it out! :D



Edit: Thanks jarrod, here's the US PR for the game from Majesco:

Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, in partnership with leading developers Mistwalker and AQ Interactive, today announced premier RPG AWAY Shuffle Dungeon for Nintendo DS™. Players take control of the young hero “Sword,” the sole resident left of the once booming Webb Village, who must rescue as many kidnapped townsfolk as possible from a mysterious unknown that has been slowly “spiriting them away.” AWAY Shuffle Dungeon includes creative contributions from renowned industry visionaries: RPG creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, character designer Naoto Oshima and composer Nobuo Uematsu.

“We are very excited to be working with the collective creative talent of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Naoto Oshima and Nobuo Uematsu,” said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco. “Their experience creating high quality, best-selling games means that AWAY will be well-positioned for success when it hits retail this fall.”


In AWAY Shuffle Dungeon, an unknown force has stripped Webb Village of its residents, and now the sole heroic survivor, Sword, must rescue the stolen villagers from the ominous dungeons as he strives to expose and defeat the mysterious thief. Sword must first collect and use various objects including musical instruments to reveal the secret dungeons where prisoners are being held. But successfully saving them is another challenge altogether given a unique timed “shuffle” mechanic that reconfigures the dungeon prisons and hurts Sword and any survivors still caught within when the time runs out. Saved villagers will lend assistance to Sword’s quest, as will the magical ‘Fupongs’ and dungeon treasure he finds that lets him shop in the village specialty stores for armor, weapons, health, medical aid and more.

AWAY Shuffle Dungeon allows players to navigate in both the 2D Shuffle Dungeons and the 3D Webb Village, and features voice-over cinematics that breathe life into the characters in this extraordinary mystery.

AWAY Shuffle Dungeon for Nintendo DS™ is expected to release this fall. For additional information about Majesco’s exciting line of products, please visit www.majescoentertainment.com.

About Majesco Entertainment Company
Majesco Entertainment Company is a provider of video games for the mass market. Building on 20 years of operating history, the company is focused on developing and publishing a wide range of casual and family oriented video games on leading console and portable systems. Product highlights include Nancy Drew™, Cooking Mama™ and Cake Mania® 2 for Nintendo DS™ and Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii™ system. The company’s shares are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: COOL. Majesco is headquartered in Edison, NJ and has an international office in Bristol, UK. More information about Majesco can be found online at www.majescoentertainment.com.

Publisher: Majesco Entertainment
Developer: Mistwalker / AQ Interactive
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: RPG
Release Date: October 2008
Price / Rating: TBA / RP

Story:
For over 100 years the people of Webb village have been mysteriously disappearing one by one. Two years ago, a young man named Sword came to the village looking to settle down. Noticing the lack of people and occasional disappearances, he grew curious about their cause. He also befriended Anella, a kind girl who loves hearing stories of Sword’s past. Suddenly, the mysterious “unknown” came and took all of the remaining villagers except for Sword because the brave Anella sacrificed herself to save him. As Sword, you must right this wrong and save as many missing villagers as you can.

Overview:
With an unknown evil “spiriting away” all of the village’s people, Sword must bring them home safely and unravel the mystery of AWAY. Use various items to reveal entrances to unknown dungeons where the villagers are being held. Rescue them and repopulate the town by using your new friends to assist you in your quest.

Features:
• Includes creative contributions from renowned industry visionaries: RPG creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, character designer Naoto Oshima and composer Nobuo Uematsu
• Timed Shuffle Dungeon mechanic puts pressure on you to choose what is worth taking or leaving before the dungeon reconfigures and damages you and any accompanying survivors.
• Collect Fupongs in the Dungeons to harness their unique magic: Fire Fupong has a Flare spell; Ice Fupong has a Frosty spell; and Lightning Fupong has a Rumbly spell. Store up to 6 Fupongs to use in battle and store even more with the Fupong Pod!
• Travel between the 2D Shuffle Dungeons and the 3D Webb Village
• Return villagers to their homes and shops so they can assist you in your adventure
• Collect gold from treasure chests and use them to shop in specialty stores:
o General Store: A little pricey, but this place has everything. This is the first store you can reopen.
o Weapon Store: Buy/Sell basic weapons that can be brought to the Blacksmith for upgrades.
o Armor Store: Buy/Sell basic armor that can be brought to the Blacksmith for upgrades.
o Blacksmith: Bring your weapons and armor in for upgrades.
o Doctor: Buy various potions and remedies to help you on your adventure.
o Restaurant: Stop in and buy food to replenish some of your health.
o Fortune Teller: Drop in for some hints to help you find your way.
• Find musical instruments and other items that allow you to enter the Shuffle Dungeons and save the missing villagers.
• Voice Over cinematics bring the characters to life in this intense mystery
• Play cooperatively with a friend to defeat multiple bosses in 2 player Raid Battle Mode. Includes special multiplayer only weapons and armor that can then be used in single player mode.
 

