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Posts with tag Namco-Bandai

Pole vault into exclusive Dragon Ball: Origins video and screens


Atari has provided us with an exclusive new Dragon Ball: Origins video focusing on Goku's arsenal of touch-controlled attacks using his Power Pole. They're all fairly self-explanatory -- the attacks all have various speed, distance and multiple-targeting advantages, and can be used to smack environmental objects in order to solve puzzles.

In addition to his proficiency with a stick, the little monkey boy is powerful on his own. Non-pole abilities include the Rush Attack (not to be confused with the Rush 'n Attack), in which Goku dashes straight into an enemy; the Power Punch, a combo punching attack; and, of course, the famous Ka-me-ha-me-ha, in which Goku throws an ancient Hawaiian king. If the video isn't enough Dragon Ball awesomeness for you, or even if it is, we've also got eight exclusive new screens in our gallery!


Namco bundles DVD with National Geographic Panda


Namco Bandai just dished out a press release about upcoming National Geographic Panda. With the game hitting U.S. retail shelves this fall, the prospect of playing with virtual pandas on your DS is not the only enticing aspect panda fans should be focusing on. All copies of the game will come packaged with a DVD titled Secrets of the Wild Panda. What is Secrets of the Wild Panda? Well, it's an hour-long special produced by National Geographic on the subject of, you guessed it, panda bears. So instead of just being a DS game full of cute pandas to play with, it also holds some educational value, as well.


[Via press release]

Retro Game Challenge keeps the spirit of the original


Finally, 1UP provides us with our first look at Retro Game Challenge, the English-language version of Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou. When XSEED showed the newly-announced US version of the game at E3, they simply used retail Japanese cartridges in the demo units. We asked the XSEED rep at the time how they planned to approach localization, but they weren't talking yet.

The good news is that not much has changed, other than the words being in English. The young Shinya Arino character is still Arino, and the Famicom on the floor still looks like a Famicom. We can see from a very quick flash of the menu that the magazines are still there; we were a bit worried that they would be left out.

[Via Ray Barnholt's 1UP blog]

DS Daily: Ignoring a license

It doesn't happen often that the gameplay of a licensed game entices us to play when we aren't interested in the license. Usually, if anyone cares about a licensed game, it's because they love the source material. But we find ourselves drawn to Dragon Ball: Origins for reasons totally unrelated to Goku and the gang. It sounds like Phantom Hourglass with more action.

How about the rest of you? Anyone playing a licensed game totally because it's a good game?

A Tale of Two Tales


Responding to the widespread criticism that there just aren't enough Tales games, Namco Bandai has taken the unprecedented step of releasing two versions of Tales of Hearts that differ in only one way, which has no effect on gameplay: the cutscenes.

Tales of Hearts will sell as an "Animation Edition," with anime-style cutscenes, and a "CG Movie Edition," whose cinematics use the off-putting 3D models seen in the scan above. Realistic people with anime hair and clothes just look weird! And this December, some poor otaku is going to feel compelled to purchase both the regular and ugly editions of the game.

[Scan via Wii Everyday]

Nintendo and others file suit against flash cart sellers

Nintendo is finally taking aggressive action against piracy, as the company is suing five Japanese firms over flash cart equipment. The Big N is just one of many plaintiffs in the case, though, with fifty-three others joining in to aid the fight -- just a few companies that you may have heard of, like, oh, Square Enix, Sega, Level-5, Hudson, Pokemon, Capcom, Namco Bandai, SNK Playmore, Koei, and so forth.

While details are scarce, we can imagine a lot of popular carts (like the R4), if not all carts, will be affected. Should Nintendo and friends win the suit, selling and importing such carts will be illegal, meaning that people would have to resort to the black market to get their hands on one.

We understand why Nintendo and other companies would want to fight the good fight against piracy, but we can't help but fret over the impact on our precious homebrew hobby. At any rate, we'll give you more information as this case unfolds.

[Via Joystiq; Thanks, Kimiko!]

Start beating the drum for Taiko localization


Against all odds, Namco decided to release a localized version of Taiko no Tatsujin on the PS2 in 2004. We don't have solid sales data, but judging by Taiko Drum Master's quick drop in price at retail (and the fact that Guitar Hero hadn't happened yet, so music games were still for scary nerds), the American public was less than enthused with the idea of paying $60 to play a miniature Japanese drum.

According to a Cubed3 interview with Bandai Namco's Ken Nakadate, the company may just be willing to give the series another chance in the U.S. on a system that doesn't require any specialized hardware: the DS. In response to C3's inquiry about localization, Nakadate gave an answer that is one step above the normal "we haven't announced anything" response:

"We want the customers in Europe and US to enjoy the Japanese Taiko drum. The schedule for US or European releases is undecided but we would release them if we receive a lot of requests from US and European customers!"

Enjoy the Japanese Taiko drum! Enjoy it with all of your heart!

