3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3) Preview
Posted by Adam Larck on 02.22.2010
Get new information on the upcoming Atlus game inside.
On Feb. 18, I had a chance to see Atlus' upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive game 3D Dot Game Heroes in action. Throughout the walkthrough, I saw the intro, some new features unique to the North America version, gameplay and more.
However, the first thing I want to talk about is the premise. Atlus kept saying throughout the demo that the game is supposed to be homage to the past, but is supposed to be original as well. You can definitely see the homage, as references to Zelda, Mega Man and more could be seen throughout the area I saw. One of these references actually ended up being a chicken attack very akin to Zelda. Many more references will certainly be seen later in the game.
Another homage that can be seen is in the loading screens. The team has taken famous game covers and replaced them with their own characters and block feel. Titles that got this treatment include Doom, Contra and more. The full game will contain dozens of these, including quite a few exclusive to the NA version.
The demo started off with a walkthrough of making a character. A character can literally be made in minutes, as a character was made that resembled Domo-Kun. You make a sprite for standing, two different walking motions, hurray motion and two attack motions. You can leave these the same, slightly change them or make each of them completely original.
There's also a good variety of colors to choose from as well. Millions of colors aren't available, as it's supposed to have the older feel, but there's still enough to give your character the look you want. Characters can't be sent to other players over the PlayStation Network, but you can upload them to the Hub site that will be available via the USB.
For those of you that don't feel like making your own character, there will be a number of premade characters to choose from as well. A lot of new characters will be added as well from content and Atlus' favorites. Characters seen included an assassin, Santa Claus, a tank, a car and even the main character from Metal Wolf Chaos.
Before you control your character, you'll start off as the Hero of Old as he puts the Hero's Sword in the stone. Being the Hero of Old, you start off fully powered, complete with a sword that takes up a huge amount of the screen that kills in one hit.
After completing this small intro, you become your character and get sent on a quest to find the Hero's Sword and save the seven sages. Each sage is in a dungeon that has a unique feel and numerous puzzles.
You start off with a wooden sword, but can find two dozen swords in total, each with different abilities, strengths and weaknesses. The basic Hero Sword can be rotated around, while the Wind Sword can't be rotated but has a more concise blade. Other swords in the game include a hammer, fish, homerun bat and more. When you don't have full health, your sword can take a huge hit in the size and amount of damage it does.
Over time, your sword can upgrade and become more powerful, and new items can be found as well. Items range from the normal, like a boomerang and bow & arrow, to the unique, such as a medallion that can freeze enemies and one that turns your hero into stone. These new items will allow heroes to do backtracking in the game later on, which can be helpful for getting trophies or beating bosses multiple times.
The menu in the game will allow you to take snapshots of the game, change settings of the game and view the bestiary. You fill the bestiary by literally hitting monsters with the book later on in the game.
After beating the game, a new mode called From Mode will be available that makes the monsters harder and gives the players a chance to find more weapons. Your gold, weapon statistics and blocks you find will carry over to this new mode, but weapons will not. The blocks allow you to trade these in for new swords.
Another mode that becomes available is the Spelunker Mode. This mode will be for the hardcore players, as one hit will kill the hero in this mode.
The game also contains various mini-games. While a fishing mini-game is not available, the ones that were shown off included Block Defense and Blockout. Another one called Dash Circuit will also be in game, which is a racing mini-game.
Block Defense is actually a tower defense game that allows the hero to build towers to take enemies out, as well as attacking them with a sword. However, if you don't feel like attacking, your player can accumulate experience by standing still. This leads to an interesting choice of helping out your towers or leveling up. Bonus stages are also included that were available as DLC in Japan.
Blockout is a copy of what you would expect it to be, Breakout. You can hit the ball with either your shield or even with your sword, an exclusive move for the NA version.
Outside of the gameplay, the game will also allow for an optional HDD install. This feature is only available in NA, and allows for a reduction in load times between screens.
Graphically, the game looked great. Even though it's supposed to be a throwback to the old days of gaming, the blocks that make up the game really gives it depth. Also, the reflection off of the floor and water was top tier when it was shown off.
The sound is also amazing, and many tracks reminded me of other games as well. Even without this flashback of music, the tracks heard were great and will make world travel in the game really enjoyable.
Overall, Atlus says the game will take close to a dozen hours for players to beat, and possibly less for veterans of this type of game. However, with extra modes, mini-games and Easter eggs to find, players will be putting a huge amount of time to find everything in the game.
Priced at only $40, 3D Dot Game Heroes looks to give players a lot of bang for their buck. Both younger games and older games will have lots in this game to find and enjoy. Whether it's your first time playing this old style of action exploring game, or you've been playing it since the 8-bit days, the game will offer something for everyone. While not all the Easter eggs may be understood by younger gamers, all PlayStation 3 owners would be smart to check this game out when it releases on May 11.
