So, is Ambition of the Slimes (3DS) worth its $5 price tag?

Now that I've put a few hours into the just-released 3DS version of Circle Entertainment's strategy RPG, Ambition of the Slimes, I thought I'd share some thoughts on the experience.

Before I get to those musings, though, I have to mention that I've never played any other iteration of this game. (Developer altairworks first made it available to iOS and PlayStation Mobile users early last year.) So, I can't say how the 3DS port compares to those releases.

With that out of the way, here are some impressions of Ambition of the Slimes for 3DS:

* First, I like that this Final Fantasy Tactics-esque SRPG gets things rolling in the right direction with a tutorial. Even better, it's a short tutorial--just three quick battles.

* Why do I like that it includes a tutorial? Because as is the case with many of Circle Entertainment's games--no offense intended by this next statement, mind you--Ambition of the Slimes' text is only somewhat understandable. Also, it just doesn't feature much text, period. Combine those truths and you have a situation that screams for some sort of tutorial.

* Surprisingly, the third stage of this 3DS title's tutorial had me stumped for a bit. Specifically, the enemy kicked my butt two or three times before I finally figured out what I had to do to beat it. That's not a knock on the game, by the way; I'm pretty sure I was just being dense. Still, it was nice to learn so quickly that Ambition of the Slimes probably wouldn't be a pushover.

* Did those pleasant reactions continue to pop up after I began the game's main campaign? I'd say so. Early on, at least, the story is minimal, the battle stages are fairly small, the challenge increases at an acceptable rate and the soundtrack is surprisingly pleasant. (Regarding that last point, though, I can't be alone in thinking the music here sounds awfully similar to that of the Witch & Hero games, right?)

* Speaking of Ambition of the Slimes' story, at the moment I'd almost describe it as non-existent.  Now, I'd consider that a negative in many cases (especially when talking about RPGs), but in this one it doesn't bother me at all. I didn't buy this from the 3DS eShop because I wanted a deep adventure; I bought it because I wanted a "lite" SRPG to play during my daily commute and during whatever free time I can muster up at home. That's exactly what it's given me so far.

* Control-wise, Ambition of the Slimes is perfectly serviceable. Or maybe I should say it controls as expected. In other words, the 3DS' shoulder buttons rotate the playfields, à la Final Fantasy Tactics and most other modern SRPGs, while its circle and directional pads move characters and its A and B buttons confirm battle orders. Oh, and each of these actions work smoothly and feel good.

* Finally, my favorite aspect of Ambition of the Slimes: its graphics. I'm not just talking about its main battle aesthetics--you know, the ones that can be seen while moving about on the game's three-dimensional, isometric fields. Those are great--thanks in large part to the pixelated characters that populate them. Even better, as far as I'm concerned, are the graphics that come into play after you've decided to confront a specific enemy. (Check out the red-tinged screenshot above for an example of what I'm talking about here.) The sprite-based art used in these moments almost looks like it was created by Pokémon designer Ken Sugimori (even though I know he had nothing to do with it).

Sounds good, right? If you agree, go ahead and give it a try. It'll only set you back five bucks. Just keep in mind that Ambition of the Slimes is a lot like a couple of other Circle Entertainment 3DS titles, namely Witch & Hero and Witch & Hero II.

Much like those games are bite-sized tower-defense titles, Ambition of the Slimes is a bite-sized strategy RPG. In other words, expect something that rivals the great Final Fantasy Tactics and you're going to be sorely disappointed.

See also: Ambition of the Slimes' latest trailer

Friendly reminder: the Final Fantasy Tactics-esque Ambition of the Slimes is now available via the European and North American 3DS eShops

If you're looking to add an adorably pixelated strategy RPG to your 3DS' home menu, you could do worse than drop $5--or the equivalent, if you live in Europe--on the just-released Ambition of the Slimes.

This Circle Entertainment-published eShop title is more than just another pretty--or maybe I should say cute--face. What is that supposed to mean? It's supposed to mean (or suggest) Ambition of the Slimes isn't your typical SRPG. 

In fact, it puts players in the shoes of that lowliest of RPG baddies, the slime. Unfortunately, the slimes that populate this are a pretty helpless bunch and have to take over their human enemies--by leaping into their mouths--to achieve victory.

Not swayed by that description? Check out the game's latest trailer, above. If after that you decide to buy and download Ambition of the Slimes, come back here and chat about it with me in the comments section that follows.

I'd totally buy the Japanese version of the adorable 3DS SRPG, Ambition of the Slimes, next week if an English release weren't in the works

I'm a sucker for a lot of things when it comes to buying and playing video games. Among them: cuteness, pixels, low-poly environments (think the original Final Fantasy Tactics) and strategy RPGs.

Oh, and slimes. You know, like the little blobs that basically represent Square Enix's Dragon Quest series both here and abroad.

All of the above are front and center in Circle Entertainment's 3DS port of a Japanese mobile game known as Ambition of the Slimes--which of course means I want nothing more than to buy the hell out of it the second it hits that region's eShop next week.



I'm going to do my best to hold off on that, though, thanks to a tweet Circle sent out earlier today that assured Ambition of the Slimes is "already on the way" to both Europe and North America.

How long will it take for this adorable tactical RPG to cross the pond? Sadly, I haven't a clue. As soon as I hear anything in that regard, I'll let you know.

In the meantime, please enjoy the trailer above, which showcases some Japanese footage of the game.

