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Posts with tag bandainamco

4 minutes of Soul Calibur Legends gameplay footage

Posted Oct 15th 2007 3:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Video


Even though this game might have the potential to be the next Death by Degrees, we're still interested in getting our hands on it. The graphics may look dated at times, but the action looks spot-on. And we still think each of the characters have had their fighting styles and moves transitioned into the new game well.

What do you guys think? Does it have potential or is it just a pointless spin-off?

Gallery: Soul Calibur Legends

A video of swords and souls, eternally replayed

Posted Oct 9th 2007 9:45AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Video


We hunger for a real action game on our Wii, and we desperately hope that Soul Calibur Legends is it. We're putting all of our faith in the one positive preview and discounting all the negative ones, just because we really want to believe-- much like Siegfried believed that picking up a gigantic living sword with a freaking eye was somehow a good idea. We can be heartbroken later.

While the graphics in this Famitsu video (which we could not embed) are still jarring compared to the amazing visual quality we're used to from Calibur, we're starting to think that the action is there. The moves look pretty entertaining-- seriously, when Siegfried picks up the guy with his sword, and sort of drags him around, that is awesome-- and the fighting looks appropriately hectic. As long as the controls aren't a mess, we could see ourselves taking some baby steps onto the stage of Wii history.

Nodame Cantabile brings classical rhythm gaming to the Wii

Posted Sep 28th 2007 3:15PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Imports, Screens


Nodame Cantabile on DS was an Ouendan-alike in which you conducted classical music by tapping the screen. The Wii version, called Nodame Cantabile: Dream Orchestra seems to expand on that premise by allowing players to not only conduct, but play multiple instruments as well.

We can't exactly tell how the Wii version works-- whether you point at the little note icons before pressing a button, or if the game takes button presses only, but Bandai Namco promises a simple control scheme in the interest of attracting new gamers. We'd kind of like to swing the Wiimote like a baton, but we aren't sure if that'll happen.

Of particular interest to us is the four-player mode, in which each player can use a different instrument and play one of the game's 50+ compositions together. We call triangle!

TGS07: Athletic World features leaning

Posted Sep 20th 2007 3:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Video


The more we see of Bandai Namco's Family Trainer: Athletic World, the more we admit that, while the graphics are nowhere near what they should be, the game kind of looks like fun. It sounded like the people playing the demo were having a great time, at least! This gameplay video from TGS shows that Bandai has chosen to brazenly ignore Wii Fit and make its own leaning-based game, although it obviously uses a simpler method of reading your body motion.

This mine-car game has (one or) two players lifting a foot off of the mat in order to shift their weight and cause the mine car to turn at the appropriate moment. Jumping is handled by, well, jumping. It kind of looks like the pointer's involved in some way, as well, but we can't figure out how.

The new Family Trainer is a faithful recreation

Posted Sep 19th 2007 1:30PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Imports, Peripherals


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.

Bandai Namco brings back the Power Pad and Athletic World

Posted Sep 18th 2007 12:45PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Imports


Before the Power Pad was the Power Pad, it was the Family Trainer, released in Japan by Bandai. They actually marketed it briefly in the U.S. as the Family Fun Fitness pad, but Nintendo bought the rights, rebranded it as the Power Pad and started packing the peripheral in with NES systems along with a retitled Stadium Events (now called World Class Track Meet).

One of the few Power Pad/Family Trainer games was Athletic World: an Olympics-style collection of games including hurdles, rafting, and "Hop a Log." And now, in one of the worst-timed moves ever, Bandai Namco is releasing a new version of the Family Trainer along with a new version of Athletic World.

Regardless of the quality of the single screenshot included, is this really the time to introduce a new exercise peripheral for the Wii? We're actually not going to leave that as a rhetorical question. No, it isn't. The Family Trainer has somewhat of a nostalgia factor, but even that's disrupted by the fact that Athletic World wasn't that great on the NES. And its main competition, Wii Fit, has the invincible Wii Sports factor.

The best we can hope for is another super-limited release in the U.S., as a moneymaking opportunity. Click on the image to see a larger version (with plenty of family air-paddling!) and click the link for the Japanese press release.

[Via NeoGAF]

The real games in Namco Museum Remix

Posted Jul 24th 2007 9:50AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Screens


Sure, there are some new screens of the new versions of Pac 'n Roll and Pac-Motos, and maybe they do look fun, in a budget party game sort of way, but we glossed right over them for screens of 20+year-old arcade games, because that's how we (Pac'n) roll.

We're strange people, we suppose. But when we saw those screenshots of Gaplus, Pac and Pal, and especially our beloved Pac-Mania and its brilliant background image (CRAZYMAN!!), we knew. We got a terrible feeling that we will buy Namco Museum Remix. There. We said it. We only hope we can get the message out to Bandai Namco that we want more real classics and fewer wacky remakes. And please, some games that haven't been released in previous Namco Museums.

Soul Calibur Legends gets a new character

Posted Jul 23rd 2007 3:55PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

A tale of swords and souls, eternally remade as an adventure game for Wii. GAME Watch welcomes us back to the stage of history with some new information about Soul Calibur Legends, including a new character, Isuka.

Isuka is apparently a guardian of the Holy Roman Emperor who encounters Siegfried and offers him information about the Soul Edge. He also deals with Taki as she meets with the emperor about a fragment of the Edge. For those of you not familiar with the Soul Calibur storyline, the Soul Edge is a really bad sword that people are constantly getting into one-on-one fights in circular arenas over.

It seems unlikely that Isuka will be joining the fight, unless the fight is against a paper bag. And not some evil, sentient Soul Bag either-- just a regular paper one. He'll probably show up from time to time to direct you to your next stage of history.

