Gaming for Smart People
It’s been way too long since anyone tried to make a competent dungeon crawling hack and slash RPG for a console. It’s fair to say that, with the exception of the stellar PC title Titan Quest, the entire genre has gone without truly inspired entries for longer than anyone would care to remember.
A few months ago I made my voice heard on the addictive nature of Square Enix’s flash based puzzle game, Yosumin, at the expense of Bioshock. The story was completely true. I pulled no punches, fabricated no information, and took no prisoners. Yosumin was truly that addictive. After untold hours, countless game overs, and bleary dry eyes, I finally closed the browser window, intent on forgetting the game ever existed.
Then came the release of the DS release. With games like Mass Effect, Dragon Quest IV DS, and a host of other quality titles on my plate at the time of its release, Yosumin was easy to ignore. It was not out of hate of malice, but rather an act of practicality and for sake of my own sanity and productivity. Sadly, I’ve become far less indisposed. Yosumin is calling, and I am answering its shrill siryn cry.
For many people, Final Fantasy VII was the defining moment by which they described the beginning of the Japanese RPG genre for them. Despite the genre existing for many many years before that, many were not exposed to it until the introduction of Final Fantasy VII, not only because of its groundbreaking graphics and vastly different setting, but because of Squaresoft’s juggernaut marketing at the time, being one of the first games to have regular TV spots and air time on major channels.
DS owners are no stranger to court drama. The Gyakuten Saiban/Phoenix Wright series, while never being translated during its Game Boy Advance incarnation, were finally translated for the english speaking audience when each title was remade for the DS. With the 4th installment in the series already out in Japan, and looking to drop in english speaking territories in mere months, now seems as good a time as any to finally translate and release the best game in the series to date; Gyakuten Saiban 3.
It is no secret; Square Enix’s IP renaissance is over. The company was in its prime in the Super Famicom and Sony Playstation days, and even had a number of great unique titles on the Playstation 2. That, it seems, is just not what fans of the company want to see.
After abysmal sales of plenty of its original titles, and the rocketing sales of titles like Final Fantasy X-2, Dragon Quest 8, and the CG Action Movie release Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, the negative reinforcement finally made its mark. Square Enix retreated into its shell, too shy for chance, and decided that milking franchises ad nauseum would be best course of action. They were so wrong.
Continue reading ‘Review: すばらしきこのせかい (It’s a Wonderful World)’
Super Robot fever took over HDRL some time ago. I had been casually interested in the series in the past, but it was Super Robot Wars W for the DS that started such fervor for the series. I had been burned by strategy RPGs in the fast, often finding them too long, or aggravatingly difficult. I became very choosy about the genre, only picking up titles that were part of established franchises that I knew always bore good fruit.
I stayed away from SRW for a long time, because I knew that if I ever enjoyed one title in the series, I would have to pick up all the games in the franchise eventually. SRW is a series that spans 20 years and just as many games. Such an undertaking would be nearly impossible. Nevertheless, I delved into SRW W, and loved it. It’s no surprise then, that I was first in line to pick up Super Robot Wars Original Generations (OGs for short), the remake of the two Original Generation titles for the Game Boy Advance.
Continue reading ‘Review: スーパーロボット大戦Original Generations (Super Robot Wars Original Generations)’
It really has been a long time since I’ve played a Real Time Strategy game. Some time ago in high school, my love for PC games died down somewhat, which left me little choice in games to play in the genre. Starcraft and Command and Conquer: Red Alert were my raison d’etre through most of high school. In college, Warcraft 3 made its rounds, but I was considerably less interested than I should have been.
Fast forward several years, and I’ve all but forgotten about the Real Time Strategy genre altogether. My strategy diet is filled of grid based Turn Based Strategy games, like Front Mission and Super Robot Wars. My skills had waned, and even in the turn based sector, I remained strongly picky about my gaming choices. Just a few short months ago, I happen upon a pamphlet in my local game store: a side-scrolling real time strategy game from the makers of Princess Crown, and published by Nippon Ichi (日本一). What? I look at the name of game: gRiMgRiMOiRE.
It would be a lie to deny my almost unconditional love for all things related to gigantic robots. I grew up with the likes of Voltron/GoLion (百獣王ゴライオン) and The Transformers, and was, to some extent, privy to Gundam and its ilk. I dreamed of having my own giant robot to stop intergalactic evil with, and spent my younger days with friends, make-believing we were brave pilots in a squadron of giant robots.
As a young child, though, I never dreamed that I would ever have the chance to play a game that would allow me to control Gundam, Voltron, and Great Mazinger. The Super Robot Wars series offers such a thrill, and has for 15 years now. With other mecha based strategy RPGs like Front Mission on my list of must haves, it is no surprise that the SRW series creeped onto it as well. Finally finding its way onto the phenomenally successful Nintendo DS, SRW might finally find not only a larger audience in Japan, but also in the US.
Any male (and even a few females) over the age of 20 who grew up in North America, was at some point, completely and utterly obsessed with the Ninja Turtles. I was a basket case when it came to them. I had the backpacks, the cereal, the action figures, and even the bed sheets. My mother made me vow never to draw Ninja Turtles again, as I had three bedroom drawers stuffed with crude sketches of the four radical reptiles, and nothing else. I would go to school, and make-believe with my friends that we were the Ninja Turtles, saving New York City from some new alien threat.
Continue reading ‘Review: TMNT 1989 Arcade for Xbox Live Arcade’
With the release of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Gran Turismo HD, and a wealth of PSone legacy content, the Playstation Network is starting to take off. As Sony’s Download Initiative goes into full swing, more and more titles flood the online service every day. Retro games like Q*Bert and Lemmings are available for download, along with a host of Playstation favorites, like R-Type Delta and Dino Crisis. One of Sony’s flagship title for the new service is a quirky and unique title that takes abstract shapes, and builds a relaxing and euphoric ecosystem simulator, called flOw.
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