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Official Opoona Media & Hype Thread!

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Mmm thats nice.

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:D :D :D

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:)
 
Those screens look nifty indeed. I wish jaggies would go away forever, though :(

on a side note...

Why the heck is Panther banned?

I read his post history and he didn't say anything that I saw that would warrant banning.
 
RubxQub said:
Those screens look nifty indeed. I wish jaggies would go away forever, though :(

on a side note...

Why the heck is Panther banned?

I read his post history and he didn't say anything that I saw that would warrant banning.
He had a slightly FFXIII-related meltdown and was banned for a month. Nothing a sane person wouldn't agree with, though - I think it was the way he expressed his feelings... :)

Oh, and Opoona looks very nice. But I really hate random encounters. And the textures are really bad.
 
The logo is amazing, the box art looks great. The screenshots... why can't they apply the same shading techniques to EVERY object? Why are some buildings without the black outline, and others with one? Why does the HUD look so..

Theres a glimmer of awesomeness shining through, though.
 
http://www.cubed3.com/news/8958/1/Super_Mario_Galaxy_-_130,000_in_One_Day

This awesome looking game (from a high profile development team) is reported to have sold only around 2 500 units on its first day of release in Japan, which translates into long-term commercial failure. So come on Japanese GAF --- BUY BUY BUY!!!!!

Unless games like Opoona get the sales they deserve, less and less high quality developers will be willing to take a shot at creating high quality games for the platform (which is stating the obvious, obviously).
 
The game had no advertisements and costs more than most other games like all Koei games for that matter. It was destined to fail. It may fare better in the States with proper advertising and pricing. I doubt anyone even heard of the game here in Japan. That's just not a good thing if you're trying to sell high priced software.
 
EDarkness said:
The game had no advertisements and costs more than most other games like all Koei games for that matter. It was destined to fail. It may fare better in the States with proper advertising and pricing. I doubt anyone even heard of the game here in Japan. That's just not a good thing if you're trying to sell high priced software.

This seems like an extremely Japanese game imo, most American gamers would be like "cutesy characters running around a colorfoul world? What is this gay shit!!?".
Anyway, I only really half care about this game because of Sakimoto (someone rip music nao), but from what I saw in the videos it's a pretty cool and quirky game.
 
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7815&Itemid=2

they quite like it:
in stark contrast to the highly traditional and visually sumptuous epics that other teams are producing, Opoona is, initially at least, an understated affair – and all the more refreshing for it.
Opoona is a singular title among the software appearing on the Wii, and its quiet innovations and serious (and successful) effort to offer simple controls within an RPG interface are worthy of some notice. In the ever-disappointing absence of the likes of Mother from western shores, it would be a pity if Opoona’s similar candy colorings and slightly odd elements stop Koei from releasing the game outside of Japan.
 
ssoass said:
This seems like an extremely Japanese game imo, most American gamers would be like "cutesy characters running around a colorfoul world? What is this gay shit!!?".

A mirror of game industry from 1978 to 1995 just about. Funny that folks didnt have issue with back then.
 
I doubt Koei would publish this over here themselves, but I imagine that this is the sort of thing a publisher like Atlus or XSEED would pick up, regardless of poor Japanese sales.
 
derder said:
Could someone please explain to me how this is played?
no impressions here from the 2500 people who bought it in japan, but as i understand:

nunchuk only. one button for menu, one for select. no motion controls. semi-standard rpg battles (random with turn-based fighting i think). a bit of an open sandbox world, with lots of "jobs" you can do in the society which provide you with "licenses" giving you access to various other places (next-gen/edge compares getting a job license to getting a key in many other games). described as "old school" challenging wrt difficulty.

edit: it's not turn based. more of an atb-type setup.
 
I'm officially stoked for this game. March release? Consider me there!

Only worry is about the controls. What's wrong with a little Wiimote and waggle?
 
GreenNight said:
This game sold about 4 copies in Japan. Ill be buying this day 1 when it hits the states.

Perhaps we can do for this game what we did for No More Heroes? How often do we get full fledged RPGs on our Wii? (we haven't yet). I'd love to see this game hit 50k, although I don't think its likely with zero marketing at all. I guess we'll just have to do what we can here.

The hype continues!
 
release date: march 25

KOEI PREPARES NORTH AMERICAN RELEASE OF OPOONATM, A "LIFESTYLE ROLE-PLAYING GAME" EXCLUSIVELY FOR WiiTM

Opoona will Change how Role-Playing Games are Experienced

Burlingame, CA—February 7, 2008 -
KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that Opoona™, a new Role-Playing Game (RPG) exclusively for Wii™ is scheduled for a North American release on March 25, 2008.

