It's been a very long time since we've heard anything about Beautiful Katamari and the Wii. And, seeing as how the game has been out on Xbox 360 for quite some time now, we were done thinking that it would ever grace Nintendo's console. Thanks to select retailers' online shops, however, hope is slowly being restored.
Major retail chains Target and Wal-Mart are both listing the game on their respective websites, while Buy.com lists the game with the same price ($29.99), but states it's "temporarily sold out." Even rental service Gamefly has a section up for a Wii and PS3 version of the game.
So, what's the deal? Who knows at this point, but the Wal-Mart page points to an August 29th release, so perhaps we'll hear something soon? We're not going to get our hopes up like before, but we'd be lying if we said we didn't want this to happen.
There is no way Dragon Power could have been good. It's a collection of awful components that amounts to more awfulness than the (negative) sum of its repulsive parts. Bandai (strike one, amirite) created a Dragon Ball game in 1986 (i.e. before third parties were really making decent games), and then, for whatever reason, decided to bring it to the American market. The problem, of course, was that in the mid-'80s, nobody in the U.S. had any idea what the hell Dragon Ball was. We had yet to even enter the "$20 for two episodes on a VHS tape" phase of anime fandom, much less the "Dragon Ball on cable" phase. So Bandai did what must have seemed like the logical thing: they didn't release the game hacked out all the recognizable Dragon Ball parts.
What was left was a licensed anime game with no license -- and, therefore, no reason to exist.
We were excited to see that a handful of Family Ski videos were released, only to be disappointed upon actually viewing them. It's not that the game looks bad, but the videos don't actually show us anything. Aside from a quick glimpse at the game's visuals (screenshots would have done the job almost as well) and a fifteen second look at three of the slopes, there wasn't much to take in.
What we really want to see is some gameplay, or even better, a demonstration of someone using the Balance Board, Wiimote, and Nunchuck with the game. For a title like this that doesn't have cutscenes to woo us with, showing gameplay is even more important.
When digging a little bit for a silver lining, it's good to know that the slopes will range in difficulty. If the mogul course entails skiing straight over the moguls (as seen in the video above), though, we're going to be a little peeved -- if you've ever been mogul skiing before, you'll know that's not how it's done.
For those of you unphazed by Namco's minimalistic approach, you can check out two more ski slopes after the break.
As well as containing tons of screens we've not yet seen, the latest Famitsu scan featuring Namco Bandai's Family Ski shows off the title's unique use of Wii peripherals. If you've not yet heard, the game will use the Balance Board, while your Wiimote and Nunchuk double up as ski poles. It's the first title to use all three at once, and although we've yet to see a video of this peripheral fest in action, it promises to be a lot of fun.
Perhaps the game will eventually cover all bases, by including a specially devised mini-game that lets a second player shoot bad dudes with the Wii Zapper as player one speeds down the slopes. Or perhaps ideas like that are why we don't design games for a living.
Go past the break for a full-size version of the scan above.
With the release right around the corner (January 22nd), One Piece: Unlimited Adventure is based on the popular anime series and follows the Straw Hat Pirates on their trek across an uncharted isle as they hunt for treasure. The game will include Adventure mode, Survival mode and VS. mode, for multiplayer gaming. Unlockables consist of up to 40 characters, along with various costumes and secret items.
Head past the break for some more trailers and hit up the gallery below for some screens.
Since it first emerged earlier this month, Namco Bandai's Fragile ~ Farewell Moon Ruins has been a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Slowly but surely though, more on the tri-Crescendo-developed "ruin exploration RPG" is being revealed, and the past weekend saw a flurry of new media (such as the trailer above from the official site), all of which points to an RPG rich on atmosphere and suspense.
Famitsu also had a few tidbits of gameplay information. Apparently, protagonist Seto will be equipped with a flashlight, which players will be able to control by pointing the Wii Remote at the screen. A metal detector will also be available (again, this will be controlled using the Wiimote), as well as "other tools." There is also talk of demons appearing during combat, though sadly a rather impenetrable translation prevented us from learning more. Nevertheless, you can color us intrigued.
Head past the post break for a selection of screens, as taken from last week's magazine scans.
This week's issue of Famitsu has the scoop on Namco Bandai's new "ruin-exploration RPG," Fragile ~ Farewell Moon Ruins. Along with revealing that the game will be developed by tri-Crescendo (Baten Kaitos, Baten Kaitos Origins, and Eternal Sonata) and the Venus & Braves team, the Japanese magazine previewed Fragile with two pages of luxuriously purple screenshots and artwork. You can explore past the break for those.
Despite the protagonist's feminine features and outfit, the pictured character, Seto, is actually a boy. Fragile might still be in the early stages of development -- Seto has the same pose in every shot and combat scenes are noticeably absent -- but it really looks like it has a lot of potential. Hopefully, this game won't eventually bomb in Japan like Opoona did, and some publisher will feel motivated to bring this to the states.
To us, it was a no-brainer: Namco Bandai's Family Ski and Nintendo's Wii FitBalance Board were always supposed to be together. We're no skiing experts, but the sport seems to involve its fair share of leaning, making the game and Nintendo's wobbly slab the perfect match.
The Famitsu scan above suggests that Namco Bandai now feels the same way, despite initially announcing that the game would only use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Unless our memories have failed us, this would make Family Ski the first third-party title to support Nintendo's new peripheral.
