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Updates on Space Agency, Sakura Note

Remember Space Agency, the proposed “space action RPG” from Audio Inc. and Akira Ueda (director of Contact), which featured a pitch trailer that JC and I played a minor role in localizing?

Though we haven’t heard anything about the project picking up a publisher in Japan or the West, the developer hasn’t given up on it. In fact, Ueda recently tweeted that it could work as a 3DS title:

“Today is a hot summer day; it might be because of all the information out of E3. Space Agency is exceptionally well-suited for the 3DS! A vast 3D universe with a lot of depth, docked with the traditional world of pixels.”

That’s a loose translation of his tweet, at least. He goes on to say something about his dreams swelling with the possibility of getting his hands on the new hardware.

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Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove, a “spooktacular rhythm adventure” that looks like a cute, goth-loli take on Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents. I almost ignored this game based on its title when I spotted it in Natsume’s list of E3 highlights, but JC, who has a higher tolerance for this stuff, fortunately pointed out that it’s worthy of our attention.

Quick description for Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove:

“Gabrielle’s having a bad day. She sneezed her soul right out of her body! She’ll have to travel to Monster Town, the home of all things that go bump in the night, to get help.

Only by busting out the ghostliest dance moves and thrilling and chilling people will she be able to scare up the power she needs to get herself back into her body!”

There was a really dumb rumor going around weeks ago that this is a localization for Audio Inc’s Sakura Note. I’ve no idea how anyone could come to that conclusion.

This is actually a new game, previously unreleased in other territories, co-developed by Natsume and Santa Entertainment (Cheer We Go). The Japanese and U.S. editions are expected to ship around the same time.

tags / ouendan / sakura note / gabrielles ghostly groove / santa entertainment / natsume / ec

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Sakura Note wallpaper. Don’t worry if you forgot about this nostalgic adventure title’s release in Japan last week; I’m sure 99.5 percent of Japanese gamers forgot, too! :’o(

Audio Inc. has a second desktop background of the game’s cherry tree and playable dog Reinhold available to download at Sakura Note’s site, but it has game screens strewn about its right side for some reason. Who actually wants tiny screenshots on their wallpaper? You can fix that misstep in a few seconds with Photoshop, at least.

Import: Sakura Note: Imanitsu na Garu Mirai

tags / sakura note / imports / audio inc / wallpaper / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

Sakura Note: playing cats and dogs

After seeing the Sakura Note trailer, I guessed that the nostalgic adventure game would allow you to play as the hero’s puppy (Reinhold) and the female lead’s cat (Traumerei). I’m happy to report I was right!

From what I’ve seen in Game Crash’s playthrough videos, you can replay chapters (well, it looks like you spend most of the time watching the story unfold) from the perspective of the Sakura Note pets, which is really neat because there’s a lot going on that the main hero never sees.

Jump past our high-tech post break to see what I mean!

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

Sakura Note Updates, Tears Explained

If you watched any of the Sakura Note videos I’ve posted, you noticed the adventure game charges you with gathering tears to advance the story. Depending how you react in conversations with NPCs, you can collect less or more tears. And in battles, you’re rewarded with bigger batch of tears if you attack more than you defend.

It’s a simple system, but why tears? Producer Kenichiro Takaki recently explained the concept:

“In a city somewhere in Japan, you have a sakura tree. Usually, after the spring, sakura trees lose all of their flowers. But this particular tree, even after spring, during the summer - it’s still pink with flowers on its branches.

A boy in the city is suddenly approached by a strange old man who tells him that the sakura tree will die unless he helps him. From there, the story takes off with the hero trying to find a way to save the tree. …

What you’re trying to do is make the monsters cry since their teardrops are what you need to save the sakura tree.”

Remember how Audio Inc invited fans to send in nostalgic images that it would then feature on Sakura Note’s site? The developer started putting some of them up, and you can now see four submitted photographs with descriptions (which I ran through Google Translate), like this one:

It’s a shortcut in Yukuhashi, Fukuoka that the author took to get home from school. I’m jealous!

