They've infected our REAL life, it's Agent Smith, RUNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!
3DS owners will be happy to know that even though Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2 are regular DS games and NOT 3DS games, they will still be getting some fun Pokemon Black and White-related 2 games to play around with that DO work with the 3DS as revealed at the Japanese Nintendo Direct Conference.
First up is an AR Game that will be released via the eShop on June 23rd in Japan for $300 (about $4). It’s called “Pokemon AR Searcher”. In this little AR Game (Alternate Reality, games that use the 3DS two cameras to make it appear that you are interacting with a game character in the real world) you simply use the 3DS camera to look around the room and spot Pokemon hidden in your environment. They will appear as shadows or silhouettes. You will then need to point your 3DS at them and capture them by shooting a beam of light at the Pokemon.
Now you can keep great tabs on ALL your Pokemon!
It’s not known if there is more to it than that, I would assume there is. But any Pokemon that you capture this way can then be transferred to Pokemon Black and White 2 for your DS. Nintendo says this will be a great way to catch some rare Pokemon in an easy manner. It’s not know if you will be able to tell what Pokemon you will capture by the shape of its silhouette, and it’s also not known exactly WHAT Pokemon, the bird Pokemon, appears in that Pokemon AR Searcher screenshot. Seems like it may be a new one.
In addition to Pokemon AR Searcher, Nintendo announced an upgraded version of “Pokedex 3D”! Except, this one won’t be free, you’ll have to pay for it. It comes out in Japan on July 14th and cost ¥1,500 or about $18 (Yikes…, the American version may be cheaper than that though. Let’s hope). The big deal here is that the Pokedex has been COMPLETELY updated to contain EVERY.SINGLE.POKEMON. That’s right, not just the Unova Pokemon but every Pokemon. Obviously, this will make Pokemon fans extremely happy.
Here is the initial gameplay trailer for Pokemon Black & White 2.
When porn and monkey balls meet. o_O O_O O_o *facepalm*
Oh Japan. You so silly. What would we do without you?
Seriously, WHAT… THE HELL… would we do without you? Probably live a less shameful life…. that’s for DAMN SURE…. and if you don’t know what I’m referring to (like that’s possible, cause you somehow missed the beautiful half-dressed Asian model and her boobs popping awkwardly off the videogame screenshot and into your face) then just…. just…. FEAST DEM EYES!
Cause a feast it is. A feast. For the eyes.
Super Monkey Ball Vita's Adult Mood. No it isn't April 1st.
Okay okay, I’ll try to get serious for one second. As serious as you can be when discussing monkeys in balls and saying it with absolutely no sexual innuendo intended… cause you know. Monkeys. In balls. Plastic ones. And they roll around. Collecting bananas. GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER.
… what do you mean you can’t? Oh you’re watching the video. Okay I understand. Just keep that fap fap fapping down in there. Your mom might hear.
Ahem. So in what has to be quite possibly the strangest move I’ve ever seen a developer make (gay homosexual penis-filled shoot ‘em ups not withstanding. We’re talking about Japan here, mind)… okay strangest move I’ve ever seen a GIANT, “AAA”, household name, largely family-friendly developer ever make…. The house that Sonic built… Where’s Sonic you ask? Sonic’s in the closet. Crying his cute little eyes out cause you just robbed his dignity.
Sega has announced that the newest Super Monkey Ball game, that’d be “Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz” (*facepalm*) for the PS Vita, will contain… An “ADULT MODE”. You heard me right. Why they didn’t just throw in the whole kitten and caboodle and go fully nude, hardcore XXX pornographic on us is lost on me, but someone working at Sega had the bright idea to come up with a “hardcore” “Adult Mode” in which a sexually-charged, strategically posed, half-naked, tiny-bikini-clad Asian of unspeakable beauty would be staring directly at the player in photographic form from every surface in which the Monkey rolls his balls. Erhm. I mean, rolls his ball. Over the hills and yonder. Yeah. THOSE HILLS. Aaaaaa. Get it? THOSE HILLS. Like, you know. Boobs. BOOBS.
Balls. Monkeys. Petite Asian Girls In Bikinis. Skin. Bananas. It all sounds so wrong!
