I had a busy day today. My schedule took me from out of town to mid-town to downtown and back home. During the course of this jaunt I was able to spare a few minutes to bother GameStop managers at three different locations and in two different cities.
None of them had even HEARD of Pandora's Tower. Obviously, that means they also did not have any knowledge of corporate emails telling them to begin promoting the game.
So, that's the update. Not a good day for the "let's prove NinSage isn't crazy" cause.
We'll try again this weekend, eh?
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Pandora's Tower Day 3:Controls and Gameplay
First lets get what you can use to control the game with out of the way. You can use the Wii remote or Classic controller to play this game. Either Pro or normal will work.
As far as controls go here is the basic gist of it. You have a sword which is controlled by a button and there is a pointer aimed chain. With this simple and effective combat system you can mix the combat up from close and long range.
For example you can use the chain to target specific body parts on larger foes, tie up foes at the welterweight level and bind small fries together so you can focus on their larger brethren. You can wrap your chain around an enemy and then hit it with your sword. You can get enemies from the sky and then fling them back with a crack of the chain. Then you point where you want to lob it then press A and B together. You can use air born enemies to attack ground bound enemies.
As for the Classic Controller combat that is all done with the buttons.
There is a lot of options.Try stuff out!
Now for the the traversing of the tower the chain does play a pretty good role in the game. There is grapple between cliff and cliff, swing between bars, and use the chain on levers. There is some puzzles like using the chain to create new pathways among other things.Thinking out of the box helps.
Oh I should also mention that there is the aspect of the items. Basically there is the point that you have a certain amount of item space and time to make it to and and back to Elena. You have 30 total items that you can carry to start.I should also note that there is a place where you can put your items for future use at the observatory. I believe you can go back to Elena at any time and feed her anything you get from monsters but you need to get to the the top of the Tower and beat the boss and feed it to her to to get her restored fully and then on to the next tower. After you beat the boss you you can get back the observatory by warping there. The faster you do it the better. Speed Runners are gonna love this game.
Finally I will leave you with this it is the UK Launch trailer. Isn't that great music? I will be focusing on that next time.
Okay here is the Basic Wii Remote controls.
Control stick Moves Aeron around.
A is your sword attack and you can do this up to 5 times. Hold it down to for a powerful uppercut.
B is your Chain, grab items, reach new heights, and zoom in.
Z is your guard and you can move the control stick to dodge or strife while still holding it.
C is to pick up items and to open treasure chests.
The control pad when you move it to the left or right it scrolls between items and when you press either up or down on the control pad it uses the item. Those are the basic controls out in the Towers.
These are the controls in the Observatory.
The control stick moves Aeron around.
The A button allows you to speak with people.
The C button picks up items.
Finally the Z button centers the camera to see Elena.
As far as controls go here is the basic gist of it. You have a sword which is controlled by a button and there is a pointer aimed chain. With this simple and effective combat system you can mix the combat up from close and long range.
For example you can use the chain to target specific body parts on larger foes, tie up foes at the welterweight level and bind small fries together so you can focus on their larger brethren. You can wrap your chain around an enemy and then hit it with your sword. You can get enemies from the sky and then fling them back with a crack of the chain. Then you point where you want to lob it then press A and B together. You can use air born enemies to attack ground bound enemies.
As for the Classic Controller combat that is all done with the buttons.
There is a lot of options.Try stuff out!
Now for the the traversing of the tower the chain does play a pretty good role in the game. There is grapple between cliff and cliff, swing between bars, and use the chain on levers. There is some puzzles like using the chain to create new pathways among other things.Thinking out of the box helps.
Oh I should also mention that there is the aspect of the items. Basically there is the point that you have a certain amount of item space and time to make it to and and back to Elena. You have 30 total items that you can carry to start.I should also note that there is a place where you can put your items for future use at the observatory. I believe you can go back to Elena at any time and feed her anything you get from monsters but you need to get to the the top of the Tower and beat the boss and feed it to her to to get her restored fully and then on to the next tower. After you beat the boss you you can get back the observatory by warping there. The faster you do it the better. Speed Runners are gonna love this game.
Finally I will leave you with this it is the UK Launch trailer. Isn't that great music? I will be focusing on that next time.
Okay here is the Basic Wii Remote controls.
Control stick Moves Aeron around.
A is your sword attack and you can do this up to 5 times. Hold it down to for a powerful uppercut.
B is your Chain, grab items, reach new heights, and zoom in.
Z is your guard and you can move the control stick to dodge or strife while still holding it.
C is to pick up items and to open treasure chests.
The control pad when you move it to the left or right it scrolls between items and when you press either up or down on the control pad it uses the item. Those are the basic controls out in the Towers.
These are the controls in the Observatory.
The control stick moves Aeron around.
The A button allows you to speak with people.
The C button picks up items.
Finally the Z button centers the camera to see Elena.
