Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver: Japanese Pre-Order Bonus Announced

By Roy | Published: July 3, 2009

figures

The Pokémon Company in Japan released this image of the exclusive pre-order figures for their upcoming Nintendo DS titles Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver.  If you pre-order a copy of Pokémon Heart Gold, you’ll receive a Ho-oh figure, if you pre-order a copy of Pokémon Soul Silver, you’ll receive a Lugia figure.  What about that little guy in the middle you ask?  Only those customers who pre-order both versions of the game will receive the Arceus figure…

Is this terribly ingenious or just plain terrible on Pokémon’s part?  Sadly this minor incentive will probably force many people to pre-order both games.  If you get one for you and one for you friend who gets which figures?  There is just no way to win without shelling out the big bucks.

These figures will be available tomorrow in Japan.  It’s pretty likely that they’ll be popping up on sites like e-bay for especially gouging prices.  The wise consumer may just wait until a Western release is announced.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we are treated to the same luxury.

Related Entries:
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Posted in japan, nintendo ds, pokémon, pre-order | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Hero 30 Gets Web-Manga and Ranking System

By Roy | Published: June 30, 2009
comic (original) comic (my translation)

Despite being released over a month ago in Japan, Hero 30’s campaign of adding extras to the game and official site is going strong.  The site now features a collection of classical, 4-panel manga inspired by the game. You can find the collection here.  They are obviously all in Japanese, but I figured some of you out there might dig it.

I managed to translate the above comic while at work, but was forced to use paint.  I apologize for the less than desirable quality…

In addition to the comics, Marvelous has also launched an online ranking system for Hero 30.  While the game is really a single-player title, this ranking system will bring somewhat of a multi-player feeling to the game, adding yet another layer of desire for us Westerners.  The ranking login page can be found here.

Ranking system

Rankings are based on certain attributes the player has upon completing the game.  The above screenshot shows a ranking based on level, but there is also a ranking for total time left and how much money the player has.  Rankings are then divided further depening on what mode the player selects.

This ranking screen totally reminds me of my time spent toiling away in Maple Story…  Good times…  Those were the days when full time employment seemed so far off on the horizon.

I’m sure this is obvious, but I really hope someone is going to pick up Hero 30 for a NA and/or PAL release.  I guess if it is, an announcement should be made soon…. or not.

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Hero 30: Talk-Variety
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OMG Toys: Makai Kingdom: Pram Figure

By Roy | Published: June 29, 2009

Pram

This weekend NIS America sent out an e-mail announcing a slew of sales on merchandise at their Rosenqueen store.  Most of them are re-packaged pre-order goodies from past games.  However, there was one gem in the bunch: the Pram figure pictured above.

I didn’t even realize this figure was in the works, so it was a bit of a surprise.  Currently, the release date is set for late September, meaning that it won’t be among the merchandise at NIS America’s booth at the upcoming Anime Expo in LA.  The pre-order price is $59.99 at Rosenqueen, which is pretty decent compared to most other sites that ship to the West.  The going price in Japan seems to be around $50 USD, though, so we are getting shafted a bit, what else is new?

front-ish back

I really love Pram and the design of this figure, it nicely reflects Takehito Harada’s character design.  The face and hair even almost appear a little rough like a sketch. You can find a few more images of the figure here if you are interested.

I am hoping for some decent Disgaea 3 figures soon, though…  I kinda feel like we got screwed with the most recent set of gashapon figures which don’t even feature any characters from Disgaea 3!  I would really like a Raspberyl figure and a Sapphire figure.  Make it happen, Internet.

Related Entries:
All OMG Toys posts can be found here.

Posted in figure, merchandise, nis | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Pokémon Soul Silver and Heart Gold Gets Japanese Release Date and Packaging

By Roy | Published: June 26, 2009
Heart Gold Cover Soul Silver Cover

Nintendo and Pokémon have finally announced a release date for their highly anticipated Nintendo DS titles Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver.  The date is September 12th in Japan and the price with the bundled Poké-Walker is 4,800 yen (~$48.00 USD).

more packaging This is about the standard price for a new Nintendo DS title in Japan, which makes it seem like the Poké-Walker is actually free.  The packaging appears to be a bit larger from a side-view (left), obviously to accommodate the Poké-Walker.

