Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army mini-review

While Shin Megami fans in PAL region awaits patiently for Atlus and Koei to complete the PAL conversion of Persona 3, we will have at least one other game in their collection to kill time. Here is a round down on what to expect from Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army (hence forthwith be referred as Devil Summoner 3) the game with the longest title in PS2 history, also the quirkiest SMT game in recent history. Originally released back in April/May the title has taken some time to be hunted down, filtered into my collection, misplaced while moving, finding its way back into my collection and then finally getting played.

Devil Summoner 3 is a unique addition to the Megaten series as it is based in past: 1920s Japan during the fictional 20th year of the Taishō era in Edo (Tokyo) rather than the usual present or post-apocalyptic world. You play as Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th Devil Summoner from the Kuzunoha clan, whose job includes being a 17 year old student and more importantly works as an assistant detective at an occult agency known as Narumi Detective Agency, whose sole task involves investigating paranormal activities and inducing in Pokémon-like demon luring. The hero even has a talking sidekick cat. The game is divided into 12 episodes with each lasting 2-3 hours. As the title implies, Raidou has the power to summon captured demons. Demon actions can be controlled or left alone to its own device. Demons can also be summoned during exploration and each has their own unique abilities which Raidou can use to help his investigations.


Unlike main Megami Tensei games, Devil Summoner 3's battle combat system isn't turn based - it is action based! Encounters are still random, which makes for a slight jarring combat when experiencing the transition between exploration to battle mode. During combat Raidou is placed in an enclosed small open platform where the battle begins. You can tell that this isn't a speciality of Atlus as combat isn't as fluid as most action based games like Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry. Camera is your worse enemy here as the over head camera's lack of interaction can be detrimental to the enjoyment of the game. An option for third person shoulder camera would have been wise and would have made hacking and slashing a bit more enjoyable. You will have access to two types of weapons (a sword for close range and a gun) and combos can be activated. Ammos can be upgraded to include elemental bullets and demons can be cross-bred and fused to toughen them up.


The 1920s industrialisation and westernisation of Tokyo visuals style of the game is matched by yet another stylistic character design by series staple designer Kazuma Kaneko. The graphics however isn't as impressive and certainly won't win any awards, much less nominated in them (probably if it was released on the Dreamcast). The prerendered backgrounds does serves its purpose as it allows for our hero to investigate around and interview people as in most point and click adventure games though because cameras are fixed I often find the Final Fantasy X's fixed camera style as detrimental to the gameplay. Dungeons are none-existent as random battles occurs during investigations in normal areas and backtracking and revisiting previously visited area is a must. The music style is virtually unchanged from the one you get in Nocturne (Lucifer Call) and Digital Devil Saga series, which isn't a bad thing as the roaring guitar score has always been part of the Megaten lore.


Devil Summoner 3 is perhaps the most mainstream of Megaten titles, not without irony as the title itself is pretty none-mainstream (and corny). The accessibility is mainly down to the carefree (and funny) linear plot as well as the simplified battle system which makes the game rather easy though I am not sure if the overuse of terminology will help (Atlus needs to publish a lexicon). However this should not put off fans of Megaten proper because Devil Summoner 3 is fun though hardcore jRPG fans may loathe it purely from a gameplay point of view alone. Replayability is a none-factor as it has almost none, but it does have a New Game+ mode for completists. If you love RPG and have an open mind on where games can take you then Devil Summoner 3 should be considered (if you can find it - I know most shops don't stock them, if ever).

Now Atlus, with Bloomberg (of all news organisation) announcing Persona 4, please please at least let us play Persona 3 first.

7/10

PAL shoppers can get the title here where as NTSC gamers should import from Play-Asia.

Christmas pudding

So what is the best out there? Can't be arsed to make one even if I knew how (plus I am a couple of months late). Candidate: Sainsbury's, Waitrose, M&S, Co-Op or Tesco (not if I can help it). Asda (Walmart UK edition) is too far and too unethical for me to consider anyway.

I enjoyed Waitrose last year but its a posh place for groceries.

Oh and here is a teaser from Duke Nukem Forever.


Does anyone seriously care about this vaporware anymore?

Not a review: Geometry Wars: Galaxies, an addiction

So yesterday on the train to Brighton, I booted up Geometry Wars: Galaxies for the first time. It was meant to be a quick short play while waiting for a missed train, but what a 'short' play it was. Two hours later my rather weak left arm hurts like hell and I demanded my 20th play. Exiting the station I started making my way to Kuju Brighton to demand injury compensation, except that Kuju Brighton is now called Zoe Mode and that Galaxies was actually developed by Kuju Sheffield.

