We close it out with a tangent all about a bit of unsettling Capcom news regarding the Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen DLC. In retrospect, the DLC DOES seem to bring quite a bit to the table. We may have been a bit harsh, what do you think?
Every Friday I make a post containing links to interesting articles I have found throughout the week. If you already follow me on Twitter, then you will have probably seen most of the following links. Don’t forget to like the Kotowari Facebook page as well. Enjoy!
Early this morning, Nintendo held yet another Nintendo Direct event. I love the excitement these events generate from the sheer mystery of what will be announced… Anyway, the focus was on the Wii U and there were some big announcements regarding the system itself and future titles. Thus, this wrap-up will be divided accordingly.
Wii U Improvements
A few updates are coming to Nintendo’s newest console this Spring and Summer:
Virtual Console support confirmed for the Wii U this Spring.
For the first time ever GameBoy Advance games will be included. I can has Final Fantasy VI Advance?
There will be discounts for Famicom games (.30 cents each) as well as Wii U Virtual Console titles already purchased for the Wii ($1.00-$1.50).
Some Miiverse improvements including filtering and navigation.
Smart phone support for Miiverse is scheduled for this Spring.
Pikmin 3 will allow you to take screenshots with the Gamepad to share on Miiverse. Hilariously zoomed in images of Pikmin enemies were shown.
The Games
No new games in January and February. Considering January is pretty much over and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is coming out in March, I can live with this.
Platinum Games, who are working on two titles for the Wii U, took center stage:
The Wonderful 101
This game looks bizarre, colorful, and hilarious. I can’t wait to see more. I can’t believe The Wonderful 101 features an obese character who doesn’t appear to be for comic relief!
Bayonetta 2
While this “trailer” doesn’t show much in the way of gameplay, it does suggest that Bayonetta 2 will be bigger and more dramatic (is that even possible?) than its predecessor. Perhaps the team is better able to spread their wings now that the title is an established IP?
First Party Games
Of course Nintendo is pumping out them first party games.
First game screens of new Smash Bros. to appear at this year’s E3
A new 3D action Mario game is in development for Wii U, along with a new Mario Cart. Both will be playable at E3.
A Wii Party roulette game featuring numerous mini-games is in development. It will be the most technologically advanced drinking game to date.
New Yoshi game by the Kirby’s Epic Yarn crew, for all you Yoshi fans. He’s the only driver I use when I make an embarrassment of myself by playing Mario Cart.
After this, it was back to 3rd party development with a shocking collaborative title:
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem
Allow me to say what we’re all thinking: “Whhhhhaaaaaaaa?” While the trailer reveals nothing, we can gather that character from Shin Megami Tensei and characters from Fire Emblem will be brought together in some way. Collaborative games are kinda gimmicky, and the story almost always requires some mumbo jumbo about dimensional portals. Still, Atlus proved with Persona 4 Arena that we can expect a high level of quality from any game that Atlus puts their name on.
After this, Nintendo dropped the Z-bomb. That’s right: Zelda news. Few things cause Nintendo fans to quiver with anticipation like another game with Link, the Master Sword, and all that jazz. Not surprisingly, a new title for the Wii U is in development. What DID surprise me was the new direction for addition to the series:
Mission for the new Zelda: Rethink the conventions of Zelda (Eiji Aonuma mentioned capturing the “real essence of the franchise”)
Aonuma explained two big traditional elements of Zelda that may be done away with as part of this re-imagining:
The need to complete dungeons in a certain order
Zelda as a single player experience
Could the Zelda franchise be taking one step closer to a Dark Souls play-style? Sure sounds like it!
In other Zelda news, my favorite title in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, will be receiving a Wii U HD remake.
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
This is awesome news, and definitely another feather in the cap of the Wii U. This system seems to be gathering an awful lot of feathers lately… This HD remake will feature upgraded graphics, tuned up gameplay (whatever that means), and Gamepad functionality.
Finally, the X-bomb was dropped: a new Monolithsoft title. Holy shit, you guys. After the glory that was Xenoblade Chronicles, I am PUMPED for whatever this is:
Did you see the part where the guy got in the mech THEN CUT OFF SOME MONSTER’S TENTACLE? OMG. What. Remember what I said about feathers earlier? I think Nintendo just shoved a live goose in the Wii U’s hat. NINTENDO GOOSE HAT IN HD!
One thing was clear from today’s Wii U Direct: big things are coming to the Wii U, in the form of system improvements and highly desirable (and exclusive) games from surprising sources. They may be late to the HD party, but Nintendo’s unique direction is already setting it apart from competitors in a refreshing way.
Today Atlus has announced that a demo for Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan will be available to download at the Nintendo eShop on February 7th. The demo will include access to some early dungeons, character creation, sidequests, and even guild card functionality. Best of all, any progress made in the demo can be saved and carried over to the retail version.
Demos that return your time investment upon purchasing the full version of a game have become more common lately. I for one am all for this trend. I loved last year’s Dragon’s Dogma demo, which allowed players to fully customize their characters for the retail release. And character creation in Etrian Odyssey can be just as engrossing. There is no better feeling than choosing your party’s ranks — front row, back row, oh and which sprite you want for each jobclass!
Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan will be released on February 26th in North America. Anyone planning on starting their journey in Tharsis should definitely download this demo and get a head start.
Hi, all! I’m not sure if many of you follow my podcast, My Fair Hunter, but I just wanted to let you know that the show’s undergone some changes. When Capcom announced that the Monster Hunter Tri servers would shut down shortly after the release of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, we began to look for other avenues for the show. Then, during an unexpected hiatus, we began to set the pieces into place.
Today we launched the revamped show, in which we play a game in the series never brought to the West: Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. Despite being wholly in Japanese, this version features a great deal of content that will be in the upcoming Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. Our goal with this move is to provide others with a bit of insight as to what they can expect come March 19th.
The new direction was inspired also by Sarah’s recent obsession with Japanese television shows. I know what you’re thinking — crazy gameshows, right? Well, they’re not all that bad; in fact a lot of them use very interesting ways to maintain viewer engagement. Graphs, challenges, mascots, and jingles to name a few. I’ve tried to encapsulate a bit of that in the new look for the podcast, so please check it out if you have a chance!
Roy Blakely started Kotowari.org in 2008 while studying abroad in Japan. There, in his lonely dorm room, the site provided a much-needed outlet for his love of games. The site grew quickly, along with his authority on niche Japanese titles. Today, in addition to posting on Kotowari, he hosts a podcast, writes guides, and dabbles in programming. What a cool guy, huh?
Email roy[at]kotowari.org
Game Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Developer Capcom
Hours ~15
Recent Accomplishments Starting with clearing the offline quests to build up my farm and a stockpile of necessities. I've pretty much exclusively been using Heavy Bow Gun since pellet and normal shots are awesome early on. Here's hoping the 3DS data transfer app will be available soon...
