The Sakura Taisen series never really took off in the West, mostly on account of never being released there. But in Japan, where copies were printed and sold, the franchise (early-1900's dating game with big robots) is big time. The DS spinoff, Dramatic Dungeon Sakura Taisen: Kimi Arugatame, swaps out the tactical strategy parts of the original series for a dungeon crawl, but leaves the relationship-building.
As usual, this trailer is heavy on the FMV and light on the gameplay, but you can still get an idea of what the dungeon-crawler looks like. There are also plenty of screens at the link, if you want to look at the actual game. But to be honest, that anime footage is going to do more to galvanize Sakura fans than the game itself.
Mazes of Fate had kind of a hard time finding an audience. It came out just too late to be marketable. Graffiti Entertainment is correcting the original error (being a GBA cartridge) by releasing a version of the game on DS. When we first heard about it, we were lazily outraged about the idea of a year-old game being ported to the DS. However, our outrage was misdirected, because Mazes of Fate on the DS is more than a port.
Having looked at these videos, it should have been a port. They've remade the dungeon portions of the game in 3D, with ... a minor performance hit. Keep in mind that when the video and sound slow down to a crawl, that's not your Internet connection, or YouTube at work. That's the game. That's the video they chose to upload to show off the game. We wouldn't be so concerned if this were extremely early footage, but ... the game is supposed to come out next week.
The videos aren't embedded, because you have to push the little rectangle button on the real YouTube player to get them to display in the correct resolution. They're at least marginally better that way. Seriously, though, we wish Graffiti had been lazier and just given us the GBA game with a map on the top screen.
[Update: the videos have been removed from YouTube. New videos should be available soon at Graffiti Entertainment's website.]
Sekaiju no Meikyu II, or Etrian Odyssey II as it's better known in these parts, is due out in Japan next month, and we await its arrival on western shores with a stomach-churning mixture of anticipation and fear. Yes, fear, a feeling that is not assuaged by the regularity with which the first game handed us our asses.
These new Famitsu scans contain a smattering of screens we've yet to see, as well as artwork of the new pet job class. Meticulously map your way past the post break for the second scan.
Hudson has updated us with some more screens to look over for the upcoming Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts. With the game releasing next month (an exact date is not available yet), we're anxious to see the title in motion some before we're going to sign up for this. We'll take these screens, though, so be sure to hit up our gallery below for the new in-game screenshots.
Gallery: Dungeon Explorer Warriors of Ancient Arts
The latest trailer for Etrian Odyssey 2 incorporates elements from the last two trailers, along with character art we're familiar with, but recombines it into an exciting new video. Plus, if you pause the video as the DS systems fly by, you may just be able to catch a glimpse at some actual screens of Atlus's sequel to the 'last great turn-based RPG.' That's thoughtful of them. Similarly, a few more screens can be seen during the 'credits/flying through the woods' sequence.
The game hits Japanese stores on the 21st of next month. If you are serious about brutally difficult dungeon gaming, why not play it in Japanese? It could only make the experience more punishing.
A crop of new, reassuringly text-heavyEtrian Odyssey 2 screenshots fell into our RPG-loving laps this morning, courtesy of Famitsu.
While the majority of them portray some of the secondary cast in the game, including the usual stock RPG smattering of innkeepers, shop owners and bar staff, there's also a couple of shots featuring enemies in the game, such as this floating pink orb, one of the game's minibosses.
We're still no closer to getting a western release date, but that doesn't irk us, particularly as we're still slogging our way through the first Etrian Odyssey, which might just be the longest damn game ever (though still worth picking up!). Given the old-skool toughness of that title, perhaps it would be unwise of us to mock any of Etrian Odyssey 2's enemies before we come face-to-face with them.
Away: Shuffle Dungeon isn't all about unreliable dungeon layouts and goggle-eyed protagonists, it would appear. The latest screens reveal magical creatures called Fuppons, little blobby things that follow you around and perform magical attacks. There are four different kinds of Fuppons, each possessing a different ability: Koorins, who produce ice and allow you to destroy barriers made of lava rock; Merameras, who shoot fireballs; Gorogoros, who generate lightning bolts; and the pictured Naooru, who can heal your party.
More importantly, all four are suitable to be made into plush toys, cell phone charms, and figurines. Away is a Hironobu Sakaguchi-produced game, after all. There are screens of the other three Fuppons doing what they do best (as far as we know) at Famitsu!
The official site for the upcoming Atlus sequel Etrian Odyssey II has uploaded two new trailers for the game. One (above) focuses on the game's story, while the other (tucked past the break) provides a glimpse into some of the gameplay aspects of the title. Each of the trailers are fairly brief, but the environments look pretty darn good, if we may say so. RPG fans, keep an eye out for this one.
We hate to disappoint you, but if you were desperately holding on to some insane hope that the blocky, sub-Final Fantasy VII look of Away's characters was somehow an artifact of a poor scan, these new direct-feed screens will disabuse you of that notion. The flat faces and blank, circular eyes continue to look really damn creepy, in character art and in gameplay.
