Nintendophiles 03.27.08

Posted by Theo Fraser on 03.27.2008

Rock Band is Wii-bound, WiiWare launches in Japan, a new action title from an in-house Nintendo developer is on the cards, and a whole host of Square Enix news is covered, from additional WiiWare content, to an update on the Crystal Bearers Wii outing, AND the unveiling of a new DS IP. All that and more awaits you inside this week’s edition of Nintendophiles!





Welcome back, ladies and gents, to another instalment of your weekly Nintendo column here at 411mania.com. The site has been a-buzz this week with it being Wrestlemania weekend, and if you're a wrestling fan yourself, you're no doubt shaking with anticipation for this Sunday's big extravaganza. It's also usually around about this time that THQ unveil their latest WWE games, and whilst I haven't heard of a conference coming up this weekend, it's worth checking back with the 411 Games section periodically over the next few days just in case! But I'm getting distracted- let's get straight to the news!




Rock Band scheduled for Wii; online play and downloadable content disabled
Credit: CVG, Cubed3, MTV

With the gaming media giving Rock Band an unprecedented amount of praise, it was only a matter of time before developer Harmonix looked to other platforms, hoping to expand the game's horizons. A Wii version has been confirmed, and it will launch in the US on June 22nd for a retail price of $169.99 (which includes the game itself and the instruments in one handy bundle).

The unfortunate news is that this particular iteration of the franchise won't feature online support of any kind; no online multiplayer, no downloadable content, nothing. To make up for the omission, Harmonix have included 5 extra songs (bringing the total to 63), but it's highly debatable as to whether or not that really makes up for it. The reasoning as to why there will be no online support is because, according to a company spokesperson, Harmonix, "wanted to wait before we explored online functionality for Rock Band to ensure that players get the high-quality of online performance they've come to expect." Hmmm that sounds a little dubious to me. Although if we really wanted to read into it, we could highlight the ‘wanting to wait' aspect; could we see an update of sorts in a couple of months time? A WiiWare download, perhaps, offering downloadable content? That's wishful thinking, no doubt, but I thought I'd throw it out there in case I'm right, in which case I get full bragging rights.

Gameplay-wise, there was no indication as to whether it would follow in the footsteps of Guitar Hero III, incorporating the Wii remotes into the instruments, but one of the Harmonix spokespersons said that Rockband is a perfect fit for the Wii, due to its casual audience, and the gameplay will supposedly mirror that.

Here are some of the blurbs making the rounds from the press:


"The Wii's success among casual and core gamers of all ages makes it an ideal match for the cross-generational appeal of the music featured in Rock Band."

- Bob Picunko, Vice President of Electronic Games and Interactive Products, MTV.


"The social interaction and addictive nature of the Rock Band experience is a perfect fit for the Wii and will undoubtedly be fun for the entire family."

- Steve Singer, licensing VP from Nintendo.


For those wondering, stand-alone instruments will also be available from the same date, but a price doesn't appear to have been set for those just yet. With the release just 3 months away, I'd expect to hear more about the control scheme very soon, as well as hopefully confirmation on those extra 5 songs. They better be good!




WiiWare launches in Japan
Credit: CVG

We may be more than a few weeks away from the May 12th US launch of WiiWare, but this past week the service debuted on Japanese Wii consoles to a great start. Nine games are currently on offer, with more to come reasonably soon, so allow me to rundown the titles that the folks in the Land of the Rising Sun are currently enjoying.

• Dr. Mario - 1,000 Points


• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King - 1,500 Points


• Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan – 1,000 Points


• Lonpos – 1,000 Points


• Okiraku Ping Pong – 500 Points


• Pokémon Ranch – 1,000 Points


• Saku Saku Animal Panic – 1,000 Points


• Star Soldier R – 800 Points


• Tenshi Solitaire – 500 Points

As you can see, FFCC stands out with a 1,500 point price tag, but considering the extent of the game and the budget put into it, I think it's a fair cost. Aside from that, Star Soldier R and Pokemon Ranch are the only two that particularly grab my attention as being download-worthy, but of course we can't forget that these titles are aimed primarily at a Japanese audience. We'll no doubt get a couple of exclusives when the US WiiWare launch comes around, such as LostWinds which looked good when I mentioned it here in Nintendophiles a few weeks back.

Alrighty, well sticking with the theme of WiiWare…




Square Enix to bring additional paid content to WiiWare for My Life As A King
Credit: Cubed3, Siliconera





Gamers who downloaded Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King upon its release alongside the WiiWare service in Japan were greeted with a warning message, indicating that some areas of the game (including expansion packs and other services) may require the expenditure of extra Wii Points. This naturally raised questions as to what Square Enix's future plans for the game were, and they were fortunately quick to respond.

