Nintendophiles 07.08.09: Final Fantasy Gaiden, Wii Zelda, No More Heroes 2

Posted by Theo Fraser on 07.08.2009

Nintendophiles keeps you in the loop, with news on the next Wii Zelda’s ‘drastic’ overhaul, No More Heroes leaving the Wii, Final Fantasy Gaiden revealed for DS, and a look at the latest trailers for Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver and Chibi Robo: Big Rich Sweep, plus more inside!




Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Nintendophiles! This week, I thought I'd begin by responding to a couple of the comments made in last week's issue. First up is Fox, who evidently won't be pre-ordering the next Kingdom Hearts...


Kingdom Hearts is the worst thing that could happen to the history of video games. I cannot stand it! It is overrated and the fanbase is some of the scariest people out there. Their obsession has gone as far as even becoming attracted to the characters, and that is sick! Might be partly because the game's canon promotes weird crossover junk, screwing with the established backstory. I never really understood the concept of Hearts and Nobodies. I pray to the heavens that Kingdom Hearts III will never be made. I would hate to see characters other then Disney and Final Fantasy star in a Kingdom Hearts game. That is not right! Fans need to shut up and get over the fact that their crossover fantasies will never come true. It annoys me when the fans talk down to anyone who dislikes Kingdom Hearts, even people who are much older then they are when the majority of fans are in their teens. I'm also sick of seeing Kingdom Hearts fanart becoming so popular while high-quality pieces of original art barely get any recognition these days.

The only thing left comforting to know is that Kingdom Hearts will end some day, meaning that it won't be an ongoing series like Final Fantasy was. I know fanbases never die, but sooner or later, it will cool down. A lot. One just has to be patient and keep up.


I just figured I'd reprint that here as Fox is clearly very passionate about this subject! I'm not sure I entirely agree; if a game offends you, simply don't buy it, and let the people who love it get on with it. I agree with the scary fanbase though; I've met more than my fair share of KH ‘enthusiasts' who swear the franchise is better than Mario, Zelda, and Metal Gear put together, which is almost offensive. Still, as long as Square Enix are making a profit from it, it can't be such a bad thing.

Now we move on to Jake G, who has some feedback on Nintendophiles.


You need more DS coverage or something. Kinda feels like you're phoning it in man. Used to be one of my fav columns here. I know the big N hasn't been cranking out a ton of great games, but talk about some NES classics or something.

You never mention the VC and stuff like that.


Thanks for the constructive criticism, Jake, I'm adamant that Nintendophiles is constantly a work in progress, and I'm always looking for ways to improve its content. In terms of DS coverage, I usually try to cover all the big stories, so I think it's just a case of a lack of news in that department, although as you'll see this week, I'm covering the Pokemon God/Silver remakes, a new DS Final Fantasy, and the return of Chibi Robo to the small screen. Regarding the Virtual Console, that's a personal preference as I simply haven't been interested in many of its offerings in the last few months, save for the ‘big' titles that I've covered, such as Majora's Mask. Since the move from a column to a news report, I've rarely focused on retro titles, but if there is a strong desire to see my old features such as Viable Candidates for the Virtual Console and/or One Nintendo Game You Must Play Today, I can bring those bad boys back. And as for your comment on phoning it in, I can see where you're coming from. The last month or two I've been busy with crazy amounts of Uni work, so it's possible I haven't dedicated as much time as I should have to Nintendophiles. However, I finished uni for the summer, so you should start to see an improvement. Thanks for reading!

If anyone else has any comments they'd like to share, feel free to respond at the bottom of the article. Now, let's go to the latest Tidbit News of the Week!


~Professor Layton in Smash Bros.? Nintendo's official Twitter page has mentioned Professor Layton on numerous occasions in the past week in light of the upcoming new releases in the series. One Tweet made reference to the Professor receiving an invitation to compete in a Smash Bros. tournament. Later, a further Layton-related Tweet said, "This is nothing like what I expected! I was told to FIGHT a blue robot boy, a possessed doll, and a tiny boxer! I'm leaving at once!" What on Earth is the Professor doing associating with Mega Man, Geno and Little Mac?! Just a weird bit of hype or the first sign of new Smash Bros. DLC?

