Seize the Day

Square Enix, in collaboration with Domerica and Shin-Ei Animation, has released a third trailer for the upcoming anime adaptation of JRPG The World Ends with You. The new? video features the debut of the anime's ending theme "Carpe Die?m," as performed by Japanese musician ASCA.

The new anime is a straight re-telling of the narrative from the kinetic 2007 Nintendo DS release. The World Ends with You the animation will follow the story of unruly teen Neku Sakuraba, who wakes within a ghostly side-reality known as The Underground (UG). Palling up with several equally confused teens also los?t within this split-dimension, Neku and his new companions must learn of their respective fates and face the challenges that await them within the strange, otherworldly contest known as "Reapers' Game".

The World Ends with You the animation will premiere in Japan on April 9. For those who can't wait, March 14 will see Square Enix host a special pay-per-view "UG Shibuya FES" live stream, which will include an advance screen of the first episode, (complete with English subtitles), interviews with cast and crew members, and the opportunity to win exclusive prizes. For full details on this event, check out the Subarashki Anime website.

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Check out its raptastic opening right here

Square Enix has announced that the anime adaptation of hip JRPG The World Ends with You will premiere in Japan on April 8. The publisher released a new music video, which features a rap remix of the show's original opening them??e "Teenage City Riot" as performed by ALI and guest vocalist R-Shitei.

The hype-looking series is a joint production of Domerica and Shin-Ei Animation and is a strai??ght retelling of the narrative from the stylish 2007 DS/Switch release. The plot details the twisted tale of protagonist Neku Sakuraba, who awakens on an unnerving alternate plane known as The Underground (UG). Journeying through this split reality, Nebu will encounter a host of friends and enemies as he attempts to make sense of his situation and uncover the truth behind the events that lead to his incarceration.

While The World Ends with You: The Animation is set to officially make its debut on April 9, a "Pre-Broadcast Special Program" is set to air a week prior on April 2. No doubt this preview will o??ffer a sneak-peek at the stylistic series, stoking the hype fires one final time before its o??fficial release.

The World Ends with? You: The Animation begins airing April 9 [Gematsu]

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Check out this bangin' new trailer

Square Enix has officially announced that the anime adaptation of trendy JRPG The World ends With You will premiere in April 2021. The anime ??series - a direct retelling of the 2007 video game - is a joint production of Domerica and Shin-Ei Animation.

Square has also released an exciting new trailer, spotlighting TWEWY's cast ??of eclectic characters, along with the dimension-hopping action that will featu?re in this adaptation of the beloved Nintendo DS/Switch adventure. The video is set to the anime's dynamic title track "Teenage City Riot," as performed by Japanese artists ALI. Also released was a new promotional image, emblazoned with the edgy overseers known as "Reapers."

It should be noted, however, that this trailer/date was not the prize at the end of the mysterious countdown clock over on the official Square Enix website, with fans eagerly anticipating its ultimate revelat??ion.

Th??e World Ends with You the Animation?? begins airing in April 2021 [Gematsu]

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Promoted from our Community Blogs

_{[The media we consume can often affect us in subtle ways, but every once in a while, something will come along that leaves a substantial and lasting impact. Pretty much everyone has a song, album, movie, or TV show that really resonated with them for one reason or another. For Nior, that was a video game called The World Ends With You. – Kevin]}

Adolescence is the strangest thing. It's that confusing period between childhood and adulthood where you're expected to act more like the latter but can't enjoy any of its perks. At the same time, you can't fall back on th??e antics of the former either. For many, it's a confusing period where it’s al?l too easy to get lost in between finding out who you want to be, versus what you are expected to become.

YOU HAVE 7 DAYS...

It's a tough act to balance, one that you’re guaranteed to fail at least once, and the way you respond to that failure speaks volumes about your character. Some are not discouraged, while others choose to rebel altogether. It’s a lot to ask of a 15-year-old. I should know since, ten years ago, I was that kid ?trying to cross that metaphorical tightrope and failing miserably.

My response was a lot ?of anger, the source of which I can’t pinpoint to this day. It’s something I paid dearly for -- losing friends, pushing away family, and just overall being a human piece of shit. I’m not proud of that time, and it??’s not like I didn’t know I had a problem. I was simply stuck in a vitriolic cycle of trying to improve, failing, and then justifying my own actions as "correct."

When you're in that deep of a hole, you need help to unstuck yourself, and as someone that has been playing games for as long as he can remember, it probably won’t surprise you to know that it was there that I found the help I needed: the attitude-filled streets of Shibuya, in The World Ends With You.

Joshua, Shiki, Neku, Rhyme, and Beat

The World Ends With You is a JRPG, but you'd be forgiven for not picking up on that fact. It plays, looks, and sounds nothing like what you'd expect from the genre. It has a sense of style all its own, and I know that sort of praise is somewhat used liberally when we talk about games, but I swear it’s true this time. 13 years after its original release on the Nintendo DS, I struggle to think of something that might even come close. The game looks like a manga in motion: the expressive and sleek character designs immediately draw you in, the graffiti-inspired design of the enemies sets them apart from its peers, and a stylized portrait of Shibuya -- that I’m told is pretty close to the real thing -- makes the city feel alive and bursting with people of all walks of life.

For a young Nior, this presentation was 100% the thing that drew me to the game, and I can’t imagine that it was an accident. The game ha??s a target, and that target is you. More specifically, the teenager version of you, the one that was lost and doing some dumb shit, and unless you really hate the aesthetic, I’d say it absolutely succeeds at what it’s trying to do.

Beneath all the hip-hop, graffiti, and zippers (those freaking Nomura designs, man...) lie the tropes and beats of a story that only a Squeenix RPG could tell: Neku Sakuraba is an angsty teenager with a seriously bad attitude. He wants nothing to do with other people and sees no value in interacting with them. Unfortunately for him, he wakes?? up at Shibuya crossing, with no memory of how he got? there, and finds himself in a game of life or death, where he's forced to depend on someone else to survive. It’s a simple premise that’s not unique by any means, but despite that, TWEWY ends up being one of the mos??t down to earth games Squeenix ever made.

Sure, you have a teenage protagonist that eventually comes f?ace to face with a somewhat godlike entity, and he only wins because of the power of friendship, but the way it presents its themes make for one of the most relatable stories in RPG history. The main thing this game wants to get across is that you should get out of your own world and connect with other people. It’s the thematic pillar that permeates every aspect of its existence, and it delivers that theme with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. More than once will characters either monologue or straight-up spell out?? the themes of the game, leaving very little to interpretation. But, that isn't a bad thing. It speaks to the clarity of the game’s vision. If this really is targeted at teenagers, hammering the point home is the only way to make sure the message gets across to their thick heads.

It’s not a coincidence then that Neku isn’t a likable character at all at the start of the game. Scratch that, he’s downright awful -- a real piece of shit. His philosophy is something I loathe, mainly because 10 years ago ?my own outlook on life wasn't too dissimilar. He was a reflection of everything wrong with my 15-year-old self: aggressive, rude, and self-centered to a fault. I know you’re meant to hate his ass, and his journey to becoming a better person is pretty much the entire point of the game, but back then, it just hit too close for comfort.

Actually, it’s not just him. Every main character (except for Rhyme. She’s pure and perfect and would never hurt a soul) seems to have at least one flaw that explores a different facet of the game’s theme: Shiki envies her best friend and that envy makes her depreciate her own identity, B?eat has not yet found a goal or dream to call his own and feels pressure from the others (ma??inly his parents) to "get his life together," and Joshua is a prick who shares Neku’s nihilism but still interacts with people so long as they can be useful to him in some way. I won’t spoil the specifics, but suffice to say that, in all of these cases, the game has one answer: express yourself and open up to others. Which leads me neatly into my next topic...

Art, the way one expresses themselves, and the connections we form through that expression are a very important part of this game. We see it as a mechanic in the brand system, w??here the popularity of said brands affects your combat pins. There are very few restrictions on how you build your deck of attacks, encouraging you to play it your way. Even the way your most powerful attack requires Neku and his partner to be in sync, something that as anyone who has played the DS version will attest is not easy, necessitates you to divide your attention between the two screens.

In the plot, most of the characters you meet are artists in some way or another, and their expressions vary from a simple bowl of ramen to actual in-universe music. Mus??ic is an extremely imp?ortant part of TWEWY too. The main character is named Neku (the Japanese word for sound), he wears big headphones constantly, your enemies are called Noise, the guy in charge is called the Composer, and so on. The h?eadphones in particular are where I think the message of the game shows the most. The surface-level reading is obvious: the phones block external noise and leave you with just what to hear.

It’s a symbol of isolation. However, there's one curious thing you might notice when playing: each week has its own set of songs, with only a few being shared between the three. The entire OST is very eclectic, not limiting itself to a single style or genre, with lyrics that are almost always reflective of either the person Neku is partnered (or fighting) with, or they relate to ?the plot in some way. Mechanically, it just gives the game a great sense of variety, but the implication is that no matter what you do, other people will influence you somehow. Their ideas and creeds will make their way into your own world, but it’s ultimately up to you to decide how to act upon them.

So, it's very poetic that the final boss theme is a remix of Twister, the opening theme and usually considered Neku's theme. While the original version of the song is very good, compared to this one, it feels incomplete, and I don't say that just because it lasts for less than two minutes and ends abruptly. This remix goes all out, incorporating samples and styles from the entire ?soundtrack. It's grand, richer, chaotic, and all over the place, but it all comes together to make a beautiful melody. Much like Neku's world after meeting with so many different people. Although, what really sells that idea is the break at the point where the original song ends.

The power is yet unknown...

When the song reaches that point, the singer addresses a virtual audience, as if it's a live concert. Let me tell you something about live performances. When you're upstage with your bandmates, you riff off each other. Maybe someone is off tempo, so you tip them off and adjust on the fly. Maybe your drummer is pulling a kick-ass beat that you guys didn't practice, but you all rock along anyway. Or, maybe the bassist has pulled a slapping improv during that break, and you all can'??t help but smile. My point is, when you're live, you can perform the same song a thousand ??times, and all of them will be a unique moment in time that only that specific group of people could've pulled off.

Making this remix of Twister a live performance is nothing short of genius storytelling. Neku's world isn't static anymore, the people around him all bring ??their own unique melodies into his performance. It changes him and, in turn, h??e changes them. It's fucking awesome! It’s one of my favorite boss themes of all time, and the perfect song to end this journey.

By the time the credits started to roll, I just sat there. Thinking. Partially because of the very last plot twist that caught me off guard, and partially, because I wasn't sure how to proceed. I got the message loud and clear but pulling it off looked impossible for someone like me. Maybe, I was still afraid. The hedgeh?og dilemma kinda applies here now that I think about it. Maybe I just had to figure out how to love myself first. As fate wo?uld have it, my opportunity would show itself sooner rather than later. I had to change schools a little after finishing the game, and no one from my past class would be there. 