Aeana

Member
I'm somewhat interested. A little wary, since I don't like action RPGs, but the videos do look kind of cool.
 

Teasel

Member
looks weird
also kinda remind me of this old board game
amazeing_labyrinth.jpg
 

Dascu

Member
I hope it'll be a good swan song for Mistwalker. :p


Teasel said:
looks weird
also kinda remind me of this old board game
http://www.thescienceshop.ca/images/games/amazeing_labyrinth.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]
I loved that game.
 
Must say im a bit interest in this, i hope its Zelda style shines and not some generic thing
Would help if they released some screenshots too,
 

duckroll

Member
MikeLXXXVIII said:
Must say im a bit interest in this, i hope its Zelda style shines and not some generic thing
Would help if they released some screenshots too,

Errr, do you have trouble navigating the site? There are tons of screens and a video.
 
duckroll said:
Errr, do you have trouble navigating the site? There are tons of screens and a video.

Sorry didn't think there was screens around :D , thats why

Hmm I have a feeling after watching these screens maybe that the game might be better off in 2d, but it looks a bit nice as for what it is
 

Lee N

Membre
duckroll said:
Seems a lot of trouble to make something look worse, considering he said youtube and all. :p
Yeah, I agree.. I don't understand why people can't watch it on the official homepage anyway.

But you did ask how :)
 

Captain N

Junior Member
The screenshots look pretty good, but the video has me turned off a little bit. I just don't like the way it looks in motion.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
It's hard not to be excited about Away. the concept is great, and the Animal Crossing style art has me strangely intrigued.
 

justchris

Member
No...I still don't like the art style, it isn't growing on me.
Not that that's ever stopped me from enjoying a game before.
 

Galactic Fork

A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
I love the shuffling dungeon idea, but the combat kinda bugs me. It's the lack of recoil. You hit the enemy and it goes into a hit pose, but just sits there. Plus you can't point your character in a diagonal direction.

Also, twice i saw the player get hit because the enemy was camping a corner, and there was no way to turn without walking forward in the direction you turn, so he ended up walking into the enemy before he could hit it. That would get annoying really fast.
 

duckroll

Member
Have you considered that maybe, just maybe, whoever is playing the game in that video sucks as much as Sakaguchi does at Lost Odyssey? :)
 

Error

Jealous of the Glory that is Johnny Depp
i was pretty hard on this game when it was first revealed but now I kinda want. it's the gooch power I swear!
 

ethelred

Member
I just watched the video, and it looks really cool. The shuffle mechanic seems like it'll be a lot of fun as far as the dungeoneering goes. Definitely looking forward to the game. :)
 

duckroll

Member
McDragon said:
ASH first!

please?

That's Nintendo. Although it could be entirely possible that XSEED picks it up for publishing if Nintendo doesn't want to continue. I wouldn't blame them based on the sales and response.
 

ethelred

Member
duckroll said:
There's more to it than that. AQ Interactive bought XSEED some time back. :p

Right, and they did so because of Sakaguchi, so I don't think there's much chance XSEED will pass on any AQI Mistwalker games that aren't viable for a more high profile publisher (like Microsoft with Cry On).

duckroll said:
That's Nintendo. Although it could be entirely possible that XSEED picks it up for publishing if Nintendo doesn't want to continue. I wouldn't blame them based on the sales and response.

:(
 

Ela Hadrun

Probably plays more games than you
This game looks great! I don't know why, but the idea of stomping around a cartoony dungeon with a royal train of blobs is super appealing!
 
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