There's more details about the game here if you are interested.

The DS continues to blow away cynics with strong sales and some of the most innovative games being released on the market today. Jonnyram supplies his first impressions of Nintendo's new first party musical action game "Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!".

First, the types of hit... you've got odd beats, that just appear as a 1 with a circle around them. The circle gets smaller and when it reaches the size of the number, you have to hit it. Then there's the sequences going 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. again with the circles that diminish in size until the beat hits. Third kind of hit is a rolling hit. A circle shrinks around the number and when you hit, you keep hold of the ball that appears and roll it along a line, keeping your pen inside the ball space, and letting go at the end of the path. Finally there's the spinning disc. Every now and then a disc will take up the bottom screen and you have to spin it as quickly as possible (either clockwise or anti-clockwise is ok) to build up excitement.

The story is told like an interactive manga. Images appear telling the story, you do the rhythm thing and in between parts of the song, more manga appears. The story depends on your progression in the song, and there are different degrees of failure and success. Your "life" is measured by a spirit bar which automatically ticks down with time and you must keep it filling up by getting good scores. When it runs out, you fail totally and have to start again.

Levels can be chosen freely to some extent. The menu consists of a map of a city which you can slide around the screen by touching and dragging your stylus. At the start of the game, there are four people you can help. Succeed with all of them and another four open up. It's worth pointing out that the first four are quite straightforward and can be passed on the first or second try. However, the second group of people are all die bitch hard... really. You really have to get to know the song well to succeed, which is a satisfying requirement for this type of game. Gitarooman fans will love this!

The music is a collection of famous j-pop tunes, including Supercar's Loop & Loop and The Blue Hearts' Linda Linda Linda. They're not sung by the original artists, but the nameless replacements are all competent and pull of accurate performances. If you happen to hate j-pop, you'd best avoid this, but it seems that j-pop and the rhythm action genre have a long history together, so it's not really anything to be surprised by. The songs fit well with the stories told and there's some classic slapstick humour going on in the manga.

As far as longevity goes, it's a tough call and surely depends on the type of gamer you are. The high level of difficulty for some songs prevents rapid progress, but like all games of this type, it's only a matter of perseverance before you beat the song. There is a total of 15 songs in the game, and assuming a constant increase in difficulty level, it's going to take a regular bemani gamer a couple of hours to get through. Then you can improve on your rank per song and your overall game rank.

-Jonnyram

Tomorrow's the big unveiling in Japan. In addition to a live broadcast of the MTV special at the lavish Virgin Toho Cinemas complex in Roppongi Hills, there'll be an hour-and-a-half of "other," presumably Japan-specific content. Hironobu Sakaguchi is rumored to be there, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if some of the other Japan Xbox luminaries, like Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Yoshiki Okamoto, are in attendance.

So what do you think? Will they get it right this time?

2.1 adds support for the release version of .net 2.0 which you can get from windows update and vertical text. Download here!

We recently got a PSP as a present for one of the Tokyopia crew (yea, hard to believe he didn't already have one).  As part of the gift, one of our more talented members put this 3 minute PSP promotional video together to make sure the recipient knew what to do.

We recently got a PSP as a present for one of the Tokyopia crew (yea, hard to believe he didn't already have one).  As part of the gift, one of our more talented members put this together to make sure the recipient knew what to do.

Here is an MP4 version. It's recommended you watch it on your PSP instead of your PC. Right click and pick "Save Target As" to download it and then copy the file to your PSP's video folder and watch it on your PSP.

We have no problem if you want to host this somewhere else but please give us credit.

Club Joule in Osaka, Japan is not a likely place to meet a game developer. However, Tetsuya Mizuguchi is not your average game developer. Critically lauded for creating everything from pure arcade racers to the music-game hybrids that have become his trademark, Mizuguchi is basking in the independence of his new company and the creative freedom it affords him. JP Kellams sits down for a conversation with Mizuguchi-san to discuss everything from Pong and Rez to karaoke bars and beatniks.

Club Joule in Osaka Japan is not a likely place to meet a game developer. However, Tetsuya Mizuguchi is not a regular game developer. Critically lauded for creating everything from pure arcade racers to the music-game hybrids that have become his trademark, Mizuguchi is basking in the freedom of his new company and the creative freedom it affords him. JP Kellams sits down for a conversation with Mizuguchi-san to discuss everything from Pong and Rez to Karaoke bars and Beatniks.

Note: This interview was conducted in English and Japanese. I actually prefer Mizuguchi-san’s English responses despite the fact he is a non-native speaker.

TOKYOPIA: In a previous interview, you spoke about the spiritual successor to Rez, and how you could make the next Rez. Is Lumines an extention of Rez? Is Lumines the next Rez?
MIZUGUCHI: Not extension. Rez is Rez. Lumines is Lumines. A new experience. But, the basic concept I got from Wassily Kandinsky, the painter from 100 years ago. His concept, was synaesthesia, the synchro - that kind of experience. So every sound has a color, the lumen, and shape. So I really wanted to succeed with that kind of concept to the new medium of the PSP. I wanted to change the game design also. Rez is a very synaesthesic experience, its kinda fun, but Lumines is very light. (He is referring to the experience of the screen on the PSP)

TOKYOPIA: You used licensed music in Lumines from Mondo Grosso, the Adam Freeland track in Rez, and even an early Yoji Biomehanika track in Sega Rally.
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah. Yeah.

