So what was behind the red curtains and neatly-arranged champagne glasses of the Yakuza 3 booth in Sega? This. Yakuza 3 is happening, folks, and those who really loved the first two crime-drama sandbox games will find a LOT to like and love here.
It's pretty far, but you can feel how classy it is
Being a big influence in Japan, one would assume that the Tokyo Game Show showing of Sony's key games like Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 would be well laid-out in a big manner. Well, you'd be assuming right on the mark. While the front has a big monitor in the centre for exclusive stuff on display, a front portion of the place dedicated to the Japanese preview of LittleBigPlanet (coming in October to our shores), and a row of PS3 and PSP stuff like Loco Roco 2, and Patapon 2 (both looking good by the by), I wasn't expecting a booth that permitted those above 17 to enter. In it was the preview build for Killzone 2, Resident Evil 5 (already covered by yours truly), Way Of The Samurai 3, the latest SOCOM for the PS3 popping by next week or so, and Demon Soul (which I have no idea what it's about). Just in front of the 17 And Above Booth lies the closed-doors preview of White Knight Chronicles, which ended being a MMO-style game of sorts (christ). Truly, it was a mecca for the many PS3 and PSP fans who fester in the bastions of Malaysia and Singapore.
This footage was displayed in Capcom's Resident Evil 5 booth that just happens to have one of the largest queues, one for single-player mode and one for two-player co-op. No, we're not sick of this game and wish we had more play-time with it. Yes, there are huge monsters still in the series. And yes, that last bit will raise a lot of questions.
Microsoft's booth and Square-Enix's booth inches away from each other? Perish the thought! Anyway, there were quite a few RPGs on tap on Microsoft's side, courtesy of Square-Enix's partnership. One of them happens to be a fan-favorite: Tri Ace's Star Ocean series, now in its fourth game subtitled "The Last Hope".
The demo did not supply playtesters with enough context about what was going on; only that I was thrusted into a fortress filled with Lizardmen and Wolfmen. You control one lone blonde hero on the overworld where he runs, does a dash, and open up switches and doors that will lead you to the demo's boss. Enemies are displayed on-screen, so you can either avoid them or attack them head-on to initiate the typical RPG battle with them. Approaching them from the back will give you the option to attack first (humorously subtitled "Advantaged Attack"), and encountering one enemy with another one standing next to it will open up a sequence of battle sequences called "Raided Attacks".
The battle sequences is like past Star Ocean games: everything is in real-time and you control one person roaming the area, slashing and performing special attacks via the Left & Right trigger on targeted enemies. The auto-targeting of the game is decent enough; there were no moments so far where I got hit by some random lizardman from afar. The rest of your party is driven by the game's A.I, which seems competent so far. Nonetheless, I feel a big sense of deja vu with this game, considering that I recently played the first Star Ocean on the Super Famicom recently (Skills still play a huge role, and battles can be won with a swift combination of the A and Trigger buttons). Only in part 4's case, it's just tacked on with spiffy graphics and glass-eyed characters as Asy mentioned. Bonus points to Tri Ace for creeping me out with the Lolita Spell Caster of the group who looks like she popped out of a version of the Precious Moments figurine line.
Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope is suppose to take place before the first game, which brings up parallels of George Lucas creating Episode 1, 2, and 3 which did not help the original trilogy at all. I'll hold my reservations as the full version will come out on February of next year, so those with a penchant for the Star Ocean series will be pleased that it's just like its last few predecessors.
Just in case you are clueless with the name Keita Takahashi, just remember that he's the guy in charge of the psychedelic hit "Katamari Damacy". Now take a good long look at the trailer for his latest project above and ask yourself, "What The Hell Is Going On?" Because I saw it once, I saw it twice, and I STILL don't know. Whether Takahashi is still taking the same medication he used on his previous works or whether this is all just one big joke remains to be seen.
Knowing Capcom, they're dead set on coming up with another iteration of the Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney) series. Only in this case, the upcoming court case game now stars Phoenix Wright's very own nemesis, Miles Edgeworth. Dubbed Gyakuten Kenji (since Mitsurugi Kenji is his real name), fans now get to see what it's like at the prosecutor's side in the Ace Attorney Universe.
As I waited 25 minutes for my turn (you WILL believe that the line for this game is absurdly long), I was directed to my designated black couch in one of Capcom's themed rooms for showing off game demos. In Gyakuten Kenji's case (hah!), it was a huge desk at the end filled with Steel Samurai memorabilia (the game's iconic T.V show) and our prosecutor's coat on display. I tuned into the game, and as my lack of understanding the kanji and katakanas used in the game, I was lost in the story. From the cutscenes, I gather that there's a murder that happened and Miles Edgeworth and his prosecutor team is up to the task of finding out who's behind it. Next to you is the memorably-bumbling Dick Gumshoe, who used to pester and assist Phoenix Wright; now he's your source of wisdom(?) and game hints. True to character, Miles Edgeworth does not need the use of spiritual gimmicks. He uses the method of Logic Connection (the option's located at the top left screen), where he takes one element of a crime and combines it with another to come up with a solution that advances the case/ plot point of the game forward. Getting the connection wrong, however, penalizes you by subtracting a bit from your "life bar". For instance, after searching the vicinity of the area where the crime happened, connecting both the evidence of the pistol to the bloodshot wound of the victim will result in Miles Edgeworth figuring out what to do next through his clockwork brain.
One thing to note is that the game is now presented in a style of a LucasArt adventure game. Miles Edgeworth's character can now be seen on-screen in digital format from head to toe, moving where you want him to move, with Dick Gumshoe bumblingly following your every move. The game introduces new characters, ranging from the murdered victim's best friend sporting spiky effeminate hair and a girl with a huge scarf that might be the Maya Fey of Miles' side, given the continuous trailer that's been playing outside. I didn't get too far as I only had 15 minutes before the Capcom attendants chased us playtesters out, but one thing's for sure: this will be coming out in its native format next year in Spring. Americans and English speakers will get their dose of the other side of the law following its next-year release.
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