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[grandjedi6]

Nintendo Power
Cover: Dragon Quest IX (subscriber edition cover is pretty cool)

News
-- There was a small "games from Japan section" on The Last Story (no, no localization confirmation). I haven't followed the very latest news on the game so the included pictures and info may very well be, and certainly is, old news.

-- There was also an interview with Level-5's president, Akihiro Hino, who gave a bunch of non-answers to everything. However he did say that "there are several titles that I am eager to introduce to North America, including Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, and the Inazuma Eleven series -- both of which are already out in Japan -- and Ninokuni: The Another World, which is still in development. I don't think it will that be long before you're able to play these games, so please look forward to them!"* At least its something, no?
*Note: This was seemingly stated before Professor Layton and the Unwound Future was revealed at E3.



Evaluation Station (coughreviewscough)
Wiiware:

• And Yet It Moves -- Recommended
• Art Style: Light Trax -- Recommended
• Dive: The Medes Islands Secret -- Recommended
• Viral Survival -- Recommended
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations -- Recommended
• Bejeweled 2 -- Maybe?
• Chess Challenege! -- Maybe?
• Manic Monkey Mayhem -- Maybe?
• Robocalypse: Beaver Defense -- Maybe?
• Voodoo Dice -- Maybe?
• Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex -- Bad
• Blood Beach -- Bad

DSiware:

• Hero of Sparta -- Recommended
• Telegraph Sudoku & Kakuro -- Recommended
• Frogger Returns -- Recommended
• World Poker Tour Texas Hold 'Em -- Recommended
• X-Scape -- Recommended
• Advanced Circuits -- Maybe?
• Metal Torrent -- Maybe?
• Real Crimes: Jack the Ripper -- Maybe?
• Earthworm Jim -- Maybe?
• A Topsy Turvy Life: Turvy Drops -- Maybe?
• A Topsy Turvy Life: The Turvys Strike Back -- Maybe?
• Chess Challenge! -- Bad
• Looksley's Line Up -- Bad

Virtual Console

• Kirby Super Star -- Recommended
• Wild Guns -- Recommended

Previews:

• Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
• Puzzle Agent
• La-Mulana
• Epic Mickey
• Lost in Shadow
• Super Scribblenauts
• Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions
• Tom Clancy's H.A.W.K. 2
• Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp
• Guilty Party
• Monster Tale
• Crafting Mama
• Galactic Taz Ball
• Sid Meier's Pirates!
• Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar

Features:

Dragon Quest IX

Driver: San Francisco

Okamiden


Why Aren't You Playing This? Ten awesome Wii games you're probably not playing - but should be!

Spoiler

But never will because they all bombed horribly! Hey-O!

• Muramasa: The Demon Blade
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
• Klonoa
• A Boy and His Blob
• Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
• Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
• MadWorld
• Dead Space Extraction
• Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
• Little King's Story

Interview: Warren Spector

WS: "One day - this was in 1988 - I was thinking about a new game system we were working on and had a life-changing moment. I remember looking down at my hands and seeing a 20-sided die in one hand and percentile dice in the other and realizing that the biggest decision I was making in my work was what sort of dice to use! And I just realized that if that was the biggest decision I had to make in my work, I needed to find a new line of work!"

WS: "What was the appeal of cartoons? Man, I'm not sure. I guess I just loved the color and the energy and the anarchy. What kid doesn't love slam-bang action in a world where nothing's impossible and anything can happen? I loved the illogical logic of cartoons and, as I grew older, the pop culture (and even high culture) references. I think I learned more about classical music from Calr Stalling in his Disney and Warner Brothers cartoon scores than I did from any other source".

WS: "The real power of games isn't in figuring out what a designer wanted me to do or in executing a maneuver the designer insisted I execute. The real power of games is in solving problems the way I want to solve them, to decide for myself who I'm going to befriend and who I'm going to ignore, and to craft a unique experience in a compelling game world. When we make games that allow players to be the authors of their own stories, we're beginning to live up to our potential".

NP: "What other games or game creators do you most admire or respect?
WS: "Shigeru Miyamoto. The man's been a part of the creation of so many games I love, including the Zelda series, which is, without question, my favorite game series ever. There's a part of me that really wants to meet him, but there's another part that wonders what would happen if I ever got the chance. Would I be able to croak out a question or two, or would I be too awe-struck to open my mouth? It's unclear!
Others? Well, I wish I was as sharp and creative as Dough Church. I wish I was half as clever and funny as Tim Schafer. I wish I was as smart as anyone at Valve. I recently had the pleasure of metting Satoru Iwata, and all I can say is that I was blown away by the coolness of Nintendo's CEO being a dev guy. That never happens, and it was incredible having a conversation with him".

