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[Jonnyram]

I had totally forgotten about the Grasshopper involvement until the title screen came up in the intro. The presentation of this game has Grasshopper smothered all over it - it's slick and ultra nice style. Starting up, you are faced with an old computer screen, like a C64, and a bunch of function keys on the touch screen. You press the function keys to choose "new game", "continue" or "contact" (this is the online mode).

Since I just started playing Earthbound, it's hard not to see some immediate similarities.

In Contact, as part of the intro, you are asked your name, the town's name, what your hobby is, what you like and what you hate. The intro sees the little professor flying in space and crashing down to Earth. Definite echoes of Earthboard.

I haven't had chance to play a great deal so far, but here's an initial snapshot of how the game plays:
- you roam around like a typical rpg
- if you go close to a monster it will attack you
- you can engage by pressing B (for battle), then you auto-attack like FFXI
- while attacking, you can bring up a menu of special moves if you have your bar charged up
- there are stats attached to everything, and you can level a lot of them up by simple battling
- to restore health, you take a bath
- to save, you rest in the bed
- to change outfits, visit the wardrobe
- there's a kitchen, but i can't use it yet because i don't have the chef's outfit

So far it has lots of potential, so I'm going to put some more time into it this weekend (no Xenosaga for now, I'll leave Bebpo to cover that). I'll post more when I play some more.

In the meantime, how about a Contact friendcode list, Demi?

 

[chrysostom]

Whoa this came out in Japan already? Thanks for posting the impressions. Sounds cool.

 

[UtadaBarkley]

Wow... I really..... reaaaaaaaaaally wanna import this.... but my Japanese comprehension is next to nada. Great impressions, keep us updated!!!

 

[Blackcherry]

I had totally forgotten about the Grasshopper involvement until the title screen came up in the intro. The presentation of this game has Grasshopper smothered all over it - it's slick and ultra nice style. Starting up, you are faced with an old computer screen, like a C64, and a bunch of function keys on the touch screen. You press the function keys to choose "new game", "continue" or "contact" (this is the online mode).

Since I just started playing Earthbound, it's hard not to see some immediate similarities.

In Contact, as part of the intro, you are asked your name, the town's name, what your hobby is, what you like and what you hate. The intro sees the little professor flying in space and crashing down to Earth. Definite echoes of Earthboard.

I haven't had chance to play a great deal so far, but here's an initial snapshot of how the game plays:
- you roam around like a typical rpg
- if you go close to a monster it will attack you
- you can engage by pressing B (for battle), then you auto-attack like FFXI
- while attacking, you can bring up a menu of special moves if you have your bar charged up
- there are stats attached to everything, and you can level a lot of them up by simple battling
- to restore health, you take a bath
- to save, you rest in the bed
- to change outfits, visit the wardrobe
- there's a kitchen, but i can't use it yet because i don't have the chef's outfit

So far it has lots of potential, so I'm going to put some more time into it this weekend (no Xenosaga for now, I'll leave Bebpo to cover that). I'll post more when I play some more.

In the meantime, how about a Contact friendcode list, Demi?

Wow, the game is out in japan already? You got a DSlite right? Pictures please!

 

[DJ_Tet]

In the meantime, how about a Contact friendcode list, Demi?

Demi needs to know what the game requires if anything other than a friends code (similar to Animal Crossing). And he'll be maintaining a list since the game is coming to the US. Do you have the boxart?

 

[AndoCalrissian]

Wow, the game is out in japan already? You got a DSlite right? Pictures please!

Yes! Pictures! If you don't have a camera go buy one.

 

[Bebpo]

So far it has lots of potential, so I'm going to put some more time into it this weekend (no Xenosaga for now, I'll leave Bebpo to cover that). I'll post more when I play some more.

I don't have the game yet, but here's a preview of my XS ep1+2 review:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

...
....
.....
AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

... = where the review text goes

 

[meltpotato]

woah. already sounds like it meets what i had expected. keep the impressions coming Johnny... oh uh... i mean THANKS!

when is this one sched for US release? was there a date? I have June in my head btu that may be off.

