The Negative Edge News Report 5.09.07
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 05.09.2007
Fighting without a purpose, the bold statement made by a well-known game designer, the new RPG that's destined to have multiple sequels, finding actresses that look like video game characters, and More!
Another week. Another edition of The Negative Edge. Only this time, with a lot more pep! I spent a good chuck of last week finishing off 2 games. One was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess which I was doing for fun (of course) and the other was Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja which I was doing for a review that I'm already a few weeks behind on delivering. Both games were huge timesinks, and, since I'm the type of person that doesn't really like to keep things hanging, it's a huge relief to finally be done with them. It's not that the experience wasn't enjoyable, it's just that there are a bunch of things I could have/should have been doing instead. So, after finishing Izuna (I finished Zelda first), I decided that I shouldn't be starting any of these super long games any time soon. So what do I do? I start Wind Waker, which I never got to when it was first released. I seriously need more self restraint...
It's time for some news -
The news as I see it
Story? What story?
Proxicide over at Newgrounds just released his third MK vs SF Flash video. As with the other two, the story is really out there but the fighting sequences are fairly entertaining (at least for fighting game fans). There isn't as much of that Matrix slowdown crap that he kept using in the other videos. According to the description, this is probably the last. That's too bad but what can you do? Here are links to the three videos in order of goodness. With all of them you can just skip to the fighting sequences since the stories aren't really that great.
Part 2 - Overall, I'd say this is the best one. Good action. Cool ending. Part 3 - The production quality is much better, but, much like the games, I prefer part 2 more. Part 1 - Too much Matrix BS.
If anyone else said it, I'd laugh
Shigeru Miyamoto (you know, that Nintendo guy), had a little Q&A session with Entertainment Weekly recently which was posted on their web site here. Take a look. It's a good read. Of course, for those of you that just want the good stuff, here are some of the highlights -
... American gamers have bought more copies of Halo than they did of Metroid, for instance. Do you ever worry that you're losing touch with what young American players might want to play?
I could make Halo. It's not that I couldn't design that game. It's just that I choose not to. One thing about my game design is that I never try to look for what people want and then try to make that game design. I always try to create new experiences that are fun to play.
I don't doubt this at all. Just look at Metroid Prime. While he wasn't in full control of the game, he did make suggestions here and there which I'm sure had a big impact on how the game turned out. Imagine what it would have been like if he was at the helm. I don't know if he would have been able to outdo the multi-player aspects of Halo/Halo 2 though...
You've had great success in your ability to predict what players will find fun to play. Have there been games that you thought would be fun but didn't turn out that way?
Yes, that has definitely happened. In the past we've worked with some outside development houses on titles like F-Zero and Starfox — and let me just say that we were disappointed with the results. Consumers got very excited about the idea of those games, but the games themselves did not deliver. And, well, to be honest with you, Zelda: Twilight Princess is not doing very well at all in Japan. It is very disappointing. But it is doing okay here in America.
Why do you think Zelda isn't doing well in Japan?
Well, I think a lot of people who bought the Wii are not necessarily the types of people who are interested in playing that kind of game. And a lot of the people who would want to play it [due to chronic shortages of the console] can't find a Wii! But mostly, I think it's that there are fewer and fewer people who are interested in playing a big role-playing game like Zelda.
Did I mention that I just beat Twilight Princess over the weekend? While I appreciate the fact that the game took me over 50 hours to finish (I'm the type that likes to explore and talk to all the NPCs), I'm starting to feel that these types of games are becoming more of a chore then they used to be. All the collecting I had to do was starting to get to me toward the latter half of the game. I think that a lot of it has to do with the fact that as I've gotten older I've taken on more responsibilities than I had when I was younger. Consequently, there is less time for me to play these long-ass games (remember how I mentioned last week that I was looking for a game that I can get into for a few minutes at a time and still feel satisfied after playing?). If I was younger I'd be all over any Mario, Zelda, or Metroid game. Now, I'm more conscious of the fact that if I start one of them, I'm going to be playing it for the next few months unless I specifically block off a good chunk of my time (and social life) in order to finish it. I also don't think that Zelda and Metroid are that popular with younger people either. I've watched my niece and nephew play and I've noticed that they'd much rather play Mario games than the other 2 (they're at the age I was at when I was into Zelda and Metroid back in the day). Things are changing, whether we want to admit it or not.
So I guess that means that the games people care about aren't going multi-platform
According to Game Informer (via Kotaku), the project that Square-Enix is working on that makes use of Unreal Engine 3 is a new RPG called "The Last Remnant." (Last? Final? Whatever!) The game is going to be made to "appeal to both Japanese and Western gamers with two main playable characters tailored to each region's tastes." That last tidbit alone has gotten me interested. I want to see what Square-Enix thinks are the differences in tastes between Japanese and American gamers. Looks? Personality? Gender? What types of characters do Japanese gamers like? How about Westerners? I'd love to see how they explain this one.
My predictions (which, of course, will be totally wrong) -
Japanese - Big breasted female that's tough on the outside but is really sensitive and motherly on the inside. She'll be quick but weak and she will be able to use magic really well. She'll also wear a cowboy hat, 'cause that's hot!
Westerner - Buff guy with big guns. Really strong but a little slow. He probably has a big scar over one of his eyes. He'll be a heavy drinker and will be very Emo.
Do any of them look like the strongest woman in the world?
What do these two have in common? Well, according to latinoreview.com, they were both offered a part in the new Street Fighter movie that is supposed to come out next year. They both passed on the offer. I'm sure that you can think of a few reasons why they'd want to pass up on such a "great" offer. Maybe it's the thought of this being a repeat of the atrocity that is Street Fighter: The Movie. Maybe it's the thought of doing a movie based on a video game, since we all know how well those usually turn out. Or maybe, just maybe, it's because the movie focuses on the exploits of a certain ASIAN character called Chun Li. I don't really want to get into any racial stuff, but it's kinda fucked up that they already went through two non-Asians (and are already on their third) to play an Asian character. Sure, there aren't too many mainstream Asian actresses out there that have the right "build" for the part, but still...
So who's the frontrunner now? According to LR, that would be Jessica Biel. What do you think? Any resemblance?
What comes out this week?
Slim pickings again this week but there are some titles that might be worth picking up once their prices drop a little.
Taito Legends 2 (PS2/Xbox)
Still no Parasol Stars or Arkanoid but I can pick out at least 3 that are worth playing this time around -
Darius Gaiden - I owned this one on the Saturn back in the day. It had lots of psychedelic colors and you fight against space ships that are shaped like fish. It was trippy, but it was fun for a shooter.
Puzzle Bobble 2 - I still prefer the first in the series since it was nice and simple. Thankfully, with Puzzle Bobble 2, they didn't change the formula too much. That didn't happen until Puzzle Bobble 3 and 4.
Bubble Symphony (Xbox version only) - Just a slightly enhanced version of Bubble Bobble. It would seem that it isn't very well known as I'm the only person that I know that's actually heard of it before.
Taito Legends Power-Up (PSP)
No Parasol Stars or Arkanoid here either, but they at least have New Zealand Story. Again, not worth it at full price but once this becomes a budget title I'd say it's worth it just for New Zealand Story alone.
Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars (Xbox 360)
I tried the demo. While nothing beats a mouse and keyboard, the controls are at least... serviceable...
Double Dragon (XBLA)
The enhanced video mode is noticeably nicer looking than the original. I'm glad that they added that feature as the original is way too pixelly. However, I'll be honest - this game hasn't aged very well as far as gameplay is concerned. I'd rather play the NES version (which I did right after messing with the trial) or play Final Fight.
This week's background wallpaper
Midna - SPOILER FOR ZELDA:TP
I was going to show the picture but then I realized that it would be a huge spoiler for those who haven't beaten the game yet. So, only click on the link below if you've beaten the game. If you haven't, just bookmark it or something and come back later.
I had a feeling that they were going pull something like this at the end, but I really wasn't expecting the result to look like this. This is a pretty good drawing considering the fact that the artist didn't have much to reference off of. Now don't you want to beat the game so that you can see what I'm talking about?
Imagine a game that makes use of a gun, dance mat, sword, and the EyeToy. Destined for failure or best-game-ever? Unfortunately, we'll never know...
That is all I have for this week. Despite the fact that I keep swinging my wooden sword threateningly, the people in this town always say the same things whenever I talk to them. If I can figure out what events I have to trigger to cause them to say something else, I'll be back next week.
