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Andrew Duff - June 16, 2004 - 4:00 Central Standard Time
A little late this week, but I think you’ll agree with me that the wait was well worth it. Special thanks to Andrew Long for telling me that last week’s Japandemonium format was so ugly it made his eyes bleed, and a hearty pat on the back for Jeff Walker, who managed to throw the new format together in record time, and without making me feel completely awful about my html skills. A thank you to Michael Hearnest for his work on the story area. As you can see, things have fleshed out quite a bit, with more news stories, and a small Japan related Q&A. There’s also sweet little links on top of the page to take you right to the news story that interests you, so you don’t have to slog down the page through stuff that even I don’t find interesting.
I’m sure all of you are hard at work on your entries for the Tales of Symphonia contest I announced last week, but just in case your entry bounced, feel free to send it in again, because Mikel set me up a new mailbox and I’m just loved staved for attention as all of you are already well aware. Claire's comic this week is a pretty awesome fake entry for the contest, mixing two of her favorite games much to my delight and horror. And if you haven’t slightest clue what contest I’m talking about, I suggest you read the intro to last week’s Japandemonium to give yourself a fair chance at winning. Now then, feel free to dive right into to this weeks juicy content!
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Oooh, more information and screenshots for yet another tactical RPG for the Game Boy Advance can’t be bad. The new Fire Emblem game, with a tentative release date for the end of this year, focuses on the twin prince and princess Ephraim and Eirik, who start the game fleeing from an invasion of their country. New gameplay features include a new class system with multiple choices for promotion classes, submaps, and even the ability to start colonies to help support your troops.
Funny how the twins look nothing alike, eh? Not that I’ve got any complaints towards cute girls running around in short skirts and waving around swords, but sheesh, you’d think a princess of a fallen kingdom would have a little more sense on what she should wear in battle.
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If anyone remember Torneko: The Last Hope, they probably remember the ill-fated Playstation games plummeting price during its first few weeks on store shelves. My scarring memories of the game series was that your level returned to 1 when you exited a dungeon. Regardless, the game seems to have a cult following in Japan that enjoys such masochist gameplay elements, and the poor sales of The Last Hope mean that America probably won’t be subjected to the horrors of the newest game in the series for the Game Boy Advance. Toruneko’s Great Adventure 3: Mysterious Dungeons is a remake of the Super Famicom game of the same name, with a couple new features, like some dungeons yanked from a Playstation 2 version of the game and a dungeon with 99 floors for the truly demented/friendless. Anyway, here’s some new screenshots you can use to scare small children in the house.
Terrifying, right? The main character, a rather overweight merchant from the Dragon Warrior series, appears to have some help in the dungeons, including his wife, son, and for some reason, a whole horde of monsters apparently in love with him. The game is set for release June 24th, and only time will tell how many more sequels Square Enix decides to spawn for this decidedly odd series.
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And speaking of really weird Square-Enix games, has anyone else wandered what the heck is up with Egg Monster Heroes? Not that I’m one to denounce an experimental new game for the Nintendo DS, but, well...just take a look at those screenshots.
RoboCop Moogles? Kung-fu broccoli masters? Eggs in capes? While Egg Monster Heroes still doesn’t have a Japanese release date, the English in the screenshots makes it pretty clear it’ll be coming over to the states sometime after the Nintendo DS is released. Maybe a tactical game where you use your stylus pen to select what part of the enemy you hurt is right up your alley, but as for me, I’m going to need to see a lot more information on this game before I stop thinking Square Enix has lost more then a few marbles.
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And finally, another drool-worthy game for the “you’ll probably never have a chance to play this in a million years category”. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person who mourned the drawn out death of True Fantasy Live on X-Box, which had sharp, anime-style graphics and promises of being more then another hack-and-slash waste of time. Lucky for us, and by us I mean those of us who can read Japanese fluently and sneak into a closed beta, Fly for Fun boasts similar graphics, if not similarly large character class choices.
I also strongly suggest you check out the movie on the official website, which depicts characters flying around on broomsticks past massive airships, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and even hunting down other players. All in all, Fly For Fun looks like it’s shaping up to be an awesome game, even if there are only four player classes. Here’s hoping some news of an English version slips out sometime soon.
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Thanks a ton for all the great letters welcoming back to the site everyone. Of course, I wouldn’t mind if you could also welcome me back and also ask a Japan-related question to so I could slide it in to the Q&A column, or make an inquiry about a Japanese game so I could add some cool news to site. And you can’t go wrong with sending in a contest entry. Or how about sending me a picture of yourself in a nice pair of cat ears and a skimpy bikin-
Er...maybe we should just keep this relationship strictly business, so that hopefully the boss will put down his crowbar. Till next week, sexy readers!
Andrew Duff
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