Welcome to the Indies Zero appreciation thread! Theathrythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call was released in North America yesterday, and I thought this would be as good a time as any to discuss a company that has quickly gone from a "Who?" to a "Wow!"
Just a few short years ago in 2007, Indies Zero got its first thread on NeoGAF, in which one poster asked bleakly, into the void, a few times if anyone had heard of the company. Now, though, that question would get a much different reaction, at least from some fans around these parts.
Let's go through some of their notable titles:
Sutte Hakkun (1999, Super Famicom)
I haven't played this so I'm not going to pretend I know anything about it, but it's a puzzle game and it's worth noting that the company's first release snuck in during the previous century, and on the Super Famicom.
Mario Party-e (2003, e-Reader)
This is another one I'm not all that familiar with, but Indies Zero does have the rare distinction of being one of the only companies to release a game for the e-Reader.
Electroplankton (2006, DS)
A bit of a cult classic, this is where Indies Zero really starts to make a name for themselves. Electroplankton has grown into a very minor but still established Nintendo IP.
Personal Trainer: Cooking (2008, DS)
This was released under a bunch of different names in a lot of markets. The company also released America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking in 2010, just in case you were wondering who it was who put those out.
Retro Game Challenge (2009, DS)
Perhaps the most criminally underrated game on the Nintendo DS. Retro Game Challenge presents a collection of phony 8-bit games and tasks you with completing a number of challenges in each. The games grow much as the library of the NES did, starting with small arcade-style games and ending with an RPG and a Ninja Gaiden-style platformer. The player has to look up tips and tricks for the games in old video game magazines, and a friend comments on the action while you play
The game is a licensed adaptation of the Japanese TV show GameCenter CX, and while many of the in-game nods to the show are stripped out of the localization (and the rest require having seen a lot of the show), the game is nothing short of brilliant even apart from GCCX. The show chronicled some of the behind-the-scenes work on this game, so if you ever wanted to know more about the guys at Indies Zero, you can start by watching some old GameCenter CX episodes.
GameCenter CX: Arino no Chousenjou 2 (2009, DS)
A sequel to Retro Game Challenge which was never released outside of Japan, which is criminal and unfair but apparently quite justified as XSeed, who localized the first game, reported that sales were really pretty low. The Indies Zero site says this game was released in Japan two weeks after the port was released in North America.
This game featured some fake games stretching into the 16-bit era, but as it never came over I haven't played it. This game's development was also covered by GameCenter CX. A third game in the series was released for 3DS earlier this year, but it was made by a company called G.Rev, as Indies Zero had moved on to some other things. I haven't played it but Wired says it sucks, apparently.
DualPenSports (2011, 3DS)
Indies Zero enters the world of 3D! I know nothing about this game. Apparently you use two styluses and it got a 58 on Metacritic so yeah, hey, can't win 'em all.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (2012, 3DS)
A music game bringing together the iconic soundtracks from the Final Fantasy series. It differs from other rhythm games in that rather than dancing, playing an instrument or hitting a button in time to the music, the user swipes the stylus on the lower screen along with the beat. There's also RPG elements -- you form a party, they level up, the whole shebang.
Famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu reportedly said he played the game and was "reduced to tears." (In a good way!) The game put together a respectable 78 on Metacritic.
Audioguide Louvre - Nintendo 3DS (2012, 3DS)
In case you were wondering who made that guide thingy for the Louvre, it looks like Indies Zero played a role in that.
NES Remix (2013, Wii U)
Clearly drawing from their expertise with the GameCenter CX games, Indies Zero turned real 8-bit classics into bite-size challenges, remixing the format and even mashing up elements from different games. It takes a lot to release a game on Dec. 19 with no fanfare or even prior notice and have it go down as a year-end favourite, but NES Remix did it, at least for me.
NES Remix 2 (2014, Wii U)
Yep, there's a second one. The sequel maybe isn't as pure a concept as the first as there are a couple sports games with minimal representation in the package, but otherwise this improves on the formula across the board -- the original games for the most part are better, there's way more mixing the different games together and many of the new, changed-up levels are more creative this time around. It's maybe a little too easy compared to the first one, though.
We already know there's more coming from NES Remix, with an on-disc port and a 3DS title on the way, so Indies Zero might have even more in store.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call (2014, 3DS)
The game of the hour! If you want to know more, check this OT thread here -- but suffice it to say it's a lot of fun. It takes the great formula of the original, pushes the track listing to over 220 and throws in a little something for everyone. There's even music tracks from Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest this time!
Well readers, I hope you had fun, and maybe even learned something. What are your favourite Indies Zero titles? Did you like any of their obscure early games that maybe I didn't go over? What series or genre would you like to see them tackle next?