TOKYOPIA: Well, you have used this music, but you have never made a game filled with licensed tracks. It has always been a synaesthesic experience. However, since music is so important to your games, would you ever do something with all licensed music, like a Bemani game? Your games take music, but they don't take music in the direction normal music games go.
MIZUGUCHI: A bemani type of game, it uses music, but games and music are different to me. So I really want to make the very high level chemical reaction of the music and the gameplay. The mixture you know. I really think really deeply about using music and sound on the game design. It is kinda like chemistry, so that’s the concept.

TOKYOPIA: You have said in a Japanese interview that you started the programming and meetings for Lumines in a Karaoke box. Can you talk about the early days of Lumines?
MIZUGUCHI: I left SEGA, and when I left SEGA my partner and I didn't have a place, an office. But we had to make the concept, so we went to a Karaoke box. It is very big and we could make noises and sound. Yeah, it is a very good memory, because you know, we didn't have a studio at the time.

TOKYOPIA: Did you sing?
MIZUGUCHI: *Laughs* No no no no no.... No singing.

TOKYOPIA: Lumines was your first puzzle game?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah

TOKYOPIA: Was it what you expected? Making a puzzle game versus games like Sega Rally or Space Channel 5?
MIZUGUCHI: A puzzle game is a very simple game design, so it wasn't so difficult to design it. So we had many prototypes, and we took a long time to decide the archetype of Lumines.

TOKYOPIA: You are definitely working towards a US release for Lumines but you can't announce anything yet?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah.

TOKYOPIA: Good, I know a lot of people will personally be very happy about that.
MIZUGUCHI: I hope so.

TOKYOPIA: A lot of owners of Lumines have asked a question about versus mode. Basically, it is very very hard! Why is there no continue in versus mode?
MIZUGUCHI: *laughs* I'm not sure.

TOKYOPIA: You should put it in for the US version.
MIZUGUCHI: Hmmm, we will have to think about that.

TOKYOPIA: I want to talk about Q Entertainment now. Not Q Games. I have to be clear for a friend, Dylan.
MIZUGUCHI: In Kyoto.

TOKYOPIA: Yeah, I want to make it clear that you are Q Entertainment and not Q Games.
MIZUGUCHI: *laughs* Yeah Yeah Yeah!
TOKYOPIA: Starting your own company and being CCO, has it made you more creative, this new freedom.
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah. That’s right. The freedom. I want to do the design, not the management. So I don’t want to manage the company.

TOKYOPIA: Like you did with UGA.
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah so I want to focus on the creation. The very creative side. I wanted to invite the CEO [to Q Entertainment]. In August, we got the CEO, Shuji Utsumi from Disney Interactive. He was in SEGA and Sony (SCE America), so he is kinda my partner from a long long time ago. I am very happy that we can do many things [together].

TOKYOPIA: In talking with some of your staff members, everyone on your staff seems 100% behind the game and it seems everyone who works for you is extremely loyal to you and extremely happy to work with you. Is there anything special you do as CCO to make everyone so excited to be working with you?
MIZUGUCHI: I don’t know why, I don’t know how. I always try to enjoy making the game. That’s it. We always have some new challenge – new technology, new game design, new expression. So maybe [that is it], but I don’t exactly why. *pauses* yeah.

TOKYOPIA: What is your goal with Q?
MIZUGUCHI: No goal yet, but we are talking about how we should be a digital backpacker.

TOKYOPIA: Like going from concept to concept, idea to idea?
MIZUGUCHI: No no no. We have to go everywhere. Traveling around the world, traveling around any media, including the games of the future. So we are looking for “What is the future?” Q means Quest. Quest for the Future Entertainment. So there is no limit here.

TOKYOPIA: So you might not always be about games. If you find some kind of new entertainment you might go to that?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah. That’s right.

TOKYOPIA: How did ((QB)) start? Did you meet with the owner of Bandai? How did ((QB)) happen?
MIZUGUCHI: When I left SEGA, I met Unozawa-san who is the head of Bandai Creative. So I told him the concept of Lumines and Meteos, and at the time they were very early concepts, but he really loved [them]. That was the start, very easy you know. Unozawa-san understood these very creative concepts, and what is important to create new things. We have chemistry. So Q and the Bandai, ((QB)) actually means Quest Beat. I love Beatniks.

TOKYOPIA: That is interesting because you seem so interested in Electronic music. Are you a digital beatnik?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah. That is 21st century.

TOKYOPIA: After Lumines and Meteos, you have said in other interviews in Japanese media that you have lots of ideas and you want to do 4 games a year, but this year you want to do more. When will you be able to tell us more about these new games?
MIZUGUCHI: *Excitedly* SOON.

TOKYOPIA: Will it be something you will announce at GDC or E3, or even sooner than that?
MIZUGUCHI: Maybe E3, yes.