Confirmation on Pandora's Tower Coming to NA GameStops
As promised, I followed up with the local GameStop manager regarding the release of Pandora's Tower in the North American territory.
The short version is that GameStop is scheduled to being taking pre-orders for Pandora's Tower around June 20th - when The Last Story goes on sale. To hear the whole exchange, check out the latest covert audio recording provided below. Note: As luck would have it, I caught the manager right as he was heading to the bank on his break. Did fate do us a solid? Perhaps...
If that's not confirmation I don't know what is! Rejoice Operation Rainfall! I think this makes us 3 for 3!
Site chat will be at 8pm EST
Only a few more days till Pandora's Tower launches in Australia and Europe in fact I think fact I think it is out today in Australia. In any case I think Sage said something about that he was supposed to go over to Gamestop and do his thing. I can't wait to see what comes of that.
See you in the site chat at 8pm EST.
See you in the site chat at 8pm EST.
First details on Capcom x Sega x Namco Bandai Strategy RPG surface
First details for the strategy RPG from Capcom,Sega and Namco Bandai SRPG have come from Andriasang.
The 3 companies will have pairings with someone from the same company. Here are the pairings.
The 3 companies will have pairings with someone from the same company. Here are the pairings.
- Capcom
- Ryu & Ken (Street Fighter 0), X and Zero (Mega Man), Demitri and Dante (Darkstalkers and Devil May Cry), Chris and Jill (Resident Evil)
- Sega
- Shinguji Sakura and Ogami Ichiro (Sakura Wars), Pai and Akira (Virtua Fighter), Kurt and Riela (Valkyria Chronicles), Ulala and Touma (Space Channel 5 and Shining Force EXA)
- Namco Bandai
- Sanger Somvold (Super Robot Wars), Jin and Ling Xiaoyu (Tekken), Kos-Mos and T-elos (Xenosaga), Yurie and Estel (Tales of Vesperia), Kaito and Black Rose (.hack)
- Also note that later in the month there will be a trailer of the game.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Pandora's Tower Day 2:Characters
Aeron is a 22 year old protaganist. He is voiced by Ryan Philpottin. He is a former soldier of Athens which I find interesting since this takes place some where in the real world somewhere in the past although it is more fantasy. He has to travel up the towers and traverse the 13 towers and do what he can to get items from the monsters and thus save our next character,
Elena is 18 years old and very interesting. She seems to be religious. She seems to be a great singer. Her English voice actress is Charlotte Sanderson. As the game progresses more of her story is revealed... The final main character of the game is the...
Friendly merchant Mavda. She is voiced by Ann Beach. She gives Aeron the Oraclos or Orihicalcum Chain so she can help with climbing the tower and in helping fighting the foes in the tower and she helped the duo into the tower when Elena when she was cursed.
Finally I will leave you guys with a character trailer of the game. Yeah it is kinda old and it is in Japanese but it does have a lot of gameplay in it which happens to be the the next part that I will be focusing on. I will be going over basically everything you need to know about about the combat and controls.
See you guys next time.
Elena is 18 years old and very interesting. She seems to be religious. She seems to be a great singer. Her English voice actress is Charlotte Sanderson. As the game progresses more of her story is revealed... The final main character of the game is the...
Friendly merchant Mavda. She is voiced by Ann Beach. She gives Aeron the Oraclos or Orihicalcum Chain so she can help with climbing the tower and in helping fighting the foes in the tower and she helped the duo into the tower when Elena when she was cursed.
Finally I will leave you guys with a character trailer of the game. Yeah it is kinda old and it is in Japanese but it does have a lot of gameplay in it which happens to be the the next part that I will be focusing on. I will be going over basically everything you need to know about about the combat and controls.
Hey, Warren! Thanks, buddy.
Over the years, many groups of people have treated Wii gamers as second class citizens. Gaming media, game retailers, fellow gamers. But, perhaps the worst offender has been third party developers. Often the Wii, its huge install base and its diverse audience are completely ignored when multi-platform games are made. If they do go to the Wii, they are often lazy, outsourced projects that don't even really try to recreate the product on the HD systems. If the Wii is fortunate enough for a robust, ground-up exclusive, it often suffers one of two fates. Either it does poorly and is seen as further evidence that the Wii is not a viable 3rd party platform, or it does very well and instantly loses exclusivity in the form of upgraded ports and HD-focused sequels.
Such is not the case with Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. No, Warren Spector has shown that he is a stand-up individual. He knows who brought him to the dance, and he's going to be honorable and dance with that one.
Epic Mickey 2 would not be getting made if not for the dollars of Wii owners buying Epic Mickey 1. Warren realizes this and realizes that cute, colorful, anthropomorphic, platforming might not even be what the HD-twin audience is looking for. Thus, the Wii is the lead platform under Junction Point's development of Epic Mickey 2. This is an honorable move and a smart one. By not turning your back on the folks who got you there, the sales of EM2 should be on par with EM1's success. And by not burning resources on the questionable appeal of HD productions, we have a truly "everybody wins" scenario...
