As I mentioned here, the Tribune is responsible for almost three out of every five blogs that I post – time to continue to skew the equation further, as there’s truckloads to cover this week!

---------



G. Rev, the developer of Border Down and Under Defeat, among others, has announced that it’s got a new shooter (the title is something like “Seisou Kouki Starnia”) in the works, and that it’s getting loke-tested this weekend. It looks like a vertical scroller, in which you control a mech that can hold 3 weapons at once – some have even guessed that it could be something of an updated Cybattler. More hard info to come soon! In addition, a “version 2.0” of Senko no Ronde DUO is in the works, mainly focused on rebalancing the characters.

Another new trailer for Darius Burst is out, complete with a cheesy “WARNING!” message to kick it off. At least they’ve made the effort not to lose the goofy spirit of the originals. (DToid coverage here.)

So you thought that the Dreamcast held the record for the longest period of “post-mortem” shmup releases? Well, apparently it’s got nothing on the Atari Lynx, as a new Air Zonk-esque shooter called Zaku is on the way for the portable of ages past. Check this page for a video of the game in action and some screens – I hafta say, I dig the giant toaster boss.

Here’s another one that I’m (extremely) late in getting a whiff of, but now that I’ve finally stumbled upon it I’ll share with the readers – Self-Destruct is a freeware shooter that won’t last more than a few minutes. That’s kind of the idea, as the goal, aside from shooting and collecting things for score, is largely just to survive as many enemy waves as you can. The link above has downloads for both the offline and online versions (the latter of which links to a global high score table) as well as a video.

I guess nobody’s completely safe…apparently the “casual” buzzword has even made its way into the shmup field. While I certainly don’t mind shooter developers attempting to attract more inexperienced audience members (the “beginner” mode in the upcoming Mushihime-sama Futari being one example), and the customization aspects sound interesting (though granted, Dezaemon did it first), the video shown at the link honestly looked rather ho-hum, even to an unkilled shmupper like myself. After all, one of the genre’s central points of appeal is the sensation that you’re constantly laughing in the face of death…take that away, and IMO a lot is lost. Guess we’ll have to keep an eye on this one to see what comes to pass in the end…

I really should change this section’s title to “shooters” considering how many non-shmups I dump in here on a regular basis…anyway, Metal Slug XX has been announced for the PSP. Little hard info is currently available, but it has been confirmed as a retail game, and early impressions suggest that it’s a remix of Metal Slug 7 on the DS. Also, rumor has it that this will be the latest game to offer boxer shorts as a pre-order bonus item. (DToid coverage here.)

Same goes for this item – some new details on Sin and Punishment 2 have been spotted, including bits on the story, characters, overall “arcadey-ness”, and challenge level.




In an interview with Famitsu, the producer of Super Street Fighter IV hinted at a bunch of things, though only explicitly revealed a few details about the game. Off the cuff, Juri won’t be the only all-new character added to the roster (though most probably expected that much), a handful of new features will hopefully be added to the online experience, and costumes and the like that were purchased for the original SFIV will carry over, so there should be no need to re-buy anything. More to come, I’m sure.

On a semi-related note, Paul Soth is headed to the “Seasons Beatings” tournament, where not only will Daigo and Justin continue their never-ending digital battle with one another, but Capcom’s Seth Killian will also drop by, and apparently he’s got a “cool surprise” of some sort in tow. Looking forward to finding out what it might be…thanks for the tip!

A new match video for doujin project Card Sagas Wars has been released, this time pitting Mega Man X versus Kos-Mos, on the latter’s home turf – the one suggestion I’ve conveyed to the creators is the option to remove the foreground cars from that level, I found them a bit distracting, myself.

Yup, it’s confirmed that the US version of Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny will be gory, and sport the requisite “M” rating (was anyone seriously expecting anything else?). Now that this is out of the way, I can go back to worrying about whether the game will actually be any good in the first place.

