Hoping to match Dragon Quest IX’s success in Japan with the RPG’s upcoming Western release — it’s sold more than 4.1 million copies in Japan — Nintendo of Europe has launched a robust site that introduces both casual gamers and RPG fans to the franchise.

Along with the usual story details and how-to-play information, the site offers lots of screenshots and videos to explain nearly everything you can think of. You can even quickly customize a character’s face (very similar to the character creation process in the game), save your creation as a JPG, and post it to Facebook.

If you’re at all interested in picking up Dragon Quest IX, I strongly suggest checking the site out!

Preorder: Dragon Quest IX (July 11th)

See also: Dragon Quest IX U.S. trailer, launch revealed

[Image via pixiv]

tags / dragon quest / dragon quest ix / europe / square enix / level 5 / official site / ec

Chunsoft and Spike posted their Japanese site for Shiren the Wanderer 4, giving you a dozen screenshots and a better look at the fuzzy artwork posted earlier this week.

The teaser page also highlights the game’s changes. The text is all in Japanese, but NeoGAF poster Duckroll graciously provided translations for these intriguing details, which I’ve pasted in full below:

• Day/Night cycle. Dungeons have day and night cycles now. At night it gets dark and you need tools to light up the environment to see around you. Enemy types will also change depending on whether it is day or night, and even the same monsters might have different behaviors and require different tactics.
• Morphing terrain. The terrain in dungeons can sometimes shift and change on their own as you explore. You gotta keep on your toes because the shifting nature of a dungeon’s terrain could mean what was once a safe spot is suddenly something which you might have to consider carefully next.
• Monster auras. Random versions of normal monsters can have an aura around them now, which makes them stronger than the regular version of that monster. There are different colors of auras which also determine their enhanced abilities, learning the different colors will help you change your approach to these special monsters.

• Doors in dungeons. Within the dungeons in the game, there are now doors which can activate. They can trap or block the movements and attacks of both Shiren as well as monsters. There are various different types of doors which operate differently throughout the game.

Notice that my original interpretation of the dungeon doors was incorrect, as it can apply to any entrance, not just shops. This is going to be a bitch with monster rooms.

Import: Shiren the Wanderer DS 2 ($48.90)

Preorder: Shiren the Wanderer Wii ($39.99)

Buy: Shiren the Wanderer DS ($17.99)

tags / chunsoft / spike / shiren the wanderer / mystery dungeon / official site / imports / ec

“During childhood, every day was a fantasy.”

Though Audio Inc.’s Sakura Note isn’t the sequel to Contact that I was hoping for, the game’s visual style — which you can preview along with a wonderful song at the link above — gives the impression of a spiritual successor.

1UP’s preview of the “nostalgia-twinged” DS game:

“It’s a story-heavy, overhead-view adventure set within two towns and the surrounding countryside. A new girl, Nanami Yoshida, has just moved in to your neighborhood, and apparently she’s being targeted by a local band of ghosts and ghouls.

It seems this has something to do with a pair of sakura (cherry blossom) trees that dominate the landscape of both towns, one slowly withering and another one blooming deep into the summertime, as if to make up for its weaker sibling. You, a normal boy, decide to get to the bottom of both mysteries, talking to people and unlocking new story episodes as you go along.”

Audio Inc. founder Akira Ueda adds that it’s “a game whose whole atmosphere is mellow and moving, that makes you think, with its game design, text, and music.”*

The development team is packed with top talent — Ueda (Contact) as director, Final Fantasy vets Nobuo Uematsu and Hideo Minaba managing the music and graphics, Kazushige Nojima (Kingdom Hearts) handling the script, and Kenichiro Takagi (Half-Minute Hero) as producer.

Sakura Note will release in Japan on November 5th, and will include a soundtrack CD with preorders.

See also: Mochi and those damned vanilla skies

*JC says this translation might not be 100% accurate

tags / contact / akira ueda / sakura note / marvelous interactive / audio inc / ec / official site

Konami launched its Japanese teaser site for upcoming DS dating sim Love Plus, and while there’s little available to keep your attention right now, you have the option to listen to voice mail messages from three possible love interests.

As I understand it, players can contact their virtual girlfriends via phone or email, one of many features designed to immerse loveless gamers seeking some semblance of interaction with a female, however fabricated.

I’m curious about the messaging system — will the girls respond to the tone of your notes? Or will it work like in Animal Crossing, where your neighbors reply with random ramblings? How would they react to a text like this?

Preorder import: Love Plus

See also: Unrequited Love Plus, Gamers try out Love Plus

tags / love plus / konami / import / official site / ec

Developer Nicalis opened up the teaser site for its upcoming Cave Story WiiWare port, and it’s pretty fantastic. In addition to a message from Pixel and the promise of videos, the online hub also has a promising blog, which will hopefully see regular updates.

There is also a set of wallpapers providing a rotating pair of backgrounds for visitors to collect — here are thumbnails of the ones we’ve seen so far!

You can grab most of them in this NeoGAF thread!

tags / cave story / wiiware / pixel / nicalas / official site / ec