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DS Daily: The next great remake

Maybe it was a matter of time, but that isn't important -- what is important is that you guys called it. Chrono Trigger is headed to the DS (and we wouldn't be surprised to see something Snatcher-related for the DS eventually), and that makes last year's celebration of the age of remakes a success.

Which, of course, means we need to do the whole thing again, and that means we have to turn to you, gentle readers. We need all-new games to explore for their remakeability, so open up. Let us know what you might like to see, with the exceptions of Snatcher, Super Smash Bros., Abe's Oddysee, and of course, Chrono Trigger. We'll make a new poll from your suggestions, so get to suggesting. Remakes, ports, and re-imaginings of titles are all fair game. Tell us what you'd play!

Chrono Trigger: new DS features unveiled, in U.S. this year


Just in case that tiny snippet from Shonen Jump magazine and a countdown site wasn't enough confirmation for you doubting Thomases, Square Enix just pumped out a press release detailing its ZOMG MEGATON DS version of Chrono Trigger.

Judging by this, the DS iteration will look and sound very much like the SNES game -- Akira Toriyama's artwork will make the jump, for example, as will Yasunori Mitsuda's musical score. It's also being tweaked here and there to suit the DS's feature-set, so there'll be full touchscreen functionality, dual screen presentation, and most intriguingly, a wireless play mode, the details of which have yet to be fleshed out. Oh, and there's a brand new dungeon planned as well. Not exactly a straight port, then, but also not a dramatic remake. But heck, who's complaining? It's Chrono Trigger on the DS, which is what you all asked for!

And here's the best bit: the game will be hitting North America this Holiday season. Better get saving.

[Via press release]

Rhythm Tengoku screenshots, boxart are Gold

It won't be long before you'll have to break open your piggy bank -- Rhythm Tengoku Gold will be out in Japan as soon as July 31st! If you never had a chance to play the original critically-acclaimed rhythm game for the GBA, consider it your mission to import this DS remake later this month.

Hit our gallery below for a handful of screenshots from Rhythm Tengoku Gold! They're mostly larger versions of the images shown on Nintendo's fact sheet, but they're still a good preview of how the touchscreen-enabled title will play on the system, book-style. Besides, as this upcoming release shows, the world needs more Rhythm Tengoku.


[Thanks, Peter!]

Fire on the Water almost as awesome as Smoke on the Water



Having garnered near-unanimous praise and placed first in the NEO Spring Compo's DS game category with Lone Wolf: Flight from the Dark, Project Aon is readying another homebrew port of the Lone Wolf "gamebooks," this time for the second book in the series, Fire on the Water.

Project Aon has already posted a release candidate for the game, allowing users to download and try out the visual novel before its final release. As with Flight from the Dark, the sequel allows readers to take control of the story with RPG-inspired elements, such as branching narrative options and character customization (e.g. skills, disciplines).

In addition to fixes and general improvements, Fire on the Water now features four new music tracks, an improved game engine for handling more complex events, merchants, and mini-games. If you haven't jumped into the homebrew scene yet, now is a good time!


[via DCEmu]

Dungeon Maker digs its way west this September [update 1]



We all owe Rising Star Games several evenings' worth of drinks at the bar, for without them we western folk may well have missed out on some potentially magnificent games.

And here's another one! After its recent confirmation that Dungeon Maker was coming to Europe, the company has settled on a release date of September 19th (those of you in the states needn't despair; after all, Europe is one small import away), and whipped the covers off of the PAL boxart. Doesn't that golden shovel hint at amazing possibilities? What deadly traps will it help us lay? What rare and exotic monsters and treasures will it help us ensnare? We'll know soon enough!

[Update 1: First English screens! Hit the gallery!]

Gallery: Dungeon Maker


[Via press release]

Deca Sports possibly multiplied by two screens

In an interview with Cubed3, Hudson's Mike Pepe floated the possibility of a future DS version of their sports minigame collection, Deca Sports. It's far from OMG CONFIRMED, but Pepe remarked that Hudson is "exploring other platforms. The DS being one of them."

