Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Koei's RPG Opoona won't be arriving on European store shelves next month, as previously anticipated. According to CVG, the game has been pushed back to September, meaning RPG fans will need to wait a bit longer before they jump into the bright and colorful world inhabiting Koei's title.

So why the longer wait? Apparently, localization issues and production delays are the culprit here. Considering how poor the critical reception was, we're wondering if you really care all that much right about now.

The dearth of top-notch Wii RPGs meant there was a quite a bit riding on Opoona, which Koei has just confirmed will be coming to Europe in July.

Sadly, some damning reviews of the game upon its North American release proved to be the thumbtack to our lovely, shiny balloon of hope, but if you absolutely must play an RPG on your Wii (and have some bizarre aversion to purchasing the masterful Phantasy Star II from the Virtual Console), then you could probably do worse than Koei's nunchuk-only "lifestyle RPG."


[Via press release]

In last week's bevy of releases beginning with 'O,' one title stood as a shining beacon of hope ... rather, we shined a beacon of hope on it, crossing our fingers that the quirky Opoona might rise from the ashes of its lackluster Japanese reception as a worthwhile title. Instead, it looks like the nunchuk-controlled RPG is destined for the annals of mediocrity. Alas, poor Opoona, we hardly knew ye.

Games Radar: 60% -- Ultimately, the tedium seemed to get in the way of the game's best qualities. "The already threadbare plot comes to a grinding halt every time you have to take a 10 minute detour over to the ol' licensing office and get your job level increased. The incredibly inefficient city design is unnecessarily confusing as well, adding even more time to your errands. It's extra frustrating that you have a wireless PDA device that constantly downloads new data and could just as easily receive the job/license info while you're out doing the quests ... Give credit to Opoona for trying to wedge a lot of new ideas into its paper thin premise, but the half baked 'lifestyle' elements can't hide the fact that it's a very simplistic and ultimately uninteresting RPG."

1UP: 50% -- Like so many titles, fascinating, but flawed. "Despite its good looks, Opoona really stumbles in its localization. The game's English translation is rough and lifeless, with multiple typos and characters that barely sound different from one another, not to mention out-and-out confusion when NPCs say things like "head to that door" when there are multiple doors in a room -- confusion like that unnecessarily slows down progress.

Opoona's heart is undeniably in the right place. As an RPG, it's pretty standard, yet it manages to be just plain comforting thanks to its quirky looks and sounds -- and even its easy one-handed control option. The game only really stresses you out when you're figuring out what job to do next and where to go, but once you clear those barriers -- and don't always expect grandeur -- it's not a bad trip."

Nintendo Power: 70% -- The Nintendo mag found unrealized potential. "While Opoona boasts nice backgrounds and music, and is fundamentally solid, it's definitely rough around the edges ... These flaws, fortunately, don't ruin the game, but don't expect something with a lot of polish."

No, not Overstock.com, we're talking about this week's new releases! They all start with the letter O. Weird, huh? We think so.

For us, as much as we'd like to pick up Opoona, we know we just don't have the time for it right now. Putting an RPG on our plate right now is like beating Yogi Bear to death with a picnic basket. Sure, it's the stuff that sustains us, but too much, and we die.

So we're just going to stick to shooting zombies in the face and brawling this weekend, mostly. What about you all, though? What game or games do you have lined up to play this weekend?

This week's releases are brought to you by the letter O. At least, they would be if this were Sesame Street, but alas we have not a single soul here that can teach us how to count. Sad face.

All kidding aside, it's quite the coincidence. But, hey, enough about the games starting with the same letter. Let's move on to the discussion regarding which title (or titles) you're going to pick up this week.

• Octomania
• Obscure: The Aftermath
• Opoona

Someone really wants to make sure you're not forgetting about poor little Opoona, the nunchuk-controlled RPG set for release later this month. To that end, a sudden burst of videos seems to have appeared, demonstrating everything from the battles to the futuristic world of the rotund protagonist. And frankly, we're pleased that we're getting to see so much of the title. Let's hope Opoona has a chance out of the gate this time, though with Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the horizon, we're a little worried about every other game releasing this month (and maybe next!).

Head past the break for a few more tantalizing video snippets.

We've told you pretty much all you need to know about Koei's upcoming RPG, Opoona, which will hit North American Wiis this March. Yet, if you like a good dose of visuals with your information, you might want to check out these videos.

The trailer embedded up top is an introduction to the storyline, and not unlike what we've seen before. You'll find out more about the conflict going on in a text-heavy (but interesting) opening. To see some gameplay footage (and to find out why the characters have "bonbons" on top of their heads), though, make sure to venture past the break.

If your days are spent yearning for a game in which you play a bald kid with an orange orb hovering over his head, circle March 25th on your calendar, the date Opoona, that other Wii-exclusive epic RPG, makes its stateside debut. Then you can put a happy face in that circle, draw a smaller circle above the face, and, will you look at that, you've got a picture of the game's titular hero!

