How the Wii Ruined Skyward Sword

Let me throw this out there right now: Skyward Sword is an unbelievable game. It is a lot of fun, contains plenty to do, and contains most of that Zelda magic we’ve grown accustomed to. It doesn’t have the tedious beginning like Twilight Princess’ wolf sequences, and doesn’t have the boring overworld navigation of Wind Waker. This Zelda is arguably the best since the Zelda games from the year 2000, when we saw the likes Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons, and of course Majora’s Mask. That being said, it has a huge setback, and it has nothing to do with the developers of the game and more to do with the system itself: the Wii’s hardware limitations prevent it from being something special and groundbreaking.

For years I have been stating that the reason why 90s Zelda is far more memorable than modern-day Zelda is because we have not had a Zelda that raised the bar for gaming since Majora’s Mask. The reason why we fondly remember Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time is because these games at the time represented the peak and the limits of what video games can do, and then associated that time incredible gameplay. Every official Zelda game from the original to Majora’s Mask (and this even includes Link’s Awakening) reinvented the gaming industry in different ways, and also was gaming on top of its game (no pun intended). Zelda became a synonym for quality in the world of games.


But after Majora’s Mask (still in my opinion one of the most underrated games in history), the rest of the gaming world started catching up. Because of a different approach to the franchise and also because the developers (and Nintendo’s hardware) started lagging behind the competitors, the handheld Zeldas, Wind Waker, and especially Twilight Princess became decent games marred by potential, and marred by superior presentations of other games. Now, I know graphics aren’t everything, but part of the appeal of Zelda was its incredible presentation, attention to detail, and the fact that this was Nintendo’s sandbox for creating the ultimate game. The Legend of Zelda series is the equivalent of an epic film aiming to earn all the Academy Awards. Nintendo always pushes the boundaries of what they can do when the famed hero is in the center of the game.

Now we go back to Skyward Sword. This game is superb, but (just like Twilight Princess) suffers so much from the Wii’s limitations that all I can do is sit back and be upset but what it could have been. Skyward Sword looks even weaker than Perfect Dark Zero, an XBox 360 game that is already over 6 years old. This Zelda was aiming high with its gripping storyline, creative and expansive environment, and its new art style---which suits Zelda quite well. It contains some of the best Zelda gameplay since Ocarina of Time, as well as the best story since Majora's Mask. It has the right blend of heart, humor, and whimsical adventure. This game honestly is the best we've seen from the Wii since Super Mario Galaxy 2. But the game suffers from lower textures, lack of graphical details we now see in PS3 and XBox 360 games released at around the same time, and small little bugs like partially going through a wall.


So what should Nintendo have done? Made Skyward Sword a WiiU launch title. While I am a Wii owner and am repeatedly frustrated by the pure lack of games in recent times, Skyward Sword should have been pushed over to next year and become a launch title. The WiiU also implements motion controls, so why not make this game for a system that’s rumored to be twice as strong as the 360? Not sure if you saw it, but the Zelda demo in the WiiU during E3 earlier this year looked quite phenomenal. Personally, I would have pushed for the HD next-generation graphics as opposed to continuing to make the game for a system that is pretty much 7 leagues behind the competitors in terms of graphics and hardware. What better way to start the WiiU’s life than delivering Nintendo’s first HD Zelda? Skyward Sword is quite grand in scale and would have definitely benefited from a stronger hardware at the helm.

Releasing it to the WiiU would have finally given Zelda a spot it has not received in 11 years: the peak. Skyward Sword in HD would have been Zelda on top of its game, and would have been action-adventure gaming on top of its game. It would have made a far bigger impact and would have risen amongst the surprisingly vast array of awesome action games. Skyward Sword would not have been just another good game; it would have left its mark on the industry, much like what the earlier Zelda games accomplished.

We would have gotten a Zelda game with an orchestrated soundtrack, a very different (and downright fun) mix of dungeons, adventures, and side-quests, AND then high-definition graphics that would have showcased what Nintendo’s first HD system could deliver. They should have waited. Now, we have a great game muddled in the pack of excellent games we’ve gotten in Fall 2011. While this is usually no issue for franchises like Uncharted, Call of Duty, and Saint’s Row---this is freakin’ Legend of Zelda we are talking about. It feels strange seeing this game quietly whip up good reviews and decent sales, when two generations ago the franchise delivered a game that eternally changed the gaming world forever. Skyward Sword will entertain, but won’t inspire anything like what NES Zelda, Zelda II, Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and Majora’s Mask did.


Bottom Line: The Wii has run its course unfortunately, with unmet potential, several disappointments, competitors catching on to the motion-control craze, mysterious disappearances (where the #()*)# is F-Zero?), and a Zelda game that was aiming for the moon but could only reach the sky. Skyward Sword is a superb game that is great to follow and lots of fun overall, but it stinks to see the WiiU just around the corner and this 35-40 hour mammoth adventure have to graphically and stylistically cut corners just to fit in the realm of Wii’s limitations. If I were personally running Nintendo, I would have delayed the game to next-generation, or pulled a Twilight Princess and just release it for two systems at the same time. Much like how an excellent film can be marred because of low-quality footage, Skyward Sword is a bundle of joy that is wrapped in mediocre presentation. But if they had waited just a year more, we would have had a totally different ballgame.

A Letter From a Gamer to Capcom (Part 3)

Part 2 is Here


Of course, Survival, Time Attack, Arcade, Training, Wi-fi Battle, Vs, and even Extra Game should all come back. Extra Game NEEDS a boost. Bringing that one game back, this sequel can introduce 5 more games to add to it for more variety. Maybe a race-like game, Megaman’s Target Practice, and a few others. One of them can include a watered-down demo version of Tatsunoko Fight that has a number of characters (less than the original game) and allows you to just do 5 fights but when you win all 5, you get Neon (as explained above). These extra games can be ‘bought’ with the same currency from the last game. Saving teams would be nice. Bosses can include a team of Buraiking Boss (Neo-Human Casshern), Sigma (Megaman X series), and Omega (Uchu no Kishi Tekkaman Blade).

Speaking of bought, that’s exactly what can be brought back from the previous game. Buying alternate costumes, extra games, icons (for wi-fi), and even character biographes obtained from beating arcade mode from specific characters. Gives the players things to go after; especially dark and light costumes for every character. Since the Wii U has 8 buttons to rotate through costumes, it’s easy to pull many costumes off.

Now, as for the actual gameplay itself, other than 3-on-3, nothing else from the fighting portion of gameplay should change. Baroque should come back, alternating hyper combos in the middle of others, team aerial combos, keeping the Japanese dub, Mega Crash, etc. As for the giant characters, with 3-on-3, what you guys can do is boost the amount of health that each character has to last long enough to not be IMPOSSIBLE to defeat but be challenging. Remember, as explained, Goliath would have a little more but with chopped down power. The levels would go from 1-4 before Maximizing at 5 like the previous game as well.