It was the blank slate I was hoping for. Now, I'?m not gonna sit here and tell you it was all good from there because God knows it wasn't. Getting out of that shell of self-hatred took a lot of effort, but little by little, I felt a bit better. I learned the guitar to impress the girls (it didn't work), took better care of my looks, and reconciled with the people I metaphorically (and sometimes, literally) punched. Hell, I even joined a band and recorded a song as part of a school project! Slowly but surely, my world expanded, and I can't imagine how miserable I could still be if I hadn't changed back then.

The original DS combat is taxing but central to the game's message.

TWEWY is about a lot of things, more than I can reasonably explain or cover in a single blog, and all of it feels more relevant than ever in the year 2020. Even disregarding o??ur current state of social distancing, we've grown colder and more distant as people. Echo chambers provide a comfortable but ultimately harmful way of life, and when I look at social media, all I see is a vapid pursui?t of validation that leads to the expression of a fake self.

In both scenarios, any connections formed end up be??ing shallow and meaningless. It’s the ultimate antithesis to the game's message, where it's all about the genuine moments where two different ways of life clash and both parties walk away better for it. These mome??nts don't need to be life-changing events, they just need to be true and actively sought after. Not an easy thing to do, especially when you're young and still trying to find your place in the world, and it won’t simply happen overnight, but it’s an idea well worth pursuing.

Maybe t??hi?s is why it resonated with me the way that it did. TWEWY wants you to realize that despite the bad stuff, the world is still a beautiful, vast, and wonderful place. That's why it rewards you for taking breaks, for finding other people that also play the game, and for getting ou??t of your own world. There are billions of other people, billions of worlds marching to the tune of their own?? songs. Dissonant lives that may or may not mesh with your own, each a unique encounter waiting to happen.

"The world ends with you" is a lesson that everyone will need to le??arn at some point, and an obvious one at that, but I argue that it's because it's so obvious that it tends to be overlooked. More than that, it's also a call to action. Find out what's limi?ting your world and get rid of it, whether it is anger, fear, apathy, ego, or self-doubt. Push your borders as far as they can go.

Let the world begin with you.

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Playing in Traffic

Square Enix has released a short 90-second preview clip from the upcoming anime adaptation of 2007 Nintendo DS title The World Ends with You, currently in production at Domerica and S??hin-Ei Animati?on.

The clip sees TWEWY protagonist Neku Sakuraba awake??n within The Underground (UG), an alte?rnate plane of existence that exists alongside the real world. Over the course of the anime, Neku will find others seemingly trapped in this unnerving universe as he forms bonds with these strangers in an effort to uncover the events that led them to this bizarre dimensional shift.

The World Ends with You The Animation will begin airing in 2021. The World Ends with You: Final Remix is available now on Nintendo Switch.

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Getting the gang back together

Square Enix has announced that the anime adaptation of The World Ends With You will launch worldwide in 2021. The first teaser trailer for the anime was premiered during a special panel at Anime Expo Lite 2020.

The World Ends With You the Animation will see Neku, Shiki and friends relive their strange, psychedelic esca??pades in "The ?UG", an alternate reality version of Tokyo's jam-packed Shibuya district. Having awoken on Scramble Crossing with no knowledge of any recent events, Neku and his band of hot-headed teen pals must now face the wrath of the "Reapers' Game" if they are to understand the twisted fate that has befallen them.

Co-produced by Domerica and Shin-Ei Animation of Doraemon fame, TWEWY the Animation will also reunite several key members of the original game's development team - including artists Tetsuya Nomura and Gen Kobayashi, composer Takeharu Ishimoto, and numerous voice actors. It seems that the iconic audio/visual style of the unique JRPG will be making a smooth transition into the anime realm. You can find more information, along with fresh character art, over at the official website.

The World Ends with You the Animation will launch in 2021.

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More details coming in July

Square Enix has announced that it has commissioned an anime adaptation of its urban fantasy RPG The World Ends with You, which launched on the Nintendo DS back in 2007, before being revamped for the Switch platform in 2018.

As of this writing, there have been no?? images or details released regarding this exciting new animated end?eavour, but the anime will be receiving its official unveiling during next weekend's Anime Expo Lite presentation.

You can check out the action for yourself over on the Anime Expo Lite's official YouTube and Twitch channels. The Day One presentation will kick off Friday, July 3 at 18:00 PT / 21:00 ET / 02:00 BST.  In the meantime, Square Enix has opened an official countdown website, which you can find right here.

The World Ends with You: Final Remix is available now on Nintendo Switch.

Square Enix announces The World Ends with You anime adaptati??on [GoNintendo]

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A decade later

[Author's note: This is a community blog I wrote almost eight years ago. With only days away from the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and only a week away from our ninth wedding anniversary, it seemed fitting to revisit this story, with years and dates updated.]

Almost ten years ago, I asked a special woman to spend the rest of her life with me. This is the story of it all. I've told it to friends, I've told it on Podtoid, and I've written up an old community blog that is all broken and busted due to the constant onward march ?of the internet.

It started almost 15 years ago, in the summer of 2005. I worked in a laboratory in college, and so did she. Our desks were near each other, and in between experiments, we would help each other out with online crossword puzzles, mahjong solitaire, and ShyGypsy's Funny Farm puzzle. She was cute, and I felt comfortable talking to her, which is something I struggled with when it came to most other people.

One day I invited her over to my apartment to hang out and play video games. My roommates and I were broke college kids, and we lived in an old house in upstate New York, so we kept the thermostat at a chilly 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It wasn't the most welcoming environment, but I was able to use it as an excuse to snuggle up on the couch and play Clubhouse Games with m??y soon-to-be girlfriend. She seemed to enjoy it and particula?rly liked my Nintendo DS.

I don't remember what exactly spurred her to get one of her own, but soon enough, she had a DS Lite, along with her own copy of Clubhouse Games and New York Times Crosswords. Meanwhile, I had taken her to see opera excerpts at the local symphony hall, taken her out to a teppan dinn??er for her birthday, and finally worked up the nerve to give her a kiss.

Things went well for the next few months, but then we had to face an unfortunate truth: I was graduating and moving to California for grad school; she was finished with her work and moving back to Mississippi. Our first summer apart was difficult, though we talked daily. I sent her a gift of a game I thought she may enjoy: Animal Crossing: Wild World. With each of us on our DSes, we were able to run around town together, catching fish, gifting items, and making hearts appear above our heads. It wasn't quite the same as snuggling together on a couch, but it was better than?? just talking on the phone.

We spent a year apart, though we saw each other about once a month. Sometimes she'd visit me in California, sometimes I'd visit her in Mississippi. Other times we met in entirely different locations. Every time we met we talked about when we'd be together again. After t?hat first year, she quit her job in Mississippi and moved out to California to join me.

Two years passed, and over that time, I played Animal Crossing less and less. I always wanted to play the latest releases, and I tried getting her into other games, but nothing ever really stuck with her. She was content to play Animal Crossing, visiting her town?? and ??digging up fossils on a daily basis.

It was then that I started planning how I would ask her to marry me. I wanted it to be something personal to both of us, something we would both remember forever. The decision was obvious: I would ask her through Animal Crossing. But I couldn't just do something small; ????it needed to be great.

My first idea was to bur??y letters, sending her on a scavenger hunt, finding each letter one by one, until the last one had the question. To my chagrin, I realized that it's impossible to bury letters, so that idea was mostly scrapped. I still wanted to do a scavenger hunt, but I had to be creative with it.

For weeks I bought red roses whenever I saw them on sale in Nookington's. They would be instrumental to the plan. I created an alternate character on my copy of Animal Crossing named Mysterio, who strangely looked a lot more like I do than my main character did. With Mysterio, I bought a bottle mail, filled? it out, chucked it into the ocean, and then went to her town so it would show up on her shores. While I was there, I wrote her a letter and left it with Pelly to deliver later. I had Mysterio return to my town, then go back to hers. I searched the beaches to find my bottle mail, then I got to work gardening, and posted a message on her bulletin board. Everything was set.

Oh yeah, I also bought a ring. Then everything was set.

At the time, I was working a job that let me stay up late and sleep in until noon, so we only occasionally fell asleep together. That night, after she went off to bed, I turned off the TV and followed her in. She still played every night, to the point that she had actually conditioned herself such that the 9:00 pm music causes her to fall asleep. She was facing a??way from me when she started playing, and I watched over her shoulder.

Immediately after she exited her house, she heard the whirr of a UFO and saw Gulliver flying overhead. She ran to try and catch him, but her aim was off and she missed her chance at knocking him out of the sky with her slingshot. Flustered, she saved her game and closed her DS Lite. My engagement plans were about to be ?ruined by an anthropomorphic seagull. "Hang on," I said, "I think you had mail to check," hoping I wasn't being completely obvio?us.

She seemed a little confused that I was interested in her reading her mail, but she opened her DS back up and restarted the game. She looked in her mailbox and saw a letter from Mysterio, telling her that something important had washed up on the shore of Dogtown. Intrigued, she set off south to the beach, and combed it,? until she found an arrow of red roses pointing to the bottle mail. I had to cut down one of her coconut trees to plant that arrow. Inside the bottle mail, the message instructed her to go read the town's bulletin board??.

She trekked back north, toward City Hall, where she found the following message on the bulletin board. Meanwhile, I had stealthily grabbed ?the ring from inside my nightstand and waited.

She ??rolled over with excitement in her eyes. Almost ten years ago, I asked a special woman to spend the rest of her life with me. She said yes.

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Company closes its doors after 19 years

Mario & Luigi developer AlphaDream has filed for bankruptcy. The news broke yesterday from a Japanese financial report on Yahoo News. It seems the mounting debt the studio had was too much and has forced the developer to close. As of March 2018, the company had amassed around $4.3 million in debt, which?? is what contributed to the recent filing.

Founded in 2000, the company is closing its doors after 19 years in the industry. While the company did produce a few games before the Mario & Luigi series (some licensed games and Japan only releases), its turn with Nintendo is what put the company on the map. I remember how much of a surprise Superstar Saga was in 2003 for me. I had definitely enjoyed Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario, ??but I didn't expect a GBA RPG to be so in-depth an??d funny.

It's a sad day for fans, but hopefully, the devs will go on to something b??etter.

AlphaDream, developers of the Mario & Luigi series, file for bankruptcy [GoNintendo]

The post Mario & Luigi dev AlphaDream files for bankruptcy appeared first on Destructoid.

Set for Summer 2019

Warner Bros. Japan is teaming up with developer Level-5 to create an anime film adaptation of the Ni no Kuni games. Featuring character designs by Yoshiyuki Momose and a score composed by Joe Hisaishi, the film is set for a summer 2019 release in Japan. The announcement came through a pres??s conference where Level-5 announced that its CEO, Akihiro Hino, would be working as executive producer and scriptwriter for the upcoming film.