The cover art feels a bit retro compared to the more recent games.  This may just be because the pokémon featured on the cover look like actual animals… kind of.  I dunno, something about the background just feels old-school too–I like it.  Will the NA or PAL versions feature the same art?  Only time will tell…

It is interesting to note that the last Pokémon title for Nintendo DS, Pokémon Platinum, came out on September 13th in Japan last year, making this duo of games 1 year and 1 day apart from Platinum.  The localized version of Pokémon Platinum was released March 22nd of this year.  From this one can estimate a North American release sometimes late March 2010.

However, Platinum was a stand-alone game, where Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are two games which also include the Poké-Walker.  That is a bit of extra text to sift through and bugs to flush out.  For these reason the actual release may even stray into April or beyond…  Let’s hope that’s not the case though.

In addition to this announcement, some new screens of the game have been released which appear to be from the game’s intro cut-scene:

Ho-oh and a Pagoda Lugia being dramatic
The screens also include an image that seems to suggest that the player is not limited to the three starters when it comes to being followed.  The elated pokémon to the right looks like a Teddiursa to me.  It is hard to tell since it’s so small, but I am positive that whatever it is, it is not a Totodile, Chikorita, or Cyndaquil.  This gives me some hope that this feature will be somewhat flexible. Teddiursa?
item menu There is also a cool screenshot which seems to show what the screen displays while exploring your inventory (left).  The touch screen looks like it displays all the different pockets which the player can switch through.  The top screen shows a translucent 3D rendering of the player’s character with their respective bag standing out.  I am willing to bet that when you change pockets it rustles or something.  I am still pretty impressed by the 3D rendering of the main character though…  I can haz (good) 3D Pokémon game?

Related Entries:
Pokéwalker Unveiled – Causes Pokénostalgia
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Posted in japan, nintendo ds, pokémon, preview | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Final Fantasy XIII: Pendants/Necklaces Hit the Square Enix Store

By Roy | Published: June 26, 2009

Lightning's necklace

As some of you may recall back during the frenzy of E3 news, Square Enix showed off some upcoming Final Fantasy XIII merch at their booth during the event.  Among the merch was some fancy new jewelry.  Earlier this week, a few of these items appeared on Square’s official Japanese shop.  Be forewarned, they are not for the feint-of-wallet:

Lightning's Necklace
  • Lightning’s Necklace Replica
  • Cost = 13,000 Yen (~$130.00 USD)
  • Release Date = July 3rd
  • This is a replica of the necklace Lightning wears in the game.  The silver pendant looks very much like a single bolt of lightning.  Inlaid in the center are three cubic zirconium stones.  The plating on the pendant is a mix of gold and black rhodium.  The ball-chain necklace is silver925, whatever that means.
l'Cie Symbol Pendand
  • L’Cie Pendant
  • Cost = 16,000 (~$160.00 USD)
  • Release Date = July 3rd
  • This pendant is a model of the L’Cie symbol.  It’s surface is covered with silver925 and black rhodium.  You can view a larger image of the necklace here.  Unlike the other pendant, this one includes an actual chain necklace, possibly explaining the price difference.

Personally I do not own any jewelry, but I think more nerd bodies around the world are adorned with Square jewelry than any other brand.  I don’t know why but I find this rather amusing.

I think I like Lightning’s necklace more than the L’Cie pendant.  That may just be because the significance of it is immediately apparent to me.  Since I still don’t really know what a L’Cie is, I can’t be sure I wanna wear their symbol waiting in line at Orange Julius.  Someone may take offense or something.

Anyway, these items should appear on the American Square Enix shop in a few months for pretty comparable prices.  If you absolutely can’t wait until then, I would say the shipping fees with Celga probably wouldn’t run you too much on something as light as this.

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Posted in figure, final fantasy xiii, merchandise, square enix | Tagged , , | 2 Comments