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Review: Wario World
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June 30, 2003 11:57 PM PST
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shepard saltzman / tim rogers
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Shepard Saltzman, friend to Eric-Jon, submitted this review. Add tim's unreview, and you've this writing resultant. Wario World is Treasure's biggest budget title ever, but that doesn't show through in the final product. Greed, perhaps?
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News: Sentimental Grafitti DC
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June 30, 2003 11:35 PM PST
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NEC Interchannel / SM
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Seems like NEC is getting around to porting an old PC sim to the DC as well! Sentimental Graffiti is planned for an August release, according to the Chadran shop. Too bad that cover image doesn't seem to function...
Thanks to Namae no Nai Heya for the news.
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Play-Asia: New arrivals
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June 30, 2003 11:21 PM PST
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Play-Asia.com / BS
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I was not aware that KOF 2001 for PS2 had been given so specific a date, but preorders are open for the game, and mention an August 28th release. Not bad. Some other nice additions: Tengai Makyo II for gamecube, Konohana 2; your best bet for a good-yet-cheap (19.90) AVG on the PS2, and of course the mighty Ys I&II Eternal Story with it's August 1st release date. Time to save up!!
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News: GN Soft website
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June 30, 2003 11:04 PM PST
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GoodNavigate / SM
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To follow up on the story from two days ago, GN Software (Good Navigate) has recently opened their webpage. These guys are the developers of Renai Chu, and have a new page to reflect this.
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News: Hudson renewal
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June 30, 2003 10:59 PM PST
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Hudson / BS
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Hudson has renewed their homepage, much to my delight. It's much more accessible and game centric now. This is a good sign. Another sign, perhaps neither bad nor good, but a sign certainly - is that the English investor's portion has regained a prominent place on the site. Not sure what it means, but I know that Hudson is making decent money again, and I'm glad of that. Checking the Japanese page will yield info on super star soldier, Lode Runner and the other remakes, as well as several other interesting bits. Go give it a check-out.
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Site News: Changing server
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June 29, 2003 11:59 PM PST
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insert credit / BS
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Changing servers today, so no updates till late on the 30th. Just to be on the safe side. See yall tomorrow!
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Review/Feature: FFDOGII
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June 28, 2003 11:59 PM PST
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insert credit / tim rogers
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Hell. Here's your damned FFDOG II. The critically acclaimed series where tim and doug spout utter nonsense about the Final Fantasy series from start to finish, playing it for 12 hours straight. The victim for this installment is of course the Final Fantasy Origins version of FFII. Read the review, then watch the movies. Then cry.
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News: New Cave shooter
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June 28, 2003 11:46 PM PST
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Cave / BS
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Famitsu reports of a new campaign from Cave. Pick up the postcards you see to the left at any arcade in Japan, and enter a drawing to win the arcade board from Cave's new shooter - ESP Galuda. Ten entries will get a large poster, and 100 will get a clock-pocketwatch-thing. If one of our agents in Japan doesn't win, I'll be very disappointed. You guys hear me??
Thanks to Piyo for correcting my mistake - not only are you first to play it - you get to keep it!-
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Off-topic: Nice collection
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June 28, 2003 11:04 PM PST
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Shou / BS
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This Shou fellow has quite a collection of import titles for obscure-ish systems. There are scans and short bits of info here for many games you may never have seen discussed before, be it regarding Towns Marty, arcade board, CD32 or PC-FX, he's got something to say. 2193 games in the growing database. Thanks to a link on Namakoteam via Paleface for the introduction.
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Feature: An insert credit dream
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June 28, 2003 11:49 AM PST
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insert credit / Eric-Jon Rossel Waugh
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The insert credit fortress headed by Peter Moore, collapsing babylonian civilizations, and Fred Flinstone dressed as Iori Yagami. I don't understand it either. Perhaps it's not meant to be understood.
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News: Okamoto leaves Capcom
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June 27, 2003 11:56 PM PST
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Capcom / BS
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Legendary Capcom producer Yoshiki Okamoto (Street Fighter, for one) has left his company, blaming poor decisions by Capcom execs, and his disapproval with the direction the company was going. So he has left to forge his own company; Game Republic. Very likely one to watch! News from Gamefront with translation work by Rockman Pocket.
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News: Psyvariar 2
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June 27, 2003 11:16 PM PST
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Taito / BS
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Many are reporting that recent Japanese mags have news of Psyvariar 2's coming to the arcades in august. Gamefront mentions that the game will indeed revive the buzz system for the sequel.
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News: Dragon Chronicle
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June 27, 2003 11:30 PM PST
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Namco / BS
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There's a new arcade multiplayer shooter coming from Namco - Dragon Chronicle (official page) is the name, and it seems a spiritual successor to the Dragon Spirit series. More info on this when I'm not sleepy. Take a look at some screens and cabinet images till then, and know that the location test begins on the third in various locations. Thanks to Rid Hershel for the news.
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News: Sega/Sammy discussion
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June 27, 2003 11:16 PM PST
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Lycos News / SM
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At a scheduled Sega shareholder meeting, Sega's merger discussions with Sammy and Namco were discussed. It was felt that these discussions were having a bad effect on the morale of company employees. There was a demand for more fortitude ("shikkari shite hoshii" to youbou shite). President Saitou replied that the merger plans were meant to maximize the company. In response to the poor performance of America oriented sports games, he said that American-oriented games will be worked on by on location subsidiaries.
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News: Further Border Down DC info
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June 27, 2003 11:16 PM PST
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G.rev / BS
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The only thing different about the limited edition is that it contains the soundtrack CD, nothing more. The CD can also be purchased at 2500 yen separately on the day of release. The info is here, and sega-direct preorders open on the 3rd of July.
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News: Renai Chu to hit the DC
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June 27, 2003 11:11 PM PST
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Saga Planets / SM
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Renai Chu is coming to the DC sometime in the nebulous future. It's a windows 18+ H ACG from 2001 (original game page here). There are no real details at the moment, aside from the initial announcement. More info as it comes.
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News: New Shikigami II chara revealed
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June 27, 2003 11:03 PM PST
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Alfa System / SM
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A hidden character for Shikigami no Shiro II has been revealed: Mini-Fumiko. She looks much younger (about 10 or so, w/o glasses). It seems like if you go from Fumiko on the selection screen and input to the right, the younger version will appear. I guess she has two different modes which are identical in the younger mode, but their effect is slightly different. Thanks to Namae no Nai Heya.
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News: Intellivision OS
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June 26, 2003 11:50 PM PST
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IntyOS / BS
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Wow. A French programmer has constructed an OS for the Intellivision!! The Intellivision has only 895 KHz of processing power, and 240 bytes + 80 words of RAM, so it's rather impressive. Plus, that image to the left is of four programs running simultaneously on the OS. Damned impressive if you ask me. You can test the thing in a java window here. It's loadable to an Intellevision Intellicart, but these are no longer made - but enough mails to the original manufacturer might very well change that. Thanks to games.slashdot.org for the link.
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News: Lynx coding contest
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June 26, 2003 11:45 PM PST
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Atari Times / BS
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The Atari Times is holding a coding contest for the lynx! First prize is $250, second is $150 - entries are limited to games, and must be submitted by September 15, 6 PM M.S.T. For an example of some interesting business being done with the Lynx of late, check out the Lynx Reloaded demo, which has some 3D-ish capabilities. Thanks to Pie from the forums for the links.
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News: More Border Down info
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June 26, 2003 11:38 PM PST
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Namae / SM
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Namae no Nai Heya reports that Border Down will have an extra remix mode/practice mode and soundtrack CD (that last bit is only in the limited, I believe). The original news was taken from Arcadia magazine.
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News: Gackt and Parappa
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June 26, 2003 11:32 PM PST
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Dengeki Online / SM
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Seems like Gackt and Parappa are teaming up for a cell phone CM site with
all sorts of content. Alas, this isn't the ultra cool Gackt from Malice Mizer, but the newer popular version that my girlfriend thinks is kinda cute. On 7/1, Gackt will appear on scouting out Parappa for the next two
commercials. At the same time, there will corresponding games and melodies will be made available for the cell phones.
Scott had better follow up and find that site when it goes live - he's toast otherwise. And as a side note - if (Malice Mizer's) Mana were a real woman, I'd marry him. Or...her.
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News: R-type Final US
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June 26, 2003 11:23 PM PST
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Fresh Games / BS
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According to a recent report at Gamers.com, Fresh Games will be bringing R-Type Final to the US (this being Eidos' localization label). Not sure when this will be, but news will surface eventually.
Thanks to a credible source for informing me that they'll not be handling a port in europe. Which is not to say that someone won't be picking it up...
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News: Soukyugurentai Arcade Hits
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June 26, 2003 11:19 PM PST
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Hamster / BS
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The classic 2D/3D shooter Soukyugurentai has just gotten a re-release on the PSX, with a new ship, voice acted cut-scenes and movies!! Hamster is the party responsible for this - take a look. I wouldn't be shocked if a certain fine import retailer picked this up soon. Thanks to Gen's MMCafe post for the link.
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News: Lineage MMORPG
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June 26, 2003 11:15 PM PST
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Lineage / SM
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Popular Korean software maker NC soft will begin testing their new MMORG on 7/2. The new Lineage series covers 3 years and is planned to run over 6 episodes. On 7/2 the first episode, Light and Shadow (hikari to Kage) with new player classes will be made public. Thanks to 4gamer.net for the news.
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News: SvC Chaos system updates
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June 26, 2003 11:05 PM PST
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Playmore / BS
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Not earth shattering, but news nonetheless - the English system page has been opened for SvC Chaos, and there's a bit more info on the Japanese page. Though none of the info is new, there are now official screenshots on the Japanese page, and 'taunt' is engrish-ified as 'razzle' on the other. So...there it is.
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E3: Metal Slug Advance
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June 25, 2003 5:35 PM PST
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insert credit / EJRW
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A bit more E3 business - Eric-Jon has written up a short piece about Metal Slug Advance, which was apparantly available in video form at the show. I wish I'd seen it!
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News: Border Down for DC!
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June 25, 2003 5:20 PM PST
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G.rev / BS
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G.rev's 3D horizontal Naomi-based shooter is coming to the DC after all!! The game is scheduled for a September 25th release in normal and limited versions. According to Gamefront, the extra contents include a soundtrack CD, but this is unconfirmed. I played the game in Japan recently, and it's not bad at all, very fluid, with a nice weapons system. The game has already been picked up for preorders right here from Play-Asia.com. One last hurrah for DC shooters!!
Check the official site and Sega's arcade section for images et al.
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News: GP32 update
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June 25, 2003 5:12 PM PST
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various / BS
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Tailzone is working on another new project! Looks like we'll be in for some GP32 Lode Runner relatively soon. In other news, Woogal has opened a page to show off his 15-day GBAX competition entry, a pacman clone with changeable skins, level editor and mod player.
Radium is being released by Revival Studios now, an offshoot of Karma Studios.
Last bit, a patch for Mill has been released. Check it out at GP32 News.
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Download: Close To promo
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June 25, 2003 4:51 PM PST
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Kid / VD
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Kid has released a new promotional video of their 7/24 galget title Omoi no kakera Close To. Get it here along with the opening. Character design is by gotoP, the lowermost of our external links.
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Download: Star Soldier video
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June 25, 2003 4:46 PM PST
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Hudson / BS
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IGN has released a video of gameplay from Hudson's upcoming Cube re-release/3D update of the classic Star Soldier. Already looks a hell of a lot smoother than the N64 version. But a replay it is not. Thanks to Triggerzone for the link.
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News: Shinobi the best release
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June 25, 2003 4:39 PM PST
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Overworks / VD
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Vince just discovered this charming image. Shinobi is being re-released as a PS2 best series game for 3,000 yen. It will come with a demo movie of the upcoming game Kunoichi, as well as Shinobi super-replays. The striking fellow on the cover is "Kumonofu", the games director. They say "package under development" so many times on the site, along with "so don't worry" that I wonder about the...finality of that design.
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News: SvC Chaos location tests expand
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June 25, 2003 4:32 PM PST
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SNK / BS
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Location tests for SvC Chaos now include Yokohama and keikyuu Kawasaki. So we may see more impressions coming in...
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Update: Metal Slug 3 movies
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June 24, 2003 11:59 PM PST
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insert credit / brandon sheffield
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Movies and images are up for Metal Slug 3, as well as an additional footnote. If you watch nothing else, check out this small movie demonstrating my innovative method of gameplay. That is to say - killing myself when there's not an enemy in sight.
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Impressions: KOF 2002
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June 24, 2003 11:51 PM PST
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insert credit / eric-jon rossel waugh
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KOF 2002 has taken the formula of '98 and stripped it of character. It's technically very solid...but it has no soul.
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News: Article Seezak becomes TreeBuds
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June 24, 2003 11:47 PM PST
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TreeBuds / BS
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With very little explanation, it seems as though Article Seezak has become TreeBuds. The new site has much better design, so perhaps it's a good thing. And with the name change comes the subtle announcement of a new game, unfortunately titled 'Advanture of Nard.' The advanture I can understand, but...nard...
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News: XS in LA
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June 24, 2003 11:42 PM PST
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GP32 Extreme / VD
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Searching through Gamasutra's job section, Vince came across this here: XS Games is a publisher of videogames on all platforms including PS1,PS2,PC,GBA. The work required is for valuline games with production windows of 3-6 months.Looking for a character artist/designer for immediate work.
To create sketches and/or models of kid characters 11-14 yrs.'Real' kids with 'character'.They're for action/sports games. Own outfits. Style,humor,attitude.Want a series of 15-20 characters.Need sketches and/or relevant images.Send email as Word,JPG,BMP
attachment.
Sounds like XS to me. The good ol' boys from Ohio have come to the big city! And now you can help them with their latest atrocity!
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News: GP32 Extreme hacked
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June 24, 2003 11:36 PM PST
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GP32 Extreme / BS
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GP32 Extreme has been hacked. Why anyone would do that to them, I've no idea.
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News: Rock 'n Roll Racing
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June 24, 2003 11:34 PM PST
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Blizzard / BS
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Blizzard has put up a playable demo (shockwave) of their new game Rock 'n Roll Racing. I'm wondering how it can be an exclusive when it's a port of an existing title. Hmmm. Thanks to Jason of the S:NGP board for the link.
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News: Nintendo Fusion tour
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June 24, 2003 11:26 PM PST
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Nintendo / BS
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This is odd (perhaps even OMG EDGY). Nintendo has teamed up with the derivative packaged-rebellion corset-wearing hot chick fronted band Evanescence for a tour. They're calling this match-made-in-the-marketing-office the Fusion Tour - it promises to be a fusion of video gaming (two words, it seems), music and lifestyle. Check the tour dates if you want to get your lifestyle on. Seems more like a Nokia move. Thanks to Danny Dormer for the tip-off.
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News: Attack of the killer logo
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June 24, 2003 11:22 PM PST
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Falcom / BS
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Ys VI gets a logo and a subtitle! Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim appears to be the full title at this point. The classiness of the logo reminds me of the 'fire' drink that one can purchase in japan. God stuff.
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Review: Metal Slug 3
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June 23, 2003 11:57 PM PST
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insert credit / brandon sheffield
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Metal Slug 3 for the PS2 is the best port of the year. The year may not be over yet, but...I'd be surprised if I found one I liked better. I say let them try. Fantastic game, fantastic port.
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Site News: E3 page
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June 23, 2003 11:48 PM PST
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insert credit / BS
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Now that our E3 coverage is basically complete, a page has been constructed which contains everything we've written regarding the event. Check it out here.
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News: Urinal gaming
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June 23, 2003 11:29 PM PST
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MIT / BS
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Some fellows at MIT have developed a game designed to be played with urine! Every male's dream come true, according to Freud. Words of wisdom from Juan: Wait till they make a VERSUS mode and people start assigning top tiers. And calling each other cheap.
Thanks to Gamegirladvance for the news.
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News: Capcom All-Stars delayed
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June 23, 2003 11:17 PM PST
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Capcom / BS
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Thanks to the professor's post in his own BBS, we learn that the long-disputed Capcom All-Stars fighter has been postponed from the ambiguous 'fall' to the even less encouraging 'undetermined'. See for yourself at the official page.
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News: GP32 update
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June 23, 2003 11:06 PM PST
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Various / BS
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Metellius has updated his page to reflect his work on a 1943 clone...go check that out. Thanks to GP32 News for the link.
And the 15 day coding contest is ending on the 27th - perhaps I should have mentioned it before today?
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Review: Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow
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June 22, 2003 11:59 PM PST
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insert credit / eric-jon rossel waugh
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Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, when reviewed by Eric-Jon...it becomes something of a platform for musical discussion. That fellow just can't seem to do anything normally.
But I don't complain.
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News: Hi-Saturn Navi
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June 22, 2003 11:46 PM PST
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nfg.2y.net./games/ / BS
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Lawrence has put up something interesting at nfg.2y.net./games/ - a writeup of the very hard to find Hi-Saturn Navi. Check out the features and functions, as well as some fine images. Here's a little bonus for you, regarding how well the GPS navigation works in that thing (excerpt from an email): It was consistently 5 feet off the road and refused to display the 3D map 'cause we weren't 'on the road'. Also CD maps are out of fashion what with DVDs being so popular, so all your map data discs are kinda aged. "There's no road here... And we should be able to make a left through this department store."
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News: Wonderwitch contenders announced
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June 22, 2003 11:24 PM PST
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Bandai / BS
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The Wonderswan coding competition is nearing completion! The final few have been selected, and final judgment is planned for July 19th. Nice to see that Es-Loss made it in there.
And as a side note, Super Robot Taisen Compact 3 is now on the official page - same date and price (7.17 and 4,800). Still not much to look at though.
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News: B3 released
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June 22, 2003 11:19 PM PST
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Tailzone / BS
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Tailzone released the first beta of his GP32 Arkanoid clone. Go get it.
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News: Play More
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June 22, 2003 11:17 PM PST
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Xbox / BS
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Check out the new site for Xbox live - it's quite fun to play with. The dizzy rat is enough to warrant a visit.
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Site News: downtime
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June 21, 2003 11:59 PM PST
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insert credit / BS
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We were down for almost an hour today, not sure why exactly. But my apologies - we'll be moving to a new server in a matter of course, so don't be surprised to see a bit of lag or downtime in the very near future. Things should be pretty smooth after that, however.
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News: Atari 800 PC
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June 21, 2003 11:55 PM PST
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Mini-itx / BS
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Andy Hutson turned his Atari 800 computer into a full windows, DVD playing webserving system. You can too, if you just follow his simple guide like a monkey. Check out the other bizarre PC creations on the site as well, it's strangely obsessive business.
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Comment: Data East truly dead?
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June 21, 2003 11:52 PM PST
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Data East / BS
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Data East has been rather inactive since '99, when they released the last of their visual novels for the Dreamcast. And since Ghostlop never came out, things looked bleak. But Magical Drop was recently released as a Superlite in Japan, which leads one to think they might be alive. Yet - their website's id ran out this month. Perhaps they are truly gone? Something to discuss.
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Review: Made in Wario
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June 21, 2003 2:33 PM PST
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insert credit / Gabriel Leung
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If you want a straight review of Made in Wario, (Wario Ware in the US) you can find that. If you want something else, you can find that too. Just depends on what you want to see.
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News: Munekyuun Heartful Bout
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June 20, 2003 11:45 PM PST
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Panorama / GL
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Doujin group Panorama have put up a very playable beta of their gals fighter Munekyuun Heartful Bout, now featuring three characters! Check out some screenshots here, and the download here.
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News: Overray
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June 20, 2003 11:29 PM PST
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Freams / GL
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Freams has put up a new version of their horizontally scrolling stg Overray. Check here for the direct link. Not bad at all.
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News: GPUN PC doujin soft
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June 20, 2003 11:25 PM PST
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GPUN / BS
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I know a lot of folks gloss over the GP32 bits, so here's a separate post. GPUN has updated their site with two downloadable PC versions of their Snow White shooter and Apple Strikers action puzzler. Snow White is average, as nice graphics and art...but Apple Strikers is tops. Give both a shot by clicking the tags on the left of the page on which (PC) is written.
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News: GP32 update
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June 20, 2003 11:18 PM PST
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Various / BS
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Tailzone has put up a new version of B3; his arkenoid clone. There are now 20 playable stages.
And good old GPUN has uploaded new demo versions of both Snow White (stg) and Apple Strikers (apzl)!! Better graphics, smoother gameplay...worth a go, I'd say. Just click the two images on the left that say (GP32) for the downloads. Thanks to GP32 Notebook for the last link.
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News: Lik-Sang loses case
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June 20, 2003 11:12 PM PST
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Nintendo / BS
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Nintendo has successfully sued the import retailer Lik-Sang for 5 million HK dollars, or 650,000 US. This is because of their previous sale of GBA flash linkers - read the UK Register for a decent write-up of the full story.
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Download: Border Down videos
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June 20, 2003 11:04 PM PST
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Sega / BS
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Two movies up for the Naomi arcade shooter Border Down. Check them out here and here. Thanks to Christian for sending the links.
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News: Entdepot hiring
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June 19, 2003 11:59 PM PST
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The Entertainment Depot / BS
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Entdepot is looking for reviewers! They pay in games, which is not a bad gig. The style is much more traditional than what you read here, but we've long been friends with the webmaster, so do check it out and see if it moves you. It's a straight site, but a good straight.
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Off-topic: Megumi breast shirt
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June 19, 2003 11:45 PM PST
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Atakara Magazine / BS
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Now you can have breasts just like Megumi's! Wear the popular star's bosoms on your chest as though they were your own with this two T-shirt set! Only 7,800 yen~! Perfect for subtly telling your otaku pals that they need to lose some weight. Eh?
Thanks to Sensenic's MMCafe BBS post for the link.