D'uh!

To cut a long story short, no I didn't go to Sheffield. But I did let the minus one degree centigrade weather and some beer soothe the pain as I down some Thai Massaman curry from the local pub down at the Laines. And all I could think of was damn, let this social event end so I can head home and play me some more Geometry Wars (which I eventually did after being delayed at East Croydon for an hour on the way home and freezing in the cold because the National Rail monkeys forgot to turn on the heaters). Then buy a PS3 just so I can play Everyday Shooter and Super Stardust HD. But what I really needed to do is 'level-up' the stupid drone.


Yes, Geometry Wars: Galaxies has some RPG-esque gameplay mechanism, which weird as it may sound is actually brilliant. A tiny drone follows you around and is at first a pathetic little bugger. But as new galaxies are opened up with new abstract alien fighters coming after my spanner shaped starship, that drone has to be trained to defend me at all cost, or collect tiny currencies left over by dead aliens. Especially in later levels when the borders starts to shape shift into geometrically weird, uhm, shapes. Visually the game is wonderful with particles swarming the screen to great effect. Frame rate does occasionally suffer as combat gets frantic which is the biggest issue with the game.


You control your ship with the directional pad and use the stylus to shoot. It is that simple and effective and yet flawed as it keeps hurting my weak left arm. Why didn't you put an analog stick on the DS, Nintendo? Even a cheap one like on Sony's PSP would have sufficed. The soundtrack on the other hand is decent. A mixture of 90s psychedelic electro-techno dance music grace the DS tiny speaker proves how much the people of Sheffield are still stuck way in the past. But it does lend to the experience and yes, I do enjoy my rare moments with techno pop. Just make sure you have an earphone at hand as you will be wanting to play this at full volume.


Richard once quipped that the Xbox 360 is worth getting just for Geometry Wars version alone. Maybe, but golly no RROD for me please. So why not the Wii version? After all it is just like the DS, only on a bigger screen with better graphics, a leader board (who cares?) and with waggle control to boot. But why would one want to confine themselves to a stationary console when you can have a much better controlled version in your pocket to play whenever and wherever you want? Galaxies is one of the most addictive shooter to ever grace the DS and the perfect 'just one more time' game. Just ask my left arm.

8/10

Buy the DS version here (for all regions). The Wii version is only compatible with NTSC consoles.

Two extended Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII trailers

I wasn't really looking forward to Final Fantasy XIII. Mainly because it will be directed by Motomu Toriyama of Final Fantasy X-2. But Toriyama did an excellent job on Revenant Wings. Then there is that brooding protagonist, Lightning, whose designed reminds me of another brooding Final Fantasy character. Now to me that is not a good thing, but it is still early days. But how about some facial variations for once Nomura?


Lightning demonsrates the real time battle system


Shiva morphs

Anyway the new extended trailer of XIII and Versus XIII are hot. XIII more so than Versus XIII (super moody characters FTL). I am digging the real time battle scenes of XIII, though it remains to be seen if Toshiro Tsuchida can match or surpass the Active Dimension Battle system from Final Fantasy XII. Not sure about a Shiva capable of turning her goddess (twin) self into a motorcycle though... If the final game matches the target render seen in the trailer then I have no idea how long it will be for me to be able to resist the PS3.

Six fictional female RPG characters

So here is another blog filler for December! Why six? I honestly have no clue. Probably just got too lazy to continue typing after six and I had to make time to write my review for Devil Summoner as well as other useless December fillers. But any who here is my personal list of the top six fictional female characters in role playing video games.

Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca
Appearances: Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Until her boy husband gets himself killed in battle, Ashe was the princess of Dalmasca. Thought dead she founded an underground resistance group aimed at liberating her nation from the Archadian empire. At first seeking revenge, she ultimately rejected vengeance and the lure of power of the Nethicite and instead aligned herself with Larsa, the younger brother of the leader of the Archadian empire to seek peace between the warring nations of Ivalice. Personally I find Ashe, not only the most beautiful of all fictional female characters, but also the most powerful. Why else did I make her the party leader of my all-female main party? She wields a powerful sword, is agile, a good healer and her stats are well rounded. Basically a good all rounder and makes for a good tank mage hybrid. The fact that she has the miniest of all mini skirts makes her even more adorable, but beyond that never once did the developers attempted to sexualised her. All hail Queen Ashe.