Why this game for the Wii U? Well, updated graphics (1080p HD), MUCH better wi-fi system, more data, and imagine this with the new tablets. Picture this, you’re playing the game against a friend of yours and your roommate pops in and says, “hey, there’s a great baseball game on that I would love to watch.” No problem. You pause the game and swipe the touch screen toward the television so that a screen showing who’s facing who with their health bars and level meters will appear on the television and the fight is now on the 2 tablets of you and your friend. Continue the fight there, roommate watches TV, everyone is happy! As well, the touch screen can be used in correspondence with the Extra Games and maybe (like Street Fighter 4 for the 3DS) have preset attacks that can be launched from the touch screen. All these features from the Wii U can benefit this game entirely and can add a lot of fun to the game that can be outside of fighting.

Now, am I going to let the PS3 and Xbox 360 users that only have Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 suffer looking at a potential game like this soar into the homes of Nintendo gamers? Not at all. This is up to you guys but you guys said that you WERE intending on having downloadable characters later on down the road, so what better for everyone than to release a bunch of new characters for UMvC3 owners so that they won’t feel left out? At least 5 from Marvel and 5 from Capcom would be enough. All one has to do is flip over the page of the book of characters to find the DLCs in a different section. Marvel Characters can include: Venom, Silver Samurai, Mister Fantastic, Gambit, and Falcon. As for Capcom characters, it can include Megaman (classic or Volnutt; if you decide to keep Volnutt for TvC2, then X would be most preferable), Ryu (Breath of Fire), Ruby Heart, Jet Black (Viewtiful Joe), and Sonson. These are just examples but they could be potential wants into UMvC3.

In conclusion, this is NOT me telling that you guys are under the water and NEED this to survive. I am a fan but if you guys do this, it would be incredible. I would buy the game in a heartbeat and even buy UMvC3 to go with my new PS3. The original Tatsunoko vs. Capcom had a lot of praise from many critics even here in America. It didn’t sell as well in America as you guys may have anticipated but, remember, you’re dealing with an audience that does not know half of the characters in the game. Many people started loving the Tatsunoko characters after playing this game so this sequel can add a better shot of selling a lot since many players now know who these guys are. Pull off the presentations on Youtube as you did for UMvC3, and this game will sell much more than the original did. Thanks for reading and thinking about it. As I said earlier, I’ve been a fan of you guys for years so I wish you guys the absolute best in your productions for the future.





Sincerely,
Michael Malespin
Just a fan; nothing more

A Letter From a Gamer to Capcom (Part 2)

Part 1 of the Letter

Not bad so far right? These are very potent characters that can work.

Now for Capcom:

#1 Zig (Last Ranker)

Judging by this character, you can tell I’m doing what I should be doing (kind of targeting the Japanese audience). Last Ranker is a game that has NEVER come out for America so this would get the Americans to know him more and get the Japanese to love him more. He had some nice sword techniques in Last Ranker that can be used here:

1st Level 1 Hyper Combo can be one of the hidden techniques he learned in Last Ranker in which he tosses an energy ball towards the opponent and CAN be used in midair to aim at the opponent below. CAN be cancelled with other projectile hyper combos.

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo can be that critical hit you get sometimes with those blue slash marks in Last Ranker. It’s a nearby kind of aim that it’s looking for.

Level 3 Hyper Combo can be called ‘Final Blow’ relating to Zig’s final blow against the final boss in Last Ranker. It’s similar to Zero’s level 3 Hyper Combo in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, cancelling ANY hyper combos that can be cancelled.
He is a medium-fast character that will dish out some good combos.

#2. Jin Saotomi (Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness)

Where did this guy go? He was crazy in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. He will be one of the 4 characters I will recommend to bring back from MvC2. For Jin, it’s a copy-paste kind of character. Just take what you got from Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and just make the barrage-of-guns hyper combo as his level 3. Although…I could do without the constant clothes removal he did a lot in the past…

#3 Jotaro Kujo (Jojo’s Bizzare Adventures)

This is one of the most awesome-looking characters that can show up on a fighting game without question. He and his Stand powers can knock the opponents by launching multi-hit moves. I managed to attain potential hyper combos right here:

1st Level Hyper Combo is simple. His Stand ghost gets released and beats up on the opponent BUT Jotaro can be controlled regularly to either do another hyper or join in on the beat up AS the Stand power is attacking.

2nd Hyper Combo can be a Hyper Combo canceller. His Stand will release a giant punch on the opponent (similar to what he did in the video game). After all, that can’t be cancelled because he’s a ghost.

Level 3 Hyper Combo can be a charging up animation that you saw in the game but the effect will act like an X-Factor from Marvel vs. Capcom 3 in which Jotaro and his Stand power will be faster and much stronger for a short period of time and heals his red bar during the time too.

Jotaro is quick and lightweight so he is a fast guy with not so much power.

#4 Tokugawa Ieyasu (Sengoru Besara)

Might as well give this guy some love as well coming from an American and then Japan-only game. He is a relaxed samurai who has a lot of power for his looks. He relates to Iron Fist in a way. The only hyper combo I can think of with him is a Level 3 Hyper Combo in which he attacks the opponent by knocking him down. Afterwards, he calls his army to ambush and thrash the opponent and then they scatter.

#5 Captain Commando (Captain Commando)

Another throwback in which I thought was the main mascot for Capcom for one second (Cap-Captain, Com-Commando…anybody?). Regardless, I could never beat him in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 if it killed me. He’s quick, strong, and pretty easy to use. Just copy and paste this guy, and all you’ll need is a Level 3 Hyper Combo in which Baby will spring out a claw that grips the opponent and then Commando, Ninja, and Mummy will give the opponent a barrage of attacks with Captain Commando ending it with a huge thunder punch. Pretty nice right? It makes your jobs easier just doing this.

#6 Samanousuke Akechi (Omnimusha)

Sooooo….a medium version of Kajin no Soki but with different attacks other than his level 3 where his final attack, after charging up enough soul energy since he transformed into that form, can send a huge wave blast that does a ton of damage? Yep, that’s pretty much what I came up with. The level 1 Hyper Combos I can’t think of any but you guys can definitely come up with some cool stuff for him. The Japanese will love seeing this guy in the game.

#7 Rouge (Power Stone)

A fun little character than can actually bring something very different to the table. As you fight with Rouge, random colored gemstones can start popping up during the fight in which Rouge can pick up. Judging by the colored gemstones, it can determine what kind of hyper combo you’ll get. This can lead to one of the few characters in the game to have more than 3 hyper combos. Give it a shot! Rouge can be a medium character.

#8 B.B. Hood (Darkstalkers)

This…is another character than can definitely work in this game. It’s almost copy-paste. The problem here is that her level 1 Hyper combo where she’s crying because of her grandma and throws the opponent in her tears seems too cartoony. If that can be replaced with another one while her weapon-crazy barrage from her basket is her level 3, you pretty much have this character down.