Momose should be familiar to fans of Studio Ghibli's work. He has previously worked as animation director on films such as Spirited Away and Porco Rosso, as well as both Ni no Kuni titles. Composer Hisaishi has also previously worked with Studio Ghibli and on the previous Ni no Kuni games. The animation for the film will be produced by OLM, a studio known for anime such as Yo-kai Watch, Inazuma Eleven, and Pokemon. All things considered, this is shaping up to be an inc??redibly ?faithful adaptation for the series.

You can check out the official website by clicking here. Gematsu also has a gallery full of concept art and character descriptions that you can view by clicking here.

Ni no Kuni anime film announced [Gematsu]

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Tetris once again saves the day

"We live in the darkest timeline" is a phrase I can't get behind. Yes, there are some politicians who would rather we scrounge around in the dirt for our daily meals, but it is the scientists that are continuing our march into the future. ?Driven by their thirst for knowledge, they are making new discoveries every day that push the boundaries of what we used to think was our limit as a species.

It's only natural that these scientists? would then make three brains play th??e greatest game of all time to demonstrate that they care not for the limits our creator has placed on us.

Researchers at the University of Washington have been working on a way to neurally link brains through telepathic means for a while now. Recently using a BrainNet, scientists made three people play a single game of Tetris together cooperatively.

The demonstration was set up where three people hooked into the BrainNet, which uses electroencephalograms (EEG) that read electric impulses in a person's brain and then transmits information into the paired brains using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Two of the participants could see the Tetris board while a third person could not. That thir?d person was the one controlling where the pieces would be placed and used the thoughts?? from the two people who could see the board to make their decisions.

Before people start lighting torches and grabbing pitchforks demanding to see Tetristein's Monster so they can destroy it, it wasn't exactly that the tw?o who could see the board were sending their thoughts directly into the controlling player's brain. For this early phase of the experiments, LCD lights were used to represent what moves the controller should take.

While this isn't exactly the science fiction future we have dreamed of for years, this is where it all begins. This type of basic almost rudimentary use of our brainwaves is one of the steps to reaching the? point where brains can interface with one another directly.

Dr. Rajesh Rao, one of the researchers on the project, spok?e on the limitations of brain-to-brain interface:

"Current brain-to-brain interfaces are extremely limited in the amount of information transmitted between brains, preventing practical applications. However, wit??h sufficient advances in brain recording and stimulation technologies, one could imagine networks of connected brains in ?the future producing innovative and creative solutions to humanity’s most important scientific and societal problems within an ethically responsible framework."

The full research paper is available online for fellow eggheads to read about the experiment i??n-depth.

S?cientists s?howcase brain-to-brain communication with game of 3-player Tetris [Digital Trends]

The post Scientists use ??Tetris to demonstrate three brains working together appeared first on Destructoid.

Bringing the beat back

This month sees the Japanese re-release of popular Nintendo DS title The World Ends With You on Switch. A final launch trailer has hit the airwaves to reintroduce us to the adven??ture' cast of hip young thangs and stylish visuals and audio.

The World Ends With You: Final Remix takes the 2007 (I know, right?) release and jazzes it up for its Nintendo Switch port, implementing a new control system in keeping with the Joy-Con design, and allowing players to share their Joy-Con for local multiplayer action. Final Remix will also? contain a funk-fresh new scenario for Neku, Shiki and the gang to explore.

Western fans won;t have too much longer to wait to get their hands on this re-release, as The World Ends With You: Final Remix will be hitting North American and European shores on October 12, just a coupl??e? of weeks following its September 27 release in the East.

The post The World Ends With You Final Remix trailer brings hip kids and nonsensical rappin?g appeared first on Destructoid.

It made me a true portable enthusiast

There is a very solid chance I would not be the Dragon Quest fan I am today without Electronic Gaming M??onthly. Before I really fell for the online scene, that magazine was my gateway to th?e gaming world. I subscribed for three years and still remember some of my favorite articles and reviews. I remember the October 2006 issue, which released in something of a short Autumn lull. There were plenty of games in the review section, but the Game of the Month only scored an eight out of ten. It's not a bad score, but it certainly is a low score for GotM, all things considered.

That game was Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, and based on the short recommendation in that issue, I picked it up at my local K-Mart upon release. Then, over the next week, I fell head over healslime for that game -- it's still my absolute favorite on the Nintendo DS -- and a fandom was birthed. I would go on to pick up every release of that era, from Swords to the oft-forgotten Dragon Quest Wars, but it wasn't until 2010 that this fandom changed to a downright obsession. Because that is when Nintendo published Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies for the Nintendo DS. ?That title would end up changing the wa?y I game for years to come.

Reggie Fils-Aimé famously put over 200 hours into Dragon Quest IX, a number I have to bow down before because I didn't get anywhere near that. I did crest the 90-hour mark and heavily enjoyed every second of it. I've now come to learn DQ9 is something a black sheep of the Dragon Quest family, but that doesn't phase my love for it one bit. Because while it may lack the engrossing story of? the previous entries, it has treasure maps, the hunt for which dominated my life in the summer of 2010.

Dragon Quest IX did so much right on the Nintendo DS. It's absolutely beautiful and being able to see monsters on the map made it a more user-friendly experience. But it's the treasure map hunting found in the game's Tag Mode that really set it off. Before Streetpass, Square Enix experimented with wireless communication?? between games with Tag Mode.

In Dragon Quest IX, after activating it at Quester's Rest, players could put their Nintendo DS to sleep and go about their lives, collecting data from other players who were doing the same thing. In Japan, Tag Mode was a massive success, setting records for wireless communication. For me in California, well, I couldn't exactly just walk around and pick up a great number of maps, quests, and other goodies. Despite being the best selling Dragon Quest game in the west, player concentration was still pretty sparse. However, Nintendo sought to rectify this by hosting events where players could go, meet up with other Dragon Quest IX owners, receive new maps and more.

The very first event I could attend was at a Best Buy in San Luis Obispo. It was my day off and I was probably 30 hours into DQ9 at this point without ever having used the Tag Mode feature. So I got in my car and drove to the event, a sleeping DS in my pocket. The set-up inside was just a table with a few Dragon Quest freebies to be given away to the first people to arrive. I was third in line so I miss?ed out on the prizes.

By the time the event started, there was probably ten of us there total. I thought I would just log in and get my special treasure map, but then the ten of us started talking to one another. We started sharing stories of our adventure so far, giving tips on certain bosses and detailing the make-up of our parties. We started exchanging more maps and supplies with one another, and this simple in-and-out event turned into 45 minutes of blissful Dragon Quest bonding.

I've played games with other people before but there was something different about this event. We all traveled some distance to be in this spot because we loved Dragon Quest IX and we wanted to get as much out of it as we could. Square Enix intended for this game to be a social one and it succeeded. I'd always been a fan of portable gaming, but I never got into the Pokemon crazy so meeting up with other players was just something I neve??r did. In fact, I really didn't carr??y my Nintendo DS with me at all. Tag Mode changed that.

With DQ9, I became a gamer who took my DS with me everywhere I went, always with that game in sleep mode - just in case I come across another savior of The Protectorate. And even when I stopped playing, the habit stayed with me. I brought my DS along to The Legend of Zelda preview concert in LA and played When I went to the Legend of Zelda preview concert in Los Angeles, I brought my DS along and played Four Swords Anniversary Edition with other concertgoers in line. I brought Mario Kart DS with me to the airport and spent a layover racing against some kids. I went to war with a guy at GameStop in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. So many great experiences all because Square Enix wanted us to get up and get out to meet other DQ fans.

Nintendo shut down the DS Wifi system in 2014, long after it has created its own Tag Mode gimmick with Streetpass and Spotpass. To this day, I still carry my 3DS -- technically my Pokéball 2DS XL -- with me every day to work and anytime I leave the house hoping to add more players to my Mii Plaza. I haven't tagged anybody in Dragon Quest IX in almost eight years and I don't know, with the Nintendo Switch not having any sort of passive wire?less communication, if I'll ever experience something as wonderful as the summer of 2010 again.

DQ9 is still absolutely worth playing and copies are easy to find. In fact, in writing up this feature I've started r?eplaying the game?? once more and have quickly fallen back in sync with it. I have that jumbo players guide for the game and there are still many maps for me to find. Look out Fils-Aimé, because I'm not stopping until I surpass your total hours!

The post Dragon Quest IX’s greatest innovation changed the way I game appeared first on Destructoid.

Promoted from our Community Blogs

Of the many Nintendo franchises on hold, none seem to have as much history and as much reason to be made again other than the Advance Wars series. First, let us note that calling it the Advance Wars series is an inaccuracy; it should be more correctly referred to as the Wars series. While the franchise is most well-known under the Advance Wars name, it actually preceded the start of that sub-series by more than fifteen years, first releasing on the Famicom as Famicom Wars.

Regardless of its origins, what fa?ns of the? series like, what the natural continuation of it should be is in the style of the Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS games.

The franchise is mainly a turn-based tactical strategy (TBTS) game made primarily by Nintendo's Intelligent Systems (IS), not unlike their famous Fire Emblem series. While it doesn't utilize the RPG elements of Fire Emblem, Advance Wars requires more strategy.

This is the Series's Name in Japan

While the late-series is known for its colorful graphics and chunky tanks, the games are well-respected for their deep strategy mechanics. One major element that differentiates it from other TBTS ga?mes is the ability to purchase units in some maps, which adds an elements similar to RTS games, but with more time to think.

Of all the franchises I covered in my "Where the Hell" series, Advance Wars may have the most chance of coming back. So, let's? look at what the hell happened, and how it may come back again.

The Wars series consist of t??welve games over a twenty year period, with one game being a remake. Two of those titles are spin-o??ffs of the main TBTS-style gameplay, and are a mix of Action-Tactical and 3rd person shooters. Of the TBTS games, we can neatly divided them as pre and post Advance Wars, which also marks the point the series debuted in the west.

How the series is mostly known in the West

While the games did have console releases, it clearly found its niche in the portable market, with eight out of twelve games being on a portable console. One funny thing about the naming convention of each sub-series is the use of the console name, with the Advance Wars series being named after the Gameboy Advance.

A) The Mainline Games:

a) Before Advance Wars:

Originating in 1988, the Wars franchise began with Famicom Wars, and then expanded into the portable market with the Game Boy Wars series with Hudson Soft taking the helm fr??om IS. Two games were released on home consoles and 4 on portables.

1- Famicom Wars:

• Released: NES (Famicom), 1988 in Japan
• Developer: Intelligent Systems
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: 33/40 from Famitsu, included in Best Games of all time list
• Commercial Reception: Unknown

The first Wars game actually established much of what is well-known about the series. It f?eatures some colorful graphics on the NES, with cartoonish soldier and some significant environmental detail. Later, that style would be elaborated and expanded upon in? the sequels.

More importantly though are the gameplay elements which set the standard for the games to follow. First, the fact that there are funds each turn to purchase new units, meaning that an effective win must destroy all units in the same turn or prolong the conflict. Second, the fact that there is a strong multiplayer? element, with two people playing against each other.