Presumably, this means we'll be using the Balance Board as well as the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, which sounds damn involving, if nothing else. Indeed, short of the game shipping with a free wind tunnel, snow machine, and a garish all-in-one jumpsuit, we doubt much more could be done in terms of player immersion.
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it aretro-speculative.
It's plainly obvious that we love talkingaboutterribleNESgames here in the Virtually Overlooked squad command center. According to a statistic that we just made up, about 72% of the games we profile are awful. Nothing is more fun than snarking about a game that is not only completely without merit or value, but also old enough that nobody will show up to defend it.
But what isn't so obvious is the fact that we genuinely, honestly love playing some of the worst NES games. Whether it's a result of nostalgia or some kind of bizarre preference for poor game design, we don't know. But the fact is that we would give serious consideration to buying a virtual copy of M.U.S.C.L.E., despite owning the cartridge.
Namco Bandai hit us with a press release today, declaring that upcoming spin-off title Soul Calibur Legends has gone gold and is on schedule to release to retail on November 20th. With 10 different stages in Quest mode, as well as a variety of different characters, we're interested in seeing how this whole thing turns out.
We still wake up late at night in a cold sweat screaming from nightmares of Death by Degrees, so let's hope this doesn't turn out the same way.
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it aretro-speculative.
The success of Street Fighter II had an instantaneous effect on the game industry, not only driving production of me-too fighting games, but also providing a template for any fighting game to follow; every 2D one-on-one fighting game since then has stuck closely to this design, distinguishing itself in how it differs from the Street Fighter II formula.
Pre-Street Fighter II fighting games lacked this template for fighter success, and thus exhibited more variation in design. In a way, this makes the few pre-SFII fighters more interesting. Unfortunately, most of these games do have one feature in common: they aren't very good. Ultraman for the SNES fits in this category, but we can't help but like it.
NamcoBandai hit us up with a press release, chock full of new screens (see them in the gallery below) as well as a new trailer for Namco Museum Remix. The trailer even shows some of the Mii integration the game offers. And, as you can imagine, we're dying to get this game in our hands and into our Wii.
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it aretro-speculative.
When the exciting (to us, and ironically so) news of a Wii version of the Family Trainer and Athletic World appeared, our thoughts turned toward the past. That's sort of our thing, you know? New games make us think about old games, old games make us think about old games-- sometimes snack foods make us think of old games.
But we have plenty of reason to look back here: the new Family Trainer is a functional duplicate of the original Family Trainer/Power Pad, and Athletic World is a sequel of sorts to one of the few Power Pad games. We doubt it will work out this tidily, but it's possible that the new Family Trainer will be able to work as a Power Pad for NES games on the Virtual Console. So, let's look at the lineup and see if there's anything worth laying a mat out for! (Hint: kind of?)
We know you're all on the edge of your seats waiting for more details about the Family Trainer and the new version of Athletic World. We understand-- we know how long you've been waiting for a sequel to this NES classic, and we know that everyone is desperately awaiting some kind of Wii exercise game.
Famitsu sought to feed our frothing demand for Athletic World with a new, close-up picture of the Family Trainer, which reveals it to have exactly the same button layout as the Famicom/NES pad, with a picture in the corner indicating that it can be turned over for the other familiar Power Pad button layout.
Except for the colors and the icon designs, this is exactly the same as the original Power Pad. It's even got the grid pattern on the back. There are also a few more photos of actors pretending to enjoy Athletic World, with tiny inset screenshots of the games. The official website is open, as well, but features nothing but the same photos at the moment.
We admit that we're kind of leaning (get it) toward this game now instead of Wii Fit, both as an act of retrogamer defiance and because we'd be amused by a new version of Dance Aerobics.
Though it isn't as official as a press release, Bandai Namco Games' product page for Beautiful Katamari lists the Nintendo Wii as a supported platform, leaving the waggle-fied version's release date at "to be determined."
RumorsaboutBeautiful Katamari coming to the Wii have been fluttering around our heads, like ill-behaved imps, since the title was first announced, poking us with miniature spears and doing their damndest to pull our attention away from our daily tasks. To be honest, it's hard for us to get excited about the gossip anymore.
Four Katamari Damacy titles have already been released or announced since the original game's debut only three years ago, lending oversaturation comparisons between the action puzzler and Capcom's Viewtiful Joe. Mixed impressions for Me and My Katamari on the PSP and Beautiful Katamari's Xbox 360 demo haven't hyped us for a potential Prince of Cosmos appearance on the Wii either.
[Update 1: Info pertaining to the Wii has since been removed from the product page, suggesting that its inclusion was either a misinformed error on Bandai Namco Games' part or a detail that the developer is still waiting to officially announce. You decide.]
There is no way Dragon Power could have been good. It's a collection of awful components that amounts to more awfulness than the (negative) sum of its repulsive parts. Bandai (strike one, amirite) created a Dragon Ball game in 1986 (i.e. before third parties were really making decent games), and then, for whatever reason, decided to bring it to the American market. The problem, of course, was that in the mid-'80s, nobody in the U.S. had any idea what the hell Dragon Ball was. We had yet to even enter the "$20 for two episodes on a VHS tape" phase of anime fandom, much less the "Dragon Ball on cable" phase. So Bandai did what must have seemed like the logical thing: they 