Dragon Ball DS trailer doesn't disappoint its audience


We were pretty impressed with the trailer for Dragon Ball DS at first. Not just because the game's 3D graphics are so impressive, but because we thought we were witnessing the first Dragon Ball DS media not to feature Bulma lifting her skirt.

We thought this for one minute and twenty-three seconds. We get it, Banamco! It's a famous scene from Dragon Ball, and it makes a clever use of the DS screens, and also it's good for pervs. Move on!

Speaking of moving, the game continues to look really awesome -- fast-paced and action-packed in a way that the real Zelda games never were

[Via NeoGAF]

Namco trademarks newest Tales name in North America


Fans of the Tales series, it would appear the possibility of the latest DS title, Tales of Hearts, to come to North America has become a bit more plausible. Thanks to Spencer over at Siliconera, we have word that Namco has trademarked the term for North America? Coincidence? We think not!

So, it would seem that eventually the game should be making its way to our shores. Until then, we'll just sit back, relax and wait for an official announcement.

Comically ill-divided Dragon Ball screens

Sometimes, DS screenshots just don't look quite right. They're often a little rough around the edges -- even with games that look fantastic in motion -- but worse, the split between the screens sometimes ends up in odd places if a developer is trying to use both screens to tell a story. That happens a lot in these Dragon Ball DS screens, sometimes to comic effect ... so often, in fact, that it seems like it was done on purpose, particularly when it results in images like the one to the right.

Check out the full set in the gallery below. They're just begging to be adapted into a game of a different sort.

E308: Namco Bandai's Panda game dated for U.S.

The first English-language screens of Namco Bandai's National Geographic Panda have emerged from E3, as well as a North American release window of this fall. We also received a smattering of gameplay details, listed beneath the almost unforgivable title of "It's PANDA-MONIUM!"

According to these, the aim of the game is simply to rear your own Baby Panda or Giant Panda (you can tickle and play with them via the touchscreen, as you would a Nintendog), keeping them fed, clean, and happy during their time in Panda Park (which, incidentally, changes depending on whether you play at day or night).

To do this, you'll get a daily allowance which can be used for panda food or toys (such as ... gherkin-shaped see-saws?), and as you play more, further Baby Pandas will gradually begin to "move" into Panda Park, which is probably just Namco Bandai's way of avoiding the whole panda sex thing. Probably for the best.


[Via press release]

National Geographic Pandas are no slackers



We simply can't fault Namco Bandai's inspired decision to develop a game based on panda bears. When it comes to pandas, there is no universal divide in opinion (as there is with dogs and cats) -- everybody is a panda person. That kind of popularity can only be gained from being extremely cute and extremely rare.

Launching in Japan on July 31st, purchased copies of Panda-San Nikki (National Geographic Panda) will probably be anything but rare. That's because this game is freakin' adorable, as the latest screenshots in our gallery demonstrate. There are more pandas on see-saws, pandas trying to roll on a ball, pandas using a slide, pandas in hats -- in fact, Game Watch reckons there are over 800 animations (pandamations?) on display here. We always thought these wonderful creatures just sort of sat around, but they seem to be rather active!

Friday Video: Friday Video CX

XSeed is gracing us with the amazing DS game based on Game Center CX, so we thought today would be the perfect time to share a clip from the original show. We don't know if XSeed or anyone else has licensed Game Center CX for DVD or TV release yet, but in the meantime we can enjoy untranslated excerpts!

We're of the opinion that you don't need to understand Japanese to enjoy the clip seen here from episode 33, in which the "Kacho," Shinya Arino, is presented with a Game Gear game (Ganbare Gorby, or, roughly, "Go Gorby" or "Do Your Best Gorby") starring a cute chibi version of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Tales of Hearts: the full monty

The recent press event for the Tales series gave us a brief glimpse at the world within Tales of Hearts, the latest lamentable stunner from Namco Bandai. Stunner because it looks gorgeous, lamentable because the chances of gamers seeing it in North America are slim to none. Regardless, the full TOH trailer has been commandeered in the video above, so hit play and enjoy the fruits of an unattainable RPG.

The environments themselves look stunning (especially the CG), but the characters are still colorful little sprites. One can argue the power of sprites in almost any game, and they certainly command some charm in Tale of Hearts. Is the contrast between 3D levels and 2D characters too off-putting? Not really -- but let us know if your eyes start bleeding.

[Via Nintendo Everything]

'Tales of a series' event births new footage

At a promotional event in Japan for all things Tales, a number of guest speakers showcased plenty of new ideas and media for the groin-grabbingly popular RPG franchise. Some footage from the upcoming Tales of Hearts was featured along with running commentary, but our general stupidness prevents any translation. However, you can still see the game in action, as the charming little sprite characters duke it out in a beautifully detailed world.

This is self-inflicted pain. If you allow yourself to get excited over each superb entry in the Tales series, you'll wind up cold and alone. There's nothing more depressing than a neglected RPG.

[Via NeoGAF]

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