What's even better, though, is watching others get scared by Fatal Frame -- which itself is only topped by watching people pretending to be afraid. We don't normally associate "Fatal Frame" and "fantastically funny" in the same thread of thought, but if you watch the Japanese TV ads that are also in this video, you'll understand where we're going with this.
Lucky Japanese gamers get to be scared on their couches as soon as July 31st, but the rest of us will just have to sit pretty hope this beauty gets localized soon.
After reaching for the lightswitch and squinting over Fatal Frame IV media, Nintendo has updated the official website by adding new screens and character profiles. It seems Fatal Frame just isn't scary unless it stars tiny, innocent-looking girls, and this latest installment has three of them. The only prominent male is wearing a tight shirt with a neck that's a little too big, so he could be classified as the fourth girl in the ghostbusting team.
Fatal Frame IV is hiding in the shadows, ready to pounch on unsuspecting customers when it hits the shelves in Japan on July 31st. Hit up the website to examine the rather impressive character renders. One question - why is it always night time, and why are they always holding torches?
New screens of Fatal Frame IV have appeared on Famitsu's site, coinciding with the launch of the game's official site. Our verdict? They're all rather lovely, but terribly dark. Yes, we fully appreciate that traipsing about in pitch black darkness while being scared witless is a key part of the Fatal Frame experience, but in some of these shots it's the Famitsu watermark that is most prominent. The old adage about "what you can't see is what scares you most" will no doubt apply here, and we look forward to hiding behind our sofas whenever this makes the inevitable trip westwards.
Make sure your night light is on before heading past the break for a few other screenshots.
Grim. Dingy. Grimy. Dilapidated. No, we're not referring to the more picturesque parts of Fanboy Towers (though could well be), but to the environments found in Fatal Frame IV. The latest edition of Famitsu has some of the first gameplay shots from the Tecmo/Grasshopper Manufacture collaboration, most of which feature the title's waif of a heroine and some not entirely pleasant sights; you can see the full scans at the "Source" link below.
It also appears that Nintendo's Japanese arm has updated its release schedule with a date for the camera-based horror title -- Nintendo itself will be publishing Fatal Frame IV in Japan on July 31st.
Game|Life's Jean Snow, along with a very exclusive audience that naturally did not include us (we'd be happy just to be able to buy the CD), attended the launch party for the No More Heroes Dark Side CD, which features remixes of Masafumi Takada's excellent soundtrack by other game and chiptune musicians. The party took place at Shinjuku's 8-bit Cafe, a retrogaming-themed restaurant with displays of classic games, and even a bin full of games for customers to play at any of the systems set up around the shop.
Once the event closed, the celebration moved to another bar called 16 Shots -- as in Takahashi Meijin's button-mashing record. You'll never hear a geekier name for a business, at least until our loan goes through.
Wii Fanboy favorite No More Heroes is the focus of this week's Zero Punctuation, and it actually gets off fairly easily compared to the roasting received by most games. In between describing Suda 51 as "the 51st result of an illegal Japanese cloning experiment to create the world's most auteur game designer" and fretting over what the game is satirizing and what it isn't, Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw admits he enjoyed playing as Travis Touchdown, and eventually praises Grasshopper's game for its "unpredictable story and quirky aesthetics."
Finally, as if we didn't already admire the man enough, he reveals his deep-seated love of Branston Pickle. Way to make us forgive every mean thing you ever said about our favorite games, Yahtzee. Hit the break for the full, NSFW review.
Those of you who visit this site often probably know that we're big fans of No More Heroes. If you haven't made the plunge to purchase the game yet, though, this might be a good week to do so.
From what we've heard, the game is selling pretty well, so it may be a while before it comes down in price. Luckily, GameQuest Direct is selling the title for $8 less than the $50 retail cost, meaning that it will only set you back $41.99. Sweetening the deal is a free shipping promotion through CAG. Once you add the game to your cart, just make sure to type the promotion code CAG1SHIP in the box at the bottom left corner.
If you're craving a mature Wii game but No More Heroes is still too expensive for your taste, you can also get Scarface for $24.99. The free shipping promotion applies to this title, too, so make sure to use it if you decide to buy the game.
Caveat: These sales end on March 18th, so if you're considering these purchases, make sure not to wait too long.
Speaking to MCV, No More Heroes director Suda 51 said that in the earliest stages of planning, his game was going to be made for the Xbox 360. It was his producer at Marvelous Interactive, Yasuhiro Wada, who suggested the Wii instead.
"Originally, I'd wanted to make this game for Xbox 360, actually. Wada-san had information about the new Wii and how the new controller would work before it came out, so that's why he thought I should produce the game on that format."
It's important to remember that back then Suda wouldn't have known about the controller, or really much of anything about the Wii, while the 360 was a known quantity. A very small quantity in Japan, but still something that could be developed for. Of course, once Suda found out about the Wiimote (and, though he doesn't say it, the smaller cost of game development on the Wii) he was on board. Really, though, if No More Heroestanked in Japan on the Wii, a system that people have, imagine the 360 sales.
We can totally get behind No More Heroescosplay. For one thing, it's a cheap and fairly easy pastime, not unlike your mom requiring none of the intricate and potentially expensive items needed for, say, successful Metroid cosplay. For another, the end result generally looks quite good, if you have the right physique to pull it off (we don't), as well as the correct cocksure attitude (again, no).
Hit the link below for more photos of Travis Touchdown and Sylvia Christel imitators that you can shake a paper-mâché WarioWare mask at.
There seems to be some sort of inextricable link between No More Heroes and toilets. Previously, it was revealed that we'd all be saving our progress in the game by perching on the john. Then there was that novelty No More Heroes themed toilet paper that was handed out at the game's launch party in Japan, and which director Goichi Suda would later give away on the streets of Akihibara.
Now, Suda has told Eurogamer that the creative process behind the game was comparable to ... pinching a loaf. You know: making a deposit at the Porcelain Bank. Taking the Browns to the Super Bowl. Defecating. We're struggling, so we'll let Suda take us from here: "When you take a shit, everything you've consumed is all mixed together, there are all sorts of things in that -- and that's the same kind of idea, I think."
Perhaps "cooler" isn't the best word to use, since comics tend to be associated with, well, nerdy lifestyles. Fortunately, though, this is a video games blog, meaning that we completely eat up geek culture like it's delicious candy. The folks over at Grasshopper Manufacture seem to understand this, and have therefore decided to incorporate a comic book motif into the No More Heroes instruction manual.
We can only hope that Ubisoft decides to use this style as well, but in case they don't, check out some pictures provided by Siliconera's Spencer Yip after the break.
A recent announcement that Europe would be getting a bloodless version of No More Heroes didn't go down well with many of our bloodthirsty commenters. At the time, PAL publisher Rising Star Games refused to reveal what was behind the decision, but more light was shed on the omission earlier today, in a joint statement from director Suda51 and producer Yasuhiro Wada (pictured above unsuccessfully trying to give away free toilet roll and autographs on the streets of Akihabara).
Turns out that it was Suda and Wada themselves who decided to drop the outrageous levels of gore from the European version, citing the "broadly growing Wii market" in the region.
Not that this affects many of you, as the U.S. version still contains plenty of the crimson stuff. Buckets of it, in fact.
Hearing about No More Heroes' unsuccesful launch in Japan was enough to break our Suda-loving hearts, and make us really believe that the world is severely lacking in heroes. Fortunately, we were wrong. Kotaku reader Frank decided to show his support and respect for Suda51 with this Wii, which is all kinds of excellent.
This fan tribute won't heal the wound of disappointing sales, but it's certainly a nice gesture. Like sending one of these custom Wiis to each of the Nintendo Wii Fanboy staff would be a nice gesture. (You can't blame a blogger for trying.)
Another picture of this heroic Wii can be seen after the break.
While we're glad that Rising Star will be distributing No More Heroes to Europe and Australia, some European (and yes, probably Australian) gamers might be peeved to know that the version of the game they get will be blood-free.
Games Radar asked publisher Rising Star if this decision had anything to do with the recent Manhunt 2 BBFC fiasco, to which the company replied a telling, "Maybe."
This certainly isn't the worst news in the world, and Japan is also playing the blood-free version, but we can understand if European gamers are a little disappointed by this development. Check after the break to see examples of the bloodless version versus the ridiculously bloody, Kill Bill-esque North American version.
We know that you were impressed by the opening video for No More Heroes, because, well, you told us so. The people behind the game must have degrees in tease-ology, though, because now you can download music samples from No More Heroes at the game's official website. Even though they aren't full tracks, it's easy to tell that the music for this game is going to rock our socks off. Now we're even as hyped for the soundtrack release as we are for the game itself.
To download the track samples, go to the bottom of this page and click on the orange buttons. Your ears will thank you.