The additional charges will be for some extra downloadable content, such as new races and costumes. During the game, if you'd like to use any of the other races like Yukes, Selkies or Lilties, you'll have to hand over a bunch of Wii Points in order to have the privilege of doing so, allowing you to download the requisite buildings for them. Exact prices for the individual downloads hasn't been revealed, but we're told to expect something in the region of between 100 and 300 points ($1-$3). Not too bad!

For those keeping record, two other WiiWare titles display the same warning; Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan and LonPos, so we can expect to see some additional content for those titles in the near future as well.




FFCC: Crystal Bearers is still on the cards for Wii
Credit: Cubed3, Kikizo





Anyone remember that awesome video that cropped up for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers aaaaaaages ago? It's got to be at least a year ago. Well, that was the last time we saw or heard anything regarding the Wii's Final Fantasy title, causing some gamers to become sceptical as to whether it was indeed still actually being developed. Fortunately, a Square Enix representative mentioned its development in a recent interview, reassuring us all that progress is still underway. It would seem that the development team took a break for Crystal Bearers whilst work was being carried out on the more recent FF outings such as Ring of Fates, Final Fantasy IV and the Chocobo Tales adventures, not to mention the WiiWare project, FFCC: My Life As A King.

Mitsuru Kamiyama was the man interviewed by Kikizo, and was asked about the Crystal Chronicles series' emphasis on connectivity, and how that would play into the Wii and DS titles. Kamiyama-san replied,


"There are no plans for direct connection between the Wii Crystal Bearers and the DS Ring of Fates at this time. Since Crystal Bearers is still under development, we can't share too much about it yet. They're entirely separate games, nothing is shared between them, although they share a similar worldview. We think that people who play Ring of Fates will find certain things to smile at when they play through Crystal Bearers, however."


We saw in the recent Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates on the DS how Square Enix had bolstered the storyline aspect of the CC games (which was a little shallow in the Gamecube original), and now they're looking to take things a step further with Crystal Bearers. Aside from a more ‘mature' visual style, the hero is supposed to be more rugged-looking and "world-weary"; it seems that Square Enix are hoping to strengthen the bond between player and protagonist, which can only be a good thing in my book. As a huge FF devotee, this is right at the top of my ‘Most Wanted' list, and with their other projects out of the way, it appears that Square Enix are about to turn their full attention to Crystal Bearers. Expect a hands-on look at the game when E3 rolls around.




Square Enix bring new RPG "Sigma Harmonics" to the DS
Credit: Famitsu, NeoGaf, Cubed3

We haven't quite finished with the folks at Square Enix just yet! Earlier this week, word hit the net that Square Enix were hard at work on a brand new IP for the Nintendo DS, entitled Sigma Harmonics. The name was found on a recent Square Enix trademark document, so it's nice to see it come to light here.

Sigma Harmonics is an RPG (surprise, surprise) and is already 60% complete, with the company hoping for a summer release in Japan. So what exactly is Sigma Harmonics all about? Famitsu magazine state that the title is mainly a murder mystery, with the game being split into different chapters, each chapter representing a new murder. Much like a certain other murder mystery game on the DS, you'll hold the system sideways like a book But don't let this fool you into thinking it'll be a mere Hotel Dusk clone; as you'd expect from a proper RPG, there will be plenty of battles where you'll be able to earn EXP and level-up in traditional RPG fashion.

The team helping out with development is singularly impressive. Directing the project is Hiroki Chiba, who is previously known for his work on Final Fantasy VII, FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus, and Chrono Trigger. Yusaku Nakaaki is the man in charge of character design, who was the mechanics and subcharacter designer for Dirge of Cerberus and FFVII: Crisis Core. Finally, Yoshiniro Kitase is the producer for Sigma Harmonics, and has worked on just about every major FF title since he joined the company in1991. That's quite a hybrid of talent, I think you'll agree, so we can rest assured that Harmonics is in very capable hands.

Well, my appetite is sufficiently whetted. I'm praying for some screenshots in the coming weeks; I gotta check this bad boy out for myself!




Project H.A.M.M.E.R. team at work on new action game
Credit: SurferGirl

Project H.A.M.M.E.R. was the ill-fated third-person action game that was originally scheduled to be a Wii launch title, only to suffer a couple of delays before finally being canned altogether, after one of the higher-ups at Nintendo saw it and decided it wasn't living up to expectations. Since then, we haven't heard a peep from NST (Nintendo Software Technology), the folks responsible for the title, until now.

According to the rumor that cropped up on the SurferGirl blog site (which has been a trustworthy source in the past), the team are putting together a brand new action title that involves lasers. Lots of lasers. And um…well that's actually all we know. But the term "original concept" has been bandied around (which is either a blessing or a curse, depending on your views), and thankfully it already appears to be viewed in higher regard than its predecessor. We're nearing April now, and as we haven't heard anything official on this matter as of yet, I'd imagine Nintendo are planning to keep this one under wraps until E3.




