Ah…the sweet sixteen. It';s a pretty meaningless number, really, but still - only two more issues ‘til the Tribune can vote (of course, it’ll pick some no-name third-party candidate who’ll never win every time)! Still a ways before it can drink, though...anyways, on to this week’s oddball gaming news items:

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One of our intrepid shmup forum members stopped by the location test for G. Rev’s new shooter, Seisou Kouki Starnia (or whatever it’s called, we’re still trying to tweak the translation), and shot a short video for us, while another former dug up a longer one. It looks like players can use two weapons (out of a total of eight or so) at once, holding one in each hand – further details on the scoring system and such are still forthcoming, but you know I’ll stick them up here whenever they’re revealed!

Just what I needed to hear… *groan* According to Cave, the 360 Ketsui port, which has been in “TBA” mode for months thanks to the ugliness with 5pb, might still be a long way off – in fact, Cave’s GM thinks that at this point it might be better to just scrap the current version and start all over. Considering how Dai-Ou Jou Black Label X turned out it might not be a bad idea to cut off 5pb and begin anew…though the fact that I’ve had money put down on this game for a year now certainly doesn’t make me any happier.

Uncle Topher reveals that two new playable characters have been announced for King of Fighters Sky Stage, namely Iori (wonder if he can smack enemies with his hair as a melee attack?) and Kula (I’m guessing something involving shooting lollipops). Supposedly the two of them are “harder to use” than Kyo or Athena, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The front page also has a tantalizing comparison picture of a certain Sin and Punishment 2 enemy, from a few months ago versus now, so as to show the work that’s gone into improving the game’s look of late. Hopefully a few more similar shots will make their way to us, or at least me; I’m a sucker for this sort of thing. Some additional stand-alone screenshots can be found here, credit to Mognet Central for the link, while a six-minute trio of trailers can be viewed at Siliconera. (DToid coverage here.

While you’re at it, also check out a trailer for Capsized, a jetpack shooter coming to Steam and XBLA next year – it looks a little rough around the edges at this point, but there’s still a little ways before it’s out, so hopefully it’ll be enough time to shape things up. Mr. LeRay also has a front page write-up on super-retro-styled freeware run-n-gun Star Guard.

If you’re in the mood for something a little more commercial, the ESRB has rated Metal Slug XX, so it looks like we’ll be getting a localization at some point – as the article notes, however, it remains to be seen whether our release, unlike Japan’s, will be download-only or not.

Siliconera has seen fit to remind its readers that Space Invaders Extreme 2 is releasing next week, and I figured I ought to do the same – the first game was one of my favorite releases of last year, and this one can be yours for a measly twenty bucks as well, so make sure to treat yourself to this nifty little shooter!

Finally, the shmup.com forum’s annual shooting game tournament, which I mentioned in passing a little while ago, has concluded, and as you can see the illustrious Team Loser came in 15th place out of 25 teams, and I personally rated 71st out of about 160 participants (about 145 of which actually played at some point). The quest continues – we WILL earn that last-place trophy one day!




Looks like someone else has beaten me to the Gamestop sleuthing this time around – as of now, the company’s site lists Super Street Fighter IV as set for a March 23rd release, bearing a 40-dollar price point. Still awaiting official confirmation on that one, but my intuition tells me that this info is correct, or at least pretty close to it – hopefully I’m not in for my latest embarrassment once Capcom speaks up!

The previous Tribune referred to Paul Soth’s blog, which mentioned that Seth Killian was bringing a “surprise” to the upcoming “Season’s Beatings” tourney – now, thanks again to Paul, we’ve got an idea of what we’re in for, namely the debut of two more of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom’s new playable characters (front page coverage here). Of course, we ended up getting them early – Zero and Joe confirmed, one to go! Credit to Mognet Central for the original link. (C-blog coverage here and here, front page item here). You can also compare the Japanese and U.S. opening songs at EdgyDude’s blog, and check out some additional images courtesy of the front page.

