Nintendophiles 08.30.07
Posted by Theo Fraser on 08.30.2007
Retro tease about Metroid Dread, Konami pack Contra IV with some sweet bonuses, Team Ninja throw a shuriken at their competition with Ninja Gaiden DS, and Ubisoft make me a very angry child indeed.
If you've read the other news reports here at the 411 Games channel this week, you'll already be well aware of the news that Manhunt 2 has been re-rated and WILL be released this Halloween for PS2, PSP and Wii. Rockstar have finally been granted the ‘M' rating they had been hoping for, so the game will see the light of day in just over two months. Excellent news, as premature reviews of the game rated it very highly (with UK NGamer magazine giving it 92%, its second highest scoring behind Twilight Princess), so for those old enough to buy the game, I'd chalk it up in the ‘Must Have' column.
It'll be interesting to see how much has been chopped off of the game, as when it was first banned, the ESRB seemed horrified by the content, which makes you wonder how drastically modified it has been in order to achieve the ‘M' classification. I'd hedge bets on some of those nasty environmental executions hitting the cutting room floor, as they were pretty brutal. But perhaps the tranquilizer gun has been implemented more fully to make sure you *can* tackle the game in a non-sadistic manner if you so wish. That was one of the ESRB's main gripes; the fact that the game was so morbid and forced you to slaughter basically everyone. So I'm guessing that's the issue Rockstar have addressed in their alterations to the game content. We'll find out for sure in two months!
Metroid Dread is not quite dead
Credit: IGN
Long term Metroid fans might remember mention of a Metroid DS project entitled Metroid Dread, which was supposed to be a 2D side-scrolling action adventure, much like the Metroid games of old, in the pre-Prime days. The game wasn't ever officially confirmed by Retro, so naturally we never saw any screens or in-game footage, and after hearing nothing for over a year, many assumed the project was cancelled. That was until Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was released on Wii this past Monday, which elicited a big internet hoo-ha after a potential tease of Dread was discovered deep in the bowels of the game.
As Prime fans will know, a lot of the 3D games rely on Samus using her Scanning Visor to find out about her surroundings, as well as obviously helping you to achieve that 100% completion rating. In the case of Corruption, eager and adventurous players will be rewarded by discovering the following message hidden on a panel in one particular world part way through the game:
"Experiment status report update: Metroid project 'Dread' is nearing the final stages of completion."
Of course, that's by no means any kind of official confirmation, but just a pure coincidence? I think not! Developers like Rare often go out of their way to rile up the media with hidden messages (such as their infamous 2002 Christmas card featuring an Xbox-shaped present under a Christmas tree, prior to their split from Nintendo and subsequent purchase by Microsoft), but Retro Studios haven't been known to pull any pranks of this ilk. I'm going to trust my instincts on this one, and choose to believe that Retro are genuinely hinting that we may be seeing Metroid Dread much sooner than expected. The E For All show in October would be a ‘prime' candidate. NINTENDOPUN~!!
Overwhelmingly beautiful...I think I want to cry
I broke the news a couple of months ago in a previous Nintendophiles that Final Fantasy IV was being remade in glorious 3D for the Nintendo DS. Only now, however, have we had a chance to see just how glorious it really is. These are some of the first screens from the Japanese version of the title, currently slated to hit Eastern shelves by the end of the year. And if you ever needed proof that there truly IS a God, then just look at these pics...
So what we have there are some fine looking shots indeed! The first shot shows both the top screen and touch screen, indicating how battles will look. I'd expect the layout of the touch screen to get spruced up a little bit, as it seems a tiny bit drab at the moment, but the action on the top screen looks absolutely fantastic. The pre-rendered backdrop gives the impression of a large draw distance, and enables developer Matrix Software (who worked on the FFIII DS conversion) to add in a ton of detail to the battle environments. Character polygons look vastly improved from what we saw in FFIII, appearing less gimmicky, less like the FF9 caricatures and more like the humanoid figures of recent PS2 Final Fantasies.
The second screen shot is taken from one of the many cinematics, in which lead character Cecil and his partner/childhood friend Kain burn down a village, as requested by the King of Baron. Fans will remember this chapter from the very early portion of the game, and it's good to see it looking so...inviting. I'd even venture so far as to say it looks better than all of the N64's early titles, and when you bear in mind that this is all going on in the palm of your hand inside your ickle DS, you have to appreciate how well Square Enix have taken to the DS technology. It looks tremendous, which makes the wait for the full development cycle AND an English translation all the more unbearable.
The Secrets of Contra IV
Credit: Gamestop
Just a tiny little bit of awesome news for you. Contra IV, currently in development for the Nintendo DS by Konami, will come packaged with a few tasty little treats hidden up its hard-as-nails sleeves. According to Gamestop, the title will include ports of the original NES games Contra and Super C. Super C was just released on the Virtual Console in the States, so you may consider saving your Wii points and picking it up for free at a later date when Contra IV arrives. The game looks to continue the trend of previous Contras (ie by kicking your ass), but you've got an added incentive to play, as two key titles in the game's series show up as a rather terrific bonus.
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword...proving that Ninjas are cool once again
Credit: IGN
If you haven't been a Nintendo fan for long, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Ninja Gaiden series was a Microsoft or Sony property, due to its recent iterations cropping up on rival consoles. But go back all the way to 1988, and you'll see that Ninja Gaiden originally started life on the NES, and was actually one of the console's most popular properties, aside from the obvious Nintendo franchises. So it was a pleasent surprise when Team Ninja announced that the series was being brought back to a Nintendo platform with Dragon Sword on the DS. Yes, another lame ‘DS' pun, but put aside your reservations for now, as all signs point towards this being a classic entry worthy of its highly acclaimed predecessors.
The first noticeable difference that sets this game apart from most other DS titles out there is the fact that the game requires you to hold the DS horizontally in book format, much like Hotel Dusk: Room 215 or the Brain Age games. You'll also very rarely use the face buttons, with the game working perfectly comfortably with just stylus use. Movement of Ryu Hayabusa is controlled in the same manner as you'll move Link in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, by guiding the hero with stylus prods and drags. With a simple upwards stroke of the stylus, Ryu jumps into the air, and for once...it actually works! Team Ninja have obviously adjusted to the DS extremely well, as all reports indicate that the game is responsive and recognises stylus strokes every time. Midway through development, that's a good thing to hear.
Combat seems pretty intuitive, as dragging the stylus over an enemy will result in Ryu unleashing some hand to hand offense, whilst a tap of the stylus causes him to throw shurikens at his unfortunate foes. Combinations are easily worked out too; slide the stylus up to jump, and then tap an enemy whilst in mid air to rain shurikens down upon them! That, my friends, is cool! An up and down stroke in quick succession delivers a devastating rapid attack with Ryu's swords, taking out all nearby enemies, and the famed Izuna Drop can be achieved with a Down, Up, Up swipe. Think of it as how Mortal Kombat: Armageddon plays with the Wii remote, only with the stylus instead. Special Moves also play a big role, called "Nimpos", triggered by tapping the Ninpo icon in the top left corner of the touch screen and tracing the on-screen character/symbol. These Ninpos are like the special moves from Streets of Rage in that they'll wipe out everything on screen, except that you won't necessarily lose all control once the special move is activated. No, Dragon Swords goes one step further, as some of the Ninpo abilities granted to you will be directly controllable by you. For example, a Fireball Ninpo can be directed around the screen by drawing a path for it with the stylus. Team Ninja seem eager to leave control in your hands throughout the course of the game, giving you added immersion and by proxy helping you connect a little bit further with Ryu Hayabusa's cause. And that's the kinda thing that makes a great game.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how good the game looks graphically. Ryu and his adversaries look terrific in full 3D against the beautifully pre-rendered backgrounds, and the boss fights appear to be particularly well done, with monstrous behemoths towering above you, as pictured above. This is how you get the most out of the DS, and alongside games like Final Fantasy IV, gamers are finally beginning to see what the DS hardware truly has to offer. Team Ninja have got the style, the looks, and the gameplay down to a tee, so all we need now is that trademark Ninja Gaiden challenging difficulty, and then this can sit proudly on my Most Wanted list.
Ubisoft's Wii support; not quite as good as you'd think
Credit: Cubed3
Going back to the run-up to the Wii launch last year, you might remember a short period when Nintendo gamers almost idolised Ubisoft for their unparalleled support of the Wii. They had a stacked lineup of games in production, most of which were planned for Day One of the Wii launch. Whilst Red Steel and Rayman Raving Rabbids were somewhat decent, Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Far Cry: Vengeance were...how do I put this...awful. Double Agent ended up being a fantastic game on other consoles (even on the Gamecube!) so I have no idea what went wrong there. But it has recently come to light why Ubisoft were so eager to get as many titles published on the Wii as possible, and perhaps why they turned out to be not so great.
Revealed in a candid talk at the Leipzig Games Convention, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot revealed that the Wii's casual line-up of games is extremely profitable for them, as the games are relatively quick, cheap and easy to produce. So basically, they can get make a quick buck out of anything they produce. Now don't get me wrong, I *guess* that in itself is not such a bad thing. Developers can't all spend 3-4 years making one big budget game, tiring all their resources with one project. BUT, here comes the clincher. Ubisoft have been taking the profits from these relatively cheap Wii titles and using the profits to fund development of their ‘more important' Xbox 360 and PS3 games! Wow, and they have the cheek to moan and get all pissy when their games don't sell very well! Hmm, perhaps it would help if you actually put some effort into your Wii projects? I'm sure someone will find some way to justify Ubisoft's actions, but as a loyal Nintendo gamer through and through, it comes as a cold, hard slap in the face, especially after months of my praising Ubisoft in these very pages for their continued diligent support.
Ubisoft, there is only one thing you can do now to make it up to me. Get that Michel Ancel on the phone and get his ass to make Beyond Good & Evil 2!
Sorry for ending on a rather low note there! But what the hell, you guys across the pond have got Metroid Prime 3 and I haven't, so naturally I'm a little grumpy!
The 411 Games Crew
Owain J Brimfield's The Wonder Years looks at the Mega Man franchise, which is quite a feat when you consider the fact that he has starred in over 100 titles over the past two decades!
When will it end? Another week goes by, another console price cut! As per usual, Vincent Chiucchi is here to break it down for you in the latest Select and Start News Report! Plus, don't miss the latest in the on-going saga of the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war, lots of Bioshock tidbits, more on Manhunt 2 amongst other topics. Check it out NOW!
Cory Moore goes back to the 90's to look at the wrestling games from that era in the latest edition of Press Pause.
The Full Circle News Report by Mike Minotti has everything you need to know on the Call of Duty 4 beta, which sounds pretty darn awesome. I loved the first CoD, but subsequent editions haven't really enticed me. Looks like this could be the one to make me a huge CoD fan once again.
And in the Wrestling Zone, keep an eye out for the first ever PWG Roundtable, as I'll be contributing in the preview for this weekend's Battle of Los Angeles 2007 tournament. LET'S GO SHINGO!
