Gaming Update: Summer Gaming Coming to a Close

So summer vacation is now finished, but I still haven't made much of a dent on my backlog. If anything the monster grew. ^^;;; Anyways, here is what I'm currently playing:

1.Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (NDS)
I was playing this before, but I put it down for months because I got distracted and I basically forgot what I was doing, so I decided to restart from the very beginning, case one. I have finally made it back to case three, which is where I was when I put the game down. Hopefully, I can finish this game now without any interruptions. Well at least I'm pretty determined to do so >:)

No new impressions, since I've barely started case three, and I've already played the other two before. But I just want to say that it's pretty amazing how much I still recall and how much I've forgotten. Also, what is up with Ace Attorney/ Gyakuten Saiben always having those innocent frail girls turn out to be conniving little b*tchs? hmmm? Well at least case three doesn't seem to have any fake innocent girls, not that I hate these types of villains, because I don't; I think the type is used well in the ace attorney games. It's just that after a few of them, I want a different type of villain to mix things up a bit. =)


2.Knights in the Nightmare (NDS)
I was really excited about playing this game when I heard Atlus was going to publish it in North America, but I was sad to learn that it would be released when I would be out of the country. Thankfully I managed to procure a copy even after it had been released for over a month; the only down side is that I didn't get the beautiful pre-order bonus art book. *sniff* =(

I'm really enjoying this game and it has exceeded my standards. I'm about half way through (I think), but I'm making really slow progress. ^^;;; I'm pretty busy even without school so I play it here and there, and I am currently on Scene 32. Plus, because the battles are so intense, I tend to grip the stylus too hard and it digs into my hand, so I can't play this one for long periods of time. ^^;;; (Yeah I'm pathetic)

Still I'm really happy with this game and I am enjoying it a lot. The combat is so unique, I don't think anyone has ever mixed a shooter with a SRPG, and even though it sounds impossible, it really works well. Sometimes the bullets (especially during boss battles) can be overwhelming, but the resume (or was it replay) button makes things a little easier. The story is pretty good as well, but a little disjointed because it's told in fragments. Art and music are very very beautiful. I think the only aspect of the game that is not done as well is the characters. This is mainly because only the story related characters actually get flushed out, even with the pause talks, the regular characters still don't feel as important or developed as Maria, Capehorn, or Yelma (the latter two are villains). Not that I mind because as long as gameplay is solid, I'm happy; story, art, music, and characters are nice bonuses (which I appreciate a lot as well). I can tell that Knights has had a lot of effort put into the game, since not only is the gameplay solid, but so is the art, story, music, and the characters. Everything is well done, and this game is another gem from Atlus. It's also my first Sting game, so I'll be looking out for more games from this developer from now on.

I just want to point out once more that he art is amazing. I currently have an image of maria as my wallpaper and I've saved a few more images to use in the future. The artist is really talented and I really regret missing out on the bonus art book. The music is also very pretty and each piece fits the mood; there is also a lot of variety, for which I am also thankful. The music on the title menu is very pretty and I could listen to it for hours on end. =3

SPOILER ALERT: The following deals with characters and the story and my thoughts on it so far!!!!

-I like the relationship between Maria and Melissa, I hope we get to see these two interact more (but I doubt we will because the last battle with Melissa made it seem that she was destroyed for good).
-I cannot believe Wilmgard has a lover, it really doesn't fit his character. =/ And it also felt out of place in a story about loss.
-I don't understand why all the characters refer to Nordich as the selfish prince. In the flashback, the prince was worried about his father and kingdom. It seemed like he didn't know what Capehorn was up to, although I will admit he did seem awfully fixated on his own kingship and authority. Still even so I don't think he is selfish, but I guess the other characters wouldn't know this since Capehorn was acting as the mouth piece of the prince.
-The underworld has made its move, yet Asgard, the realm of gods has not, I wonder why. Maybe it has something to do with Melissa?ok that's all for the spoilers and knights in the nightmare. It seems like this is going to be yet another long post. ^^;;

3. Children of Mana (NDS)
I picked it up again after a year, thankfully because there is practically no story, I was able to jump right back in. As a mana game, it disappoints, but it's good for some random pick up and play. I usually play it when I feel like picking something up for a bit; it's mindless hack 'n' slash, so it's good for killing a few minutes. I think I'm pretty close to the end, but with this kind of game, one can never really know.

Also I cannot help but feel that the art direction and music was wasted on this game. The art is so lovely and the music is nice, but the gameplay is generic. This art and music would have benefited from being used in a typical mana game (like sword or secret of mana). In such a generic and mindless hack 'n' slash game, the art and music, although nice, cannot save the game's shortcomings and they would have benefited a better game more. Regardless, I'm still mildly enjoying Children of Mana because it's easy to pick up and play and a good mindless time waster. This one will be coming with me to school a lot, so I'll probably finish it before 2010 rolls around. =)


4. Shinning Force (GEN)
I'm on the last chapter, but I've been playing it sparsely (as usual for me). I still have a bit of level grinding to do. But I finally managed to promote Adam and I got him at level 10 unpromoted two battles ago, which is insane this late in the game. Thankfully Tao learned boast not too long ago so I was able to use boast and get him to level 20 that way. I had to use boast because his attack stat was pathetic since he was unpromoted and without boast he was doing 1 point of damage. This is why I do not understand the logic behind giving the player such a low leveled unit this late in the game, unless it's to piss off, I mean challenge us completionists. I'm currently attempting to get all my characters to level 10 promoted because I want to max them all out and complete this game in one go. Getting them to level 10 now will make it more manageable to max them later (level 20 is the max). All my units are around levels 6-8 right now, so I still have a bit of grinding to do.


6. Super Mario Advance (GBA)
I'm suck on 5-3 T__________________________T
Near the end of the level you have to steal a flying carpet from an enemy and ride it to the other side, but the carpet disappears after some time and I keep dying because the carpet disappears before I make it to the other side. The one time I did make it to the boss, I died before I could finish him because I have one life left. sob sob. This game is somewhat on hold because I'm a little too frustrated to play it. Speaking of frustration....


7.Professor Layton and the Curious Village (NDS)
I am stuck on puzzle 135, the last of the professor's challenges. It's so frustrating because I finally discovered how to solve 134 (which was also giving me grief). That stupid red block, I can't get it out. sob sob. I keep repeating the same moves over and over again. I know I'm missing something, but I can't seem to figure it out. T___________T
This one is currently on hold because it gave me too much grief. :/

Where Has Nintendo of America Gone??

The DS is almost bare of any Nintendo(aka first party) support of late; where oh where has Nintendo of America gone? Sadly I know the answer to that, the Wii. As much as I like the Wii, I wish Nintendo wouldn't play favourites as much as it does. Inevitably this always happens, the console is pampered, while the handheld has to fend for itself. Sure the DS is doing great, and the Wii needs more support, but why has Nintendo of America all but abandoned DS support? Where are all the great Nintendo DS titles from Japan? That is the question! Come on Nintendo of America don't leave us poor handheld owners in the cold yet again.....

1. Where is ASH (Archaic Sealed Heat)?

Yes, ASH sold poorly in Japan and it was never confirmed for North American release. BUT it did show up on the ESRB, so that at least means Nintendo of America had played with the idea of releasing it in the west. So where is the tactical RPG now? nobody knows but Nintendo; maybe it's still on the way, or maybe it was scraped. Either way, there has been no news about it since the sighting of it in May on the ESRB site.

2. Where is Professor Layton 2 & 3?

Another title that has been very hushed; nothing about the second installment has been heard or confirmed, expect for the little statement in the manual of the first Layton game:

"The sequel to this game will give you a password."