Luckily, the game is Away: Shuffle Dungeon, and not Away: Hanging Out With 1996-Era Character Art. Meaning that the majority of your game time should be spent focusing on dungeon crawling, and not face-to-face chatting with the polygon-economical cast.
In fact, the actual dungeon part is 2D, character art and all. And it looks really nice. For some reason, Mistwalker and AQ Interactive have decided that the only time the characters should look embarrassingly ridiculous is when you're talking to them. Why didn't they just stick with 2D for the whole game?
Sega's limited-edition release of the new Sakura Taisen dungeon crawler, Dramatic Dungeon Sakura Taisen: Kimi Arugatame, is heavy on the DS adornments, to the point of being ridiculous. In addition to a soft system case, the All-Star Pack also includes a slip-on shell and three stickers, each emblazoned with a different squad's colors and logo. The package also includes three DS card cases in a similar motíf.
For those whose lust for stuff with logos on it extends beyond DS care, Sega will also be giving away Sakura Taisen cups, bowls, and mugs in a contest. That contest will no doubt have numerous entries, since Sakura Taisen is a series big enough to support its own cafe.
The latest Etrian Odyssey 2 screens from Famitsu reveal a few important tidbits. First, if you liked the first game, you're in for a treat. If, like so many others, you couldn't find the first game, you're really in for a treat. The latest info on the sequel reveals a lot of similarities to to the first, from party organization to map-making, and it's always nice to see the things that made a game stand out stay strong in the sequel. If you're looking for something different here, focus on the new classes, and the fun of auto-translating such things as what you're doing for the purpose of "Flying Castle."
Hit up Famitsu to see the rest of the shots for yourself! But be warned that they are menu-tastic.
We know how you like your hardcore RPGs: loaded with text menus. It's not a game if it doesn't involve constantly selecting from nested lists of items. From the looks of these new scans, Etrian Odyssey 2 will fill your spreadsheet-gaming needs admirably.
Sure, there's great character art or whatever, but we know what the real attraction is -- all those numbers in rows, and all those actions to select. From the menu-based RPG combat to the skill-point distribution, you'll be staring at text-filled rectangles for endless hours.
We really appreciate that companies are still making ruthlessly hardcore old-school dungeon RPGs like this. Even if we don't necessarily have the requisite RPG-ology degree to be able to play this one.
The site for Atlus's Sekaiju no Meikyu II, known over here as Etrian Odyssey 2, has opened, bringing the promise of a lot of content to come. Right now, there's just a text welcome message, and a characters page with only the Doctor Magus revealed. It's the same character art seen in the recent magazine scans, and it includes some text about how the Doctor Magus is strange-looking.
For all the content that isn't there now, it looks there will be plenty soon. We counted eleven blacked-out character portraits, for example, and there are currently inactive links to story introductions and a download page. You can look at the pretty, well-designed web page, at the very least, and bookmark it for later.
The Dengeki article that reported this also included three new screens of the dungeon-crawler, each of which depicts a different gameplay aspect-- story, mapmaking, and battle. They look just like the last Etrian, but we expected as much.
Hudson's Dungeon Explorer: Warrior of the Arts website has been around since late August, but it wasn't until TGS that anyone outside Japan had any reason to care.
The latest updates to the site reveal a "form" system, which gives characters multiple elemental special attacks based on which of eight "schools" you choose to affiliate with. We also get a glance at the status screen, which shows, basically, a ton of upgradeable stats.
It's clear, at least, from the screens that this is going to be much more of a full RPG and less of an action game than the original Dungeon Explorer.
There's a clear divide at the Fanboy office between those who've actually played through a roguelike game and the rest of us who've never been able to boast such bravery. The dungeon crawl veterans have the best parking spots, use the newest computers, and even get to cut in front of everyone in the lunch line.
Whenever one of us who hasn't meddled with the genre walks past the "popular" table in the cafeteria, some jerk inevitably sticks their leg out to trip us. As we push ourselves back up, searching for our glasses amongst the mess of food spilled from our plastic trays, the group of bullies howl with raucous laughter. We find our glasses and put them on just in time to see our crush look away in disgust.
After years of cowering, we've decided that it's time to finally tackle the roguelike genre. Seeing Japan's latest commercial for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 2: Time Exploration Team and Darkness Exploration Team was just what we needed to convince us. Both games look adorable enough, and from what we've heard, they're not as difficult as most other dungeon crawl titles! It won't be long before we'll be able to stand up to those roguelike ruffians! Drink some milk, do a bunch of push-ups, and join us past the post break for the video.
Mazes of Fate had 
A crop of new, 
We hate to disappoint you, but if you were desperately holding on to some insane hope that the blocky, sub-Final Fantasy VII look of 
We know how you like your hardcore RPGs: loaded with text menus. It's not a game if it doesn't involve constantly selecting from nested lists of items. From the looks of these new scans, 
Hudson's 
There's a clear divide at the Fanboy office between those who've actually played through a 
