Gamertell

As any Japanese video game fan knows, video games and popular music have very close ties in Japan. Singers will have their songs featured in the games. They will be used in advertising campaigns. They may even be called upon for character modeling.

Two weeks ago Important Importables talked about Hikaru Utada, one of the most popular female singers in Japan and her video game connections. This week Important Importables looks at yet another Japanese superstar, Gackt Camui. Gackt is well known for his music, his acting and his contributions to the gaming worldwide. (He’s also incredibly pretty, multilingual and one of my favorite singers.)

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Title: Ohimesama Debut
Price: $48.90 (Wait a while, it it’s coming to North America)
System(s): DS
Release Date: May 29, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Cave (Cave)
ESRB Rating: N/A; Cero A (All Ages)
Pros: Touchscreen dancing is fun, the story is charming and there’s a nice simulation/dating sim aspect following the six princes.
Cons: Most of the girl’s costumes aren’t cute. The 3D versions of the characters are hideous. Dances are only challenging initially, until you learn the patterns.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
As many are aware, I am fortunate enough to have some friends who also import video games from Japan. This means I get to sample games I normally wouldn’t play, and, in the case of Ohimesama Debut, be pleasantly surprised.

Yes, an Ouendan-loving friend of mine bought Ohimesama Debut. Since it has multiple save slots, she was gracious enough to let me claim one. Of course when Natsume releases it in the US, I totally intend on buying a copy.

Ohimesama Debut is a surprisingly fun game, though I don’t think we’ll see many boys or men running to stores to pick it up. Even though there are some less than pleasant visuals, the gameplay and entertaining concept make up for it. If Natsume hadn’t localized it as Princess Debut, I’d have bet money that Ubisoft would have brought it over as Imagine: Ballroom Dancer.

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JList is now taking preorders for two new, Star Wars USB hub characters - R2D2 and Darth Vader. They are pretty much decorative statues that move, light up and make noises. Both items are expected to be released in Japan before the end of July 2008, but people can preorder one (or both) of the $75 items to make sure they’ll get one.

While both R2D2 and Darth Vader look cool, they do have an addition function. Each one has four additional USB ports - very handy in an age where practically every computer peripheral attaches via a USB port. In fact, this could be an essential for a desktop owner, so you don’t have to stretch around to reach for an outlet. The computer powers each of them, so no batteries are needed, and they work with Macs and PCs.

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Title: Daigasso! Band Brothers
Price: $48.90
System(s): Nintendo DS
Release Date: December, 1, 2004
Publisher (Developer): Nintendo (Nintendo)
ESRB Rating: N/A. CERO Free (All Ages)
Pros: There’s a great variety of JPop, anime, World, classical and video game music to play. The controls are easy to adapt to. There’s single cart multiplayer for 2-8 people. The song editor is fun. Loads of replay value.
Cons: The sound quality sounds dated, you’ll need a guide to get started for making songs
Overall Score: 8/10

Since Daigasso! Band Brothers DX was recently released in Japan (on June 26, 2008), I figured it would be a good time to take a look back at the original Daigasso! Band Brothers.

The game is a cross between a music simulator and a music game, where people could play music with the face buttons. Pressing the wrong button, or failing to make a note sharp or flat with the shoulder buttons at higher difficulty levels, will cause the wrong note to be played. The goal is to successfully complete a song while keeping time with the beat and pressing correct buttons.

Click through for the full review…

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It isn’t uncommon for one or two big titles to be released on the same day or within a few days of each other, (Example: Grand Theft Auto IV and Mario Kart Wii.) but more often than not, publishers will avoid this and scatter dates so their games will get the attention they deserve. Apparently the Japanese DS game publishers wanted to cause a free-for-all June 26, 2008, because five highly anticipated games are being released at once. Six, if you’re excited about Simple DS Series Vol. 39 The Shouboutai (Fire Fighters).

