Ultimate Ninja Storm - This is gameplay...

Naruto has had some good games in the past, and the Gamecube fighting games in particular were a favorite of mine. They were fairly deep games but they had terrible animations.

The Ultimate Ninja series, a PS2 series with Smash Brothers style gameplay, has always done an amazing job capturing the character and battle animations of the series. But this time it's crazy. The characters look and move exactly like they do in the series. This game seems to get it right. Here is some footage from the game:






I just hope it has the Japanese voices.


Brad

This Is For You Guys

David
Credits: Jessica

Why You Should Care - Final Fantasy 4 DS

Final Fantasy 3 for the Nintendo DS was not a good game. It was an NES era rpg, and despite having a nice new graphics engine, it still very much played like one. The story and characters could hardly be even called as such, the combat was shallow and a bit random at times, and the world was stale and not fun to explore. One of the few redeeming qualities was the music and possibly the CG intro.

Final Fantasy 4 was the first entry into the series on the Super NES. The game had a good story, good characters, and great combat. It was the first time characters in the series had real personalities. They became memorable. The story was full of twists, turns, and unlikely alliances and betrayals. Heroes died and villains lived, but in the end I knew I would prevail. And as a kid I was blown away. This was the first RPG I had ever played and is what I blame my geeky love for the genre on. This was for me, the real start of the Final Fantasy series.


But the largest improvement this game had on the series was its battle system. This was the first Final Fantasy game that used the Active Time Battle(ATB) system, which has since become a staple for the series. In Final Fantasy 3 the battles were pure turn based and character actions would often come out in a seemingly random order. Now in FF4, your characters will act based purely on their speed stat. The bar would fill up and then they could act. What made this intense is that the enemy never stopped attacking. It had its own ATB meter (unseen by the player), and it would not stop its actions to wait for your. So you had to be quick in order to overcome your foes.

So besides the core game, which still holds up really well, there are quite a few reasons why you would want to pick up this version. The first being of course the huge graphical improvements. The old game did not have the graphical polish of FF6. It was quite ugly. Final Fantasy 4 on the DS runs in the same beautiful engine that the last DS iteration used. Whether or not you like this new art style, it's still interesting to see the old characters in a new light. The presentation has also been dialed way up. Fully voiced major cut-scenes with cinematic camera work really help had a new layer of personality to the story and characters. Check out this video to see a scene-by-scene comparison of the two games next to each other:



But perhaps what excites me the most about the game is its difficulty. The SNES version we got here in the States back in the day was toned way down versus the Japanese release. Final Fantasy 3 on the DS retains the difficulty of the Japanese original, which may come as a shock to some players. This is not an easy game. But this excited me as Final Fantasy has been a piss easy series for the longest time now. I'm ready for the challenge and have been playing Etrian Odyssey 2 in preparation.

The game comes out July 22. Don't skip this one.


Brad

Rock Band Japan Part IV

Continuing with my Rock Band Japan Wishlist, this time we have Female Ska Group, ORESKABAND. I first found out about them after I missed them at South By South West in Austin 2007. If anyone's heard of them, it's probably from the ending theme to the anime Bleach that they did called Pinocchio. The six of them are currently touring as part of the Vans Warped Tour. For the song I chose

ORESKABAND - Tsumasaki


Although it seems a little strange to put a SKA band on Rock Band, the song's upbeat SKA nature made me want to play it. The guitar, bass, and drum lines are all complicated enough to be fun for each part to play and also the sync-ness of the three are a big factor to why I choose this song. One of the things about being is a band it to play together and not just play your own individual parts.

This is one of my favorite bands and they're relatively new so I'm hoping for more stuff from them in the future. If you like SKA or just want to listen to some more here's a link to another of their songs.
ORESKABAND - Hana no Suka Dance

Also if you're interested in revisiting past entries, here's the Part III - Kishidan. That'll take you back and link to the previous ones as well.

Thanks,
David

Turn this IP into a video game. And keep the song.

So in 1993 this cartoon was way ahead of its time. This hip-hop infused robot series sported segments in every show in which Ziv Zulander (ZZ for short), instructed the viewers to put on their 3d glasses for the 3d portion on the show. Though I never had my own pair of Z glasses, I did enjoy the show. Whether it was the hilarious antics of the "Street Boyzz" members, Jammerzz and Toolzz(with their roller-blade feet), or the badassery of my favorites of "The Sports Boyzz", Batzz and All Ball, I felt like I was watching something special.

Now I think Ubisoft would be the perfect choice to make this game. I know they are very much tied up in their "Petz" series, but from what I hear, "Hamsterz" and "Dolphinz" for the Nintendo DS, didn't do as well as they would have liked. Perhaps adding another "z" will help bring in a, much cooler, male audience.

The story was also way ahead of its time. LLP was some corrupt CEO trying to become president of the world, and ZZ was a freedom fighter trying to stop him with his robot army, "The Boyzz". And don't forget President Bando, President of Africa and one of the few people who knew that ZZ was not actually a terrorist (as he was often portrayed as so by the media).

Anywayzz... make it happen.


Brad

The reason the PSP will keep doing well ....in Japan

The Monster Hunter series is just a PSO(Phantasy Star Online) knockoff, and still manages to be one of the most popular franchises in Japan. So I imagine the "real deal" will also be huge when it also hits the PSP.




Please bring this here. Please have online play.


Brad

This Weeks Shows

The new shows have been posted in the Podcast sections.

#069 - The 70 Minus One Show [Live Recording]

#015 - Four Random Fives [Live Recording]

Thanks Guys,
David

New 3d Castlevania fighting game for Wii? Initial impressions!

Brad

Cover Art Comparison - East vs West

Much like Niko Bellic, this country has driven the lovable Kirby into weary disillusionment and led him down a path a anger.... and murder.

I'm about to show you the covers for five games. I believe they are the five most recent Kirby games released in this country and Japan. On top is the Japanese cover and underneath is the American one. You tell me if you can see a difference.


Kirby, the delightful adventurer?

Or Kirby ....steals from the poor?



Kirby, the adorable puff ball?

Or Kirby ....a ball of murder?



Kirby ...enjoys a happy ride on his flying star?


Or Kirby ...hits a kid and keeps on driving?



Kirby ...calls his friends to out and come play?

Or Kirby ...hates that his bitch of a girlfriend keeps calling?



Kirby ...secure with his manhood?

Or Kirby ...a serial rapist?



YOU BE THE JUDGE


Brad


PS I have figured out a way Nintendo can bring over Stafy, another lovable first party character, to America!

007: Quantum of Solace Trailer Hits Net

Sorry guys, this one isn't really video game related... unless you count the fact that EA is busy developing a game to coincide with this movie which happens to be one of 2008's 3 heavy hitter movies (Dark Knight, Harry Potter, and QoS). Anyways, its my birthday and i'm happy that I get a new trailer for Quantum of Solace, the 22nd bond movie. Enjoy!



-Nick