You may have heard elsewhere that the incomparable Japanese game designer known as both SWERY and Swery65 is working on another title.
The unveiling of that game caused a bit of a stir thanks to the fact that it seems a world away from SWERY's best-known work, the cult favorite Deadly Premonition.
Actually, calling it a "world away" from Deadly Premonition may be a bit hyperbolic, as the two games share a couple of similarities. I'll get to those in a minute. For now, let's chat about SWERY's new joint, The Good Life. According to the description of the game on its Fig campaign page, it's going to be a "debt-repayment life-simulation RPG."
Sounds kind of like Animal Crossing, don't you think? That's the first thing that popped into my mind, at least--especially after I read that The Good Life's protagonist, Naomi, can take on part-time jobs--like bartending at a pub, delivering milk and shearing sheep--to help her accomplish the above-mentioned task.
That's just the tip of the iceberg as far as The Good Life's content is concerned, though. In addition to its Animal Crossing-inspired side jobs, the game will allow players to snap photos for cash, task them with solving a Professor Layton-ish murder mystery and require them to keep tabs on Naomi's stamina (which she can replenish by eating food, drinking beverages and even sleeping).
Another aspect of The Good Life that calls to mind Nintendo's world-conquering life sim is how customizable it's aiming to be. Not only will you be able to alter Naomi's appearance in the finished product, but you'll be able to change the look of her feline form, too.
Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you Naomi turns into a cat at night, as do Rainy Woods' quirky, Deadly Premonition-esque residents? Well, she does, and they do. Apparently this can help Naomi get to know, and develop relationships with, her fellow townspeople.
All of the above has me keenly interested in The Good Life's just-launched fundraising campaign. That's not to say I've chipped in myself. The trailer above is more than a little rough (although I love the game's low-poly aesthetic) and I can't say I'm a fan of its current reward tiers.
Add in the fact that it's currently only being made for PC and PS4--a Switch stretch goal has been promised, but no one seems to know how much money has to be raised before that version gets the green light--and it should be easy to understand why I've yet to back this intriguing title.
Are any of you also keeping an eye on The Good Life's Fig campaign? If so, why is that--and what would prompt you to contribute to it (if you haven't done so already)?
Sunday, September 03, 2017
Saturday, September 02, 2017
I don't know about you, but I'm really liking the looks of Battle Princess Madelyn
Don't worry, I'm fully aware I'm late to the Battle Princess Madelyn party.
That's what happens when you don't own any of the systems for which a seemingly interesting game is being made. Or maybe I should say that's what happens when you think you don't own any of the systems for which a seemingly interesting game is being made.
What do I mean by the above? Well, until a few minutes ago, I thought Battle Princess Madelyn, a modern Ghouls 'n Ghosts clone featuring a lady knight who sports pink armor, was being prepped for just PC, PS4, Switch, Wii U and Xbox One.
So, imagine my surprised when I discovered it'll be released for Vita as well.
Knowing that, I'm now eagerly looking forward to this coming February, which is when Battle Princess Madelyn is scheduled to be made available to the masses.
Granted, it's possible I'll actually have a Switch by that time, so maybe I'll opt for that version of the game instead, but I also could see myself deciding to support the Vita one more time.
Are any of you itching to dig your teeth into this tantalizingly old-school indie title? If so, which release or releases do you think you'll pick up in the end?
That's what happens when you don't own any of the systems for which a seemingly interesting game is being made. Or maybe I should say that's what happens when you think you don't own any of the systems for which a seemingly interesting game is being made.
What do I mean by the above? Well, until a few minutes ago, I thought Battle Princess Madelyn, a modern Ghouls 'n Ghosts clone featuring a lady knight who sports pink armor, was being prepped for just PC, PS4, Switch, Wii U and Xbox One.
So, imagine my surprised when I discovered it'll be released for Vita as well.
Knowing that, I'm now eagerly looking forward to this coming February, which is when Battle Princess Madelyn is scheduled to be made available to the masses.
Granted, it's possible I'll actually have a Switch by that time, so maybe I'll opt for that version of the game instead, but I also could see myself deciding to support the Vita one more time.
Are any of you itching to dig your teeth into this tantalizingly old-school indie title? If so, which release or releases do you think you'll pick up in the end?
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Don't mind me, I'm just completely obsessed with Nintendo's Mother at the moment
My apologies for failing to publish anything new here over the last week. Between Hurricane Harvey (which dumped a ton of rain on Austin but otherwise spared the city the kind of devastation seen in Houston) and a bit of "back to work blues" (now that we're settled in our new home, my husband and I have decided to end our sabbatical year a few months short and start looking for jobs), I haven't been in the mood to write.