By all accounts, the game played wonderfully, with a lot of unit options and well-designed maps. These maps have all featured as extra content in future TBTS Wars games.

2- Gameboy Wars:

• Released: Game Boy, 1991 in Japan
• Remake: Released as Game Boy Wars Turbo in 1997 in Japan
• Developer: Intelligent Systems, Hudson Soft (Remake)
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: Unknown
• Commercial Reception: Unknown

Identifying its portable perfect formula, IS and Nintendo decided to make the Game Boy the next home for the new Wars franc?hise. The colorful graphics of the NES game could not be translated into the chrome screen of the Game Boy. Nevertheless, it managed to convey all the important information through monochrome icons, as well as have some of the NES game's charm.

This game was remade by Hudson Soft, who went on to make the next two Gameboy Wars games.

3- Super Famicom Wars:

• Released: SNES Satellaview, 1998 in Japan
• Developed: Intelligent Systems
• Published: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: N/A
• Commercial Reception: N/A

This is a weird one. Basically, a semi-fully-fledged sequel for the NES game, Super Famicom Wars was a game released on the Satellaview, which is probably gaming's first attempt at a gaming streaming service. Because of that, the game is little known despite its ??enhanced graphics and charming visuals.

Still the same experience as before but wit?h even less story and a focus on multiplayer.

5&6- Game Boy Wars 2 & 3:

• Released: Game Boy & Game Boy Color, 1998 & 2001 respectively in Japan
• Developer: Hudson Soft
• Published: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: 88.55%
• Commercial Reception: roughly 200K units sold

Both Game Boy Wars 2 and 3 were never released outside of Japan. While the first of these was a simple sequel to the game originally made by IS, featuring the exact same gameplay but some quality of life enhancements, Game Boy 3 was the first shake up to the franchise's signatu??re gameplay.

With an ex??tensive campaign mode, it started putting more emphasis on the single player component, even adding the ability to carry over and upgrade surviving units. In the gameplay side, it also tasked the players with acquiring resources from the game maps, making it a little more similar to the Nectaris se??ries also developed by Hudson Soft.

b) The Advance Wars Series:

While it retained the same gameplay throughout its NES, SNES, and Game Boy days, the Wars series never had a singular identity, character, or style in which to be recognized by. Perhaps, that? is why the series never saw light in the west. However, that changed with the release o??f the first game on the Game Boy Advance.

1- Advance Wars:

• Released: Game Boy Advance, 2001 in NA, and 2004 in Japan (As part of a compilation with Advance Wars 2)
• Developer: Intelligent Systems
• Published: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: 92.38%
• Commercial Reception: 700K Units
  

This was the first Wars game released in the west. This was also the start of where the series completely migrated ??from Japan, with the game only being released as part of a compilation with its sequel. One thing to note is that it was also delayed because of the September 11 attacks.

Gaining an immediate dedicated following and some very warm critical reception, Advance Wars provided a good basic story, but an interesting and visu?ally unique world that became instantly iconic. One thing that provided some much needed character to the game is in its use ??of commander characters, who have powers that can drastically change the tide of battle.

It had simple to understand mechanics, hiding some amazing depth. Changes only added to the gameplay, without sacrificing its identity. IS added factories to build units from plants to?? get funds from, and even weather conditions that significantly change things. To top all?? of that, the game still retained its excellent multiplayer.

2- Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising:

• Released: Game Boy Advance, 2003 in NA, and 2004 in Japan (As part of a compilation with Advance Wars 2)
• Developer: Intelligent Systems
• Published: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: 90.16%
• Commercial Reception: 650K Units

If it's not broken, don't fix it, which is basically what this sequel to the first Advance Wars did. Despite not being at all different from its predecessor, Advance Wars 2 was still well-receive??d both critically and commercially. T??he core gameplay remained the same, and it had all the bells and whistles introduced in the first game.

One big change was its non-linear story, which gave the player the choice when taking m?issions, although the order ultimately didn't matter.

3- Advance Wars: Dual Strike:

• Released: Nintendo DS, 2005 in Japan and NA
• Developer: Intelligent Systems
• Published: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: 90.28%
• Commercial Reception: 390K Units

One of the biggest mysteries I will never solve is why Dual Strike (DS huh, huh) was such a financial flop. Released to wide cri?tical acclaim, the game managed to sell less on a more successful console despite being bette?r than both its predecessors, despite being a perfect fit for the DS. The game especially failed in Japan, where it was only the 301st best selling game in its home country.

Gameplay-wise, the game's introduction of touch control? sped things up, giving the player access to information quicker than a menu could. As for the core of the series, the Dual Strike feature allowed for two commanders, significantly shaking things up. That, coupled with some new units, allowed for more varied maps, a??nd more variety of choices.

Again, I have no idea why Dual Strike miserabl?y failed, but it surely was one of the DS's best games

4- Advance Wars: Days of Ruin:

• Released: Nintendo DS, 2008 in NA
• Developer: Intelligent Systems
• Published: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: 85.37%
• Commercial Reception: 610K Units

Correcting course after the financial flop that was DS, IS decided to completely ignore the Japanese market and opt for a full western st?yle game. That meant the series lost its charm, and instead went for a black and brown post-apocalyptic world. Admittedly, that's not the game's biggest shortcoming, as the world has?? its place, and the game didn't suffer a lot from it.

In fact, while not suffering critically, the game actually performed better than the superior Dual Strike, meaning that IS and?? Nintendo's strategy ?worked to some extent.

Personally, I don't have much problem with the chosen aesthetic look (Even though I prefer the old Advance War style), but I do have a problem with one key change. IS removed the commander powers and instead added a commander unit (a stronger unit with limited bonus-giving ability). That, in my opinion, removed the trump card that would often lead to finishing off battles quickly, and instead ensured some games would extend beyond an hour or ??so, which is unforgivable.

B) The Spin-Off Series (Battalion Wars):

The main idea of Battalion Wars is to have a TRPG game where you can directly control the action you order the units to make. Meaning that when you assign a tank to shoot, you are responsible for actually making that shot count. However, it ended up m?ore l??ike a 3rd person shooter with some tactical elements.

1- Battalion Wars:

• Released: GameCube, 2005 in Japan & NA
• Developer: Kuju Entertainment
• Published: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: 76.78%
• Commercial Reception: 400K Units

Originally titled Advance Wars: Under Fire, Nintendo decided that the gameplay focus was too different to share the same name, and hence changed the name to Battalion Wars. That probably was for the best, as the game neither shares the same world nor does it have any similar gameplay. It's basically a third person action game with some real-time tactical elements. There are several units that you can control,? and you can switch be??tween them at any time which provides some flexibility.

While the gameplay is unique and interesting, the game lacked any defining edge that endeared it to fans or critics. It lacked the charming design of the Advance Wars series, a??nd had none of the depth. Still, it was a promising spin-off, one tha?t didn't sell bad on the GameCube.

2- Battalion Wars 2:

• Released: Wii, 2007 in NA, and 2008 in Japan.
• Developer: Kuju Entertainment
• Published: Nintendo
• Critical Reception: 74.29%
• Commercial Reception: 340K Units

If Battalion Wars did enough to warrant a sequel, then the sequel did enough to kill the spin-off. Despite streamlining the game, adding some more unit, as well? as a much-requested multiplayer, the game ended up performing worse on a better selling console. That fact points to how core gamers did not necessarily buy into the Wii (despite it having very good games).

Even though it is considered a b??etter realiz?ation of what Kuju Entertainment wanted with the first Battalion Wars, this sequel failed to convert any new fans.

When analyzing why any series die, the most obvious answer would be a financial decline. Sometimes, that decline is related to ?the series itself, or it is related to the developers and/or publishers of t?he series. Still, it is always interesting to research those exact trends, and learn the reasons behind such a decline. In many way, we wish the gaming industry would actually do this to learn lessons, but we know that they unfortunately rarely actually do so.

The Wars franchise, especially in its Advance Wars incarnation, has some passionate following, with a very high critical reception on average. Still, it has been 10 years since the last game in the series was released, and it looks like IS are uninterested in revivi??ng the franchise.

So why did it die?

Lukewarm Japanese Reception:

Even though Nintendo chases a global market, it still is a Japanese company and its home territory sales are an important part for them. As such, the sudden decline of the Famicom Wars series (as its is known in Japan) must have been ?very concerning to Nintendo. It meant that the series must completely depend on Western sales, while being developed by a J??apanese studio.

This decline coincided with the release of Advance Wars and its amazing reception in the west. Maybe the slow adoption of the Game Boy Advance in Japan as well as the late release of the game had something to do with it. Regardless, Advance Wars: Dual Strike simply b?ombed there, and the last game in the series was made with Western sensibilities in mind and never released in Japan.

There are two problems with this. First, it risk alienating the Western fans that l??iked the game for its original style.?? Second, IS and Nintendo are not comfortable depending on a Western market that has never been that big on portables.

Failure of Dual Strike:

This follows from the first point. Even though the DS exploded in sales, and even though Dual Strike was a better realization of the series' ideas, the game sold nearly half what the Game Boy advance games managed. That's a fai??lure no matter how you slice it.

First, it signaled to Nintendo that there is little future for the series in Japan. Second, it convinced IS that they need to drastically change the style in an effort to exclusively appeal to a Western audience. That did not end with a failure, as Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, sold better. Stil??l, it was not the?? explosion of sales Nintendo may have hoped for.

Sudden Success of Fire Emblem:

Honestly, I think that this is probably the most significant reason for this franchise's death. According to IS, Fire Emblem: Awakening, was a shot in the dark. More a final hurrah than the harbinger of more games to come. Yet, it was met with such sudden success, that IS became nearly entirely focused on the Fire Emblem franchise.

It is ironic that the success of Advance Wars, which originally convinced IS and Nintendo to localize Fire Emblem for t?he North Ameri?can market, would then be undone by the same series.

At some level, it is understandable why IS would completely focus on Fire Emblem in lieu of Advance Wars. It became a very successful series; breaking the one million barrier for the first time in IS history for a non-Mario game. Yet, you cannot but feel that it is shortsighted, and may cause series fatigue to set in, like it did for Fire Emblem: Shadow of Valentia which failed to break that barrier again.

If a series doesn't deserve to "live" then we wouldn't be upset when it stops. These are the main reasons we want some new Advance Wars games.

It all goes down to its addictive, simple, and very deep gameplay

Unique Tactical Gameplay:

Some people compare the Advance Wars games to other SRPGs like Fire Emblem and Shining Force. However, other than the fact that all of these involve turn-based tactical gameplay, the Advance Wars games are actually very different. For starters, there is little to no RPG systems in the game, meaning that your units do not gain experience and develop through the campaing. Instead, Advance Wars focuses on each map as a standalone tactical challenge. Also, there is usually an element of resource management, as you need to acquire the funds and factorie?s to build more units.