TOKYOPIA: At the REZ final party, there was a version of REZ with Underworld, Fatboy Slim, etc. What happened to this version of the game? Were you unable to acquire the rights to the songs? Can you tell us what happened to that version of the game?
MIZUGUCHI: No comment. *laughs*

TOKYOPIA: You have said previously that REZ was your favorite game that you have ever made. Is REZ still your favorite game or is Lumines your new favorite game?
MIZUGUCHI: *hahaha* Good Question. I love Lumines. [I love] the PSP also. It’s kinda an interactive iPod or interactive Walkman. I love this style. I love REZ also, of course. I want to look for the future possibilities always.

TOKYOPIA: Is the last game that you have just finished always your favorite?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah last game is the best game, but I haven’t made the best game yet.

TOKYOPIA: It’s still coming?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah it’s still coming. I hope so.

TOKYOPIA: What is the best game?
MIZUGUCHI: I don’t know. *laughs* The next game. *laughs*

TOKYOPIA: The next game is the best game.
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah. Never-ending story.

TOKYOPIA: Ok. Meteos. You are making a game with Sakurai-san, the designer of Kirby among other games. How did this collaboration come about?
MIZUGUCHI: When I left SEGA, he left HAL laboratory at almost the same time. At the time, we had dinner; lunch, tea. We discussed future games on PSP, Nintendo DS, and the new mobile types of games. I really love 24. It is a real time drama. I watched that drama, and I felt the human brain changing from single task to multitask. In Japan, some young couples have dates and talk via email on mobile phones. So everyone can do the same things, many things, at the same time. You know what I mean?

TOKYOPIA: Yeah, especially in Japan, with Keitai (mobile phones) you are always connected.
MIZUGUCHI: Well some people are playing games with chat. [From] that kind of feeling, I wanted to design a new type of game. In Meteos, using the touch pen, you have to do many many things. Like Tetris or even Lumines, [they] exist as a [standard] puzzle game. I don’t know why, but they have one block falling down and then the next block falling down. But Meteos has many many blocks falling at the same time. That concept, I told it to [Sakurai-san], and he took further with the touch pen. [Connecting the blocks and shooting them in the air]. The launch, kinda like a space shuttle. I heard that concept and [thought] “Wow. That is new. Simple, but new.” So we got very excited, [and said] “Let’s make the prototype.” When we were done and finished [with] the prototype, [it] was so fun.

TOKYOPIA: How often does he work with the team at Q?
MIZUGUCHI: He is freelance. The ((qb)) concept is to collaborate with other creators and artists. Sakurai-san’s case is one of the ((qb)) concepts.

TOKYOPIA: In the Japanese interview with Famitsu, you said that ((qb)) was going to be about collaborating with people not just inside the gaming industry but outside the industry as well.
MIZUGUCHI: I want to connect the gaming industry people and other kinds of people.

TOKYOPIA: Like Osawa-san (Mondo Grosso)?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah. Like Osawa-san or maybe visualists. It is possible. It is fun.

TOKYOPIA: Meteos comes out in Feb. in Japan, but will it come out in the US as well?
MIZUGUCHI: We haven’t decided yet. Maybe soon.

TOKYOPIA: Now some questions about you? What are some of the things you do for fun? Your hobbies. You talk about them sometimes in your blog (http://www.mizuguchi.biz) but most of the time it is in Japanese. What are some of the things you do for fun?
MIZUGUCHI: I like traveling. No plans. Just go.

TOKYOPIA: Do you take your iPod with you?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah.

TOKYOPIA: What is in it? What do you listen to?
MIZUGUCHI: Every kind of music. From Classic, Rock, Pop, Instrumental, Dance music.

TOKYOPIA: If you had to say what your favorite music is? One artist, one song?
MIZUGUCHI: I really like the Chemical Brothers. Have you seen the DVD? The history one? That’s great. They are always chasing the visual and music chemical reaction. So I feel a great sympathy with them, and also Mondo Grosso.

TOKYOPIA: I’m a big fan as well.
MIZUGUCHI: The first level of Lumines. Shinin’ is actually my favorite.

TOKYOPIA: Mine is the last track on Next Wave, Hikari.
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah, so with Shinin’ and Hikari, Mondo Grosso always makes the music [about] light and color. An experience. The feeling of music. I really love Shinin’, and I wanted to use Shinin’ in Lumines. So I went to his place and I told him, “I want to use this music in my game! Please!” He said “Ok Ok! Do that!”

TOKYOPIA: Were you nervous to ask him?
MIZUGUCHI: No. He is a really nice guy.

TOKYOPIA: Lately in Japan there has been a Retro game revival. Everyone loves Famicom games again, and I was wondering if there were any old games that really influenced you when you were younger to become a game designer.
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah. My first game. The first game I played was PONG. I went to my friend’s house, I was 10 years old, and I was really surprised. That experience was in my memory very deeply. It is very difficult to explain. I really love the classic games, and I try to take the situations for those games. Early Macintosh games as well, like Eliza or Mindmirror. The concepts are wonderful. Meteos is kinda like Missile Command. I love that game.