He followed with a disclaimer that, to us, sounds more like support, saying that the controls were central to the Deca Sports experience. Which system has the control scheme best suited to translation from Wii games? The DS is the only one we know that also involves waving a stick around to control things.

If Hudson decides to port or remake Deca Sports, the DS seems like a natural choice. It's already got a built-in "DS" name!

The dirt on Cave Story DS, Cave Story-engraved DS



Praised by almost everyone who's played the freeware PC title, Cave Story is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the "Metroidvania" genre, a polished action platformer embellished with endearing characters and a catchy soundtrack. No matter how many times we're reminded of the fact, it always astounds us that the game was designed and developed by a single programmer, Daisuke Amaya, or Pixel, as he's more commonly known.

As you might should know, homebrew developer Ravenworks has been working on a DS port for Cave Story. As it turns out, however, Pixel doesn't own a Nintendo DS, so it would be unlikely that he'd be able to play the port once it's completed. In fact, he hasn't owned a handheld or home console since the Nintendo 64! Isn't it a crime nowadays for gamers in Japan to not own a Nintendo DS?

To keep Pixel out of jail, Ravenworks and the rest of the "All Things Studio Pixel (ATSP)" LiveJournal community raised $410 and put together a care package of handheld treats as a "thank you" for the DS-less developer's work. Here's everything the group purchased and sent:
So, how did Pixel take to the package? You can read his reaction, as well as the community's reasons for picking those two particular games for their offering, past the post break! We also used this effort as an excuse to catch up with Ravenworks on Cave Story DS's progress.

Continue reading The dirt on Cave Story DS, Cave Story-engraved DS

This homebrew release is never going to let you down


Months after we'd thought this "rickroll" meme had died from overuse -- a recent survey showed that an estimated 18 million American adults have been rickrolled -- homebrew programmer Madcat1990 has brought it back, porting the popular prank to the DS.

We downloaded the application and loaded it up on our DS just to see if it really worked, and, wouldn't you know it, we rickrolled ourselves. How hilarious would it be if someone tried to run a pirated game on their DS, only to find themselves greeted with Rick Astley's sensuous, soulful voice? Expect to see flashcart manufacturers put out firmware updates with rickroll protection and anti-measures soon.

Viva Pinata lives, gets subtitle

The BBFC seems to have confirmed two things about Rare's upcoming DS game, Viva Pinata. The first is that THQ will be publishing the software, and the second is that the subtitle for the game (at least in Europe) will be Pocket Paradise.

Until we hear something more tangible, though, we'll chalk this one up as a rumor.

Gallery: Viva Pinata DS



[Thanks, jimmcq!]

Syberia takes an adventure on the DS

It looks like Myst isn't the only oldschool PC adventure game to be ported to the DS. According to Mindscape, Syberia is on its way, too. Since it's only a port, it won't contain any new content. Yet, we're glad to know that the game will feature touch-screen functionality, since that's always a plus in adventure titles. You can also expect an improved interface and menu system, to make inventories easier to navigate.

In Syberia, you take control of businesswomen Kate Walker, who's looking for the long-lost heir of a toy-making family. One of Syberia's best aspects, though, is its surreal, steampunk-esque setting, which we hope translates well onto the DS.

The game is scheduled to release in Europe this October, but there's no word yet of a North American localization.

[Via Nintendic]

Rumor: Paper Mario port on the way

According to (the translated version of) a Ruliweb post about a note in the latest issue of CoroCoro Comic, a DS version of the Nintendo 64 Paper Mario is on the way purple monkey dishwasher. No more information is available than that, but the Ruliweb post says that "More news is expected to appear later." Which is obvious, but, really, if this is true, expect an announcement and official screens within the next couple of weeks.

Oh, and allow us to say it first, because you're already getting your commenting hat on: why isn't this Super Mario RPG? We don't know, and we find the decision to port Paper Mario strange, since it's available on the Virtual Console for ten bucks.

[Via NeoGAF]

Boxart battle: Emblem of Gundam vs Front Mission 2089



Above, we have the covers for two upcoming strategy titles, Emblem of Gundam and Front Mission 2089. Both series have similar themes -- giant mechas battling it out against an intricate backdrop of political drama -- so it's startling to see the different approaches in their packaging designs.