In that regard, the blend of tactical gameplay similar to Fire Emblem and resource managment more familiar to RTS gamers is what makes the Advance Wars game a unique blend. There hasn't been a? proper r?eplacment in the market, and thus more market share for a new game in the series to claim.

Signficant Multiplayer Focus:

Since its start in the NES, the Wars franchise emphasized the ability to play against another human player. One controller is enough, as the turn-based nature of its gameplay allows both players to pass the controller back and forth. That emphasis continued until the last game released in 2008, with Advance Wars: Days of Ruin even having an online multiplayer component.

This, coupled with its portable-perfect nature, means it's a natural?? fit for the Switch with its detachable Joy-Con. Think about it, this is exactly the game that makes sense to play multiplayer on the go like in all those Nintendo commercials.

Perfect for Busy Gamers:

I have always been a proponent of time being the real scarce resource, and not money. Because of that, as gamers grow up, they look for games with depth that they can also play in bursts instead of sessions. That is one reason that the Switch has a predominantly adult base. Advance Wars, w??ith its mission str??ucture, can be played in short bursts with a lot of depth.

Still, today, I occasionally play Advance Wars: Dual Strike on my 3DS. Even though I have time to play other games, I know that whenever I am absolutely swamped, it is only games like Dual Strike that I can play to any degree of satisfaction.

There is also the charming visuals and chunky-realistic style

Nintendo is a company that you can both be suspicous about it doing anything with its dormant franchises, and a bit hopeful that someday they may decide to finally utilize their amazing IP back-catalogue. With Advance Wars, I am not sure if the Fire Emblem success have killed any chance of franchise ever making a comeback, b??ut here is what I think is its possible future:

Advance Wars: Switch Forces:

This is a very specific possible future, but I think any Advance Wars game released on the Switch? will have the name of the console somewhere in the title. Hell, it may be the entire gimmick of the game. With the first DS game, the series introduced dual commanders. With the Switch, maybe you can s??witch control between two forces.

Regardless of what shape a new sequel takes, it must be released on the Nintendo Switch. The thing ??is selling very well??, and any series comeback will get a lot of attention from players and fans alike. Plus, it makes a lot of sense for a TBTS to be released on the Switch. The portability of the console makes sure that it is a perfect fit, and the detachable Joy-Con can make multiplayer easier than ever.

You know that makes little sense for FIFA or Mario Kart, but it makes sense for Chess or Advance Wars.

Mobile Future:

I actually don't think it is probable for Advance Wars to be released on mobile before getting a proper sequel. Nintendo have shown that their foray into the mobile market is a form of support for their core ga??mes. Therefore, they wouldn't release a little-known IP.

However, if they ever do release a proper sequel, then a mobile game makes a lot of sense. Like with Fire Emblem Heroes, a really good mobile game can be made with the Advance Wars formula??, which once properly scrutinized should push people to buy the real thing if they want a better and meatier experience.

F-Zero:

Currently, the dormant franchises debate with Nintendo is centered around whether the fate of the franchise is going to be a revival like Metroid, or a long sluber like F-Zero. It is therefore entirely realistic that Advance Wars may not get a sequel for a ??long time. In fact, if it doesn't get a sequel in the Switch's lifetime, I think the series is properly dead, and will no longer be referenced by N??intendo except for the occasional Smash Bros. reference.

In that case, the greatest contribution the series would have had is in it convincing Nintendo to localize the Fire Emblem series, thereby at least making sure one Ninte??ndo franchise did not rot to death.

_{The "Where the Hell is X" blogs are going to be a series of blogs where I discuss the decline and disappearance of game franchises that interested me greatly, and now are gone. For a series to be covered, it needs to have three or more games, an unresolved conclusion or different storylines, and is a series I somewhat played. Please feel free to give me any feedback or recommendation, as I always try to write better blogs.}

The post Where the hell is Advance Wars? appeared first on Destructoid.

Need more candy cane

Siliconera has unleashed a bunch of new shots of The World Ends with You: Final Remix on Switch and it looks really promising. While I wouldn't call the DS version ugly by any means, the game running in crisp HD is a real treat. Since the style of t??he game was so heavily influenced by manga and Japanese street art, seeing those awesome colors pop and getting more defined outlines looks like a big upgrade.

Along with all of that HD art, there are some new details about how the Switch version will work. In handheld mode, the game plays similarly to the DS original, albeit without two screens. You'll have the same slash attacks and "tap spaces," making ample use of the touchscreen. In TV and tabletop mode, controls will be relegated to the joy-con with pointer functionality. There is ?even a two-player co-op mode with split joy-cons available.

All music, sound effects, and voice samples have been updated with higher quality versions, including an arranged soundtrack by original composer Takeharu Ishimoto. If you don't want to listen to different tracks, the original OST will have a toggle option that can be selected at any moment. The last addition is a brand new scenario for the campaign, though that was already revealed back when the port was unveiled.

Here’s What’s New In The World Ends With You: Final Remix For Nintendo Switch [Siliconera]

The post Get a better look at The World Ends with You’s updated visuals on Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

Calling

It has been quite some time since we last heard about The World Ends with You: Final Remix. The game was unveiled during a Nintendo direct earlier this year and made a super brief appearance during Nintendo's E3 stream. I actually wasn't expecting the title to even come out this year, but it looks like Japanese gamers will be in luck. Square Enix has announced that the Groundhog Day simulator will be heading to Japanese store shelves and the Japanese eShop on September 27, 2018, for ¥4,800 ($44).

Along with that news, Square Enix has unveiled an exclusive collector's edition for its website. Subtitled, "It's a Wonderful Bag," the package will come with a tote bag, a soundtrack (which is excellent, by the way), a stylus for the Switch, an art book, a small acrylic figure display and some stickers. It looks pretty nifty, though I'm not sure I would do anything with those stickers. This version will be going for ¥17,000 ($155).

The World Ends with You: Final Remix launches September 27 in Japan [Gematsu]

The post The World Ends with You: Final ??Remix is launching in Japan this Sept?ember appeared first on Destructoid.

Because why just download it?

Square Enix has a brand new website for you to peruse. To commemorate the occasion, the publisher is handing out its "popular" game Mini Ninjas on PC. The only caveat is that you'll need to jump through a crazy amount of hoops to actually download the thing. In typical Square Enix f??ashion, everything is convoluted with some padded out steps to getting your free game.

Essentially, you'll need to sign up for a Square Enix account, add the game to your cart as normal, ent??er a discount coupon code (MiniNinjas, which is case sensitive), finish the checkout process and then download the game from your "MY ORDERS" page. So much easier than just putting up a download link for a day. This offer is valid from today until May 15 at 11:59 pm PDT while supplies last and is only available for North and South America.

Square Enix [Twitter]

The post You can nab Mini ?Ninjas for free on PC with some convoluted st??eps appeared first on Destructoid.

Sometimes I'll play an 'avoid the power-ups' minigame

Mario games are pretty fun to speedrun. They generally take almost no time to get started (the one in this very article onl??y takes 35 seconds for the opening cutscene to end), and allow for a large degree of freedom -- 2D or 3D -- in how? you approach them.

That's fairly obvious with this new run by MyLittleWalrus, who speeds through New Super Mario Bros. in just 30 minutes and 37 secon??ds. If you ever wanted to see the entire game from start to finish but never got around to it, now's your chance.

The thing is, he did it without picking up any power-ups, allowing him to set the new world record "Low ?%" run by nearly an entire minute. That also means he can't get hit as he stays in small Mario form the entire game, and only dies when he needs to, to save a few precious seconds skipping ahead with tricks like checkpoint triggering and warping.

Well done!

New Super Mario Bros. [Speedrun.com]

The post Speedrunner sets new world record with New Super Mar??io Bros. collecting no power-ups in the process appeared first on Destructoid.

40 Years of Space Invading

Almost 10 years ago, Space Invaders Extreme released for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable and blew people away. The game was a wild rein?vention of one of the most iconic shmups ever made and it somehow transformed a 30-year-old property into a modern darling. To say it was a must-own is an understatement, as you basically won’t find a single negative comment about the game on the entire internet.

Following that success, the game was eventually ported to the Xbox 360 with an overhauled soundtrack and some slight upgrades done to the graphics. The 360 port included four-player co-op, an improvement over the original’s two-player option, and was a critical darling for how chaotic the gameplay became. Sadly, that new soundtrack really put a damper on the experience and the game wasn’t as widely?? loved as the DS original (the PSP version also had a different soundtrack).

Now, 10 years later, we’re getting a PC re-release of the DS original that contains all of the improved visuals from the 360 port, but actually lacks features present from the beginning. The gameplay is still highly addictive, flashy, and chaotic, but this new port feels like a missed opportunity to provide us the “definitive” edition of Extreme.

Space Invaders Extreme (DS, PSP, Xbox 360, PC [Reviewed])
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Square Enix (DS, PSP, 360), Degica (PC)
Released: June 17, 2008 (DS, PSP), May 6, 2009 (360), February 12, 2018 (PC)
MSRP: $29.99 (DS, PSP), $9.99 (360), $19.99 (PC)

In some weird twist of fate, I somehow never managed to play the original version of Extreme. I had told my mom about the game and she even owned it, but I spent an entire decade knowing of?? its existence and never trying it out. When I say I was blown away when I first played this version, you know I’m being serious.

Space Invaders Extreme retains the very basic idea of what the original Space Invaders was all about while adding a huge touch of flair to the experience. Instead of simply shooting progressively descending enemies, you now can chain combos together, get different weapons, and even participate in bonus rounds. This is more of a score attack game with Space Invaders window-dressing than a true sequel to? the original.

That doesn’t mean the style isn’t retained, because the enemy s?prites and new bosses are all fashioned after that classic ‘70s title. It is super fun ta??king a trip down memory lane, but having it showcased in a new manner. I especially love that the sprites seem almost lifted out of the original arcade game instead of completely overhauled to look more modern.

The main gist of Extreme is an &ldquo??;Arcade” mode that sees you going through five different levels to an eventual conclusion with a massive boss. After beating the second level, you can branch off int?o different paths that will increase the difficulty of subsequent levels, making for four unique playthroughs if you follow a specific route. Accessing these routes requires getting an A rank for your score, so you’ll need to become proficient at the game to stand a chance.

The boss battles are a real show stealer, e??ach doing something unique with their different setups. The fourth boss is a big pain in the ass, but his whole gimmick requir?es you get a power-up and ricochet shots off of incoming enemies to hit him, which adds a whole different layer of strategy to the proceedings. It is a lot more involved than simply spamming shots and just waiting for the enemy to blow up.

One nice change from the DS original is that if you run out of lives during a level, you won’t be transported back to the beginning upon hit??ting retry. Your score will reset and you’ll likely lose out on an A rank (and a chance at going a different route), but this allows players to actually make it to the end of the game without spending hours perfecting their skills.