TOKYOPIA: You have made a rail shooter that is not a shooter, a music puzzle game that is not all puzzle game, a music dancing game that really isn’t a music dancing game, and one of the purest arcade racers ever. You have bounced between many different genres and I was wondering if there were any genres that you really want to try that you haven’t tried yet.
MIZUGUCHI: I don’t care about genre. I hope to challenge any style. The most important thing to me is what is fun. I will try the next genre in my next game.

TOKYOPIA: What kind of balance do you try to find between conventional games and games that you think are fun. For instance, Rez is not a conventional game, and you have talked about this before, but it is a game that seems to take a lot of time for people to “get”. Lumines, until people understand how they are interacting with the music and the timeline, it seems that it takes them a while to “get it”. Do you think about what a user expects conventionally when making a game?
MIZUGUCHI: I try to make a game that everyone can play without reading the manual. I think so.

TOKYOPIA: You can pick up and play games like Rez or Lumines, but a lot of the discussion with Rez and Lumines when they were released was the difference between people who get it and people who don’t. It is funny because for Lumines you can see scores progress as people come to a greater understanding of the game. When a user picks up the machine, I feel there is a contract between you the designer and me the user. I have to have faith in [a Tetsuya Mizuguchi] design. However, when you pick up the controller for a game like Shin Sangoku Musou, it is immediately apparent. However, you games have always had a process of discovery and I was wondering if that process is something you actively think about?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah. That process is important to me. That process is fun. Discovering something is kinda the journey.

TOKYOPIA: Q right now seems very interested in portable games. Are you interested in console games for the new machines as well?
MIZUGUCHI: Hmmmmmm. Yes.

TOKYOPIA: A lot of talk right now is about how the budgets of games for these new consoles are going to be very expensive. Your games have been critically acclaimed but they haven’t always sold as well as many would have wanted. Do you think that if you keep the budget small and keep the game focused that you can still create the kind of experimental games that you are famous for and still survive as a business.
MIZUGUCHI: Yes.

TOKYOPIA: Is the key going to be keeping the budget small?
MIZUGUCHI: I think that it is a new challenge, [finding] a new experience. Kinda like Lumines. We chose to keep the budget very small, so that is very important. I don’t want to have the pressure of “We have to sell, we have to sell.” That kind of pressure changes the game, [down to] the basic concept. So a game like Lumines, we didn’t have the pressure of that kind of thing. A big game, like 100 people, like a Final Fantasy type game - That kind of game is also important, but if I am going to make that type of game, I have to think about how we are going to make the big sales. However the intermediate. . . I am open to very small games or very big games. No middle.

TOKYOPIA: Many people have talked about how the Japanese industry is going downhill, not in creativity but in sales. However, most of the best selling games are all sequels. Do you think that Japanese designers need to make this decision to go small or go big, but make the smaller games more creative? Do you want to see an industry without the middle ground, where you have some large titles, but many smaller games that are more creative?
MIZUGUCHI: Yeah. For this industry, we need both. The big game has to get the big money, big sales. Yet for the artist and game designers, we need some challenges, so making the small type games should be good for this challenge.

TOKYOPIA: Thank you very much.

After this interview, I briefly met Mondo Grosso and also had a chance to talk with the lovely Ms. Eri Nobuchika, whose songs are featured so prominently in Lumines. The love for Lumines in this group is apparent, as Mondo Grosso immediately grabbed a PSP and was playing Lumines before his set. Despite her young age (19), Nobuchika-san was not only beautiful, but excited about the exposure from the game and even more excited that she has overseas fans. During our conversation, I asked her whether she has heard her songs in Lumines. Although not recorded this is a recollection of the exchange.

TOKYOPIA: So, have you played Lumines? Do you like it?
NOBUCHIKA: Yeah. It is a lot of fun.
TOKYOPIA: Have you heard your own songs in the game yet?
NOBUCHIKA: Yeah, they let me play it with a memory stick that had my songs.
MIZUGUCHI: When you play your own songs, do you sing along?
NOBUCHIKA: *laughs* Hahaha. Yeah I do. But the game is based on loops and when it loops in a weird place I go “HUH??!?” *everyone laughs* (Note: maybe you had to be there.)

Pictures coming soon.

Tokyopia would like to thank Ando Samu at Jamsworks for arranging this interview, as well as Shuji Utsumi, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the staff at Q Entertainment, Shinichi Osawa, Eri Nobuchika, Sony Music, and the staff at Club Joule.

Also note the video is stretched to widescreen mode, and my digital camera is a lame old one.

With all that in mind, here's how it looks.

NATURAL LIGHT (click to enlarge)

AMBIENT (indoor) LIGHT (click to enlarge)

NEAR (indoor) DARKNESS (click to enlarge)

Now if only Sony would release some decent video tools...

JP Kellams gives first impressions on the new look Metal Gear for the PSP. Can this card based edition to the series compete with the critically acclaimed Metal Gear Solid 3?

After spending a little over 3 hours with Metal Gear AC!D, I am conflicted. The game is engrossing but flawed, familiar but different. Approaching Metal Gear AC!D is difficult because there is so much to cover? Do you approach the game as a PSP launch title (Yeah, I know, 4 days after launch isn't really a launch title), as a Metal Gear game, or as a completely new beast? The clear answer is all of the above, but in doing so, the first 3 hours of MGA leave me ambivalent but hopeful.