Front Mission 2089 puts more emphasis on its character lineup, masking a lone Wanzer in the mist, and the result is a lusterless jacket that looks as unexciting as the starring crew's listless expressions. Emblem of Gundam's cover has more action to it, giving its mobile suits and story characters even billing. One guy is flying through space with a rapier! Another has a gun! And a massive Gundam oversees the entire scene, jets blasting and fingers positioned like a master pianist preparing his next attack. This is how you design a box!

Today's lesson: If you have huge robots, use them. Pilot your mecha past the post break for a better look at the two covers.

Continue reading Boxart battle: Emblem of Gundam vs Front Mission 2089

Love Revo: Losing weight is hard even in video games



We've been immensely interested in Otometeki Koi Kakumei: Love Revo ever since we caught wind of the DS game, but we hadn't seen any in-depth impressions of the dating sim until now. While it's a port of a 2006 PS2 game with very little added content, it has a unique concept: you play as a 200-lb, doltish girl looking to shed some pounds and smarten herself up to meet the standards of seven possible bachelors. Interestingly, there's also, uh, a somewhat incestual possible ending.

Gamer Tell's Jenni Lada has a few curious notes on those unattached boys from her Love Revo playthrough: Souta, a blue-haired buck in the grade below your character's, has the lowest weight-loss requirement, and he'll date you once you've worked yourself down to 165 lbs. Perhaps the developers are implying that his youth and romantic inexperience have kept his standards lower than matured gentlemen? Because of his relatively accepting nature, Jenni found herself thinking of him as "a better person than the other male bachelors." Take notes, guys!

You would expect Toru, your character's childhood friend and a similarly overweight individual, to be more understanding of your obesity, but not so! You have to slim down to 143 lbs before he gazes at you with hearts floating around his head. Toru's willing to take you under his husky wing, however, if your reading stat is only at 60; Souta must place higher importance on brains than looks, as his reading stat requirement is 65.

To lose weight and build up your stats, you have to efficiently balance your activities, food intake, work, money, and stress. Despite her best efforts, Jenni found that balance too challenging to achieve, and her game ended with a "mean, thin girl" mocking her character. Determined to win herself a man, she used an Action Replay cheat code to rake in unlimited cash. Pockets full, she had no trouble gaining kind-hearted Souta's affection.

So, is it easier to lose weight when you're rich? And is it easier to shack up with someone when you have money?

Free SHMUPs: OpenTyrian DS and World Reborn



What a great time to be a handheld shoot-em-up fan! On the commercial front, Nanostray 2 just hit store shelves and Ketsui DS is still on the way. Homebrew gamers had their lives changes by Super Wings's release last week, and now they have two more titles to play with -- OpenTyrian DS and World Reborn.

OpenTyrian DS (v0.2) is a port of vertical-scrolling shooter Tyrian, originally a PC title. Players pick up cash while blasting their way through stages which they can then spend on ship modifications in between levels. There's a huge variety of upgrades available for purchase -- primary and secondary weapons (with 11 levels), "sidekicks," shields, energy generators, and even alternate ships. If you have a flaschart handy, you definitely need to try this one out.

As for World Reborn, this horizontal-scrolling SHMUP (with an RPG leveling system) was originally intended as a commercial GBA release and even had a DS sequel planned for a minute, but the game never made it to the retail market. Though developer NeoPong (now defunct) had plans to publish World Reborn with DSI Games, that deal fell through, and the studio has decided to put up the ROM for free rather than pack it away in a warehouse, Indiana Jones-style. Jump past the post break for a trailer of the game.

Read - Download OpenTyrian DS
Read - Download World Reborn

Continue reading Free SHMUPs: OpenTyrian DS and World Reborn

Promotional Consideration: City planning



Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.

We applaud any video game ad that eschews the common official-art-and-screenshots approach, a template that's been in place for as long as we can remember. This week's piece abandons those conventions, marketing EA's SimCity DS port and its city-management features in a much more creative fashion. Expand you commercial zoning, lower industrial taxes, and join us past the break!

Continue reading Promotional Consideration: City planning

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