Looks like a couple of Capcom fighting titles will be (re-)available for download on the PSP this month – Darkstalkers should be out by the time you read this, Street Fighter Alpha 3 is set for this coming week, and heck, Capcom Puzzle World (which includes Puzzle Fighter, of course) follows a bit after that (and hopefully won’t crash this time).

While it’s just a rumor at this point, an image or two suggests that one of the 250GB PS3 bundles to be sold in Europe might include Tekken 6 – as the article mentions, though, no arcade stick would be included along with the rest. Decisions, decisions…either way, though, while online co-op for the game’s “brawler mode” will not be available out of the box, a free patch to enable it will be up for download soon after the launch.

The latest installment of Wry Guy’s “King of Fighters Love Letter” series has arrived, focused on KoF ‘96 – give this excellent bunch of articles a read and a fap!

A combination of laziness and my own prejudices (fused with a touch of jealousy) have prevented me from covering previous installments of nilcam’s “King of DToiders” KoF XII competition, but the guilt caught up with me in time to direct your attention to the final results and post-mortem recap – be sure to check out a match vid or two somewhere along the way. Congrats to the winners, and kudos to nilcam for bringing a competition like this to the site.

Our very own de Bloo, meanwhile, is making a fightstick with a Mr. Destructoid theme – I must concur that I’m glad he dropped the SFIV logo, it just didn’t fit with the rest. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.




When I read this bit on the front page I did a bit of a double take – I’d thought that Half-Minute Hero wasn’t supposed to release until a week later, but a visit to Gamestop’s site appears to confirm that the title’s date has been moved forward (Laevatein tactics is out the same day, and technically so is A Witch’s Tale, though according to NIS that one’s on shelves already). In any case, I’ll definitely be checking my local outlet this coming midweek…

Additional information about several different aspects of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey has emerged – most notably, your character can perform joint attacks with demons of comparable alignment, critters can be “traded” (not really, it’s more like “duplicated”) via a password system, and yes, one ill-placed instant-death spell can still send you back to your last save point. Of course, what we’re really (still) waiting for is the localization announcement, but I suppose we’ll take what we can get.

While we in the West still have a few weeks before Atelier Annie makes its way to our waiting DSes (not to mention some months when it comes to Rorona), over in Japan they’ll be getting the next installment in the series, Atelier Lina, in December. Check the link for a few details about it, and hope that the aforementioned pair of games do well enough to rate localization for this one.

Need more giant robots? And anime boobs? And ridiculously long titles? Well, you’re in luck, as Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier Exceed has been announced, and will be out this winter for Japanese DS owners – some additional images at this location. (C-blog coverage here.) A video of a few battle scenes has also emerged – from here, it looks pretty much the same as the first game. (DToid coverage here.)

A lengthy interview with some of the Sands of Destruction crew can be found at this link – in it, topics ranging from the game’s overall theme and look to its place on the DS and the localization effort, not to mention an unexpectedly popular teddy bear-ish character.

Another neat interview, this time with the crew from Persona 4, can be read here – basically, they reflect on what they feel turned out best and worst when all was said and done. What I found most interesting is that the team apparently wants to do an action game next if possible, largely because the QA process for an RPG takes so much out of them. Credit goes to Joystiq for the original link. (DToid coverage here.) In related news, in case you’re wondering how many copies Atlus sold of a handful of its titles in Japan versus the USA, you can find out at this link. (DToid coverage here. Also, please tell unang not to kill me, I even got the pre-order bonus! Honest!)

The Persona 3 Portable blog has updated with some new features (and really silly costumnes), and the front page has it summarized for you. Also, you thought that the music from Persona 3 couldn’t get any cheesier? Well, try performing it live and adding in random dancing people and assorted Japanese silliness – that oughta set the bar a bit higher (or lower). But seriously, as a former choir devotee, these guys are pretty much living my dream. *sniff* Finally, just in case you were wondering if Atlus would ever make the leap to next-gen systems, here’s some evidence that they’re trying in earnest (DToid coverage here).

