If we're (maybe) not getting a Skies of Arcadia sequel, Wind of Nostalgia sounds like the next best thing. In fact, it sounds like the same thing, only instead of air pirates, you're ... Londoners. Even with that not-as-cool difference, the gameplay of this RPG includes both dungeons and air battles, just like Skies. Interestingly, though, the setting for Wind is in the 19th century -- you don't usually associate the 1800s and air ships together, not that we're complaining.
IGN pointed out another interesting detail that has us salivating over this new IP. Not only is Matrix (think the Final Fantasy III and IV DS remakes) working on the project, as we knew, but also the producer is Keisuke Kikuchi of Fatal Frame fame. asdlfjasdlkjfa -- oh excuse us there, we were just wiping drool off the keyboard.
Forget looking ahead to E3 -- today is the name for new DS game announcements. Despite their current issues, Tecmo is still kicking around, and is set to release Wind of Nostalgia, an action game from developer Matrix Software. Matrix has handled Square Enix's Final Fantasy III and IV for the DS, and the similarity is obvious in the snippets revealed on the one-page announcement in Famitsu.
Wind of Nostalgia is scheduled for a Japanese release this year. Also? Looks like it will feature some pretty spiffy airships. We'll get more on this one as details are released.
Square Enix Membership has its benefits. The company has made a web form available through which anyone with a Square Enix Members account (it's free) can submit questions to the Final Fantasy IV team. According to the site's blog, "All of the questions will be forwarded to the team, but only a few will be answered."
If you're curious about changes made to the Final Fantasy IV story or gameplay for the remake, or about the development of a DS game in general, this is a good opportunity! Just try not to submit five thousand questions (or one, even) about a Final Fantasy VII remake. They know.
Marvelous has some intriguing DS wares on the horizon, yet it looks like that's where most of it will stay -- on a horizon far, far away from the majority of us. Sob.
Part of a recent financial report from the publisher contained forecasts for forthcoming releases, as spotted by a keen-eyed Siliconera commenter and posted on NeoGAF. The estimations for Avalon Code's were notable, as they included figures for the U.S. and Europe, which in turn tells us we'll be getting the diary-keepin' ARPG here in the west at some point before March 2009.
Alas, we'd only just finished chest-bumping one another and shouting stuff like "HELL YEAH" when our excitement was tempered by the realization that Luminous Arc 2 and Steal Princessdidn't have figures for the U.S. or Europe. This (probably) means that those games won't be localized this financial year (despite our hopes for the former). That's not to say they'll never make the trip across, of course, but for now it's one in, and two out.
Matrix Software's Avalon Code affords players a decent amount of customization in terms of weapons: as revealed in this latest update, you'll be able to equip a weapon in each hand, from a selection including swords, axes, crossbows and other implements. In addition, you can use items to add elemental attributes to those weapons, increasing their effectiveness against certain types of monsters.
We're sure you'll be able to identify monsters' elemental weaknesses on sight, both from having played an RPG before or from possessing a modicum of common sense (if there are ice monsters, for example, they would obviously be weak against Cap'n Crunch fire), but just in case they aren't obvious, that information will be among the data gathered when you attack the enemy with your book.
For those of you who wondered after the lastFinal Fantasy IV trailer if the North American version of the DS remake would have English voices, here's your answer. Well, above here. Up there, in the video part. Turn your speakers on. The latest trailer, focusing on the story of (non-Batman) dark knight Cecil, features fully-voiced cutscenes, in English.
Square Enix may like to charge more for their DS games, but at least they are willing to sink some money into the the development of the things. The high-quality presentation of this game almost justifies the Square Enix Tax.
This gameplay trailer for Matrix Software's Avalon Code provides a nice representation of the ARPG's gameplay, as far as we can tell: fast-paced battles against big hobgoblins in silly hats, with menu controls in the lovely book-like interface on the bottom screen. Here, we can see a player switching out characters in the middle of this hobgoblin battle.
Interestingly, data about the hobgoblin doesn't appear in the book until the hero has pulled off a combo attack against the creature. It appears that the basic attacks still caused damage, but that there's some kind of prerequisite for obtaining monster information.
We're pretty sure the actual game will have sound, by the way.
Japanese publishers have game promotion down to a science, nowadays. The routine: announce a game in Famitsu, release a bare official site for the title several days later with artwork and a few shots, update the site sporadically for the next several months until the game's release, launch, and move on.
