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A Stunning Attention To Detail

In this crazy world of ours there are fan-based video game translation projects and then there are fan-based video game translation projects.  The team working to convert Mother 3 from Japanese into English continues to impress me as they try to replicate the Nintendo experience.  How dedicated are they?  Well, for one, they've taken the time to translate the annoying WARNING - HEALTH AND SAFETY message found at the start of most Game Boy Advance games.

In addition to inserting an intro screen of our own, we also changed the health warning screen into English. This was a pretty straight-forward hack, and didn’t require any actual assembly code hacking, aside from the fact that we moved the blinking “Press a button” text up a few notches.

It truly is the little things that count.  Keep up the good work, team! 

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Officially Revealed

The summer season is coming up in North America, but it's already time to look ahead into the later part of the year.  We're going to be due our annual Castlevania experience, and this year the series is landing on the Nintendo DS again in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.  Kotaku has some early information about the storyline.

The story takes place years after the Belmont family has completely disappeared, but Dracula is still going strong. Many organizations have cropped up to try and defeat the vampire but the only ones who seem up to the task are the mysterious Order of Ecclesia. The art style for the characters has changed from the traditional anime style to a much more pleasing (to me anyway) illustrative style that really shows of the beauty of the female protagonist in particular.

The combat has changed as well, this time relying on a "glyph" system. Essentially, magical glyphs can be absorbed that provide [heroine] Shenoa with magical weapon abilities. These abilities can be assigned and used from three different areas: left hand, right hand or back. These glyphs can be used at will, but beware because they will sap your magic points! Equipping the same glyph to both hands will provide you with a quicker attack, but will drain your magic faster.

So, if the Belmonts are gone, just where does this game fall in the Castlevania timeline?  And how does the new protagonist, Shenoa, fit into the legacy?  Some sources will tell you that Shenoa is the first woman to topline a Castlevania game, but don't let them banish poor Sonia Belmont into obscurity.  And what are these glyph things all about?  Somehow I've wound up with more questions about the new game than I had before I knew it officially existed.

Amazon.com Offers Cheap Game Music

You should know by now that I love a solid video game soundtrack, so you can bet how enthused I was to discover that Amazon.com sells game music tracks as single un-DRMed MP3 files and complete albums.  I've poked through the catalog and put together this list of some of the more interesting songs I found.  It's loaded with quality Castlevania picks, but scroll down to find some rock interpretations of Nintendo Entertainment System classics, some Legend of Zelda guitar stylings, and even that cringe-worthy Street Fighter II rap album that I dissected a few years ago.  Browse the catalog for yourself and let me know if you find anything else worth a listen.  Note that there should be a fancy Flash widget displayed here where an image would normally appear.  If you don't see it, you can always hit the Amazon catalog directly.

Mass Effect En Français

Have you ever mucked around with a game's settings and accidentally switched the language to something you cannot decipher?  If so, then imagine the pain felt by one would-be player of Mass Effect for the Microsoft Xbox 360.  For whatever reason, Microsoft keeps sending out the French version of the game as a replacement copy to one luckless English-speaking couple.  The Consumerist has the story.

My boyfriend bought Mass Effect for his Xbox 360, but within a month it was clear there was something wrong with the disc (frequent disc read errors occurred).  Microsoft readily agreed to replace it, but every replacement they have sent has been in French.  I’m writing to you 5 months and 4 French discs later!

Don't worry.  I know exactly how to get this problem corrected.  What this person needs to do is Il ne s'agit là que peu de texte en ligne traduit de l'anglais vers le français. J'allais pour la blague ici. Désolé. J'aimerais avoir quelque chose d'utile à dire vous. Peut-être que la prochaine fois! 

Validation From The Machine

Today's XKCD comic reminds us that the most devastating weapon the Mario Kart world is not the blue shell, but the "be a rebel" speech.  I think that everyone has tried this trick at some point, or has at least been a victim of it.  I'm reminded of the day before I graduated high school when my friends and I gathered for one last day of Mario Kart 64 before we all went our separate ways.  Speeding around the Royal Raceway, we decided to skip the race and try to score the massive shortcut that involves taking a superspeed leap to the left from the big ramp that defines the course.  With a lot of luck it's possible to land on the shore of the lake right by the finish line.  Failure involves crashing into the water where Lakitu will come and return you to the start of the ramp to try again.  We tried to stick the landing for nearly an hour before one of us finally decided to abandon the plan and just win the race (much to the annoyance of the others).  I don't remember who broke the pact.  It may have been me, but I like to think I was more honorable than that at that age. 

Don't Put The Screws To Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts Just Yet

Microsoft and Rare have finally removed the protective cover from the new Banjo-Kazooie adventure, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, which finds the beloved Bear and Bird from the Nintendo 64 days back in a new adventure that, at first glance, has a much different dynamic than the previous games in the series.  Kombo has the details and the debut trailer.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts will feature several unique features aside from traditional platforming elements. Players will have the ability to create vehicles with parts they discover around the games many levels. Some of the vehicles created within the game will include a helicopter, a 4 wheeled kart, and a hovercraft. Each vehicle is made up of unique combinations that will really show off some of the new gameplay elements Rare has incorporated into this title. There will be a total of 1,600 parts to be found, including weapons that can be attached to vehicles. This may sound a bit heavy on the vehicle side of things, but rest assured that there is a heavy emphasis on platforming.

