Three minutes with Umihara Kawase DS. This crummy footage is more than 10 months old, but I wanted to bring up the game because this is probably Suzak’s “secret” DS project that Siliconera brought up yesterday (if not this, then Genterprise’s new Wizardry).

Sega had a demo station for Umihara Kawase DS at Tokyo Game Show, and while the title failed to receive any coverage on the U.S. side, I hear it’s bangin’.  At the least, I doubt it’s as disastrous as last year’s PSP release.

This hits stores in Japan soon — next week soon even. Decorate your desktop with Umihara Kawase to remind yourself that you should import this!

Preorder: Umihara Kawase DS

See also: Umihara Kawase DS trailer and details

[Via NicoVideo]

tags / genterprise / suzak / tgs 2009 / tokyo game show / umihara kawase / imports / ec

Trailer for Ni no Kuni, the Studio Ghibli-animated DS game from Level-5. The revered studio’s contributions are the main attraction, so that makes up the bulk of this TGS video, but the brief gameplay clips are also exquisite!

JC had his hands on Ni no Kuni:

“It really feels like you’re inhabiting a Ghibli movie, from the appearance of swarms of cute little spherical characters to the lush forest environments. The frequent animated cutscenes and the persistent voice acting (every line of text in the demo, whether in a cutscene or spoken in a pop-up text window) is fully voiced, which helps the cinematic feel.”

Outside of the animation, the game is a traditional JRPG with Dragon Quest-style turn-based combat, except you can project soldiers (nicknamed “Imagine”) from your soul aid you in battles. Seems like they’re just re-interpreted summons, but it’s still kind of a neat idea.

See also: Future Boy Conan, the inspiration for Lost in Shadow, Bomberman as a Castle in the Sky robot

[Via Ruliweb]

tags / ni no kuni / level-5 / ghibli / anime / tgs 2009 / tokyo game show / imports

Again (previously Again: Eye of Providence) TGS Trailer.

This game has been M.I.A. since it first debuted at last year’s Tokyo Game Show, but it reappeared with a new video! Though it features digitized actors instead of “Take On Me”-style characters, this is probably as close as you’ll get to a Hotel Dusk successor, seeing as it’s developed by the same studio (Cing).

From GameSpot’s hands-on preview:

“Again focuses on a main character named Jonathan Weaver (or J as he apparently likes to be called) whose parents were murdered 19 years ago as a part of several crimes that all happened back to back and had similar characteristics.

Now a detective, J gets assigned to a series of cases that are also similar to the crimes that happened 19 years ago and the key thing about these crime scenes is that the symbol of the Eye of Providence (as seen on the one-dollar bill) can be found at all of them.”

While investigating current crime scenes on one of the DS’s screens, you’ll also see the same area from 19 years ago in the other — finding the differences between the two will trigger flashbacks and help unearth clues. It reminds me a lot of Nanashi no Game Me’s similar dual view mechanic.

This is scheduled to hit in Japan in early 2010, so we likely won’t have to wait another year to hear more!

tags / tgs 2009 / again / tokyo game show / tecmo / cing / ec

Dead Rising’s Frank West added to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars’ roster as a playable fighter.

It’s predictable addition, something that appeals to Westerners and recent Capcom converts, though I hoped the company would dig deeper into its vault for possible new characters. I was secretly wishing the developer would add the Noid, but I guess there are licensing issues. Also, some dude in a red rabbit outfit who makes your pizza turn cold probably won’t resonate with gamers today.

At least the supermove with the Servbot head is neat:

Preorder: Tatsunoko VS Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars ($46.99)

See also: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom intro sequence

[Via Choppasmith]

tags / tatsunoko vs capcom / ec / dead rising / frank west / the noid / tgs 2009 / tokyo game show

Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyo (Okami Chronicles: Tiny Sun) TGS trailer. Not bad! There’s so much color, and it doesn’t look at all like the Phantom Hourglass ripoff I expected it to be, unlike EA Japan’s Tsumuji.

Also, Ghost Trick, the adventure/puzzle game from the Ace Attorney series’ director and producer, was announced for a U.S. release. Not much gameplay in this trailer:

Capcom’s pitch for the game:

“In Ghost Trick, players become Sissel, an amnesiac ghost who must use his ghostly powers to protect the lives of several people while attempting to uncover the secrets behind his own untimely demise.

Sissel can ‘possess’ items within the world, such as flicking a switch to shock an unwary assassin or floating a bike through the air to scare mortals and even rewind time by four minutes to prevent further deaths.”

Buy: Okami Wii ($33.99)

See also: Okamiden statues at Capcom’s TGS booth

[Via Magypsy23]

tags / capcom / ec / okamiden / tgs 2009 / tokyo game show / ghost trick

Tsumuji gameplay video from the Tokyo Game Show.

Yes, Electronic Arts Japan shamelessly ripped off The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, from its art direction to its stylus-only controls, but I like that you can crawl under the floorboards of people’s homes (01:00 mark) and eavesdrop on their conversations. It’s a very ninja thing to do in a game that’s supposed to star a young ninja but doesn’t present him like the black-clad badass stealth assassins we’re used to.

Also, what’s with outlets reporting that this game was just announced last night? We heard about Tsumuji months ago, and some of these sites even covered it back then!

[Via Pennywise83]

tags / tokyo game show / tgs 2009 / tsumuji / electronic arts / imports / ec