The Club Nintendo Gundam tortures retro nerds

Posted Jul 19th 2007 10:40AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Fan stuff, Imports


We aren't die-hard Gundam fans, but we are fans on a superficial level of cool-looking robot things, and we can't deny a love of free stuff that comes with video games. Even more than that, we're fans of old game consoles, which is why the custom Famicom color scheme on the exclusive Club Nintendo edition Gundam RX78-2 model kills us. We're totally imagining a guy inside that Gundam piloting it with the Famicom Robot.

That is it. We are officially moving to Japan and getting Mobile Suit Gundam MS Front 0079 buying a Gundam model and some paint.

[Via Dengeki]

Kekkaishi ain't afraid of no ghost

Posted Jul 19th 2007 9:50AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Imports, Screens


Kekkaishi is a manga and anime series about high school kids who trap demons inside magical barriers in order to protect their haunted school. We think. Not having read the manga or seen the cartoon, we're mostly concerned with the Wii adaptation and the basic gameplay mechanic, which looks fun.

You target crazy demon creatures with a reticle, then you apparently draw shapes around them, and fling the Wiimote upward to create barriers in those shapes. Once the monster is enclosed, you hit the B button to destroy it. If you forget the anime license, that actually sounds like an interesting basis for an arcade-style game with potentially enjoyable motion controls. But if you remember the anime license, it sounds like a recipe for wasted potential that we'll never see in the US anyway.

Hands-on: Soul Calibur Legends

Posted Jul 18th 2007 9:50AM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News


Soul Calibur Legends is an affront to the games industry. The horrendous gameplay and horrible graphics not only shame the Wii as a platform, but lower the reputation of a remarkable franchise. Wii fans should be appalled at Namco's clear lack of concern with the title, and should expect more.

Graphically speaking, Legends is nothing short of unacceptable. If the game could look even remotely like Soul Calibur 2 on Gamecube, we'd be, at the very least, satiated. Instead, what we saw were blocky recreations of our Soul Calibur favorites trapped in boring, poorly textured environments that make the Dreamcast original look like a modern technical achievement. There is absolutely nothing to praise about the visuals in Legends: the art is generic, and the characters are stiff and lifeless. The screenshots that have been released are poor representations on how this game really looks.

The gameplay doesn't fare any better. Legends is a mindless hack and slash with poor controls. Enemies stand around, dumbfounded, as you hack away at them by shaking the Wiimote. The combat is imprecise, and simply not fun. We did appreciate the dodge: shaking the Nunchuck will allow players to make a quick dash. There was no challenge or depth to the battles. Ultimately, each encounter was reduced to wild waggle sessions. Wii owners deserve a lot better than this -- Namco, we'd point to Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as an example on how to properly implement sword attacks in an adventure game (and please learn how to create a proper lock-on!)

If we had to give an award for most underwhelming disappointment of the show, Soul Calibur Legends is an easy candidate. Unless this game undergoes a serious redesign, don't expect the first Soul Calibur game on Wii to be anything more than a complete disaster.

Gallery: Soul Calibur Legends

Club Nintendo members get exclusive Gundam figure

Posted Jul 9th 2007 12:15PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Fan stuff, Imports, Screens

And we get exclusive jealousy. To promote the release of Mobile Suit Gundam MS Front 0079, Nintendo and Bandai Namco are giving away neat free stuff. Preorders of the game are rewarded with Gundam 0079 memorial DVD's. And Club Nintendo, purveyor of many frustratingly awesome freebies, is giving away limited-edition Gundam RX78-2 models-- in an exclusive color.

There are some new screenshots of the game at GAME Watch, but we don't know if we even want to look. Games are just no fun unless buying them earns you junk you didn't even want in the first place.

Welcome back to the screens of history

Posted Jun 28th 2007 12:45PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Screens


The latest batch of Soul Calibur Legends screenshots isn't entirely new, but we think it's worth sharing. Famitsu posted the screens online that we previously featured in magazine scans, and the digital versions are much cleaner-looking. They're also no longer obscured by effusive Japanese blurbs.

It looks pretty good, especially for a Wii game. But why are the enemies so shrimpy? Mitsurugi can totally take on normal-sized people (and unnaturally beefy dudes like Astaroth up there), so why have we only seen him surrounded by pencil-necked mummies?

Gundam 0079 revealed, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core announced

Posted Apr 25th 2007 12:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

We have yet to get the first Gundam game in the US, and Bandai Namco is already moving on to another one. Whereas SD Gundam SCAD Hammers used the pudgy lil' SD Gundam characters, this one is based on Gundam 0079, which is serious business. We've got a scan featuring the first images from the game after the break.

Also announced, but not yet shown, was a Wii version of Guilty Gear XX Accent Core-- this is apparently 2D Fighter Announcement Week. We're a little scared to see how a precise 2d fighting game will use the Wiimote, and we're hoping that we can skirt the issue with configurable Classic Controller functionality. At least until Hori gets around to releasing a wireless joystick.

Continue reading Gundam 0079 revealed, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core announced

New Tamagotchi Party On screens

Posted Mar 13th 2007 7:15PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Screens



If any Wii games have been lacking in vibrant color, it's because Tamagotchi: Party On! took all the color from a year's worth of games. Seriously, this game more than cancels out Sadness in mood and, especially, in color saturation. In these screens, we can see what looks like a game board-- we would guess it connects the minigames, in the style of another well-known minigame collection.

This is, at least in terms of visuals, the most charming minigame collection we've seen since Incredible Crisis. Will it be as much fun? At least minigames have the potential to be more interesting with unique control schemes like the Wiimote provides. Check out some screens after the break!

Continue reading New Tamagotchi Party On screens

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