~Sega not done with mature gaming on Wii. Gary Dunn, MD of European development for Sega, said, "I think whilst MadWorld commercially didn't sell what we were expecting I wouldn't say it's game over for mature Wii titles from Sega. We're taking a look at the resources we have now. We've got money to invest in development, we're just considering where to invest it next." Good stuff.

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Wii Zelda not the overhaul we expected?
Credit: Nintendo Power





Since Miyamoto's cagey remarks about the new Wii Zelda behind closed doors at this year's E3, speculation has been running rife, and I'll gladly admit to getting caught up in the fray. The prospect of a radical departure for the Zelda series had me giddy with excitement, with a touch of fear to go along with it (as I've always upheld the principle that you simply DON'T FUCK WITH ZELDA). Nintendo have consistently stuck with the old adage "If it ain't broke..." when it comes to Link's outings, which is why they've remained relatively similar since the SNES days (barring the move into 3D and of course the controversial cel-shading decision). With various patents being uncovered, showing Nintendo's plans to make their core games more mainstream-friendly, not to mention rumors of a crazy transition into first-person territory for the series, all eyes have been on Miyamoto and co., eagerly awaiting the next snippet of information that might shed light on what the team have in store for us. Miyamoto's latest musings, however, have quelled any hopes/fears for the project.


Miyamoto: I don't think it's going to be that radically different.


Well that pretty much puts that one to rest then, doesn't it?! I still maintain that Nintendo are hoping to do something a little different with this next Zelda, but by shooting down ideas of any major revamp, they're hoping to avoid any disappointment (and cries of "But you promised it would be different!") when the ‘proper' unveiling comes around, whenever that may be. Seems sensible to me.

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'Final Fantasy Gaiden' is Square Enix's mystery new title
Credit: Weekly Jump, IGN, CVG

Last week, it was brought to our attention that Square Enix had opened up a new teaser site for an unnamed title involving dragons. Japanese magazine Jump got the scoop, and then the official site revealed a new Final Fantasy adventure heading to the DS. "Hikari no Yon Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden" is the name of the game, or Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden, to give it its English translation.

Plot is always a major player when it comes to Final Fantasy titles, and it looks like pretty standard RPG fare so far, which is slightly disappointing, considering how many well-told narratives we already have on the DS. A young boy of 14 is summoned to the King in order to make the transition into adulthood, and upon arrival finds that the princess has been kidnapped by a witch. Better call Mario, I hear he has a fair bit of experience dealing with princess rescue missions.

In terms of gameplay, there are a few tweaks from the usual FF proceedings. Yes, you'll be dealing with a four-character party, but each character is customisable through different equipment and weapons, and the changes made will be displayed visually, instead of just an increase in the stats column. Final Fantasy IV DS did this to some extent, but Gaiden hopes to really run with the idea. A variation on the Job system is employed, called the ‘Crown System', and at this stage I'd wager it has something to do with your rise through the monarchy, presumably culminating with you becoming King. That's just a guess though. Also, while combat will still be menu-driven, MP appears to be gone, with the Magic command replaced by ‘Charge'. We're unclear as to what Charge actually does (it may still end up being magic, albeit under a different guise), but this sort of thing is likely to be cleared up in future press releases.

Here are some stats on the development team, showing an impressive array of talent in charge of the proceedings:


~Producer: Tomoya Asano (FFIII DS, FFIV DS, Fullmetal Alchemist series)

~Character design and art director: Akihiko Yoshida (Ogre Battle saga, FF Tactics, FFXII, FFIII DS)

~Sound director: Tomohiro Kamiya (FFIII DS, FFIV DS)

~Developer: Matrix (DQV PS2, FFIII DS, FFIV DS, FFIV: The After Years)

~Director: Takashi Tokita (FFIV, Chrono Trigger, Live-a-Live, Parasite Eve, FFIV: The After Years, Half-boiled Hero series)


I think it's safe to say we can expect good things, despite the lacklustre premise. The game is due out in Japan this Autumn, so look out for more on this one very soon.

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No More Heroes jumps ship
Credit: Edge Online





With No More Heroes being so suited to the Wii with its motion-controlled beam katana gameplay, many assumed the series would be staying firmly in Camp Nintendo, not to mention Suda 51's continued support of the Wii over other home consoles. And despite the sequel not even reaching completion yet, it seems that the lacklustre sales of the original were enough for Suda to declare that the upcoming instalment will likely be the last on the Wii, in spite of plans to continue the franchise.


SUDA 51: I really want to make NMH a big franchise, and with this second episode have bigger success. I'm putting a lot of care into developing this IP, as I feel there's a lot of potential.

I think this is the last NMH that is going to be developed on Wii. To expand NMH to new possibilities, we need a new platform. Wii is a great platform, but we've done everything we can with it now.


I think it's a little strange to come out with this BEFORE the game hits store shelves, especially as he may end up shooting himself in the foot. If people know the series is going to continue, albeit on a different platform that consumers may not own, why would they bother investing the time and money on a game that won't give them a satisfactory conclusion? I totally agree that Suda IS putting a lot of care and attention into Desperate Struggle's development, and it deserves blockbuster success, but it seems a little premature to come out with something like this. To be fair, Grasshopper Manufacture really have squeezed the Wii for all its worth, and rumor has it that Suda 51 is paying very close attention to Project Nadal; his endlessly creative mind is probably going haywire with all the potential that Natal brings. As such, perhaps it's a natural progression for the series to move to new pastures. The fanboy in me, however, feels the sting of a slap in the face after devoting myself to the IP, proudly declaring it as one of Nintendo's top properties.

Suda 51 recently expressed an interest in the Vitality Sensor, debuted at E3 this year, so it looks like he'll still continue to develop for the Wii, but Travis Touchdown and co. are gearing up for their final Nintendo appearance with Desperate Struggle, which hits the US early next year. The garden of madness awaits you, one final time!

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Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver trailer

Having seen only vague little snippets of the new Pokemon Gold/Silver remakes, I was pleased to see a lengthy new trailer hit the net a couple of days ago. It's looking gorgeous, although that's probably to be expected, using the same engine used for Platinum. Demonstrated in the trailer are some of the new features, such as your ‘follower' Pokemon doing tasks like pushing boulders. Innovation, people!! If you can't wait for the US version, importers will want to mark September 12th down in your diaries, which coincides with the 10 year anniversary of the original Game Boy Color versions.

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Chibi Robo returns to DS!

Chibi Robo never set the sales charts on fire, but he's starting to make a bit of a name for himself, now appearing in his third ‘action-cleaning' title, and sequel to Park Patrol which hit the DS in October 2007. This time, Chibi returns for more household cleaning, much like the original on Gamecube. The trailer below shows off quite a bit of the game; most significantly, the debut of Dancing Chibi on the phone! 10 points to anyone who makes a GIF of that. The DS certainly looks like it's put to good use, and I'm always a fan of titles that really push the hardware they're appearing on. A North American release date for Chibi Robo: Big Rich Sweep is unknown as of yet, but I'm sure it'll make the trip across shores sooner or later.

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The 411 Games Crew

Joe Roche has another instalment of The Full Circle: 360 News Report for you, focusing on Gears of War 2, the UFC game, and the latest Castlevania game, to name but a few topics covered.

B3yond the Report is brought to you by Mark Salmela this week, featuring PS2 emulation on the PS3, Ratchet and Clank, Battlefield 1943, SOCOM 4 and much more!

Armando Rodriguez has more on Final Fantasy Gaiden, EA's MMA game, new release dates, and the story on Warner Bros. buying Midway, all inside this week's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly News Report.

Living LIVE by Trace Aber looks at all the recent happenings on Xbox Live.

411 Fact or Fiction: Games has more on the new Wii Zelda, as well as the Grease musical video game, the state of the console war in 2015, amongst a whole host of other topics.

Adam Larck discusses the Top 10 Patriotic Video Games in the latest instalment of The 10th Hour.

It's the 2nd Annual Workies Halftime Awards! Let's find out who the winners are in this week's Working Title, presented by Jordan Williams.


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