Etna
Appearances: Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
Etna is a super skinny flat chested 1400 year old cute demon class female. She becomes immediately likeable after the first scene where we are treated with her gross method of waking up the slumbering prince of darkness, Laharl. Untrustworthy, Etna is a devious vassal who reveres the late king and her schemes brings much humour to the game. In one of the endings she murders Laharl and snatch the seat to become the new overlord or the Netherworld. Because there are various endings this may not be true for some, but I like to think of this as canonical. The beauty queen also leads the Prinny squad, an army of penguins with bat like wings, whose jobs includes being used as suicide bombers and slaves. A bonus mode based on what if Etna killed Laharl instead of waking him scenario is present in the PSP port of Disgaea, so make sure you buy Afternoon of Darkness.

Hrist Valkyrie
Appearances: Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria

One of the three Valkyries chooser of the slain, Hrist is the elder sister of Lenneth and Silmeria. She isn't a playable character in both games, but she is ruthless and therefore memorable. Her hatred for humans is matched by her demented actions. Loyal to Odin, part of her deeds includes destroying Dipan at Midgard after the events of Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria and before Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. Her schemes in trapping the fugitive Silmeria is downright cunning. Hrist also happens to appear in both games as a boss, and while not the strongest her appearances are both important to the mythology and storyline. It would be interesting if tri-Ace and Square Enix would eventually develop a third Valkyrie Profile game which allows us to play as the most mysterious of the goddess of fate.

Jessica Albert
Appearances: Dragon Quest VIII: The Journey of the Cursed King
She may not be the best female character from the Dragon Quest series, but Jessica certainly is the most memorable. Part of this is no doubt due to the 3D nature of the game which allows more creative freedom for character development. While short tempered and have a lot of deal with after the death of her brother, Jessica proves very valuable to core gameplay and plot of Dragon Quest VIII, especially when she was briefly possessed. She is primarily a sorcerer although her whip does come in handy. Players can also change the clothings which includes 'Bunny's Costume' and 'Dangerous Bustier'. Her charm attack such as 'Puff Puff' and 'Hip Drop' also works well in lightening the mood as well as proving that the 360 is not the only console that can uhm, render jiggles.

Rydia
Appearances: Final Fantasy IV
As a child Rydia was made an orphaned when Kain and Cecil of Baron gallivanted around and destroyed her village Mist and killed her mother (indirectly). Even at such a young age she has already shown potential by summoning Titan in anger, causing an earthquake that separates Cecil and Kain. She eventually agrees to join a repented Cecil to fight Baron. For a child she has the maturity of an adult as seen in her conversation with a wimpy Gilbert, the spoony bard. However it wasn't long until she was separated from the party when the group was attacked by Leviathan. Fortunately for her she was taken in to the land of summons where due to the different in time flow she aged differently, eventually re-emerging as a healthy, happy and hot adult Rydia. Though she lost her abilities to conjure white magic she has learnt to become the greatest summoner in Final Fantasy lore. The new render of her for Final Fantasy IV DS is hawt!

Princess Nadia
Appearances: Chrono Trigger
Marle is a tomboy princess of the Kingdom of Guardia, whose bored life was the catalyst for the event surrounding Chrono Trigger when she uses Lucca's teleporting machine and accidentally herself back in time to 600 A.D., creating a ripple in the space time continuum. Marle is pretty independent and strong for a princess as proven by her weapon of choice: the crossbow (yeah!). In one of the many alternate ending she eventually marries Chrono, the hero and main protagonist of the game. I like her because her character reminds me so much of Bulma (Dragon Ball), whose penchant for adventure is similar to that of Marle's. Obviously Marle is far more independent than the technology reliant and whiny Bulma.

So which female (or male) RPG characters rock your boat? Please no Tifa or Aerith.

No More Heroes

No More Heroes is my most anticipated, nay, my only anticipated Wii game for 2008. News that Europe/PAL region will be receiving a so-called "censored" version doesn't really bother me much, unlike the many prepubescent 12-year old gamers whose knee jerk reactions embarrass me. It is already a heavily stylized game anyway, so who is going to be bothered about some red blood or some headless corpse? Certainly not me. I don't need morbid curiosity to stir me up to actually play a game, watch a film or read a book. As long as it plays better than the turd that was Manhunt, then stop whining and play the damn game. People who rejects this game purely because it does not feature decapitation or blood are demented and needs professional help.