Marvelous Interactive has kicked off the second stage of its operations, putting an Avalon Code page online just days after debuting the ARPG in this week's issue of Famitsu. You won't find any video or downloadable items there yet, but you can preview a dozen images to check on what developer Matrix Software is preparing for the game's 2008 release.
The screenshots don't look bad -- they're about on par with what we've seen in Namco's Tales titles on the DS and the Final Fantasy III/IV DS remakes, the latter examples being titles Matrix had its hand in. Hit the gallery below to see if Avalon Code's 3D is for you.
Matrix Software has been in the press most recently for their work on the remakes of Final Fantasies III and IV. Before that, they had their own original action RPG, Alundra, which was released in the U.S. on the PlayStation by the decadent Working Designs.
Their latest project is another original work, this time for Marvelous: an action RPG called Avalon Code. From what we can see in the scan, it has impressive 3D action on the top screen, with an art style reminiscent of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. The bottom screen appears as a book, and shows information about onscreen monsters, as well as your inventory. New details should show up for this game by the end of the week; until then, squint away in wonder!
Square Enix, we'd like to introduce you to our good friends at Atlus. When they announce a game, we get dozens of screenshots. Heck, when it comes to Atlus games, we get dozens of screenshots just because it's Tuesday or the sun is shining, and we like it. You guys formally date Final Fantasy IV, one of the most anticipated DS titles this year ... and we get three English screenshots, and one of 'em doesn't even have any English (see above).
And yet, in return, Square Enix will have all of our money this summer, and sometimes, they don't even bother making new games. It almost doesn't seem fair. While we consider making a few protest posters, you can check out the screens in the gallery below.
You can go ahead and just accept that the next few months of your life are likely to belong to Square Enix. Now that we have an official release date for Final Fantasy IV, we're looking at:
The World Ends With You this month
Space Invaders Extreme and Arkanoid DS in June
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 in June
Final Fantasy IV July 22
And that's just a sprinkling of what's to come. There's so much else to consider, from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days to Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One, and maybe even Itadaki Street. And to think, some people are convinced that third parties have a tough time on Nintendo systems. Not so with Square Enix on the DS, that's for sure.
Did you miss the date for Final Fantasy IV in the last issue of Nintendo Power? We did, and so did many others; we were all too busy reading the incredible ten page spread on the game to look at the chart on page 18. Now RPGFan is also reporting that the game will ship this July, so it should be only a matter of time before Square Enix confirms the release. At this rate, we can expect Final Fantasy VI (also known as the one we're waiting for on the DS) in July of 2009. Can we get on that, guys? Not that we aren't excited about Final Fantasy IV (we are!), we're just ... uh ... looking ahead.
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.
Square Enix has been pushing Final Fantasy IV hard this week in Japan, advertising the 3D remake with five different CG-filled commercials. We were curious to compare these spots with how the RPG was marketed when it first appeared on the Super Famicom, all the way back in 1991, and the two approaches couldn't be any more at odds!
Having a jukebox feature is not unique to video games, but it's not often (or never) that we have this pleasure with a Final Fantasy title. Fortunately, though, the Final Fantasy IVremake for the DS will have a jukebox component, hosted by none other then everyone's favorite spoony bard.
Once you make Edward play your tune of choice, you can close up your DS, listen, and relax. If all of our DS games let us do this, we probably wouldn't have any need for our iPods anymore (okay, that's a lie).
It's important to note, however, that the soundtrack for the DS version is slightly different from that of the original game because of sound issues on the handheld. Regardless, we find this to be a nice little feature for the game.
Marvelous has some intriguing DS wares on the horizon, yet it looks like that's where most of it will stay -- on a horizon far, far away from the majority of us. Sob.
Matrix Software's Avalon Code affords players a decent amount of customization in terms of weapons: as revealed in this latest update, you'll be able to equip a weapon in each hand, from a selection including swords, axes, crossbows and other implements. In addition, you can use items to add elemental attributes to those weapons, increasing their effectiveness against certain types of monsters.
Japanese publishers have game promotion down to a science, nowadays. The routine: announce a game in Famitsu, release a bare official site for the title several days later with artwork and a few shots, update the site sporadically for the next several months until the game's release, launch, and move on.
You can go ahead and just accept that the next few months of your life are likely to belong to Square Enix. Now that we have an official release date for Final Fantasy IV, we're looking at:
Having a jukebox feature is not unique to video games, but it's not often (or never) that we have this pleasure with a Final Fantasy title. Fortunately, though, the Final Fantasy IV remake for the DS will have a jukebox component, hosted by none other then everyone's favorite spoony bard.
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