The Negative Edge News Report 01.16.08
Posted by Tommy Coloma on 01.16.2008
New Street Fighter IV characters, Soul Calibur's turn towards the Dark Side, the Persona anime, this week's releases, and More!
Last week I went all out in my quest to beat Persona 3. I thought that I was almost done on Saturday but, ten game-hours later, I found that I was still chugging along. Then I got to a part where I had to make a very important in-game decision. Naturally, I decided to go for the more evil choice. My reward? A bad ending that wasn't all that bad. Unsatisfied, I replayed the scenario and selected the other option. Guess what! I have even more to do! New releases? Who needs them when I have this time sink to keep me busy?
The Music Box
Back when the NES reigned supreme, there was one company that could be counted on to make licensed games that did not suck. And of course, that company was Capcom. Their Disney games in particular were all top-notch. It wasn't enough that their games played great. The quality of the music was also up there and many of the tunes that Capcom churned out are still looked back on fondly by those who played their games back in the day. This song is considered one of the best from that era. While I don't disagree that it's awesome, I still think that the background music that was used in the Transylvania level was much better. Then again, I never liked the Moon level, so maybe that has something to do with it...
The News As I See It
Fear me, for I am the Crimson Viper!
Last week a new Street Fighter IV character was revealed in Famitsu. Her name is Crimson Viper, one of he most generic names I've ever seen in a fighting game. It's so generic that I've actually seen the name used in at least two of the forums that I used to frequent years ago. There are only so many colors that sound cool when placed in front of Viper. As far as looks go, I can't say that I dig the mullet. She kind of reminds of King from the KOF games. I'm not the only one who sees the resemblance (it's the attire!). Look at this gem that I found while perusing some random forums - "You know how King can look hot, and also uber-dyke-ish? Yeah..." The main difference is that King has a better hair cut (sometimes). According to some translations, Crimson Viper will make use of fire and lightning attacks. Maybe her hair contains a static electricity generator? Not much else is known at this time. Looks aside, it's still too early to make any reasonable judgment on what the completed game will be like. I already had my doubts once I found out that that the guy that was responsible for Capcom Fighting Jam is in charge. He is also the one who designed Ingrid, so you can kind of expect the new characters to be different/unique, which is a good thing since I don't want the same game that I've been playing for the past seventeen years. No matter what, it's a new Street Fighter, so they already got me. If you were into the series in the past, you know you're also going to give it a try no matter what, so relax. The game is far from done.
Related news: It would appear that Akuma will make an appearance in the game. In fact, he is supposed to be central to the story. Now, I like him as much as anyone else, but doesn't this game already have two other Shotos already? Ok. Relax...
I can feel your anger. It gives you focus. Makes you stronger.
Ok. So some Star Wars characters will be making an appearance in Soul Calibur IV. If you somehow missed the revelation, you should take a look at the trailer here. So far, Yoda and Darth Vader are the only characters that have been announced, but some are speculating that others might be made available via downloadable content. Unfortunately, Namco decided to pull a "Soul Calibur II" on us and are making the two characters console specific; Yoda fans will need an Xbox 360 while Vader fans will have to get their hands on a PS3.
First of all, I don't have a problem with these two characters being in the game as long as they aren't as ridiculously strong as Link was in Soul Calibur II. Yoda and Vader need to be fun to play with and against, and that means that Namco needs to at least try to bring balance to them (you knew it was coming!). Storywise? It's a fighting game. They can get away with making up some convoluted story about time warps or mystical portals. The only thing that I'm curious about is how they'll explain how/why lightsabers don't go through metal swords. Magic?
Now, will having Star Wars characters in the game make people want to buy it? Well, I asked a Star Wars fan at my work for his thoughts. I don't remember the exact response, but I do remember hearing "awesome" and "I can't wait to get it" somewhere in there. So there you have it - Star Wars fans are going to get this game. It might even be a system seller for a lot of them. Who knows? Maybe this might lead to another dedicated Star Wars fighting game, this time by a company that can make decent ones. Even if they were to make a half-ass fighter, it would still be ten-times better than Masters of Teras Kasi.
Can you buy me an M-rated game?
There's a nice little story over at The Consumerist that details the adventure one gamer had while trying to purchase Assassin's Creed at a Best Buy in Illinois. Essentially, the shopper let his brother tag along with him while he was making the purchase and as a result, the cashier accused him of buying the game for a minor. She even insinuated that the boy next to him was not his brother at all. After wasting a few hours of his life and being embarrassed in the process, this man of integrity eventually had to go to another Best Buy (he was trying to get rid of a gift card or two) to make the purchase.
