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Giana Sisters DS Official Thread

S

SecretBonusPoint

Banned
161l55x.png

Official Sites:
http://www.giana-sisters.com/giana_sisters_en.html
http://www.spellbound.de/front_content.php?idcat=78

Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxsVV9a5J9I

Screenshots
1267m3c.gif
i27gax.gif

2yz0qxw.gif
20hm5ah.jpg

4zyfz8.jpg
2eds3gi.jpg


Extras
Downloadable music tracks and some artwork here
Flash Gallery of Artwork for the game

About/PR
Retro fun from the 80's: The Great Giana Sisters return – Jump'n'Run debut on Nintendo DS

Hamburg, December 09th, 2008 – It was a little bit more than 20 years ago when a game was born that still is a synonym for a whole gaming genre: The Great Giana Sisters made Jump’n’Run gaming available for home computer users all over the world. In 2009, the blondes finally return – and with that, they make it all the way to Nintendo DS for the first time.

Back in the late 1980’s, there was literally no chance to play Jump’n’Run games on home computers like Commodore 64, Amiga or Atari ST. Until 1987, when a small German development team released The Great Giana Sisters.

Their father, Armin Gessert, let them become stars of the genre over night. The Great Giana Sisters was a Jump’n’Run that had everything home computer gamers back then only could experience on video game consoles: A fantastic game world on many different levels, that challenged the players’ hand eye coordination skills to their maximum to jump over deep canyons, collect bonuses and succeed when fighting enemies just by jumping on their back.

Now, The Great Giana Sisters are finally back! Publisher dtp entertainment and developer Spellbound Entertainment in co-operation with Bitfield are going to release their new adventure on Nintendo DS in June 2009.

In more than 80 levels, players experience all the great features of the original home computer version, as well as new features, that are kept exclusive for Nintendo DS. Players will have the Nintendo DS microphone as well as the touchpad, for instance.

The Great Giana Sisters’ graphics on Nintendo DS both is a redesign as well as reminiscent of the classic game.

The music score of the game is a remix by Fabian del Priore of the original soundtrack, written by famous computer game composer Chris Hülsbeck.
Click to expand...
Its Out?

Yes. Sort of? Released currently only in Germany (in June) and Australia (in August), this is your finest challenge yet GAF to find and import this brilliant DS platforming gem. There seems to be no word on a UK or US release, here is the Spellbound response to someone asking about a US release: back in June:
I can't say when the game will be published in the US, sorry. But here's a little hint what you could do: Order the game in Germany and you can play it on your English DS, because the game supports English language.
Click to expand...
So time to suck it up and track it down! Best bets currently are Amazon.de or other German online retailers, Australian online retailers or enter the devils cavern that is Ebay. ALL COPIES HAVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (as well as other European languages!)

Why Should I?

Because since you own a DS, I imagine you might be a bit partial to Mario-styled bum bouncin' and block bumpin'. Because its the most fun platforming adventure I've had on the DS. Because its filled with deliciously remixed C64 chiptunes from the original, great colourful graphics and an easy beginning chunk of worlds culminating in pretty challenging ones. Gameplay will see you using a fireball powerup (yes yes, we know), BubbleGum which lets you float around the stage [by a) blowing into the DS mic to make it rise or b) pressing a button so you dont look like a tit] and a Soda bottle which you can aim and destoy obstacle blocks in your path. Theres Red Gems scattered around each stage, so the completionists and those looking for more of a challenge will want to seek them out rather than just blasting through the game.

sowk8o.png


So GAF, its down to you. This is one of the DS' most hidden gems, and its going to take some digging on your parts to find it. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have when you do!

Places To Buy:

Germany
Amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B001PVWYAM/

Australia
dvdcrave.com.au : http://dvdcrave.com.au/ViewProduct.aspx?Id=ab9eb2c5-4e7b-4bfe-a797-3ac55dd7b874

Other
cdwow.com : http://www.cdwow.com/games/NintendoDS/GIANA-SISTERS/dp/4070417
 
S

SecretBonusPoint

Banned
If anyone finds different places to buy the game online and shipped worldwide, I'll edit them into the OP for sure. But since Australia doesn't have a Amazon site I don't really know where to start since importing from Australia certainly isn't a habit! Theres a fair few copies up on Ebay, but obviously for a lot of people thats not preferable. So Germany and surrounding countries online stores are probably the best bet for now!
 
stuminus3

stuminus3

Member
Wow, an official thread for Giana Sisters DS out of nowhere! :lol

It's a really snazzy little platformer, looks and plays real nice but in a 1980s kind of way.

I didn't realise it didn't even come out in the UK at all, I was looking for it when I was there a few months back. Shame.
 
Stitch

Stitch

Gold Member
yeah cd wow is a UK site but they ship from different places. sometimes i get my stuff from australia, sometimes from the UK, sometimes from hongkong... lol
 
blu

blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
stuminus3 said:
It's a really snazzy little platformer, looks and plays real nice but in a 1980s kind of way.
Click to expand...
is there any other way good platformers play?

this will be my first import from germany. play-asia am cry.
 
W

Whimsical Phil

Ninja School will help you
After seeing this game's "unofficial" thread ages ago, I had been silently anticipating its release. It wasn't until I saw the thread bumped today that I learned the sad news that it will most likely never get a U.S. release.

So I broke down and bought an Australian version off of eBay. I ended up paying about $60 (including shipping and insurance), but I'm sure I'll find the expense worth it.

I used to love the original Giana Sisters on my old C64. Of course, the version that I had was a hacked version that replaced the Giana sprite with one of Mario. Although I knew that it wasn't an official Mario game back then, I had no idea what the game's real identity was. It wasn't until a few years ago that I discovered the truth about the Giana Sisters.

I'm very excited for the game to arrive, and the fact that it's apparently going to be relatively difficult to come by makes me even more glad that I decided to import it.
 
R

Ranger X

Member
Maybe you should note that Amazon.de doesn't seem to ship in North America. At least they don't ship in Canada.

EDIT: Life is against me. My 3 cards don't work at CDWOW or it's because i'm in Canada. God damnit.

.
 
blu

blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
Ranger X said:
Maybe you should note that Amazon.de doesn't seem to ship in North America. At least they don't ship in Canada.
Click to expand...
nice. time to deploy my german connections.
 
E

ethelred

Member
Well, I'd been interested in the game ever since the first screens and videos came out, but it's pretty clear now that it won't be getting a US release. Disappointing, given that the few people who posted impressions of the game were pretty upbeat about its quality. I'd rather get it now than wait for it to become even more rare, so I just ordered it off CDWow.

blu said:
is there any other way good platformers play?
Click to expand...

Yeah, they play much better the 1990's way.
 
S

SecretBonusPoint

Banned
This is mostly why I made this thread, because there are still copies of it in the retail channel, but no idea how many and how long they'll be sticking around. So for anyone that wants to own the game, nows the time to strike really.

Don't give up Ranger X, you'll find a way yet!
 
T

Toy Soldier

Member
Ranger X said:
Maybe you should note that Amazon.de doesn't seem to ship in North America. At least they don't ship in Canada.
Click to expand...

It may just be Canada, as they definitely do ship to the US. I ordered my copy there back in July.

Such an awesome game, easily one of my favorites of the year. I never played the C64 game, so it was all brand new to me. It surprised me to see just how much of the Mario-esque charm they were able to inject into the game; much like every good Mario game, few stages feel either too easy or too difficult. Even the cakewalk stages at the beginning manage to be charming, just as the tougher stages towards the end never get frustrating or tedious. It goes beyond being a 'clone,' it actually captured much of the Mario magic.

The soundtrack has a couple of the catchiest tunes I've heard in a game, period.
 
G

GrotesqueBeauty

Banned
It's worth noting that the game has been rated by the ESRB:

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/synopsis.jsp?Certificate=26581

I also made an inquiry to dtp in June and they had this to say:

thank you very much for your email. We’ll be releasing Giana Sisters DS in the UK soon. Since we’re cooperating with several distribution partners, there is no pan European release date, unfortunately.
Click to expand...
And:

There will be a US release as well, but I currently can’t confirm any date. We’ll let you know as soon as this is decided.
Click to expand...
Whether or not things pan out remains to be seen. It's been so long that I'm not holding my breath, but there's at least a glimmer of hope.
 
HUELEN10

HUELEN10

Member
Damn, so what should one do? Wait for the glimmer, or act before it's too late? I assume that both the Aussie and German versions of the game are on region-free DS cards right?
 
G

GrotesqueBeauty

Banned
HUELEN10 said:
Damn, so what should one do? Wait for the glimmer, or act before it's too late? I assume that both the Aussie and German versions of the game are on region-free DS cards right?
Click to expand...
I believe so, unless you're rocking a DSi. The safe bet is probably to scoop up a copy, but if you're in NA the import prices for this one are pretty stiff due to the territories it's released in. Right now I'm holding out for a local release, but if something doesn't give in the near future I'll probably cave in and import.
 
S

SecretBonusPoint

Banned
dtp are doing a pretty poor job with letting people know whats going on with their game and indeed publishing it since the fact theyre requiring external publishers from each region around the world to make a deal with them to get it out there is pretty fucking stupid. Madman Interactive are the ones responsible for getting it into the Australian market and who knows who would be responsible for 'just publishing it in the UK and having to pay another publisher to do it' since that seems like a pretty shitty deal for any Euro-pub for a game that is hardly going to blow the sales chartz.

So yes, its now October on the run-up to the Christmas holiday shopping season, no word of any release, with the game having been already given the go-ahead by all the ratings boards and is fully translated since it's June release. It doesn't look good or likely, and at least this way you'll actually have the game rather than missing out even if you have to pay a little more to import it over a theoretical US/UK release that just doesnt seem to be happening.

Also all DS carts are region free and will play on any DS as well as the DSi. Its only DSi exclusive games that have brought that joy of region locking to the handheld market :/
 
W

Whimsical Phil

Ninja School will help you
HUELEN10 said:
Damn, so what should one do? Wait for the glimmer, or act before it's too late? I assume that both the Aussie and German versions of the game are on region-free DS cards right?
Click to expand...
Yep...both the German and Australian versions will play on any DS system. Both versions also have an English language option, too. Well, I suppose that would only matter if you import the German version.

Wow, it's gonna be a long wait for my copy to arrive. I seriously loved this game back in the day. I've been listening to the soundtrack on YouTube to continue building my hype for it. Such a great soundtrack.

Now someone needs to remake Trolls and Tribulations so I can relive more of my favorite C64 memories.
 
G

GrotesqueBeauty

Banned
SecretBonusPoint said:
Also all DS carts are region free and will play on any DS as well as the DSi. Its only DSi exclusive games that have brought that joy of region locking to the handheld market :/
Click to expand...
Ah, thanks for the clarification.
 
T

Toy Soldier

Member
GrotesqueBeauty said:
I believe so, unless you're rocking a DSi. The safe bet is probably to scoop up a copy, but if you're in NA the import prices for this one are pretty stiff due to the territories it's released in. Right now I'm holding out for a local release, but if something doesn't give in the near future I'll probably cave in and import.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's probably worth going ahead and picking it up at this point. It just looks so unlikely that they'll piece this together any time soon, especially (as Whimsical Phil noted) since they've been so quiet/uncertain about it from day one, despite having a product ready for NA.

The price honestly wasn't all that bad. After shipping, I paid a little over $40. Honestly, I would have paid Nintendo's standard $34.99 tag had they been the ones to publish this, and after sales tax, it's roughly the same as what I paid Amazon.de. So you aren't been bent over when buying it, thankfully.

EDIT: Looks like the price on Amazon.de has gone up a couple of Euros since I bought it, but still - it's a worthwhile game.
 
A

Amalthea

Banned
GrotesqueBeauty said:
I believe so, unless you're rocking a DSi. The safe bet is probably to scoop up a copy, but if you're in NA the import prices for this one are pretty stiff due to the territories it's released in. Right now I'm holding out for a local release, but if something doesn't give in the near future I'll probably cave in and import.
Click to expand...