There is also an added rapid-fire button, which makes scoring combos a lot easier. The whole name of the game with Extreme is chaining kills together, which works whether or not you’re paying attention to enemy color. The higher your chain goes, the more points you’l??l score and the closer you’l??l get to scoring an A or even S rank on a level.

The enemy colors, though, will work by dropping the different weapons for you. If?? you chain together four red enemies, for instance, you’ll get a bomb power-up that explodes on contact with foes. My personal favorite is the blue laser power-up, which literally shreds through enemies and allows for super quick chain building.

The bonus stages you’ll encounter come about once you hit specifically? colored UFOs that fly over the top of the screen. You’ll basically play mini-games where a specific stipulation must be met (such as killing 10 UFOs or colle?cting 50 coins). Successful completion of these bonus stages sends you back to the main level with a “Fever” state, which gives you an even more souped-up version of your current weapon.

Understanding how this entire system even works takes a little time. When my friend and I sat down to give this game a shot, we had no idea what was even happening. That first blind experience makes me think of how the internet assumes Japan is this wacky-ass land full of odd customs and flashy lights. Space Invaders Extreme is?? the video-game equivalent of someone yelling “JAPAN IS CRAZY” at you.

You’ll be shooting at ships, activating insane weapons, and hearing an announcer proclaim, “FEVER” or “LEVEL UP” and have no idea why anything is happening. When it does click, though, Space Invaders Extreme becomes a highly rewarding and deep shooter that just beckons you to keep pushing yourself. It’s no wonder people fell in love with this title. I managed to beat it four times in a row just trying to unlock every path and ??that was r?egardless of me trying to review the game.

The upgrades for this new PC version come in the form of much sharper visuals and an extra “E” difficulty path. Everything is crisp, the backgrounds are mesmerizing and trippy, and the animations are smooth as can be. It is pretty similar to the 360 version, just with support for ?even higher resolutions than 1080p and some extra levels. Sadly, you can’t customize that resolution in the menu, or anything for that matter.

I would be surprised if the game ran poorly for anyone, but there isn’t much in the way of menu options for Extreme. You ?can turn down the music, but you’d have to be insane to want to silence this thumping score. You can’??t customize the controls and while controller support is present, there are no button prompts for 360 or PS4 gamepads.

The biggest omission, th?ough, is the lack of multiplayer. Since I knew about the 360 port having co-op gameplay, I got my friend pumped up to try it out with me only to discover there isn’t anything beyond the main game. Sure, a “Freeplay” option exists to let you try out individual levels and you can share scores online, but there are no multiplayer opti??ons whatsoever.

That wouldn’t be the worst thing?? in the world, but this new PC version costs $20. It is double the price of the 360 version, w?hich has more features and even some downloadable content to expand the game. While I think it's great and a pretty good deal for $20, the exclusion of modes doesn’t make any sense.

If the price were a bit cheaper, or if even online multiplayer were included, I’d readily recommend this port without a problem. As it stands, while Space Invaders Extreme on PC is solid and certainly l??ooks and sounds the best out of any available version, the lack of such an awesome mode just sours my opinion on it??.

Hopefully we can get co-op in an update or even as DLC, b??ecause I’m still eager to get back in and shoot 40-year-old aliens.

_{[This review is based on a reta??il build of the game pro?vided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Space Invaders Extreme (PC) appeared first on Destructoid.

'Kooloo-Limpah!'

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland was a 2006 Nintendo DS title that gave us an all-t??oo-terrifying look into the solo adventures of the world's most horrifying map-maker, ??Tingle.

Tingle's brilliance proved too great for audiences outside of Japan and so the sequel, Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love would never see release beyond its home country. That is, until now. That's right, Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love is now playable in English all th??anks to a new fan-translation.

Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love puts players in the role of the Zelda series' map-maker as he explores a romantic picture book along with three companions. You can download the translation patch for your (legally-obtained) ROM from the project's official site. But, if you would rather not see what Tingle has been up to, I can't say I blame y??ou.

You can get a look at the English translation here, thanks to Lutheage on YouTube.

Fans release ??translation of Japan-only Tingle game [Polygon]

The post Japan excl?usive Tingle game gets a fan translation appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm ready for a second chance.

I replayed The World Ends With You for the third time this year. In part because I got a new phone and lost my save file as a result, and in part to celebrate its tenth anniversary. Long sto??ry short, I managed to lock myself out of that new phone one drunken night and had to wipe it. I never di??d finish this third playthrough. But, until this unfortunate accident, the game hooked me once again.

The World Ends With You is a wild, wild game. Fast-paced touchscreen combat, sharp graffiti-like artwork, nonsensical music. Beyblade rip?offs, cross-dressing, angst, shopping. It's flashy. It's loud. It's youth.

Before I started playing the game again, I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't connect to the game anymore. I was 13 when the game first released, just one year after the magical number. S??ocial life and its worries are much more important to a teenager. But it clicked, just like it did back then. Beyond the first few in-game days that admittedly might turn off a player or three, you really do wish for all the main characters to get a second chance at life.

The game's tenth anniversary has come and gone. There isn't much to show for it, apart from an illustration tweeted by its art director, Gen Kobayashi. Per?haps that's all that was needed. A si?mple acknowledgment for a small intellectual property. Just noodles and broth.

もう10年経つんですねー、この絵を描いてて当時を色々と思い出しました。
自分にとって凄く思い入れのある特別なタイトルです。😊#すばせか#すばらしきこのせかい pic.twitter.com/jwktRzG6nD

— 小林元@コバゲン (@Gengenkob) July 26, 2017

But while The World Ends With You more than stands up on its own, we've been teased that it could become something more multiple times over the years. A few of its tracks were added as downloadable content for Theatrhythm in 2015. A multiplayer version of the game was released on mobile in 2013. Traverse Town in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance featured a few of its characters in 2012. And, most importantly, the mobile HD remake of The World Ends With You also releas?ed in 2012 ended with a very interesting image. A character never before seen within the game proper, a familiar plush, and an anno?uncement of a new week of the Reapers' Game.

That spark that lit the speculative fire was five years ago. Now the year of your tenth anniversary is ending, The World Ends With You. After a lot of teasing, you're still very much a standalone game. Is there even a place left for a hypothetical sequel in this world? It's increasingly difficult for me t?o see a good target platform for the game. The Wii U would have been ideal, with its ??clever dual-screen setup, but it was killed four years into its lifetime... The Switch can't play touchscreen games when docked, which spells trouble for a game with touchscreen controls only.

Is there even a place left in the world for The World Ends With You Too? There's simply no way to make it wor??k on Xbox One without a peripheral, and the Dualshock 4's touchpad is so minuscule it's barely worth?? mentioning. The 3DS or Vita could be a great fit for a sequel, but will they even be relevant in a couple of years, when it would theoretically release?

Is there even a place left in the world for The World Ends With You Too? It could work on PC with mouse controls, but would Square Enix be willing to give up on the Japanese m??arket where PC gaming is essentially dead? Sure, a sequel could be released on phones, but..?. 

People don't buy phone games.

Is there even a place left in the world for The World Ends With You Too? The logical answer would be no. Yet a part o??f me st?ill believes... Maybe in five, ten years time, we'll see the UG again.

The post A send-off for The World Ends With You’s tenth anniversary appeared first on Destructoid.

From the sublime to the silly, here are a collection of tunes that would make Professor K proud

I am fond of a video game mashup or two, so I was stoked when I heard 2 Mello (the composer for 2064: Read Only Memories) was releasing a Streets of Rage mashup album this week. When it came out on Tuesday, I downloaded it right away for listening to during workouts, and it hasn't disappointed me. He has also released a Notorious B.I.G. and Earthbound mashup album, which is consistently great.

My i?nterest in mashups has been reawakened, so I thought I'd check out what else is out there on SoundCloud and YouTube. And boy, was I in for a treat. Spanning the thoroughly brilliant and the brilliantly daft, there's a lot out there to listen to when you want to let the twin worlds of video? games and music collide. Below are a few starter picks that put a smile on my face.

1. "Tetromino Crusher", Undertale x Tetris, NoteBlock

I knew, as soon as I heard it, that "Metal Crusher" sounded like Soviet music, but I never put two and two together and realised that the Tetris theme would fit it perfectly. So props to NoteBlock for figuring that out and making the tunes blend together so well! I'm not the biggest fan of ?the synthy direction they went in with the mashup – I think I would have rather heard the original pieces smashed together – but the arrangement gets full marks.

2. "Crash Dat", Crash Bandicoot x Soulja Boy, SteveOfWarr

Yeah...time to start with the silly ones. If you're around my age, you will remember "Crank Dat" as the song that inevitably got put on when everyone was blind rolling drunk. Then everyone tries to Superman at the same time, in different directions. Then someon??e gets punched in the face. Well, you can relive two different levels of your youth without getting a honking black eye by listening to this track! Delightful.

3. "Hotline Spikes", Hotline Miami x Death Grips, Sadboy Sheldon

The soundtrack to Hotline Miami is genuinely good "everyday" music, and I have had it on in the background while finishing off uni work. "Crystals" by M|O|O|N and "Deep Cover" by Sun Araw are my favourite tracks from the original game, but this mix of "Miami 2" and "Spikes" by Death Grips works equally well. I often walk to work with this playing on my phone, because the spacy electro backing sort of cancels out MC Ride's aggression – which is better for first thing in the morning than "GUILLOTIIIIIIIINE".

4. "Walking on Sherbet Land", Mario Kart 64 x Katrina & The Waves, FizzyNote

Oooh, this one gets me giddy. Katrina & the Waves are a bit of a cheesefest, but have a special place on British radio for getting us a hallowed Eurovision win in 1997 with "Love Shine a Light" (this was before we pissed off the entirety of Europe and everyone started voting against us...mumble mumble rigged mumble mumble). The Mario Kart OSTs have the same kind of cheerful, bouncy flare as Katrina & the Waves's most famous track, "Walking on Sunshine", so it makes a lot of sense to combine the two songs. I dare you to be miserable listening to this. It's like a Solero lolly for your ears. 

5. "Get Gerudo", The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time  x Daft Punk, Greg Wood

I think most people are quite bored of hearing "Get Lucky" used in anything and everything, but this fresh remix isn't too overwrought and puts a nice spin on the?? original. And the tr??acks blend together like peanut butter and chocolate. Good job, Greg!  

6. "Piece of My Mind", Lisa: the Painful RPG x Dr. Dre, Overl00k

LISA: the Painful RPG, like Undertale, was created by a one-man team (Austin Jorgensen), including the music. Austin has become one of my favourite video game composers thanks to LISA, because he knew exactly how to use the soundtrack to portray a bleak hellscape, where men are doomed to fight forever over porno mags and heroin. Adding some Dr. Dre – he of "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" fame (check out the single art) – over the top is a nice touch.