Reviews

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor
Reviewer: Steve T.

Pros
-"And just as its forerunner set the bar on N64, this is the best pure action game the Wii console has ever seen"
-constantly hits you with something new
-"the sort of challenge that ultimately satisfies rather than frustrates"
-bevy of control options
-Wiimote & nunchuk control scheme works brilliantly
-staggering variety of memorable boss battles
-pumping, old-school soundtrack
-deep scoring system and online leaderboards
-you can skip cutscenes


Cons
-"cringe-inducing narrative
-plot is "pretty much impenetrable nonsense"
-"the too-frequent cut-scenes are poorly animated and awkwardly voiced"
-the visuals (character models and lighting) fall short, but its understandable due to how much is being thrown at the screen at once

9.0

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Reviewer: Casey L.

Pros
-postgame content provides endless reasons to get together with friends and quest
-solo adventurers "should still find plenty to enjoy in DQIX"
-localization is fantastic
-"the game is also a feast for the eyes, featuring smooth 3-D environments, colorful town and dungeon designs, well-animated 3-D monsters, and an equipment system that features over 1,000 items with unique appearances"
-new series additions (multiplayer, online, gameplay upgrades) are done without sacrificing the series' core single-player component.


Cons
-filler-heavy MMO-fare postgame content will be of little interest to solo players
-lack of save slots (only 1!)
-multiplayer options aren't quite as flexible as they should be and significant restrictions will disappoint some

9.0

Toy Story 3: The Video Game
Reviewer: Justin C.

Pros
-Toy Box mode ("kid-friendly Grand Theft Auto") is the reason to play this game
-variety of gameplay in story mode
-ability to swap between 3 characters with unique abilities in story mode

Cons
-could do with fewer fetch quests
-"some context-sensitivity issues can make platforming more frustrating than it should be"

7.5

Puzzle Quest 2:

Spoiler

The Repuzzlening

Reviewer: Carolyn G.

Pros
-battles are just as tense and well-balanced as ever
-minigames add much-welcome variety
-it's Puzzle Quest

Cons
-the new ability to equip weapons doesn't add much gameplay wise
-lackluster presentation
-it's Puzzle Quest

7.5

Tournament of Legends
Reviewer: Randy N.

Pros
-"offers a fairly unique, more strategic take on the [fighting] genre than we're used to" [on the Wii]
-looks like any 3-D fighting game but plays more like Punch-out
-unique bunch of combatants

Cons
-character designs aren't bad, just generic
-action isn't all that smooth (choppy)
-pacing could be faster

7.0

The Last Airbender (DS)
Reviewer: Chris H.

Pros
-good interface
-good touch-screen controls
-exploration segments flash out the plot and add depth
-"and enjoyable adventure game in which everything just 'clicks'"

Cons
-brevity and lack of challenge

7.5

The Last Airbender (Wii)
Reviewer: Chris H.

Pros
-epic soundtrack
-a few cool graphic effects'
-puzzles and nifty platforming parts add variety

Cons
-"unspectactular action-adventure game"
-shitty button-mashing
-wonky animations
-lackluster storytelling
-low-rent cut-scenes
-apparently one of the boss battles in the DS version is neglected to cut-scene statis in the Wii version

6.0

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Wii)
Reviewer: Justin C.

Pros
-Harry Potter proves to be a great match to the Lego-style games, moreso than Batman and Indiana Jones did
-fun to run around, messing with stuff and using the Wiimote to move things around

Cons
-irritating context-sensitivity issues
-repetitive from revisiting the same areas and from the stale lego-style games in general

7.5

Next Month
Fall Game Guide (coughE3stuffcough)

 

[Akai]

-plot is "pretty much impenetrable nonsense"

This is a con? Seriously?

 

[grandjedi6]

This is a con? Seriously?

Let it be known that Nintendo Power doesn't actually list out "cons" and "pros'; that is merely how I transcribe it. However, considering that the statement was prefaced with "Storytelling has never been one of Treasure's strong suits...", I don't think I was wrong at marking it as such.

 

[Community Forum]

So is Dragon Quest IX worth it if I am never going to play with someone else? I mean, will I be pissed at all the stuff I can't do, or is it a full experience without the multiplayer?

 

[Aeana]

This is the issue with the whole DQ9 blowout, right? I need to see this.

So is Dragon Quest IX worth it if I am never going to play with someone else? I mean, will I be pissed at all the stuff I can't do, or is it a full experience without the multiplayer?

Yes. The single player game is a full Dragon Quest experience.