You can still play your imports on a DSi as long as the game doesn't have any DSi-features.
So Giana Sisters should work.
 
J

Jefklak

Member
Awesome!
I don't know the original but this game reminds me (a lot) of good old Mario - I'm pretty sure this isn't without reason.
I'm in EUR but couldn't find a shop who has them though. (UK websites, Belgian stores)
 
S

Starwolf_UK

Member
SecretBonusPoint said:
Also all DS carts are region free and will play on any DS as well as the DSi. Its only DSi exclusive games that have brought that joy of region locking to the handheld market :/
Click to expand...
Actually, DSi Enhanced cartridges are region locked as well...but only when played on a DSi system. On the DS and DS Lite they are region free.

EDIT: Looks like the price on Amazon.de has gone up a couple of Euros since I bought it, but still - it's a worthwhile game.
Click to expand...
When I checked last night it was 18 Euros. Amazon prices do have an annoying tendency to change at random.

Also for any would be importers I would advise waiting a few days to see what the currency rates do (at least with regards to the £ since it has been falling recently might as wait for it rise...the CD-wow price might be the cheapest way to buy with £ for now...).

I do wonder if this thread is having an effect since I noticed yesterday the game had risen in the DS top 100 (Amazon.de don't seem to offer shakers and movers) and today it seems to be usually ships in 6-8 days.

Games only coming out in certain European countries does happen quite rarely (usually it 505 Games releasing games only in Italy; the GBA Super Robot Taisen OG games being the weirdest since they were English only)
 
A

Amalthea

Banned
Jefklak said:
Awesome!
I don't know the original but this game reminds me (a lot) of good old Mario - I'm pretty sure this isn't without reason.
I'm in EUR but couldn't find a shop who has them though. (UK websites, Belgian stores)
Click to expand...

Back in the day the developers of the original C64 Giana Sisters were sued by Nintendo because it was such a rip-off and they weren't allowed to sell the game anymore.

Looks like Nintendo changed their minds. :D
 
G

Gozan

Member
Tyrant_Onion said:
Back in the day the developers of the original C64 Giana Sisters were sued by Nintendo because it was such a rip-off and they weren't allowed to sell the game anymore.
Click to expand...


Here's a longlay of the original, so people can see for themselves. Gameplay starts about six minutes in. (Music's still the best part, dammit!)
 
HUELEN10

HUELEN10

Member
VOOK said:
Our's isn't that much better man.
Click to expand...
At least the back's in english. Combined with CTLance's front boxart without the fuglyness, the Aussie version should be the way to go!
 
8

8bit

Knows the Score
Does it improve significantly later on? I played it on a demo pod in Media Markt a couple of months ago and there was no challenge at all in the gameplay. I think I got to World 5 or something before giving up as it was about as much fun as playing a screensaver.
 
S

SecretBonusPoint

Banned
Since one of the great showpieces of this game is certainly the remixed music of the original C64 chiptunes, heres a special treat in the form of the original game's composer Chris Hülsbeck conducting an orchestral version!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSOS2uwqpfw

2n8wqcm.jpg

http://www.maz-sound.com/Symphonic-Shades/en/The-CD/

The full CD features loads of fantastic orchestral renditions of Hülsbeck's music in many games from the period such as Turrican and R-Type.

And yes 8Bit it does get pretty challenging past World 5.
 
S

SecretBonusPoint

Banned
Yuck, I'd never seen that UK boxart before. Disgusting! I much prefer the new art anyway, simple and in-game everything is so brilliantly animated.

Also 8Bit it turns out I'm only in World 5 myself, and halfway through its gotten pretty hard honestly! So World 5 must be the beginning of the hard stuff.
 
fatty

fatty

Member
Every time I see the title of this game I always think of the Final Fantasy IV boss...but then realize that they are the Magus Sisters. Why I keep getting them confused, I have no idea.
 
C

CTLance

Member
Buy this game, peeps. 80% of the game will probably be too easy for anyone posting on a videogame forum, but there are a few later levels that are quite sadistic - but never unfair.

Plus it's absolutely gorgeous. If only all remakes had that much "soul".
 
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