#9 Tyrant (Breath of Fire 4) [LARGE character]

Finding another large character to go with Goliath was tough until I came across this final boss. He’s HUGE! He can be a tough threat to the character roster. I came up with a couple combos for him:

1st Level 1 Hyper Combo can be where he creates a dark blast from the ground in front of him. Similar to Zero’s Level 1 Hyper Combo in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. I can’t think of a

2nd level 1 Hyper combo…BUT…

Level 3 Hyper Combo can be Dark Wave as used in Breath of Fire 4. Once you see that move, you’ll know why I considered that to be a great level 3 Hyper Combo.
EXTREMELY powerful. His range of attacks is not so good though and is pretty slow…
Below is a list of 4 Capcom characters that can be used as hidden characters as well (total of 8)

H#1 Hayato Kanzaki (Star Gladiator)

The last character I ask of you guys to bring back. He is such an awesome character that could work coming back. Another copy-paste (since his combo-creating attacks were actually pretty distinct from the others in Marvel vs. Capcom 2) however he had 4 hyper combos. Make his charging up his level 3 and get rid of the one where he slashes opponents in the dark and you’re good.

How to obtain: Beat Arcade mode with all 26 characters from the first Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (excluding Damaio)

H#2 Dio Brando (Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure)

Once again, we have a newly added hero with a newly added villain! Dio is a brutal character than can be all-power with not so much speed. Thanks to the video game, I managed to find 3 good Hyper combos for him.

1st Level 1 Hyper Combo can be him throwing a bunch of knives at the opponent. Simple.

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo can be used in the air where he leaps up, slams the opponent with a steamroller, and punches the daylights out of it until it explodes. Lovely.

MAXIMUM Hyper combo has GOT to be End of World. As his levels go down, the opponent is frozen and you can pull off hyper combos until the End of World is done.
Nice throwback from an old game right? That’s why I thought this would work. Plus, on a side note, PLEASE allow Shadow Dio to be an alternate costume. That would be awesome
How to obtain: Beat 20+ matches in Survival (if Tekkaman Blade hasn’t been achieved yet, you’ll get him first; then Dio Brando)

H#3 Blade Master Alastor (Viewtiful Joe)

Didn’t think I’d go here right? Viewtiful Joe was a great action-packed game with so many characters yet just using the hero as a fighter? Here, we give love to Joe’s rival. Of course, it would be more interesting to add him where Dante is but this is the next best thing! Alastor can be a quick combo king with his exploding swords (of course, they don’t ALL have to explode but just saying). I do have his hyper combos here if you’re interested:

1st Level 1 Hyper Combo can be where Alastor shoots a bunch of exploding swords that, like in the original video game, float and home at the opponent so that as the player beats up the opponent, the swords can hit the opponent to add to the combos.

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo is a nice little beat ‘em up hyper combo where he takes out 2 swords and slashes the opponent relentlessly and ends the final slash by exploding the 2 swords.

Level 3 Hyper Combo can be where Alastor takes out one sword to hit the opponent and, when successful, Alastor will levitate and toss a ton of swords surrounding the opponent as he/she struggle to get back up. Afterwards, Alastor will look away from the opponent and drop his pointed finger from the air to drop a purple bolt that hits the swords and a huge burst of purple electricity shatter the opponent. A very sinister Hyper Combo.
How to obtain: Beat AN OPPONENT on Time Attack under a certain time (you guys can help here. Also, if you pull this off, no matter what final time you end up with, you’ll get Alastor before Jimmy the Falcon/Berg)

H#4 Bass (Megaman series)

This is perhaps the greatest final character to reveal in this sequel. Who would expect this? One of, if not, the greatest villain in Capcom history in this game paired up with Megaman and Zero…like a dream come true. He is definitely going to be a powerhouse and a tad slower than Zero and Megaman. I have his hyper combos too:

1st Level 1 Hyper Combo is actually a fun one. Bass will turn his buster into a mine buster and then shoots mines at the opponent and stick to them too. Afterwards, he switches back to the buster mode and blasts the opponent with the mines stuck to them.

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo can be where Bass punches the opponent and then Treble comes in and attacks the opponent. Afterwards, Bass just looks at the hurt opponent, pulls out his blaster, and blasts the opponent with a sharp, powerful beam.

Level 3 Hyper Combo can be Bass setting up his blaster and then tries to vacuum up the opponent. When successful, Bass will use his energy and rage towards his buster to set up a HUGE blast that he sends to the air along with the opponent. All but the blast is darkened.

Is there a better final character than this guy? Doubt it. MASSIVE fan favorite. It would be amazing if this character is in the game.
How to obtain: Beat arcade mode with every Capcom character (beating it using the characters; not ENDING the arcade with them necessarily)

#10 Megaman X (Megaman X games) [to replace Megaman Volnutt]

The ONE replacement that I would agree on and accept; Megaman X has been BEGGED upon! Having 2 Megamen in the game would seem pointless. That’s why replacing Megaman Volnutt would seem fair. Now, am I telling you that this is a better move? No. If you guys feel that many players use Volnutt, IGNORE this entire paragraph. But if you are interested, this is what I have for X.

1st Level 1 Hyper Combo can be X setting up his buster to ice beam mode and blasts the opponent to freeze them into a ball of ice (HAS to be funny seeing this on a giant character) and afterwards, runs toward the ice ball and beats it up ending it with a normal blast from his techno buster.

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo can basically be Megaman Volnutt’s hyper combo when he drilled the opponent upward except X can just use his fist and end that with a Buster Blast too.

Level 3 Hyper Combo can be a throwback. X punches the opponent and, as he’s ready to blast the opponent, X hears a familiar whistle. The camera pans to Protoman watching from a distance. He jumps in and both he and X blast the opponent with a MASSIVE combination blast.

Again, you don’t HAVE to replace Volnutt with X but I wouldn’t mind that replacement if it ever happened.

So we got through the characters and now, let’s discuss gameplay.........

To Be Continued.

Original Writer:
Michael Malespin

A Letter From a Gamer to Capcom

To the nice folk at Capcom:


I have been a fan of quite a few of your games since I was a kid. Now, the gaming industry is expanding relentlessly with releases of the 3DS, Wii U, and PSVita which will lead to a possible PS4 and Xbox 360 sequel. So that means that you guys are going to be stepping up your games! Now I have played and been a massive fan of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom ever since it came out and I can tell you now that you have the GREATEST possibility of making the best fighting game sequel since the Super Smash Bros franchise.

Now I want to start this off by saying that I don’t have or even WANT to take ANY credit for this. All this is major ideas that I really would love to happen and it would benefit you guys well because I’ve done my research and looked up everything I needed to conclude what can prevail massively for this sequel: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom 2: The Ultimate Clash.

Your main concern, I assume, are the characters. Luckily, I managed to stumble upon enough to DOUBLE the amount of characters that were achieved in the first one. That’s why I want to start off by saying here: NO character from the first one should be removed. Some enhanced (like Karas, Zero [keeping his level 3 from the 1st game while updating his 2nd level 1 hyper], Viewtiful Joe, Frank West, Yatterman-2, etc.), but NOT removed. There’s one I MIGHT consider but I’ll explain later. Also, try to avoid using DLCs. I think 52 characters are PLENTY for a good sequel. Plus, I really doubt anyone would like ‘buying’ characters and I still don’t think the Wii U would be able to support DLCs as well as Sony and Microsoft do.

Let’s start with Tatsunoko’s potential new characters!


#1 Evangelion Unit-01 (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

This character miiiiiight be a little challenging with the size but that did not stop Marvel vs. Capcom 3 from putting Sentinel in the game so this character could be like the Tatsunoko version of him: MASSIVELY powerful, pretty slow, and not as much projectiles if anything. Level 1 hyper combos are a little hard to come up with but I can already think of a level 3 (Unit-01 dashes to grab the opposing character, lifts him/her up above the earth and SLAMS THEM down with sheer force). I don’t know, that’s just an example. Regardless, a lot of fans have actually asked for this character to show up so it couldn’t hurt to get this character on the spotlight again.

#2. Volter (Denkou Senka Volter/Tatsunoko Fight)

I was very interested in this guy that I actually composed a few hyper combos for him.
1st Level 1 Hyper Combo: (like he did in Tatsunoko Fight) He kicks the opponent to the air, flies back out of the screen, and then charges at the opponent in midair with electrical discharge surrounding him.

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo: Charge-up move that electrocutes his hands and feet to deal more damage in a short period of time.

Level 3 Hyper Combo: Levitates and then swoops to grab the opponent. When successful, he’ll surround himself with electrical discharge as he flies thus damaging the gripped opponent and slams them down with a bolt.
He can end up being a medium character with decent power, speed, and great combo user.

#3 Shurato Hidaka (Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato)

I stumbled upon Legend of Heavenly Sphere and for how much information that’s on the internet for it, I’m a little puzzled as to why this guy didn’t make the first cut. Regardless, this would be one really good character to add to the game for his fun arrogance as well as brutal power with his Demon techniques. If anything, 3 of those techniques can compose his hyper combos unless you guys have a more fierce level 3 in mind…For how he looks, he most certainly fits the more-than-decent speed, less-than-decent power kind of character.

#4 Hakushon Damaio/Gawl Kudo (The Genie Family/Generator Gawl)

…why didn’t this guy make it to the American/European release? I heard talk about ‘licensing issues’. I thought that was just the character themes so I thought that it was due to his unpopularity in Japan in terms of usage. When he was posted on Youtube, a LOT of people actually wanted this guy to show up in the game; even as a DLC (which, for the Wii, it probably wouldn’t have worked out so well…). Why not put him in this game though? We all need a funny character in fighting games. Super Smash Bros had (and still has) Mr. Game & Watch and Jigglypuff (Purin for the Japanese) and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has Phoenix Wright and Deadpool (although he IS brutal). So Hakushon Damaio would be a fun and cool addition to the squad. Also, if one thinks about it, all that has to be done is to copy and paste what they got from the Japanese version and slap him in the game. It makes your lives so much easier in my opinion. I’d be ok with it. Same moves, same hyper combos, etc. NOW, if licensing issues become a problem, Gawl Kudo from Generator Gawl can be a good replacement with his ‘Generator prowess’.

#5 Luna Kotsuki (Neo-Human Casshern/Tatsunoko Fight)

The second one looks at this character, that one will think, “didn’t her DOG do all the fighting in Tatsunoko Fight?” It’s true but let’s give Luna a chance to actually FIGHT. Her hyper combos are even easy to do:

1st Level 1 Hyper Combo: (take what was from Tatsunoko Fight) get her blaster up and running and blast a beam that, this time, will actually depend on how long you’ve gone without using this particular hyper combo INCLUDING when she’s in the sidelines. It can be performed in 3 stages that will depend on how long the blaster lasts!

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo: It can be one of the ‘hyper combos that activate when the opponent attacks you’ kind. She’ll appear a bit scared to blast the opponent and if the opponent ‘hits her’, the attack will slow down and the camera will pan to Friendler who pounces on the opponent and attacks them berserk-like and then incinerates them with his own flames.

Level 3 Hyper Combo: Have her toss her blaster and when it successfully hits the opponent, the blaster will ricochet outside the screen with Luna jumping towards it and then pounces back with a tank and blasts the opponent relentlessly.
Pretty simple right? She can definitely be a fast character with not so much power but her hyper combos pretty much make up for it.

#6 Kyosuke Date (The SoulTaker)

What better for the Japanese to enjoy this modern anime than to put him in a fighting game that has this guy face-off against the legends of Tatsunoko? I have NO idea what this guy can do but I’m very sure Capcom over at Japan can think of something that will make this character as brutal as he looks. He may be a normal teenager really but he should just appear as the SoulTaker. No level 3 transformation or that sort of thing…

#7 Speedy (Samurai Pizza Cats)

You were waiting for this one weren’t you? It’s no surprise. He’s possibly the most well-known Tatsunoko character aside from Speed Racer (which is unfortunately modernized by Nickelodeon) in America. Speedy can use his sword and even pizza toppings to topple his opponents down. I have his hyper combos right here:

1st Level 1 Hyper Combo: Him and his buddies Polly and Guido all take out their swords and pull off a good beating to the opponent but it’s charging forward as it’s happening. In other words, the beat-up doesn’t happen in place.

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo can be a large pizza with every topping nice and HOT fall down next to Speedy to slow down the opponent and even cancel the opponent’s current hyper combo.

Level 3 Hyper Combo can be Guido coming out of nowhere to bonk the opponent with one of those dough-rollers and, when successful, Speedy (judging by his name…) runs and slaps the opponent into a pizza crust, adds toppings, and then throws him/her into a large oven provided by Polly where the opponent is getting burned up and then FLIES out of there on fire and toppings falling off (I can’t wait to see G. Lightan on this…).
Pretty nice character. Pretty quick, nimble, and combo-hungry.

#8 Protesser (Gordian Warrior)

A nice surprise here but I found him to be interesting. Especially considering that he IS known in America (popular? Probably not but he has been around the block). He can be a medium but with a tad more power kind of character and his hyper combos were actually easy to think of:

1st Level 1 Hyper Combo can be a beat ‘em up move where, in place, he is giving the opponent a barrage of punches and kicks and then kicks them in the air and beats them up the same way in mid-air.

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo is a power punch that gets Protesser to fly across the screen landing a powerful punch on the opponent…even cancelling their current hyper. Similar to Spencer’s Bionic Arm but can be used in midair.

Level 3 Hyper Combo can be Protesser quickly jumping into Dellinger and then into Garbin to run down a meter on his usage. Regardless, it can’t be cancelled and even though Garbin can still get hurt, he won’t flinch and is WAY more powerful than Protesser. This thing’s attacks will hurt and that is no joke.

So this character will go from ‘what can this guy do?’ to ‘WOAH, this guy is sick!’ kind of character; very nice.

#9 Gowappa/Goliath (Goliath the Super Warrior) [LARGE character]

I put ‘large character’ not just because I’m stating the obvious that this robot IS a large character but he can be a giant character like Gold Lightan. Meaning, you pick this character, and that’s it; no more. He is the PTX of Tatsunoko; blasters, projectiles galore. Gowappa (or Goliath in the American version) is not as powerful as he looks but can take more hits than the other giant characters. After all, a lot of characters have their differences and that’s what Goliath can have; better-than-average defenses. One way to do it is to add more health so he can take more hits but, as I said, he’s not as powerful as Gold Lightan. I have NO clue what hyper combos work for him but that’s where you guys can step in.