At first I was concerned about swapping out the conventional run 'n jump mechanic for a heavy emphasis on vehicles, but I'm starting to come around to the idea.  Banjo's last 3D platforming adventure was released eight years ago.  Aside from a pair of scaled-down appearances on the Game Boy Advance, he's been away from the ongoing development of the platformer genre.  Like the recently revealed Kid Icarus, the Banjo franchise needs an evolutionary boost if it plans to play in the modern gaming environment.  I'm keeping an open mind about Nuts and Bolts, and hopefully you will do the same.

Mini-Review: Battle of the Bands

Rhythm/music games are all the rage today thanks to the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but you don't necessarily need an instrument controller to enjoy a music game.  THQ's Battle of the Bands for Nintendo Wii combines elements from Hero and Dance Dance Revolution and wraps them up in a unique gimmick that will give players a different perspective on familiar songs.  Ever heard Cypress Hill's "Insane in the Brain" performed by a college marching band?  How about "Brick House" from The Commodores interpreted with a country vibe?  What about Def Leppard with a hip-hop beat?  The result is (and this is meant as a compliment) a musical train wreck; you really should just pass on by, and yet you cannot look away.

Continue reading "Mini-Review: Battle of the Bands"

Wii Fit Ancillary Market Poised To Strike

Nintendo isn't the only company planning to bring in massive amounts of revenue when Wii Fit launches in North America later this month.  The famous Wii Balance Board already have a whole collection of accessories just waiting to be purchased by Fit fanatics.  Searching Amazon.com for "Wii Fit" as of this writing not only turns up the game, but also the following accessories:

• Five different kinds of rechargeable battery packs (approaching $20 each)
• Two different travel bags (nearly $20 each)
• Four different models of mats and anti-skid pads in a variety of colors (about $25 each)
• Four varieties of cover sleeves (most $15 each)

One or two of those are actual Nintendo-branded accessories, but the rest are all third party add-ons that seemingly offer little benefit for too much money.  I'm reminded of the starter kit packages for portable game systems that offer an armload of useless junk like extra screen cleaners and unnecessary wrist straps for $20.  The casual gamer has yet to learn to avoid these kinds of things and save that expendable income for better values.  No wonder so many companies are doing so much to court that market.  If that nice man at the game store tells your mother that she needs a travel bag and a cover sleeve to play Wii Fit, then who is she to argue?

Weekly Poll: Gamer In A Strange Land

Nobody bought game-related non-gaming merchandise recently?  So much for the theory of the expanded market and licensing cash-in bonanzas.  My last purchases were a used Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and a new Sega Genesis Collection (I've had the Sony PlayStation 2 version for a while and finally jumped for the PlayStation Portable version now).  I just love cashing in gift cards.

Speaking of buying games and thinking of how some games never see the light of day in certain territories, I thought it was worth asking about how many of you out there own a game from a different region.  Have you imported a rare RPG?  Did you stumble upon something from overseas at a yard sale?  Let's hear your thoughts.

Mallow Denied

The next time we North American gamers tear into a beloved 16-bit RPG or a game that revolves around talking to an electric mouse, let us take a moment to remember our less fortunate European cousins, for they have missed out on a lot of great games over the years.  It's true; some of the most popular (and, in all fairness, a few of the most reviled) games have yet to make an official appearance in the European region (and some of that goes for Australia, New Zealand, and other such areas too).  They have never played Chrono Trigger!  They are deficient in Earthbound!  They've never known the joys of Mega Man Soccer! 

The United Kingdom is the third largest market for video games in the world; us Brits guzzle down games like they’re tea and crumpets. Yet, being stuck with the rest of Europe means smaller games and less important projects rarely make it across the Atlantic – games have to be translated into no less than 50 billion languages before they’ll see light of day in this continent.

So, until British Gaming Blog can convince every agitated gamer to stand around the perimeter of England and pick up the country, move it next to Florida and call ourselves the 51st state, we’re bound to miss out.

This article is all about games that made their mark on American soil, but were obviously too good for us lowly Euros. The state of the industry is much better nowadays (Rock Band’s price and everything Nintendo of Europe does ever not included), but once upon a time, we never saw these ten important releases…

I had no idea things were so undeveloped over there.  You guys have indoor plumbing and stuff, right?   But seriously, sometimes Europe lucks out and gets some quality titles that we miss in North America.  While we've been playing Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy III, they've been playing stuff like Doshin the Giant and... um... Doshin the Giant, I guess.  Don't worry though, my European friends.  Super Mario RPG wasn't that great anyway*.

* Not a guarantee