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News: Yankee Spirit registration
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June 19, 2003 11:31 PM PST
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Mighty Florist / BS
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Mighty Florist - a new forum poster, has shared some information regarding how to register for the Yankee Spirit demo we mentioned yesterday. He seems to recommend my SNK World registration guide for some of the process, so there's the link again.
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News: SNK latest
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June 19, 2003 11:24 PM PST
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Illusion / BS
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The system page is up for SvC Chaos. Nothing in there that we didn't already know, but now it's in writing that you must cancel throws with the same button combination your opponent used (AB or CD), taunting raises the power gauge, hit AB to recover, and pressing start provokes the enemy by raising their power gauge. There should be an english language version of the system page soon enough, so keep your eyes peeled.
Just another small note: over at Noise they found that debugger they were looking for. So the job is taken, sadly. And also, if you believe their news hist(o)ry, these fellows are from the not-too-distant future. Or, to paraphrase Dom, maybe 2004 is Japanese for 2003.
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News: Sacnoth status?
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June 19, 2003 11:18 PM PST
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Gamespot / BS
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Contrary to a recent Magicbox report, Gamespot has quoted a Famitsu article which states that Nautilus will be developing the title in their stead. Nautilus being Aruze's in-house team. So...where's Sacnoth?
Some of us are suspecting that they've either been absorbed into Nautilus, or have become that company. But it's still curious, since Nautilus is mentioned as a developer of pachinko/pachislot games primarily, and I don't think we've seen anything like this come from Sacnoth or Nautilus yet. Time may or may not tell. Here's the official Shadowhearts webpage, with Nautilus named clearly as developer.
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Download: Sexy Beach 2
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June 19, 2003 11:15 PM PST
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Illusion / BS
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Just a quick reminder that the Sexy Beach 2 movie demo is up at Illusion's download page. Direct link is here.
Just in case there are any new viewers about, Illusion videos are NEVER work safe!!
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News: Famicompo
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June 18, 2003 11:56 PM PST
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Famicompo / BS
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To honor the Famicom's 20th anniversary, folks from all over the world have gathered together to participate in a Famicom music competition. All participants have composed a song in NSF (nintendo sound format), either an original or cover. The entries are in - it's time to vote! You can download these either in nsf format or .mp3. Just bear in mind that the .nsf can be downloaded in a 400k zip. The MP3s are all obviously much larger than this. There's some really great music in here, and it seems as though you may vote for as many as you want. Thanks to A_Lee_N for submitting this great piece of news.
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Download: Sprint, Yankee Spirit demo
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June 18, 2003 11:39 PM PST
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Impress Watch / BS
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Square-Enix has finally released a demo of their first online title, Sprint, Yankee Spirit. Download the demo from Impress Watch's new page on the game. Here's a direct link for those of you who swing that way. Thanks to Rid Hershel for the link.
Scooter MMORPG...these guys are either getting desperate or nutty.
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News: IGS' Demonfront
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June 18, 2003 11:22 PM PST
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NFG games / BS
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Someone has finally gotten some solid info out regarding IGS' Metal Slug clone Demon Front. Check out the impressions and images over at NFG games. The rest of the site (and his whole network for that matter) is worth checking out as well, lots of wacky stuff there. Thanks to Gen's MMCafe post for the link.
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News: Gamecube cracked
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June 18, 2003 11:12 PM PST
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GCdev / BS
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Thanks to a Slashdot article I just learned that the Gamecube has been cracked for amateur development, and demos have been successfully run on the system already! The method for booting exploits a back door programmed into PSO for server maintenance, thereby allowing you to use the broadband adapter as a gateway. Sneaky fellows, these coders. Costis, a familiar face, got the big win on this one. Check GCdev for the files, and more!
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News: Karnaaj contest
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June 18, 2003 11:07 PM PST
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Jaleco / BS
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There's a contest going on as we speak for the GBA racer Karnaaj Rally. The prize is a GBA or the Hardcore Pinball software, so you've far more to gain than lose from this. Thanks to Jason's S:NGP board post for the news.
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News: DBZ on GP32
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June 18, 2003 11:03 PM PST
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braindead2 / BS
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The over-the-top series has finally poked it's spiky head into the GP32 amateur community. GP32 News reports that French(?) coder braindead2 is working on the game - not sure if this is a port of an existing game, or a ground-up start from scratch, but I'm sure someone will tell me within minutes of this post. Check his site for more.
While you're in GP32 mode, check out Metellius' page. Seems he's got a new platformer in the works, as well as a special version of ASR. Haven't loaded it up yet, but grabbed the info from GP32 News once more.