Now the 4 characters I’m about to reveal below can be the 4 Tatsunoko characters that can be hidden in the game. This can make the gameplay last a bit longer.


H#1 Neon (Denkou Senka Volter/Tatsunoko Fight)

This is a pretty little character that can add a HUGE amount of creativity into this game. I say creativity because I found something you can do with Neon. Similar to Polymar, Neon can use these 5 ‘charge-ups’ that can determine her hyper combos and what a player can do with them.

1st Level 1 Hyper combo (requires no charge-ups) can be one where if Neon’s about to get hit, she gives a menacing look at the attacking opponent and a huge bolt of lightning strikes them down dealing some good damage. She’s only standing when she launches it.

2nd Level 1 Hyper Combo (requires, at least, 1 charge-up) With just her finger, a wave of electricity will zap the opponent and even magnetize to them. With that, Neon raises the wave up and slams the opponent to the ground.

Level 3 Hyper Combo (requires, at least, 1 charge-up) This will depend on the amount of charge-ups Neon has. Regardless, it starts off by healing the amount of health she can recover when she’s sitting on the sidelines (1 for a little, 2 for a chunk, and 3 for ¼ of the entire health bar) and then begins to heal her actual health (4 for ¼ her health and 5 for half the entire health bar). It CAN get cancelled like Roll’s so it’s a matter of timing. A bolt heals.

MAXIMUM Hyper Combo (requires ALL 5 charge-ups) This is a brutal move that gets Neon surrounded immensely by uncontrollable electrical discharge and shoots a HUGE blast of electricity that, although can be avoided, CANNOT BE DEFENDED. One tries to defend and they’re unsuccessful automatically. It can be the most powerful hyper combo in the entire game.

So Neon can either be good or bad depending on how one looks at her. The charge-ups can be attained however (either by how Polymar does it or by time consuming) but it will make using Neon tough. She will be weak but faster than Volter.
How to obtain: Win 5 matches in a row on Tatsunoko Fight (I’ll explain later)


H#2 Jimmy the Falcon OR Berg Katse (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman series)

I’ll give you guys the option here although I AM leaning towards Berg (since we have 3 of the Gatchaman members already…). Jimmy can be a fast character and can even include Rocky the Owl as part of his hyper combos. The only ones I thought of were Jimmy riding on Rocky’s vehicle and attacking the opponent and his level 3 being him driving the airship and blasting away the opponent.

OTHERWISE, Berg would be nice since he’s the villain and all. The only thing I can’t think of is his hyper combos. I can see this guy being a powerhouse but that’s pretty much all I’ve got. If you guys can come up with 3 good hyper combos, Berg can be more preferable for this game.
How to obtain: Beat Time Attack entirely under a certain time (I’ll leave that to you)

H#3 Tekkaman Evil (Uchu no Kishi Tekkaman Blade)

I’ve seen a picture with this guy and would be a nice addition to Tekkaman and Tekkaman Blade. This guy could be the faster version of Blade but with not as much power (since Tekkaman is already a powerhouse). I do not have any hyper combos thought of for him so you guys can input your ideas with the character. He’s on the top 5 of the ‘fans most-wanted’ list for Tatsunoko characters that are being asked to put in the game.
How to obtain: Win in 30 matches or more in Survival.

H#4 Gai Kuroki (Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato)

Fans of this anime will FREAK when they see Shurato AND his rival in the same fighting game. It’s a simple reason to add him to the game. His demon and sword techniques would be of great use for this game. Compared to Shurato, since the anime considers them both equal, Gai can be a medium, slight better power character that attacks with lightning speed. Would one use spiritual hyper combos for this guy? Maybe.

How to obtain: Beat Arcade Mode with EVERY Tatsunoko Character (meaning at least using them and beating it)

To Be Continued.............

Original Writer:
Michael Malespin

10 Nintendo 64 Games That Needs a Sequel Immediately

The Nintendo 64 turned 15 a couple months ago and with it brought some amazing gaming memories, embedded amongst a thickest of disappointing and frustrating moments. The Nintendo 64 had far more potential than the Playstation despite not switching to CDs because of its incredible second-party lineup, its multi-player capabilities, and its awesome new controller which was the first to abandon the D-Pad. While the N64’s controller seems dated when compared to the likes of the XBox 360 and the PS3, it was quite a marvel back in 1996. Sadly though with a plethora of third-parties switching over to Sony, an abundance of delays, and a good variety of disappointments, the Nintendo 64 got its arse whopped by the PSOne.

In my opinion the N64 was a far superior system because of its superior list of awesome and timeless games, but gamers went with the Playstation because of Sony’s undeniable list of games to choose from, better prices, easier accessibility, and lastly because of its rising reputation as the go-to place for good sports games. Nintendo’s downfall with the N64 would directly lead to the disaster that was the Nintendo Gamecube. But we are not here to discuss the 9-year downfall of Nintendo, we are here to discuss the N64’s lineup of games, which remains the most interesting in Nintendo’s history. Why you ask? Because there were a variety of great games with potential of building a franchise but never came about for one reason or another. I am going to list 10 N64 classics that most desperately needs a sequel. Now, some of these games have sequel, but were so abysmally far from the formula of the N64 original that I deny its existence. Before we start though I am going to deliver some honorable mentions:


1) Star Fox 64
Yes, there has been Star Fox games after Star Fox 64, this is true. But, Star Fox Adventures was a Zelda-wannabe with very-very-very-very little aerial combat, Star Fox Assault was a shooter wanna-be with also minimal aerial combat, and Star Fox Command became more a strategy game that a flight combat simulator. A true-blue sequel to Star Fox 64 would be the perfect way to kick off the WiiU, and Nintendo knows that the last gem in the Fox franchise was the N64 classic because they are constantly re-releasing and remaking the darn thing.


2) Goldeneye 007
Let’s get this out of the way: this sequel will never happen. After Rare lost the licensing, dozens of developers and companies ran through the Bond license, creating dozens of uninspired games, and practically ran the franchise to the ground. The only good Bond game will forever be Goldeneye 007 and until Rare combines with Free Radical Games and unites the core group of developers that made the N64 masterpiece, this face will forever remain true.


3) Superman 64
Totally kidding.



And now, on to the Top 10:


#10: Banjo-Tooie
Yes, there was a Banjo-Kazzoie third installment for the XBox 360. But that game was so far off the deep end and so far away from everything that made the Banjo games on the N64 great I deny its existence. The N64 Banjo games were platforming works of art as they combined fun puzzles with excellent level design, plenty of hidden goodies, and some nice British humor to wrap it all together. I think if banjo comes back to Nintendo we’ll see hopes for a revival. Because if there is a company that can revive platform franchises from the dead (Sonic Rush, New Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn) it would be Nintendo.



#9: Super Mario 64
I have argued this on another article, but in my opinion we have not gotten the open-air freelance sequel to Mario 64 just yet. I want a Mario 64 sequel, one that gives Mario over 30 moves to perform, doesn’t limit him to a smaller controller (Mario Galaxy) or adds some massive item on his back (Mario Sunshine). I wonder what Mario would be like if he had the space of your typical Zelda game. Now that would be interesting.