By the way, it looks like XSeed has something in the oven for the PS3 as well.

Magna Carta 2 is at our doorstep by this point, but if you still need to prepare yourself a bit more then check this link for a quick video primer on how some aspects of the battle system work. Some cool stuff going on, but I’m always a bit wary of AI allies, even if you can switch between them…

Herr Sterling is certainly stuck on 3D Dot Game Heroes these days – I can’t complain, though, as it means DT has more news on the bugger than just about anyplace else for the moment. The latest tidbits from the front page include info on the game’s classes, locations, and magic system as well as (of course) a handful more screenshots. A few more details (and additional threats) soon appeared here and here, not to mention a search for a publisher here.

The onslaught of Valkyria Chronicles 2 media won’t stop! It just won’t stop!! Well, I guess we can’t complain too much, since we’ll at least be getting a localized version eventually (as opposed to looking eastward with envy) – in the meantime, check the front page for a new trailer and a bunch of images (some old, some new), as well as a new interview with the director and producer.

A new handful of English screenshots for Infinite Space give us a preview of the font being used for the game’s text – ack! I can see why they went with it, but I think that this would probably hurt my eyes after awhile…hopefully they have an option to switch to plain ol’ Times New Roman or something.

A bit more info on the recently-announced Fate/Extra is now available, concerning the nature of the plot (an alternate scenario), some of the folks working on it, and the fact that, like Unlimited Codes before it, a Limited Edition with a figure will be available. After Codes tested the waters in downloadable form, does this one have a chance of a larger-scale release in the West?

You’ve probably heard more about Moe Moe Niji Taisen from this newsletter than you ever cared to know – well, time for another update on the anime-girls-as-WW2-fighting-machines front! As it turns out, the PSP port of the original did well enough to drive the developers to make the sequel multi-platform – the PS2 and DS will be joining the PSP as recipients next time around. Moreover, each version has an exclusive scenario or two – and all of ‘em have limited editions, too. Time to fork out!...er, y’know, if you like this kinda stuff.

While the actual order page doesn’t currently mention it, the latest newsletter from NIS says that, along with the already-revealed downloadable wallpapers and music, RosenQueen pre-orders for A Witch’s Tale will also be receiving a physical soundtrack CD. Of course, it’s too late to matter much now, but whatever. Also, while those of you who bought Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days might have already seen it, for the rest of us, the trailer for Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! 2 is now online.

It was already clear that Ni no Kuni was going to be a pretty big undertaking, but apparently the bugger’s cart size is going to follow suit – not sure how they’re going to do it, but they’re looking to cram four gigs into that little sliver of plastic! As the article states, that’s over twice as big as UMDs can get – somehow after all these years, the cartridge format continues to surprise us.




The new DSiWare Shantae game, Risky’s Revenge (still hoping in vain for a cartridge release!), was announced a little ways back, but this past week fellow c-blogger Monodi was kind enough to offer us some full-size scans from the Nintendo Power feature article. Thanks for the closer look, sir!

Elsewhere in WayForward’s upcoming lineup, there’s a new gameplay video out for A Boy and His Blob, along with the mention of a feature I somehow missed – am I the last one to discover that this game actually has a “hug” button, which snuggles you up to your blob at will? …argh, I tried so hard to put something snarky and cynical in here to finish this item, but I just couldn’t do it. Also, PAL gamers will finally be getting WiiWare puzzler LIT at the end of the month.

A quick heads-up to Tribune readers in Europe – Muramasa: The Demon Blade has officially been dated for a November 13th release over there, so mark your calendars!

While there’s still no indication that we’ll ever see Hatsune Miku’s PSP game over here, in Japan they’re getting a Project Diva arcade game – moreover, Sega’s asking for original song submissions from both professionals and amateurs, with the possibility of getting one’s own stuff into the game. Little additional info is available for the moment, but a loke test is scheduled for January, so hopefully more will be revealed by then. (DToid coverage here.)

