System: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: August 8th, 2013 (NA)
Developer: Moving Player
Publisher: Moving Player
Author: Jack
Tangram game, perfect for boy and son, finally has a representative on the 3DS eShop! The ancient Chinese puzzler with seemingly infinite (though absolutely finite) configurations composed from the same eight blocks mirrors LEGO not only in open-endedness via face-value simplicity and accessibility, but as a developmental catalyst for pattern recognition and critical thinking in little children. With the glut of quality time-wasting and brain-exercising works available not only amongst the eShop, but the collaborative Internet as a whole, is the jungle-themed Tangram Style worthy of a place in your digital collection? Does it manage to power past the replacement-level iterative puzzler black hole problem that oh-so many no-name puzzle games fail to conquer?
While Tangram Style certainly passes the base litmus test as a fundamental tangram simulator, too many bush-league problems mar what should have been an easy game to push through the development process. Tangram Style does not indeed exceed the bounds of the aforementioned black hole, and should only be purchased by T-Gram aficionados in search of familiarity– not puzzleheads in search of another brainy rush.
In June, Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword developer Grounding Inc. revealed that the studio is working on another project for Nintendo. This has essentially been confirmed once again through a recent comment from Yukio Futatsugi.
Speaking to Siliconera, Futatsugi said the following when asked what sort of games he would like the company to work on in the future:
“Perhaps we’ll work with Nintendo again, since we have a good relationship with them…”
The Pokemon games have always remained light-hearted. Nintendo has yet to come out with a seriously mature take on the series or a title with a lot of dark elements – and this won’t be changing in the future.
First, here’s what Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda said when asked if the stories could take on a more mature direction:
Capcom’s upcoming 3DS game Gaist Crusher will have a tie-in with Sengoku Basara 4. In the game, players will come across Date Masamune as a boss. Defeat him and you’ll receive a costume just like the character wears in Sengoku Basara 4.
Zelda’s CD-i games weren’t included in Hyrule Historia. There’s a reason for that: they’re not part of the franchises’s canon.
Also worth considering is that Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma wasn’t even sure what was being referred to when MTV Multiplayer brought up the CD-i abominations. Ultimately though, he said, “I don’t know that those really fit in the ‘Zelda’ franchise.”
Aside from a mainline console game, one of the more reoccurring requests from Pokemon fans is to see the series taken into the MMO space. Wouldn’t it be neat to see trainers all across the world train, battle, and trade in a connected online space?
Well, Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda isn’t entirely sold on the idea. Speaking with GamesBeat, Masuda said the following when asked if a Pokemon MMO has been discussed and why this type of game hasn’t been explored:
“Of course, we hear all the opinions we get from our fans about an MMORPG. But right now, we’re still unsure whether this core gameplay at the center of Pokémon – catching the Pokémon and raising them – would really translate well or really match the MMORPG format. Right now we think the best way for the widest possible audience to enjoy the games is the way we develop them now.”