#8: Blast Corps
Your mission was to blow up **** throughout the game. How can you possibly deny this game a sequel? One of Rare’s unsung classics, Blast Corps is a very creative, explosive, and fun treat as you blow up buildings to pave the way for trucks carrying nuclear missiles. I seriously think Nintendo dropped the ball by not even attempting a sequel on the Gamecube or the Nintendo DS, which would have been a perfect platform for this type of game.



#7: Space Station Silicon Valley
One of the cleverest video games of the 90s is one you’ve never heard of. Made by the same team that eventually worked on Grand Theft Auto, Silicon Valley is about a robot that uses the bodies of animals to collect pieces necessary to rebuild yourself and find a way out of the planet you crashed in. Wouldn’t you love to see an HD 3-D platform game about controlling an arsenal of animals and run around wreaking havoc in a separate planet in the future? I think Rockstar should jump on that after Grand Theft Auto 5.


#6: Conker’s Bad Fur Day
Another Rare game? Conker got a game for the XBox , but it was a freakin’ remake as opposed to a sequel—and it removed much of the vulgarity that was in the N64 cult hit. The original for the N64 was fun, blasphemous, hilarious, and downright entertaining. A platformer that spoofs other games, movies, and moments of pop culture (and not named Gex) deserves a sequel and a franchise.


#5: Pokemon Puzzle League
While Tetris Attack was a very entertaining and addicting puzzle game, its presentation was a bit of a mismatch with its lame cutesy themes and uneven moments. That being said, Pokemon Puzzle League was the puzzler in the right direction, with its Pokemon theme and presentation fully intact. The Pokemon sounds ACTUALLY sound like Pokemon (which only God knows why it doesn’t happen in the RPGs and stadium games) and with exclusive animated scenes for the game, this was one of the more underrated puzzlers in gaming history. A sequel is more than necessary, with a heavy presentation and more Pokemon and trainers to choose from. And can you imagine if they provided the rock-paper-scissors RPG element of Pokemon to this game? For example, if you choose Pikachu to go against a Squirtle your attacks on the opponent increase heavily? These are just some of the tweaks that could make Pokemon Puzzle League 2 just as addicting as the original. And imagine this baby going online……..


#4: Jet Force Gemini
Take a science-fiction futuristic platform game with elements of action, adventure, shooter, and run-n-gun, add a slew of cool characters and gadgets, and present them in a creative atmosphere full of nasty bugs to kill. Sounds like a great game, right? Sounds like a game that would fit well in the world that loves Halo and Gears of War, right? Well, this actually came out in the N64 days and doesn’t even have a sequel. While Jet Force Gemini isn’t the most polished of N64 gems but its still an excellent idea that deserves an HD read through and follow-up. Come on now Rare, what on earth are you doing with all your time with Microsoft!?!?!?

P.S. Then again, Bungie would also be a nice choice....


#3: Ken Griffey Jr. Slugfest
One of the best sports games of all-time never got the follow-up after its N64 run. While most people skipped on this game because Ninty gamers just don’t play sports games (Wii Sports would be the first major million-seller sports title since N64’s Mario Tennis) and because Nintendo always forgets when the sports seasons actually start, Slugfest is an excellent blend of sports simulation with arcade sports action. The game was simple but not watered-down, and had some of the easiest controls of any sports game out there. Season mode was a lot of fun, the create-a-player section was among the best up to that point, and this game was more than inviting to rookies while testing the patience of baseball veterans.

Left Field Productions was firing on all cylinders and despite the poor graphics, had delivered some awesome sports games. Nintendo needs to revert back to its Nintendo Sports days with the WiiU with its first-party baseball and basketball video games. And one franchise that needs to continue is this one.



#2: Excitebike 64
This is hands-down the greatest extreme sports game not named Tony Hawk’s Proskater. This game had incredible graphics, an awesome soundtrack, a great trick system, superb level design, excellent sound effects, a grand amount of single and multi-player modes, and just an overall overwhelmingly charged experience that should have changed the face of gaming but because it was an N64 game, it didn’t stand a chance. By the time it came out nobody cared about the N64, by the time this came out we were already prepping for the PS2/Dreamcast era, and by the time this came out all the positive reviews fell of deaf ears.

If you have not played this game, you absolutely must. The multi-player was spectacular, and there was so much to do (from racing to playing a 3-D version of the original classic, to even playing soccer), and a lack of a true sequel is inexcusable. Recreating this type of racer and giving an HD boost would be incredible for gamers, and could definitely give Nintendo the extreme sports audience that has been sorely forgotten this past generation. Excitebike 3 has to happen, not could, not maybe, it should happen.






#1: Pokemon Snap
Of all the video games in the N64 lineup with potential to becoming a gem in the Nintendo Wii universe, Pokemon Snap sits at the top and the next couple steps over. Pokemon Snap’s concerpt was simple but engaging. The game screams for online interactivity, it screams for an expansion of its gameplay, and screams for innovative controls. Pokemon Snap had the best presentation of all Pokemon games not released in the handheld so far, and just desperately needs a follow-up. This game wasn’t perfect, because it was just too darn short and easy. But, it was mildly addicting and surprisingly deep as you compete for better scores and look for more secrets.

We need more levels, we need more Pokemon to take pictures of, and we need an online leaderboard which pits you against other photographers to see who has the best pictures. It would have been perfect with the Wiimote, and its an even safer bet with the WiiU controller. Pokemon Snap 2 has not happened, and its one of the biggest travesties in the history of Nintendo.

Seriously.

The Remake that Never Happened, Hasn't Happened, but Should Happen

Dear Sony,

Nintendo is about to curbstomp you with its recent repertoire of Japanese-friendly games that will be sure to flood the markets, increase sales of the 3D, and give the company a full head-start in the eighth generation. It is taking Metal Gear Solid, Monster Hunter, and worst of all, Dragon Quest. Don’t look now but I can guarantee you that Final Fantasy might be looking in that direction as well. The Vita was delayed, the PS4 is nowhere to be seen, the PSP is beginning to sink, the PS3 while doing better is still a mere shadow of the competitors as its still in third place. You may not be panicking right now, but you honestly should be. You think Uncharted is going to save you this holiday season? Check it out: Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (everyone knows the XBox 360 version is the one to get), the new Halo Anniversary game, Gears of War 3, Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect 3, need I go on?

Now what is the point of this letter you ask? Sony, you need leverage, you need a mind-blowing, out-of-the-blue news story that will infuse some life and hope to the Vita. What you need is the remake that should have happened but never did, and it ruined the PS3’s launch for quite some time. You need the one game that gamers had been clamoring about for years upon years. You need the remake to the one game that launched the original Playstation into the stratosphere all those years ago.


Sony, you need the Final Fantasy VII remake.



Who cares if it’s a remake? Remakes can help launch and save systems. The Nintendo DS was afloat thanks to Super Mario 64 DS. The 3DS was on life-support and was briefly held with a heartbeat became of Ocarina of Time 3DS. Now we all know Nintendo whores out those old classics like a congested pimp, but Sony needs to borrow a page from Nintnedo’s Book of Successful Strategies and link itself to the past and re-create a game that while hasn’t aged in terms of gameplay and story, in terms of graphics could use a nice polish. But the truth is, this adventure needs to be re-visited once again.