In other tournament-related news, I’ll be staying a million miles away from this so as not to utterly shame my fellow DToiders, but de BLOO has been looking for people around the site to face off against the elite fighters from several other sites (Eventhubs, SRK, and Capcom-Unity to be specific) in SFIV and HD Remix, mostly to be played on the 360. By the time this issue is out most or all of the spots will likely be filled, but either way make sure to show your support! On a sorta-related note, while this is sort of a failblog, it does have a nice batch of Third Strike clips to see.

Actually, it looks like Wry Guy is holding a King of Fighters ‘98 tournament of his own – I love the game, but I suck so much…argh, what to do, what to do?

Tekken 6 has gone gold, and the front page has a few details to go along with it; you can also check out two videos showing off some of the characters’ extra costumes in-game and some additional images here and here (thanks to Mognet Central for the latter pair of links). Also, this past week’s “Destructainment” post includes a link to a nifty fan-made Tekken “movie” trailer that I hadn’t seen before, so I thought I’d best put the link up in case anyone else missed it. Namco ought to ditch the pretentious “what do you fight for” ads (which continues to descend ever further into silliness, DToid item here) and hire these guys instead.

It’s a bit hard to imagine in retrospect, but apparently Capcom’s original concept for Abel was a small, girlish-looking character…hmm, I wonder if Hinako from KoF would appreciate the company? (DToid coverage here. These next items are only marginally Street Fighter-related, but anyways, 1) Some South Korean TV show has a gal in a Chun-Li outfit [url=http://kotaku.com/5380243/south-korean-chun+li-exercising-stalked-by-creepy-dude ]working out[/url], and 2) this strip cracked me up, so I had to include it too.




Way back when I mentioned that the ending to Ar Tonelico II on the PS2 left a lot of room for a sequel – well, fellow Gust fans, it looks like it’s happening! Ar Tonelico III is headed for the Japanese PS3 in late January, and like Atelier Rorona it’s gone 3D (*sniff*…and it’s not cel-shaded either) – moreover, while you’re still dealing with Reyvateils and such, once again the game takes place on a completely different tower than its predecessors, which would appear to be the place referenced in the second game’s ending. Japanese pre-orders come with an artbook, same as the last two. More details to come – hopefully a localization announcement as well! (C-blog item here.)

Meanwhile, we’ve still got a week or two to wait for Atelier Annie – in the meantime, be sure to read this interview with NIS’s Marketing Coordinator, who offers some additional insight into how the thing works. The very last question made me frown though, as apparently there are no current plans to bring any other Atelier titles here other than Rorona – hopefully if this thing sells well it might make them reconsider…I can dream, can’t I?

Unfortunately, it looks like Gamestop was at least partially right when it came to their Sakura Wars: So Long My Love listing – the game has indeed been delayed to early next year. While you’re at that page, though, be sure to check out the English trailer – aside from pretty much ensuring that I’m going to be using the Japanese dialogue version (that voice brings back bad memories of Ulrika from Mana Khemia 2), it mentions that the game will be coming with some sort of unspecified “special item” that I can’t recall having heard about before. Either way, we’ve officially got some time to kill before we get our hands on it.

Mr. North has another trailer for Persona 3 Portable up on the front page, featuring a good amount of in-game footage and two announcers talking in really breathy voices. Also, it looks like the female protagonist is getting another exclusive segment – how does a visit to Inaba strike you? The link also includes a video of the male main character hanging at the mall (which loses most any potential appeal thanks to the previous item, unfortunately). (DToid coverage here.)

A few brief videos of NIS’s latest PSP enhanced remake, La Pucelle Ragnarok, have surfaced – they’re all story/dialogue segments featured in the original PS2 version, so there’s nothing much new to see, but hopefully the good stuff is on its way.

The confusion over what Half-Minute Hero’s actual release date would be has been kind of a mess (thankfully, it’s already out, and I’ve got my copy!), but in any event check the front page for a new English trailer and a link to the official site in case you’re still on the fence, as well as a related interview with the producer over at Marvelous..