 

[0OoO0]

Contact friendcode list? What do you actually do online in this game?

 

[UtadaBarkley]

woah. already sounds like it meets what i had expected. keep the impressions coming Johnny... oh uh... i mean THANKS!

when is this one sched for US release? was there a date? I have June in my head btu that may be off.

"Summer" as far as I know, no solid date yet.

 

[DCharlie]

Quote:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

...
....
.....
AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA



... = where the review text goes

a perfect port of the PS2 games then ? *runs*

 

[Jonnyram]

Contact friendcode list? What do you actually do online in this game?

Well, in the single player, you are a god-like dude who controls the character on the screen (like Baten Kaitos, pretty much), and when you make contact with a friend, his character enters your world and you can team up with that character, but I don't think the friend actually controls him when he's in your world. I don't know exactly, but it would be nice to try it out if any other Gaffers get this.

 

[Bebpo]

a perfect port of the PS2 games then ? *runs*

hahah, well maybe the 2nd one

Well, in the single player, you are a god-like dude who controls the character on the screen (like Baten Kaitos, pretty much), and when you make contact with a friend, his character enters your world and you can team up with that character, but I don't think the friend actually controls him when he's in your world. I don't know exactly, but it would be nice to try it out if any other Gaffers get this.

I'll have mine sometime soon so I'll give it a shot when I do get it.

 

[meltpotato]

Well, in the single player, you are a god-like dude who controls the character on the screen (like Baten Kaitos, pretty much), and when you make contact with a friend, his character enters your world and you can team up with that character, but I don't think the friend actually controls him when he's in your world. I don't know exactly, but it would be nice to try it out if any other Gaffers get this.

my main confusion with this was if you are playing with someone else, wont their character look pretty much the same? or can you customize beyond just outfit? for example hair, build, etc.

 

[Juice]

I know the art looks very Earthboundy, but is there a personnel connection between the two studios or is it just a "coincidence"?

 

[John Harker]

Woa! Sounds great!

Is the autobattling actually enjoyable though?
Seems odd to have that kind of combat for a handheld RPG.

Hows the story, any indication if it'll be deep and involving?
That was the strongest aspect for me of Killer7.

Did you get the goodies it came with, like the DS pouch?

Man, for some reason, I really want this game to succeed.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Copied from other thread:

So I picked up this little gem from Yodobashi yesterday. Truthfully I am only about an hour in but it does look to be promising.

Anyone who is out of the loop should note this game is being developed by the people at Grasshopper who also brought us Killer 7.

My favorite part about it how quirky the writing is and the story does seem to be shaping up to not be your normal cookie cutter RPG. Story is basically that you(as in you, not the character) make contact with a professor who then gets attacked for some unknown reason. He lands and picks up a kid and then both get shot down and stranded on an island. You play the role of leading the kid around and helping him and the professor get off the island. It breaks the forth wall all the time and the professor has asked me questions like "where did you buy that DS contraption anyway?"

The interface is also pretty nice and user friendly. Everything can be done on the touch pad, but most things can also be done with the d-pad and buttons instead. The touch controls are actually pretty intuitive so far and the character pretty much just follows where you drag your stylus. The menus are also very well made and easy to naviagte.

Combat is fairly easy. you just enter attack mode and close in on your target. From there you can pick magic or techniques to use against it. I only have 2 techniques at the moment(a water spell and a double slash) but there seem to be 80 different techniques in the game. That is how many blank spots I have on my menu screen at least.

There are also various costumes in the game, although I am not 100% what purposes they serve. I have one right now and it just gives me the water spell ATM. I am sure other uses will pop up later in the game.

Another system is the Trick Seal system that you as the player can use to alter the environment around you. In all honesty I have no idea how to use them yet. I used one and it just made a goat appear out of nowhere, so yeah....We will see.

Overall graphically the game is fairly impressive and most of the backgrounds have a very distinct and interesting style, but of course I am still in the first hour of the game.

 

[Jefklak]

I really need videos, I don't really understand the combat system.
Gimme!

