05.18.07
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews at 4:46 pm by yuka
Eledees. (Meh. Why not keep the name of Elebits?) A game I happily got stuck into between translation work and other games. Hours of fun to be had with this one, not to mention how cute these Elebits are! I managed to run down the batteries in the Wii remote. That’s how good it is. None of the missions are what I’d term ‘extremely hard’ – although it might help to have a good memory if you’re trying for a better score – so it’s accessible to anyone who can navigate with the controls.
In the story mode, you will have four different types of missions to choose from once you’ve cleared the stage: normal (the one that needs clearing), score attack (5mins time limit), eternal (no time limit, just root out all the creatures, ‘give up’ when finished), and challenge (harder restrictions). Admittedly, I haven’t played much with the other modes, but you can edit your own levels (again, un-lockable depending on your performance in story mode) and exchange them with your friends, etc. You want to keep your kids busy and out of the way? Or simply improve your hand-eye coordination? Buy this game now :) My reason? They looked cute, and I wanted to lift things effortlessly for a change.
At the Square Enix conference, who should appear but…
Yep, another game with Chocobo as the main character is in the pipeline, this time for Wii. Also announced was news on FF Ring of Fates(DS) – that it will have a multi-player mode (up to 4 players), and that it’ll be out in Japan on 23rd August for approx. £25.
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05.03.07
Posted in Japanese, News at 11:27 am by yuka
FF Tactics: Zodiac Brave Story(PSP, 10th May, £25) has a new promotional vid up in Downloads section. Obviously (because it’s Square Enix, and because they’re Japanese), they use Flash all over the shop, so be prepared for a long download time. I’ve no idea how that title got translated in that way though, and in a way typical of Japanese ‘right’ grammar, ‘brave’ comes second, instead of first.
As regards the Square Enix Party at Makuhari Messe (12-13th May), the details of ‘what’s on the menu’ has been announced.
12th: 11am – Star Ocean announcement of new title; 1pm – DQ Monster Battle
13th: 11am – DQ Sword; 1pm – DQ Monsters Joker
On top of that, if you buy Mana or Kingdom Hearts CDs there, you’ll get to meet the composer Shitamura on the 12th. Alternatively on the 13th, Hamauzu will make an appearance, again only meet-able if you’ve bought FF X or Saga Frontier 2. Both events will take place 3pm.
For approx. £20, Sega will be releasing a rather odd software on the DS titled 資格検定DS. Quite literally, ‘testing your qualifications’. Coming out 26th July if anyone’s interested. It boasts 54 different types of qualifications, so anyone feel up to testing themselves like Lisa (from Simpsons)?
Another odd game coming out 24th May for £24 for the DS. Comes under the genre of Adventure/RPG, titled Kurikin: Nano Island Story. ‘Kin’ as in ‘germ’. Get the idea? Think Pokemon for little germs. Catch them, grow them, battle them. In the midst of battle, it’s possible to get new types in the petri dish ‘arena’.
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05.02.07
Posted in Japanese, News, Online gaming, Reviews, UK at 12:10 pm by yuka
Excuse my lapse for the last week or so. Ordered myself some games last week, they arrived, and I’ve been spending most of my time with one – The Lord of the Rings Online. It’s like a mixture of WoW, Vanguard and a bit of Oblivion mixed in for good measure. The basic manoeuvers are the same as WoW, although quest-related NPCs are marked with a yellow ring overhead (and on mini-map) to make it user-friendly for players finding them. The graphics resemble Oblivion in that it’s detailed but not so overly, and the characters look realistic enough. You can play as one of four races: Man, Dwarf, Elf or Hobbit (though Dwarf is only playable as male), with seven differing classes to choose from (5 characters are permitted per server). Each have their own stories along which your quest choices differ, as does some part of your location. The ‘Vanguard‘ bit is the crafting side – the professions. Fortunately, it’s not as complicated as that half-finished game, which made crafting so very laborious. Just a bit detailed: you have to be at a specific workbench/forge/oven/field to start the process, and have the right tools equipped.
While I’ve been trying this rather new fancy game obviously, my WoW time has suffered… so I apologise to friends and guilds alike. And if you’re a fan of any other games mentioned above, give this one a try. For your info, most of the quests at the beginner stages (only played one of mine ’til level 12 so far however) are solo-able, even those marked as a ‘fellowship’ q. So even if you don’t know anyone else there, not a hard job at levelling :)
A new Zelda game for the DS is coming out 23rd June for approx. £24. The days when you moved Link via ‘trial and error’ method is almost over, as now the map can be drawn on with places of interest and ways to go around certain areas. So, Link doesn’t have to die too often :)
DK Barrel Jet Race is out 28th June for £29 on Wii. The classic moves of DK is available in the forms of throwing various barrels at your opponents. According to the article, the Wii remote makes it all so much fun.
For £20, and coming out in August is a collaboration between Sega and two other firms: 音声感情測定器ココロスキャン – which roughly translates to ‘Mind Scan’. How? By talking into the DS mic using Sensibility Technology. Know your mood, what you may be feeling etc. What use would it be? Apparently by taking your DS into the conference room, you’ll know if your colleagues are interested in such and such a project or not. More than likely, if people suspect the use of such things, they might become one extreme of another of those ‘moods’ that the software can detect.
Lastly, a DS game currently out for £18 or so, might be nostalgic for some, but aggravating for others. Rubik’s Cube. In all sizes. Puzzle game obviously. For up to 4 players, battle other players in how fast or how much you can solve the puzzles. Fortunately the mini-game option does allow other less stressful puzzles.
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