(Via japanesenintendo.com)

20 years of PlayStation memories

In case you weren't aware already, Sony's monumental first foray into the world of video-game consoles (after the botched Super Famicom CD-ROM attachment, of course) made its initial appearance on Japanese store shelves 20 years ago today.

(North Americans didn't get their hands on the system until Sept. 9, 1995, while Europeans had to wait until Sept. 29 of the same year and Australians had to wait until Nov. 15.)

In honor of that fact, I thought I'd share some of my "PlayStation memories."

One of my earliest such memories relates to the PlayStation's Japanese launch. I'm pretty sure I wore out the pages of the DieHard GameFan, Electronic Gaming Monthly and other magazines that covered its development and release (as well as the release of the Sega Saturn and the NEC PC-FX). Thanks to those articles, I was all but set to buy a Japanese Saturn from a retailer I can't remember (it was one of the many that advertised within the pages of the above-mentioned publications back then) when I came across screenshots of some of the PlayStation's most newsworthy launch and launch-window titles--Battle Arena Toshinden, Crime Crackers, Jumping Flash! and Ridge Racer.

For whatever reason, the first and last of the above-mentioned games were the ones that nearly prompted me to pick up a Japanese PlayStation rather than a Saturn. Granted, at the time, GameFan's writers, especially, were pushing both of them as being akin to the Second Coming, so don't give me too hard of a time about the fact that I once pined for a game (Battle Arena Toshinden) that later was revealed to be a bit of a turd.

Still, even now it's easy to see why I and others were blown away by the experiences the PlayStation was able to produce. We were coming from the era of the Mega Drive (Genesis), PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) and Super Famicom (SNES), after all, and we were used to pixels and sprites and two-dimensional games. Seeing three-dimensional games that were produced using polygons was mighty foreign, not to mention thrilling, to most of us--especially those, like me, who tended to ignore PC gaming.

In the end, though, I dropped a boatload of hard-earned cash on a Japanese (gray) Saturn rather than a PlayStation, mainly because I was completely obsessed with two games that were released around the same time as Sega's console: Clockwork Knight and Panzer Dragoon.

Strangely, I can't for the life of me remember when I finally bought a PlayStation. All I know is that the system had been out for some time before I acquired one.

I do remember what pushed me over the edge, though: Final Fantasy Tactics. For whatever reason, although the much-ballyhooed (especially at the time) Final Fantasy 7 left me feeling cold--I rented it and a PlayStation system from the local video joint shortly after its North American release--this tactical spin-off had the opposite effect on me. In fact, I was so gung-ho about it that just one week with it (thanks to the same video store I mentioned a second ago) was all I needed to run out to the nearest big-box store and buy both a PlayStation and a copy of this game.

That ended up being both a blessing and a curse, of course, as I quickly became obsessed with Yasumi Matsuno's masterpiece--to the point where I played it for hours on end, often in lieu of completing my homework.

A number of other PlayStation games also have left an impression on me over the years, of course--games like PaRappa the Rapper, SaGa Frontier and Umihara Kawase Shun, just to name a few--but none of them hit me as hard as the one that forced me to (finally) give Sony and its PlayStation console a chance. Because of that--and a slew of additional reasons--it'll always have a place in my heart.

So, those are just a few of my own "PlayStation memories." What are some of yours? Please feel free share them in the comments section of this post, if you're up for it.

Part of me likes what I'm seeing in this trailer for Square Enix's Final Fantasy Tactics S while the other part hates that I like it

So, the folks at Square Enix released a teaser trailer for Final Fantasy Tactics S, a free-to-play (Japanese) Mobage title, yesterday.

To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure what's going on in said trailer, which can be seen below.



That said, it seems it plays more like Ogre Battle than any of the company's previous Final Fantasy Tactics titles--which would be fine with me if the game weren't receiving reviews like the ones that have been published on NeoGAF so far.

For a bit more information on Final Fantasy Tactics S, by the way, check out this educational post over at Shinju Forest.

The Great Gaymathon Review #28: Final Fantasy Tactics (PlayStation)

Game: Final Fantasy Tactics

Genre: Strategy RPG

Developer: Squaresoft

Publisher: Squaresoft

System: PlayStation

Release date: 1998

Would you believe me if I told you I felt a bit "ho hum" about the PlayStation before I laid eyes on Final Fantasy Tactics? Well, it's the truth. Oh, other games--like Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash and even Ridge Racer--piqued my interest in the system, but none of them prompted me to go out and buy Sony's boxy, gray console like this one did. As for why I found Final Fantasy Tactics more appealing and irresistible than the aforementioned games: Well, I can't remember exactly--it has been 13 years, after all--but I think it had something to do with this title's Final Fantasy V-esque job system. I also recall being intrigued by its big, showy spells and strategic battles. There's more to Final Fantasy Tactics than those three back-of-the-box bullet points, of course--like a complex, convoluted and controversial (thanks to its negative depiction of religion in general and the Roman Catholic Church in particular) plot. Also, there's a bevy of controllable characters, an impressive array of battle locales and a beautiful, as well as memorable, soundtrack (composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata). So, what's wrong with Final Fantasy Tactics? Not much, if you ask me. In fact, I can think of only two things that could turn off the odd gamer: First, it can be confusing at times (thanks to the above-mentioned backstory) and, second, it can be brutally difficult. Don't let those negatives keep you from giving it a go, though, as it's easily one of the best games ever released for the PlayStation--or for any system at all, really, especially if you're a fan of strategy RPGs.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts