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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Some more Disgaea 3 downloadable content has been announced by NIS in Japan. The newest series has two pretty cool additions. First off, players in Japan were treated with a free download of a scenario featuring Sony’s duo of bipedal cartoon cat mascots: Toro and Kuro.  Under this scenario, the pair join the group, can be assigned as teachers and even become respective weapons (but NOT fight along side the player):

These weapons do look quite deadly.  I would hate to get slapped around by an enormous golden cat statue.

In addition to Sony’s feline friends, 4 new chapters will be available on January 30th. The new chapters focuses on Rasberyl, and her quest to reform the Netherworld Academy by becoming a teacher. Rasberyl will now assume the role as the game’s main character and don a new outfit:

I love the new outfit!  It’s so mature looking…

Each chapter will cost 550 yen, a pretty high price in contrast to most of the Disgaea 3 DLC.  I am not sure how long each chapter runs, but guessing by the price I would say it’s a substantial amount of time.

As much as I love Disgaea 3, I am not a big fan of Mao.  Mostly because he is kind of an asshole.   In fact I think I like every support character more than him

Anyway, I am excited at the prospect of playing as Rasberyl and am really looking forward to this DLC.  If my calculations are correct, we can expect this patch sometime in April or May.

Related Entries:
Makai Senki Disgaea 3: New DLC Announced
Makai Senki Disgaea 3: Even More DLC
Disgaea 3: Soul Nomad DLC
More Disgaea 3 DLC: Usa Rush!

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_{click for higher quality video}

Here is the newest Fragile video, which like all the others, makes me want to cry a little.  There are a few exciting firsts in the video, mostly getting to hear different character’s voice actors.  We are able to hear Psy’s voice, Kurou’s voice and even the PF’s voice which is female.  As I mentioned earlier, I imagined the PF sounding like C-3PO – I was way off.

I also noticed a lot of wildlife in the video like a bunch of cats and a dog.  The cats seem to be helping Seto find Ren in some way, as they appear in larger numbers once he finds her in the caged area.  I think this is a cool way to provide guidance in a world where there aren’t many humans.  I like the idea of following around ghosts and cats.

When it comes to a translation, most of what is said is kind of random and disjointed.  The main idea is that Seto is searching for Ren and all the support characters seem aware of this.  When Psy asks him why he wants to find her, Seto says he just wants to be with someone and tell her his story.  Psy then asks what he’ll do when he meets Ren, who admits he doesn’t know, but there are already too many lonely people in the world.

Kurou seems amused by Seto’s quest and expresses his disgust with humans.  I wonder if Kurou doesn’t realize that he is a human, or if he is actually a ghost.  The latter may explain his cat-like eyes, a feature most humans sadly lack.

I also managed to find a few videos of actual Fragile gameplay.  They are all rather short, but show some of the ways that Seto can interact with his surroundings.  I noticed that it is possible to crouch, switch to first person mode and examine objects.  Certain objects will have a green glow around them.  This means that they can be acquired or will trigger an event.  To view the rest of the videos go here.

I am impressed by how smooth the player’s control of Seto appears.  I like how it’s possible to have him walk one direction, while shining his flashlight in another.  My only concern is that battles may be a little too hack and slash, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Related Entries:
All Kotowari articles concerning Fragile can be found here

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Fragile’s Japanese release is about a month away, so Bandai-Namco has released this commercial to generate some hype.  The girl in the video seems to be hanging out with her friends, having a good time.  She suddenly thinks to herself ”I am with everyone, but why am I all alone?”  This is a reference to the game’s first trailer way back when.  The song in the background is by Teshima Aoi and is included in the OST which comes with the game in Japan.  Soon I will begin a mad search for the OST for download.

In addition to the CM, some more information about Seto’s gear has been revealed.  This time it’s about the different flashlights he can wield.  I didn’t even realize there were more than 1, but there are actually 3.  The following screens are of the 3 different flashlights all being shown on the same spot:

Standard FL	High-Performance FL	Mysterious FL

As you can see, the standard flashlight provides the weakest amount of light and will probably be an initial equipment.  The high-performance flashlight on the other hand, is extremely bright.  With it, Seto will be able to spot ghosts and demons sooner, and the light will weaken enemies a bit.

When it comes to the mysterious flashlight, it has no affect on enemies, but it does have one special purpose:

The caption on the wall reads “It seemed like we were saved“

Certain walls and other areas have hidden messages that only the mysterious flashlight can reveal.  What could be the benefits of reading these messages…

Some info on conversing with the ever comedic P.F (personal frame) has been explained as well.  At any time while exploring, by standing the Wii remote vertically, the P.F will make some random humorous commentary:

For some reason I imagine the P.F’s voice sounding like C-3PO.  If the Wii wasn’t region protected, I think I would seriously consider ordering myself a copy and camping out in front of Foxes’ Wii.  I guess I will just have to hold my breath until Bandai-Namco (hopefully) announces a NA release.

Related Entries:
All Kotowari articles concerning Fragile can be found here

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The Final Fantasy XIII trailers which Square-Enix showed at DKΣ3713 and this year’s Tokyo Game Show have finally been uploaded on the web.  This time it’s not a video of the trailer taken with a digital camera…  The videos are really nice quality and show some impressive graphics.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII - Trailer 5:02

This video lacks any voice acting by the game’s characters.  I am not sure if this is done because Square-Enix does not want to reveal who they have chosen to do the voice acting, or they don’t want to reveal anything about the story.  You can tell that in some scenes sound effects have been added, but still no voices.  Curious.

The game has a very Western look; many people including the main character Noctis wear black suits.  Also the surroundings are primarily urban, but much more spacious than urban areas in Japan.  The unknown figure at 3:27-3:32 looks a lot like a member of the Italian mafia, fully equipped with a pin-stripe suit.  Some people believe that he and Noctis are related due to similar eye features.

We still know nothing about the battle system of the game, which is both exciting and frustrating.  What we do know is that many team members from the Kingdom Hearts series are listed as working on Versus.  Also, there are many scenes of Noctis flying through the air smacking the crap out of some poor saps.  This sounds like evidence that we can expect a more action-oriented title.

I love the part where Noctis confronts Stella (3:55-4:11) and it seems like they are going to embrace each other or something, but they end up fighting instead.  I love misdirection.

Can anyone tell what the guys are looking at when they get out of the car?  It looks like the bridge is underwater or something.

Final Fantasy XIII - Trailer 3:11

This Final Fantasy XIII trailer starts with Pulse, the wilderness below the futuristic Cocoon.  Some large fauna wander the Pulse, which appear unthreatening since Sera/Sara/Sarah seems to live along side them peacefully enough.

A few summons, Siren, Ifrit, and Carbuncle are shown.  Carbuncle is summoned by Sera from a strange disc.  Summons appear to play a large part of the story in Final Fantasy XIII, having some connection with the mysterious fal’Cie.  This makes me wonder what part summons will play in Versus…

Soon after, Lightning’s raid on Cocoon begins.   Cocoon in contrast to Pulse seems dangerous, a parallel I find kind of cool and different from most RPGs.  Usually towns and cities are safe havens from the creatures that live in the wilderness.  This feeling may only be for the early stages of the game, it’s hard to say.

Final Fantasy Agito XIII - 1:29

This is the Final Fantasy XIII I admit I know the least about.  The title seems to be a strange fusion of MMO and Final Fantasy, providing both standard and online content.

The battle system reminds me of Crisis Core and even Final Fantasy X-2 to some degree.  It appears turn-based (ATB to be specific) and battles seem quick and smooth.

I am excited about the prospect of a partially online Final Fantasy.  I never got into FF11 out of fear of forfeiting my life.  Perhaps Agito is a good middle path between addictive and normal gaming.

Related Entries:
Exciting Square Enix News From DKΣ3713
Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII Update

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