Weekly Famitsu Report #4

Gyakuten Saiban 4 (NDS)

The main scoop being covered this week in Famitsu is the unveiling of the fourth installment in the critically acclaimed Gyakuten Saiban series. Released in America as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the DS port of the first game in the series found such a warm welcome overseas that Capcom USA had to reprint the game several times to meet the demand. It was first hinted in the E3 trailer for the DS port of Phoenix Wright 2 that the next new game would feature a brand new attorney lead, but with this Famitsu scoop it’s finally confirmed.[more]

With a new entry in the series on a new system, Capcom has decided to move the timeline a whole seven years after Gyakuten Saiban 3. Housuke Odoroki is the new lawyer in court that will be leading the cast in this game. His trademark fashion sense seems to revolve around the color red, likely to contrast the blue that fans would relate with the previous lead. At his side is the new heroine, who is still currently nameless. She is said to be a mysterious magician and wears a silk hat with her costume at all times. While the main cast seems to be brand new, popular characters such as the judge and the lead prosecutor will still be present, albeit much older.

While the game seems to be starting a fresh new scenario arc with new characters, it is specifically mentioned that the courtroom scene has no changed much even in seven years. While this probably refers to how justice and the legal system still operate in a similar manner, it probably also means that the gameplay and interface that players have familiarized themselves with over the years will not be going through any drastic changes. The game still looks very much like the previous efforts, but will probably include the new touchscreen gameplay functions introduced in the additional fifth case in the DS port of the original Gyakuten Saiban.

The game is currently a mere 25 percent complete, but Capcom is hopeful that it will ship in Japan by the end of the year. It is also confirmed that the game’s voices will once again feature voice talent from Capcom’s own development staff, instead of using popular voice actors and actresses. Based on the Phoenix Wright 2 trailer seen at E3, this game will most definitely be hitting the western market. What is also definite is that when it does get released Capcom will have to come up with another name, since after all, Phoenix Wright is no longer the Ace Attorney!

Elebits (Wii)

Also featured in this issue is another preview on the Wii game Elebits from Konami. Currently 30 percent complete, the game looks pretty much as it did at E3. The game revolves around the gameplay concept of capturing little electric particles known as Elebits that are littered around an apartment in order to restore the power supply. Each Elebit captured will restore a certain amount of watts, and Elebits are captured by shooting a beam from the remote at them.

Besides capturing Elebits, items around the apartment can also be moved and manipulated with the remote control. By gripping an item with the beam, you can then either shift it, rotate it or even move it towards or away from the screen. By manipulating the various items around the apartment, hidden Elebits can also be found. There isn’t much to go on at the moment, but the game does look innovative and original, like most games on the Wii. Hopefully there will be more information soon, shedding more light on deeper aspects of the gameplay.

.hack//GU Vol.2 (PS2)

This week also marks the first preview for the second installment of .hack//GU. Continuing the new trilogy, the sequel promises to add several new features to the game while recycling the same engine, much like the original series did. In the second volume, the main character Hasewo will once against be able to receive a Job Extend after a certain event in the game. In doing so he will attain his third form and master yet another weapon type - the scythe. With complete mastery over three different weapon types, this will be the Hasewo first seen in the opening of the first volume, “Death’s Horror Hasewo.”

Also introduced in Famitsu is a new party member for the second volume. Youkou is the female Twinblade who was the original champion of the arena battles. She was an enemy of Hasewo in the first volume but it seems this time she’s a recruitable member of the party. Improvements to the game systems are also being made, including the ability to combine different equipment and accessories to create new ones. Previously it was only possible to create new weapons using the system, but with the feature extended to equipment and accessories it should give .hack players even more options to play with.

Finally, the article also states that the card game service known as “Crimson VS” that was under construction in the original game has now been completed in The World R:2, and is hence a fully playable feature in the second installment.There are currently no details yet as to how the card game will be played or what the rules are, but well implemented card-based minigames are always welcome in any game. .hack//GU Vol.2 is currently 60 percent complete and is due for release on the 28th of September this year in Japan.