Here is a wallpaper (via GAF) for you to enjoy. Do it Travis style.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings review

Final Fantasy XII was one of the last blockbuster title to grace the PlayStation 2 and was easily one of the greatest Japanese RPG titles on the still ticking console. It was also ground breaking from a technical point of view where Square Enix introduced their new version of menu based combat system. Some say (me included) that it was the right evolution move that menu based RPG combat system should go, while some purists downright hate it. Unfortunately despite clocking in 70 hours for the main campaign, the plot-driven story was often deemed too grand as not enough attention was paid to character development. It was no surprised that while Vaan was initially thought to be the 'leading man' of the game, it was eventually made clear that his participation in the game is merely an observer of sorts. His story is sort of shelved early on in favour of plot development.

The sequel Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings aims to rectify some of this 'mistakes'. Released on the Nintendo DS platform, the game is part of the so called 'Ivalice Alliance' umbrella series. The common theme shared among the titles under the series are the games are based in Ivalice, the fictional world first appeared in the original Final Fantasy Tactics. The series was created to expand on the mythology of Ivalice with both old and new titles. The games includes Final Fantasy XII, the recent remake of PS1 classic Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS).

The game begins a year after the events of Final Fantasy XII with Vaan and Penelo now gallivanting sky pirates. After obtaining the Strahl with Balthier and Fran they encounter an airship that landed in Rabanastre. They and their band of sky pirates mates Kytes, Filo and Tomaj board it only to find themselves in Lemurés, the floating continent above Ivalice. While scavenging for treasures they meet Llyud, an Aegyl who has been defending his world from other sky pirates searching for magicites (known here as Auracite). Vaan decides to help the Aegyl and is soon joined by other well known Final Fantasy XII characters aimed at restoring peace to Ivalice. While Vaan remains the leader of sort, the plot of Revenant Wings much like Final Fantasy XII is far grander than the characters.

Plenty of previous characters from Final Fantasy XII makes an appearance including fan favourite Blathier as well as Ashe and Judge Magister Basch. Espers returns in a huge way in this title and can be summoned far more times than any other Final Fantasy titles (that I know of anyway). Character design is handled by Ryoma Ito and features a more unique super deformed child-like appearance and suits the overall visual style and the petite screen estate. Jobs are predefined and can't be changed. Penelo for example is a White Mage and Ashe's role is changed to a Time Mage bomber - which was a WTF moment as she was a sword wielding Battle Mage hybrid in the first game.


The battle system is a mixture of RTS, real time RPG and SRPG. Exploration occurs on a isometric 3D plane similar to Final Fantasy Tactics where the enemies are visible (no random battles here). To move you must select the character(s) via stylus and tap on the location you want them to move to. Tapping on an enemy will instruct the party selected to attack. Any enemies that comes close will trigger an auto-attack by members of the party. Like any RTS game 'tank rush' is one tactic that can be used but most of the time Espers (known as Yarhis) can not be summoned willingly unless an Esper Gate is captured and even then the amount of Esper summoned depends on the party's statistics.

Unlike Brownie Brown's disappointing Heroes of Mana, the SRPG elements are deeper than what most would have assumed. It includes changing the Gambit associated with each party member and using the character's various unique abilities. Gambit is used to control the party member's desired actions though these can easily be override manually, but unlike the Gambit used in Final Fantasy XII, you can only select one particular Gambit per party member. New Gambits can be obtained through reaching certain levels.

You will have the chance to strategies before each battles as the game allows you to choose from different types of Espers and five party members before the start. Each characters and Espers statistics can be viewed before hand and are divided into categories. First through the elements in which the Espers belongs to, then its combat style: melee, ranged and airborne and finally the rank levels (out of three). A limited amount of Yarhis can be summoned during a battle and capturing more summoning gates will help breach the limit as well as increasing stats.

New Espers (of which seasoned fans will recognise from previous Final Fantasy instalments) can be obtained by creating a pact with the Esper type through the Esper Pact Ring, similar to the License Board from Final Fantasy XII. Pacts can only be created by accumulating enough Auracite and trading them in. Party members can be upgraded with new weapons through purchasing or synthesizing weapons through alchemy with materials obtained through scavenging. Kinda like Dragon Quest VIII, but without the bloody annoyance of having to go through a green toad and waiting 30 minutes for a kettle bell.