Producer Masahiro Hinami (responsible for MGS2:Substance, but more importantly Ring of Red and Iron Storm) brings his considerable turn based RPG experience to the table, along with Director Shinta Nojiri's experience working on the script of all the Metal Gear Solid games. According to Konami's Scott Dolph, Metal Gear Solid is a chance to give the series to a young team and take the characters and the world in a different direction. The team has definetely accomplished this task, as MGA is remarkably different from the Solid series, as well as the GBC adventure Metal Gear Ghost Babel.

The most obvious changes to the Metal Gear universe is the implementation of a card system. A deck consists of 30 cards representing 5 different categories: Weapons, Actions, Support, Item, and Character. Cards are seperated into sets, presumably one for each of the Metal Gear Solid games, but other card sets have not been unlocked yet, so it is impossible to say what exactly is included.

Weapons cards feature familiar weapons to the series - SOCOM, FAMAS, and the various grenades used in the games. Also included so far is Ninja/Grey Fox's sword from MGS1. All of the weapons cards include two options, one for usage of the weapon and another to allow your character to move. In fact, most cards allow this dual use, and cards that do not are the exception - not the rule. Action cards work primarily as power ups, allowing quick shots, extended turns, or upped hit percentages. Support cards are more lasting powerups, and must be equipped in your equipment slots. You start with two, but an action card quickly raises this to four. Item cards provide increased interaction with the world and thus also affect Snake's stats. Finally, Character cards can perform tasks similar to all of the previously mentioned cards, and feature the likenesses of your favorite Metal Gear characters. So far, everyone in Metal Gear Solid has been represented, from Sniper Wolf to Naomi. The activation of these cards triggers a short FMV featuring the original likeness of the character. The Metal Gear Solid likenesses are taken from the PSone version, and are a wonderful reminder of how powerful the PSP truly is. Nothing is a greater reminder than seeing the low res low poly world of MGS and being flipped right back into the higher poly beauty on the PSP screen. Character cards also reflect the specific traits the character they represent, with Meryl making things easier for Snake by halving the cost of moves and Sniper Wolf giving Snake deadly accuracy.

All of these cards are arranged in a deck editor that is both robust and easy to use. You can edit your deck, view card by number, cost, or category, browse a gallery of cards, or have the autodeck generator create the strongest deck based on your current inventory. At this early stage in the game, it is unclear whether the auto deck generator is all that useful, but it has not been a hinderence as of yet.

New cards are acquired as packs, either hidden in game or purchased at the card shop with points collected for successfully completing a mission. Points are awarded proportional to ranking and performance, although the exact way they are awarded is not quite clear. A quick side note about the card shop - it has an FMV intro that is like a cross between the propoganda on TV in Paul Verhoven's Starship Troopers and a commercial for Chinpokomon. I nearly dropped my PSP from laughing so hard.

Graphically, MGA is near the middle of the pack of PSP games. It lacks the stunning real world clarity of Ridge Racers, nor the cartoony brightness of Minna no Golf. Featuring art direction with a decidedly anime feel, instead of Solid's Yoji Shinkawa penned designs, the world is rendered in the conventional stealth action genre grays and dark shadows; however, small visual tricks throughout provide a fair amount of realism. The anime style graphics pop up on the cards as well as the revised codec sequences, and are a welcome edition to the character models featured in the PS2 game. Explosions and resulting particle effects are typical Metal Gear fare, not excessive but not ugly either. It would be best to term it as slightly less visually impressive than Twin Snakes or Sons of Liberty.

Gameplay is a blend between standard collectible card game and a strategy RPG. Each turn you are dealt two cards from your deck, and can play those cards or use them for player movement on a SRPG like grid system. The analog nub allows you to look in the immediate area of your character, while the Dpad scrolls the screen and triangle pulls the camera higher for a birds eye view. Players and enemies take turns SRPG style playing their respective cards. All the Metal Gear classics are here, including alert and evasions, which are measure in durations equal to one card being played. Playing the proper card at the proper time is key, as is keeping in mind the orientation of your character. For instance, since it is impossible to enter a crawl space from the standing position (the game requires standing players to use one card to move in front of the crawl space and crouch, then use another card to enter the space) often times it is better to attack enemies from the prone position. Why? The SOCOM may not have the strength to put the enemy down in one card, but the FAMAS will attract the attention of others and require a quick getaway. Careful thought has to be given to the order you play your cards as well. Since MGA allows free melee attacks, it is often better to move towards an enemy, melee attack, and then shoot the enemy while he is on the ground. All in all the card game is well developed and fun, but also injects my first point of ambivalence towards the game... It is way too easy to accidently select the wrong option on a card because you are attempting to play fast. This stems from growing accustomed to Metal Gear Solid and its faster paced gameplay mechanics. However, despite this minor gripe, MGA is the first card based game I have enjoyed since Card Fighters Clash on the Neo Geo Pocket.

The battles are divided up into mission maps, and travelling between them is taken care of on a SRPG style overworld map. During these overworld sequences you can arrange your deck, purchase new cards, save, or set the games only option - text speed. Once you have completed all of your maintainance tasks, you go to map select and resume the action.

