Nintendophiles 03.04.09: Wii Titles to Get Excited About
Posted by Theo Fraser on 03.04.2009
The latest edition of Nintendophiles covers the Final Fantasy IV sequel coming to WiiWare, the possibility of a Silent Hill remake on Wii, ExciteTruck developer unveils new racing game, Japan gets a new Classic Controller model, and more Dead Space Extraction info trickles out.
Call yourself a Nintendo fan? You're in the right place. Welcome to this week's edition of Nintendophiles! Bear with me if my words aren't quite so ‘cohesive' as normal this week; the other day I took part in a 24-hour Shakespeare experiment, where myself and a group of drama students were given 24 hours to rehearse a Shakespeare play which was selected at random. "Taming of the Shrew" was chosen, and so I spent the next 24 hours learning massive monologues and the like. Not sleeping for what ended up being 40 hours was an absolute killer, especially as I had to actually...y'know...use my brain and all, which I'm clearly not used to doing! Exhaustion set in as the performance started, so I ended up improvising most of the lines. Fun stuff! So yeah, I just wanted to give a little ‘disclaimer' that my head is not quite with it, but whaddya gonna do, life goes on.
Bringing things into the world of gaming, allow me to proclaim a big WOHOO! It's March, baby, which means we are ever so close to the releases of both MadWorld and the fantastic Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. If you've even been remotely following any Nintendo news for the past six months, you'll know that these are two titles to get VERY excited about. Here in the UK, both games are released on the same day, which sucks as it means I'll be eating a stick of celery for meal times for the next month. Nintendo = the easy way to budget.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years makes its way to the West via WiiWare
Credit: Siliconera, CVG
A few years ago, Final Fantasy X-2 was heralded as the first proper sequel to a Final Fantasy game, marking somewhat of a departure from the usually-standalone nature of previous titles in the series. FF enthusiasts were overjoyed at the chance to dive back into an all-new adventure with a familiar cast. That's all well and good, but Square Enix clearly weren't too fond of the concept, as we didn't see another true FF sequel until the recent FF7: Crisis Core was released on PSP, right? Wrong.
Lucky Japanese mobile phone gamers received a sequel to the ever-popular FFIV, entitled Final Fantasy IV: The After Years back in 2007, retaining the same visuals as the original 1991 game. As exciting a notion as it sounded to FF fans, most wrote it off as a Japan-only title, never to see the light of day in the West. Enter WiiWare...
As a fully-priced DS/Wii title, it wouldn't be viable commercially. However, WiiWare presents the perfect opportunity for the diehards to get their Final Fantasy fix, with a low price compensating for the dated visuals. The ESRB confirmed that the title is on its way to Wii, but one would presume this covers the WiiWare banner as well. The listing breaks down the main features of the game:
This is a 2D role-playing game in which players embark on an adventure involving magical crystals and a mysterious kingdom. Players traverse across a field map or through dungeons and can enter into turn-based battles along the way. Players use a menu screen to select attacks or magic spells against tiny enemies (e.g., leopards, birds, knights, fish monsters, etc.) that blink and disappear when defeated. An item called "Bacchus Wine" is occasionally used to defeat enemies in battle.
In other words, exactly what you'd expect from an old-school FF game. Official screens haven't been released, but artwork has begun to crop up, as shown below. No release window has been mentioned either, but the ESRB usually only put up listings a month or two before the on-sale date, especially in the case of Virtual Console/WiiWare software.
Extracting more Dead Space info
Credit: MTV Multiplayer
Mixed views on Dead Space's first foray onto the Wii have sprung up since it was announced that the title would employ on-rails gameplay; some gamers believe EA are once again pawning off second-rate titles, trading on the name value established on other consoles, whilst others feel it is a sensible move to capitalise on some of the casual market who may not have had the inclination to buy the original on rival consoles.
The Executive Producer of the project, Steve Papoutsis, spoke to MTV Multiplayer this past week, and whilst the interview was brief, it should help to assure gamers that Dead Space Extraction is on target to meet the expectations set by its predecessor on PS3, 360 and PC.
For a start, it's interesting to note that the game is being described as a "Guided First Person Experience." The use of the word ‘guided' is most likely to get away from being pigeon-holed into the ‘on-rails' box, but could also infer that you'll have more direct control than previously thought. Even more intriguing is the choice of ‘experience' as opposed to ‘shooter'. This suggests more of a survival horror stance than your standard FPS, which is interesting considering its an on-rails light gun-esque title, which is usually based around the principle of quick, cheap thrills.