Speaking of which, if you want to see cars custom-painted with pictures of Hatsune Miku as well as characters from a whole bunch of doujin games and such, head over here.

For some reason I hadn’t been keeping up very closely with Critter Crunch, despite some interesting tidbits I’d glimpsed – I did, however, manage to read DToid’s review, and learned that not only is the game a cross between Magical Drop and Money Puzzle Exchanger, among others (which is a good thing), but that it involves puking rainbows. Yeah, so make sure you read it too. There’s also another trailer here if you haven’t seen it yet.

SNK’s jumping on the “lower the price on our downloadable games” bandwagon in the wake of the PSPGo’s launch – want some portable Metal Slug, SamSho or KoF for 20 bucks each? Come ‘n get it – also, unlike the NIS price drops mentioned last issue, unless I’m missing something from the official press release I don’t see an expiration date on these, so hopefully you won’t need to rush your purchasing decision in this case.

Now here’s a face nobody’s seen in awhile – does the name “Sparkster” ring any bells? That’s right – the 90’s platforming mascot is on his way back, as an all-new downloadable game in the Rocket Knight Adventures series is in the works. Check out some additional info on the star’s redesign over here, and an early trailer at this location (DToid coverage here). Stay tuned for more, opossum fans!

First it was suggested that Zen Pinball might be getting a Ninja Gaiden-themed table. Then it was confirmed. Then Mr. Devore beat me to the joke about changing the pinballs into rolling boobs…but didn’t mention interactive Sixaxis bouncing! Score one tasteless joke for the Tribune!

Mr. Holmes has the final feature on unused Braid art up, and you know what that means – there are no future installments for me to totally miss and put up a week late! Yaaaay!

Maybe I’m just late to the party on this one, but a shmup forum compadre recently mentioned Arkedo Series 1 - Jump on XBLA Indie Games – it’s nothing too far off the beaten path, but still looks fun. Anyone happened to try this game yet? (DToid coverage here.)

Nobody’s really sure why they’ve done it yet, but somehow just the fact that 40 of the top Japanese video game music composers have officially banded together is cool in and of itself.

Diverse pops in to inform us that indie developer Edmund McMillen recently underwent hospital treatment that he can’t afford, thanks to lack of health insurance – if you enjoy his products, head over to his site and buy a CD or two, or just donate directly to his PayPal account. And also tell the rat-bastard conservatives in Washington (and their pants-wetting “liberal” enablers) that the rest of us are tired of having our lives ruined by medical emergencies thanks to their unwillingness to acknowledge or legitimize the basic needs of anyone poorer than themselves. (Duplicate c-blog here, front page coverage here.)

On a less serious note, a Tribune reader mentioned that the Super Meat Boy comic I linked to in a recent issue was actually incomplete – in case you’re still itching to see the real thing, I finally managed to sniff out the whole enchilada.

On an even LESS serious note, I couldn’t in good faith do what I do here without directing your attention to Insane Enigma’s mention of Miami Shark – if you want a video you can check one out here.

Siliconera has a worthwhile writeup on localizations and cross-promotions, not just for video games but pretty much anything Japanese, and what our corner of the industry might be able to learn from others in related fields. Fans of the quirky (and if you’re not, why are you even reading this?) ought to give it a look-see.

In marginally Atlus-related news items, it’s official, folks – this year’s Atlus-O-Weenie is on! Jack Frost and company are accepting entries through November 3rd – check the link for specific rules and (more importantly) the prizes, which include several signed artbooks and other neat stuff. Of course, I must reiterate that I hope you share your creations with us on DT as well! (DToid coverage here.)

Another item from the shmup forum – one of the guys there actually got on the local news, and with good reason – he’s recently opened up an arcade full of classic games down in Texas! Congrats to him – if any of you happen to be in that area, stop in and say hello!

Finally, while I personally don’t drink much, this cracked me up too much not to share.

---------

I think that’s about all I (and probably you) can take for this issue – until next time, thanks for reading and keep gaming obscurely.