News

RPG fans planning on purchasing an Xbox 360 or just even in the console's development might be slightly disappointed. Neither of former Square producer Hironobu Sakaguchi's Xbox 360 titles will be presented in a playable state at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show in September.

However, he says the games'--Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey--development is progressing smoothly. "The screen is starting to get developed, and we've been able to decide on the orientation of its graphics, and what kind of lighting and effects we want. We're currently in the process of making tons of [additional] graphics," commented Sakaguchi. "Lost Odyssey is progressing about the same. The characters are starting to move in the game screen little by little, and we're figuring out where we want to go with its graphics."

Much more information about the games will be released later in the year. Fans of character designs in Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest VIII (as well Dragonball fanboys) should be pleased to hear that Akira Toriyama is behind the character design for both games. Neither is planned to be a launch title, however. One will ship within a year of the 360's launch, while the other will be released within two years.

Source: GameSpot

Square Enix has announced Radiata Stories, an RPG by Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile developer tri-Ace, will hit American stores on September 6 for the Playstation 2.

Radiata Stories take place in a world in which humans and fairies live together in harmony. The game follows the lives of Jack and Ridley, two who have become knights for different reasons. And to quote a really lame line from RPGamer, "When war breaks out between humans and fairies, Jack and Ridley must become much more than just knights. They must become heroes."

Apparently, the game claims to feature of 175 NPCs. The environment in Radiata Stories is fully interactive (like any good game should be, really). Players can kick objects, structures, animals, and people to discover secrets. Time also has an effect on the game's environment. The game's battles are fought in real time with party formation being important to combat strategy.

Here is a screenshot of the battle system in action.

Source: Source: RPGamer

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I'm finding myself a bit tired of Japanese RPGs as of late. So far this just sounds like the same old stuff. How about some real innovation from over there?

The Lunar Series, which has not had an original title developed for it since Lunar 2: Eternal Blue for the Sega CD back in 1995, is set to have its first completely new title. Lunar: Dragon Song will be released on July 16th in the United States.

Dragon Song is a prequel to the original Silver Star Story. As the title of the topic says, the game will appear on the Nintendo DS. The story takes place in a time in which beastmen are the dominant race. While not the dominant race, humans peacefully coexist with the beastmen, living in the countryside. This peace is disrupted, however, when the goddess Althena powers begin to fail. It is rumoured that a tribe of black-magic wielders have kidnapped her. The story follows the adventures of Jian and his journey to save her.

There are some changes from the previous Lunar games in Dragon Song. Game Arts has switched to an isometric view for dungeons, towns, etc. instead of the old top-down perspective. Some changes have been made in the battle system as well. First, there will be no more random encounters (enemies will appear on screen as in the remakes). A "Battle Card" system has been added as well. Players will be able to equip their characters with cards to gain additional abilities. One way Dragon Song will make use of the DS's two screens is by placing aerial enemies in the upper screen.

Source: RPGamer

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Even though I find myself to be increasingly tired of anime-style games, I would probably check this out if I had a DS as I enjoyed the earlier Lunar games.

While the title of this news post is a joke, its contents is not. One would have to be living in a 1950s fallout shelter to not have heard of the horrific tsunamis that have devastated much of southern Asia after a 9.0 earthquake on December 26th. The death toll is reaching 150,000 and continuing to rise.

There has been a great human response to the disaster and gamers from Ultima Online and EVE Online are trying to do their part to help.

Ever laugh over someone selling a virtual item for selling a virtual item from real money (and even harder at the person who actually bought it)? Many UO players are selling their in-game items in order to raise funds for donations. EVE Online, on the other hand, has set up a section in each player's account where donations may be made.

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If you would like to make a donation, you can do so to the Red Cross through Amazon.com . Every little bit helps.

Japanese gamers who purchased Dragon Quest VII last week were treated with a special bonus DVD by Square Enix. This DVD was packed with trailers for the company's upcoming games. What particularly stands out on this DVD is a mysterious trailer for an even more mysterious previously unannounced gamed. This game is tentatively titled Code Age.

The only solid fact known about the game is that Yusuke Naora, previously of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and X, and The Bouncer fame, will be the game's director. Not even the console(s) that this title will appear on are known. It is listed under "New" for its platform which at least seems to point to the next gen consoles.

As stated already, the trailer is more than a little mysterious. Square Enix call the game a "New Concept Brand." Absolutely nothing is said concerning the gameplay.

Here is a transcript of the trailer's narration (thanks to GamesAreFun):
"Deep, deep into the sea where light cannot reach,

The environment is severe beyond imagination.

One fish evolved its eyes to seek for light.

Another fish evolved its mouth to seek food and to survive.

Mankind escaped from evolution by crawling out of the water and reshaping its environment.

Everyone was dreaming of a bright future,

But that was abandoned by a new world order.

This is a story about people that were once human.

This is a story about people that continued to be human.

Code Age.

[Our] heart was screaming,

Evolve if you want to survive. "

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It will be interesting to see what genre this game falls into, or if it attempts to create its own. If the game is anything like EVO: Search for Eden, then I'm very intrigued. I wish I had some free time to play EVO right now.

As the battle for the handheld market begins to shape up between Sony and Nintendo, the latter's latest entry in the market is selling like hotcakes --- and it has not even been released yet.

Many major video game retailers, including Gamestop, are ceasing from taking further preorders for the Nintendo DS as they have already sold out of their launch day allotment of the device. It is beginning to appear that it may be difficult (just as it has been with recent past hardware releases, the Nintendo 64 and Playstation 2 coming specifically to mind) to get the handheld on its November 21 launch date.

The titles (as of right now) that are expected to be in store by launch date are: Asphalt Urban GT (Ubisoft), Madden NFL 2005 (Electronic Arts), Urbz: Sims in the City (EA), Feel the Magic XY/XX (Sega), and Spider-Man 2 (Activision), and, of course, Super Mario 64 DS.

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Someone want to be my Rich Uncle Pennybags? With its backward compatibility with the GBA, I would love to have one of these things. I can neither afford nor justify spending 150 dollars on one at the moment, however.