One of our favorite touches of the new Phantom Hourglass' trailer shown at this year's GDC event was its use of the reworked Hyrule Castle theme from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. If there's one thing we love, it's retro tracks brought back for another round. That's why we're featuring a medley of songs from the original Zelda game (NES) remixed by electronica musician Ochre, for your Sunday listening pleasure.
We imagine that trying to add anything on top of Koji Kondo's classic work without ruining it is a difficult task, but this arrangement doesn't miss a step. Ochre's interpretation blends the 8-bit pieces with his own playful style, taking the listener through a six-minute daydream of Link's adventures. If you're a fan of lush synths and summery rhythms, we definitely suggest downloading this song along with Ochre's other remixes and original offerings at his site.
Posts with tag gdc07
Remixed medley of The Legend of Zelda's soundtrack
The past (and future?) of Miis
During his keynote at GDC earlier this month, Shigeru Miyamoto confessed that the representations we now know as the loveable Miis have haunted him for some time. He also said that another team managed to get close to what he'd always wanted ... for a DS game. Now we can see the story of that DS software -- the seed of the Miis that are cropping up everywhere today. While the article is all in Japanese (and automatic translation makes it seem like something out of a nursery rhyme nightmare), we can get a fair picture of just how pervasive this idea of face creation has been for Nintendo.Of course, the thing we all want to know now is if we'll see this on the DS. Wouldn't it be great to use your Mii in even the smallest aspects of games? In Clubhouse Games, for instance, instead of a user icon, it's a tiny image of your Mii's face. That could really add a nice level of personalization to future DS games, and all without getting into something big. One might also wonder if this will someday be a part of the coming Wii-DS interactivity that remains somewhat mysterious beyond Pokémon Battle Revolution.
GDC 07: ... and that's a wrap!
Well, now that GDC '07 has come to an end, it's time to look back over the DS Fanboy experience. Here, you'll find all of the GDC news and content in one convenient location. Even without a lot of direct information from Nintendo, it was still a great show for DS fans.News:
Classic Suda 51 weirdness hitting the DS
The Ward sneaks into the news
Miyamoto keynote reveals design inspiration
The making of Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents
Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night
Makeup and Japanese housewife sims
Housewife Superstar: home-ec minigames
Square Enix demos game development game
Hands-on impressions:
Phantom Hourglass impressions
Pokemon Pearl impressions
Phantom Hourglass multiplayer mode demoed
Video:
Phantom Hourglass footage
Miscellaneous:
Even Reggie's limo driver is famous!
DS Fanboy lands at GDC: what to expect
GDC07: Classic Suda 51 weirdness hitting the DS
Suda 51's first games as part of Grasshopper Manufacture are being remade for the DS. The games, called The Silver Case and The Silver Case Ward 25, were originally released for the Playstation and mobile phones, respectively. Suda revealed this fact during his GDC keynote "Punk's Not Dead".
Both are graphical text adventures; Ward 25 uses static art and the original Silver Case uses full-motion video. Unfortunately, because of the amount of text that would have to be translated, Suda isn't sure the remakes will be released outside Japan. Someone tell him that American DS players love graphical text adventures! And tell him that we <3 Grasshopper Manufacture too.
Friday Video: Phantom Hourglass footage
Our man on the floor at GDC, the illustrious Andrew Yoon, gave you an overview of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass the other day, so it's only fitting that this week we spotlight a video that demonstrates some of what he was talking about -- both the good and the bad. Check it out after the jump.
DS Daily: Making a career of it
While browsing the Engadget GDC gallery, we noticed the above image and thought: what a great opening for a Friday morning. So many gamers dream of working in the gaming industry, and for so many different reasons. Some people are truly inspired to work on or with games in some capacity, and some just want a job that they feel they could truly enjoy. We could go on, but we want to ask ... is it (or was it) a dream of yours to work in the gaming industry? Really? Or is it something that's just a casual daydream? We're curious about just how dedicated you are to the gaming world. And if you answered no to the above, what is it about the industry that you don't find tempting?
GDC 07: Legend of Zelda impressions
DRAW! That's probably the best way to describe the experience of playing Phantom Hourglass, the upcoming Wind Waker sequel. The demo at this year's GDC was multiplayer-only, and had you going against one other person in a Zelda version of Capture the Flag (the Flag being pieces of the Triforce, of course). There were two sides that you played as: either as Link, or as a villian trying to stop our beloved cel-shaded hero. As Link, you had to make your way through a maze, search for pieces of the Triforce, and bring them back to your "base." Easy enough, right? Well, there's one catch: the Triforce is crazy-heavy, and your movement will come down to a crawl, making you quite an easy target. A Nintendo representative explained a technique that makes the process slightly easier: pick up the Triforce piece, and then throw it afar. By tapping on the Triforce again, Link will automatically run forward, picking up the piece.
While it's usually fun to play as the Chosen Hero of Time, Phantom Hourglass' multiplayer mode was much more fun when playing the villain. In this mode, you have three controllable characters on an map. By drawing a line from the character, you'll be able to control where they move. If they run into Link, the boy loses, and the round ends. Drawing paths, attempting to corner off Link, feels incredibly empowering. It certainly brings a smile to have all three of your characters slowly trap Link into a corner, making him await certain doom.
