10/02/2013
It is no secret that I’m a huge Fire Emblem fangirl. I’ve enjoyed each entry I’ve played so far (some more than others of course). So I already knew I would be picking this game up (and in fact I still waiting for my copy to arrive). But curious what sort of demo Nintendo gave the newest game and wanting to have a taste before the real deal arrives, I decided to play the demo anyway. Sufficient to say, I cannot wait to get my hands on the game now. (more…)
28/01/2013
I always wanted to try the original Style Savvy for Nintendo DS, but I never got around to it unfortunately. Curious about the franchise, I decided to try the demo for the latest game up on the Nintendo 3DS’ eshop. Unfortunately, I was not able to try the demo that requires you to save it on system data since I didn’t have enough space, but I did try the second demo that could be saved on a memory card, so this mini impression pertains only to this one demo.
The demo I was able to try dealt with the fashion show part of the game. In the demo, I was given a specific look I was supposed to demonstrate and I had to pick the model I felt would best help me, then her make up and hair, and finally I had to pick out the outfit. Being someone who is pretty crazy about customization, I had a lot of fun picking out the outfit. I tried my best and I managed to win the fashion show too, after which the demo ended. It was a short demo, but it gave me a taste of how addictive Style Savvy can be. Sufficient to say, I will definitely be picking up the 3DS game at some point. It’s great to see a “girly” game done with such effort and dedication. The sheer amount of clothing the game boosts along with the very pretty graphics tells me that Nintendo and syn Sophia took their female customers seriously and put a lot of work into this game. And I can totally get behind supporting that!
The fashion show part of the game, which the second demo allows you to try out.
But that’s not to say only girls can enjoy this game. It’s clear based on the marketing that Nintendo is aiming this at women, but the game is so well made that anyone, who likes games with extensive clothing customization, would probably enjoy it. In fact, I’ve seen a few guys online say they enjoyed the game too!
–SW
04/12/2012
I’m sure all of us had, at one point in our lives, purchased a tie-in game only to find that it is less than stellar. Maybe it was Superman 64, or the E.T. game for Atari? Perhaps one not that bad, but disappointing enough to make us think twice the next time. I sure have. Fortunately for Mickey Mouse, most of his excursions into video games have been good. From the original Illusion games on the Genesis-to-Kingdom Hearts-to this demo. Having only a very vague memory of playing Castle of Illusion and enjoying it at a friend’s house, I wasn’t as hyped as some about Power of Illusion, but I was expecting a good game given the pedigree of the developers (they worked on Monster Tale for NDS) and the fact that the game was being tied to both Epic Mickey and the old Illusion games. Sufficient to say, the demo definitely delivered. (more…)
28/10/2012
Recently a new eshop RPG was released called The Denpa Men: They Came By Wave and it has a demo for those curious about the game. The main hook of the game is that you generate these denpa men via “radio waves”. This quirky little feature caught my attention and I decided to try the demo to see whether there was any real substance to the game. And I was pleasantly surprised because on top of the quirky feature, there was a fun turn-based RPG. The demo also surprised me because it was quite long and it lets you transfer over everything you finish in the demo into the main game when you buy it. I think this is really nice and I hope more demos allow this sort of functionality.
This is how the capturing aspect of the game looks.
That said, while the game is quirky and very cute, it is at its core a turn-based RPG and if someone does not like those, they probably won’t see much appeal in this game. It’s very simple, with one Denpa man asking you to help him reach a tower to save his sister. The battle system is also in first person (think Dragon Quest IX with characters only showing up when they attack or cast spells). However, if you do actually like RPGs like me, I do think it is worthwhile to check the demo out. The best feature is definitely the idea of capturing denpa men generated via radio signals. I thought it was a very neat idea and I liked trying to find different kinds. Although, I think by radio signals they mean wireless internet signals because I only got a couple of denpa men when I scanned around the house (as there are only a couple of wireless signals from nearby houses). Either way, I quite enjoyed the demo and since it’s only 10$ on the eshop, I think the price is quite fair for what I did see of the game. It’s definitely going on my “to buy” list. I can’t quite purchase it right now because I’ve got Pokemon Black 2 occupying my gaming time, but once I have less to play, I am definitely going to be picking it up.
–SW
12/09/2012
Strangely enough, North America only recently got a demo of Theatrhythm on the eshop. The actual game has been out for a couple of weeks by now though, so it is an odd move by SquareEnix, especially since Europe and Japan got demos before the game released in their territories. Nevertheless, I guess it’s better late than never. It could very well convince some people who are still unsure if they want a rhythm game. Myself, I was already planning to pick up the game once the price dipped a bit lower. Being someone who has mixed feelings about rhythm games, I wasn’t willing to pay full price for it just yet. (more…)
04/09/2012
One of the few otome games available to English players: Hakuoki for the PSP, published by Aksys.
It’s no mystery that Japanese otome games are one of the most under-represented video game genres in English. Off the top of my head, I only know of 3 localized titles available to English players and all of these are fairly recent too. I’ve noticed there has been some iOS otome games available recently as well, but I worry about the quality of these free applications. Thankfully I discovered this neat little database for otome game fans. It neatly categorizes all otome games based on platform and the best part is that it only has info on English otome games, so I know I will be able to pick up the games listed if I want. The interesting thing about this site is that is includes otome games made by western developers and for this I’m actually quite thankful because there are a few titles that look quite interesting. (more…)
30/07/2012
Anyone who has seen me attempt to play a rhythm game knows I am simply pathetic. I had trouble with Guitar Hero even on the easiest settings and when I tried Elite Beat Agents against some friends (one of them being the owner of the game), I had trouble wining against even my non-gamer friends. Actually I didn’t win at all. I either tied with them or lost. ;__; So sufficient to say, I’ve been rather wary of rhythm based games. It’s not that I hate them, but rather that I’d hate to have a game in my collection I cannot finish just because I lack the technical skills. It would drive me crazy. Just like that last level of Face Raiders did until I finally got through it. (more…)
26/06/2012
I was already planning to pick up Dream, Drop, Distance even before trying the demo, but I was curious about how combat had changed. Having only played Kingdom Hearts 1 so far (but actually owning all the games), I’m not too familiar how the other games play, but Dream Drop Distance is a very quick paced game compared to the original. It’s probably due to the new FlowMotion ability, which zips and zooms you across the battle field. It’s so quick, I didn’t even catch half of what was happening when I enter Flow Motion. Still, there is something oddly addicting in this new system and I couldn’t get enough of it. It is also oddly overpowered (maybe because of the demo?); not that Kingdom Hearts games were ever hard. I definitely enjoyed the combat. :) (more…)
Pixels and Panels [ A Game x Manga Blog] 