Okay I have to say it… What in the HELL is Sega thinking? I have a REALLY hard time believing this whole thing is actually real, but no… these screenshots boaring their holes into your eyesockets ARE real. And yes, it DOES look like a little monkey permanantly sealed in a small plastic ball is getting ready to roll atop…. atop… physical, popping-up, hill-like BREASTS that are just planted in the middle of the screen as if they were normal everyday videogame obstacles. I mean okay okay, it’s an “Adult Mode”. I can’t say I’m “surprised”. But really? REALLY Sega? REALLY? I mean just look at it… You mean to tell me this isn’t made by some 13-year-old kid in his basement? Created while he was sitting on a stack of Playboys? With NO PANTS.
Anyway, reportedly this whole thing all came about due to the BEAUTY that is ravaging your eyes right now, and how she has been a spokeperson for the Super Monkey Ball series (or this lattest PS Vita version in particular) for a while now. Oh and apparently she’s well known in the land where beautiful people reside (i.e. Japanese girls). She’s a smokin’, cute-as-a-button, so-sexy-I-want-to-move-to-Japan-right-now-permanantly gal who pretends to play a PS Vita with Super Monkey Ball on it for a few seconds to draw attention to their new little game in commercials and print-ads. Nice gig she has eh?
God she's so precious. Can I have one? "Yes Timmy but keep it under the sheets."
Her name is Yukie Kawamura. Not that you cared about that. What do you mean you’re googling her right now? Dude. DUDE. NSFW. COVER THE SCREEN WITH YOUR HANDS! Ahem. Given that she’s a smokin’ hot Bikini model (and God knows what else), Sega obviously did a little 1+1=2 and thought they’d stick her in the game on this special “Adult Mode” map and tell everyone that you can only get this SPECIAL (oh so special) version of the game if you buy a copy of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz for PS Vita that was produced during the first initial print-run. Yes. That’s right little boys. Run! RUN TO THE STORE AND PRE-ORDER THE GAME! Who am I kiddin’? I’ll bet it’s already sold out…. Well played Sega. WELL PLAYED.
So yeah, I mean, you put two and two together… and…. you know. YOU GET….
THIS.
There are no words.
Thanks Japan.
Now watch her squeal like a girl!
By the way, did I mention that if you pre-order the game or get your hands on one of the initial print-runs, it comes with a promocard that has the code printed on it to download this uber-special softcore Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz PS Vita map? It’s not quite DLC. No that’s not the point. STOP. And look. THIS is what the code is printed on. And there are three versions. THREE VERSIONS. Now to quote someone’s youtube comment from the trailer you just watched…. “*sigh* Goddammit Japan!”
Super Monkey Ball. Adult Mode Style. Go ahead. Play yourself.
At least I didn’t say “here’s a video of Yuki playing herself” like other websites did. I got more class than that. Yes I did post each and every picture of Yuki. What do you mean you thought this was a Christian site? :D What do you mean I have God selected as a category? Well that’s because God’s watching son. GOD’S WATCHING.
It’s official! Animal Crossing 3DS is now Animal Crossing: Tobidase… at least in Japan.
That’s right, Nintendo has given Animal Crossing a name across the pond in the Land of the Rising Sun, a place in which Animal Crossing goes by the much-harder-for-an-American-to-say “Doubutsu no Mori”.
The game was a highlight of Nintendo of Japan’s “Nintendo Direct” conference, where a bunch of news has broken. The name of the game essentially means “Jumping Out” or something to that effect. Which, as you probably guessed, is Nintendo’s way of drawing attention to the stereoscopic, glasses-free 3D nature of the Nintendo 3DS. This is the only Animal Crossing game in which something can “pop out” of the screen at you.
Is.... is that a cowboy in my Animal Crossing? Actually looks very detailed. :D
Wireless capabilities were mentioned, but they didn’t go into detail (they being Nintendo President Satoru Iwata). But some new details did emerge… namely that TOM NOOK HAS BEEN REPLACED! Or at least, apparently… seems there’s a new sheriff in town, whom you can see in the pic above (I think). There’s also a new Shoe Shop (shoes? really?) called “Kicks”, and you can see some of the Mayor’s Office and outside your little humble abode in the screenshots.