It certainly was an amusing demo. However, controlling Link was simply not fun. Moving him through stylus control instead of using the face buttons seems clunky and imprecise. I'm hoping that the single player will incorporate more of the drawing elements from playing as an enemy, as they were very satisfying. Nintendo already has the graphics down: it looks beautiful. With just a little more work on the controls, Phantom Hourglass may become a truly excellent addition to the Zelda franchise.
GDC 07: Pokemon Pearl impressions
The Pokemon machine just doesn't stop. Pokemon Pearl was available at GDC on a pretty pink DS Lite, and while no one was looking, I got to get my hands on it. While the Pokemon franchise isn't known for its graphics, the first thing I noticed as a long-time Pokemon fan was how improved the graphics have become. The screens may not show it off too well, but the game features much better character sprites in the game world. Looking at the aliasing issues in the game, it appears that the world may even have a psuedo-3D engine behind it as well. Unfortunately, the battles haven't received as nice of a makeover: they still look incredibly primitive, even by GBA standards: the uninspired battle animations certainly don't leave a good impression.Other than the cosmetic changes, it doesn't appear as though the world of Pokemon has changed too much. Like previous iterations of the franchise, this version introduces even more pocket monsters to capture ... but not much else. The game doesn't stray far from the original Pokemon formula: classic elements, such as being forced into a fight when spotted by a rival trainer, are still retained in this latest update.
Strangely, use of the touch screen seems conspicuously absent. Of course, with other titles like Pokemon Ranger trying to take the franchise in a different direction, maybe it's best that Pokemon remains unchanged for its next major DS release.
GDC 07:The Ward sneaks into the news
Brand new for GDC week -- The Ward, a horror-themed FPS-plus set in a hospital. Developer Renegade Kid is brand new and looks to be bursting out of the gate with this one. Per their website, the company only received an official stamp of approval last month, and they're already showing off a (very short) teaser for the game.The Ward both sounds and looks interesting, and while the idea of waking up in a world gone wrong isn't particularly new, a game doesn't necessarily have to be the most original idea to be good. If we're to believe the developers, The Ward is an ambitious undertaking. "We're pushing the Nintendo DS to its' limits, with chilling environments, demented enemy characters, and real-world weapons all realized in 3D," says Gregg Hargrove, owner and Art Director at Renegade Kid. The nominal FPS is also set to contain many other gameplay elements, such as touchscreen exploration (a la adventure gaming?), puzzles, and oh, hey ... multiplayer!
That's a lot of goodness out of nowhere. Let's hope it delivers! The Ward is set for this fall, if it finds a publisher, and our man on the floor at GDC, Andrew Yoon, is going to see if he can't find these guys for a closer look. After the jump, you can check out the teaser trailer and more screens.
GDC 07: Miyamoto keynote reveals design inspiration
Continue reading GDC 07: Miyamoto keynote reveals design inspiration
GDC 07: Phantom Hourglass multiplayer mode demoed
Ever since The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass made its debut at last year's GDC, the project has essentially been hidden within a solar eclipse. Now, on the IGN has some hands-on impressions; one player controls Link, attempting to gather pieces of Triforce scattered about a (now classic) hedge maze, while the other draws paths on the touchscreen for three guards to follow and intercept. There appears to be some strategic elements as well, and for those a bit skeptical, remember this: the last Zelda title to feature a "bonus" multiplayer mode turned out to be good enough to spawn its own title, Four Swords Adventures.
DS Daily: On the GDC
So far, we've got serious games, makeup divas, and cowboy pigs out of the GDC experience, and that's only the beginning. We've still got a moment with Miyamoto coming this afternoon, as well as tons of other coverage. What's your take on the news thus far? Anything that excites you, or something you think is overhyped -- no matter what it is, if you have an opinion, we want it.
GDC 07: The making of Ouendan & Elite Beat Agents
The gaming community has embraced iNiS' incredible DS music games, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! and Elite Beat Agents, much to the surprise of game designer Keiichi Yano. His panel at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco featured an incredible large audience that filled the presentation room. All kinds of people, from gamers, to developers, to prominent members of the gaming press, all attended the session to show their support of this small development team.
Yano-san went into incredible detail about the inspirations behind the game, the process of working with Nintendo, and gave us some delicious images from the upcoming sequel.
Continue reading GDC 07: The making of Ouendan & Elite Beat Agents
GDC 07: Even Reggie's limo driver is famous!
Over at Joystiq, they snapped the above picture outside of the Phil Harrison (he's some Sony guy or something) keynote speech today. It's funny on multiple levels; not only was Reggie at the PS3 keynote (he must own one of them suckers), but his limo driver looks like he spent the majority of his time outside the keynote pounding beers.
Maybe he doubles as Reggie's body guard? He looks like a grizzled war vet ...
Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night
Under any other circumstances, dismissing a game titled Barnyard Blast from an unproven developer would be easy. Given the dozens of games announced every week, it would be an effortless reflex. But upon hearing that Barnyard Blast brings together Castlevania themes with cowboy pigs, we would hold onto the game like it was our first-born.Insert Credit spent some time with an early demo at GDC and enjoyed what little there was to play. Early screenshots show the hog hero creeping through a cemetery with a six-shooter, shotgun, and "slayer" in his inventory. Whether or not the game will include vampire sheep, zombie cows, or other undead farm animals has yet to be revealed.
Fans of the Castlevania series have been complaining about its stagnation for some time now. Has Sanuk Software discovered exactly what the languishing genre needs? More pork?
_thumbnail.jpg "Matchman")
