Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Update: Screen grab from Nintendo's media page, which has video of all these new games! Check it out right here.

Nintendo just unleashed a demo reel of upcoming third-party Wii games, including Taiko no Tatsujin Wii, a new Tsumi to Batsu/Sin & Punishment game from Treasure, a Wii version ofAnother Code (otherwise known as Trace Memory, the DS adventure game), Let's Tap (Yuji Naka's latest project, a.k.a. the game that even penguins can play), Sengoku Musou 3 (Samurai Warriors 3) and a new "mothership" title in the Tales Of series.

Will the internet regard this as the press conference that E3 should have been? We suspect so!

It looks like Tecmo and Koei are going to be BFF (and also Tecmo needs a bunch of money). Both companies will probably keep their normal franchises as they are -- Koei's unlikely to make any changes to the streamlined, probably automated Dynasty Warriors production process, and Tecmo will keep making horse racing games and the occasional "prestige" fighting or action game as always.

But there is the possibility that the merger could change some stuff up! Square didn't really become a Final Fantasy spinoff factory until the Enix merger. Do you think this is a good move? Would you like to see one company's influence on another? Perhaps a Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball game with really detailed statistics?

1UP's James Mielke is, in general, not pleased about the prospect of a Koei-Tecmo merger. He imagines the company's Team Ninja franchises milked incessantly in the manner of Koei's Dynasty Warriors games, with an annual release supported by endless Xtreme Legends and Empires versions and mega-multiplatform ports. Of course, that's taking it to the Xtreme. In the course of complaining about the two companies' venality, he drops an interesting bit of behind-the-scenes info about the development of Rygar: The Battle of Argus.

Apparently, the port was conceived as a cheap-to-develop game (surprise!), but ended up "so disastrous and unportable that Tecmo had to go back to the drawing board with it." That would certainly explain all the delays. Next time you complain about PS2-to-Wii ports, remember this! Companies are working very hard to bring you all those games from 2002.

It looks like the proposed takeover by Square Enix didn't take, as Tecmo has revealed they'll be merging with Koei. It turns out that this choice provides Tecmo with "a greater chance of boosting corporate value," whch basically means that merging with Koei wouldn't have the company swallowed whole by the huge Square Enix. They can still maintain some identity this way.

Square Enix isn't willing to call it quits, however. Their original buyout offer was for $206 million and they're planning to further investigate the terms of the Koei and Tecmo merger. We guess we'll be hearing more about this in the future.

[Via Joystiq]

Before you pass this over in indifference, though, you should keep in mind that not only is this classic being "virtually overlooked" by Nintendo, but by virtually everyone else as well.

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.

We're not vain people who fret about occasionally looking silly (a quick peek inside our wardrobes would more or less confirm this), so stretching, swiveling and gurning on the Balance Board in front of others was never a huge deal for us.

However, our indifferent attitude might yet be tested by G1 Jockey. Koei announced today that its horsey sim would also utilize the Balance Board, allowing players to adjust the position of their on-screen jockey as they "whip" their invisible steeds with the Wiimote. Picture somebody playing that game for a moment; doesn't it sound just a little too ridiculous? Apparently not. "Assuming a jockey crouch and powering to victory should brighten up even the longest of faces," lies the press release.

Fortunately for us, we are just about vain enough not to be seen in public purchasing a copy of G1 Jockey.


[Via press release]

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."

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]

Koei's Samurai Warriors Katana released earlier this month in the U.S. to a distinct lack of fanfare, and next month, European gamers will get their shot at the action title. Last August, the game sure sounded like it had potential, so what happened between then and now that resulted in an average score of 53 on Metacritic? Apparently "fun" is as far as the concept went, and many other elements were left unpolished. Still, the reviews are not all bad, and the screens didn't make any of the staff at Wii Fanboy vomit on their shoes, so it might be worth keeping an eye out for the inevitable markdowns that are sure to come in a few weeks.

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.

Koei tried porting one of their most venerable franchises to the Wii, in the form of Sangokushi XI (Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI) with Power-Up Kit. By most publishers' standards, it bombed, selling about 6,000 copies. But how much could those ultra-hardcore strategy games really be expected to sell? Apparently, not that much. Maybe the development costs are low enough that Koei can recoup their expenses just by selling to a small audience.

In any case, ported strategy games are cheaper to develop than original RPGs, and sell about the same. Because of that, we can kind of understand why Koei's putting another of their classic strategy series on the Wii. Well, that and the fact that pointer control is a natural for this kind of menu-driven game. Nobunaga's Ambition with Power-Up Kit offers the same kind of thrills that Romance of the Three Kingdoms did: lots of map screens and numbers representing historical battles. Famitsu's got a bunch of screens of the game, which is due out in March, both alone and in a bundle with Romance.

As long as they keep putting out art like this that we can then post, Koei is free to do whatever they want on the Wii.