Video game news is slow these days. Japan takes it easy around the new year. VERY easy. And they deserve to, I suppose. Since there isn’t much to talk about, I think I will complain about something. I choose to complain about Square Enix’s recent release of some ridiculously expensive merchandise.
I started having problems when I saw this (image at top, more here). If you played Final Fantasy XII you may recognize this mass of metal as Judge Magister Gabranth’s helmet. What you may not realize instantly is that this is a 1/1 scale helmet. That means that its size is equal to its actual size… were it to exist.
The price is even more redonk. If you were to buy the helm from Amazon Japan, it would run you ?115,496. That translates to about $1,200 and at Play-Asia the helm is available for pre-order for $1099.99.
This helm begs a question in my mind: can it be worn? If so, what would one wear with it? Surely my pink polo shirt with popped collar would not match a helm meant for a suit of armor. Most people do not own suits of armor, which may adversely affect demand. Still, if you cannot wear the helm, it seems like an awful lot of money for something purely decorative.
I am not sure what Square Enix is thinking with these increasingly expensive pieces of merchandise. Do I even wanna know how much the Versus Final Fantasy XII + Roen collaboration clothes are going to cost? I think someone needs to take some time out of their day and explain what recession means to Square Enix.
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:x
Dungeons & Dam: Beaver Combat
Dungeons & Dam (or DanDam) is Acquire’s newest work-in-progress for the Nintendo DS and is scheduled to be released this Spring in Japan. The game revolves around a small town barricaded against demons with the help of raging waters controlled by dams.
Each night, demons will attempt to take over the town. The player creates units and assembles teams with specific tasks to contribute to the protection of the town and its people. The morning portion of each day is spent organizing and preparing for nightfall. I am not sure how the passage of time is based, but I am guessing it is not based on actual time.
If the player performs well at routinely routing the invading forces, more people will move into the town. Having more people means more talent. Shops will begin carrying better weapons, equips, and items. Likewise, a town which frequently comes close to annihilation will have its residents choose to leave.
The system the game uses reminds me a bit of games like Dark Cloud, in which the player has a bit of control when it comes to his or her town. Seeing the effects of your hard work around you is always a good feeling. This combined with a ton of different creatable characters has me very intrigued with Dungeons and Dam.
My only concern is that in some ways the game looks a little poorly put together. The website and the game’s logo in particular fail to impress me, which is surprising to me since most Japanese game sites are nicely designed. Perhaps the game will look a bit more polished as it’s release draws closer.