7. Life Will Change (Full Cornered Version), Persona 5 x Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Tsunscreen

Yeah, this works, alright! The parallels between Persona 5 and the Ace Attorney series are pretty obvious (fighting for justice, fancy attire, dramatic musical interludes), so it's great to see the two together. We've had Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton cross-over games, so a Persona Q with Phoenix Wright c??haracters wouldn't be half bad. I'??m not the only one who wants that, right?

*tumbleweed*

8. "Holla If Ya Hear Me in the Corridors of Time", Chrono Trigger x 2Pac, DatManOverDer

2Pac is kind of a staple in the mashup world, but Chrono Trigger is not a frontrunner when it comes to the games side of things. Still, Chrono Trigger is a classic Squaresoft JRPG, so it d??eserves some love. I've yet to play it, but if this tune is anything t??o go by, I will be swept away by the atmosphere.

9. "3005 PM", Animal Crossing x Childish Gambino, pomelojuice

There's something very fitting about putting one of the dreamy AC songs together with Childish Gambino, one of the more mellow ?rappers on this list. While "Walking on Sherbert Land" is a bright orange fizzy drink, this mashup is a soothing cup of chamomile tea. 

1??0. "If I Could I Would Play Mii?? Channel", Mii Channel (Wii) x Blackbear, miyu

I couldn't round off this list without a Wii hardware reference, right? But instead of going with one of the cheesier Wii Shop mashups (and Lord knows I love the "Hotline Bling" mashup), I decided to go with something a little more R&B-influenced that also pays homage to the defunct Mii Channel. I have fond memories of downloading Mii models?? based on various celebrities and pop culture icons, and people used to put a bucketload of time and effort into creating the most life-like and/or grotesque avatars they could muster. I'll never forget you, Kermit Mii.

Do you have any favourite video game mashups that I haven't mentioned? Which is your favourite track on the list? Let me know in the comments down below!

The post Video game mashups to brighten up your day appeared first on Destructoid.

The port looks super great, too

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney will be hitting the 3DS at the end of the month and the Japanese collector's package comes with a soundtrack CD. Included on that CD are some brand new songs based around the different characters in the game, including t??he exceptional prosecutor Klavier Gavin. Capcom has uploaded some short clips to YouTube and they are definitely worth a watch.

If you don't fancy the music, at least you'll get a good look at how the new 3DS port compares to the DS original. That sprite work looks quite great and it actually makes me interested in picking up the Ace Attorney Trilogy alongsid????e this. I do think the original DS versions are more than competent, though.

As a refresher, Apollo Justice will be hitting the 3DS eShop on November 21 in the US, November 22 in Japan and November 23 in Europe. Japan will also get the aforementioned collector's package, which does look nifty.

3DS『逆転裁判４』 MV 王泥喜法介(CV KENN) [YouTube]

3DS『逆転裁判４』 MV 牙琉響也(CV 楠田敏之) [YouTube]

The post Klavier rocks out in this short Apollo Justic?e?? video clip appeared first on Destructoid.

Titles to make your nose bleed

There are some seriously weird games out there – this is what you quickly l??earn when you start collecting them, even with a focus on specific consoles. There's always at least one or two developers, big or small, that like to take serious risks with their releases, sprinkling vast amounts of What The Fuckery wherever they tread.

But games can be weird because of more than just their context. The context of when I bought some of the games in my collection is truly bizarre??, and while some of the titles don't quite fit the rank of "hidden gems", some were never released in some regions for various reasons. I thought at first that my PS1-PS3 collection (t??he main consoles I collect for) was as bland as butter, but on closer inspection, it has its fair share of "What the hell is that?!" moments, too. 

So, in honour of the recent release of Season 2 of Stranger Things on Netflix, here are five games pulled from my shelves (and one from my Steam library) that, whether they're good or bad, are thoroughly "strange". Note that my list doesn't cover some of the genuine PlayStation oddballs like Mr Moskeeto, No One Can Stop Mr. Domino! and LSD: Dream Emulator, simply because I haven't gotten my mi?tts on them yet.

1. Galerians (PlayStation, Polygon Magic/Agetec, 1999)

Let's start off with something fittingly strange and gory. Galerians is a fairly well-known contribution to the PS1-era trend towards survival horror. While Resident Evil provided the player with all manner of artillery, with Silent Hill discouraging the player from battle with its wonky melee mechanics, Galerians didn't give the player any arms at all. Instead, you can make people's heads explode with your mind control powers, while making sure not to over-indulge, lest you give yourself fatal brain damage. Yes, this feels oddly aligned with Stranger Things the more words I type.

Galerians unfortunately never became as popular as Resident Evil and Silent Hill; this was not helped by the fact that the PS2 sequel received some very poor reviews. But with the limitations of the period's signature "tank controls",  which ups the fear factor, and...erm, Dorothy, it's worth adding Galerians to your strange collection.

STRANGENESS LEVELS: Killing goons with telekinesis

2. Hellnight (PlayStation, Atlus, 1998)

Hellnight is "strange" on two different levels, even though it contains elements of horror that have since become bog-standard. The nuts and bolts of the story are fairly straightforward: you wake up in post-apocaly??ptic Tokyo on a wrecked train, with all of your fellow passengers dead. All except for a schoolgirl, who becomes your companion. You both try to escape Toky??o for a brighter future, all while a horrific creature follows your every move.

If you're about to say that it sounds like Atlus stole the blueprints for Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, you're mistaken. This is one of the first horror games to truly play with the concept that what you can't see is scarier than what you can see, as well as dabbling in perma-death. Throughout the game, the protagonist has a g?rand total of zero weapons, and if you encounter the creature lusting after your flesh, you can almost guarantee you'll lose your current party member. And if you lose them, they're gone ?forever.

You can pick up three different replacements if Naomi, your schoolgirl team-mate, dies. Some of them are more useful than others (one of partners you can meet in the middle of the game has a rocket launcher). You do eventually get the ability to defend yourself...to an extent, but if you lose all your partners, then the next time you encounter the monster, it's curtains for you.&n?bsp;

The other strange characteristic is that it was never released in the US, though it did see release in Europe. Maybe Atlus assumed that the mechanics would make the game too hard for Western gamers, but decided to try their hand on the PAL market, anyway. Who knows? This might be a title you can't play without an emulator, a modded console, or without buying a PAL PS1/PS2, but never fear: there are plenty of Let's Plays on YouTube.

STRANGENESS LEVELS: Looking at the Demogorgon. Don't look at him! DON'T!

3. Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer (PlayStation 2, Treyarch, 2002)

OK, time for a bit of backstory, since you'll be certainly wondering why I'?ve leapt from exploding brains and impendi?ng doom to ocean spray.

Rewind back to 2004. As a kid, my parents made the grave mistake of letting me watch MTV2. That's where I saw Viva La Bam for the first time, and, of course, I loved the immensely childish hi-jinks. This led to me watching the extreme sports channel on Sky, and falling in love with skateboarding. I then went out and bought a handful of snowboarding and skateboarding games, and the SSX series is, ?to this day, probabl?y the only series that I am genuinely good at.

Fast-forward to 2017 – I was considering getting myself a longboard, but was too worried about grown-up things like missing work from a broken ankle to actually go through with it. I was now 25 and found the cutscenes in THUG2 juvenile. But for some reason, I decided to buy a copy of Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer ?for my PS2 when I saw it going chea??p on eBay.

I could justify this by saying that I still enjoy extreme sports games, but I also bought Skate not long afterwards, and actually found it a bit tedious. I could reason it by saying that Kelly Slater seems like an effortlessly cool guy, ever since he appeared in the video for one of my favourite Garbage songs. But Kelly Slater feels like the surfing counterpart of Tony Hawk: still an awesome dude, but not really a ??draw for buying games anymore.

Given that my boyfriend picked this off my shelf and, to put it politely, expressed confusion as to why I'd bought this game, it is definitely a strange one. Not because it's a bad game, but because I decided to buy it in 2017. It's totally strange that I bought it now and not 15 years ago.

STRANGENESS LEVELS: Dustin's perm mullet 

4. Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles (PlayStation 2, Ubisoft, 2001)

Cyprien's Chronicles is, to be blunt, an ugly-looking game. It's almost no wonder that it was only released in the PAL region (there wasn't even a Japan release). It also has the honour of being one of t??he last games released for the Dreamcast in Europe; I bought the PS2 versi??on as a nice little curio for my collection about a year ago.

Cyprien's Chronicles is an interesting platformer in that it also explores themes of horror from the perspective of a child. In this regard, it would be a good companion to more recent titles, such as Little Nightmares. You play as an orphan, Cyprien, who is banished to the world of Undabed (g?eddit?) and must rescue his teddy bear, Lenny. 

While it belongs within the ranks of the many mediocre platformers released for the PS2 (and I have plenty of those, such as Herdy Gerdy and Whiplash), it is really striking because of its art style and perspective. Horror and creepiness through a younger protagonist's eyes is not a new theme, but Cyprien's Chronicles is a game that really takes this and runs with it – check it out if you can, or watch it being played online.

STRANGENESS  LEVELS: Those rumours that Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Recreation and Steve Harrington are related

5. Dropsy (PC, Tendershoot, 2015)

Clowns are the creepy figure du jour, thanks to the new feature film version of It (which includes Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things as Richie Tozier). But maybe some clowns just want to make friends? Maybe?? the "evil clown" trope is harmful to some of these gentle beings?

Dropsy is deeply unsettling not b??ecause the clown is the antagonist, but because the clown is the protagonist that everybody unfairly hates. Poor Dropsy has been blamed for a circus fire that killed his own mother; not only is he forced to start his life all over again, but he is ostracised by everyone.

The game is a quirkly, colourful point-and-click adventure, with communcation e??nabled via pictures rather than words. The game as a whole is genuinely unsettling, not just because of the creep factor, but because of how surprising it is to feel sorry for a Bogeyman-type character. The dissonance between what you expect to feel and what you actually end up feeling is as strong as I've ever felt in a game, and that's what makes it strange.

STRANGENESS LEVELS: Befriending townsfolk with hugs...and Eggo waffles

6. Project Rub (Nintendo DS, Sonic Team, 2004)

Project Rub is called Feel the Magic: XY/XX in the US, probably because you guys had more sense to hide how sleazy this game is. I really don't know why I bought it and, in hindsight, it's a game that has not aged well at all, thanks to the creepy content matter. Not creepy like Dropsy. A totally different kind of creepy.

Project Rub is a bunch of mini-games released early in the DS's life cycle that involve a man trying to win over the girl of his dreams. These games reflect the man trying to convince the girl to date him in numerous bizarre way, such as traversing winding pathways suspended above buildings on a unicycle, and fending off a stampede of bulls. It's almost trying to be a WarioWare game, but with a slightly more adult theme.

I wouldn't go so far as to say Project Rub has become inappropriate, but the noughties were saturated with rom-coms, and not just rom-coms where the woman was on an equal footing with the man; there was a lot of "chasing" (see the "manic pixie dream girl" trope). So, I don't think you could get away with a re-release of Project Rub. 