 

[Busaiku]

There was also an interview with Level-5's president, Akihiro Hino, who gave a bunch of non-answers to everything. However he did say that "there are several titles that I am eager to introduce to North America, including Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, and the Inazuma Eleven series -- both of which are already out in Japan -- and Ninokuni: The Another World, which is still in development. I don't think it will that be long before you're able to play these games, so please look forward to them!"* At least its something, no?

That doesn't really seem like a non-answer to me (unless of course that didn't address any specific question).

 

[Regulus Tera]

Holy Shit, Aeana. When did your tag change?


Anyway, that review of Sin and Punishment 2 sucks. It's at least 15/10!

 

[Aeana]

Holy Shit, Aeana. When did your tag change?


Anyway, that review of Sin and Punishment 2 sucks. It's at least 15/10!

I'm replaying Blue Dragon and am all caught up in finding nothings again, so I guess that's why it was changed.

 

[scitek]

I just wanted to say that I played Tournament of Legends at E3, and it wasn't as shitty as I expected it to be. It's not great, but as a $30 title, I couldn't find anything to really complain about except no online.

 

[Snuggles]

Sounds like I want S&P, I have a few other Wii titles I need to play first but it's on my list.

 

[antispin]

Why is Sonic grabbing at me balls?

 

[Diortem7]

Are there pics of Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions in the preview? I'm curious to see what the Wii version looks like.

 

[djtiesto]

Nice to see high scores for both S&P2 and DQIX... both games are looking to be my top games of the year. Can't wait to see the actual mag, Nintendo Power has gotten a lot better in recent times (though I'll always have nostalgia for the early days of the mag).

 

[hokahey]

Yeah I'm hearing nothing but good things about S&P 2. Looks like a definite buy.

 

[Mcj Metroid]

Why Aren't You Playing This? Ten awesome Wii games you're probably not playing - but should be! But never will because they all bombed horribly! Hey-O!
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Klonoa
A Boy and His Blob
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
MadWorld
Dead Space Extraction
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
Little King's Story

Some of these games yes but madworld didn't keep me occupied for very long. it just wasn't very good.

 

[ILikeFeet]

Yeah I'm hearing nothing but good things about S&P 2. Looks like a definite buy.

was there ever a doubt? it's Treasure, it's a shooter, it's automaticly good <_<

 

[BowieZ]

A Boy and His Blob is... not awesome.

 

[GhaleonQ]

-- There was also an interview with Level-5's president, Akihiro Hino, who gave a bunch of non-answers to everything. However he did say that "there are several titles that I am eager to introduce to North America, including Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, and the Inazuma Eleven series -- both of which are already out in Japan -- and Ninokuni: The Another World, which is still in development. I don't think it will that be long before you're able to play these games, so please look forward to them!"* At least its something, no?

WEEEEEEE!

 

[TheUnknownForce]

A Boy and His Blob is... not awesome.

Maybe not awesome, but wholesome and huggable. That's pretty darn close.

 

[Darklord]

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Wii)

Kinda sounds like it's made for ages 1 to 4.

 

[Kilrogg]

Do English speakers even say "please look forward to it" anyway? I know the Japanese say it all the time, but I also know we have nothing quite like it in French for instance. I always had the gut feeling that this was a case of (poor) literal translation. Could someone clear that up for me?

 

[Aeana]

Do English speakers even say "please look forward to it" anyway? I know the Japanese say it all the time, but I also know we have nothing quite like it in French for instance. I always had the gut feeling that this was a case of (poor) literal translation. Could someone clear that up for me?

Nope. That is very much a Japanese-ism.

 

[Kilrogg]

Nope. That is very much a Japanese-ism.

Oh. Well, I guess I'm not done complaining about translators doing their jobs as well as your average fansubber without actively doing something against it myself then .

Next thing you know they'll add "san" any time they mention a Japanese developer... Oh wait.

 

[cartman414]

La Mulana preview? Sweet. Anything of note from there?

 

[Why would you do that?]

I love the Warren Specter bit. I don't know why, but I like when I see developers talk abotu other developers.

It's interesting... I would have thought Specter would have met Miyamoto at E3, considering they were both in the press conference, and they both rehearsed the conference. However, this NP interview could have been conducted before then.

However, Specter picked some good developers too look up to and admire. I also agree with how impressive it is that Iwata is actually a "dev guy". He certainly can work magic.


S&P2 fot a great score, Muramasa's really awesome, and I can't wait for La Mulana!

 

[tim1138]

This issue also confirmed that Rabbids in Time is another minigame fest and not an adventure game like Rabbids Go Home.

 

[Mega Man's Electric Sheep]

A Boy and his Blob is awesome to me! 80 creative puzzle/platform stages with gorgeous
2d graphics and an adorable vibe. Probably my favourite game last year.

