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DS Fanboy interviews Starmen.net's Reid Young (part two)



If you didn't catch the first half of our two-part interview with Reid Young, co-founder of Starmen.net, an online community for all lovers of the Mother series, make sure to check it out when you have a chance. We discussed a number of topics -- what makes the series stand out from other RPGs, why EarthBound (Mother 2) failed to sell in the U.S., and how Starmen.net is building awareness on the games with its EB Siege and Earthbound Anthology campaigns.

Reid also took some time to update us on what our chances are of ever receiving a western localization for Mother 3, whether or not we'll receive EarthBound on the Virtual Console soon, and the current status of the Mother 3 fan translation project. As an admirer of creative and heartfelt games, you owe it to yourself to read the rest of our interview past the post break.

Continue reading DS Fanboy interviews Starmen.net's Reid Young (part two)

DS Fanboy Review: Heroes of Mana


Heroes of Mana is like the stereotypical middle child -- it's not an RPG, and it may not be as responsive or intelligent, AI-wise, as some RTS fans would like. It's not exactly traditional Mana fare, either, so some franchise fans are understandably wary. Toss in a somewhat annoying tutorial, and unfortunately, it seems like Heroes of Mana might be easily missed ... which is a shame, because there's a lot of fun to be had here once things get going.

The epic adventure kicks off as your airship, the Nightswan, is attacked in the middle of hostile territory. Unfortunately, that's what happens sometimes to scouts working under the cover of secrecy, and it makes for a great beginning to the game. However, things are not quite as straightforward as they seem. Our hero, Roget, and his crew have been sent to find out just how serious the Beastmen of Ferolia are about starting a war (and hey, they attacked, so serious business seems probable) ... but are they really just scouts? Have they been told everything they need to know about the situation, or are Roget and company pawns in a larger, more sinister scheme?

Continue reading DS Fanboy Review: Heroes of Mana

Metareview: Heroes of Mana

Opinions on the actual game Heroes of Mana are as varied as thoughts on the idea of taking the franchise in RTS direction. Review scores cover an enormous range, and in the end, we can only recommend that you find a reviewer you trust, or simply go with your own gut on this one.

GameBrink - 81%: "Heroes of Mana is a fun new experience in the Mana series but sadly, bad AI and pathfinding really drags down the gameplay ... Nevertheless, the excellent presentation helps make up for its flaws."

IGN - 80%: "The presentation is great, the fully-animated sequences are simply beautiful, the music is captivating ... and for the most part the gameplay is intuitive and downright fun. For anyone willing to put up with a few annoyances Heroes of Mana delivers a great pocket RTS experience plain and simple, and with a deep story, diverse cast of characters, and a pretty remarkable amount of depth it's a no-brainer for strategy fanatics. It isn't the franchise you remember from over a decade ago, but Heroes of Mana proves one very important element of Koichi Ishii's philosophy: The gameplay may change, but the soul remains."

Games Radar - 60%: "Heroes of Mana is incredibly rife with potential. Its new style of gameplay takes excellent advantage of the Nintendo DS' dual screens, the graphics are charming, the story is decent, and there's plenty of Mana flavor to satisfy longtime fans. The RTS gameplay is pretty well balanced and engaging to boot. Unfortunately, the game feels like it could have used a few more months of refinement to reach its full potential."

Game Informer - 50%: "...these ideas flounder so completely in execution that any resemblance to a real strategy title is lost. The most important component to hit the chopping block is your control over the units. The only command you can issue is attack-move, so if a specific enemy changes location while your guys are in transit, they'll reach their destination and stand there like gits. That's assuming that they even arrive, since the pathfinding is so laughably terrible. It's frustrating and baffling to tell your group of heroes to move straight ahead, and instead they spread out every which way like they're looking for some kind of morons-only shortcut ... Even if you consider yourself a fan of the series, don't waste your time here. There was a time when the Mana name meant something, but this is a disappointing entry that drags the franchise through the mud."

The story of Mana continues with new screens

Just in time for release, we've got fresh new screens from Heroes of Mana, the RTS-take on the long-running series. Set after the never-released-here Seiken Densetsu 3, Heroes of Mana tracks the story of Roget, who crash-lands in the midst of an adventure of epic proportions.

Early reviews -- which we'll take a look at later -- are all over the place, but one thing's pretty solid: the screens are looking nice. Check out the updated gallery to see for yourself.

Gallery: Heroes of Mana DS

Heroes, Mana-style



Heroes of Mana
may not be the Mana game that fans really want, but at least it's looking pretty nice -- and more strategy on the DS can never really be a bad thing. If only it had WiFi multiplayer, alas. We'll just have to make do with ratcheting up the ol' ranking so we can earn downloadable maps and items.

Heroes of Mana is scheduled for release in the US this August.

[Via press release]

Gallery: Heroes of Mana DS

Planets align for a Magical Starsign sale

If you're looking for a cheap adventure to sink your teeth into, grab a plate of Brownie Brown's Magical Starsign and a glass of milk. Amazon has discounted the Harry Potter-esque RPG down to $11.99 (free shipping on orders over $25).

Following the story of its Japanese predecessor on the GBA, Magical Vacation, players are tasked with tracking down their classmates after their magic school's fleet of space ships crash on a group of planets. Sounds like a lot to take in? That's why we suggested the glass of milk! Amazon's deal ends today, so don't dawdle if you plan on picking this one up.

[Via CAG]

Gaming to Go!We debate the hot topics!

This Month's New Games

Name Date
Bleach: Dark Souls
Oct 6
Legend of Kage 2
Oct 6
Crash: Mind Over Mutant
Oct 6
Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals
Oct 6
My Japanese Coach
Oct 14
Korg DS-10
Oct 14
Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 Oct 14
FIFA Soccer 09 Oct 14
Populous Oct 14
Rock Revolution
Oct 14
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Oct 21
Theresia
Oct 21
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Oct 21
Away: Shuffle Dungeon
Oct 21
Tornado
Oct 21
Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
Oct 21
What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver Oct 21
MySims Kingdom
Oct 28
Ninjatown Oct 28

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