Ideas from the original will crossover into this prequel, such as Telekinesis and Stasis mechanics, which will be at your disposal via the Wii remote. New abilities to take motion control into account have also been promised.
Multiplayer has also been officially confirmed, with a nifty little ‘Instant Co-op' mode, allowing a friend to literally just pick up a Wii remote and join in the action, wherever you may be in single-player. Co-op play will be encouraged with the addition of ‘combination controls'. An example given describes one player attacking an enemy with Dismemberment, whilst the other holds the enemy in place with Stasis, making the process quicker and easier. Could provide a nice little gameplay mechanic there. EA specifically want to make sure the second player feels just as included as the first. No more squabbling over who gets to be Numero Uno.
The debut trailer looked reasonably far along in development, so hopefully it won't be too long before we see some more media, allowing us to get a better idea of exactly what to expect.
ExciteBots gives new reason to cling onto those Wii Wheels
Credit: Nintendo Power, IGN
Upon hearing that a new racing title was being developed for the Wii by those of ExciteTruck fame, my anticipation skyrocketed. ExciteTruck rocked, plain and simple; it was just too damn short. Now they make their return to the console with... ExciteBots: Trick Racing. Yep, that sound just then was the sound of your anticipation dropping off. It's not the coolest of names, but what do I know. The title was announced via a Wii release list update, with a release date set for April 20th. Wah?! Official screens aren't available yet, but the first artwork appeared late yesterday.
Quite a departure from the standard racing of ExciteTruck then. Each vehicle is a ‘bot'; mechanical beasts, such as beetles, ladybugs, turtles and likely many more. Speed is still the name of the game, but there will also be an extra emphasis on pulling off stunts. Aside from that, it'll be controlled in the same manner as ExciteTruck with tilt control, except this time you have the option of locking on the Wii Wheel for added comfort and immersion. Unfortunately, that's about all we know at present, but I expect Monster Games to give a full press release in the very near future. It's a concept definitely geared towards a younger audience; let's hope it has more to offer the adult market as well.
Nintendo unveil Classic Controller PRO (but only in Japan)
Credit: Cubed3
I wasn't particularly aware of any criticisms towards the Wii's Classic Controller, but apparently Nintendo recognise that it could be a touch more comfortable. As such, a new model went into development, and Nintendo have now unveiled the Classic Controller PRO, available this Summer in Japan. Check it out...
Despite the fact that it looks like only minimal changes have been made, there's more than meets the eye to the CC PRO. Comfort grips have been added onto the sides for obvious purposes, but it's also generally larger, in length, width and height. The Z trigger buttons are marginally larger and therefore less fiddly to use, and more in line with the L and R shoulder buttons, giving the appearance of the PS2/3 controller setup.
The only thing missing (although bear in mind this hasn't been officially confirmed) seems to be the fact that the shoulder buttons no longer seem to be analogue. Only the control sticks are listed as analogue, whereas the listing for the standard Classic Controller lists both the control sticks and shoulder buttons as analogue. Have the ‘shoulders' made the transition to digital? Confirmation is likely on its way.
Unfortunately, it's all somewhat of a moot point at present. Nintendo currently "have no plans at this time" to bring the controller to the US. Whether or not that means we'll see it at some point down the line remains to be seen. For now, we'll just have to admire from afar. Kind of like a Nintendo-themed restraining order.
Silent Hill remake coming to Wii?
Credit: VG247
Survival horror fans, take note. The acclaimed Silent Hill series, often regarded as one of the greatest survival horror franchises available, could be making its way to Nintendo's home console, if recent reports are to be believed.
UK-based developer Climax is supposedly heading up the project, which correlates with the listing of an untitled Wii and PSP project for Konami on their official site. Climax developed a successful PSP version two years ago, Silent Hill: Origins, so a PSP iteration alongside the Wii title makes perfect sense. Videogaming24/7 state that the game in question will be a remake of the ground-breaking 1999 original, and will naturally carry some kind of motion-control setup, most likely mapping the flashlight to the IR-pointer.
Both Konami and Climax have declined to comment on the matter, but it's highly conceivable for Silent Hill to make a Wii debut, especially as Silent Hill: Homecoming has been out for a good few months on rival consoles; it's too soon for another 360/PS3 entry, but it's been out long enough that a Wii version wouldn't affect sales, plus there's still a dearth of horror titles on the Wii, making an instalment of arguably THE horror franchise a more than welcome addition.
