Today I chose to take a snow day and call out of work. That means I was able to go to all the websites which are normally blocked at my job! I haven’t heard much about 7th Dragon so I decided to check out the game’s main site to see if there have been any major updates.

An introduction movie was added which shows a few screenshots as well as some cutscenes.  I was pretty impressed by the later half of the video (0:35-end) which shows a battle between a dragon and a party.  Here all the jobclasses are introduced in quick succession showing the chibi and normal form of each member of the jobclass.

Seventh Dragon comes out in Japan this March, and I eagerly await hearing something about its Western release so I can make my team for real!

Related Entries:
Sega Announces Seventh Dragon for Nintendo DS
7th Dragon: That’s a Lot of Dragons
Tokyo Game Show 2008 Highlights

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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.

Different groups can be assigned to different tasks in parties of 1-4.  If you would like to see the some recruitable units, you can find them here.  The art reminds me of Etrian Odyssey’s character design. When it comes to assigning tasks, a party can be set as defense while another may enter a dungeon below the town which controls the surrounding dams.  It is possible to release the water to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy, but that requires braving the dungeon.

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 story is somewhat less appealing to me than the details listed above.  This could have something to do with the unimpressive video I watched on the game’s main site.  The main character is the androgynous individual in green.  His (let’s go with that) name is Shion and he enjoys reading history books (like the one on his back).  Due to the death of his parents, Shion moved into the threatened town. At the bar in town Shion handles recruiting and arranging of the town’s forces.

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.

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In a recent interview between RPGamer and some of the staff at NIS America, several exciting bits of gaming news were revealed.  The most exciting news is that NIS America is planning on bringing X-edge (Cross Edge) to the states come March 2009:

RPGamer: X-Edge just seems to have NIS America all over it. It features characters from Disgaea, Mana Khemia, Ar tonelico, Spectral Souls, and the Atelier series. I mean, come on, there are even Prinnies. When should we expect to see it in North America?

NISA: X-Edge is an interesting project since it’s a collaboration between 3 different companies. It’s pretty funny to see a little Prinny fight characters from Darkstalkers like Morrigan and Demitri.

The release date isn’t finalized yet, but it’s going to be in March 09.

_source

For those who don’t know what  Cross Edge is, check out my preview post of the game, or others in the related entries section of this post.

I was also happy to see that NIS mentioned A Witch’s Tale, a title which appeared to vanish off the face of the earth around its supposed October release this year:

RPGamer: It was stated the game would be an action RPG developed specifically for western audiences, but not much else has been specified. Can you describe the gameplay for us?

NISA: It’s tough to say since it’s still under development, but one thing is for sure, the game has been changed to an RPG instead of an action RPG. The reason behind it is that the developer felt the world setting and story was better suited for an RPG that can be played for a long period of time, rather than a relatively short action game. We haven’t seen the latest game just yet, so as soon as we get more info regarding this title, we will inform everybody.

RPGamer: Is there any estimated release for this title, or is it on hold?

NISA: At the current moment the release is going to slip back to the fall of ‘09. In fact, we may just wait for a Halloween release, which goes along with the setting of the game.

_source

So far my calender of RPGs coming out in 2009 is pretty barren, so it’s nice to have something (semi) concrete to slap on it. I am really looking forward to both games and applaud NIS for their wise decision to localize Cross Edge. My only worry is that NIS won’t be following up with any of the DLC that the game has in Japan… I guess for now I am just happy with the good news.

Related Entries:
X-Edge (Crossedge) Announced for PS3
X-Edge (Crossedge) Video and Website Update
X-Edge (Crossedge) Battle-System and Merchandise
A Witch’s Tale Sneak Peak
NIS Spills Their Guts

Roy nintendo ds, nis, ps3 2 comments

This video recently appeared on Atlus’s official Devil Survivor site.  I am glad to finally get a good look at the game’s battle system, even if it is only for a few seconds.  It answers some of my burning questions.

The video begins with Atsurou moving next to a Pixie.  Note the way his sprite’s orange bag flaps when he walks – nice touch.  Then it’s Yuzu’s turn.  Here are her available commands:

MOVE
COMMAND
YUZU (possibly status)
END TURN

She chooses to enter a command, selecting Pixie as her target.  The screen switches to a view of her target (it’s almost like a first-person tactical RPG).  Here her only options are attack and guard.  Yuzu finishes the Pixie in one attack and gains some EXP.  You can note here that she has no demons stocked yet, as they would appear on this screen in her “team.”

The Pixie is shocked that she lost to a human, and decides to join up with the team.  I don’t think every defeated demon will join up; my guess is that this was an event scene.

A tactical MegaTen title for the Nintendo DS – I am indeed excited.

Related Entries:
Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor: Pocky Shaman
Devil Survivor: Battle Details

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A few details of Devil Survivor’s battle system were recently unveiled by Atlus, along with two new characters.  The battle system revolves around the keitai application known as COMP, which the main characters use.  Once Tokyo becomes overrun with demons, the main characters can use COMP to form contracts with demons and call upon their powers in battle.

Contracted demons can be collected and each character can “stock” 2 demons.  During battle, the two stocked demons may be summoned by the individual who stocked them.  Battles take place in an isometric view and appear to take place on a grid-based map.  A battle can take anywhere from 10-15 minutes.  Judging by the turn bar in the middle screenshot, combat appears to be turn-based:

STOCK>	BATTLE>	SUMMON

It is confirmed that 2 new characters will be joining forces with the main party:

	Midori Komaki Midori is a huge fan of Cos-Play, as her outfit may suggest.  On a certain online Cos-Play community she is known as Dori. Midori wants to fight with a strong sense of justice and use the power of the COMP to save people.  Her name means green in Japanese.
	Keisuke Takagi Keisuke has been friends with Atsurou since middle school.  He wishes to use the power of COMP to find the parties responsible for the incident occurring in Tokyo.  He appears intelligent and composed, but what does he have against books?

There are still some details about the battle system which I have questions about.  The game appears tactical, but moving and attacking hasn’t really been explained.  Also, is summoning in this game the same as with Devil Summoner in which a demon comes to your side for battle?  Or like Persona, in which they simply attack for you?  Extremely tiny screenshots make me mad!

Related Entries:
Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor: Pocky Shaman

Roy atlus, nintendo ds, preview 4 comments