The story is insane. There is no better word. For those who could not stomach the strange nature of the Solid series, they will probably require drugs to suspend disbelief in this one. More akin to its handheld cousin Ghost Babel (also featuring a story line likely to get you committed if retold out loud) MGA has an even more pronounced horror bent that Solid, and some of its conclusions are downright creepy. Two talking marionette sisters (who love to bicker) have hijacked a plane carrying a well respected US senator. They gased the passengers with anesthesia and killed both the pilot and copilot with knives, all in an effort to kidnap a scientist named Fleming and steal a bio-weapon called Pythagoras from a physics research facility off the coast of South Africa. The island is in the control a special forces team called HRT, led by a man named Leone who is involved in a civil war in the Republic of Moroni. Snake is assisted by Roger McCoy, in the familiar Colonel/Major/General role, along with an English clairvoiyant named Alice Hazel, who just happens to have a doll fetish. In the role of diving under the desk coward/helper we have a researcher on the island named Gary, whose deicision to wear a stetson and full length coat in the office is slightly dubious at best. The cast of looneys is rounded out by the remarkably well endowed half American/half Japanese Terico Friedman. The Bond girl cliche of large breasted women seems to have carried over from Snake Eater. Confused yet? Don't worry, because while the story may sound confusing now, the hijacking theme and conversations between sisters is sure to cause at least some censorship when localized or befall the wrath of the media and 9/11 groups. Fair or not, I expect AC!D to have serious localization issues.

My first four hours with AC!D have been enjoyable, and I am definetely looking forward to the rest of my time with the game. The compelling, if terribly implausible storyline is a fun distraction, and the card gameplay is foreign but refreshing. Only time will tell if the game can hold up to the standard set by Kojima and the Solid team, but it is entirely possible that AC!D becomes the most compelling story driven launch title for the PSP in Japan and the US. I will be sure to return when I can concretely answer the questions posed at the beginning of this piece, but until then rest assurred that AC!D is worth the price of admission, no matter what the final outcome.

Importing Note: AC!D is pretty heavy on Japanese story content and card descriptions, so unless you have strong kanji skills you may want to wait for the localized versions, no matter the edits made for content.

While any self-respecting Tokyopian is probably too tired from waiting in line to write much about the system today, John did have one photo to share..... click to read.

DS launch games didn't ring your bell? Wario Ware Touched! might be what you're waiting for. Ravi Hiranand picks up the final version and mails in his first thoughts.

Otherwise, complaints are thin on the ground. To be blunt, it rocks. Everything about this game is awesome. I love the little touches, like the title screen being a smorgasbord of interactive elements to play with, or the "level select" being a bunch of characters freely walking around on the touchscreen (naturally you can prod them and pick them up and move them around to your little heart's desire). Hell, the game even occasionally uses both screens to good effect -- either showing a bit more of the minigame, introducing a new element, or in one story sequence, used for a little flashback sequence.

All the old favourites are back as characters in this one. I've only played through four, but alongside Wario I've seen Mona, Jimmy, Dr. Crygor, Kat & Ana, 9-Volt & 18-Volt, and even WARIO-MAN from Wario Ware Twisted (the tilt-sensor-packin' GBA sequel, yet to see the light of day in the US). There appear to be more games per character than Twisted or the original, but I'm not too sure there.

I don't really want to spoil particular games (since that is most of the fun), but there's been a fairly decent variety and I will talk about a few. Thus far I've only ever had to use the stylus, so there's no word on whether the A button will be ever called into action, but since the stylus is more capable than Twisted's tilt sensor (which was basically a clumsy D-pad) there seems to be plenty to do. Some games call for:

Precision: Tap the tips of tiny fireworks to make them explode; Scrubbing: Rub wide areas of the screen to erase a picture from a blackboard; Speed: Rub the stylus repeatedly on a roll of toilet paper quickly to pull the whole roll out; Drawing: Mark out a safe path for a skiier; Something else entirely: Use the stylus to make a hand wave good-bye.

There have also been a few cool re-workings of older games. Two of my favourites so far are the dripping-snot game (different woman, this time you need to cut the snot instead of sniff it back in) or the pets (pet the cat to put it to sleep). Either way, the games are tons of fun.

I should note that it's pretty hard. Not amazingly so for Wario Ware vets (I had been playing the original virtually non-stop until Twisted came out), but it's certainly harder than Twisted. One thing for sure: The time limits are shorter. By the fourth character I was hitting time limits shorter than anything you'd experience outside the very highest speed setting on the other to games.

Oh, one more thing: This game is nuts. I say this because after every character you beat, you unlock a bonus. And the bonuses are just damned weird. The first one was a calculator -- an actual working calculator on the touchscreen that only allows you to add or subtract; no multiplication or division for you! There's also a countdown clock, a metronome and a plate of pudding. Yeah, a plate of pudding.

-Ravi Hiranand

More of my thoughts on the DS.

The journey to acquire a launch day preorder for both DS and PSP was long and arduous, but John's emerged from the billowing smoke with two preorder slips in hand -- and a huge grin on his face. Who can blame him?

