It’s Ridge Racer 3D loaaadddddinnng times! There’s a discussion in progress at NeoGAF about this gameplay video from a demo build (not final code presumably), in which you’ll see a twelve-second delay in between hitting “Start Race” and the course actually loading.
At least it’s not as terrible as WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 infamous loading times on the PSP! The most recent PSP release from the Namco Bandai series, Ridge Racer 2 in 2006, loads its stages in about the same time, but the 3DS lag is still surprising for a cartridge-based title. Ridge Racer Accelerated for iOS, from what I can tell watching videos posted online, loads levels in a couple seconds.
Also, that announcer on Ridge Racer 3D is awful! “You’re slipstreaming!” You’ll definitely want to turn that off.
Pac-Man Moleskine notebooks. The company partnered with Namco for a variety of Pac-themed notebooks, featuring Pac-Man icons, retro-style graphics, and stickers(!!!) I… couldn’t find the exact set pictured above, as seen on Format. Anyway, these will be out in October, and will cost crazy money.
And that’s where I need your help. I understand spending a bunch of money for limited-edition stuff, but I don’t get the Moleskine thing in general. Why do I want to spend like ten bucks on a pocket notebook, when the point of it is that it’s going to get stuffed into my pockets, and eventually covered with doodles and notes anyway? I feel like I’m missing something fundamental.
“Splatterhouse” by Kamonegi (click for a larger image). This is way cooler than all the art Namco used for its Splatterhouse covers, though critics of video game violence would have loved to use this as ammunition.
Have you ever wished that someone would bring back the classic X-Com turn-based strategy game series and turn it into something that was more like The Conduit? Well, lucky for you, that’s exactly what Bioshock 2 developer 2K Marin announced for PC/Xbox 360 last night!
You can argue that several beloved franchises, like Metroid and Fallout, made the leap to the first-person shooter genre while staying true to their original spirit, but I won’t hear any of it, not after I saw what came from Shadowrun’s PC/Xbox 360 revival. Yes, I am that stubborn, diehard fanboy/forum poster who won’t let this go.
As if this news isn’t terrible enough, it reminded me that homebrew developer Blue_knight never completed his DS port of X-Com: UFO Defense. There is, however, still a way to sort of play X-Com on a Nintendo handheld:
“Wonder Momo-i” by Haruko Momoi. Inspired by Kevin Gifford’s wonderful writeup of the PC Engine version of Wonder Momo, I went looking for Momo-related stuff to post, and found this shrill song, based on the game’s music and performed in a Momo-esque outfit.
Momoi’s presence at many Western anime festivals and the sheer number of Momoi-based AMVs suggests you guys totally know about her already, but the fact that somebody has built a successful career on an imitation of Wonder Momo is news to me! The song itself is pretty annoying, but I can’t help but admire how much effort Momoi puts into it.
Oh, and as for the game (from the Magweasel article):
There’s a real game here, though, and it’s classic Namco — simple mechanics that require robotic hand-eye coordination to master. Wonder Momo, like the better Game & Watch titles, is all about time management. You have to carefully observe how each enemy moves and attacks, figure out how to dispatch them all as efficiently as possible, and keep a cool head as the monster waves accelerate in speed. Your “Wonder” gauge, the bar that governs how long sweet, innocent Momo can become arse-kicking dervish Wonder Momo, becomes both your best friend and bitterest enemy. Learning the exact right moment to transform (too soon and you’ll run out of Wonder and be a sitting duck; too late and you’ll die from massive, overwhelming enemy attack before you have a chance to pull off the transformation) becomes key from the second half on.
Care for a little trip to Japan and its peculiar formats of TV game show entertainment? Gyouretsu no Dekiru Houritsu Soudanjo (which I won’t even try to translate) is one of the most popular variety shows airing on NTV where serious legal themes are blended with popular comedy. Each night, new couples are invited participate and take the center stage, seeking legal help from a team of lawyers that informs them about divorce procedures or even monetary compensations for emotional damages. Hosted by the iconic Shimada Shinsuke (the man in the cover), the show often shifts the attention from the guest’s marital hindrances to a series of goofy games and activities that help alleviating the stress. Comic relief is also provided by the nonstop jokes and insults coming from Shinsuke, the foul-mouthed entertainer. The Japanese seem to laugh endlessly at this sort of exercise - please have a look.
