Cherrim was a great design. Although not very good in competitive battle, the little thing captured the learts of all cute-loving Pokefans when the sun shone on it. In fact no one ever expected Cherrim to have a closed flower form when Pokemon Diamond/Pearl was released. Not many people liked it either.
"As a team, we were extremely opposed to the idea of an action game where the game wasn't over when an enemy got you. We debated that for quite a long time. ...we thought it would be fine if we just made a fun game the way we're good at." - producer Etsunobu Ebisu
"When serious gamers play, they want to clear a level without any mistakes like running into enemies, so this game is made so you really feel regret when you run into enemies and a strong sense of achievement when you clear a level without any mistakes." - producer Nobuo Matsumiya
Which is kinda weird because the general consensus for Epic Yarn is that it's too god damn easy. You can't even die.
But serious gamers who appreciate creativity and fun in games should still check it out. Me, I just want it because it's too cute not to.
There are 200 sets of each of these adorable DS straps of Gen 5 Pokemon to be given away as prizes on Pokemon Daisuki Club for answering one of their surveys. Only for Japanese people though. I am so freaking jealous....From top to bottom, in order, Tsutaja, Mijumaru, Pokabu, Munna, Chiramii, Zorua, Kibago, Emonga, Reshiram, Zekrom.
The good news is these aren't Daisuki Club exclusives, but rather Pokemon Center products. So you might be able to stumble upon these if you lurk around eBay. I know I want one.
Within the span of two weeks I've sent quite a few of my most favorite Pokemon up to the Dream World. Here's pictures of them lounging in their rooms.
Rankurusu~ Cutest Gen 5 Pokemon ever. He looks even cuter in the Dream World. Never expected him to be this big though- he covers up the Treasure Box in the background!
Chirachiino, another cutie. Note that I've started amassing berries to decorate the bland-looking room. Pokeball chair in the corner, underneath the Dream Catalog.
The only non-Gen 5 Pokemon I've sent into the Dream World thus far, Cleffa!
I've also sent Victini up, though I haven't taken a picture of that. He's really small though, a bit like Cleffa's height. And, of course, Emonga, my first session in Global Link.
I have about 700 Dream Points so far. Getting them is hard, and you need a lot of them to unlock hidden content in Dream World. And the one-hour limit isn't helping. Oh well, what can you do.
Lots of Level-5 and Professor Layton to go around this week (it's Level-5's own event, Vision 2010). I've been meaning to post this wonderful trailer a few days ago but was busy. Anyway, here it is.
Layton 5 takes place right after the events of Layton 4 (Specter's Flute) and the movie (Eternal Diva). Him and Luke travel to a city, and some festival is going on. Before they know it, people are being turned into stone from a guy wearing a mysterious mask. Unlike the classics, this doesn't seem to require people to stare into the mask. Some investigations are underway. Layton's past seems to play a big role in this game too, as with Unwound Future, but a much different part of it. Layton is exploring some ancient ruins, but what this all means is still out of our knowledge. The villain scientist from Layton 4, Descole, crops up as the main bad guy here too.
In terms of gaming worlds, Mask of Miracle looks like the prettiest Layton yet. That's a given since it's on the fresh new 3DS. Environments can be viewed in more than one angle instead of just having a static screen, and Layton/Luke/the other NPCs have full cel-shaded 3D models during regular gameplay, which looks irresistable. Kinda like Ninokuni. Puzzles are also rendered in 3D now. Oh, and speaking of puzzles, from the game's release there will be a new downloadable puzzle EVERY DAY for a YEAR. That's 365 extra puzzles! Layton and puzzle fans can die happy now.
Oh, but not until the storyline wraps itself up, since Layton was meant to be a six-game series. This is only the 5th.
The most well known professor in London returns to the dual screens in his latest adventures. And future London isn't as bright and wirly as one would think. Can Layton save London? Is it even worth trying? Find out in our review.
Mario's always jumping and landing on his feet. That's going to wear out his joints one of these days. A looping gem from Japanese video site nicovideo.
Thought Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver's box was large? You ain't seen nothing yet.
Ninokuni puts all the other DS game boxes to shame by having this giant thing to house both the massive spellbook and another box for the game and instruction manual. Like it? It's like a glorified movie poster (I actually mistook this for an actual movie poster when I first saw it)! Me like.
Hopefully it's not made out of cardboard like Pokemon HG/SS. I imagine the bulk of the spellbook would crush this fragile masterpiece.
High quality trailer of the upcoming 3DS collaboration between two geniuses of the modern gaming world. I guarantee fangasms during the first minute of the trailer if you've played both games before, in particular Phoenix Wright. It's been so many years since he was in action!
When Capcom and Level-5 announced their collaboration on a game project, everyone was expecting good things. But no one ever thought it would be this epic.
The game's been completely torn apart from day one, but Nintendo still has the obligation of showing us official art of their latest Pokemon. Among them, these three handsome blokes shown above.
This. Is. Epic. A Wiimote with Lego bricks covering its case, and you get to customize it with whatever Lego bricks you want! Got an existing Lego set? You can easily stick Lego men heads all around this thing.
One of the most creative Wiimotes by a long mile. Wonder where I can get one?
Dream World officially reopened to anxious Pokemon B/W players wanting to send their Pokemon to sleep today, 1pm Japanese time. I was already in the site when the service reopened, but man, was it tough to get in.
