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Posts with tag grasshoppermanufacture

Another Suda 51 classic coming to DS

Flower, Sun, and Rain, an adventure game released in 2001 for the Playstation 2, is being remade for the DS, according to the latest Famitsu. It's one of the earlier works of Grasshopper Manufacture, headed by Suda 51, and has a lot in common with later works.

Like Killer 7 and No More Heroes, the protagonist of Flower, Sun, and Rain is an assassin. Sumio Mondo lives the same day over and over again until he can stop a bomb from exploding in an airport. To do this, he must also solve the problems of the people he interacts with during that repeating day. As time (fails to) pass, his hotel room starts changing to reflect his mental state.

With The Silver Case's remake being done with an eye for international release, can we expect the same of Flower, Sun, and Rain? (Will The Silver Case actually be released outside Japan?) Is Suda 51 attempting to remake his complete works for the DS? That would certainly be welcomed by Suda fans and adventure fans. We've posted the magazine scan after the break.

Continue reading Another Suda 51 classic coming to DS

Suda surprise: The Silver Case will be localized

Back at GDC, Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51 announced that his Playstation text adventure The Silver Case and its cellphone sequel were getting ported to the DS. We tempered our interest in this development with doubt that the games would be released outside of Japan, due to their limited appeal and the large amount of text involved.

Sometimes, we don't mind being wrong. During the Australian G03 event, Suda announced that the game, which was "a minor hit" in Japan, would receive a worldwide release. Now we should all buy it and let him know he made the right decision!

[Via NeoGAF]

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.

A trio of Contact gameplay videos

When you woke up the morning, your first thought was, "Man, I wish I had a whole bunch of Contact videos to watch." Right? That was you? Well, play along anyway. These videos, originally from GameSpot, offer a long and languorous look at gameplay and graphics, and we've embedded them after the jump for your viewing pleasure.

Continue reading A trio of Contact gameplay videos

Metareview: Contact

Grasshopper Manufacture is certainly developing a reputation for unpredictability. Opinions on their last Nintendo foray, Killer 7, were all over the place -- some loved the twisted rail-shooter, others hated it, and many just scratched their heads and offered up a simple "wtf, mate?" Their new Atlus-published RPG Contact, while a little more straightforward, seems to be getting the same wide range of responses. As this is a metareview, Contact seems like a metagame; it's the little things that are praised, the inclusion of other games, references to games, influences from games, the touches from old school games. Unfortunately, the actual game seems to have suffered a bit -- even the most praise-worthy reviews indicate some gameplay issues.

1UP - 80%: "Savvy players will almost certainly enjoy all these little references and arty concepts, so it's a shame the entire package won't hold up to their scrutiny. In crafting their gaming curiosity, Grasshopper has made some design choices that are simply curious. The autobattle system is far from engaging ... fighting enemies in Contact is a woefully straightforward process. It's impossible to dodge or block attacks. In fact, the player can only watch as Terry trades hits with his target."

Games Radar - 60%:
"Contact is a mixed bag and will delight some while disappointing others. It feels "classic," but the flipside of that is "outdated." Even though it's chock-full of personality and pomp, Contact falls short on fun, with some disappointing shortcomings. Casual RPG fans will have no problem finishing this game in less than 14 hours and a lot of that time will be spent backtracking through previous areas and grinding to boost your stats before boss fights. Also, weapons and special attacks unlocked near the end are just as unimpressive as the ones you begin with. Contact does sport an incredible surprise ending that adds depth and changes your perspective on all the main characters in the game. However, its impact is greatly diminished by the extremely short play time."

Yahoo Games - 70%: "The linearity is one area where Contact is particularly disappointing. You'll end up stuck because you can't figure out how to trigger a certain bit of scripting (pay attention to the dialogue!), or maybe you can't figure out the trick to defeating some inscrutable boss battle. Or perhaps you haven't quite leveled up enough to easily dispatch the latest round of monsters in a new area. At times like these, all of Contact's charm can't save it from the tedium that bogs down a lot of RPGs. But it's still as solid as they come, not terribly spectacular, but the perfect fare for devotees of the genre."

So it seems Contact definitely reaches out with its intriguing concept, and Grasshopper knows how much we like references and in-jokes, but RPGs have evolved over time for a reason. Some of that evolution should have perhaps been maintained for this title.

DS releases for the week of October 16th [update 1]

Big week, Nintendo fans! Looks like the winter glut of games has begun ... and so many of us already blew our gaming wads for the month on Wii preorders! Guess it's time to start making some sacrifices, since this week brings us a new Nintendogs as well as the latest published by Atlus, Contact. Grasshopper Manufacture's new offbeat RPG is our pick for the game of the week, though there's a good possibility that anything with the Nintendogs logo might just outsell the Bible, much less any games that dare to compete.

DS:
  • Contact
  • Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long, Attack of the Dark Dragon
  • Disney's Chicken Little: Ace in Action
  • Justice League Heroes
  • Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, The
  • Lionel Trains: On Track
  • Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends
  • SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab


GBA:

  • Justice League Heroes: The Flash
  • SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab
  • Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2

And for our counterparts in the UK, the exciting release this week is Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007, which hits shelves on the 20th.

As always, availability is subject to manufacturer delivery.

[Update 1: Changed category from Interviews, which this ain't, to news, which it is.]

[Via Joystiq]

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