The DS version is presented by Bandai, now part of the larger NBGI group, and features the voice talent from the actual cast of the program. As seen on the screens, the game is based on dialogue/consultation phases, with the big talking heads appearing on screen over a text box; but also on a far more exciting group of mini-games starring the hosts, advisers and regular celebrity guests.
These activities include a wall-drilling game using the head of Hoji Higashino (one of the hosts); a bizarre facial muscle exercise with Takashi Satoshi in which the player has to press screen buttons in timely manner; and a rhythm game where the lawyers dance to the tune of Taiko no Tatsujin’s lovely drums. Gyouretsu no Dekiru Houritsu Soudanjo for the DS will be released on February 25th in Japan, where it will most definitely remain for obvious reasons: even so, its very existence is highly reassuring as it proves that the Japanese game industry remains just as authentic and insane as ever.
The upcoming Keroro RPG: The Knight, Warrior, and Legendary Pirate is set to feature an army of cameos from Namco’s rich history as support characters. Some of the games referenced include Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Xevious, Klonoa, Katamari, and even Taiko no Tatsujin!
This reminds me of that old PS2 action/tactical RPG that only came out in Japan, Namco X Capcom. A shame that neither publisher bothered to bring it out there, though if one knows where to look, they can find a fan-translated version of the game, which I hear is actually quite fantastic (as far as these things go, mind you), though I’ve been too busy to really investigate:
Still, my all-time favorite video game mash-up, at least on an official level (MUGEN doesn’t count in this instance, even though I do enjoy Mega Man vs Sub Zero vs the block from Pong vs. Ronald McDonald as much as the next person) would have to be Fighters Megamix for the Sega Saturn, which brought together every single AM2 personality at the time under the virtual sun! Favorite character? The car from Daytona USA, of course:
Lupin the 3rd: Greatest Battle of Wits trailer (gameplay begins around 00:30). I’m impressed by just how detailed the 2D graphics are in this puzzle action game, and how much fun the base stealth gameplay appears to be. I’m also impressed by just how much sense the by-now standard lady-touching minigame is in this title, with Fujiko constantly teasing and rebuffing the anti-hero.
Too bad Namco would be making a huge financial mistake if it tried to publish a DS game based on a license nobody cared about in America — and too bad a variety of puzzles and minigames are integrated in the gameplay that would require me to read Japanese.
“Pac-Man is a game where you wander aimlessly through a maze of dark, featureless corridors, relentlessly chased by the undead. Your combat abilities against them are minimal, and your ammunition extremely limited — there are only four per map.
Even if you do ‘kill’ your enemies, they are not truly dead, merely slightly inconvenienced. They can never be truly killed, and live for the sole purpose of hunting you until you’re dead.
Do you get what I’m saying? Pac-Man is the first survival horror game.”
KevinCow shares a far-fetched but thought-provoking interpretation of Pac-Man as a survival horror game.
If I recall correctly, Namco Bandai is planning a special title for the yellow guy’s 30th anniversary in 2010, with Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator and former level designer Hirokazu Yasuhara helming the project. Maybe we’ll see Pac-Man navigating ghost-filled mazes with a Resident Evil 4/5-styled over the shoulder view?
Baraduke, stage 46 through the ending. Magweasel has an awesome writeup of this somewhat forgotten Namco arcade game, which was recently released (along with its sequel) on Virtual Console in Japan.
This game introduces KISSY, who is notable for being the mother of Mr. Driller’s Susumu Hori. Magweasel’s Kevin Gifford notes that KISSY and TAKKY were nicknames for the programmer and designer (I totally didn’t know that!)
If you don’t have access to a Japanese Wii or an arcade machine, the other legal way to get at Baraduke is on the PlayStation’s Namco Museum Vol. 5 disc, from back when Namco Museum was good. I never made much progress in this game — both because it’s hard and because I spend way more of my Namco Museum Vol. 5 time playing Metro-Cross. No idea why.
Gifford notes that the aesthetic, the orange suit, and the ending all evoke Metroid, which Nintendo released a year later. I’m not going to accuse Nintendo of anything, but I’m sure some inspiration happened there, which is neat.
Burning Force, an arcade game added to the Japanese Virtual Console. I’d never heard of it before, but it looks totally great, kind of like a 3-D WorldRunner type thing. Yes, I like WorldRunner.
While the game looks boss, the arcade flyer (as seen on The Arcade Flyer Archive, of course) is a bit embarrassing:
