Namco Bandai's Tales franchise has been around for quite some time and the idea to bring it to the DS in the form of Tales of Innocence seems like a no-brainer. But, is the game going to be any good? Is it going to be the Tales experience fans are looking for?
Hopefully, these pair of trailers will help you answer that question. So, check out the game's intro above and some battle footage past the break.
We like Hori's themed Protect Cases. They're an easy, inexpensive, and impermanent way to give your DS Lite a "limited edition" look. This way, you can deck out your DS like you spent $200 dollars on a bundle, but then if you decide that the game is terrible or something, you can just toss the cover and not have a constant reminder of your own folly on the top of your system.
From the looks of it, Tales of Innocence won't be terrible, and so there will no doubt be an audience for this nice-looking set. It includes a clear Protect Case and a maroon Tales of Innocence extending stylus, for $23. It'll be released on December 6th.
The post-show media just keeps rolling in! We're not complaining, though ... far from it, when the media in question is as mind-boggling as this Tales of Innocence trailer. Even us dedicated DS fans are sometimes impressed with the capabilities creative developers can wring out of our handheld.
This latest Tales installment is due for release in December in Japan, and there's no word on localization, but after seeing this trailer, we can only hope Namco Bandai picks up the slack.
1UP's original Retronaut, Jeremy Parish, took in some Game Center CX at TGS, and it sounds as meta-fabulous as we thought. The central gimmick of the game is that you play as two kids who are themselves playing games; they have a Famicom-esque system in front of them and a pile of magazines. Both the games and the magazines are original creations based on classics; the games imitate Galaga, Lode Runner, and others, and the magazines talk about those games in a style reminiscent of Famitsu.
We're as bummed about the fact that this game will never make it to the U.S. as we are about the Game Center CX show. We're sure Spike TV or G4 or somebody could make decent money from a subtitled version of the show, but we don't know how big the market would be for a game about it. Too bad for what is basically a love letter to retrogaming.
Dengeki Online has the latest from Namco Bandai's next entry in the Tales series, and it looks pretty sharp. A lot of these screens appear to be stills from the trailer we saw last month, but it's nice to be able to take a closer look at what we'll be seeing. The character designs really maximize the capabilities of the DS, and it really seems like an improvement from some of what we've seen in the post-Final Fantasy III era of handheld RPGs.
With this new pair of trailers for Digimon World Dawn and Dusk, we're sensing a strong pro-day, anti-night vibe. The Dawn trailer seems much more interesting and offers more information, while the Dusk video is rather perfunctory. "There's some Digimon! Stuff happens! You want it!" The monster above knows it, too. He senses the contempt for all things evening, and it displeases him. Don't believe us? See for yourself after the jump.
We somehow managed to resist Pac-Man World Rally, but we aren't sure how many times we're going to be able to see the Prince in games and keep our wallets holstered. We love Katamari Damacy like nothing else, and it's all we can do to remind ourselves that series creator Keita Takahashi is no longer making Katamari games, and that the Prince has become a Namco franchise character rather than a labor of love.
Still, seeing a "Princesaurus" in Dragon Tamer: Sound Spirit weakens our resolve. It doesn't matter what the game actually is (a monster-breeding/fighting game that uses sound inputs to generate monsters), we have a hard time saying no to that little face. It has an attack called "Katamari on the Rock" as well. If anyone had told us back in the day that Katamari Damacy would be a strong enough property that Namco would use it to promote other games, we'd have either laughed or given that person a sincere hug.
Word came down the tubes today that Namco Bandai's upcoming compilation title Namco Museum DS has just struck gold. Or, wait ... is that gone gold? Either way, there's some kind of gold involved.
Those who've been waiting for the game, ever since the first list of its included titles was revealed, can rest assured that they'll have their fix of nostalgia on the go come September 10th.
If you're interested in navigating Japanese websites, the online space set aside for Namco Bandai's upcoming Tales of Innocence game is a cup of tea you should be most satisfied with. There's some screens from the game, character bios and an incredible wealth of Japanese text that our minds are incapable of translating. There's also a trailer at the site, but we already showed it to you, fine reader.
Sure, we've had plenty of screens from the game to look over, but footage has been few and far between. Well, thanks to YouTube, we get our first glimpse of the game, courtesy of a Japanese commercial. And, as with all Japanese commercials, its fairly short and completely ridiculous.