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News: Perfect Cherry Blossom
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June 17, 2003 11:59 PM PST
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Team Shanghai Alice / GL
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Gabriel just informed me that Team Shanghai Alice has updated their truly excellent traditional shooter Perfect Cherry Blossom. You can find the new version right here, along with their other major title, Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.
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News: Space Invaders anniversary
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June 17, 2003 11:33 PM PST
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Taito / BS
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Here's something to get Way Too Excited about. The 25th anniversary of Space Invaders is coming. This is significant, as the title was the first widespread proper arcade console - in addition to being a brilliant game (and the first vertical shooter!). In commemoration of the event, a PS2 compilation is being released. Games included: the original Space Invaders, some color variants, Space Invaders 2, Space Invaders 2-player vs game, and Space Invaders 3D. This is, to the best of my knowledge, the first time that those last two have come to console. In addition to the games, there's going to be a 'secret files' section, which contains a profile of the project head, Space Invaders design docs, et cetera. The last option on the disc is a complete Taito arcade history, up to the point of the disc's release. Not bad at all. Ever watchful, Play-Asia.com has picked it up for pre-orders - an even 22$ for the game shipped. The game is planned for a July 31st release at 1480 yen. Thanks to Triggerzone for the link.
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Download: Chris OTG combo
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June 17, 2003 11:17 PM PST
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Rockman Pocket / BS
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The Neo Geo Pocket combo genius Rockman Pocket has come up with something pretty nice - a video which exploits the Chris OTG bug in KOF R-2. That is to say, Chris can be thrown from a knock-down in a narrow window, if certain moves are performed on him. A very detailed FAQ on how to do this can be found right here. And of course if you like that, don't hesitate to check out his other videos, they're all quite impressive (Gals Fighters especially). I do so love the dutch.
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News: Sexy Beach 2 movie DL
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June 17, 2003 11:09 PM PST
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Illusion Soft / BS
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Illusion has put up the demo movie for their latest work, Sexy Beach 2 (it's a commercial game this time, in case you'd forgotten). However it's in the pass download section, so you'll need to login. But if you don't mind the wait, the demo will be made public on the 20th, which is actually just a couple of days from now for you and I. So check the guest download section late on the 19th (in the US), and you may be in business.
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Feature: meeting the madman
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June 17, 2003 2:30 AM PST
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insert credit / brandon sheffield
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I went to Japan to perform a location test of Henry Moriarty of the Madman's Cafe. Our battles were frequent and furious. First pics and videos inside! OMG!
Also - this is one of only three or four main features that I will be posting regarding my time in Japan. Since there won't be many, I've crammed a lot of that business in here as well.
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News: Famicom Madness
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June 16, 2003 10:03 PM PST
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Mr. Freetime / BS
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This guy here (nickname Mr. Freetime) has 2967 copies of Jaleco's Moero!! Pro Baseball for the Famicom - 2800 red, 167 black. It cost him 174,288 yen to amass these, and if you were to purchase them all at retail price, the bill would come to 16,318,500 yen before tax. If stacked, it reaches 50m 43cm 9mm high, and weighs 207kg 690g. It seems as though his dream is to carry out a pro-domino competition around the Jaleco head office using the carts. here's what he did do with them. Every time he got a new significant number of carts, he built an object out of them. At 600 he built a number graph of monthly cart acquisition. Now that's post modernism for you. The coffin is particularly impressive ("if I die..."). 2,000 is a recreation of Korakuen Stadium. Great stuff. Thanks to Apples' post on the Monkey Board for the link.
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Play-Asia: KOF 2002 ships early
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June 16, 2003 9:59 PM PST
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Play-Asia.com / BS
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KOF 2002 has shipped early at Play-Asia.com!! Pre-orders went out yesterday, so if you want the game, now's the time to pick it up. Looks like an anti-piracy pre-emptive strike to me, after the Ikaruga ISO fiasco. Metal Slug 3 also ships in a matter of days - I'll have my full reviews of both posted as soon as humanly possible.
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News: Icon new game
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June 16, 2003 9:54 PM PST
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Team Icon / BS
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There's a new game in development from Team Icon!! They're the ones developing Queen of Fighters for GP32. Not sure if this is going to be GP32 or PC work, but I do know this: it's set to be freeware, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Click the pic for a larger version. Seems to be in GP32 resolution so...maybe... Thanks to GP32 Notebook for the news.