I have been in the mood to play games, though. Or at least I've been in the mood to play Mother--aka, the RPG known to a lot of Western Wii U owners as EarthBound Beginnings.
Unfortunately for the other titles I was enjoying before I started Mother--Dragon Quest for Famicom, Great Greed for GameBoy, the Monster Hunter Stories 3DS demo and Opoona for Wii among them--that's all I've been in the mood to play for the last 10 days or so.
In that time, I've spent nearly 20 hours with Shigesato Itoi's first foray into the world of video games.
I actually put a few hours into Mother (or rather the leaked EarthBound Zero ROM) a few years back, but left it behind for some reason I can't remember and never returned to it.
There's no way something similar happens this time around, I can assure you. Although I enjoyed my initial attempt at the game, I'd hardly say the experience blew me away. That's exactly how I'd describe Mother's current effect on me, though.
Yes, it is antiquated in many of the same ways most Famicom and NES RPGs are--with the first Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy titles being prime examples. Yes, it basically requires you to grind. Yes, it's often frustratingly and even hilariously brutal.
But it also can be surprisingly touching. And weird. And beautiful.
That last comment is sure to raise a few eyebrows, but I refuse to take it back. Which isn't to suggest I considered Mother to be a work of art from the word go. My first impression of it was that it looked like a rough--very rough--draft of its 16-bit sequel. Over time, though, my opinion of its aesthetic softened quite a bit.
The first visual component of Mother that got me to think of the game as something other than messy was its enemy sprites. Almost without exception, they display a decidedly American cartoonishness that is perfectly fitting for a title that's set in, and tends to poke fun at, the United States of the 1980s.
There are other touches that add to Mother's visual appeal, though, if you keep your eyes open for them. The Peanuts-esque character sprites are a noteworthy example, as are the rather scraggy environments. (To be fair, the latter can seem samey, but each one features at least a handful of grin-inducing details that make it easier to stomach the monotony encountered elsewhere.)
That said, I wouldn't recommend playing Mother (or EarthBound Beginnings) for its graphical flourishes. No, the game's refreshingly nontraditional setting and bizarro sci-fi story are the main bullet points that should prompt you to boot it up in whatever fashion makes you the most comfortable.
All of the above-mentioned reasons--as well as the magnificent soundtrack composed by Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka--are without a doubt responsible for fueling my obsession with this decades-old (it first hit Japanese store shelves all the back in 1989) role-playing game. Here's hoping they continue to fuel it right on through Mother's credit roll.
See also: 'a few thoughts on Opoona (Wii) now that I've finally played it for a couple of hours'
I have been in the mood to play games, though. Or at least I've been in the mood to play Mother--aka, the RPG known to a lot of Western Wii U owners as EarthBound Beginnings.
Unfortunately for the other titles I was enjoying before I started Mother--Dragon Quest for Famicom, Great Greed for GameBoy, the Monster Hunter Stories 3DS demo and Opoona for Wii among them--that's all I've been in the mood to play for the last 10 days or so.
In that time, I've spent nearly 20 hours with Shigesato Itoi's first foray into the world of video games.
I actually put a few hours into Mother (or rather the leaked EarthBound Zero ROM) a few years back, but left it behind for some reason I can't remember and never returned to it.
There's no way something similar happens this time around, I can assure you. Although I enjoyed my initial attempt at the game, I'd hardly say the experience blew me away. That's exactly how I'd describe Mother's current effect on me, though.
Yes, it is antiquated in many of the same ways most Famicom and NES RPGs are--with the first Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy titles being prime examples. Yes, it basically requires you to grind. Yes, it's often frustratingly and even hilariously brutal.
But it also can be surprisingly touching. And weird. And beautiful.
That last comment is sure to raise a few eyebrows, but I refuse to take it back. Which isn't to suggest I considered Mother to be a work of art from the word go. My first impression of it was that it looked like a rough--very rough--draft of its 16-bit sequel. Over time, though, my opinion of its aesthetic softened quite a bit.
The first visual component of Mother that got me to think of the game as something other than messy was its enemy sprites. Almost without exception, they display a decidedly American cartoonishness that is perfectly fitting for a title that's set in, and tends to poke fun at, the United States of the 1980s.
There are other touches that add to Mother's visual appeal, though, if you keep your eyes open for them. The Peanuts-esque character sprites are a noteworthy example, as are the rather scraggy environments. (To be fair, the latter can seem samey, but each one features at least a handful of grin-inducing details that make it easier to stomach the monotony encountered elsewhere.)
That said, I wouldn't recommend playing Mother (or EarthBound Beginnings) for its graphical flourishes. No, the game's refreshingly nontraditional setting and bizarro sci-fi story are the main bullet points that should prompt you to boot it up in whatever fashion makes you the most comfortable.
All of the above-mentioned reasons--as well as the magnificent soundtrack composed by Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka--are without a doubt responsible for fueling my obsession with this decades-old (it first hit Japanese store shelves all the back in 1989) role-playing game. Here's hoping they continue to fuel it right on through Mother's credit roll.
See also: 'a few thoughts on Opoona (Wii) now that I've finally played it for a couple of hours'
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Manual Stimulation: Onyanko Town (Famicom)
My last post focused on Onyanko Town's lovely packaging. This one, as should be obvious (assuming you read the headline above), focuses on that Japanese Famicom game's manual.
Sadly, I can't say I find the Onyanko Town instruction booklet as stunning as its outer box or cartridge label. That's mainly because it's painfully short, but it's also because its small handful of pages tend to be covered in text and little else.
Thankfully, its cover sports a rather nice illustration of the game's main characters. Sure, the art was recycled from Onyanko Town's box front, but that's hardly surprising given we're talking about a 1985 release.
Granted, you could say it's hardly surprising given we're talking about a game, period. I mean, how many games released in recent years come with manuals that feature a unique piece of art?
Things take a bit of a dip once you venture inside the Onyanko Town manual, however. I'm not even sure what information its first page, below, shares with readers, to be honest, but even if it reveals the game's deepest secrets, it would be hard to argue it's anything more than visually boring.
The same is true of the next page, although at least it passes along some important info about the game's controls.
Should you ever play Onyanko Town yourself, here's how things work: your controller's directional pad moves the protagonist (Mirukii), while its A button causes her to jump and its B button prompts her to flip a nearby manhole.
Speaking of Mirukii, she's introduced on the third page of the Onyanko Town instruction booklet, as is her son, Michael (the kitten in the lower-left corner of the scan below), the "nasty dogs" (upper-right) that wander each stage and the fishmonger (lower-left) who chases you if you snatch one of his wares.
Unfortunately, that's all I can share with you about this game's cast of characters, as my understanding of the Japanese language remains limited. I can't imagine the blurbs to the right of their precious, hand-drawn portraits offer up anything interesting, though.
On a far more positive note, I can share with you what's said on the last page of the Onyanko Town manual (see below--and don't forget to click on that scan or any of the others included here if you want a closer look at them). Basically, it educates interested parties as to how many points they'll receive for completing various actions while playing the game
For example, if you cause one "nasty dog" to tumble into an uncovered manhole, you nab 100 points. Two nets you 400 points, and three awards you 800 points. (I'm guessing this is per dog, but don't quote me on that.)
Also, you earn even more points if you pick up some of the random accoutrements--such as the dress, shoes or ring depicted in the scan above--that pop up while scrambling around each stage.
Like I said earlier, the Onyanko Town instruction booklet isn't exactly amazing. It gets the job done, though, and also offers up some nicely realized illustrations along the way, so it's hard to complain about its ho-hum-ness too loudly.
See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts about the Famicom Disk Writer version of Bubble Bobble, Donkey Kong, Mother (aka EarthBound Beginnings), Super Mario Bros. and Yume Penguin Monogatari
Sadly, I can't say I find the Onyanko Town instruction booklet as stunning as its outer box or cartridge label. That's mainly because it's painfully short, but it's also because its small handful of pages tend to be covered in text and little else.
Thankfully, its cover sports a rather nice illustration of the game's main characters. Sure, the art was recycled from Onyanko Town's box front, but that's hardly surprising given we're talking about a 1985 release.
Granted, you could say it's hardly surprising given we're talking about a game, period. I mean, how many games released in recent years come with manuals that feature a unique piece of art?
Things take a bit of a dip once you venture inside the Onyanko Town manual, however. I'm not even sure what information its first page, below, shares with readers, to be honest, but even if it reveals the game's deepest secrets, it would be hard to argue it's anything more than visually boring.
The same is true of the next page, although at least it passes along some important info about the game's controls.
Should you ever play Onyanko Town yourself, here's how things work: your controller's directional pad moves the protagonist (Mirukii), while its A button causes her to jump and its B button prompts her to flip a nearby manhole.
Speaking of Mirukii, she's introduced on the third page of the Onyanko Town instruction booklet, as is her son, Michael (the kitten in the lower-left corner of the scan below), the "nasty dogs" (upper-right) that wander each stage and the fishmonger (lower-left) who chases you if you snatch one of his wares.
Unfortunately, that's all I can share with you about this game's cast of characters, as my understanding of the Japanese language remains limited. I can't imagine the blurbs to the right of their precious, hand-drawn portraits offer up anything interesting, though.
