Nintendophiles 03.25.09: Dragon Ball RPG, MotionPlus, Pokemon MMO
Posted by Theo Fraser on 03.25.2009
Nintendophiles leads the way this week with news of a Dragon Ball RPG on the DS, Nintendo’s thoughts on a Pokemon MMO, a Virtual Console for the DSi, MotionPlus launching with an EA title, and some more Punch-Out footage to whet your appetite! Come on inside to check it all out.
I'm almost tempted to wrap up this week's column right now and just say this: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is awesome. That's basically the only news you need to know for the next seven days; if you haven't purchased the game yet, do yourself a favor and get down to the shops. Aside from the fact that it's GTA (i.e. you just know it's good), the script is genuinely funny, it makes tremendous use of the touch screen, constantly varying its usage with each mission, and the added drug trading system is a welcome, refreshing addition to the GTA universe. I haven't spent enough time with it to come to a proper conclusion, but it's obvious from the get-go that this is one of the finest DS titles on offer right now. Let's give a hearty applause to Rockstar Leeds for delivering GTA, fully intact, to the small screen.
On a completely unrelated note, want to know my Incredibly Stupid Story of the Week(TM)? I could've sworn I saw about 20 UFOs in the night sky last Friday. I was walking back from the theatre, and I saw this group of people, awestruck, looking up at the stratosphere. I looked up myself and saw all these bright, orangey-red lights, moving across the sky in a triangular formation. The funny thing is, I'd seen the same kinda thing on Youtube a couple of days before. It was freaking me out, the bottom half of the UFOs were exploding and falling out, and the top would rise up before disappearing out of sight. I spent a good half hour thinking "This is it! Aliens!" and for that short while I thought life was about to change forever. Then one of my flatmates walked in and said, "Theo, did you see all those Chinese Lanterns in the sky, they're really pretty!" Yep...those ‘UFOs' turned out to be Chinese Lanterns. And I hadn't even been drinking that night...
Monolith Soft head up Dragon Ball RPG
Credit: Famitsu, Cubed3
Monolith Soft have been relatively quiet since Disaster: Day of Crisis launched late last year. Evidently they've been beavering away on their latest project, which brings them back into the realm of the RPG. D:DoC was a decent action/adventure game, receiving mixed reviews but was generally considered to be a bit of escapist fun. Now the company moves back onto solid ground in conjunction with Bandai Namco to bring the Dragon Ball series to the DS in RPG format! Take a look at the debut Japanese trailer, showing some great in-game battle clips and some of the environments you can expect to explore.
If I were a Dragon Ball fan, I'd be VERY excited right about now. Monolith Soft KNOW their RPGs. Baten Kaitos was fantastic, and would probably be considered one of my top Gamecube games if it weren't for the total ear-rape that are the excruciating voice-overs. On the DS, I doubt voice-overs would have made the cut (few seem able to squeeze the goods out of a DS cart like Square Enix can), but even if they did, I can't see it being a problem this time around as they'd likely have access to the cast of the TV anime. But that's besides the point. Dragon Ball is in very capable hands here, and Monolith Soft would almost have to purposefully sabotage the project to make it crap.
In terms of specifics for the game, we know that it will go by the title of Dragon Ball Kai, and is a brand new story, as opposed to being based on the manga/anime stuff. Development must be reasonably advanced, as the title is set to ship in Japan on April 29th. Without a proper translation or a more in-depth look, it's hard to ascertain for sure, but it looks as if the combat system is pretty deep. This is not Dragon Ball for kids, by any means. With the game released overseas in just over a month, expect to hear more on this in the coming weeks.
Pokemon MMO: Not gonna happen
Credit: Whattheyplay.com
Pokemaniacs the world over have been crying out for a Pokemon MMO ever since Nintendo first introduced online capabilities with the Gamecube Broadband Adapter. Countless fansites have offered up some great ideas for how the Pokemon universe could function in an MMO, and the basic premise of you taking control of a customisable trainer and leading them through Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn in search of an ever-expanding army of Pokemon just screams ‘epic win'. Unfortunately for us, Nintendo seem in no way inclined to take that route, if Junichi Masuda's (director for Pearl/Diamond and the series' main composer) words are anything to go by...
Masuda:At this point, we're not thinking of going in that direction. Trading is a core concept of Pokémon. So when you're trading, you meet with a friend and decide which one you want and which one they want. I would like to emphasize real-world communication. You don't see each other online.
Rumors suggest Masuda is currently interested in messing around with the DSi camera capabilities, although ‘real-world communication' suggests to me some form of Wii Speak functionality, assuming the next Pokemon title were to come to the Wii. Whatever the case, Nintendo really need to start thinking about reinventing the Pokemon franchise. Since 1998 we've only added a frickin' day-and-night cycle.
MotionPlus set to debut with EA title?
Credit: NewLevelGaming
Ever since Wii Sports Resort slipped off of Spring/Summer release schedules, gamers have been wondering when the heck MotionPlus is actually going to be released. According to a blog at NewLevelGaming, July 2nd is the date we'll almost certainly have our MotionPlus attachments plugged in, but there's a strong possibility Wii Sports Resort won't be the disc occupying our Wiis.
