E3 2010: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Hits The DS

The long awaited sequel from Camelot’s role-playing series was announced today at Nintendo’s briefing.  The game will take place a generation after the previous entries.  Expect Golden Sun: Dark Dawn this holiday season.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

A horrid disease strikes the land known as the Blorbs. You have never heard of the Blorbs you say well, beware because its not all fun and games. The land searches for a hero. Who knew the hero would be a pair of brothers.

Story

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story has an absolutely amazing and certainly unique plot. This kind of story could only make sense in the  the world of the Bros.  The story starts off first introducing you to a condition known as the Blorbs. The Mushroom Kindgom seems to have become plagued with it. You are then sent to Peach Castle where they await a Starite. To their dismay, this is something even a Starite can’t fixed. They need a hero and they need one fast. Who is the hero you ask, a pair of brothers. As in most Mario games, Bowser ends up storming the castle only to be made into a fool by Mario. With a now dismayed and frustrated Bowser, he finds his way to a mysterious person at a stand who says he has won a “Lucky Mushroom”. Next thing you know, Bowser ends up sucking up the citizens, Mario, Luigi, Peach and more!

Graphics

The graphics are pretty normal for a DS game yet, they seem fresh and vibrant. I kept saying, ” WOW, this looks really good!” and in all honesty, the game looks fantastic.  It just goes to show that you don’t need fancy graphics to make a great game. The bright and vibrant colors seem to make the game pop and bring the characters to life.

Gameplay

They could have very easily screwed up the game controls to feel very cramped and unnatural however, they delivered dead on when it comes to control. Throughout the game, you switch between playing as Bowser to Mario and Luigi. When playing as Bowser, you will typically use x,y buttons. When you play as the Bros., you use the “A” button for Mario and ‘B” for Luigi and somehow, it seems to translate extremely well on the DS. Playing as the characters is just as exceptional. Getting to switch from Bowser to the Bros., I never seemed to get bored of the gameplay. My next aspect is the RPG elements, after all, this is an RPG. I found the combat system to be extremely refreshing and easy to use. It was a very pleasant experience switching to special attacks, selecting normal attacks, equipping items etc.  Leveling up is an overall very satisfying experience, especially when you even get to upgrade the Bros.’s stashes. The combat system while usually composed of one to two buttons, still requires skill and timing.

Overall

This was the first Mario and Luigi RPG I had ever played and I have to admit, I had no idea how good of a game it would be. I was not let down. From the fun and quarky story to getting to play as Bowser when he’s 7 stories tall yet, the story ties up all together at the end. I found myself just wanting to play more and more. Whether it be trudging through the inside of Bowser in search of the Princess herself or battling as Bowser himself, I couldn’t get enough of it This is one of the best Mario games I have played in awhile. The controls translated well, the vibrant colors made the graphics pop off the screen and an unique and inventive story line. Which is why I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

30 Reviews in 30 Days, Day 28: Chrono Trigger

There was a time when I had one top game of all time. You would ask me what was the best game I ever played, and I would point to one cartridge on the SNES that ate up more of my time than any other. This game more than any made me an RPG fan, and I always felt it was the crown jewel of Square Enix (just Square at the time), and not the Final Fantasy games.

That game is Chrono Trigger.

Now, there are 5 games I list as the best I have ever played, but even some 14 years after it made its debut on the SNES, Chrono Trigger is still on that short list.

So why does this game stand out so much in my mind? The answer is easy. Chrono Trigger manages to be something many other RPGs have tried to be and failed: epic.

How I got hooked

As I have mentioned before, I did not own an SNES during its popular time period. In fact, until I got the Dreamcast, I never 0wned a console in its current generation, and even then I got it after the release of the PS2. My cousin did have one, though, and I spent many a night over at his place playing it since he lived near Arizona State, where I was attending college.

I do not remember why my cousin chose to buy Chrono Trigger. He tended to try and stay up on gaming news, and he had read something somewhere about it that really had caught his interest. Still, neither of us really knew much about it. It did not take long for him to start telling me I had to play it, however. So, one day while I was over there, I started a new game, with him watching and offering advice from time to time.

Everything seems kind of bland…till Marle vanishes.

I remember not being all that impressed at first. Here you are, this character named Crono, wandering aimlessly around the Millennial Fair. Sure, you bump into Marle and you battle a training robot, but it’s just not that exciting. Then you are informed that your friend Lucca is ready to demonstrate her newest invention, so you and Marle go to see it.