This reminded me about how I was asked by some grade schooler to buy an M-rated game while I was at Walmart last week. The boy started up a conversation about games that I own for the 360. He then went on to ask how many Achievements I have, to which I responded that I have no idea. Eventually, he got to what he really wanted, which was for me to buy Halo 3 for him. He claimed that it was for his brother. I knew he was full of shit, but I was almost tempted to help him out just for the hell of it. There was a long line though so I scrapped that idea. That incident made me realize one thing - if a minor really wants to get an M-rated game, he or she is going to do anything to get it, so I can understand why that Best Buy employee got suspicious. However, are things so bad that just having someone by your side makes you look like a criminal? I hope not!
The Release List
From the Abyss (DS Import)
I like action RPGs, and this one looks like it could be played without knowing Japanese, so I will probably import it if it doesn't get released here. I don't know if I could trust a company called Sonic Powered though. Did they use juiced hedgehogs to make this game?
School Days LxH (PS2 Import)
Love and Hate. That's the type of relationship that I have with this anime series. I love the build-up (for all the wrong reasons) and I love the ending (for the same wrong reasons). I also hate the show in general (again, for the same wrong reasons). If you don't know what I'm talking about, just take a look at my write-up on the School Days anime. There isn't a lot of info on this game, but I'm assuming that it is a remake of the original PC game, only without the gratuitous nudity, sex, and violence. Then again, maybe the PS2 is at the point where developers are given the freedom to put out more risque content. All I know is that if there aren't any nice boats in this game, it insta-fails.
Touch de Zuno! DS (DS Import)
This is a mini-game collection made by Sega. Their remakes seem to be hit or miss these days, but they tend to do better with their other projects so this might actually be good.
Cyber Familator Lite (DS Import Peripheral)
This peripheral will allow you to play Famicon games on your DS. In general, I stay clear of these things. They usually get the graphics right, but sound always sucks ass. What sets this apart is the fact that it is licensed by Nintendo themselves. So if you want to enjoy your famicon games on the go legally, here's your chance.
Riot Zone (Wii VC)
This is essentially a Final Fight clone. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be a very good one.
What we should have gotten instead: Final Fight 2
Sure, it was super easy and could be beaten in your first playthrough without much difficulty, but it was still badass. And how can you not love the fact that it has some Street Fighter II cameos back when cameos still meant something? Plus, this game introduced the world to everyone's favorite Guy clone and tonfa-wielding gal, Maki. See? She is an example of a clone done right.
The Anime Circle
Persona -trinity souls-
As many of you know, I've been plugging away at Persona 3 for the past few months now. I've spent over eighty hours of my life on the game so far. It's still enjoyable and the story keeps bringing me back, so I don't really mind. I thought that I was almost done with the series, but it looks like even if I finish the game this week, I'm still going to be seeing more of the Persona 3 world in the form of the new anime that just started last week.
The story takes place ten years after the events in Persona 3. None of the characters in the game make an appearance save for one minor character. Some might say that the girl at the very beginning of the first episode and in the closing credits looks like Mitsuru, but I don't think that it is her seeing as how she isn't wearing Mitsuru's trademark knee-high boots. Just showing the look-alike is a great (as well as bastardous) way to boost interest though. At least it worked for me. The story hasn't really progressed during the first two episodes, so I'll just rely on AniDB's description for now -
The stage is Ayanagi City, a city near the Japan Sea. It is a futuristic city that was built to carry out the recovery from the calamity caused by the "Apathy Syndrome" ten years previous. High school student Shin Kanzato with his little brother Jun, meet with their elder brother Ryō, who is the chief of the Ayanagi City Police again after ten years. At that time, a series of strange incidents happen in Ayanagi City such as the crew of a submarine that suddenly disappears, or a spiritless symptom which disturbs the world after ten years, or the case of the inside out corpse where a student took on a cruel appearance. Ryō tracks down the organization behind the string of incidents, and having become involved in the incidents, Shin awakens the "Persona".
As far as the Persona go, it looks like they are all unique to the series. They're still cool, but I'm a little sad about it since I was looking forward to seeing Jack Frost in animated form. That doesn't mean that we won't see any from the game in later episodes though.
Speaking of things that didn't make the transition from game to show, the music in the anime is pretty much all new save for the few places where music from the game is used. That's one of my biggest disappointments, as Persona 3's soundtrack is awesome and would have been a great addition to the show.
Only two episodes have aired so far, so I don't really want to comment on whether or not Persona -trinity souls- is worth watching. The first episode is a little slow, which is normal for anime. Things pick up toward the end and in the second episode. You don't really need to have played the game to enjoy it (at least for now), so don't let that stop you from checking it out. I've embedded the intro, a scene involving the character from the Persona 3 (consider it a spoiler), and the closing credits down below. If any of you care to give an interpretation of the closing credits, sound off in the comments section. I've watched it several times and I still have nothing.
The series isn't licensed in the US so you can get it here for now.
Title sequence
Clip from episode 1
Credits sequence
To Be Continued...
That's it for this week. I just found myself on an alien planet after working on a particle accelerator during a thunder storm. If I can figure out how I was transported to another world, I will be back next week.
