THE CRAVE GAMING CHANNEL
V'lanna
 

Japandemonium R P G A M E R   -   J A P A N D E M O N I U M
The Meaty Marrow of Evil!
0 5 . 0 5 . 2 0 0 4


In the last four days, I have been spited by rain, below freezing temperatures, then rain, then freezing rain again, then snow...and every time the sun has been out, I've been indoors working.

Starting with this update, Japandemonium's weekly chart is being converted to the Dengeki Top 50. As before, the chart is based on sales. This should also help in not making the table have one or two entries!

Last Week This Week Title Publisher Platform Released
2 5 Dragon Quest V Square Enix 03.24.04
- 7 Crimson Tears Capcom 04.22.04
- 8 Generation of Chaos IV: Shinten Makai Idea Factory 04.22.04
6 10 Pokémon Fire Red Pokemon 01.29.04
7 12 Pokémon Fire Green Pokemon 01.29.04
11 22 Fullmetal Alchemist: Meisou no Rondo Bandai 03.26.04
27 35 Legend of Zelda: Four Swords + Nintendo 03.18.04
29 45 Boboboubo Boubobo: 9 Kiwame Senshi Gyagu Yuugou Hudson 03.25.04

Sega, the unholy master of all that is Shining Force, has opened the portal to its dark crypt filled with Shining Tears goodness...er, I mean evilness. Sega recently launched a new Shining Force website, featuring a logo for the game as well as other tidbits. The company has also reveiled a plethora of information about the game, as well as a number of screenshots and character artwork.

The PlayStation 2 game, being developed at the Amusement Vision development studio, is based on the continent of Entias. A number of races exist on the continent, and all of them get along well with eachother. Well, mostly they do, apparently. The hero of the story is 17 year old Xion, who is a magic fencer. Other characters featured include another 17 year old, named Ryuna, who is a priest; Volg, a 45 year old Wolfman; A 19 year old samurai named Keiner; Cheiron, a horseman in his late 30s; and Elwing, an elven hunter.

Combat-wise, players control two troops into battle; each troop contains a number of characters. Using the R1 and R2 buttons, Xion can command the other characters in the troop, which are controlled by the computer. Hopefully the deisgners at Amusement Vision come up with a good AI, as a large number of games haven't been very strong in the computer-controlled character features lately. If you can conjure up a second player to play with you, they can have control over the other troop while you control the first. The game will hit Japan sometime next year.

Thar be screenshots and character art, yo!
stear1.jpg stear2.jpg stear3.jpg
stear4.jpg stear5.jpg stear6.jpg
stear7.jpg stear8.jpg stear9.jpg
stear10.jpg stear11.jpg stear12.jpg
stear13.jpg stear14.jpg stear15.jpg

Namco announced recently that the first album of the soundtrack to Xenosaga Episode II will show up in stores July 7th. The album, called "Movie Scene Soundtrack" will consist of 2 CDs, encompassing the "movie scenes" in the game. Released through Victor Entertainment, under catalog number VICL-61431, the album will cost 3,255 yen, and will be available as usual through most import stores. Information on an album with in-game music is still not available, but chances are the second album will be available not long after the first.

Weekly Famitsu is also reporting on Xenosaga Episode II. Apparently the game will feature two swimsuit costumes; one for KOS-MOS, the other for Ziggy. The costumes are unlockable, by using a cleared Episode I save.

Finally, from April 29th until the end of May, Sony has a new exhibit open in Tokyo. The PlayStation & Science Exhibition features the latest technologies used in the PlayStation 2. As well, simplified details on the technology of the PSOne and PS2 chips, as well as computer graphics will be available to the public for those who want to learn about them without all the kludge of technology mumbo-jumbo. Sony expects over 50,000 attendants for the exhibit.


Righto, so suddenly I have been thrust out of the 28 hour weeks at work and been shoved into the 40+ hour slot. Thus, all my time I spent gaming is now spent listening to customers complain! Good trade off! That being said, I need the money. In August, I'll be heading down to the States to GenCon in Indianapolis, as well as going to a concert in Chicago. All of which cost money.

La Pucelle Tactics is out now, and just like when Disgaea came out, I have no money. Here's hoping I can find a copy in a few weeks!

~Always the slave, never the slaver...~

Missed an installment? Check out the Archives.

Discuss this story News Sources
RPGamer Message Board 1UP | The Magic Box | Shining Force Official Page | Weekly Famitsu



<- Back
© 1998-2017 RPGamer All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy