Trailer: Muramasa: The Demon Blade

This period of gaming may well be quiet for those without RPG tendancies, but in the future, things are looking rosier. Take this for example. Here's a gameplay trailer for Muramasa: The Demon Blade for the Wii. The game is made by Vanillaware, the makers of Odin Sphere. Now you know why it looks so similar. Judging by the visuals, we're seriously hoping this game triumphs in the gameplay department as well as the visual content.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade slashes it's way to Europe

Rising Star Games has announced that the latest game from Vanillaware (who made Odin Sphere), Muramasa: The Demon Blade, will be published for Europe in 2009. The new Wii exclusive game is actually renamed from it's Japanese title, Oboro Muramasa Youtouden but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that the visual style is similar to Odin Sphere, which looked brilliant on the PS2. The game puts you in the (silent) shoes of a ninja in the Genroku era of Japan. The game will feature 2D levels that run horizontally as well as vertically.

A gameplay video taken from the Tokyo Game Show floor has been embedded below. Have a look!



Source: Rising Star Games, Gamekyo

Platinum Games (Seeds? Clover Studios?) developers announce 4 games with Sega

Some of the developers from the now-deceased Clover Studios have signed up to Sega to release 4 games. Shinji Mikami, Hideki Kamiya and Atsushi Inaba have previously been responsible for Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Okami respectively. Three games were put in the spotlight, with the 4th game currently under wraps.

First of all is Bayonetta, which has been described as a stylish action game for the PS3 and XBox360. Then there is Infinite Line for the DS which is an RPG set in space, allowing you to customise and control up to 150 spaceships. Finally, there is MADWORLD for the Wii which is a game which boasts a black & white graphical style and over-the-top violence.

All 3 games will be released in 2009.

Source: Kotaku

Clover Studios written out of Okami Wii credits

In recent news, Hideki Kamiya from the now defunct Clover team was disappointed with Capcom's and Ready at Dawn's removal of the credits sequence in Okami. It wasn't that they weren't getting credit for their work but more because of the fact that the sequence is an integral part of the game and shows a "combination of thoughts, emotions, and messages" which is a reward for the players that reach the end.

Players of the original Okami were not happy at the cutting of this great scene (and also the great ending song Reset by Ayaka Hirahara was removed), including me. Capcom say that this is because they weren't able to edit out the Clover Studios logo at the end of the credits as they didn't have the source files and couldn't explicitly say that it was a Clover Studios production.

So, if you're playing the Wii version, once you finish, have a look at this YouTube video (I won't embed it as there are potential spoilers) to see what you're missing. This is also the latest gaffe surrounding Okami on the Wii, with the US box art and the US strategy guide using an image supposedly from IGN. We found out because they left the watermark on it...

The hidden game guide 2008

It's that time of year. Stockings are filled, presents are opened, special nativity plays are run and it's freezing cold. So, what better time than now to look at the games you should be looking at next year! Here are some of the "less famous" games that you can look forward to next year!

Patapon - PSP - Early 2008

Okami - Wii - 2008

Odin Sphere - PS2 - First half 2008

Everybody's Golf 5 - PS3 - First half 2008

Zack & Wiki - Wii - January 2008

Little Big Planet - PS3 - Late 2008

The World Ends With You - DS - Spring 2008

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - DS - February 2008

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - DS - First half 2008

Echochrome - PS3/PSP - 2008

Also, we hope to hear more about:

ICO 3 - PS3 - 2009
Final Fantasy XIII - PS3 - 2009/2010
White Knight Story - PS3 - 2010
Steambot Chronicles 2 - PS3 - 2009
Galactrix - No known formats - 2008/2009
Nobi Nobi Boy - PS3 - 2009
Operation: Darkness - XBox360 - 2009
Valkyrie of the Battlefield - PS3 - 2009
The Last Remnant - PS3/XBox360 - 2009/2010
Infinite Undiscovery - XBox360 - 2009/2010

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core arrives in March for the US

A quick post to announce that for the importers among you, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core will be released in the US on 25th March 2008. The game, when coincided with the release of a special edition PSP Lite and the release of the PSP Lite itself, sold quite a lot of copies in it's first 2 weeks.