The past month has been an interesting one for gamers in Japan. With two new handhelds due out here in the next three weeks (Nintendo DS on Dec. 2 and Sony PSP on Dec. 12), both of which are expected to be in extremely short supply, hardcore gamers and early adopters have been running around Tokyo like chickens with their heads cut off trying to get their systems locked down in advance.

In late October, Nintendo announced plans to allow DS preorders from the morning of November 3, a full month before release. Retailers all over Japan were notified in advance, and therefore, if you wanted a DS, you knew exactly what you had to do: wake up early on the 3rd, head over to your favorite local games shop, and reserve the hardware (and whatever games you wanted).

Thanks to a typically well-coordinated effort by Nintendo (I say typically because they always seem to be on top of their game when it comes to promotional stuff like this in Japan), preordering a DS was relatively painless.

On the other side of the fence, we have PSP. As you might imagine, PSP is going to be the hottest must-have item in Japan this holiday season by far, and with expectations of only around 200,000 units being ready for launch, things are bound to get ugly. To make matters worse, Sony's PSP preorder campaign was... practically nonexistent. There was no advance warning of preorders, which had most people checking in with shops on an almost daily basis trying to find out what was up. Of course, shopkeepers were completely in the dark as well.

Suddenly, around Nov. 15, rumors started flying about various smaller shops and web sites starting up PSP preorders. But by the time those rumors got anywhere, these places were already sold out.

Then, Sony announced that their online store at www.jp.playstation.com would begin taking "pre-reservations" from Nov. 19 at 12:30pm. Users who logged in to the site at that time could apply for a pre-reservation, which is basically a preorder of a preorder -- a guarantee that you'll be able to reserve a PSP when the official reservations begin a few days later (Nov. 30, as it turns out).

Fortunately, thanks to a well-placed tip, I learned that Shibuya Tsutaya, one of the largest game shops in Tokyo, would start taking preorders that same morning. I found this out around 8pm the night before; so much for advance warning! In any case, thanks to this tip, myself and GameScience's JonnyRam were literally the first two people in Japan to get PSP preorders in at Tsutaya. What a relief!

I also managed to nab one from the website as well, but not without much grief; I spent over 40 minutes of repeatedly clicking on the "pre-reserve" button with no luck before finally giving up, only to find out later that I had gotten through after all. The problem was, the confirmation screen never showed up because the site was getting hammered so hard from other people trying to get through as well.

So, yes, now I have both a DS and a PSP guaranteed for launch. To be honest, all of the stressing and searching was actually kind of fun; it's not all that often you get to experience the excitement of a new system launch in Japan, after all. But I'm definitely glad it's over now, and I hope Sony will learn from this experience and handle things a little smoother when PS3 rolls around.

As for everyone who wanted to preorder but couldn't -- well, you can expect to read about hundreds (possibly thousands) of people lining up throughout Japan the night before each system launches to try and buy one the normal way when the shops open at 7am the next morning. This'll be fun as well, I'm sure, but there was no way I was willing to go right down to the last minute not knowing for absolute sure whether or not I'd be playing DS or PSP over the holiday break this year.

The moral of the story? Get your preorders in early, kiddos. And don't expect it to be easy if it's something Sony-related. :)

BTW, I suspect some people will be wondering which games I preordered as well, so here's the current list:

Nintendo DS:

- Super Mario 64DS (Nintendo)
- Kimi no Tame nara Shineru (Feel the Magic: XY/XX) (Sega)
- Sawaru Made in Wario (WarioWare Touched!) (Nintendo)
- Ridge Racer DS (Namco)

I preordered Ridge Racer DS from the US, mostly out of curiosity. I'm not expecting it to be anywhere near as good as Ridge Racers on PSP, for obvious reasons. It's scheduled to release there on December 7.

Sony PSP:

- Ridge Racers (Namco)
- Minna no Golf Portable (SCE)
- Lumines (Bandai)
- Metal Gear Acid (Konami)

Metal Gear doesn't actually release until the 16th, but since I'm heading back to the US for a few weeks from the 18th, I figured I'll grab it and see if it's any good during the break.

Between all this stuff and then Halo 2, Metroid Prime 2, Metal Gear Solid 3 and Dragon Quest VIII, this is going to be one busy (but FUN) holiday break!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in America!

As if Tokyo commuters needed more reasons to act insane.

Locations here. Someone go with a crowbar and grab me one.

And, because I'm just deliriously happy about the new Ridge Racers game for PSP, here's new Reiko.

Full ad is here (link opens streaming media window).

Located approximately 10 minutes walk from Namba Station in Osaka's Minami district, Nipponbashi (aka Den Den Town) is home to the Original Super Potato store, as well as its hipper cousin, Retro TV Game Revival. These two stores, located a scant 150 feet apart, represent the absolute pinnacle of Japanese retro game collector shops. It is not uncommon to see extremely rare gaming systems sitting next to a $2000 Gold Cart Shonen Jump Limited Edition Dragon Ball Z 2 and across from 1980s video game soundtracks on vinyl. While these prices may seem obscene, the selection and availability is much greater than in Akihabara. While Akihabara may be the scene of many a fanboy's wet dream, Den Den is primarily a Japanese shopping area, the game stores being even more so. Along with Super Potato and Retro TV Game Revival, stores with a definite collectors slant include Big Tiger and Sofmap #6. In fact, suburban Osaka is an even greater shopping bonanza, where small mom and pop chains have produced such bargains as a 3000 yen mint copy of Radiant Silvergun, as collectors normally do not frequent these stores.

Photo Tour of Super Potato Osaka

Super Potato Akihabara has been such a big deal that explaining its inferiority to its Osaka big brother is best done with pictures. Whereas SP:A is a small store the size of an apartment, SP:O is actually two stories. The first floor focuses on new games and used games from the current generation of systems.

A view from the entrance of Super Potato Osaka. Behind the girl with the red bag, the store opens up to house all current generation games. Note the sign saying retro games are on the second floor. Behind me are kiosks on the street set up with classic Famicom games.

A view from the midpoint of Super Potato Osaka's first floor. There is another walkway on the other side of the PS2 rack and behind me is a second devoted to used DVDs.

Going up to the second floor is an experience that mimics the one in Tokyo.

A view of the back part of SPO's second floor. This section is devoted to Sega Saturn, Game Boy, WonderSwan, Game Gear, and Dreamcast Games.

Famicom games up top and a showcase for rare Saturn/PC Engine/Neo Geo games down below.

The front part of Super Potato's second floor. Note the world famous stack of Twin Famicoms in the used system section. Near the registers are more showcases for rare games, as well as the Nintendo UFO catcher prizes that have been all the rage in Japan.

This is the primary showcase for rare games when you make it up the stairs. On the left you see the wide selection of Famicom games. Inside the case on the second shelf from the top center is the Gold DBZ cart. A special edition Kinnikuman is on the top shelf. Special edition Kung Fu and other exotics populate the rest of this case. I didn't add up the prices, but that case alone is probably between 25,000-50,000 US Dollars worth of collector games. Prices in that case start at about 75 USD and go up. A few weeks ago there was a 5,000 USD game in the case, but I didnt have my camera to take a shot of it. I believe it was another rare Shonen Jump Special Edition.

I like to call this part of the store Famicom alley. You can also see the famed Famicom controller cushions above the registers. I'd like to note the rather cute retro game obsessed girl who is a member of the extremely knowledgeable and extremely friendly staff.

Retro TV Game Revival Photo Tour

While Super Potato is incredibly cool, Retro TV Gamer is absolutely mindblowing. Where Super Potato ends, Retro TV begins. Want a brand new rare Game and Watch? Go to Retro. Want a signed copy of some obscure RPG game. Go to Retro. Want classic game music? Go to Retro. Retro TV Game Revival is a museum turned store and will not disappoint in any respect. While it doesn't have the showcase stock of games that Super Potato has, it makes up for this lacking in its comprehensive stock of pre-Famicom era merchandise and an overriding sense of cool.

The entrance to Retro TV Game. Note the dangling Famicom controller. This store is also 2 stories.

Despite the blurriness, this shot shows Retro's easily accessible used system stock. These systems are not the rarest of the rare, but they have the requiste stack of Twin Famicoms. Also note the Regulation 7 Dreamcast and the Hitachi Hi-Saturn. What makes this store tops is the wide selection of used controllers to make your day after one of your vintage pads stops working or has an unfortunate collision with a wall.

The first floor is Saturn, PlayStation, Super Famicom, Famicom, Virtual Boy, Mega Drive, and Game Boy.

This is their showcase and the only place on the first floor where you will see some newer games. Note the division between systems on each level. Neo up top, then Famicom, Neo again, Saturn, Mega Drive, and Misc titles on the bottom.

The used game music section has probably the most comprehensive selection of soundtracks I have seen in Japan. Also note the dancing Leon and Wolf plushes next to a Pikachu bust.

Now the good stuff. Welcome to the dimly lit second floor. Yes, your eyes are not lying to you. Those are new, boxed Game and Watch. What is even scarier is the fact that some of those can get up to 50,000 yen. Definetely exotic.

Another showcase with classic handhelds. Amazing how far we have progressed in 20 years.

Second floor games include Playstation, 3DO, Sega Retro, as well as MSX. A used MSX system will set you back 400 yen. A used copy of Metal Gear Solid II Solid Snake for your 400 yen MSX will set you back 20000 yen.

ヴィオラートのアトリエ or Atelier's Violate: Alchemist of Gramnad 2 in a bubble wrapped limited edition signed copy.

Retro TV Game revival is really a store about loving games, and the staff bring that to the forefront in their knowledge and their enthusiasm for retro games. I can't recommend this store enough, if for nothing else than looking at all the Game and Watch games they have on the second floor. It is an amazing experience.

While Super Potato and Retro TV Game Revival are the two show stoppers in Den Den Town, stores like Big Tiger and Sofmap also have the showcase games and a large selection. However, simply put, SPO and RTGR are the full package of nostalgia. The music, the gameplay kiosks, and the reverence given to the games in these stores is a constant reminder why we all love games to begin with.

In the interest of equal time, I end with a picture of Sofmap #4 prominently displaying why this article will be ignored and why forum traffic will drop off substantially.