“With Opoona, developer ArtePiazza had a masterful approach to creating an Action RPG for Wii that includes intuitive and interactive controls using just the Nunchuk,” said Amos Ip, Senior Vice President at KOEI Corporation. “Opoona will give video gamers a refreshing and new perspective on the Role-Playing genre. The ‘single-hand control’ combined with the modern fantasy world of Opoona is sure to captivate both veteran gamers and newcomers alike.”

About Opoona
While on an interplanetary family vacation, the young boy Opoona crash lands on Planet Landroll after his spaceship is involved in a mysterious accident. Separated from his family, Opoona is forced to live alone. On the planet, Opoona must find a job, search for his siblings, and defend himself and the people of Landroll against creatures known as the Dark Rogues. Luckily for Opoona, he is the descendant of a long line of warriors known as the Cosmo Guards. Thus, Opoona’s adventure begins as he struggles to establish a new life and reunite his family.

The game’s action-oriented battle system lets players use powerful “Energy Bonbons” against their enemies. Using just the Nunchuk™, players can manipulate an Energy Bonbon’s trajectory in a number of different ways. All of Opoona’s commands are also controlled by the Nunchuk, to allow a complete “single-hand control” of the game.

Opoona is not just about battling; it is a “Lifestyle RPG.” As Opoona, players must adapt to a new environment, meet new people, and contribute to society through work, all while becoming aware of the precious world and people around him. As the game progresses, Opoona will develop relationships and uncover a broader range of activities including new jobs and clues to new adventures.

The unique characters and a modern fantasy world created by Art Director, Shintaro Majima, are sure to fascinate gamers. From futuristic buildings to ancient ruins and strange rock formations in the wild, the world of Opoona is a remarkable fusion of both contemporary design and whimsical fantasy.

Developed by ArtePiazza, the team behind four installments of the best-selling DRAGON QUEST® series of RPGs, Opoona showcases the talent of some of today’s most creative game designers including: Art Director Shintaro Majima, Planning Director Sachiko Sugimura, and Composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, acclaimed for his contribution to the FINAL FANTASY® XII soundtrack.

Opoona is rated “E10+” (Everyone 10+ - Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes) by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. Opoona is a single player game.

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ooooh... "suggestive themes":)

i'm a bit disappointed that the lack of easily accessible camera controls seem to have constrained the world design rather than having more dq:viii-style expanses for exploration.

still... combat looks potentially interesting (weighing aim and charge time with enemies that will dodge and move about when they attack) and i'm still more keen on the character designs than most here. rumored "old school" difficulty makes game of this nature so very-much more enjoyable (you need to feel the danger when you leave the safe haven of towns).

also, support for original, sensible control designs for rpgs is good. "flick" for throwing the ball would add nothing to the experience here. looking forward.
 
ilikeme said:
I hope someone else but Koei brings it over. Koei logo is so ugly I can't buy their games for sure

Huh? Why is it ugly? It's just simple, but not ugly. I've seen ugly logos.

And Koei is great when it comes to their box artwork during localization, they even kept the Japanese text below Opoona's logo!

That box looks great, just what an RPG's box should look like, busy and pleasant.

But the lack of 16:9 is a real shame, hope it has Dolby Pro Logic II. And even better, a sequel, where they can fix any of the orginal's problems and take better advantage of the Wii's hardware. RPG's most of the time get sequels, sadly Skies was one of the few good ones that didn't get a sequel (at least for over half a decade).
 
Bumping this due to the game's release tomorrow!

I got a copy of this for review, and I have to admit that I'm enjoying it a bunch so far. The localization is rather subpar, but the game is really charming and fun. It vaguely reminds me of Earthbound, but I'm not going to really continue that in fear of being crucified by GAF. I wrote up an impression of it here, but am only about 15 hours in so far.

Anyone else planning on picking this up tomorrow, or anytime soon? Thus far, I'd reccomend it, but it certainly isn't for everyone.
 
Ilchymis said:
I got a copy of this for review, and I have to admit that I'm enjoying it a bunch so far. The localization is rather subpar, but the game is really charming and fun. It vaguely reminds me of Earthbound, but I'm not going to really continue that in fear of being crucified by GAF. I wrote up an impression of it here, but am only about 15 hours in so far.

:lol I've never admitted to GAF that Brave Story (PSP) reminds me of Chrono Trigger because of a similar fear of peer backlash. Thanks for the impressions. Around how far into the game does it feel like you are, percentage wise?
 
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