The chances for Layton hitting the west are a lot better then ASH, but the silence at Nintendo has been disheartening. There have been a few valid points as to why Nintendo of America is keeping its lips sealed. They include: the localization of a puzzle and word intensive game takes time and Layton isn't ready just yet, and/or the other regions where Layton was recently released will inevitably hear about it if Nintendo of America announces the sequel, so Nintendo is keeping quiet to increase sales. (But I don't quite understand why sales would decrease if the people in those regions heard about the sequel; if anything they would increase, because the sequel continues the tale and although having played the first game isn't required, it will help with understanding character relations and where the story left off). The other less attractive alternatives are, either Nintendo of America is waiting out the economic storm, or they dropped Layton altogether and are not planning on releasing any more games. That or they just like to irritate us fans by not giving us any confirmations =/

Edit: Level 5 confirmed that Layton 2 is currently being localized for the west, so it's definitely coming. I estimate it will be out late 2009 (most likely during the holidays)
Edit 2: It's official release date is August 24th :D

3.Where is Rhythm Heaven (Rhythm Tengoku Gold)?

So I'm not too fond of the rhythm genre and I'm not really regretting the absence of this game, but there are a lot of others who were genuinely excited about its localization. It's even been featured in Nintendo Power's News Section in issue 232 and the issue following it had the game listed in the Game Watch Forecast as TBA. Sure it hasn't had an official O.K., but the majority of the games featured in Nintendo Powers' News and Preview section get localized. So the question remains, where is it? And unlike ASH and Layton, Rhythm Heaven has very little dialogue; the only reason I can see it taking so long, is if Nintendo of America is changing some of the rhythm mini games to be more "western".

EDIT: Rhythm Heaven is confirmed! It's coming out in March I believe. Rejoice rhythm genre fans.
EDIT 2: Actually according to Amazon, it's coming in November. Well at least it's coming right rhythm fans?
EDIT 3: It was released in April along with the DSi

4.Where is Elite Beat Agents 2?

Japan has already three installments of their equivalent of EBA (i believe it's called Ouenden), but NA hasn't heard anything about another EBA game. The first Elite Beat Agents game was published over 2 years ago, so where is the sequel? Really, it shouldn't be taking them more then 3 years to develop another EBA.

5.Where is Soma Bringer?

Unlike ASH, Layton, or Rhythm Heaven, there has been nothing to suggest that Nintendo of America plans on bringing this little gem of an action RPG to NA. At a time when most companies are bringing over all the RPGs they can, I find Nintendo of America's attitude very odd. Maybe they think there is too much competition, but I just hope and pray that Nintendo of America does not become the next Namco-Bandai, which habitually ignores its awesome handheld RPGs (& related genres) as possible titles for localization. The screenshot to the left doesn't do this game justice, to see the beautiful graphics, it's best to watch a gameplay video.

6.Why is Fire Emblem coming to Europe before it hits North America?

So Europe usually gets the shaft with release dates, but this time North Americans are feeling neglected. Sure, maybe Nintendo of America is playing it safe and waiting for the economy to stablize, but I don't understand why they are not releasing this gem in december here as well as in Europe. Especially since Nintendo has nothing planned for the DS in december and the holiday rush. If they already had something to release during Christmas, then I would understand their logic, but releasing it a month or two later when they don't have anything to release for the DS this Christmas is incomprehensible, and I don't think the economy will improve drastically over two months...I think Nintendo of America needs to hire someone else for scheduling release dates.

Alright, so I may be being a little unfair to Nintendo of America, since Nintendo of Japan isn't spitting out that much lately either. But unlike Nintendo of Japan, our Nintendo has a few games that it could release, but just doesn't seem in any hurry to do so. Why oh why is Nintendo being so lazy? I want these first party gems and I want them in english, so I can actually understand what I am playing. All that is left for me is to hope Nintendo doesn't entirely turn its back on us DS owners and does publish these eventually. Come on Nintendo, don't fail me again!

~Joanna