Sega Ages Vol.28 Tetris Collection (PS2)

The mysterious next installment in the Sega Ages series has finally been revealed. For quite some time now on the official Sega Ages website there has been an enigmatic message implying that the previously announced Galaxy Force II would not be the next Sega Ages game after Last Bronx. Finally Famitsu reveals that the next installment in the Sega Ages line up is in fact a Tetris collection. The collection will include all the Tetris arcade games Sega released - Tetris, Flashpoint, and Bloxeed. They will be direct ports of the arcade versions.

Also included in the package will be the previously unreleased Mega Drive (Genesis) port of the original arcade Tetris, as well as a new arranged version of Tetris known as Tetris: New Century. Like many of the previous Sega Ages titles, there will also be superplay videos on the disc. The collection retails on the 28th of September at the standard Sega Ages price of 2500yen.

Growlanser V (PS2)

Famitsu also has another look at the upcoming strategic RPG Growlanser V. The Growlanser series is created by Career Soft, staffed by developers best known for their work on the Langrisser series before leaving Masaya. The series has had a rather unstable development history over the years, with various features being added and removed from game to game. Almost as if they were trying to figure out exactly what made the first game work so well. Unfortunately, from the looks of things they still haven’t found that out.

Featured in this preview are two new female character designs from famed illustrator Satoshi Urushihara. Known for his design work on the Langrisser and Growlanser series, outside of games he is also a famous illustrator of adult comic and animation works. His trademark is designing beautiful female characters, often showing off impressive cleavage, if wearing anything at all. As console games are regulated by approval panels and hence cannot contain nudity, we actually get to see more of his clothing design as well. Both Vanet and Romina are pretty typical Urushihara designs, with tons of shine on both their skin as well as clothing, and pretty ample cleavage. It should be noted that both are 23 years old, so this Japanese RPG will at least not have people complaining about underaged girls being sexualized!

In terms of gameplay the game will introduce an arena challenge mode. Like in pretty much any other RPG this will allow the player to engage stronger foes either alone or with a party of four other characters, to prove their strength and win rewards. One unfortunate aspect of Growlanser V is that the game is now in full 3D, unlike its predecessors. This means that instead of cute little deformed sprites against a hand drawn background, we get really generic and simplistic 3D backgrounds with really ugly 3D approximations of the characters. As the first 3D game in the series, it is expected that they have much to learn, but the actual result as of now is simply unacceptable. Hopefully they’ll he somewhat improved by release, but with the release date of 3rd August being only a little over a month away, I doubt there’s much hope.

Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria (PS2)

Even though the game is barely a week away from release, Famitsu isn’t slowing down on their coverage of Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria. This week we actually get a pretty good look at the various gameplay systems behind the game, summarized and explained to hype gamers up even more for next week’s release.

Firstly what is interesting is the introduction to the starting scenario of the game. It appears that as Alicia does not start out as a Valkyrie in the game, her first party member companion is actually alive! She meets the archer Rufus in a bar at the port city, marking the first Valkyrie Profile party member to not be dead. While it’s entirely possible and in fact likely that he will end up dead at some point of the game before rejoining the party as an Einherjar, the thought of having both living and dead party members throughout the game is quite an attractive thought.

Outside of battles there are some additions to the gameplay that should make fans that complained about a certain aspect of Valkyrie Profile very happy. There are finally inns and equipment stores in towns that allow Alicia to rest and restore health, as well as buy equipment. One of the major complains about Valkyrie Profile’s towns was that they didn’t really have any use. Aside from a few side quests and basic NPC chatter, there wasn’t much you could ever do in the towns. Now in VP2, it seems they’re out to fix that, making the towns more interactive like in other RPGs while maintaining the same unique sidescrolling look and feel of VP. In the stores you can buy normal weapons and equipment, as well as rare items. Rare items are simply equipment that have a high price and no names, only after buying them will the player know what they are. The concept is similar to the “item gamble” featured in several other games including Diablo 2, where the player pays a high price for a item knowing only what type of item. The risk is that while sometimes the items are indeed well worth the cost, they are often simply overpriced equipment with their names hidden.