 

[Jonnyram]

I just got my second outfit - the chef's outfit. It actually involved quite a humorous little quest, with a cheeky monkey The fighting, even though simple, is actually pretty fun. If you're a decent match, you usually kill monsters in 2 or 3 hits. If you're too strong, they die in one hit. So it's not ultra time-consuming or anything.

Oddly the game seems to be playable entirely with the touchpen. I got in a position once where I was stuck under a monster, it couldn't attack me and I couldn't attack it. So I tried to whack it with the touchpen... when I touched my character it gave me a bunch of options, like the A/B/X/Y buttons, or when I touched the enemy, it started fighting and actually hit it. Phew.

Anyway, now I've got the chef's outfit I can go do some cooking. I too have no idea how the Trick Seal system works. It was hard enough figuring out how to use the seals at first :lol

About the outfits - some skills/magic can only be used if you're wearing the right outfit, and some weapons can only be equipped if you're wearing the right outfit too. For example, I got a cooking knife which has pretty good damage and improves the success rate of cooking, but I can only wield it if I'm wearing the chef's clothes. Nice.

Oh yeah, and I got the pouch free with my copy. It would be nice if I had the light blue DS lite I guess, but I'm happy using my Mario hat as it is.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Combat system basically works out that you put him on auto combat like any cookie cutter MMORPG. And then while he is attacking you can also hit them with Tech attacks which consist of battle skills and magic. It's not too deep, but there seem to be a lot of weapons and just as many battle techs to make up for that.

 

[John Harker]

Is there any hype in Japan at all for this game, or, with the 35 releases this week, we're thinking another Killer7-esque 10k LTD?

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Yeah I got the pouch also, it is nicer than I predicted. Made out of some fake leather type stuff, haha.

I will try and put some pictures up tomorrow or something.

 

[Jonnyram]

I dunno... maybe 20k lifetime sales? It's not being pushed at all, and the char design is kind of quirky (even though he looks totally different in game). It will be a niche title, but I'm sure the people who do buy it will be really satisfied.

 

[mutsu]

Nice... my desire for this game has just increased by 200%

I dunno... maybe 20k lifetime sales? It's not being pushed at all, and the char design is kind of quirky (even though he looks totally different in game). It will be a niche title, but I'm sure the people who do buy it will be really satisfied.

If that happens to be so, it's gonna be pretty sad, because you won't have anyone to play the game with online.

 

[Jefklak]

Nice... my desire for this game has just increased by 200%

What he said.
Thanks budokai

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Okay I put in a few more hours tonight after getting addicted to it. I have been through 4 bosses(2 mini bosses and 2 real boss fights I guess) and the game seems to be picking up. The mini-bosses were both against another human character. Pretty simple stuff. First real boss fight was pretty fun, fought a giant golem guy. It used both screens and you had to watch out for rocks falling from the sky while fighting. The areas seem to be getting more and more impressive as I go on also.

I have learned a few more skills but the last costume I got was the cooking one. Should be getting a new one soon.

Oh and a nice little tidbit I just noticed is that weak monsters will get scared of you when they are one hit kill type weaklings and actually run away from you.

It is still kind of early to comment on the story, but it does seem to be developing and I am enjoying it so far. Mainly because the writing is really well done( at least as far as I can tell, heh...)

Also the difficulty seems to be jumping up nicely. I actually got my ass kicked a few times already. But I might just suck

 

[jj984jj]

Hmmm, the combat system sounds like fun.

 

[winston_pr]

Damn - sounds pretty fresh, new and worthwhile. I can't handle more DS ace titles this month. It's still March !!!

 

[Illuminati]

The battle system sort of sounds like Secret of Mana\Secret of Evermore type of system, which would be awesome of true.

Dammit US release date is needed, I want this game so badly.

 

[argon]

Oh and a nice little tidbit I just noticed is that weak monsters will get scared of you when they are one hit kill type weaklings and actually run away from you.

Didn't Earthbound do this? can they be any more blatant? =)
Still, its a neat feature I wish more RPGs copied.

 

[Gawaian]

The battle system sort of sounds like Secret of Mana\Secret of Evermore type of system, which would be awesome of true.