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News: Fahselei! lyric discussion
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June 16, 2003 9:50 PM PST
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Yodaa / BS
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For those interested in the NGPC, here's some work being done to understand the lyrics from the cryptic Fahselei! opening.
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News: Teen Titans
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June 16, 2003 9:45 PM PST
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Cartoon Network / BS
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Cartoon Network has put up a flash fighting game based on their upcoming DC comics cartoon show. It's actually pretty cool, and characters will be continually released over time. Got to love the themesong...sounds like Shonen Knife to me.
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Download: Wonderwitch 2003 entries
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June 15, 2003 10:01 PM PST
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Bandai / BS
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The entries for the Wonderwitch amateur Wonderswan development contest have all been uploaded. Go take a look...as usual, the quality has jumped by leaps from the previous year. I suspect that this may be the final contest, so enjoy these while they're here.
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News: SNK Neo Geo USA HQ
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June 15, 2003 9:55 PM PST
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SNK Neo Geo USA / E-JRW / BS
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Eric-Jon stumbled upon something interesting today:
"I looked up www.snkneogeousaconsumer.com on a couple of whois
databases. Seems it's been registered (by Ben Herman) since late last month. It wasn't, last I checked."
Looking at that information, it seems safe to say that the site has been registered since May 21st, and their HQ is indeed in Wall, NJ - not Freehold (as discussed here). These seem to be the first two of the several major steps toward establishing the consumer side in the US. Those PS2 releases draw ever nearer. Now that's obsessive coverage - fine work, Eric.
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News: GP32 updates
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June 15, 2003 9:39 PM PST
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GP32 News / BS
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There's a GPArt contest up, please do check it out. It involves making an image using the GPArt software on the GP32...prizes include signed work from our ole pal Pékélé of GP32 News, and the deadline is June 25th. So get to it!
Just an aside - a GP32 News poster put up some old info about Raphael, but the start screen he displays is markedly different from the one I played. Curious, and something to log in your brains.
IcemanGP, the fellow working on a ground-up (with sprite rips) amateur port of KOF 2000 has put up a project where you can download his wip demos et al. Not bad stuff.
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News: Summon Night GBA
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June 15, 2003 9:25 PM PST
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Flight Plan / BS
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My personal favorite strategy RPG makers Flight Plan released Summon Night Craft Sword Monogatari for the GBA in April, unbeknownst to me. This might have something to do with the fact that until may, they'd not updated their site for an entire year. If I know Flight Plan - if I know Summon Night, especially considering that this game is two-player linkable...this should be a game worth checking out. Plus the battles are real time action this time round, rather than the classic tactics style. Just two days ago there was a new extras section added to the official website which contains a 4 panel comic. Unfortunately it seems as though I'll be cold in the grave before a Flight Plan game makes it to the states. Pity, that.
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E3: Bioware interview
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June 14, 2003 4:59 PM PST
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insert credit / eric-jon rossel waugh
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The final chapter in the E3 saga! finally! A few members of the team had a squished interview with Bioware on day 2. Here's how it went.
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News: BugWave
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June 14, 2003 4:51 PM PST
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Shockwave / BS
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Here's a nice little game from Shockwave in Japan. You must guide a little bug towards the fruits in a puzzle style tile rotating game. Not bad! Thanks to Rainman from the Monkey Board for the link.
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News: SvC Chaos dialogue
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June 14, 2003 4:49 PM PST
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Gamefaqs / BS
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Well...I've been avoiding this for soon to be obvious reasons, but a fellow on the gamefaqs board has posted some engrish translations of the SvC Chaos dialogue. But yeah. They're too funny to pass over.
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News: Jaguar dev cart
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June 14, 2003 4:46 PM PST
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B&C Computer Visions / BS
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I was quite quickly corrected regarding my mention of the Jaguar cart. There is indeed a bypass cart which allows betas and amateur efforts to be played on the jag home system for a reasonable price. Check out B&C Computer Visions' Jaguar section and CTRL+F for bypass. It's $40, but only words for CDs, no computer connectivity. Still, a good solution for playing most of the homebrew stuff that's coming out these days. Thanks to Highlandcattle for mentioning this in our forums.
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E3: Turtles
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June 14, 2003 2:01 AM PST
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insert credit / eric-jon rossel waugh
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E3 will never die! Or so it would seem. Eric-Jon has sent in his impressions of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games from Konami. Far more on the home console versions than the GBA offering, but both are a bit on the negative side. Read on to see why.
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News: Jaguar news blitz
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June 13, 2003 11:23 PM PST
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various / BS
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