I am not sure why Square Enix keeps cranking out excuses as to why a remake isn’t going to be made anytime soon. They’ve done remakes of other franchises in recent years, pointless sequels to others, and even made a couple films using the animation-style of Final Fantasy VII. They have thrown FF VII characters to other video games, and adding a little salt to the wound, re-released it in all its block glory in the Playstation Network. Even more crazyness is the decision to re-release Final Fantasy X before remaking VII!!! So why on earth will you not try to polish up the game and introduce it to a new generation of gamers? Why on earth will you not cater to your constantly-depleting fanbase?


Imagine the Vita or the PS4 getting the Final Fantasy VII Returns treatment. Imagine getting all the blocky animations smoothed out like in Star Fox 3DS, imagine getting full-length cut-scenes that looks like the animation from Advent Children. Imagine the battle animations being redone and the battle system fixed up a little to pace better. Remaking Final Fantasy VII only makes too much sense, especially when the reputation of said company outside of Japan has been quite miserable. Bring back the game that made JRPGs arguably the biggest genre in the N64/PSX generation. It only makes too much sense and would benefit both Square Enix and Sony.


Sony, this idea can’t fail. Gamers have requested it for over a decade, and the demand increased after the infamous graphics presentation back in E3 2005. It has been a story that has stood the test of time, and contains a style that has yet to be matched by any Final Fantasy games following it. I think after Final Fantasy XIII, we gamers deserve an apology. What better way to apologize than majorly pushing for that Final Fantasy VII remake that should have happened years ago?

Make it happen.

Sincerely,
Random Gamer.

Unpause the Damn Game!: November Brings Promise To Nintendo

Unpause the Damn Game!: November Brings Promise To Nintendo: Today(Sept. 13,2011), well this morning at 12:00 a.m.-ish Nintedo had a Press Conference for the 3DS. Since the release of the 3DS earlie...

Nintendo is Turning Japanese

...turning Japanese, I really think so.......

Nintendo has definitely seen better days, but its recent overhaul of the Nintendo 3DS has definitely been an improvement as they cut the price, added another circle pad, started busting out some release dates, and revamped its strategy outlook towards the machine. They had a recent 3DS conference in which they played damage control and practically promised that better days are near. With the Vita being delayed until next year, Nintendo wasted no time in bringing out the heavy-hitter franchises of Mario and Mario Kart into the holiday season. In the midst of all this however, there’s a new strategy brewing from the Big N: they are going to attempt to conquer Japan in the next couple of months.


The Wii was a massive hit around the world, but still didn’t find its audience in Japan like the Playstations and the Nintendo DS. Consider this, the PSX sold 21 million in Japan, the PS2 sold 23 million, and the Nintendo DS sold 32 million. Even the PSP sold around 18 million. The Nintendo Wii? 11.8 million. While that is no pure disaster (Gamecube: a miserable 4 million) it still could have been much better. The Wii despite losing steam for about 2 years still had a nice repertoire of great video games, and a variety of them do also appeal to the Japanese gamers.

But…..


The sales of all its big franchises stalled or didn’t improve. Super Mario Galaxy barely etched past 1 million sales, and Mario Galaxy 2 (arguably one of the best games in the recent generation) didn’t even hit that high a number. Zelda: Twilight Princess sold only 600,000 in Japan. Kirby’s latest game? 444,000. Donkey Kong Country Returns? 999,000. And let's not even look at the numbers for Metroid. Each of the games I mentioned had predecessors that sold significantly more copies in Japan. The Japanese audience just isn’t as invested in Nintendo as it used to. And for those of you playing Devil’s Advocate: the New Super Mario Bros. franchise did sell over 11 million copies in Japan and Mario Kart’s last two entries pushed past 7 million copies total.

P.S. Metroid: Other M----130,000 copies.....


I am sure Nintendo is seeing this trend, because their “Turning Japanese” strategy is going full-blast and at a fast pace. Let’s start with the 3DS. They announced a new Square Enix JRPG, a genre that’s almost dead to all us American gamers. They announced a new Fire Emblem, an extremely popular franchise in Japan. The biggest blow to Sony’s Vita is the announcement of two new Monster Hunter games---one port, and a sequel that may or may not be exclusive. Now, we Western Hemisphere gamers know next to nothing about these games but in Japan, they are freakin’ huge. The only reason why the PSP even survived was because of this franchise. Monster Hunters’ PSP games (the four of them) have each sold over 1 million copies in Japan alone (and two of them sold over 4 million) and to this day still remain in the tops of the charts in the Far East Coast (How High reference). With the 3DS getting two entries in the Japanese-friendly powerhouse, this is for sure a great way to attract Japanese gamers to the new handheld.


But the one major player in all this that surprisingly hasn’t gotten that much attention is Dragon Quest. The Wii is getting a 25th anniversary collection of early Dragon Warrior games (which by the way is being handled much better than other celebrations...) and then the news of the next major installment. Dragon Quest X is coming out not only for the Nintendo Wii, but also the WiiU. Not only are they available for both systems, but both games are accessable to the same overworld with cross-platform interaction. Not only that, but its also going to be extremely online-heavy, a move clearly motivated by the mammoth success of the previous adventure on the Nintendo DS.


Like I said before, you don't see how big the impact is until you read the numbers from Japan. Dragon Quest 9 for the DS sold over 4 million copies in Japan alone and remains the fastest-selling game of all time. Dragon Quest 8 for the PS2 sold over 3 million copies in Japan in the first week alone and is the PS2's biggest Japanese sales story in its lifetime. Dragon Warrior VII believe it or not sold more copies in Japan than Final Fantasy VII. That's right, the legendary steampunk classic Final Fantasy VIII can't beat them. Arguably the most popular and game-changing entry in the franchise, Dragon Warrior/Quest III, sold over 6 million copies in Japan across three platforms and became so huge that Enix decided to release future installments on the weekends to not create the widespread absenteeism associated with a new Dragon Warrior release. Yes, it gets that bad.


This isn't big news, this is humongous news. Dragon Quest X will be Nintendo's biggest RPG release not named Pokemon since the SNES days. All Nintendo has to do is practically promise a good marketing campaign and good relations and we can see this game as a major launch title that will also move units in the Wii spectrum. The WiiU will immediately thrive in Japan, and while that country's impact isn't what it used to be, it can still save a system from extinction from time to time (Best example: Playstation Portable). Nintendo has won America again by tapping into the mainstream and basically throwing the hardcore audience off the bridge. With all these revelations, they will pretty much rock the Japanese charts and bring the competitors to their knees.


Bottom Line: The 3DS, WiiU, and the Nintendo community have gotten some amazing news lately as we are seeing much more third-party support and beginning to see a new revolution of Nintendo gaming in the world of Japan. With Monster Hunter and Dragon Warrior, two recent Sony staples, switching sides to Nintendo, the 3DS is inches away from being a rolling stone of sales in the East. And to add to that, the WiiU got its first major player come launch time. So despite your grumblings about the newest machines from the Big N, if they keep getting news like this, then they are definitely here to stay. Monster Hunter will definitely save the 3DS, and I predict an explosive debut of the WiiU if Nintendo and Square Enix manages to release Dragon Quest X in the correct timeframe.