So let’s go over Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, Bokura no Telebi Game Kentei, Daigasso! Band Brothers DX, Jigsaw World and Disgaea DS, the five major titles being released in Japan…

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Title: Pump It Up: Zero Portable
Price: $39.90
System(s): PSP
Release Date: October 15, 2007
Publisher (Developer): Andamiro (Studio 9)
ESRB Rating: N/A
Pros: 117 songs, English language option, cool background videos playing while you play, online ranking, PSP wallpapers you can earn. Different arrow options.
Cons: The cool background videos are too cool, and often distracting. Also the control scheme takes getting used to. Unlocking can be tedious since you must earn points.
Overall Score: 7/10

If you take away anything from this review, let it be that Pump It Up: Exceed Portable and Pump It Up: Zero Portable are pretty much interchangeable. If you own Zero Portable, you don’t need Exceed Portable. These two PSP titles aren’t like DDR entries, where there’ll be different songs, patterns or mechanics. Instead, Zero Portable is more like Exceed Portable 2.0 rather than a whole new game.

This means that almost everything I said in last week’s Exceed Portable review carries over to this week. Sure, there are a few differences, and those differences are what this review will focus on. This review will essentially help you decide which Pump It Up Portable would be best for you. 

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I wonder if, in Square Enix’s eyes, North America has fallen from grace. That’s the only explanation I can find for both Europe and Japan receiving the special Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII PSP and game bundle. That’s right - the exclusive, elusive bundle that includes a silver PSP with Sephiroth, Zack and Cloud’s faces and the Crisis Core game will be available in Europe on June 20, 2008 for €189.99 ($295.58).

North America did not receive the bundle, and there have been no Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII bundle announcements for that region. Instead, North Americans can find solace in the God of War or Star Wars special PSP bundles that feature PSPs with engravings of Kratos or Darth Vader. Of course we all know the Sephiroth/Zack/Cloud PSP is cooler, but at least North Americans have something.

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This has to be one of the cutest, Square Enix-related items I’ve seen. In honor the of the recent Chocobo’s Dungeon Wii release, the Uki Uki Chocobo was created. Yup, he’s a little rubber duck Chocobo, which NCSX is affectionately referring to as a “rubber chocky.” NCSX is also taking preorders for the $13.50 item, which is expected to ship before the end of June, 2008.

This adorable little chocobo can either be used like a rubber duck, helping defend you against bathtub kraken (like Ultros) or act as a decorative accent on a shelf. Either way works, and either way is incredibly cute. It is also appropriate for all ages, since its a solid chunk of plastic.

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Title: Pump It Up Exceed Portable
Price: $12.90 (on sale at Play-Asia - retails for $49.90)
System(s): PSP
Release Date: November 30, 2006
Publisher (Developer): Andamiro (Studio 9)
ESRB Rating: N/A
Pros: Very nice song selection, Korean or English language options, cool background videos playing while you play, online ranking and a video mode where you can just listen to the music and watch the videos.
Cons: The cool background videos are too cool, and often distracting. Also the control scheme takes getting used to and there is no auto-save function.
Overall Score: 7/10

Not too long ago, Play-Asia had a deal on a special Pump It Up bundle, where you’d receive both Pump It Up: Exceed Portable and Pump It Up: Zero Portable for $19.99. Of course I jumped on the deal, and upon receiving my shipment decided I’d dedicate a column to reviewing one of the games.

The Pump It Up games are similar to Dance Dance Revolution, except they have five markers to hit instead of four. This makes the PSP version a bit more difficult, as you would imagine. It also requires a bit of an inventive control scheme to make the whole thing work, as the game involves diagonal arrows facing UP+LEFT, UP+RIGHT, DOWN+LEFT, DOWN+RIGHT, along with a center square/circle thing…

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That’s right, two ”Important Importable Mini”s in one week. I know, shocking, but this item’s pretty cool and I couldn’t resist. I’m a sucker for import DS games.

I was looking at JBox after getting Peter Payne’s “Greetings from J-List” newsletter today (June 4, 2008), browsing its game selection and came across the $58 DS game, Beautiful Kanji Training. Its one of those edutainment titles where you learn while having fun. Except unlike most edutainment titles, which leave you feeling bored and unfulfilled, Beautiful Kanji Training looks fun. 

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