Author Archive

Der Langrisser: Finally translated

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 by chris

Lester shows Cherie what’s for.

When you hear “Langrisser”, you probably think of nothing at all unless you pay attention to Japanese-language games. Thanks to a small, talented, and dedicated group of translators, that is about to change. A group led by Derrick Sobodash has completely …

Retrospectives – Suikoden series, part 3

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007 by chris

Suikoden IV

The fourth game in the Suikoden series, putting it kindly, is the “black sheep.” It features more realistic graphics, nicer portraits, good voice acting, and a good translation. It takes place in a vast, thalassic island chain, which you roam on impressive Exploration Era-esque warships complete with rune-based cannon.

The sad part is that nearly …

An even more Smashingly little amount of information to Brawl about: Music

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007 by chris

Recently, the Smash Bros Dojo has opened its doors officially. Though much of the information is not new, updates are guaranteed to be coming every weekday from Masahiro Sakurai himself!

Unlikely to be the last surprise waiting for us inside a box.

Most of the …

Dragon Quest IX no longer has internet multiplayer

Thursday, May 17th, 2007 by chris

In yet another disappointment to fans, it has been announced recently that Dragon Quest IX will not have internet multiplayer as originally advertised. This comes after the clarification of the battle system that revealed it was the age-old Dragon Quest system with few changes.

The beanbag chair …

Retrospectives – Suikoden series, part 2

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007 by chris

Continued from part 1

Suikoden 2
Suikoden 2 takes place a few years after the events of Suikoden 1. It is not only the rarest and most expensive Suikoden (sometimes reaching the $100 mark) but is also usually considered the best of the series. I have to agree – it improves nearly all aspects of the …

Retrospectives – Suikoden series, part 1

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 by chris

Imagine, if you will, a role-playing game (of the Eastern variety) which creates a persistent fantasy world for an entire series. This world is so large that, even in the latest entry, there are still entire countries that have been mentioned, but that players have yet to explore. The plot of each game concerns revolutions …

Dragon Quest IX: The more things change, the more they stay the same

Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 by chris

Back when it was first announced for the DS, Dragon Quest IX looked like it would be completely different from its predecessors. Not only would the game be on a portable system, it looked like it would be multiplayer and in a real-time, if not an action-RPG, system. After Dragon Quest VIII’s revelations …

What is it that makes a good (bad) man turn neutral?

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 by chris

I’ve been playing Ogre Battle 64 recently. I wasn’t a particularly big fan of the original (Ogre Battle SNES/PSX) in some ways, mostly because of the way town liberation works. You pretty much need to have a high alignment unit liberate towns as I recall. Most good alignment units were pretty worthless, …

Looking forward to a good Brawl

Thursday, April 26th, 2007 by chris

Nintendo still hasn’t announced anything solid on Brawl, and the closest thing we have to release date is still “Later this year”. Regardless of the release date being pushed back, however, I’m still eagerly anticipating it.

Super Smash Bros Melee certainly isn’t my favorite game single-player, but in multi-player it is an experience to be …

Square Enix announces FF remakes for PSP

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 by chris

Recently, Square Enix (hereafter referred to as Squeenix) announced and released (in Japan) remade versions of Final Fantasy 1 and 2 for PSP. Unlike their previous remakes of the two games for PSX and GBA, these games would be sold separately at $35 apiece, but with still more features and extras. Although it …