Animal Crossing: Tobidase will be released this Fall in Japan. We’ll likely get a Western release date at E3 2012 in June.
Here’s the Animal Crossing: Tobidase (Animal Crossing 3DS) trailer from Nintendo Direct. Watch for many more screenshots.
Four games in one all made by different producers... Awesome.
Guild 01 3DS is a unique project that many outside of Japan probably don’t know about; however it’s a very interesting premise that everyone should be excited about. That is, if it ever makes it outside of Japan… so far it hasn’t been announced for a Western 3DS release, so here’s to hoping…
Developed by Level-5 (Professor Layton series, White Knight Chronicles series, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Dark Cloud series), the aim of the game is to do a unique collaborative project, similar to something like “The Animatrix” or “Halo Legends”. Except instead of anime, it’s finally being done with videogames!
Like with the aforementioned anime film projects, Guild 01 for 3DS is actually four-games-in-one. And each segment, each of those games, is being developed by a highly acclaimed, talented producer who will have the freedom to completely shape that “episode”, “segment” or what-have-you (his game) into whatever he wants. Not only that, but these games can even be in different genres!
Topping the sound of this very sweet cake off is the fact that big names are collaborating, including Suda 51 (No More Heroes, Killer 7, Lollipop Chainsaw, Shadows of the Damned), Yoot Saito (Dreamcast’s Seaman and GameCube’s Odama, among others) and Yasumi Matsuno of Level-5 (Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, need I say more?)…
If all of this doesn’t make you VERY excited indeed, then you might as well go play Hello Kitty: Island Adventure. Cause you’re just a Jew.
Ahem (South Park reference, for the uninitiated).
As stated, each game will be a different genre, here is the rundown!
Game Name: Kaiho Shojo What is it?: A “3D shooting game” developed by Suda 51. So you can expect all kinds of immature humor and crazy zaniness layered with overthetop action or brutal violence. In this game you control a robot called “Kaihoki” which literally translates to “Liberation Machine”. Awesome. What does Liberation Machine do you ask? Blast him some demon scum, naturally! To put the cherry on top, acclaimed anime studio “Bones” is supplying the animation (or cutscenes) for Suda 51′s little project!
Game Name: Rental Bukiya de Omasse What is it?: Developed by America Zarigani (a comedy group), producer Yoshiyuki Hirai has decided to craft an RPG in which you play the role of the owner of a Weapon Shop! You will create weapons and sell them to adventurers, who need them for their RPG spelunking. Giving a unique perspective on an age-old RPG cliche.
Game Name: Air Porter What is it?: Yoot Saito continues his oddball nature by developing a game in the Simulation genre. In it you control an airport business as it takes in baggage from fliers, which you must then immediately and efficiently expedite to the proper destination (or something). The airport will grow and expand as you succeed at your task, making the game ever more complex in turn. Given the developer, there’s likely to be some interesting twists, considering how freakin’ weird both of his crazy oddball wacko games are… in particular Odama (no relation to Obama… this was before the age of Obama!) which was a “Samurai Pinball” game where you used your microphone (i.e. your voice) to order troops to haul ass out of the way of a gigantic evil boulder (the “pinball”…) that’d bowl them over (BWAHAHAHAHAHA!) if it weren’t for the godly voice commanding them where to move… No I haven’t played it. Although I ALMOST bought it on many occassions. I knew it’d become rare… now it costs…. *checks* Oh okay scratch that. It’s going for like $2 bucks new. :/ I should buy it…. ONE DAY it’ll be rare. I promise you that. And then of course there was Yoot Saito’s “Seaman”, a game about a talking “manfish” that learned your language and grew wiser as you actually, literally, spoke to IT using the microphone… he always makes microphone games. Cause he’s a nut. Course, he also made “SimTower”, his only “normal” game…
Game Name: Crimson Shroud/strong> What is it?: Thankfully, since “Guild 01″ IS coming from Level-5 after all, Level-5 producer Yasumi Matsuno decided to stick with what Level-5 fans love best… RPGs created by Level-5! This one will be a “dark fantasy” type… and how many times did I just say Level-5? DAMMIT!
Now check out the Nintendo Direct Guild 01 3DS Trailer to get an interesting look at all of these four games in action!
Proof that Etrian Odyssey is creating legions of devil-children Satan worshippers.
Etrian Odyssey is a hardcore first-person RPG series that has been going strong ever since the first title was released for the original DS in 2007.
Developed by Atlus, the game’s are very complex and difficult dungeon crawlers, created for a certain breed of hardcore RPG gamer. The players who have played the series though absolutely LOVE it and live/or die by the Etrian Odyssey games. Loving the fact that they can take a hundred hours or more to finish (or so I’ve come to believe). Not that that’s a lot… I spent 170 hours on Final Fantasy X myself. :)
Here is a screenshot showing Etrian Odyssey IV’s first-person environments, which make up the dungeons you’ll be slowly plotting your way through (as seeing through the eyes of the character make it much harder to navigate your way through endless hallways).
Careful for what lurks around the next bend... or through that door.....
You know what’s crazy… I’m only now, in the midst of writing this story, finding out that the series is first person and that you make your own maps as you go (using in-game tools, THANK GOD… I can only imagine how rough the pen-and-paper days were! Actually I don’t have to imagine, I lasted about 5 minutes in the original Phantasy Star)… Holy crap. It all makes sense now….
Here is a screenshot showing off the complex mapping you’ll have to do to make it through the labryinthian dungeons alive.
Learning how to map your course through the dungeons is crucial to survival in Etrian Odyssey IV.
Even if you don’t survive the tough satan spawn (i.e. enemies) themselves, you gotta make sure you can get out of where you are and not get lost! Map skills are a must; thankfully, as you can see in this screenshot, you have all kind of tools at your disposal to help you plot your course and keep track of where you’ve been, and where you think you’re going. Watch the video below and you’ll get an easier grasp of how the game works. All of it is, of course, interwoven with a deep story to make all this trouble worth it, in typical Role-Playing Game fashion.
Not knowing much about the series, I can’t really say much more, but here is your introduction to Etrian Odyssey IV from Nintendo Direct, which heavily featured the game as one of Atlus’ big new titles for the ORIGINAL DS. Yup, the little punker just keeps on trucking…
Etrian Odyssey IV Trailer (DS) From Nintendo Direct. Gameplay footage shown.
Power Ranger-like Kamen Rider Generation 2 game for PS Vita & DS
Kamen Rider is the fan-loved, infinitely edgier Japanese-only version of Power Rangers… in Japan Power Rangers is known as “Super Sentai” and has been running since the 1970s (stuff that in your pipe and smoke it). It’s okay. You learn something new everyday!
And Power Rangers itself is simply a style of show that is known as “sentai”, a sentai or Super Sentai-style show is a show, like Power Rangers (the most familiar one to Westerners) where people dress up in elaborate costumes and perform superhero-like feats. You could think of Godzilla as an early example of what I mean. Power Rangers has been by far the most popular American sentai, although we have gotten others. Any kid of the 90s (or an 80s kid like me) will recall other Power Ranger style shows such as VR Troopers, Beetle Borgs, The Masked Rider, Ultraman, Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog, Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad, etc.
Looks awesome doesn't it? :D
Anyway, because Kamen Rider is a Japanese series, the likelihood of us getting this new DS and PS Vita version is zilch, but the game actually looks quite awesome in screenshots. I’m a big Power Ranger fan, but I’ve never seen Kamen Rider (a show who’s following has grown exponentially since anime has grown in popularity and many a young American watches plenty of Japanese, Korean, etc. anime and live-action shows online)… blasphemous I know.
Feast your eyes on some screenshots of “Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2″, the second Kamen Rider game. Definitely looks like it’s a beat-em up. I like beat-em ups. :D
Beat-em ups are nice. Me likes.
Here’s a video of the American version of Kamen Rider…. which I JUST FOUND OUT existed! :O LOOKS FREAKIN’ AWESOME! I gotta go cop that! :P The show airs on the CW in their 4Kids block on Saturdays at 9:30am or so.