STRANGENESS LEVELS: Snogging your secondary school boyfriend to Toto's Africa

What are the strangest games in your collections? What makes a game "strange" by your standards? Let me know in the comments down below!

The post The ‘Stranger Things’ in my game collection appeared first on Destructoid.

Excellence in a clamshell

The N??intendo 3DS is gradually being put out to pasture, now that it's bulkier, flashier half-brother is taking over. We're bidding adieu to a console that had a pretty impressive back catalogue, and dominated the handheld market for a good number of years. 

But what if you're not ready to say goodbye? What if you want to get more use out of the little pocketbook marvel? Or ??what if you want to get an older console for the first time? Well, the 3DS is backwards compatible with the original DS's games, and if you never tried those out, then you're missing something special.

[Fo??r where to buy the games/hardware, I've linked to Amazon and eBay sellers, but that's not an endorsement for buying off of these sites – you might find better deals elsewhere.]

Hardware

If you're interested not only in playing your original DS games on your 3DS, but in actually getting some hardware, there are three different versions of the DS that you could purchase: the original DS, the DS Lite and the DSi.

I would recommend the DS Lite, as it is more elegant and compact than the unwieldy original. The DSi comes with an internal camera and very small selection of exclusive games, but is crucially missing the Game Boy Advance slot in the bottom of the console. It's your choice – between messing around with a by-now pretty low-grade camera, or opening yourself up to Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, or Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, just for starters. I would take my pretty whi?te DS Lite any day of the week.

The staples

I got a huge amount of use out of my DS Lite, and I still do today, because some of the more popular titles are replayable, distracting fun. One of my favourite aspects of the original DS is that the games wer??e so whimsical; I value a game that can completely pull me out o?f any stress going on in my personal life.

As with a lot? of consoles, the titles that are popular have earned that position due to their quality. There are six of these titles that I would recommend above any others.

1. Trauma Center: Under the Knife (Atlus, 2005)

This game came out around the time I started watching House, M.D. I'd always been fascinated by medical shows, whether it was catching snippets of ER as my parents watched it (I'm still haunted by the surgeon getting his arm chopped off by helicopter blades), or being warned not to run with scissors after watching a particularly grisly episode of Casualty with my grandma. Theme Hospital is also one of my favourite games of all time, so why not? take the action a step further and actually remove lumps of tissue from patients' chest cavities? Heck y??es!

In Trauma Center, you conduct surgical examinations of patients and treat a range of illnesses and injuries that span the mundane to the outright bizarre. Frankly, only Atlus could make draining abscesses with a syringe this compelling. Needless to say, it's not a game for people who flinch at the sight of cartoon ??pus, but it's hardly a gorefest, either. A sequel was released in North America and Japan (not an issue for us PALsters, since the DS, aside from DSi games, is region-free), but the original is absolutely worth giving a go first.

2. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo EAD, 2006)

Getting back to the roots, how can you collect for a Ninty console and not buy a legitimate Mario platformer? Not including this one on the list would have raised a few eyebrows, and for good reason. New Super Mario Bros. is probably one of the more definitive entries to the Mario platforming series. It has very few quirks and twists, though it's undeniable that games that ran away with a theme, such as Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy, are some of the best games ever released for their respective consoles. It's just a simple box-headbutting platform game, which was invaluable for those of us who had long since consigned our Game Boys to the car boot sale. I think this and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins are the two entries I would give to someone if I wanted them to have an immersive experience with Mario games in a single afternoon.

3. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Capcom, 2007)

OK, I get it. Why pick a game from the Ace Attorney series and not go with the ??real G, Mr Phoenix Wright? Did I not enjoy those games? Did Maya cast some sort of befuddlement hex on me?

No, I am deliberately selecting Apollo Justice above any of the originals, as great as they all are. I remember tearing through the Phoenix Wright games as an activity I did every year, when I went on holiday to Majorca with my family. All of the Ace Attorney games I've played (Justice for All, Trials and Tribulations, and Apollo Justice) have been equal parts taxing and fascinating. But Apollo Justice has the most interesting story, in my opinion.

Seeing a young upstart filling Phoenix's defence attorney big boots spoke to me more than being the loveable oaf, Phoenix, himself. Also, the storyline with Klavier Gavin pipped any of the prior ones to the post. I suppose if you want to understand the story properly, you should start right from the beginning and get the first Ace Attorney game. But if you're not the sort of person who minds jumping into a series halfway through, you will certainly enjoy Apollo Justice as your first entry. You don't have to dig around on eBay for a used DS cartridge, either – it's coming to 3DS via the eShop in November.

4. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Level-5, 2007)

I'll admit that this is a series I always borrowed off my sister, rath??er than buying for myself – and one that even my fairly smart 15-year-old brain had trouble with.

Any riddle aficionado will enjoy playing as the Professor as he investigates...well, a curious village, accompanied by his impossibly young assistant, Luke (Layton can expect truancy fines and court summons through his letterbox any time now). You hop from villager to villager, solving the puzzles that they are agonising over, some of which still leave me scratching my noggin. Rather than starting with the most recent iOS release, this is one series where I would advise going back to where it all began, simply because the conundrums have always been flawless. And you'll want to try every single one of them, once you've experienced the Curious Village.

5. Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo EAD, 2005)

This title isn't actually the origins of the series. In this case, there had already been an Animal Crossing title released worldwide for the GameCube, simply called Animal Crossing. Confused yet? Still, I feel like the marriage between Animal Crossing and handheld consoles is an indefatigable one,?? so you owe it to yourself to pick up the first pocket version of the game.

You probably know the drill with Animal Crossing: get into fights with bees, rid the landscape of all sustenance, put up with your neighbours' ?incessant nagging and become an indentured servant. No, but seriously, you plod around your little town, interacting with a number of delightful animals living in nearby shacks, building collections and making your abode beautiful.

If you already have the 3DS release, New Leaf, I would still advise getting Wild World, to see all of its little individual quirks. As with all original DS games, you will have to accept that the online functions are no longer functional. But, regardless, you can have hours of aimless fun in your own little town with Wild World, all w?hile failing to socialise with your real-life neighbours! As it ?should be.

6. Picross DS (Jupiter Corporation, 2007)

This is a very special entry to the list for me, because it's a game I st??ill play on a regular basis. I became interested in on-paper logic puzzles at a very young age, ever since my grandma us??ed to let me try out old puzzle books she hadn't finished. These books always contained a couple of nonograms, and as I got older, I started buying books with just nonograms in. My own rule was always that if I screwed up, that specific puzzle was a wash, because an eraser usually couldn't get rid of the markings 100% and the grid would become impossibly muddy if I tried to start afresh.

Imagine my joy when I released, in 2017 (oh dear, Charlotte), that nonograms had actually clawed their way onto a handheld! Suddenly, I could undo my shoddy work and try the same grid over and over again. It was an amazing discovery for me, and I snapped up a Picross DS cartridge for a handful of coins.

Picross DS is made all the more enti??cing by the fact that there are theme categories, various difficulty options and mini-games, and the more you play, the more puzzles you unlock. I have spent? hours in bed watching Netflix and tucking into a nonogram or ten, and I can guarantee that if you love picture-based puzzles, you will love picross, too.

Honourable mentions

I admit that everything I've included so far isn't very obscure. But if you're in the market for some cult classics, the DS also has plenty to offer in this regard. Elite Beat Agents is an unmissable rhythm game, if you haven't got your fill of the genre after the fairly recent Parappa the Rapper Remastered release. The World Ends With You combines RPG elements and h?ip-hop, while remaining effortlessly cool.

If you want to do something more gruesome with your DS (not an invitation for photos), Resident Evil: Deadly Silence is a commendable port of the game that christened survival horror, with a few of its own neat additions. If you want rock-hard dungeon-crawling, it might be worth keeping an eye out for Etrian Odyssey and its sequel on eBay. For some broodier detective work, check out Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Flower, Sun and Rain. T??he graphics for the DS port of the latter are eye-bleedingly awful, but most ?Suda51 games are work a peek, at least for curiosity's sake.

Of course, there are a few more obvious entries I would encourage you to consider, even though they didn't make it onto my "staples" list. The Cooking Mama series is a guilty pleasure, as I find being rewarded for repetitive movements quite soothing; admittedly, since I learnt how to cook for myself in real life, it's lost some of its charm. And whether the Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training:?? How Old Is Your Brain? games actually make you smarter or not, they do provide a nice l???evel of entertaining challenge – plus, you can't go wrong with sudoku.

Which of the original DS games would you recommend to a first-timer? Did you own a DS back in its heyday? If so, what did you think of it? Let me know in the comments down below!

The post A brief buying guide for the original Nintendo DS appeared first on Destructoid.

It will be adapted into a form of cartoon that originated in the East. What is it?

The Professor Layton series is pretty god damned awesome and has always contained an anime style for it's animation. It was one of the first DS games to have f??ull motion video that didn't look like absolute garbage and even resembled Studio Ghibli, so the announcement of it getting an anime adaptation isn't all that surprising. The news comes from Level 5-abby, a subsidiary of Level-5 and Dentsu Inc.

The series will feature 26 episodes (the perfect length) and will star good ol' Hershel and Luke on many wacky adventures. If each episode doesn't tug at the? heart strings and change your perception of life, then it will fail to live up to any of the games in the series. There isn't a firm date for airing, but the series should be ready sometime next year.

This new show comes from an initiative by Level-5 to expand the Layton series into a "variety of content" that includes "animated products" and even a new game (that isn't Layton's Mystery Journey)! Maybe we'll see a Layton?? themed escape room or murder mystery train tour! That would be fun.

I really love the Professor Layton series and I'm a casual fan of anime, so I'm definitely all for combining the two and making something cool. I even enjoyed the anime film from 2009, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. Whether or ??not you've seen it or liked it, that stands as the best film based on a video game for not only being half-way decent, b?ut also accurately capturing the essence of the series it was based on. I could have done without all the fan service, though.

Licensing Magazine: Professor Layton TV Series in Development [Anime News Network]

The post A new Professor Layton show is in the works appeared first on Destructoid.

Will the final verdict be on our side?

For a good while, I kept telling myself that I would play all of the main Ace Attorney games. At the moment, I managed to finish the first two Phoenix Wright titles, so I'm not too far behin??d in this serious trial.

With Korea's Game Rating and Administration Committee listing the fourth game, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, as a 3DS title, there's a slight chance that it could end?? up on the handheld. In the meantime, we'll have to wait to see if this news will lead to anything big.

If the game appears on the 3DS, then players will get to own every main Ace Attorney game on one system. Since I fell in love?? with the cast's exaggerated actions during the courtroom scenes, I'm hoping that this news will turn into a reality.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney seemingly headed to the ;?Nintendo 3DS [Perfectly Nintendo]

The post Apollo Justice ra??ted in South Korea, could be coming to 3DS appeared first on Destructoid.