Wii gamers get respect, a returned favor, and an awesome game. PS3/60 gamers don't have to say "why isn't this on PS3/60?!?! RARR!!" And Warren Specter/Junction Point/Disney will likely see their honorable deeds rewarded with filthy, filthy lucre. =)
So... Hey, Warren! Thanks, buddy.
Such is not the case with Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. No, Warren Spector has shown that he is a stand-up individual. He knows who brought him to the dance, and he's going to be honorable and dance with that one.
Epic Mickey 2 would not be getting made if not for the dollars of Wii owners buying Epic Mickey 1. Warren realizes this and realizes that cute, colorful, anthropomorphic, platforming might not even be what the HD-twin audience is looking for. Thus, the Wii is the lead platform under Junction Point's development of Epic Mickey 2. This is an honorable move and a smart one. By not turning your back on the folks who got you there, the sales of EM2 should be on par with EM1's success. And by not burning resources on the questionable appeal of HD productions, we have a truly "everybody wins" scenario...
Wii gamers get respect, a returned favor, and an awesome game. PS3/60 gamers don't have to say "why isn't this on PS3/60?!?! RARR!!" And Warren Specter/Junction Point/Disney will likely see their honorable deeds rewarded with filthy, filthy lucre. =)
So... Hey, Warren! Thanks, buddy.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Pandora's Tower follow-up
~THE CHASE~
Pandora's Tower is in the GameStop computer system, but... it's been there since August.
~
The GameStop manager who told me Pandora's Tower was recently confirmed for North America was not in today and will not be working again until Wednesday. Thus, I'll visit again on Wednesday to covertly record confirmation from the source of our previous report.
As for today, I made due with a run-of-the-mill employee to see if he knew anything. I'm uploading the covertly recorded and thus highly cool, yet mostly useless, audio so that you all can assess it for yourselves. As you will hear, the good news is that Pandora's Tower is listed in a part of their system which apparently indicates forthcoming release - however - it's been listed there since August. Which means that it is probably only there as some kind of vestigial listing from when the game was first getting buzz... right?
But then, if the latest update is from August 2011, why did the manager say he got confirmation just the other day? So, I'll give a final report on Wednesday and I apologize in advance if this was just a confused GS manager and a big ol' false alarm.
Note: I used a Super Mario Bros warp-pipe sound to cover the two parts of the recording that might identify anything specific about the employees. I don't want anyone to get in trouble!
Pandora's Tower Day 1
This is going to be an introductory post into the game for those that may not know what this game is about.
This game is being developed by Ganbarion who worked on Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars for the DS. Both of those didn't make it out of Japan most likely because of the cross overs in the game and the issues that presents. Pandora's Tower is their first original intellectual property. In Japan the games title is Pandora's Tower: Until I Return to Your Side. This is kinda important in the context of the game. In Europe and Australia there is no subtitle.
Here is the basic story for the game. Basically you have your hero Aeron and his friend Elena and there is a mysterious merchant named Mavda and a Tower. Elena is cursed and the Merchant Mavda gives Aeron the Orihicalcum Chain so he can use it to scale the Tower and to fight the monsters within the tower. Also it seems that Elena is cursed and her curse can cause her to die. The worse kind. However the monsters can slowly reverse the curse if you return to her. The balancing act is are you going to want to go back if you are inside the Tower and having fun slaying the monsters or will you do you best to go back to her and save her at every possible opportunity?
Gonna leave an Iwata Asks here.
Iwata Asks
I will likely go into the characters tomorrow.
This game is being developed by Ganbarion who worked on Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars for the DS. Both of those didn't make it out of Japan most likely because of the cross overs in the game and the issues that presents. Pandora's Tower is their first original intellectual property. In Japan the games title is Pandora's Tower: Until I Return to Your Side. This is kinda important in the context of the game. In Europe and Australia there is no subtitle.
Here is the basic story for the game. Basically you have your hero Aeron and his friend Elena and there is a mysterious merchant named Mavda and a Tower. Elena is cursed and the Merchant Mavda gives Aeron the Orihicalcum Chain so he can use it to scale the Tower and to fight the monsters within the tower. Also it seems that Elena is cursed and her curse can cause her to die. The worse kind. However the monsters can slowly reverse the curse if you return to her. The balancing act is are you going to want to go back if you are inside the Tower and having fun slaying the monsters or will you do you best to go back to her and save her at every possible opportunity?
Gonna leave an Iwata Asks here.
Iwata Asks
I will likely go into the characters tomorrow.
Gameplay footage from PAX East 2012
Mario Tennis Open
Aliens:Colonials Marines
Bit Trip Runner 2
Heroes of Ruin interview.
Sonic 4 Episode 2
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