Now here is a look at the Japanese Kamen Rider…. in a cheesy music video. Oh well.
Mario Tennis: Open releases May 20th, 2012 for 3DS. Great artwork huh!
Mario Tennis Open will be released in America on May 20th, 2012 exclusively for 3DS. The game is the latest installment in what is arguably Nintendo’s most popular Mario Sports series. SPOILERS, PROCEED WITH CAUTION
(scroll to the very end to see screenshots of most of the game’s characters, avoid scrolling completely to the bottom of this article if you don’t want to see them).
Mario Tennis Open follows previous Mario Tennis games including the original Mario Tennis (N64, 2000) and Mario’s Tennis (Virtual Boy, 1995), Mario Tennis GB (Game Boy Color, 2001), Mario Power Tennis (GameCube, 2004), Mario Tennis: Power Tour (Game Boy Advance, 2005) and the Wii re-release of the GameCube game, called “Mario Power Tennis: New Play Control!”, released in 2009; A version that added gesture controls to the game, making it feel similar to Wii Sports. Additionally, the original Mario Tennis was re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in 2010.
So Mario Tennis Open for 3DS is effectively the 5th installment in this hit sports game series. If you’ve ever played a Mario Tennis game, then you’ll know exactly what to expect in Mario Tennis: Open, as the game seems to play essentially exactly the same as before.
Here’s some old footage of Mario Tennis: Open from when the game was first announced.
A new camera has been added to give you better depth perception since you’ll be playing the game in Stereoscopic, Glasses-Free 3D on the handheld, and the game also feature touchscreen controls (that allow you to select what type of shot you want to make… Lob, Topspin, Simple Shot, Flat Shot, Drop Shot, or Slice by tapping the screen) and support for the gyro sensor in the 3DS meaning you can tilt the system to do things in the game.
In this screenshot you can clearly see how the Touchscreen really enhances the game and will make it MUCH easier for newbies to play the game. Previously, in past Mario Tennis titles, you’d need to perform different button presses to pull of different types of shots. So for example you might press A then B in quick succession to lob the ball high into the air… you can still do that by pressing the facebuttons on the 3DS, but now you could do it much easier by simply tapping the screen. Does this give other players an unfair advantage verses those that use only buttons? Possibly so… it’s also doubtful you’ll be able to customize whether your real-life opponent uses the touchscreen or not…
Simply tap the screen to execute a certain move. Simple!
The tactical RPG Project X Zone was earlier revealed to be an all-new strategy role-playing game developed by Namco Bandai that features an insane crossover with both Capcom and Sega characters!
All three companies are involved, and the game features some of your favorite characters from each… As well as many obscure characters that aren’t recognizable to Westerners (although Capcom’s side sure is!). If you don’t know anything about the game, click the game name above to read my previous write-up on the title.
Resident Evil stars Chris & Jill serve the pain on a Tyrant in Project X Zone (3DS)!
However before, we didn’t know what the game would actually play like or what it even looked like… Until now! As you will see below, the game features insane fighting-game style battles… or at least animations that take place after you’ve attacked with your characters in the strategy portion… As that portion of the game wasn’t shown. But what IS shown is awesome and makes you bleed for an actual fighting game starring all these characters!
Thanks to the Japanese Nintendo Direct conference, we finally have a solid look at this insane project… AND BOY DOES IT LOOK EPIC!
Sit tight, grab some popcorn, and enjoy this awesome Project X Zone Trailer!
Sadly there still has been no word on whether this game will be released outside of Japan, but hopefully we’ll hear something at E3 2012 in June! Gotta love the chibby look of the characters! ^_^
The two shades of Kyurem as they appear in Pokemon Black and White 2's art.
Pokemon White Version 2 and Pokemon Black Version 2 have been officially announced for Nintendo DS (NOT 3DS), as Pokemon fans already well know. The games will be released this fall in America and Europe, and release in Japan on June 23rd 2012.
This makes the localization for the sure-to-be-hefty RPGs the shortest translation process (localizing the games from Japanese to English) in Pokemon history… since Pokemon games contain so much text, there is usually a wide gap between the Western and Eastern releases… looks like Nintendo and Game Freak are getting ever more efficient at translating them.
Although the games are technically for the regular DS, they can still be played on a 3DS (like with all DS games, as the 3DS is backwards compatible ensuring older DS games work on it) although they will remain in 2D. However Nintendo has promised that the games will have some kind of 3DS and DSi capability….
Here is the newest gameplay trailer from Nintendo Direct for Pokemon White and Black 2!
New forms of the Pokemon Kyurem will be the main Legendary Pokemon and mascots of Pokemon White 2 and Pokemon Black 2, and will be sported on the game’s cover. They are called “Black Kyurem” and “White Kyurem.” A sort of combination of Kyurem and Reshiram (Ice and Fire type?) and Kyurem and Zekrom (Ice and Electric type?) seems to be suggested… although it turns out that both of them will keep regular Kyurem’s Dragon/Ice typing… Bummer.
Both of the characters will tie into the upcoming Pokemon anime movie (called “Pokemon: Kyurem VS The Sacred Swordsman: Keldeo” in Japan) as you can see in this trailer for the film.
Downloadable Content Fire Emblem: Awakening artwork for Roy (Japan)
Downloadable Content is officially headed to the Nintendo 3DS through multiple titles… although so far this is only in Japan. “DLC” (as it’s popularly called, for short) is the ability to download additional new content that adds onto your game (new characters, items, skins/looks for your character, missions, etc.). DLC is popular for virtually all videogames these days, although almost completely absent on Nintendo’s machines.
Virtually every modern game these days has paid downloadable content (that you must buy) available that continues to drip out after a game has been released for Xbox 360, PS3, PC, PS Vita, PSP… even the original Xbox had it. Wii has a few games with DLC, but not many. And up to this point Nintendo has almost entirely avoided the idea of having to pay for post-release content in a videogame.
That day has now ended… at least in Japan. Already Nintendo has released an all-new downloadable character for their Strategy RPG “Fire Emblem: Awakening” (the latest game in Nintendo’s long-running Fire Emblem series), and that characters was the uber-popular Marth; made famous in the Western world via his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee for GameCube and Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii.
Leaf is DLC for Japanese gamers in Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)
Now Japanese gamers will be getting two additional beloved characters that they can download, “Roy” (made famous in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but absent in Brawl; replaced by Ike) and Leaf. The latter isn’t known to Westerners, and comes from Seisen no Keifu/Thracia 776… whatever that is. Roy will cost ¥250 and Leaf costs ¥350. Both, as well as a new downloadable scenario, will hit Japan on February 26th.
Here is a look at Fire Emblem: Awakening on video.
As for Fire Emblem: Awakening itself, so far the game has not receieved a Western release date, but it’s very likely that it will be announced at E3, as Nintendo typically brings them over. And new 3DS games are something Nintendo cannot deny, even announcing the Pokemon strategy RPG for Western release (a title originally called Pokemon vs Nabanuga’s Ambition, as it features characters Westerners are not familiar with. Even so, they simply retitled it Pokemon Conquest and will be releasing it anyway!). So that bodes well that we’ll see Fire Emblem: Awakening eventually.
And Nintendo isn’t the only one getting in on the DLC act with 3DS games, as Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy (a very interesting upcoming music-based rhythm game for 3DS that plays like Elite Beat Agents [DS] and has you tapping along to tons of classic Final Fantasy tunes in order to defeat enemies!) will be getting new downloadable songs! In Japan, these include Final Fantasy VII’s Those Who Fight Further (battle stage), Final Fantasy X’s Normal Battle (battle stage), Final Fantasy XI’s Battle Theme (battle stage) and Final Fantasy XIII’s March of the Dreadnoughts (field stage). They’ll be released in Japan on April 22nd.
Japanese gamers are getting this Final Fantasy VII DLC for Theaterhythm: Final Fantasy for 3DS!
Last but not least, Monster Hunter 3G (also not announced for American release… yet) will be getting two new downloadable quests that are already out now in Japan.
It’s only a matter of time before we start seeing DLC coming to our 3DS games. Do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing? Do you think Nintendo will ever end up abusing it like a lot of other developers do?
Here’s a look at the amazing Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy for 3DS.
