Hail to those of Level 5 and their crack team of designers. For once in it's unbelievably overpriced existence, the PS3 has finally breached that wall that said "If you buy a PS3, your friends will disown you". From the brilliant minds that brought us Dark Cloud and Dragon Quest VIII, comes the first PS3 game to literally make my jaw drop.
White Knight Story, is the sexiest, and most seemingly gratifying game I have seen in a long time. I would say that I haven't been this excited about a game since Chrono Trigger... But truth be known... That trophy belongs firmly in the grasp of Blue Dragon... But we shall get to that in a moment...
In the words of Tycho Brahe, "That's how you sell us a Goddamn Playstation 3."
Now, concerning my reasoning for eating up everything that is Blue Dragon... I had become somewhat excited about the game after hearing about Hironobu Sakaguchi's involvement, and jumped the gun on my last post without researching all the details. A rookie mistake yes... BUT, I am here now to rectify this error in judgment!
You see, not only is the game being directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi... But it's character designs, (as some of you more perceptive readers may have already noticed) are being done by Akira Toriyama, the original Dragon Ball artist, as well as doing the character designs for the legendary Chrono Trigger!
And that's not all folks!
Rounding off this lovely trio of game creating geniuses, is none other that the musical styling's of Nobuo Uematsu! Now if you don't already know the man, then shame on you and all your kin! This man is the legend behind the music of most of the Final Fantasy games, and with no immediate surprise... Chrono Trigger!
Honestly, this game has me so psyched, that I'm surprised that anything else is showing on my radar at the moment. Because if these 3 cannot pull off a great RPG, then I don't know who can.
That's right folks. Mav here to give you all his own take on the events of the TGS so far. Now of course, I don't speak Japanese, so I can only go by what I'm reading about the net, but I'll try to get down my highlights, and hopefully, We'll get a few nice videos to embed.
First off the bat, we have the ever loved, Metal Gear Solid franchise. That's right kiddies, we got us a whole new eyeful of Snake goodness to chow down on... Needless to say, I was somewhat excited by this news. It seems that no gaming expo is complete without a new thrilling instillation to our MGS4 library, cropping up in the form of a 6 minute video demonstration of some of the new gameplay elements for Snake's new mission. No vague hints towards a confusing plot this time. No... It's all about our elderly friend evading the various enemy's upon the battlefield, and occasionally blowing a few of them away. It also provides us with a few somber themes to think on as we watch the trailer.
"No beginning, no end. No time, no future. No virtue, no vice. No place for heroes. No time for heroes. No place in time. No time to die. No war for Snake."
I won't say much further on the subject, but rather, just give you all the chance to check it out for yourselves. I will say however, that you can expect an interesting little Kojima style twist at the end of the clip.
Interesting indeed... Unfortunately, it appears that the game shall not be shipping until sometime next year. So anyone who was hoping for a launch title declaration will be sadly denied.
Another point of interest at the TGS, was a playable demo of the 4th game in the Devil May Cry series. Of which, the first notable thing about the game was it's overwhelming similarities to DMC3. Next to that, was the fact that the controllable character, as has been hinted, was not Dante, but rather a new character by the name of Nero. However, the similarities between the looks and control's for the two characters are so near identical, you should hardly notice.
Nero's arsenal stays within DMC's usual facet of the explosive mixture of guns and swords, but this time round, there are small differences. For one, Nero only sports the one hand gun. I'm not sure how this will effect gameplay (not having actually had the pleasure to play the demo myself), but hopefully it won't diminish our ability to hover and generally kick ass. The other notable difference, is that Nero is sporting a gauntlet type thing on his arm called the Demon Fist, used with the circle button. This addition appears to make Nero's melee ability's mirror those of Dante with both his sword and the Beowulf weapon.
The demo showed no use of any Devil Trigger, extra weapons or style switching. But this may well be due to the seeming early stage of the game that the demo was set in. This leaves us to wonder just whether or not the game will incorporate these systems later, or something new entirely.
The graphics are certainly better than the last game. But certainly nothing spectacular. In short, the game looks to cater to it's already existing fan base. But suffice it to say... So far, there seems little that will draw any new comers, or convert anyone who disliked previous installments... In the mean time, here's a short teaser clip for the fan boy's to salvitate over. (Not from TGS)
The next thing on my list is something I really hope will live up to it's brand name. The innocently Blue Dragon. Now, you may be asking about now... "Mav... What's so special about a random Japanese game called Blue Dragon?". Well, allow me to drop a 2 bit's of info that are keeping my interest in the game. Firstly, it is a new Japanese RPG from a new franchise, which is something I was afraid we would not see again in my lifetime. Secondly, and probably far more importantly... It is being created by one Hironobu Sakaguchi. Mastermind behind both the Final Fantasy series, AND the damn near perfect, Chrono Trigger.
With these things in mind, Blue Dragon has the potential to be brilliant. Unfortunately, we all know that potential is not everything it's cracked up to be. But from what I've seen of the childish looking 360 game, I have to admit, it's looking hopeful.
I haven't got a whole lot to say about this game, but I do have a few videos for you to enjoy.
There's plenty more to see from the show, but I think this is as good a place as any to end my own coverage of it. If you poke around GameSpot, you should be able to find the rest. But for now, this is me, signing off to go fight an intergalactic war for the human race, right under your noses.
Hey there everyone. Been a while hasn't it? But that's the breaks I'm afraid... Not that it really matters in the long term. Anyway, a few things to touch on...
The Tokyo Game Show has started today, and will continue on unabated until late Sunday the 24th. So while E3 may have abandoned us, we still have our TGS. I'll see what I can do about talking on a few choice things shown if I get the time, but I'm sure you'll all see whatever strikes your fancy by the time I get to it.
The Wii is looking to stir some interest, as not only is it very soon to be available, but according to the New York Times, and widely believed by the internet community, it's actually going to be released in the US first on 19th November, a whole 2 weeks before the confirmed Japanese release date of 2nd December (Australians will of course be the second last off the starting line on the 7th, followed by Europe on the 8th). Also stirring some interest is that it will cost far less than the PS3, and come fully loaded with a free game, Wii Sports, and will be accompanied by no less than 25 next gen games at launch. I know I'll be reserving one.
And some more news for the Nintendo fan's. A new Pokémon game has been announced for the Wii as a release game in Japan. Tentatively titled as Pokémon Battle Revolution, it looks to be more bad ass than ever. As an extra special treat, some footage!
Yes. I am a Pokémon fan. Deal with it.
As a final note of interest. This has been circling the net. You may have heard it. You may not have. If you find out just who this 'Ray' is, let me know, because I quite like his lyrical ideas.
Also, on a more personal note, my Job Interview went fine for anyone who might have been wondering. I should hear back sometime next week.
I write a blog. The contents of which may or may not be true some of the time. Or maybe all of the time... Also, I cannot be held responsible for my language, as the blog name already warned you. Read at your own risk.