Animal Crossing: Wild World - 2 Years On


Long time readers will know that I used to be pretty obsessed with Animal Crossing: Wild World, playing it constantly, at least once a day. In the ‘old days' of Nintendophiles, I had a weekly feature entitled "Your Weekly Animal Crossing Blog", where I would detail the week's happenings in my town of Galbadia. Bonus points to anyone who recognises that reference. Anyway, this coming Sunday (30th March) marks the two year anniversary since Animal Crossing: Wild World went on sale in the UK, so I thought I'd check in with my neighbours in Galbadia and see how everyone is getting on. Bearing in mind I hadn't played the game in about 2 months, I was prepared for some hefty weeding to say the least!

Emerging from my house, I checked the mail. Nothing particularly interesting, although I'd made a healthy 3,010 bells of interest at the town hall. Not bad considering I hadn't even loaded up the game since the New Year! Looking at my inventory, I noticed a couple of rare items in my possession as well as a few KK Slider songs, so I thought I better check out my house and drop them off. Opening the door, I was greeted by the sight of no less than four cockroaches roaming around the place like they owned it. I swiftly dealt with the problem via a spot of do-it-yourself-bug-extermination, before walking into one of the adjacent rooms. Four more cockroaches menacingly dashed for cover, and upon killing them, FOUR MORE jumped out from nowhere! Gave me quite a shock, as I was sure that four was the maximum! My sturdy boots put an end to them, before I proudly displayed Tom Nook's picture in the middle of the room. It makes me look more than a tiny bit gay, but hey, I wasn't planning on bringing any girls in this room anyway. Especially considering my collection of THREE Triforces. Overkill? Perhaps. Totally awesome? Yes indeed.

Going back outside, I figured I better tackle the problem of all those weeds. Judging by the state of the environment, I wouldn't have been surprised to find the place renamed from Galbadia to "Weed Town". It was that bad. A good 15 minutes later, I had barely cleared a quarter of the map. Bah, time to check out who's visiting the town today…

Oh joy. It's my ‘favorite' fox, Crazy Redd. I'd like to add here that I've still got 3 FRICKIN' FORGED PAINTINGS in my inventory! But after two months of not seeing him, I was ready to let bygones be bygones and forgive him. What does he do to me in return? HE ONLY SELLS ME ANOTHER FORGE!! One of these days, Redd, I'm going to torch your tent with you still inside it. Mark my words…your uppance will come!

Wondering around collecting a bit of fruit, I bumped into Teddy, who obviously made a great impression on me the first time I met him, as I had absolutely no clue who the heck he was. Evidently he wasn't too impressed with me either, as he threatened to leave town unless I got my act into gear and started properly looking after the town. Now, for a start, Teddy, when did I volunteer to be the sole carer for Galbadia, and how much had I been drinking?! Anyway, I don't respond well to threats, you fat, stuffed bag of wool. Don't make me undo your stitching!

Plucking a few more weeds out, I got a bit parched, so I thought I'd pay Brewster a visit in the coffee shop. He didn't offer me any pigeon milk, making me a very sad panda indeed. To cheer myself up, I went upstairs to hit on Celeste, the observatory operator. As always, she rejected my advances. I guess crushed cockroaches in your shoes isn't a big turn on for owls after all.

Heading back out to enjoy the lovely Spring weather, I decided I couldn't put off the weeding any longer. I then did 5 more minutes, at which point I got bored and switched the damn thing off. Shit…I forgot to save my progress. :( Mr Resetti's not gonna be happy…




The 411 Games Crew

Finishing up my batch of previews from the Play.com LIVE event the other week is my preview of Far Cry 2 for the PC, with updated impressions and the latest thoughts from the development team. If you're an FPS fan, you should definitely check it out.

Joe Roche makes his debut for the 411 Games Zone, resurrecting The Full Circle: 360 News Report.

Chris Evans has the latest on the sequel to Prey and the PC conversion of Mass Effect, amongst a ton of other news in this week's PC-Centric Extravaganza.

Vincent Chiucchi's The Select and Start News Report broke the news of the leaked images and video for the new Sonic Unleashed title, as well as word on a Tom Clancy MMO, Guitar Hero on the DS, and more!

The SIXAXIS News Report features a big story on Resistance 2, as well as more on the new Sonic Unleashed title. This will be the final edition of The SIXAXIS in its current state, as it will be undergoing somewhat of a makeover with a new name and possibly a new format, so go check out 411mania's last ever SIXAXIS News Report, brought to you by Mark Salmela.

Tommy Coloma presents the latest edition of 411 Games: Fact or Fiction, pitting Mark Salmela and Derek Robbins against each other to discuss such topics as Nintendo's big E3 announcement, Sonic's return to form, whether or not Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core will be worth the wait, and more.


Hope you all enjoy Wrestlemania XXIV if you're watching it (I certainly will be!), and I'll see you back here next week! Take care.

Screenshots
All 1 Nintendophile Screenshots