Turns out Lucca is a genius, and she has created a teleport pad. Crono steps into the pad on the left hand side, Lucca and her father flip a few switches, and presto, he appears on the other padon the right. Marle decides she wants to try as well, but something happens. The pendant she is wearing starts to glow, and Marle disappears, leaving it behind. Crono decides he has to go after her, only to find himself back in time 400 years, trying to save Marle’s ancestor so she will not vanish from time.

At that point, I was hooked.

Truly Epic Story

One area many RPGs fail is their storylines just tend to fall flat. Chrono Trigger in no way falls prey to this. As you and your ever growing team (you can get up to 7, though only 3 can be a part of your party at any given time) travel through time, you begin to understand that the whole world is in danger thanks to the nightmare that is Lavos. You must move around through time, completing different quests in different areas to try and find out what if anything can be done to stop this menace.

So you have multiple story threads being woven together through different eras in the game, but that is not all. Square did such a great job of breathing life into every main character in the game, especially your team members. Crono never actually talks in the game, and yet it quickly becomes evident that he is a truly brave warrior willing to lay down his life for his friends. Marle is actually the princess of the kingdom of Gardia, but she prefers to spend her time away from the castle in defiance of her father. Lucca is a brilliant inventor who has been at least somewhat shunned by those who do not understand her. Frog, an adventurer from the past who was turned into a frog-man by a powerful sorcerer, blames himself for the death of his friend Cyrus, the hero of Gardia. Heck, even the cave girl Ayla and Robo the robot from the future are not 2d characters.

An epic storyline and unique combat make Chrono Trigger a must own for RPG fans.

Oh, and I know I said there were 7 possible characters. It’s just for the sake of those of you who have not played the game yet, I do not want to tell you who the 7th is. Trust me when I say he has quite the back story.

So, you have a great plot that spans several eras, characters you grow to care about throughout the game, and one major turning point in the game that not only grabs you but changes the game completely. Like I said, this story is just flat out epic.

Reinventing Turn Bassed Combat

The story is not the only thing that will impress you about Chrono Trigger. The game was truly revolutionary, introducing several of the conventions that are now used in RPGs, especially those that have stuck to the turn based model.

As I said earlier, you control a party of 3 characters at a time. In combat, these three have speed ratings that determine how quickly they will be able to make their attacks. Once the meter fills, you can choose your next move, but choose quickly because the enemy can attack as you make your decision (you can turn the active battle system off so that enemies wait for you to make your decision, but what is the fun in that?).

Seems simple enough, right? Well, at its base, it is, but then there is Tech. Tech is your special attacks and magic. Using Tech will use up magic points, which you have to refill with ethers as per normal RPG rules. Here’s where things get interesting, though. You see, you have 3 levels of Tech. The first level is performed by the person you are controlling. Then there is Double Tech, in which 2 characters team up to attack. For example, Lucca controls fire, and one of her Double Tech attacks is to throw flame onto Crono’s sword so he can do both physical and fire damage to the opponent. Then there is Triple Tech, where all three combine their efforts. The problem is you cannot pull off Double or Triple Tech unless every character involved can make a move at that time.

So what does that mean? It means combat, especially in the latter stages of the game, becomes a balancing act where you are constantly having to decide if it is better to attack with the character who is ready now or wait for the others to perform more powerful combined attacks. This strategic gameplay really helps separate Chrono Trigger from the more standard fare of turn based RPGs.

Oh, then there’s the New Games +.

Just how many endings are there to this game?

Depending on the choices you make and side quests you complete before facing Lavos, you will get several different slight variations of the ending of the game. After it is all done, you are given the chance to start the game over with your leveled up characters and equipment. This New Game + feature may be a mainstay in games now, but it was a relatively new concept when it was done in this game.

The thing is this feature is not just a nice little addition that in the end does not really amount to much. There are 13 unique endings in Chrono Trigger. Which one you get depends directly on when you beat Lavos. You see, from the very beginning of the game, you can go directly to the final fight with the ultimate evil by going to the left teleport pad instead of the right, which means you will face it with only Crono and Marle. If you do not have the 2 of them seriously powered up, you will not last long in that battle. If you do manage to beat it, you will be able to tour through different parts of the game, talking to NPCs who represet the game designers saying things like “You never even got to the part I created.”

These graphics on an SNES were just startling.

So how different are these endings? Some of them are radically different. For example, Frog may turn back into a human, or the world may be run by reptiles. It’s all up to you and when you choose to beat Lavos.