Dammit US release date is needed, I want this game so badly.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Atlus going to publish this game in America? Hasn't they given a release date? I just remenber reading an article a while ago that said that it was going to be released in the summer.

 

[BorkBork]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Atlus going to publish this game in America? Hasn't they given a release date? I just remenber reading an article a while ago that said that it was going to be released in the summer.

Yup Atlus is publishing it. No solid release date yet but some of the online retailers have it tentatively in July.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

I dont even like rpgs and this piques my interest. Its more action rpg oriented right?

 

[John Harker]

Either of you guys tried it online yet?

 

[jgkspsx]

So far, it sounds just like the game I want it to be. Thanks for the reports, guys, and keep us updated!

 

[Chris Remo]

I used one and it just made a goat appear out of nowhere, so yeah....

I am buying this.

 

[Bebpo]

This game is awesome. That's 3 Grasshopper games in a row that completely fricken rock. They are a force to be reckoned with.

Xenosaga...not so much ^^;

 

[Chrono]

This game is awesome. That's 3 Grasshopper games in a row that completely fricken rock. They are a force to be reckoned with.

what's the 3rd game?

killer 7 + contact + ????

 

[Joseph Merrick]

michigan?

 

[Bebpo]

Samurai Champloo?

Directed by Gouichi Suda, the director of Killer 7.

 

[Shiggy]

what's the 3rd game?

killer 7 + contact + ????

Champloo?
http://www.grasshopper.co.jp/works/champloo.html

 

[Chrono]

whoa champloo is actually good? thought it was just some licensed game nobody cared about.

 

[John Harker]

Online impressions?

Or did not enough people buy the game to actually find someone online to play with, heh

 

[Beezy]

Wow, I didn't know that Grasshopper did Champloo. I thought it didn't get good reviews?

 

[Bebpo]

Wow, I didn't know that Grasshopper did Champloo. I thought it didn't get good reviews?

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/929857.asp

Only two reviews so far. I gave it the 8.8 and play gave it an 8. I expect scores around 8ish all around. It's a really fantastic game but it's also really repetitive and simple in gameplay mechanics kinda like Killer 7 and Contact. Grasshopper seems to be good at making games with well-thoughout cool gameplay mechanics and then throwing the player through a repetitive situation (Killer 7, shooting; Champloo, slashing, Contact, fighting) over nad over but it's saved by the amazing presentation they keep on at all times which makes you want to see more of the story so you don't mind the repetition.

 

[marc^o^]

Excellent work Bebpo, I had read some of your reviews without noticing you were the author. I just read some more from you and think you're a great reviewer. Keep up the good work (specially on import games!).

 

[Ghengis Cohen]

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/929857.asp

Only two reviews so far. I gave it the 8.8 and play gave it an 8. I expect scores around 8ish all around. It's a really fantastic game but it's also really repetitive and simple in gameplay mechanics kinda like Killer 7 and Contact. Grasshopper seems to be good at making games with well-thoughout cool gameplay mechanics and then throwing the player through a repetitive situation (Killer 7, shooting; Champloo, slashing, Contact, fighting) over nad over but it's saved by the amazing presentation they keep on at all times which makes you want to see more of the story so you don't mind the repetition.

Thanks for that Bepbo. I had forgotten that Takada was doing the soundtrack. Killer 7 had waht is probably become my all time favorite game soundtrack. Can't wait.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Online impressions?

Or did not enough people buy the game to actually find someone online to play with, heh

From what I understand you don't really play online. I am not 100% sure yet but supposedly when you connect to friends it takes data from them and uses it to influence your game. And you unlock new skills and stuff as you connect to more people. There is supposedly some island you can unlock also and I think that is where you can meet friends.

Still pretty in the dark about it. So lets start getting some friend codes in here so we can figure it out. I will post mine when I get back to my house later tonight.

 

[speedpop]

Was waiting for some impressions on this sucker. Thanks boys.

 

[HyperZone<3]

How was Michigan?
or Michigan: Report from Hell, as our european brethern know it.