I hope you guys like playing your games on handhelds, because this month is full of games to play on the go. As well as a string of promising Nintendo DS games, March sees the release of the new Nintendo 3DS console, a portable powerhouse with more launch games than I have time to write about. So hopefully you weren’t looking forward to reading about those any time soon.
Pokemon Black and White (DS)
US: March 6
EU: March 4
AUS: March 10
Why should you care? Pokemon games always get criticised for not adding much with each new instalment and, while not completely changing the direction of Game Freak’s hit RPG series, Pokemon Black and White are refining the core gameplay to the point where these new versions might be the definitive Pokemon games on the Nintendo DS. As well as upping the total number of Pokemon to 649, the new region of Unova comes with improved graphics (including fully-animated sprites and a camera that pans around during battles), seasonal changes, triple and rotation battles, and a plot that isn’t quite as non-existent as previous games. Another new addition is the C-Gear – basically an expanded version of the Poketch or Pokegear that allows for quicker trades and battles using the DS’s wireless capabilities as well as video chat if you happen to own a DSi. Pokemon can now be uploaded to the Global Link website, where they can enter the “Dream World,” a portal where playing minigames and growing berries can net you new Pokemon with different abilities than usual — something that should shake up the competitive battling scene a bit. Hopefully it won’t temporarily close because of traffic concerns like when the Japanese versions of Black and White released.
Okamiden (DS)
US: March 15
EU: March 18
AU: “March”
Why should you care? Aside from Amaterasu showing up and kicking all kinds of butt in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Capcom haven’t really done a whole lot with Okami after porting Clover’s excellent PS2 game to the Wii. That’s why it’s so great to see it finally getting a sequel in Okamiden – this time with Amaterasu’s son, Chibiterasu as the main star. Okami was known for its beautiful “sumi-e” style graphics so moving it to the DS seems like a puzzling choice, but the game’s mechanic of using Chibiterasu’s Celestial Brush to draw symbols that manipulate the environment should work well. There were a few sections in the original Okami where Amaterasu carried a partner around on her back and Okamiden takes this concept and runs with it as Chibiterasu escorts a bunch of characters who should look familiar to those who played the first game since, like Chibiterasu, they all seem to be descendants of old characters like Susano and Waka. Each of these characters has their own unique skills that can be paired with Chibiterasu’s Celestial Brush and should hopefully mix up the combat a bit, which was one of Okami’s weaker aspects. Even if you didn’t play the first game (and judging by Okami’s sales, you probably didn’t), Okamiden should satisfy any need you have for an accessible and artsy Zelda-style game. I’m still a bit concerned about how well the DS will be able to run Okamiden without massive amounts of pop-in or frame rate drops, but hey – at least Chibiterasu is cute!
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, DS, 3DS)
US: March 22
EU: March 25
AU: March 30
Why should you care? From the developers of Lego Star Wars, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Lego Star Wars: We Just Repackaged the First Two Games, Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones 2: Based on Kingdom of the Crystal Skull I Guess, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, and the soon-to-be-released Lego Pirates of the Caribbean comes yet another game taking a popular film franchise and breaking it down to a series of multicoloured bricks. If you can somehow stomach even more Lego, not to mention the CGI animated series of The Clone Wars, there should be some solid co-op platforming to be had here. There’s also a 3DS version coming, but naturally that won’t be out until the 3DS is.
Monster Tale (DS)
US: March 22
EU: TBA
AUS: TBA
Why should you care? Monster Tale is a game you might not have heard much about, given it was developed by a fairly new company — Dreamrift. The thing about Dreamrift was that it was co-founded by some of the developers of that incredibly British hybrid of platforming and Puzzle League known as Henry Hatsworth and the Puzzling Adventure, so DS games with gorgeous sprites and a few two-screen tricks are something to be expected from this company.
Like Henry Hatsworth, Monster Tale is a side-scrolling platformer, but it has more of a “Metroidvania” feel to it, with larger interconnected levels rather than standard running, jumping, and beating enemies to death with a handbag.
The main character, Ellie, is accompanied by Chomp — a cute little monster (at least initially) who inhabits the bottom DS screen. Any items Ellie finds while exploring on the top screen like books and food can be dropped into his lair and used to help Chomp learn new abilities, increase his stats, or even transform. The developers have promised that it won’t be as difficult as Henry Hatsworth (which is probably for the best), but there should be enough challenge and engaging gameplay here to recommend Monster Tale to gamers of all ages.
Nintendo 3DS
US: March 27
EU: March 25
AU: March 31
Why should you care? Because how could any portable gaming device that summons Bowser to breath fire in Reggie Fils-Aime’s face not be awesome? On top of that, I’ve heard that the 3DS runs on magic, plays PSP games, and can cure cancer (note: this was all taken from the Nintendo 3DS Wikipedia page). Seriously, though, as well as improved visuals over the original Nintendo DS, the 3DS delivers 3D graphics without the need for any glasses, has a “Circle Pad” for smoother movement, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, three cameras, backwards compatibility with DS and DSiWare games, a Virtual Console for Game Boy, Game Gear and TurboGrafx 16 games, and a pretty hefty price tag. The console is launching alongside games like Nintendogs + Cats and Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (or only those games if you live in Australia), but I’ll take a more comprehensive look at all the launch titles closer to the console’s release date.