EA Sport's Grand Slam Tennis has been announced as being fully compatible with MotionPlus technology, and bundles will be available from launch, packaging the title with the MotionPlus accessory itself. This is the first solid release date we've seen for the peripheral, and ensures we'll have it by that date (assuming the date is made official). The question, however, is whether or not we'll see MotionPlus debuted before then, with Wii Sports Resort in tow. The gaming media has praised Grand Slam Tennis' gameplay system, so Nintendo could do a lot worse than release the peripheral alongside it, but would they really want to throw away all those sales to a third-party? There will be a ton of people out there who want the device and don't give a damn about a Wii Sports sequel. I honestly can't see Nintendo going through with that one. In a way, that's terrific news for us, as it pretty much guarantees we'll be seeing the launch of MotionPlus sometime before July. Hooray!
DSi Virtual Console rumored to offer Game Boy titles
Credit: Kambo
When Nintendo first announced the concept of DSiWare, it was generally assumed that Game Boy, Game Boy Color and perhaps even Game Boy Advance titles would be offered for download in a similar vein to the Wii's Virtual Console. Since then, however, Nintendo have made no mention of such plans. Was it never really planned in the first place? Did they encounter problems and have to cease development on the service? Or (more likely) has it simply been kept a secret in the lead up to a big, public announcement? Iwata is scheduled to give his keynote speech at the Game Developer's Conference in a matter of hours at the time of writing. Could Nintendo be about to make the grand unveiling?
Game site Kambo would have you believe so. At a recent private Club Nintendo event, it is being reported that such a service was indeed confirmed, although strangely no follow-up reports have emerged. In terms of storage, each title would apparently be downloaded onto an SD card (as the DSi carries an SD slot, remember). If the titles can be played off the SD card itself, does this mean we'll be able to transport titles and share them with our friends? That seems unlikely given Nintendo's stance on the matter in terms of the Wii, but it's worth noting purely to see how Nintendo deal with it. All else that is known is that the starting lineup will be first-party Nintendo-only titles, although this may expand to third parties after a couple of months.
Surprise, surprise, Nintendo have declined to comment. But then again, if they're planning on announcing something within the next day or two, it makes sense for them to keep schtum. Check back next week to see the fallout from the GDC and if anything comes up on the DSiWare Virtual Console front.
More Punch-Out goodness
Hey, it's Punch-Out, you can never have too much Punch-Out! Having recently learned about the brand new two-player mode (in which Little Mac can take on himself) as well as a confirmed list of 13 fighters, there was never a more suited time to take a look at the rousing new trailer for the title. Rocky ain't got nothin' on this bad boy.
Unlike Nintendo, I LOVE to ‘comment on rumor and speculation', and the latest rumor doing the rounds is that Punch-Out will include Balance Board support, allowing Little Mac to dodge left and right depending on where your weight lies. Clever stuff, which should ensure players that extra little level of involvement and interaction. Perhaps we'll see more on this before the GDC comes to a close.
Nice trailer. Whats with the bread when he knocks out Glass Joe?
Posted By: Travis (Guest) on March 25, 2009 at 12:05 AM
Jesus, a Pokemon MMO would sell millions!
almost, if not more than WoW.
Just start off with Kanto, have Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh be expansions.
Does Nintendo hate money?!
Posted By: Thomas (Guest) on March 25, 2009 at 12:42 AM
I believe it was croissants like he's french or something. Also Why doesn't Pokemon do this. I haven't owned a cartridge pokemon game or actively enjoyed the series since silver but god, thoughts of playing this online makes the simpering fanboy in me want to curl up into a ball and weep. I'd even settle for a full 3d game but a proper game, not like stadium.
Posted By: I'll handle this (Guest) on March 25, 2009 at 12:56 AM
it would work on so any levels (it being POKEMON MMORPG) you'd have to explore everywhere to get the beasts and do quests to win legenraries or rare items. and then do ultimate Gym quests for gym badges. trading will still work, but you can do it anywhere like a real MMORPG. but that can be for items only. there would be specific poke-swap shops in pokemon centres.
you could have player skills e.g catching skills, fishing skills, berry skills, biking skills etc.
i could go on but my boss is giving me funny looks.. i just hope nintendo wakes up and smells the cash cow!!
Posted By: shaydee (Guest) on March 25, 2009 at 05:04 AM
"Nice trailer. Whats with the bread when he knocks out Glass Joe?
Posted By: Travis (Guest) on March 25, 2009 at 12:05 AM"
Cause he's French. They're baguettes and croissants and shit.
Frankly, could have done without that. I wasn't a fan of the hams and meat falling out of Yokozuna in Wrestlemania The Arcade Game either.
Posted By: Hawkeye (Guest) on March 25, 2009 at 10:58 AM
So who are the 13 confirmed opponents for Punch Out?
Posted By: MydniteSon (Guest) on March 25, 2009 at 01:40 PM
Don't forget the Orange Islands. I think they should be the starting point for a Pokemon MMO, if not create a whole new region especially for it.
Posted By: Galaxy Express Leaf Blue Pearl (Guest) on March 25, 2009 at 10:39 PM
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