As happens each month, some of the more interesting tidbits from the holiday issue of Nintendo Power have been transcribed by the tireless folks at Aeropause.
The most eye-catching news, for us? A novel and particularly painful-sounding attack in Platinum Games' MadWorld. According to the magazine, you'll be able to lodge "a trumpet where the sun don't shine, leaving the unfortunate fellow to stagger around as he inadvertently toots the horn." Awe. Some. What's a trumpet doing lying around on the set of a futuristic game show about death and wanton bloodletting? Heck, don't ask, just shove.
Other worthy factoids drawn from the mag deal with how No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda relaxes (by playing Burnout Paradise), and the news that Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers will have a two-player splitscreen mode. Hit up Aeropause for the rest!
Posted Nov 6th 2008 11:55AM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
We've seen plenty of Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers' main characters, Aya and Saki -- perhaps a little too much, in terms of modesty! Tamsoft's embarrassing action-horror game features two more playable characters, both of whom have their own unique idea of appropriate zombie hunting attire.
Reiko is one of many clones of the "Original Reiko" created by some unspecified agency of SCIENCE!! She is ordered to take a sample of Aya and Saki's blood (which apparently is the cause of their occasional bouts of blinding rage). Misery also wants the sisters' blood, but to make herself stronger. Our suggestion for increasing combat effectiveness: the crazy chain sword is a good start, but we'd bring some shoes into battle.
We imagine Halloween as the time of year when any producers of monster- or horror-related media scramble, if not to get their products out into the marketplace, at least to get some kind of ad or material out, to take advantage of the pro-spooky sentiments that Halloween-celebrating parts of the world feel. For us, then, it just wouldn't feel like Halloween unless we were inundated with trailers and ads for horror games -- and we think campy ones like Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers fit the season best of all.
Yes, this video is extraordinarily silly ... but it's for Onechanbara. That's pretty much the idea. Our favorite part: Aya appears to have a poster of her own rear end.
Sex sells. And the developers behind Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers know it, as their game features attractive ladies in sexy outfits. There's also something else in the game that rivals the popularity of hot chicks: lots and lots of carnage. Plus, there're zombies. And extras! There's a lot in this package, that's for sure.
This latest trailer for the game takes some CG cutscenes from the game and combines them into one new trailer. With a steamy shower scene, you'll also see some pre-rendered combat, as well as some sunglasses-wearing guy who likes to punch girls in the stomach. Come on, dude, hasn't your mother taught you anything? You're not supposed to hit a lady ...
Who's anxious to slice down some zombies with us in February?
If you were a PlayStation early adopter, you'll remember Battle Arena Toshinden. It was the terrible 3D fighter that launched with the system and featured in its early advertising; for a while, we all managed to convince ourselves that it was good and an appropriate showcase for the system.
Takara Tomy has decided to resurrect the franchise on the Wii, or possibly to use the Toshinden name as a selling point for a new fighter. Other than being a 3D fighting game, there doesn't seem to be too much in common. The characters all look new, anyway. Not that changing Toshinden is necessarily a bad thing.
Ever since it was revealed that D3 would bring Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers to the Wii, we've been pumped to play it. That is mainly due to the game being all about a hot chick killing zombies while barely clothed. It's basically a recipe for success. But what of this Wii port? What features can we look forward to? Some things were hinted at back at E3, but we never got definitive word. That is, until now.
D3 has confirmed that the game will feature co-op play, complete with unique characters with their own individual weapons and combos, so you can feel awkward in front of a friend when you're getting weird sensations from a scantily-clad babe destroying screens full of zombies in showers of blood. Aside from the co-op, the roster of game modes has been expanded to include Free Play Mode, Survival Mode and Quest Mode, in addition to the main Story mode.
With these new features, the game sounds better than ever. Any of you excited for what is sure to be some great mindless slaughter?
It was pretty clear during D3's E3 presentations of Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers that the company wants to make some changes to the original Japanese game, because they didn't let us play the retail Japanese copy used as a display, suggesting that they plan to mess with the controls. Also they told us that they were going to add stuff.
Siliconera got an even better idea of the kinds of additions D3 is thinking of. According to their talk with D3, new stages and enemies not found in Onechanbara R, as well as other characters from the Onechanbara series, may make their way into the new game. More work than is absolutely necessary going into an Onechanbara game? What a strange time we live in.
If there's one essential zombie-killing accessory that's often overlooked in survival guides, it's the feather boa. If you don't look good, you won't feel good, and if you don't feel good, you're not kicking a bunch of zombie ass. You can't argue with that; that's science. That's why Onechanbara is awesome: it represents a fusion of high fashion aesthetics and a dedication to efficient killing ... and it's all coming to you at a budget price. There's nothing more you can ask for, except screenshots, and hey! They're right here.
D3 showed off an early version of Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers in their conference room. And by "early version of Bikini Zombie Slayers," I mean "final Japanese version of Onechanbara Revolution." The retail game. Even so, I wasn't allowed to play it! Isn't that weird? And not in the funny, campy way that Onechanbara is usually weird.
I did get to watch the game in motion, and found the visual upgrade over the PS2 version impressive. Apparently the price is getting a downgrade from the Japanese release: the D3 rep said that while they had yet to set a price point, it'll be marketed as a budget game.
D3 also had the costumes from the Onechanbara movie in their booth -- all four square inches or so of costume. I did geek out a bit.
We've been hoping for a localized version of Oneechanbara Revolution, the motion-controlled Wii entry in Tamsoft's once-budget horror action franchise, since D3 Publisher revealed the game at last year's Tokyo Game Show. The company just announced that we're getting our wish: the series is headed to the U.S. for the first time, under the title Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers.
Players will control one of two sisters, Aya and Saki, who slice up piles and piles of zombies, stopping only to shake the tainted blood off of their swords (lest they become slower and get stuck in zombies more often). Getting blood on the girls, however, triggers a "Rage Mode" in which Aya and Saki attack with increased speed and strength, while their health decreases.
After No More Heroes, we have been slavering for some more sword-based action. Now we're looking forward to E3.
The Oneechanbara movie continues to be our favorite upcoming import-only movie based on an import-only game about girls in bikinis slaughtering zombies. It's a big genre, but we think we can say this with some certainty.
Even so, this latest trailer raises some concerns about the movie. Specifically, why the CG blood? It would actually cost more than the normal goop used in movies, and the producers didn't quite spend enough to ensure that it didn't totally look ridiculous. Oh, that reminds us -- WARNING: This video features blood, sort of, and may not be suitable for children sensitive to the sight of computer-generated Jell-O.
The first trailer for the Oneechanbaramovie should allay the concerns of anyone who thought D3 Publisher's cheap zombie-slashing game series would forget where it came from. Oneechanbara is staying true to its low-budget roots by, apparently, having a very low budget.
Roughly half of the trailer is composed of game footage, followed by a quick look at Eri Otoguro as Aya, in an impressive "leaning kind of sideways, because she's hurt or something" scene. We suppose this trailer -- with little content other than a few seconds of a girl in a bikini -- would fit the definition of a "teaser" pretty well.
Dengeki had a playtesting session of D3's Oneechanbara Revolution, and from what we can gather based on automatic translations, they quite enjoyed the (costumes in the) game. They also seemed to think that the new controls, while requiring a bit of practice, work out well for the action game and create an enjoyable flow. They didn't think it was awful, which is news for the series.
While the idea of learning controls seems antithetical to the Wii ideal, at least they're fun. Oneechanbara Revolution includes a practice mode in which you can just slice up endless hordes of zombies, in order to facilitate the learning process.
Along with the English-unfriendly impressions, there is a nice set of new screenshots. We're fascinated by whatever that on-screen display is in the practice mode.
As if we weren't already all about action games, recent developments have given us a taste for waggle-style action games. In this video for the new Oneechanbara Wii game, Official Aya Model Erina demonstrates the Wii controls for the bloody game. Also she wears her Aya outfit. Obviously, right?
Oneechanbara's controls are much more motion-y than No More Heroes'. You're really (sort of) swinging your sword around and cutting through thousands of zombies. Surprisingly, while we totally think No More Heroes balances button-mashing and waving around perfectly, all the waggling in this looks fun and exciting. We're probably only swayed a little bit by the fact that it's being shown off by a bikini-clad model!
While you're in an Oneechanbara mood, check out some new screens at the link. They're screens of the game, by the way.
It seems that a significant portion of any Oneechanbara game's budget is earmarked for hiring gravure idol Erina to dress up like Aya for publicityevents. Judging by the game, a rather large percentage goes to the Aya Model Fund. This time, to promote the February 7th release of Oneechanbara Revolution, Aya stopped by Dengeki's offices, along with a dude in half-assed zombie makeup, to pantomime slashing up the website's staff. The two also made similar stops at GAME Watch and Famitsu, as well as other publications, no doubt.
We'd make a joke here about threatening violence in retaliation against negative reviews, but we're pretty sure that these websites will find a way to review the game harshly, if they end up reviewing it.