Preorder import: Sakura Note: Imanitsu na Garu Mirai

[Via GoNintendo]

tags / sakura note / audio inc / marvelous / imports / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

20 Minutes of Sakura Note with in-game Japanese text read by Game Crash’s Edo and Fumiichi.

I doubt even those of you who’re interested in this game will want to sit through the entire video, so I’ll provide you with spoiler-filled highlights you can skip to:

4:05 - Nanami and the puppy part ways with the player character, leaving you to admire the beautiful pre-rendered background and find a pink tear (collecting tears advances the story).
5:25 - Explore your swanky home with its salmon pink walls and a zebra skin rug in the living room.
7:30 - A kitten snoozes at your feet as you sleep. My cat Hemingway does this all the time, too!
8:00 - Edo and Fumiichi make barking noises as the puppy returns with a cutscene.
9:10 - The puppy leads you to… Crazy stuff!
11:20 - Run up the stairs for a fight with a giant pig! Our Japanese hosts voice the boss and his minions with hilarious accents.
12:35 - This kitten is nothing to fuck with.
13:30 - The pig boss slips into something more comfortable for the battle.
16:25 - Sakura Note’s somber song plays as your mom slaps you in front of all your friends.
19:10 - End of Chapter 1.

This is actually the second video from Edo and Fumiichi’s playthrough. You can watch the first half, also around 20 minutes in length, below. It’s not as interesting, but it’s nice that you get to name the kitten and puppy along with your character. Also, 15:40 has frames of a sorta interesting anime show playing on your TV.

Sakura Note ships in Japan on November 5th.

Preorder import: Sakura Note: Imanitsu na Garu Mirai

See also: Sakura Note Japanese trailer

[Via Edo and Fumi]

tags / sakura note / audio inc / marvelous / imports / edo and fumiichi / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

Sakura Note Japanese commercial. This is essentially a condensed version of the two-minute trailer I posted before, but if you want something to help arouse your fictional memories of growing up in Japan, and if you can’t be bothered to read through two dozen fan-translated volumes of 20th/21st Century Boys, here you go.

Preorder import: Sakura Note: Imanitsu na Garu Mirai

tags / sakura note / audio inc / imports / marvelous / commercial / ec

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Share nostalgic images with Audio Inc. →

Involving fans in its Sakura Note promotions, developer Audio Inc. wants you to send in wistful photos from your childhood, which the studio’s staff will review and potentially feature on the adventure game’s site.

The promotion is apt considering how heavily Sakura Note seems to rely on nostalgia, though not necessarily our nostalgia. I’m guessing you probably didn’t spend your childhood growing up in Japan, watching the Metal Hero Series and receiving thousand-year candy.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t take part in this campaign! The example image Audio Inc. posted (see above) recalls winter sunsets seen while riding your bike home from school, which isn’t exclusive to Japan.

To enter, send a photo to sakuranote@mmv.jp (under 1MB), with the following info presented in this format before November 5th, when the game releases in Japan:

Image title
Town / location of the photo
Your nickname
Your memory in under 100 characters

Make sure to review the Japanese page for more details!

Oh, and in case you missed it, Audio Inc. recently posted a machine-translated English message indicating an interest in seeing Sakura Note localized eventually:

“This game has taken a lot of Japanese original cultural manners. However, to what wind is this work accepted by fans in the world where the culture is different?

It is interested there very much. We will make localize if there is a possibility as a business.

We will inform you as a news flash by this blog when that time comes. Hereafter, it wishes a happy session to continue between you and us of the fan.”

Yay!

Preorder import: Sakura Note: Imanitsu na Garu Mirai

[Via DAIS]

tags / sakura note / audio inc / nostalgia / imports / marvelous / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

Sakura Note Japanese trailer. As with Contact’s visual style, this “nostalgia-twinged” game from Audio Inc. features what looks like 16-bit sprites dropped over detailed pre-rendered environments. Looks great!

As a conscript of the Contact Defense Force, I love everything Audio’s shown from the game so far — except for the boxart, which I wish looked like the site’s art:

I’m willing to excuse it, though, if the game really does let you play from the dog and cat’s perspective, as hinted around the 01:12 mark. I also like that you get to hop on a train — I love it whenever any game lets you ride some form of mass transit, an irrational fetish that dates back to my affair with Shadowrun for SNES.

Can anyone figure out the combat system, so we can see if Audio learned from Contact’s failings?

[Via Remoon, Famitsu]

tags / sakura note / marvelous / audio inc / import / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

Audio sends a sentimental Sakura Note →

“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.

*JC says this translation might not be 100% accurate

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

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