Also announced for the US were the following:

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors - Wii - 26th February 2008
Final Fantasy Crystal Cronicles: Ring of Fates - DS - 11th March 2008
The World Ends With You - DS - Spring 2008

Source: Kotaku

Trailer: Fragile teaser

Remember Fragile? Well, there's a trailer for it below. It doesn't last long but moving pictures are better than stills aren't they? Also, for those that don't see the updated post, the official website is open.

Fragile RPG coming soon for the Wii [Update]

Famitsu have unveiled a new RPG coming to the Wii console, called Fragile. The game is from Namco, the makers of Eternal Sonata and the Tales series. Scans of the pages for this are circulating the net, like this.

[Update]

The official website is open. Go have a look!

Gaming news in brief

Been away for a while but I'm back and now ready for a quick catch up!

Atlus announces localisation for 2 RPG's for the XBox360

Dragoneer's Aria approaches Europe

Zack & Wiki delayed to February 2008

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness for Europe in December (maybe 7th)!

PS3's Nobi Nobi Boy shown at GameCity

Source: Eurogamer

Holy moly! Okami for the Wii! [Update 1: Rumour confirmed]

The rumours keep surfacing, then dying, then surfacing again. This time though, these guys seem very sure of it. Yes, the sublime Okami is being ported over to the Nintendo Wii from the Playstation 2. Personally, the idea of it is a bit off to me. Okami was brilliant enough on the PS2 but for the Wii?

If it's confirmed, I might just buy it anyway. The game is good enough to get a second chance...

Source: Wiiz

Update: Holy cow! The rumours were true! The game was announced in London and confirmed by Eurogamer. Initial release date of 2008. Let's just hope Capcom don't mess this up.

Update source: Eurogamer

Endless Ocean confirmed for Europe

Well, even more of a surprise now! It seems that Nintendo have confirmed that the scuba diving sim, Endless Ocean, will be diving it's way to Europe on the 9th November 2007 (or at least the UK, you get the drift). The game scored a respectable 35/40 in Famitsu and despite early reports of the game crashing, we can look forward to seeing what it's really like under the ocean.

Maybe...

Source: CVG

Trailer: Oboro Muramasa (TGS 2007)

This new game is from the makers of Odin Sphere and well worth keeping an eye on. The sprites look as lively as ever on the Wii!

Trailer: We Love Golf! (TGS 2007)

This was recently revealed by Capcom. Interestingly, it's being made with Camelot publishing. The makers of the original Playstation classic, Everybody's Golf. Keep your eyes on it!

Trailer: Zack & Wiki (TGS 2007)

This game for the Nintendo Wii looks very promising. Swashbuckling adventures with different uses for the Wii remote, good graphics. One to look out for!

Trailer: Fire Emblem (Wii)

Fire Emblem is a strategy RPG which has many fans on the Nintendo platforms. This new version, entitled "Radiant Dawn", is exclusive for the Nintendo Wii

Trailers: Endless Ocean

Well, this is a surprise. I had a look at this on the recommendation (or more shameless bugging) of a blogger on the Guardian Gamesblog and it looks quite err deep (sorry). Certainly one to look out for. This is Endless Ocean (Forever Blue in Japan).

A week behind again...

Oops again! However, at least there's a ton of news to catch up on :-)

First of all, it was E3 last week. Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all had decent showings. Highlights for each of them include Microsoft showing Viva Pinata Animals for the 360 and Viva Pinata for the XBox360, Nintendo showing a new set of Wii peripherals, including a Wii Fit board and Sony, showing a new PSP and Echochrome.

Echochrome is a game that will confuse just as much as poor Crush did on the PSP. You turn the camera around to solve puzzles in a world of black and white. For example, if you want to get past a gap, you move the camera so a part of the scenery covers the gap!

Sony gave us some more news today though at their Playstation Premier event. Announced at the show were Nobi Nobi Boy (from the creator of Katamari Damacy), Disgaea 3 and Loco Roco for the PS3!

Trailer: Pollen Sonata

This little known game is causing a stir in the blogs. This game for the Nintendo Wii is looking for a publisher. Hope you don't suffer from hay fever...