Looks like it’s that time again to be on the lookout for another flurry of games. The majority of this month’s coming titles look to add even more to Nintendo’s growing library of awesome:
- Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS / Jan. 21): Arriving well after its fully-featured and well-received predecessor Advance Wars: Dual Strike, this entry purports to offer a real evolution in the series, sporting a darker and more mature tone and more tactical combat, trimming the excessive CO powers and the unnecessary units of the previous game. I’m still debating whether to get this game, as I’ve read that a lot of other features I enjoyed from Dual Strike got cut (like dual-map battles, the unlockables shop, and CO leveling). Regardless, it’s looking to be another excellent strategy title for the DS.
- Endless Ocean (Wii / Jan. 22): I’ve kept my eye on this title for some time, as it seems to have some ambitious goals, hoping to offer a relaxing experience instead of the tense one that a good deal of games currently provide. I’ve seen reviewers compare it to Animal Crossing, and seeing as how I loved Wild World for the DS, I think I’m going to have to dive into this one (pun intended!). Oh, and the $30 price tag certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
- No More Heroes (Wii / Jan. 22): I’ll admit I know very little about this game aside from the fact that it’s weird, it’s hilariously tongue-in-cheek, and it’s got style. But hey, that’s reason enough to go out and get it. Reviews so far seem to be generally positive.
- Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS / Feb. 12): Whereas the Phoenix Wright series originated on the GBA, Apollo Justice will be Capcom’s first true DS Ace Attorney title. If the bonus case from the DS version of the first Phoenix Wright title is any indication, Apollo Justice has got a lot of potential. But first, I’ve got to get my hands on Trials and Tribulations…
- Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS / Feb.12): Speaking of adventure titles, this puzzle-based adventure is coming from Level-5, the makers of Dark Cloud and Rogue Galaxy, which, quite frankly, is all I need to know to get me excited about it! It’s been out in Japan for a while with quite the fanbase here in the US clamoring for a localization. Looks like we’re about to get it!
Nintendo fans, this month is lookin’ pretty good! The Xbox 360 owners, however, aren’t left totally empty-handed:
- Culdcept Saga (Xbox 360 / Feb. 5): That’s pronounced “culled-sept”… I think… Anyway, this quirky title is best (and most often) described as a mashup between Magic: The Gathering and Monopoly. Playing the demo, I can attest to that truth. This is admittedly a title with a niche appeal – but I happen to be in that niche!
- Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360 / Feb. 12): Another Hironobu Sakaguchi RPG for the Xbox 360? Need I say more? Let’s just hope we get something a little more creative than Blue Dragon…
That’s it for this month. Now go drain your wallets!
Don’t forget to demo! Well all the other titles except Lost Odyssey are guaranteed goodness. LO is just another typical, old-school jrpg with no new substance. WAKE UP SAKAGUCHI SAN!
1) Traditional-style JRPG’s (turn-based, menu-centric battles with a levelling system) still comprise a huge bulk of the (good) RPG’s today. There’s nothing wrong with them as long as they can present something fresh or compelling: a good storyline, interesting combat mechanics, or a unique progression/skill system. We’ll have to see what critics say when the game comes out.
2) LO was relatively well-received in Japan (as much as an Xbox game can be); then again, so was Blue Dragon…
3) The 360 just needs more RPG’s. In fact, the release of just about any high-profile RPG on the 360 is probably worthy of mention, as far as I’m concerned.
That’s just it, Sakaguchi hasn’t strayed far from the style he originally help start. I didn’t say it wouldn’t be fun to play but there’s nothing new that drastically sets it apart from the crowd. You can crap out a new Dragon Quest and JP will go bonkers over it. Though I agree the 360 needs more rpgs, I’ll just be renting this title out.
I don’t think very many JRPG’s have strayed from that play style at all. The vast majority of them still use turn-based, menu-based battle systems. Seriously… just pick a random JRPG from a review site, and you probably have a 95% chance that it’s a similar, turn-based, menu-based system. So it’s not that “style” that I would object to. It’s practically a sub-genre of its own. If all you’re looking for in an RPG is a complete revolution, then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed for quite some time.
What Sakaguchi can and might do with the game (optimistically speaking, of course) is make it a good game within that subclass of RPG’s by adding smaller differentiations and refinement without completely overturning the established basis of the already-familiar combat system. This is why the Final Fantasies and Dragon Quests have been so popular (and, quite frankly, good), despite the fact that they rarely leave that RPG mechanics template. So if there are plenty of peripheral activities (as Level-5 does so well in their games) or a great story, then Lost Odyssey could very well be a game worth getting. I don’t want to make any conclusions about it, but to say, “It’s like Final Fantasy” is to say nothing about it because most JRPG’s are “like Final Fantasy.” Those little details can and do make a difference – it’s those subtleties that enrich the genre, and it’s those same small things that have really kept the genre alive, if you think about it. I guess only time will tell whether Sakaguchi did better this time around with Lost Odyssey than with Blue Dragon.