 

[grandjedi6]

That doesn't really seem like a non-answer to me (unless of course that didn't address any specific question).

Yeah, the quote I included is the only real one with any substance. Everything else was mostly non-answers.

 

[AniHawk]

This issue also confirmed that Rabbids in Time is another minigame fest and not an adventure game like Rabbids Go Home.

Looks like it's suicide again for me.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

A Boy and his Blob is awesome to me! 80 creative puzzle/platform stages with gorgeous
2d graphics and an adorable vibe. Probably my favourite game last year.

Same here.

It's awesomeness is measured by the amazingness of its hand-drawn artwork.

 

[Sadist]

Hmm... the Driver game sounds pretty cool actually.

 

[rollingstart]

ok, I was skimming through this and for that Warren Spector section they have a picture of Invisible War under the Deus Ex credit. I CALL A FOUL.

 

[ILikeFeet]

just got my issue today. how the hell NP get assets of TLS from Nintendo and the game isn't announced for NA yet? goddamned teasing

 

[Like the hat?]

Got mine today as well. The cover is neato.

Looking forward to thumbing through it while on the can.

 

[bon]

Nice cover. I didn't notice the monster on the back until just now.

 

[ULTROS!]

-- There was also an interview with Level-5's president, Akihiro Hino, who gave a bunch of non-answers to everything. However he did say that "there are several titles that I am eager to introduce to North America, including Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, and the Inazuma Eleven series -- both of which are already out in Japan -- and Ninokuni: The Another World, which is still in development. I don't think it will that be long before you're able to play these games, so please look forward to them!"* At least its something, no?

Is this worth for a new topic?

 

[ombz]

Was there nothing about the 3DS?

 

[Pooya]

-- There was also an interview with Level-5's president, Akihiro Hino, who gave a bunch of non-answers to everything. However he did say that "there are several titles that I am eager to introduce to North America, including Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, and the Inazuma Eleven series -- both of which are already out in Japan -- and Ninokuni: The Another World, which is still in development. I don't think it will that be long before you're able to play these games, so please look forward to them!"* At least its something, no?

Is this worth for a new topic?

Inazuma Eleven was confirmed for Europe before.

 

[ULTROS!]

Inazuma Eleven was confirmed for Europe before.

Actually, it's more for Ninokuni...

 

[Pooya]

Actually, it's more for Ninokuni...

ah I just saw that, of course they will localize that when they did WKC, this is studio Ghibli, they are quite popular outside of Japan but that doesn't sound like official announcement to me more like what he intends to do.

 

[jaundicejuice]

Final managed to land a copy of this issue, and what a fantastic looking issue it is. I don't often hold on to magazines but I'll make an exception for this one.

Just reading through the preview for Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light and I've got to say that, knowing its short comings with its limited inventory and targeting system, I'm quite tempted to get this game. I absolutely adore the artstyle, the soundtrack sounds fantastic and like what I've read about the direction they went with this game and why. I may not end up liking this game but I have to try it out for myself.

 

[grandjedi6]

$10 says that the Level 5 "non-news" would have never gotten reported by the various video game blogs had I not posted it in this thread, heh.

Was there nothing about the 3DS?

This issue was written before E3.

 

[Nessus]

Wiiware

And Yet It Moves -- Recommended

I want this, and Super Meat Boy to come out already.

God I love WiiWare.

 

[donny2112]

Why Aren't You Playing This? Ten awesome Wii games you're probably not playing - but should be!

Spoiler

But never will because they all bombed horribly! Hey-O!

• Muramasa: The Demon Blade
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
• Klonoa
• A Boy and His Blob
• Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
• Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
• MadWorld
• Dead Space Extraction
• Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
• Little King's Story

I like the descriptions as to why no one's playing these games. They must be friends with AniHawk.

Klonoa:
"Klonoa's kind of a weird character with a name that sounds like a contagious disease. Is he a cat? A rabbit? He's definitely not a plumber. Whatever he is, he's not a major star, and he's not what you'd really call "cool"."

Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles
"Because you already own a bunch of light-gun games, and one of them is Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, which wasn't all that great. And because Capcom needs to be punished for selling a bajillion copies of Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, and then following up on that success with a bunch of light-gun games instead of, you know, actual Resident Evil games."

Little King's Story:
"Because it has a dumb title that tells you nothing about the game, and its supercute cover art suggests it's for tiny babies. Also, it came out shortly after Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, and how many child-king simulators does one person need?"


They also mention that Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars outperformed expectations. That must explain why iPhone and 3DS get Street Fighter IV and not Wii. :lol

 

[Deku]

iPhone SF4 isn't even on the same league as what's coming to the 3DS.