The Release List 07.28.09: The King of Fighters XII, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Rockin' Pretty, Space Bust-A-Move, Puyo Puyo 7

Posted by Tommy Coloma on 07.28.2009

Ignition gives us some 3-on-3 action with The King of Fighters XII, Capcom does the same with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Aksys lets us build our own band in Rockin' Pretty, SNK teaches us how to catch witches in Doki Majo Plus, and much more!



After this week's release of The King of Fighters XII, all three major players in the 2D fighting game scene (SNK, Arc System Works, and Capcom) will have brought out their latest and greatest for both the 360 and PS3. Unfortunately for Ignition, the release of SNK's newest fighter is surrounded by two other high profile fighters in BlazBlue and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, two fighters that are arguably more accessible than KOFXII. While I have no doubt that the game will sell a lot in every place other than the US, it would have been nice to see the series kick ass over here for once.

If you aren't into fighters, the only other games that you can really look forward to are a bunch of Anime-inspired titles as well as some puzzlers from a few well established series that have seen way too many sequels over the past few years. It's not the most thrilling week as far as game releases go, but considering how bad it's been recently, it could have been worse.


This week's highlights

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Note: Release dates are subject to change


The King of Fighters XII (360, PS3)
While The King of Fighters XII officially comes out on Tuesday, GameStop was nice enough to start selling it last Friday. Thankfully, I found out about the early release before all the non-pre-order copies were sold out. My plan was to play the game all weekend, but unfortunately, KOFXII's god-awful netcode nixed that idea quickly. Mark of the Wolves and KOF '98 UM came out on XBLA a few weeks back and they both failed in the online department as well, so it guess it shouldn't have been much of a surprise. Granted, the game isn't officially out yet, so they might have something in the works for Tuesday. Also, Ignition did just issue a 772 meg patch for the PS3 version this morning, so there are obviously issues that they're working on. There is a lot off room for improvement though, as I have yet to experience a lag-free match. It's possible that Ignition is still getting its shit together and is planning on releasing another patch later this week the way Aksys did it when BlazBlue first came out. So, I wouldn't write the game off completely just yet. For now, if you happen to come across any reviews that went live before the game's official release date, you should take whatever they say about the online experience with a grain of salt. In the mean time, check out the Ignition forums, SRK, PlayStation Blog, and NeoGAF to see if Ignition actually does something.

I already wrote my initial impressions for the game in an article that I wrote last month, and for the most part, much of what I said at the time still stands. I will add a few things though:

- Load times have been improved dramatically. There is still half a second of loading between rounds, but that's understandable considering the fact that the game has to load six hi-res characters for each match.
- As far as character selection goes, if you've never played any of the KOF games (true for about 99% of you), then the lack of characters shouldn't bother you as there is a lot of variety here.
- This game is as barebones as you can get. It's really telling when the single player game is essentially a time trial with no story or boss. This isn't really be a problem for fighters in general though. Yes, the story mode for BlazBlue was awesome, but at the end of the day, what keeps you coming back is the ability to play against real people. Still, what we get here is pathetic, even by fighting game standards.
- The lack of features could be overlooked if the netcode wasn't so bad. If Ignition doesn't fix this quickly, there's no way I'd recommend KOFXII unless you happen to know someone that you can play against offline.
- There is no one character vs. one character option for online matches. I specifically asked this twice and I was told yes both times. Big disappointment there.

Even though I could probably go on and on about the missing features and whatnot, I have to admit that the game itself is pretty good. There are a lot of characters to mess around with and the system is solid with the exception of critical counters, which may or may not be abusable (time will tell). Overall, KOFXII is a good game that's clearly going to suffer because it happens to follow both Street Fighter IV and BlazBlue. Fighting game fans shouldn't be too bothered with its lack of everything as long as Ignition does something about the online problems. Casual fans, on the other hand, will most likely drop it and go back to BlazBlue or SFIV after a little while.

If you plan on getting the game and if it's your first time with the series, check out the videos down below. They're extremely helpful.


The Beginner's Incomplete Guide to KOF (Part 1)

The Beginner's Incomplete Guide to KOF (Part 2.1)

the "fight montage" trailer, part 2

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Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (XBLA)
Despite the fact that I enjoy playing MVC2 with my friends, this is actually my least-favorite Street Fighter. Regardless, I can appreciate the fact that Capcom was able to pull off the impossible and get Marvel to allow it to re-release the game, even if it is only through digital distribution. I'm also impressed that Capcom had the foresight to use the original Dreamcast code when porting instead of going the easier route and using either the PS2 or Xbox version as a base. Having an arcade perfect (or nearly arcade perfect) port is pretty important if they want the support of the hardcore MVC2 players out there, and this simple decision almost guarantees that that is what we are getting. Plus, it finally allows many players to throw away their dying Dreamcasts.

Here is a list of this release's features as laid out by Capcom Unity:

It's based on the Dreamcast code base – While the PS2 and Xbox versions of MvC2 were great, there are a few niggling issues in them that have caused the competitive community to continue using the Dreamcast version of the game. We wanted to bring you the very best version of the game, so we listened to the community and started with the Dreamcast.

There is online – With the game being developed by Backbone, we are using largely the same, critically acclaimed net code that we used in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix and with that will come our player match quarter mode/lobby system that has proven so popular. Naturally leaderboards and some form of stats tracking (details to be provided at a later date) will also be in the mix. So on the net code side, you're pretty much assured the best fighting game net code ever created for consoles.

HD upscaling options – Given that most people play Xbox 360s and PS3s on HD TVs, it's important to help make the game look better. We've refined our real-time sprite filtering to use even more advanced techniques and we're providing two upscaling options for the sprites… one we've termed "Crisp" the other we've termed "Smooth". It's a matter of personal preference for which one you'll enjoy more. For purists, if you'd like you can use the "Classic" setting, which leaves the sprites completely unfiltered. Because the filtering is applied in real-time, you can change these settings on the fly, mid-match if you choose. Our producer will be showing you some comparison screenshots in the coming days to better clarify the differences. The backgrounds in MvC2 are all 3D, and when rendered at higher resolutions look fantastic. The original textures and assets from the Dreamcast were actually much higher quality than the Dreamcast could really display at the time and when shown in HD, the impact is really quite amazing.

Widescreen – Again, with most people playing on HD displays, we wanted to figure out how to implement widescreen support. To do so, the camera field of view was widened (which we're able to do because of the 3D backgrounds effectively running off the "edges" of the 4:3 scenario) and there are a few camera tricks that minimize any impact on the gameplay. Play area is unchanged, and this is not a zoom and crop like HD Remix was. To put it simply, the gameplay area will be in a 4:3 field, while the viewing area will be widescreen. At the same time, for purists and competitive play, a 4:3 option (with vertical bars on the left and right) still exists.

No unlocking – While we love giving people unlockables in games, for this outing, there's not a lot of surprises in terms of what characters are in the game. All 56 characters will be unlocked at the start for immediate play, again great for tournament play where players won't need to mess with save game data or hacked versions (/shame).

Music Options – We love MvC2 but the original "jazzy" music has long been criticized even by ardent fans. Independent music volume controls and support of custom soundtracks on PS3 and 360 we deemed an important feature. Purists will still have what they love and fans of customization are also served

Note: the PSN version comes out in two weeks


some Marvel footage to get you excited

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Rockin' Pretty (DS)
This appears to be a rhythm game in which you can play the drums, bass, guitar, and piano via the DS' touch screen. Performing well allows you to earn cash/points which can then be used to dress your band members up as you see fit. Since the publisher failed to release any video of the US version, all we can do is go by the Japanese trailer down below. It could be decent...


the trailer for the Japanese version

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Doki Majo Plus + Star Radish (DS Import)
If you haven't heard of the Doki Doki Majo games before, just read the comic and/or watch the video down below and you'll get the gist of it.


Supposedly, Doki Majo Plus is basically Doki Doki Majo Shinpan 1.5, which is all well and good if what you're looking for is more of the same. But what really makes this worth looking into is actually Star Radish, the top-down old-school-looking shooter that's playable within the main game. Star Radish was first introduced to the world in the form of an April Fool's Day joke web site which contained some impressive (for a retro game) graphics and some awesome music. Since then it was announced to be real and only available in DMP. Doki Majo Plus is pretty expensive right now, but once it reaches bargain-bin status in a few years, it'll might be worth a pickup if you're into retro shooters.


the Doki Majo Plus trailer

the Star Raddish trailer

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Puyo Puyo 7 (DS Import)
Puyo Puyo is yet another series that has seen way too many sequels. I still think that Puyo Puyo 2: Tsu on the Wii's Virtual Console is good enough for most people. However, if you just have to have your Puyo Puyo fix on the go, this game has you covered. As far as changes go, according to Puyo Nexus, the main addition in this iteration is "Transformation Mode" -

"You either become a child or become an adult when you enter this mode. When you are a child, your board size increases to 10x20 and becomes similar to Fever mode, going up to a 47 chain. When you become an adult, your board size decreases to 3x6 and becomes similar to Giant Puyo mode in 15th Anniversary. You keep making chains until your timer runs out, and those chains are added together for a possibility of up to a 99 chain."

the "debut" trailer

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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Battle Orchestra Portable (PSP Import)
What we've got here is yet another Anime-inspired fighting game, only this time it's one that features Evas and Angels. From looks of the video down below, this could be halfway decent, especially if the developers were allowed to use the music from the show. I'm not sure it really matters though. This'll sell a lot regardless of its quality.

the trailer

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Space Bust-A-Move (DS Import)
I'd say that the best versions of Bust-A-Move are still the very first one on the Neo Geo (or SNES) and Azumanga Daioh Puzzle Bobble for the arcades. Unfortunately, Taito seems to think that the series started at two and licensing issues will always keep us from getting a home version of the Azumanga edition, so I guess we're stuck with the newer ones for now.


the Space Bust-A-Move trailer

The other US releases

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Bionic Commando (PC)
East India Company (PC)
Memento Mori (PC)
My Secret Diary (DS)
The Humans (DS)


The Import Scene

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Japanese localizations of domestic games, "Asia" versions of games that do not have English options, and "Best" (greatest hits) versions of already released games are ignored.

Armored Core 3 Portable (PSP)
CR Shinseiki Evangelion: Saigo no Mono (PS2)
Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou: Girls Motekawa Box (DS)
Hello Kitty no PacPac & Logic (DS)
Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS: Shinseiki Evangelion - Saigo no Mono
Kutsushita Nyanko: Shiroi Kutshushita wo Haita Neko to Kurashi Hahimemashita (DS)
Kyoufu Taikan: Juon (Wii)
Lucian Bee's: Resurrection Supernova (PS2)
Nuga-Cel! (PS2)
Saikin Koishiteru? (DS)
Tere Shibai Wii
To Heart 2 Portable (PSP)
Tsuyo Kiss 2 Gakki: Swift Love (PS2)