Kirby's Epic Yarn, the biggest Kirby game in literally years, is heading into its release week (October 17 is just a few days away! Pre-ordered yet?)
And a flood of videos and Nintendo's official US ad for the game is now out. The ad is one of the most adorable Wii game ads ever, with none of that 'people waving waggle-motes around' nonsense that was so rife when the Wii launched. It's Kirby in tank mode!
I'll look for gameplay videos posthaste. See ya soon~!
Nintendo has always placed family-friendly prices on its consoles. But when the price for the 3DS was announced...well, just have a look at the results of an online poll taken in Japan (source: GoNintendo)
Not good, Nintendo. You're not going to gain any extra points by making your console cost more. And making it worse is that people feel the price is not justified for the level of technology in the 3DS. Price drop or die.
Pokefreak here. I got a grand idea for this here blog. Now and then, I'm gonna look into a few games not many people tried or didn't notice. I'll give them a small review and we'll see what you, the fans, think about it. All of these will likely be downloadables or games from years back. So let's start off on a good note with Puzzle league Express on your DSi.
Looks real, but that would mean the largest and most important region, the US (gets shot) will be left without any red Wiis or preloaded goodies. Let's see what happens down the road for this one.
Three pairs of new hardware coming soon by Nintendo!
First up, the ones everyone were expecting- DSis with the newest Pokemon mascots Reshiram and Zekrom emblazoned on them. It's almost taboo to have a set of Pokemon RPGs without accompanying special consoles. The white one comes with Pokemon White, and the black one comes with Pokemon Black. No color confusion this time.
Secondly, the new Wiimote Plus won't be bundled right away with Flingsmash, but with Wii Sports Resort first, on November 11th in Japan, and it comes in an ultra-cool aqua blue. Bundled with WSR, but there's not much point when everyone and their moms already own WSR. Sell the disc on eBay, keep the Wiimote Plus. It's more convenient than having an extra lump that de-synches every ten seconds. Really.
And finally, 25th anniversary Mario Red Wii! It comes preloaded with a special version of the original Super Mario Bros. as a Virtual Console game. How special? Check out the shot below:
25. Um...yeeeeah. Interestingly enough there are finally at least three official colors of Wii, after four years of nothing but sterile white. Isn't it a bit too late?
"I do not think we should attribute bad software sales solely to piracy. It is true there is always the influence of piracy, but it is important
for us to increase the number of our consumers who are willing to shell
out their money to purchase our products. So, we do not intend to think
that slower sales are solely due to piracy." - Satoru Iwata.
This coming from the most anti-piracy gaming company ever, the one who made firmware updates every three months which does nothing but block homebrew and flash cards, and the one who whined about losses over Pokemon Platinum ROM downloads, and also the one who's going all out to prevent 3DS from suffering the same fate (we all know it's not going to happen anyway).
But what Mr. Iwata said stands true though- if your game gives you value for money you would be willing to spend more for a genuine copy. If your game stinks, or people on another region of the world have no opportunity to play your game, expect them to be pirated.
Slower sales are mainly due to bad quality FIRST, then piracy.
Welcome back to the fantastic region of Isshu. Pokefreak here again, ready to bring you back to the newest area in all of the Pokemon world. Let's get going!
Famitsu's review score for Keito no Kaabii, or what we call Kirby's Epic Yarn, was...9/8/9/10, which brings it to a total of 36/40. Earning a 10 from one reviewer is no mean feat for the pink puff, and getting such a high total score even harder.
Well that knits up Kirby's good game drought, for now. Epic Yarn is already released in Japan, and we can expect more positive reviews and melted hearts when it comes out in English later this month.
Welcome to the Isshu region, the latest, and one of the largest, regions in the world of Pokemon. My name is Pokefreak. I'll be your tour guide for this adventure. The next set of my blog posts will be small walkthroughs about what you can do in the towns, cities and special places, such as caves and forests, across Isshu. Strap in, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Two pink colored, heart shaped fish? Both of them Water type? Mamanbou (right) was long thought to be the evolution of Luvdisc (left), and in hindsight, it really seems to be ridiculous.
From Kotaku. Someone crafted this adorable patchwork plush doll of Shizuku, the tear spirit in Ninokuni who guides the boy around the alternate world after his mother died. It's not for sale, but man, I would lvoe to have one of these. And maybe make it come alive when I cry on it, like in the game.
When the Pokemon Global Link website opened its doors to Pokemon Black/White players on September 18th, it was gatecrashed and overloaded within half a day, forcing the site to immediately close again (witness the power of Pokemon fans). Today's October 4th, the day the Global Link recovers from its initial shock. And we finally get to take a gander at the features on offer!
Relax, he's kidding. It's like saying I would make a games dev company if Nintendo 5-Star becomes popular.
Image from Kotaku, which in turn was from a quote in CVG.
Ivy the Kiwi? does rock though. I'm sure it'll do decently well anywhere. 2D platforming + cute = recipe for success.
In Pokemon Diamon/Pearl, we saw Game Freak drop Flash as an HM and replaced it with Defog. Flash became TM70, which could be bought at the Veilstone Department Store. It had one small use in D/P/Pt, then an even smaller use in HG/SS. But in Black/White, two caves use it, and you need the move to get to one of the Legendary Fighting Trio!