After a spaceship-wreck interrupts his family vacation, Opoona finds himself stuck on Planet Landroll, forced to begin a new life in the strange world while searching for his siblings and parents. Opoona's hardships range from trying to find a job to fighting against the Dark Rogues terrorizing Landroll's people. We assume he also has to deal with the self-esteem issues that often come with balding at such a young age.

As with the entire game, combat during the turn-based battles is handled with just the Wii's nunchuck -- you can fire projectiles and direct the trajectory of your attacks with different nunchuck movements. Without having tried the single-hand controls out ourselves, we're still not sure about them yet, but it won't be long before we'll get that chance! Hit the gallery below for Opoona's packshot, artwork, and a huge pile of screensshots from the US release.


[Via press release]

It's no secret that Koei's Opoona sank in Japan. But numbers that low don't really say much about the game's quality, because nobody tried it. Perhaps a lack of marketing is more to blame than anything. In any case, we'll get our own chance to try out the Artepiazza-developed RPG when it is released stateside this spring.

The latest video to show up takes us through a simple battle. Aside from a couple of graphical flourishes (as in, monsters actually moving) and really cute narration, Opoona's combat is your basic Dragon Quest turn-based fighting. Except, appealingly, in the future. We don't actually know if Opoona's any good, but we don't want any original game to suffer the fate Opoona did the first time.

We were recently sifting through the latest list of forthcoming Wii releases, when it struck us: for Wii owners, the opening three months of 2008 are looking surprisingly healthy. As anybody who is familiar with this industry will know, the first quarter of any given year is usually a drought for quality games, a period for wallets to gain some respite from the Christmas bombardment of releases.

Things seem different this year, however. We've already enjoyed No More Heroes (which, don't forget, you can win in our latest Fanswag) and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, and still have Baroque, Okami, Opoona, and Worms: A Space Oddity to come. Oh yeah, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Even though Mario Kart seems to have slipped to not-Q1, that's a tasty line-up for what is traditionally the quietest time of the year. Are you similarly impressed by this unexpected onslaught, or are we getting over-excited?

No games? The latest word from Nintendo on upcoming releases hopes to change your mind on that. Like sports? Action? Quirky fun? Mini-games? Well, on the last one, you were already covered, but now, you've got extra cheese. Nintendo's let fly with their current Wii and DS release schedules, and while the dates on some titles are a little vague (or have already passed, as with the first few), the full list includes a bevy of new and previously-undated games.

There are even a few amusing observations to be made, such as Nitro Bike's March release, which actually came, uh, this week, and the dreadful fate of Worms: A Space Oddity, which is certain to disappear in the wake of Super Smash Bros. Brawl chaos. What's not there is also a little disappointing: Samba de Amigo is missing from the list, but that doesn't mean we won't see it before the fall. We can still hope, but with everything we've got to look forward to, we can wait a little longer for quality time with the maracas-monkey. But we could be wrong -- Sega releases are not showing up at all, just as last time, Capcom was missing from Nintendo's updated lists. It seems likely that we're still looking at fall for Civilization Revolution, as well, since it's not on the list. So there's even more upcoming goodness after we're done with Okami, Brawl, No More Heroes, Opoona, and more.

Opoona's visual style -- sci-fi spaceyness with adorable, rounded characters -- is as arresting as ever in this trailer, and the story of a child searching a space station and surrounding planet for his lost parents. Also, despite the lack of motion control, we think that one-handed Nunchuk controls are a smart design decision for an RPG. In short, we are pro-Opoona. Which is why we were quite happy to see this new trailer with some English subtitles.

But what's that at the end? "Spring 2008?" Well, the game's already out in Japan, so that means that Koei is planning to release the game outside of Japan in the spring! We question the wisdom of such a decision, since the game bombed spectacularly in its first release (really, just a breathtaking sales failure) -- but it benefits us, so we aren't going to complain too much.

The first rule of taking video at a game show is you do not talk about Fight Club make sure half of your video does not consist of the back of some random dude's head. Considering the video is on the shorter side, this isn't that big of a deal. We still get a good glimpse at the character status screens, along with a small chunk of environment exploration. But, know this: if you do it again GameSpot, we're coming for you.

The few unfortunate RPG addicts in Japan who only own Wiis were probably eagerly looking forward to Opoona's release on September 27, desperately holding out for an original RPG on a system devoid of such content. They're going to have to go back to Shiren the Wanderer or Breath of Fire II on the Virtual Console for a while, because the game's been delayed until November 1st. Maybe work on Opoona is taking a back seat now that Artepiazza is working on those Dragon Quest remakes for DS.

A delay on this game is bad news for everyone-- the Japanese audience doesn't get the game until the holiday rush, and we have to wait even longer for it to be localized. That is, if Koei decides to localize it.

Seriously, the last time we had anything to report on the game was back in May. May, people! That is way too long to go without anything about our favorite nunchuk-driven game. Finally, our thirst may be quenched, as JeuxFrance has put up a new video for the title. In it, you'll find everything that initially piqued our interest in the game, so be sure to head on over and check it out.