So you have a great storyline, phenomenal gameplay and major replayability. Add to that graphics that were unrivaled by anything on the SNES, and you have the makings of one of the most popular RPGs ever. So popular, in fact, that it was released on both the Playtation and the Nintendo DS. There is also a “sequel” on the Playstaion called Chrono Cross, but it can hardly be called a true sequel. Sure, it is a good game in its own right, but it is only loosely connected to the original and does not carry over the use of Tech.

So, you’ve decided you want to play the game, and now you just want to know which version to play? Well, avoid the Playstation one at all costs; the load times will frustrate you to no end. Really, the DS version is the best, with the inclusion of the anime cut scenes from the Paystation version,  a few new features and a new, improved localization of the game.

As I said earlier, this game is just truly Epic. There is no other way to describe it. Chrono Trigger gets a 5 out of 5.

Just 2 more reviews to go.

30 Reviews in 30 Days, Day 24: Peggle

Some games are just addicting in a way that really defies explanation. Tetris was that type of game. All we actually did in this game was complete lines, and yet we played it for hours on end. If you think about it, there are probably several different games you could list in this category. Just think of those games you go back to time and time again and yet really cannot explain just what draws you to them. I bet you’ll come up with a few. I certain can.

To me, Peggle falls into this category. At its heart, this is such a simple puzzle game, but I would dare anyone to spend a little time with it and not get hooked.

All you do is launch the ball

When it comes right down to it, the gameplay for Peggle is extremely simple. You have a little cannon launcher at the top of the screen. You use it to aim at the pegs on the board, the plan being to send the ball ricocheting off those pegs. The majority of these pegs, which in later levels can be bricks, are blue, and hitting them just gives you points. The pegs you need to focus on are the orange ones; to advance to the next level, you must hit all of them. Every time you fire a ball out of the cannon, you use up one of the balls in your stock for that level. Run out of balls before you hit all the orange pegs, and you do not advance to the next level.

That’s it. That is the basic gameplay. Seriously, that is the basis of the entire game. Now granted, you do get the ball slowing down when it is about to hit the final orange peg, and if you do hit it, ‘Ode to Joy” starts playing as your ball travels to the bottom of the screen to get your bonuses, but that is the whole point of the game.

It may not look like much, but Peggle will keep you coming back for more.

It’s the ways the game designers tweak the game from there that makes it so addictive.

Gems, Powerups and Extra Balls

Remember how I said you use up one of your stock of balls every time you fire one out of the cannon? Well, you can gain extra balls in the game, which makes it easier to pass levels. You can gain these extra lives, if you will, a couple of different ways. The easiest is to make sure your ball drops into the little cup that moves back and forth across the bottom of the screen. The other way is to score enough points in one shot that you earn an extra ball. You do this by hitting more pegs in a single shot or by accomplishing skill shots, which are ricochets that occur over a great distance.

Then there are the purple pegs. Before each shot, one of the blue pegs will turn purple. If you hit this purple peg, you get a higher score for that shot. Once you hit a certain number within the level, you are taken to another board where you use the bumpers to bounce the balls and collect the gems to gain more points, which in turn gives you extra balls.

The green pegs are the ones you really want to hit, however. Each level will have two green pegs. Hitting these pegs will activate a special power. The power varies based on what master you ware working with in the adventure mode. They include such abilities as gaining a guideline that shows where your ricochet is going to go, fireballs that will go right through pegs, magic hats that highlight any pegs they touch as if the ball hit them or the zen shot, which adjusts your shot just a touch to give you a better score. These power ups are what really makes this game so addicting.

In the end, Peggle is not some phenomenal, groundbreaking game that makes you rethink puzzle games. It is incredibly addicting, however, and I guarantee you will find it very hard to stop playing. It may not sound like much, but trust me; you just need to try it to get hooked. Peggle gets a 4 out of 5.

30 Reviews in 30 Days, Day 11: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

I first heard about Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords on either 1Up Yours or EGM Live. They talked about it on both shows, and I could not quite wrap my head around the idea: a puzzle game crossed with an RPG. Sounded like an odd combination to me, but the more I started to hear about it, the more I was intrigued. I finally broke down and purchased the DS version of the game. Several hours of gameplay later, it still ranks up there as one of the best puzzle games I have ever played.

A simple premise brilliantly executed

The idea behind Puzzle Quest is actually quiet simple: take the match three puzzle play of Bejeweled and toss in a light RPG element to keep players coming back for more. In the beginning of the game, you are given the chance to choose the type of character you want to play, and you will find many of the fantasy archetypes present and accounted for, including the ranger and the warrior.