For more “news” on a game that’s available on shelves by the time you read this, a video demonstration of the magic system (“kan”) for Magna Carta II is up for viewing. Any of you had a go at this one yet? There’s apparently already DLC available if you feel the 60 bucks you spent just wasn’t enough! (DToid coverage here.)

3D Dot Game Heroes has gone gold in Japan! In celebration, check out some nifty statues of the game’s default hero as well as the guest character from Speluker in all their blocky glory. The front page also has a new ten-minute video which shows various snippets of the game’s earliest portion. Not too much that hasn’t been seen already in some capacity, but it’s still pretty fun to watch all the non-copyright-infringing silliness at hand. For something a little fresher, check out these tidbits on a pair of minigames found within; the front page notes these, as well as one or two additional features.

For the masochists out there (who are probably currently too busy playing Demon’s Souls to even read this), here are some screens of Shiren the Wanderer 4, due out soon in Japan – over here we’ll be getting the third, Wii-exclusive version, but the status of the DS sequel is still unknown as far as we’re concerned.

An interesting bit of info regarding Sakura Note (which, thanks to the front page, I will be calling “Sauerkraut” until the end of time) – apparently in their efforts to make the game play “from a child’s perspective”, the developers have mapped “opposite” actions (which vary depending on your situation) to two buttons (i.e. one button makes you attack and the other makes you evade in battle). It definitely sounds interesting if they can get it right, but experiments like these always have me on edge until I see them for myself…

Gamestop has opened preorders for Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, and listed a release date of January 12th – obviously we’ll have to wait to see if that date holds up, but I the meantime if you want to make sure you don’t miss a copy you can do so now. Also, the front page has been kind enough to offer us some screenshots.




Another twenty screens for Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble are now available for your perusal, as well as a few notes on Atlus’ efforts to keep the original’s spirit from being (literally) lost in translation. Personally, as much as I love the concept of this thing, I’ll probably be waiting for some reviews to get an idea of how everything surrounding the endearing kitsch turns out…what about you guys? (DToid coverage here.)

In other Atlus-related news, Lady Colette has a link to pics of some nifty Persona 4 garage kit models – I also believe I speak for the community when I say that, if she ever does give in to her expressed desire to run around the office shrieking in a hula skirt, we want that video on the front page.

The latest Boy and His Blob video (by now the game’s already out, of course) shows a boss fight – I found myself just watching the big guy’s animations pretty much the entire time. Keep on keepin’ on, WayForward (and give us another cartridge-based Shantae)!

Last issue I said that Critter Crunch looked pretty neat – unfortunately, not too many seem to agree with me, as sales have been disappointing so far. A demo is out this coming week, which will hopefully help…of course, the main reason I haven’t bought it myself is because I don’t have a PS3, and I can only wonder how many other are in the same boat. (DToid coverage here.

If Mr Holmes’ review is any indication, I’m not sure if I’d be a suitable customer for You, Me and the Cubes, but it still sounds interesting enough that any Tribune reader ought to at least check it out.

A handful of impressions of upcoming DSiWare title Reflection has also appeared – yes, it still sounds intriguing, and yes, the cover art still looks awful.

Yeah, you’ve seen a handful of these things already, and you can call me a sentimental fool or whatever you want, but either way, despite my usual cynicism about this sort of thing, I still have one whopper of a weakness for marriage proposals delivered in video game form.

Finally, while not necessarily obscure, I have too many fond memories of phony mustaches and corny one-liners breaking up my cartoons not to note the passing of “Captain” Lou Albano, aka the star of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show’s live segments (for the record, Luigi appears to be doing well - I wonder how he’d react to the fact that Mr. Miyamoto was apparently the last to find out). Happy trails, paisano. (C-blog items here and here.)

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That’s all for this week – hopefully before the next issue drops I’ll have another article I’ve been promising for some time up, though I always tend to fall behind schedule on these things. Either way, thanks as always for reading, and keep gaming obscurely.