Because Revenant Wings was designed from the ground up to be a portable title, the game is mission based rather than free exploration. Personally I find this great as it was nice being able to complete two or three missions per each train journey. Exploration is none existent and any dungeons featured are divided up into sub-missions. Missions range from infiltration to destroying enemy crystals and wiping out enemy leaders. It certainly makes it easier to pick up for a few minutes as the bus stop far easier to stomach. Tank rush (swarming) is an essential strategy to winning the majority of missions as the lack of real screen estate makes micro managing a torture, though at times you will find yourself applying different strategy (such as running around the map away from high level bosses).

The visuals of the game is certainly remarkable and in my opinion is the best looking DS game currently on the market. The usage of detailed 3D environments with 2D sprite characters works well. While the sprites are low-res, they are well animated to the point of recognising many signature moves by the party members including Vaan's ridiculous carefree pose. But seeing the characters animated such as Vaan throwing a punch at Balthier was satisfying as was when Penelo was helplessly slumped to the ground. Even character expressions like laughs or sadness are noticeable just from the changes a couple of pixels. Pixel art has certainly come a long way since the SNES days.

What I find impressive is that the game never stutters whenever combat gets heavy. At certain missions you can expect probably close to a hundred sprites on the battlefield each one animated independently, and even despite that I never notice the frame rate suffering. The music is good too as the soundtrack is again composed by Tactics Ogre's Hitoshi Sakimoto, so plenty of your favourite tunes from Final Fantasy XII are here. Unfortunately there are no voice acting to supplement the various dialogues and limited FMV cut-scenes.

The game isn't without its problems though. A.I. is an issue with Revenant Wings. You may find that sometimes your party members would prefer a 'shoot now think later' approach. Especially those ranged Espers who are sometimes useless in certain terrain conditions. They would occasionally fire at obstructions because the enemies are behind it rather than going around. I did mention the swarming strategy and while it is a good strategy, it doesn't always work. At times I felt detached from battles as I helplessly watch 30 Chocobos causing a traffic jam (with Basch slow as he is behind) at narrow passages, while enemies would attempt to manoeuvre around. It gets irritating because when a party member K.O. and I would like override Penelo's gambit in attempt to raise the fallen member but unable do so because I couldn't see the body! Revenant Wings is also a pretty easy game though apparently they did ramp up the difficulty over the Japanese version. But complete all the side quests and you will find yourself presented with a Level 99 boss. >_<" Overcrowding shenanigans aside I find Revenant Wings to be an appealing DS game. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings will probably not appeal to elitist jRPG gamers (of whom there are many who disowned Final Fantasy XII due to the real-time battle system and lack of tear-jerker plot), but it does for me (but I am both a fan of RTS and jRPG genres). It doesn't come close to matching the plot, gameplay mechanics and production values of Final Fantasy XII but it is fun light hearted game (like Final Fantasy X-2) with just about enough depth to be considered a very good portable game. You don't even need to know anything about Final Fantasy XII to enjoy this, as long as you are capable to understand that this is a spin-off. Despite being slightly easy it takes roughly 30-40 hours to complete the game depending on the amount of mission quests you take, which I think is decent for a DS game.

This holiday season do not pick up some other crappy non-game with your new DS Lite, instead get a proper video game. A good suggestion will be just this very title.

8/10

Import from Play-Asia

Dexter, taking out the trash

How many times have you watched a season finale of your favourite TV show and groan at the lack of closure? Cliffhangers are often dangled in front of the audience - which makes for good rating and media buzz, but hardly story telling at its finest. It works once in a while, but do it too often and people (well okay, just me) gets far too annoyed. For example Heroes volume two finale ("Powerless") was a massive disappointment with the daft plot geared towards setting up massive 'Who dunnit?' and 'Will they survive?' questions for volume three. Which is silly as we probably won't have the answers for a very long time, what with the writers strike and all.


"Die muthafucka"

Dexter's final two episodes ("Turn Left Ahead" and "The British Invasion"), on the other hand, were great with most story arcs being tied up giving the writers (and our favourite sociopathic killer) plenty of chance to begin season three with a clean slate. With no cliffhangers and no sign of the writers strike ending just yet, I believe that the closure is a good thing. I won't give anything away apart from the fact that a certain ill received and wretched character finally getting the Dexter treatment (hallelujah!) and things are looking bright again after Dexter's unwise decision to toy with his emotions. Show them how it's done Dex.