While VP2 maintains the look and feel of the original in many ways, there are also huge additions and changes to the core systems. The battles encounters now take place in a 3D area with several enemy groups instead of a single group encounter like the original. In this 3D space the player’s party moves along a grid to decide which enemy groups to engage and from which direction. Each player turn is limited by Action Points and depletes as you move or attack. In battles there are two sub systems - the movement mode and the battle mode. In movement mode aside from moving along the grid the player can also choose to use items and magic from a menu, which depletes 15 AP. When casting spells or using offensive items in this way, there is a range and area radius effect, much like strategy RPGs. While in movement mode players can also choose to dash with the R1 button instead of walking. This allows the party to move over a short, medium or long distance instantly in one direction at the cost of 15 AP.

When the player has moved or dashed into a position where the party can engage an enemy group from a direction, the game instantly changes to battle mode where the camera swings sideways to present the same look that the original game did. In battle mode the game is played much like VP’s battle system, with each face button on the controller representing a single party member’s attack with the player mashing the buttons in different combinations to pull off combos. What is unique this time round is that while attacking, the player can also select single body parts of each enemy and dealing enough damage would actually destroy that body part.

While each battle encounter now contains several groups of enemies, that does not mean Tri-ace intends to make the long and dragged out. In fact to oppose that line of thinking they have introduced the Direct Assault system. Each enemy encounter contains a single enemy leader that when defeated will end the entire encounter. During battles, there is an Extend Gauge on the right of the screen. The Extend Gauge depletes with time, and serves as motivation for the player to end the entire encounter quick by taking out the leader enemy. If the leader is defeated before the Extend Gauge is empty, the player will gain a “Leader Item” as a reward. This serves to reward players who play more strategically instead of simply killing everything they see.

With the promise of excellent graphics, an engaging scenario that will tie up all the loose ends that the VP scenario left out, and deep complex gameplay systems that expand on the original, it is hard not to get excited with the game. Although it is only a week away, the wait can still be pretty unbearable. Hopefully all of Tri-ace’s efforts pay off and the game delivers as both a faithful successor to a fan favorite as well as an excellent addition to the ever growing PS2 RPG library.

Reviews

This week it’s Famitsu’s turn to review Valkyrie Profile 2. Let’s have a look at what they thought of that, as well as the latest installment in SNK’s most popular fighting series, The King of Fighters XI.

Weekly Famitsu awarded Valkyrie Profile 2 a score of 9/8/8/9, giving it a 34 out of 40 and a gold award. The reviewers were overall extremely impressed with the game, praising it for being a deep and complex work. The game is said to have an action packed battle system and handles the side scrolling aspects well. The 3D graphics are excellent and it is overall a very high quality product. The complains that the reviewers experienced can be summed up as the game having too many systems but too little explanations for them. The game no doubt has a high learning curve, a sentiment echoed in Dengeki’s review last week, but it seems Famitsu’s reviewers like their games with more tutorials and less self-discovery. Whatever the case may be, there’s no argument from any of the reviewers that while the game is complicated, it is also strategic and highly rewarding once you have figured it out. Sounds like a total winner.

While the VP2 review was pretty detailed in both pros and cons, the same cannot be said of their KoF XI review. The game scored 7/7/7/7, giving it 28 over 40. Normally this will be a pretty horrible score and one would expect many negative comments from the reviewers. Unfortunately there are none to be found. The reviewers all praise the game for being improved for the home release with rebalanced difficulty settings, new characters and various arranged modes. The game is said to be littered with options and sure to please all fans of the series. The combat is fast and exciting, and the game plays and moves well for a 2D fighter. With comments like this, I really have to wonder if the actual score in Famitsu’s Cross Reviews are decided by the reviewers, or by how much advertising the game has in each issue of Famitsu.