Okay Nintendo, let's now focus on the Western Hemisphere gamers....

Unpause the Damn Game!: The Super Smash Bros 4 Hopeful 10

Unpause the Damn Game!: The Super Smash Bros 4 Hopeful 10: Still have no high hopes for the Wii U. With the Wii U coming out next year, or next, the top series’ in Nintendo will be having new i...

The Dying Days of JRPGs

The funny thing about video games is that there are a variety of genres that come and go in terms of popularity, appeal, fame, and quantity. Every generation we see different genres rise and different ones fall. Back in the 90s in the SNES days, it was the platform games that absolutely ruled with Mario, Sonic, and Donkey Kong at the helm. Nowadays, unless it’s Mario, your platform game is probably non-existent. Back in the 90s, shooters were demoted to being half-arsed PC games. And then Goldeneye bolted the door open. Now in the last generation, we saw a mammoth rise of first-person shooters that obliterated the sales charts—with Call of Duty leading the way. As for the genre that’s dying in recent days? JRPGs. Your Final Fantasies, Chrono Triggers, Dragon Quests, Square Enix games are quickly declining in popularity and soon enough I predict that these types of games will become extinct in the coming years.



Will there still be JRPGs? Of course there will….at the most three of them. After all, Pokemon is technically a JRPG and it has no signs of slowing down anytime soon. But the abundance, quantity, and sheer number of JRPGs will be limited to endangered species level. Remember the 90s? Sword of Mana. Dragon Quest. Chrono Trigger. Final Fantasy V. Final Fantasy VI. Final Fantasy VII. Illusion of Gaia. Tales of Phantasia. Earthbound. Super Mario RPG. Star Ocean. Breath of Fire. Breath of Fire II. Pokemon Blue. Final Fantasy Legend. That’s just the good JRPGs, I haven’t gotten around to mentioning the bad ones. Look at now, where are they? While the 90s franchises for the most part carried over to the latter generations (Mario, Sonic, Zelda, GTA, etc.), the only ones still running today from the list I just mentioned are....Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Pokemon.


So what’s happening? JRPGs just don’t have the cultural and significant effect that it used to have. But the potentially biggest factor in the decrease of RPGs is that the two biggest companies for making JRPGs back in the SNES/PSX generations had merged forces (Square Soft, Enix) back in 2003. With this blending of two RPG-laden companies, it lead to less competition and less games in the RPG department overall. And it also doesn’t help that they aren’t as daring or as good as they used to be. The recent Final Fantasy games while remaining slightly successful in Japan are bumming out in the rest of the world. Oh, and it doesn’t help that the recent Final Fantasies are miserable when compared to the likes of III, V, VI, VII, and arguably even VIII.

And eventually they will make Kingdom Hearts III.

Eventually.


Back in the 90s (recurring theme, I know) both companies were consistent in trying out new ideas and branching out new franchises while delivering quality sequels every now and again. We get none of those traces today. For some odd reason, they just gave up on franchises like Chrono, Breath of Fire, Mana, and many more. In the meantime, they churn out dozens of midquels, spin-offs, and retreads of Kingdom Hearts games. What hurts the most to me is the lack of sequels to the spectacular Chrono games and the long-delayed sequel to Super Mario RPG. I want my Geno and Mallow back, darn it!


The other companies that also made its share of grand RPGs have also scaled back in quantity numbers....or just cease to exist altogether. For a great example there’s Namco and their underused franchises Tales and Xenosaga. Namco really dropped the ball when they didn’t expand upon the surprise-surprise success of Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo Gamecube. They could have had a major resurgence by building upon the high sales of the action-RPG by providing some sequels and some games that never left Japan. Instead they water down the Gamecube hit for the PS2, leading to dismal sales, and then hand the next sequel to.......the PS2. Now, the Tales series is a mere memory, when it could have been a heavy-hitter here in the States.


And then of course, the forever-heartbreaking shenanigans of Nintendo. Nintendo is an example few gamers would actually use even though its RPG history is almost a rich as Sony’s. They participated in Super Mario RPG, which was one of the best RPGs of all time back in 1996. And then there’s the Earthbound franchise, whose crazy views of American culture and style crafted a cult audience that to this day have remained consistently disappointed in the lack of progress. Last but not least is the Pokemon franchise. While it’s still a cash cow and a powerhouse franchise, it’s still nowhere near what it can be. And yes, you’ve heard this from me before. Many times.


To add a little salt to the wound, Nintendo isn’t pushing its second-party companies that much either. Game Freak of course being the main example (who have yet to top Pokemon Silver, a 2000 GB title), but then there’s also Camelot. And Genius Sorority. And Creatures. Camelot has created some RPG gems over the years (The RPG Mario Sports games on the GBC/GBA are underrated works of excellence) but spent SEVEN years in between Golden Sun games. This comes during a generation that gives us a Call of Duty game every single year. Seven years gave us 4 Halo games. Seven years gave us four Mario adventures in the main timeline. Hell, we even got three Metroid games. Lastly, Creatures is responsible for the Earthbound franchise, which we all know has gone nowhere in over a decade. There just isn’t much of a push for more RPGs on Nintendo’s end. And don’t even get me started on Operation Rainfall.


So the question is are we going to miss the JRPGs when they totally disappear from American soil? Or has this blend of games become dated like run-n-gun shooters, shoot em’ ups, and Crash Bandicoot? What looks like is happening is that JRPGs are being pushed aside in favor of the Eastern Hemisphere RPGs, or the real-time RPGs. While JRPGs tend to evolve much too slowly (if at all), we have seen great progress in other RPG franchises outside the Japanese field and influence. Games like Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and especially Mass Effect have pushed the envelope in the role-playing department, while games like Bioshock, System Shock, and even Grand Theft Auto are evolving a bit by adding RPG elements. What has Pokemon done lately? Nothing. Final Fantasy? Ruined itself. Dragon Quest? Stayed mightily traditional---like a candle going up against light bulbs. JRPGs need to take a page from Super Mario and learn that as the gaming industry evolves, improves, and becomes more advanced, they must cater to these changes and try to keep up. Don't lose the roots, but improve the branches. That was a tree analogy, yes it was.


Bottom Line: I predict that JRPGs outside the worlds of Pokemon and Dragon Quest are going to cease to exist soon.......very soon. In this next generation, we are going to see much less Japanese role-playing games and more Western RPGs taking form and controlling the RPG crowd. Almost all the franchises I mentioned earlier just won’t see a future as they are losing exposure and appeal to gamers worldwide. And we still won’t get that Earthbound sequel. And Square Enix will still suck and be a shadow of what they used to be. And worst of all, I just don’t see a second or third-party developer rising to the challenge and give us a barrage of original stories compact with excellent Japanese-influenced gameplay---like in the 90s.

JRPGs, it’s been nice knowing you, but Westerners are surpassing you in nearly every category in terms of the genre you guys once ruled with an iron fist.

I predict your days are soon over.

Enjoy them while you can.