08.27.06
Posted in Japanese, Links, News at 12:32 pm by yuka
First off, while we were away, looks like that new WoW patch (Drums of War) came out, so click link above for the full notes. Looking forward next week to some serious AV-ing with not-so-familiar faces :)
Tales of the Tempest is set for release on 26th October, approx. cost £25.20 on DS. Like all the other ”Tales of” series, but well, if you’re a collector of such RPGs, you may be interested – much has been said of this game at least. Those pre-ordering will get an Official Fan Book (full of in-game trivia) and an original pouch with logo.
Valkyrie Profile 2 – Silmeria – Voice Mix Album is out now for £14.70. Incidentally, there’re a load of other VP and FF CDs out at the moment from just about any music shop you amble into in Tokyo… although if you’re out looking for Mario/Zelda related music, you might be better off ordering online.
Although the price or release date is currently unannounced, there seems to be much hype surrounding the new Genji game for the PS3. If anything, it does look good. Genji, for those of you interested in a bit of old Japanese history, was one of two families (the other being Heishi) embroiled in a bitter feud – think War of the Roses, but slightly earlier. So it’s basically a ‘historical’ action/RPG… kind of, not unlike the Onimusha series.
Oh, and if you’re interested in a pink PSP, look no further (scroll down for pic). Personally, I think the new pink DSLite looks better though. Both, pink versions are of course, for us females, supposedly. Specifically (as regards the PSP), us female gamers in Europe, as no plans are in place to release them outside of our region. And no mention of when it’ll be out (article mentions that the pink PSP was shown on the business day of the conference, not the public day).
Just a random Mario sweet we picked up in Family Mart (a convenience store chain). Where else, but in Japan? (Apologies to people who get rss feeds – my last attempt at inserting this pic failed because apparently Word Press just fucked things up again.)
Finally we get to FF III. The game itself is out now on DS (in Japan… cross your fingers it’ll make it overseas soon), but the original soundtrack should be out too by 20th September for approx. £12.50. It’ll be a 2CD set plus a special DVD (opening movie, promotional vid, special interview). The above link will take you to their official page for the CD, where a few tracks are showcased in the Sound Preview section (left: Prelude, Opening Theme, Endless Wind; right: Curse of Jinn, Hometown, Chocobo’s Theme).
The game itself costs approx. £29.90 and it’s official site is found here. It’s all fairly explanatory though, so excuse me if I don’t go translating bits of it. Plus, it’s pissed me off a bit with the ever-scrolling ‘Prologue’ section… just like the Kingdom Hearts II site did for the Story bit. You can’t even cut and paste, so no chance of an accurate translation opportunity without my having to memorise whole chunks of the blurb. Despicable! Oh, and you can attempt to find out what’s in the Download section. I’ve been trying for the last five mins, without any sign of anything happening. The site’s a mess, like all Japanese sites seem to be, but the game’s touted as being one of the best to come out this quarter anyhoo.
Right, now I’m off back to Titan Quest – this game is surprisingly good, not least because I like the Age of Empires series. It’s a good mix of good graphics, and good old fashioned hack/slash action adventure. Think I’ll vent my ill will towards Square Enix’s official site developers on some nice undeads willing to get the sharp end of my epic spear.
Permalink
08.19.06
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews at 6:10 am by yuka
That Cooking cartridge I mocked earlier on… apologies Nintendo, I was wrong! Got it, scanned through it, and now ready to start cooking with it. Wonder if there’ll be sequels, preferably in the form of Japanese sweets… Meanwhile, my other half is hooked on his two Bit Generation games. Due to its popularity, most of them were sold out, but checking some smaller stores proved fruitful.
Mario Basketball 3on3 was surprisingly difficult to get hold of. After trawling through several shops, I located one – yep, that popular this game is proving to be. It’s actually quite playable after getting to grips with the occasionally temperamental controls, and of course, you can unlock all those Square Enix characters… Play it like Mario Kart basically.
Site translation is needed, methinks. From top to bottom, left column, then right column: What is Mario Basketball 3on3?, Game mode, Battle mode 3on3, Other Battle modes, (then ‘Coming soon’ at the bottom… so over onto right column) Character, Item and Court, Introduction movie, TV ad. Click on the bottom screen of the mock DS to start a trailer. There are quite a few characters and items to unlock, by the looks of the site and the game itself, so plenty of playing time – well worth the money (4,800yen = approx. £24). Actually, anything that’s got Moogle in it, is worth the money.
Talking of Moogle, FF III is due out on 24th this month for the DS. Looks good. If you are lucky enough to be staying in Japan at the right time (and you have the required linguistic skills), you have the option of reservation. Obviously, a lot of promotional stuff will be out at the same time, so get yourself something before you have to bid for them on eBay.
On that note, I’m going to cuddle up to my cuddly Yoshi and Rabi.
Permalink
08.07.06
Posted in Japanese, News, Site news at 11:07 am by yuka
Upcoming release titles from Nintendo, at least is as follows:
3rd Aug. – Starfox Command (DS); 10th Aug. – a variety of software that enables Japanese people to ‘learn’ English vocab; 24th Aug. – FF III; 2nd Sept. – DS Lite Jet Black (the one that’s out over here already), and that infamous Tingle game for the DS (have yet to hear of a title for abroad); 21st Sept. – Yu Yu Hakusho DS; 28th Sept. – Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl.
The guy responsible for the PS logo tune has come up with a weird concoction that’s in the form of a CD. He publishes this CD under the name of 8bit Project, and titled it FAMILIAR COMPUTING WORLD . Basically, it’s a bunch of tunes (including J-pop) dressed up into those almost-nostalgic famicon sounds. In the playlist, there will be tunes from Evangelion and a Studio Ghibli collection (that includes Nausicaa’s Requeim), not just the embarassingly trashy J-pop genre. Sold for 2,000yen (£10), it’s out now. Either this is one more novelty item (one of those wacky paraphernalia one can get from Japan) or you’re one geek who actually appreciates those Lolita-esque ’singers’ outside Japan. You decide.
Not that we heard anything about it beforehand, Mario Basketball 3on3, released on 27th last month, is proving to be very popular (partly because it’s a collaboration between Nintendo and Square Enix). Above link will take you to some screenshots at least – no sorry, I’m not going to translate the whole article. At least this is one game we’ll be sure to make it’s not-so-ponderous way over here.
Just a note to regular readers: I’ll be in Tokyo with severe jet lag for the following ten days, so no form of entry will be made. However, I solemnly promise to write any interesting info I pick up once back. (Obviously bear in mind the flight itself takes approx. 12hours each way, so I will mentally have a ‘fatigue’ bar over my head for a while.)
Permalink