On a far more positive note, I can share with you what's said on the last page of the Onyanko Town manual (see below--and don't forget to click on that scan or any of the others included here if you want a closer look at them). Basically, it educates interested parties as to how many points they'll receive for completing various actions while playing the game
For example, if you cause one "nasty dog" to tumble into an uncovered manhole, you nab 100 points. Two nets you 400 points, and three awards you 800 points. (I'm guessing this is per dog, but don't quote me on that.)
Also, you earn even more points if you pick up some of the random accoutrements--such as the dress, shoes or ring depicted in the scan above--that pop up while scrambling around each stage.
Like I said earlier, the Onyanko Town instruction booklet isn't exactly amazing. It gets the job done, though, and also offers up some nicely realized illustrations along the way, so it's hard to complain about its ho-hum-ness too loudly.
See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts about the Famicom Disk Writer version of Bubble Bobble, Donkey Kong, Mother (aka EarthBound Beginnings), Super Mario Bros. and Yume Penguin Monogatari
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Nice Package! (Onyanko Town, Famicom)
I've written about this Japan-only Famicom game a few times before. I first mentioned Onyanko Town last fall in this "Shall We Do It?" write-up after my maiden experience with it. Early this year, I brought it up again in a post about my five favorite Pac-Man clones.
So, why am I covering it once more? Because neither of the aforementioned posts included photos of Onyanko Town's adorable packaging.
By far the most appealing component of this game's packaging is its outer box--or at least that's my opinion on the subject.
I mean, you'd need a heart of stone to dislike the Onyanko Town logo, which is lovingly crafted out of yellow-orange bubble letters. The same is true of the so-cute-it-could-make-you-barf cover illustration that sits beneath that logo.
The characters showcased on the front and back sides of this Famicom game's box are the only ones you encounter while playing it, by the way.
The larger cat on the far right of its cover art, the one grasping a fish, is who you control once the game begins. As for the kitten she's holding with her other paw, that's her baby, Michael. He runs away (or something of the sort) at the start of every level, and then you, as Mirukii, chase after him and drag him back home.
The "nasty dog" depicted in the upper-right corner of the manual page below (see the whole Onyanko Town instruction booklet here) basically serves as this title's version of the ghosts that populate Pac-Man's pellet-riddled screens. A number of them stalk this copycat's levels. Should they catch you or your son, it's game over.
The fishmonger seen in the lower-right corner of the sample manual page above, as well as on the far left of the cart label below, also gives chase if you dare to steal one of his future fillets.
Thankfully, you can get these brutes off your tail by flipping the lids of the manholes that cover Onyanko Town's busy streets and sending them tumbling into their putrid depths.
This evasive action only offers a temporary reprieve, however, so keep that in mind if you ever decide to play Onyanko Town yourself.
With all that out of the way, this 1985 release's packaging is surprisingly nice, wouldn't you agree? Its key art is recycled a bit more than I'd like, I've got to admit, but other than that I personally think it's pretty sweet.
See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts about the Famicom Disk Writer version of Bubble Bubble, Final Fantasy and Rainbow Islands
So, why am I covering it once more? Because neither of the aforementioned posts included photos of Onyanko Town's adorable packaging.
By far the most appealing component of this game's packaging is its outer box--or at least that's my opinion on the subject.
I mean, you'd need a heart of stone to dislike the Onyanko Town logo, which is lovingly crafted out of yellow-orange bubble letters. The same is true of the so-cute-it-could-make-you-barf cover illustration that sits beneath that logo.
The characters showcased on the front and back sides of this Famicom game's box are the only ones you encounter while playing it, by the way.
The larger cat on the far right of its cover art, the one grasping a fish, is who you control once the game begins. As for the kitten she's holding with her other paw, that's her baby, Michael. He runs away (or something of the sort) at the start of every level, and then you, as Mirukii, chase after him and drag him back home.
The "nasty dog" depicted in the upper-right corner of the manual page below (see the whole Onyanko Town instruction booklet here) basically serves as this title's version of the ghosts that populate Pac-Man's pellet-riddled screens. A number of them stalk this copycat's levels. Should they catch you or your son, it's game over.
The fishmonger seen in the lower-right corner of the sample manual page above, as well as on the far left of the cart label below, also gives chase if you dare to steal one of his future fillets.
Thankfully, you can get these brutes off your tail by flipping the lids of the manholes that cover Onyanko Town's busy streets and sending them tumbling into their putrid depths.
This evasive action only offers a temporary reprieve, however, so keep that in mind if you ever decide to play Onyanko Town yourself.
With all that out of the way, this 1985 release's packaging is surprisingly nice, wouldn't you agree? Its key art is recycled a bit more than I'd like, I've got to admit, but other than that I personally think it's pretty sweet.
See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts about the Famicom Disk Writer version of Bubble Bubble, Final Fantasy and Rainbow Islands
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