Looks like Digimon is getting into the double-your-gaming, double-your-profit market with its latest. Namco Bandai has announced Digimon Dusk and Dawn, two parallel stories, each with their own Digimon and Digifarms. Take on the role of a Sunshine trainer, or a trainer from the Dark Moon district, each with their own suspicions about the other side's role in a recent earthquake that is causing Digimon to devolve back into Digi-eggs.
Digimon Dusk and Dawn will feature WiFi battles and scads of all new Digimon for you to collect. The games are currently set for a fall release -- just about the time you've decided that maybe you should put the Pokémans aside. How convenient!
Hit the jump for screens and artwork from the upcoming games.
You've heard it was coming, took a gander at some screens and even seen some video of it in action. So, you're probably wondering just when you'll be able to get your hands on the game, right? Well, Japan will be receiving it this Summer, but for everyone else, that's still undetermined. Hopefully, we'll get it sometime this year also.
Of course, Europe will probably get it in 2010 (sorry, guys).
Namco Bandai have announced that Taiko: Drum Master will feature a four player mode in its forthcoming DS incarnation. Previously popular in the arcades and on PS2, the rhythm action title is based on Taiko, the Japanese drum.
The game will support download play from one cart, so maybe you'll want to start persuading a friend to head down to your local import shop. Players can drum along to a variety of musical styles, ranging from Jpop to classical via the theme from Super Mario Brothers. You'll also be able to customise your drum with a selection of cute costumes. With this due out in summer, and Ouendan 2 on its way soon, it looks like rhythm action fans are in for a treat over the coming weeks.
Poor Sony. First we stole Crash Bandicoot, and now it's Taiko Drum Master, which previously appeared (outside of the arcade) on the PS2. But the move only makes sense, for a number of reasons; in 2004, the PS2 was on top. Now it's the DS, and publishers can't fit their popular properties on the dual-screened handheld quickly enough. Second of all ... it's a rhythm game, and as we've seen, there's really no betterplatform for rhythmgames.
Namco Bandai is trying to be all secretive about the controls, but let's see ... rhythm game ... DS ... anyone out there have any idea how this might work? If you said "touch screen," you're probably correct. If you said something else, like "donkey face" or "mudpie," you might want to check for, uh, insanity. Or something.
Game|Life's Chris Kohler has a translation of the partial songlist from the Japanese version (including the Mario theme!), which is set for this summer. There are also a couple of scans, and you can check those out after the jump.
Namco Bandai has announced today that they plan on bringing a new title to the DS this Summer. With a title like Namco Museum DS, we wonder what it could include? Lucky for us, we have a press release that spells it all out. This game is to feature 8 different titles from Namco's past. These titles, which are their best-sellers (natch), include:
Pac-Man
Pac-Man Vs.
Galaga
Xevious
Dig Dug II
Galaxian
Mappy
Tower of Druaga
Namco Museum DS will retail for $19.99 when it hits retail shelves this Summer.
1UP's original Retronaut, Jeremy Parish, took in some Game Center CX at TGS, and it sounds as meta-fabulous as we thought. The central gimmick of the game is that you play as two kids who are themselves playing games; they have a Famicom-esque system in front of them and a pile of magazines. Both the games and the magazines are original creations based on classics; the games imitate Galaga, Lode Runner, and others, and the magazines talk about those games in a style reminiscent of Famitsu.
Dengeki Online has the latest from Namco Bandai's next entry in the Tales series, and it looks pretty sharp. A lot of these screens appear to be stills from the trailer we saw last month, but it's nice to be able to take a closer look at what we'll be seeing. The character designs really maximize the capabilities of the DS, and it really seems like an improvement from some of what we've seen in the post-Final Fantasy III era of handheld RPGs.
We somehow managed to resist Pac-Man World Rally, but we aren't sure how many times we're going to be able to see the Prince in games and keep our wallets holstered. We love Katamari Damacy like nothing else, and it's all we can do to remind ourselves that series creator Keita Takahashi is no longer making Katamari games, and that the Prince has become a Namco franchise character rather than a labor of love.
Namco Bandai has announced today that they plan on bringing a new title to the DS this Summer. With a title like Namco Museum DS, we wonder what it could include? Lucky for us, we have a press release that spells it all out. This game is to feature 8 different titles from Namco's past. These titles, which are their best-sellers (natch), include:
