Dsing Update

Finished Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure!!
I finally finished the game, and the ending was touching =) Even with the glitches, I found it was worth playing if you haven't played it already. And I'm also quite proud of myself for finishing something! I've got quite the backlog you see ^^;;

Hopefully I will get to the review soon enough ^^;;

I'm currently working my way through luminous arc 2 & Chrono Trigger. I've already beaten Chrono Trigger, but I love being able to play it again ^^ Luminous Arc 2 is even better than the first game. The only problem I have with it is that "character breaks" (talking with your characters) only happen during story segments and only with a select few characters =(

Hope the rest of you are having as much fun with your DSes as I am! =)

~Joanna

Problems with the DS Port of Rhapsody =(

As promised, I will link up to the two Siliconera blog posts that detail the problems with the DS port of Rhapsody. Click on the picture to your left for the link to the article featuring two problematic glitches in Rhapsody. As I say in the comments, I have only experienced the second, more frustrating glitch, which prevents you from receiving a special item for completing the Egg Brother's Side Quest. The first glitch mentioned in the post is a glitch that makes the screen go black during certain musical segments in the game. Luckily, this glitch is usually fixed by reloading your last saved file; the same cannot be said of the Egg Brother glitch.

Click on the picture to your right to link to the article featuring the missing bonus content from the North American version of Rhapsody, which saw many commentators in outrage. I too was disappointed with the bonus content being cut, but since I didn't play the original game, I was at least pleased to be able to experience it. And last but not least, click on the picture of Kururu below to link to NISA's Rhapsody site and click on their "To The Rhapsody Owners" to see a formal apology about the missing bonus content. Strangely enough, they do not address what caused the abundance of glitches in this port, because doing so, they would have to admit that it wasn't the lack of resources, but also their lack of interest in the title. But then again, anyone reading it can see that they weren't expecting good sales from Rhapsody and basically didn't give two shits about the game, hence the minimal effort, lacking content, and glitches. Now if NISA really wanted to do their fans a service with Rhapsody, they could have allocated the small resources they did, but gave the title more time for at least a decent localization. Rhapsody was rushed so that it could be released along side of Disgaea; a shame really, because the game deserves of its own spotlight and much more effort.
~Joanna

Rhapsody Fan Art

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure is a charming little RPG now available for the Nintendo DS. It is a port of the PSone game bearing the same name. There are a few problems with this port discussed in a Siliconera post, which I will link to in the next post. But if you can accept its flaws, you will find yourself on a cute and funny ride with Cornet, the star of the game, as she tries to save her prince from Marjoly, a rather flamboyant, to say the least, witch. RPGFan has quite a few pieces of fan art for the game, which are positively stunning. Click the picture above to link to their fan art and enjoy it as much as I did. Look below to see a recreation of one of the funniest moments in the game, beware of spoilers! (this happens within the first hour of gameplay!)

~Joanna

Lots of Ranting About Games on the DS: Those Available and Those Up and Coming

Too Much Love for the DS + Impulsive Buys = Bankruptcy

I love my DS and its game library too much!! In fact, just yesterday I purchased yet another game, so now I have three games sitting on my self that I have yet to play *sigh* Which titles? Heroes of Mana, Trauma Centre 1, and Touch Detective 2.5. The most recent being Touch Detective. And what is keeping me from playing them? FFTA2, which I still have yet to finish. It's not so much that I am so obsessed that I play all the time, it's more that I am an impulsive buyer and I can't resist a good deal, or a rare find. Both Heroes of Mana and Touch Detective had a good price; I bought HoM for half it's usual price and new, while I found a used copy of TD for 20 canadian. Trauma Centre on the other hand is pretty hard to track down, so when I saw it used, I immediately had to buy it. Well at least I have a very nice and extensive DS library.....

*edit: I just bought yet another game on sale, Sonic Rush for $2o canadian and it's new. This game is pure sega genesis nostalgia for me, since I grew up with the sega genesis instead of the Super Nintendo. But I did play the Super Nintendo at a friend's house, so I have fond memories of both systems.

FFTA2: Making Progress, One Mission at a Time

Well I'm making some progress in FFTA2, although I know I'm still nowhere near the 400ish quests that the game boasts. I've recently recruited Hurdy into my fold, but yet again, he is impossible to miss, since he joins your party after you complete a story quest. Although you have the choice to recruit him, or not, I suggest that you do, since he comes with the exclusive Bard job that only he can use. I wonder who will be my next special character? On a negative note, the story continues to be nonexistent. All that happens in story missions is mostly irrelevant and just creates more foreshadowing. Luso dreams of a place, and he is sure it is out there somewhere. Adelle meets someone who seems to know that she is a lot stronger and better then your average Hume, but that's about it. In other FFTA2 news, I have finally recruited a Gria and she is awesome ^^ Now if I could recruit just one more.... And if your wondering, I've only completed 120ish missions, I know I'm really slow ^^;;

*update: Now I have 134 completed missions! yuppie for me!

Etrian Odyssey & Etrian Odyssey 2: Heros of Lagaard

The second installment of EO has recently come out, and I've heard good things about it. It features basically the same gameplay with slight tweeks to make the game better, while increasing its difficulty. I hear there are warp points on each floor, cutting down the backtracking a lot (if only they existed in the original *tear drop*), but also that the FOEs are even more deadly this time around and now they don't drop any loot (bummer!). So why haven't I gone to pick it up? Two reasons: first, I'm a little low on cash due to my impulse buys and second, I still have yet to finish the first game. Last I played, I was on the 10th floor and I came back to town and switched my Hunter for a Troubadour; I figured that stat buffs are better then state ailments. And in case you are wondering, my team is comprised of a Protector, a Landschnekt, a Medic, an Alchemist and now a Tourbadour, and yes each of them are female ^^ I think this is the only game where you can make all your teammates girls without being restricted to certain jobs. (Ok, there is also FFX-2, but its more of a spinoff of FFX, then a true FF incarnation).

Final Fantasy IV Coming to the DS in a Few Days

July 22nd is the date, but its probably coming out a little later here in Canada (as usual). I am excited, but I'm torn as to whether I should wait a little for a price drop since I already have too many games or go out and purchase it. I've heard lots of raving about it, but once more I still have to finish FF III. I know, I'm so slow, but I like to savor my games =P. Watching game clips has only increased my hunger for it, as FF IV is a bigger improvement over FF III and not only graphically; it has voiced scenes! and modified gameplay (don't whine FF IV fan boys and girls, its been done to both the japanese and north american versions and it only affects battles!). You can now teach the special abilities of allies that leave you and bosses you fight to members of your party! In other news, I've seen a video at www.gamespot.com where some guys reassures the fan base that the famous "spoony bard" line is still in this version. And that was the most important piece of information that I needed to hear, and now I know that FF IV will be super-duper-fantastic-lick-awesome! =) Just maybe I might cave in and buy it......

NIS Joins the DS Gravy Train

NIS, most well known for publishing the Disgaea franchise has also hopped onto the DS gravy train, and will be releasing two titles in September and another one later in 2008. The two titles slanted for release in September are remakes of PS2 and PS1 games repectively: the first being Disgaea 1, an SRPG and the second, Rhapsody, an RPG. Both games will of course have redesigned graphics, since the DS isn't as strong as the PS2, but the basic gameplay and story will remain intact. The title slanted for a later release is a brand new Action RPG titled "A Witch's Tale". Since my favourite genres all have 'RPG' in them, I am eagerly awaiting more information on these three titles. So far, all three games look and sound yummy, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for them. With both Square Enix and Nis now backing the DS, the system will most definitely be serving up many portions of strategy, RPG and action RPG games! A bright future shines for DS owners, oh yes ^__________^


DS is Honored by Square Once Again! (or Maybe they Just Want More Money..)

The best news of the year is that the DS has the honor of once again bringing to life a classic from the SNES era, and no, its not FF V, but (drum roll, please) .................................................................................CHRONO TRIGGER! that's right Chrono Trigger, the game everyone has been whining about (me included) and hoping that it would get placed onto virtual console or ported to the DS. Well whine no more because gaming sites everywhere have broken the news, Square Enix announced at E3 that CT will be ported to the DS and its coming out sometime at the end of 2008, most likely in time for the holidays. I am definitely picking it up this december. =) Oh, and for clarity's sake, this will be a port of the original, so not a remake like FFIII or FFIV. It will have the original and the enhance PS1 port, so its two version in one cart! yuppie! A portable Chrono Trigger, I've been dreaming of you for a while now.

Archaic Sealed Heat Raises from the Ashes

I apologize for the horrible pun above, I just couldn't resist ^^;; As the title states, this is about Archaic Sealed Heat or ASH for short. A few gaming sites have informed me that the title has recently (May-ish) been rated by the ESRB, getting a rating of E10+. Since the ESRB only rates games which are and will be released in North America, it is a good indicator that the game will be coming over. However, the bad news is that nothing has been officially confirmed, so the fate of ASH is still up in the air. I'm crossing my figures that this SRPG, which looks positively gorgeous, makes it over.

~Joanna