Each character has different spells and attacks he or she can learn, so who you choose does make a difference. For example, the ranger will have spells that rely more heavily on the elements, where the knight may have more direct attacks. You gain the ability to activate these spells or attacks by building mana from the puzzle; if you match green gems, you get green mana, if you match red you get red, etc. Each spell requires a certain amount of at least one and often many types of mana, and these spells can range from attacking gems on the board and getting the damage effects to hurting your opponent directly.

Beleive it or not, you can combine a puzzler with an RPG.

After choosing a character, you get into the RPG element of the game. Unfolding before you is a story of an ancient evil that is slowly starting to reawaken. It is up to you and your allies to stop this evil. You do this by moving about the land, doing different quests and fighting different enemies along the way. These battles are fought on the puzzle board, where you match the colored gems to get mana to use for your spells. There are also skulls on the board, and if you match they, you deal damage to your opponent directly. The battle is over when either you or your opponent run out of health.

Seems simple enough, right? It is, yet there is a much deeper element to this game than there appears at first glance.

More hardcore role playing than you might think

For a game with such a simple premise, Puzzle Quest is actually a serious RPG. As you progress through the game, you are given choices that will effect whether or not you gain allies. These allies aid you in battle, doing things like hurting certain types of opponents or lowering their attack capabilities. These allies can help turn the tide of combat, especially early in the game.

If you face off against a creature enough times, you can try to capture that creature. To capture, you must remove all the gems from the board you are given. The harder the creature, the harder it is to make the appropriate moves to capture them. Once captured, you can train the ones you can ride and use them to improve your speed and attack. The ones you cannot ride, you can learn their spells, which you do by matching mana and scrolls in the puzzle.

On top of that, you can lay siege to the cities around you. If you win the siege, you gain control of that city, which means it will produce income for you. Of course the city might rise up against you, and you may find yourself having to beat it again to regain control.

Capture enemies, learn spells, gain allies…. The hardcore RPG fan will find much to love about Puzzle Quest.

Add to this your standard character leveling system and the chance to craft master weapons and armor through the puzzle board, and you find there really is a much deeper game here than meets the eye. The story may be a little cliched, but the rest of the game makes up for it.

The one major flaw

You mat have noticed that Puzzle Quest is in my top 10 games of all time. Only one thing keeps it out of the top five: the one major flaw of the game.

Imagine this: you are facing off against an opponent you should be able to beat. Several moves in, it looks like everything is going your way. Suddenly, the enemy gets a rather convenient combo of gems, allowing it to gain another turn. Then it happens again. And again. In no time, this battle that was going so heavily in your favor has gotten out of hand, and you find yourself losing.

Puzzle Quest has what has been referred to as a rather convenient AI. At too many points in the game, you will find your opponent making just the right move, which leads to a chain reaction that completely turns the tide of battle. This becomes extremely annoying at the end when you are facing against Lord Bane. He is a difficult enough final boss to fight without having to worry about him “cheating.” It is the one major flaw of the game, an it will leave you needing to walk away from it on more than one occasion.

That being said, Puzzle Quest is easily one of the most addicting games I have ever played. I have payed for the DS version twice (and soon will probably get it for a third time), and I also own the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game. I guess I just can’t get enogh of it. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords gets a 5 out of 5.

Serving Up Sushi For The DS

How many of you love Sushi? Well if so, you are in luck. City Interactive is publishing what they call, “The first-ever video game dedicated entirely to sushi”. Now while there are a few games that involve Sushi, this is supposed to be the first about cooking it. To me, it sounds like they took Cooking Mama, took out the Mama and added a lot of Sushi. The current release date is slated to be in October and is suggested to be $20. So will it be a recipe for a success or just over -cooked?

EDG Podcast Special: Nintendo DSi

Join Patrick and Tom for a special edition podcast where they break down the recently released Nintendo DSi as well as give their thoughts on it’s future.

Hosts In: Patrick Adams & Thomas Pine

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Nintendo DSi Gets Price and Release Date

According to Nintendo, the DSi will be releasing April 5th for $169.99 and will come in either Blue or Black.

Some features included:

-The camera which lets you take and share pictures with friends as well as use it in games that take advantage of it.

-DSi Sound which lets you record voice and use it with music and games.

-DSi Store – similar to WiiWare you will be able to download games with DSiWare points.

I personally am really looking forward to the DSi and will most likely purchase it on day one. The DSiWare has a lot of potential so I am excited to see how that goes. Anyone else considering picking it up?