Taito + Fez = Asterism?

OK, so I have no idea if the folks at Neutronized were at all inspired by Taito's highly recognizable style (see games like Bubble Bobble, Mizubaku Daibouken and The New Zealand Story) when they began working on Asterism's visuals, but it sure seems like that may have been the case.

At any rate, the game in question, which will be released for iOS at some future point in time, looks gorgeous.

Of course, that shouldn't be all that surprising to those of you who've experienced another Neutronized-made effort--the decidedly Parasol Stars-ish Drop Wizard, which hit the App Store earlier this year.



Unlike that earlier Neutronized product, however, Asterism seems like less of a Bubble Bobble clone than it does a Fez clone.

I've been assured there's more to Asterism than that, though. In fact, my contact at Neutronized suggests the game is "a sort of Metroidvania" that sees its protagonist regularly teleporting into parallel dimensions.

As if that didn't sound good enough, here's how the company's press department is promoting this intriguing upcoming release: "a game about stars, exploration and love."

With all of that said, who else is now chomping at the bit to add Asterism to the slew of apps on their iPads or iPhones?

And the winners of The Gay Gamer Giveaway™ (Drop Wizard Edition) are ...

Congratulations to the following trio for winning the Drop Wizard (iOS) codes the folks at Neuronized so kindly sent my way a week or so go:

* Rui
* Nightmare Bruce
* Justin Difazzio

Jeremy and Justin: I'll send your codes to you through Twitter and Facebook, respectively.

As for you, Rui, drop me an e-mail (bochalla at yahoo dot com) at your earliest convenience so I can get a code out to you, too.

Other than that, I'd just like to thank, once again, whoever mans the Neutronized Twitter account for being so kind as to offer up these codes.

The Gay Gamer Giveaway™: Drop Wizard Edition

Late last week, the folks at Neuronized offered me a free code for their just-released (on Jan. 8) single-screen platformer, Drop Wizard. (A game I previously discussed in this post.)

I had to turn them down, though, because I currently don't own any sort of iOS-enabled device. (At the moment, Drop Wizard is playable only on iPhones and iPads.)

Knowing that at least a few of you lovely people must own such gadgets, I quickly followed up that denial with a suggestion that I could pass along the code--as well as a couple of others, perhaps--to some of my blog's readers.



They liked the idea, so today I'm offering up three free codes for the company's lovely looking game (see trailer above), which apparently features more than 60 levels of Bubble Bobble-ish goodness.

Speaking of that Taito-made classic, if you'd like to nab one of these Drop Wizard codes, leave a comment below between now and 8 am Pacific time on Saturday morning that includes the name of your all-time favorite Bubble Bobble clone. (I'll announce the winners in a separate post later that same weekend.)

In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed in the hope that the powers that be at Neuronized eventually decide to bring this game to the Nintendo eShops, the PlayStation Store and Steam.

I'm always up for a Kotaro Yoshida-made game

Unfortunately, I don't own a device capable of playing the game in question, called PiyoPiyo Quest.

Those of you who actually own an iOS device or three and enjoy a good puzzler, though, should hunt it down and give it a go.

After all, it was made by Kotaro Yoshida, the same man who gave the world Half-Minute Hero, it features some lovely sprite work and it looks to play a bit like that other mobile puzzler all the kids seem to be talking about these days, Puzzle & Dragons.

Here's a brief PiyoPiyo Quest primer from NeoGAF user Goli, for all who are interested:

"You fight monsters by touching the different panels you can see above.

"The sword panels make Crest [the game's protagonist] attack with his sword, the fire ones make Crest cast magic, the leaf ones make Crest recover HP and the gold ones give you money, which you can use later to temper Crest's equipment and deal more physical/magical damage or increase his defense.

"The more panels you group together the better their effects. For example, if you group four sword panels, Crest will attack four times and so on."

Go here to read more of Goli's impressions.

Should any of you pick up PiyoPiyo Quest anytime soon, would you please share your impressions of it in the comments section below?

I'm not feelin' the Final Fantasy V remake that'll soon be released for smartphones and tablets

Warning: this may wind up being one of those cranky, "get off my lawn!" kind of posts, so you may want to come back later in the day (when I'll publish another post) if that sort of thing bothers you.

For the rest of you: a few days ago, the folks at Square Enix finally pulled back the proverbial curtain on the iOS (and, eventually, Android) remake of Final Fantasy V that they announced late last year.

Specifically, they released a number of screenshots of this re-imagining, one of which can be seen below.



Sadly, it seems Square Enix's designers once again are employing the rather generic art style they used while developing the Final Fantasy I, II and IV remakes that were released for the PSP over the last few years.

That's not to suggest I hate everything about the screenshot seen above (or the one below, or the others that can be viewed here). In fact, I love that the people behind this version have decided to add character portraits to the game's dialogue scenes. Also, I have to admit that the menus in this release look quite a bit better than those found in, say, last year's Final Fantasy Dimensions.

Oh, and for some strange reason I'm finding myself oddly attracted to the Lenna-as-White-Mage sprite included in the screen below.



Other than that, though, I'm feeling pretty let down by this particular remake, which will hit the Japanese App Store on March 28 for 1,800 yen (about $19--it'll hit the equivalent Android shop sometime this summer). The character sprites--Bartz/Butz, especially--make me want to yawn, while the enemies and backdrops appear to have been pulled right out of this title's GameBoy Advance counterpart.

Of course, you're looking at a guy who'd rather play the original Super Famicom version of Final Fantasy V than any gussied-up remake--unless said remake was made for the 3DS using the Bravely Default engine (ahem)--so maybe you should take my grumblings with a grain of salt.

That's just my opinion on the matter, though. What do all of you think?

I kind of hate to admit that I'm a bit curious about Final Fantasy: All The Bravest

So, what would you like to hear first--the good news, or the bad?

I think we should start with the good, which is that the folks at Square Enix just announced and released--yes, all in the same day--a new, sprite-based Final Fantasy game.

As for the bad news, well, the aforementioned title--known as Final Fantasy: All The Bravest--doesn't seem to be a "real" RPG, despite the fact that it's being described as a "pick-up-and-go RPG with massive battles."

Oh, and it's an iOS-only affair at the moment, which is a bummer for those of us who prefer to do the bulk of our gaming on dedicated handhelds and consoles.



Still, I'm curious about it. It helps, of course, that the sprites used in Final Fantasy: All The Bravest look to have been pulled from, or at least inspired by, the vaunted series' 16-bit releases.

Also, the battles look pretty crazy--although I'm feeling a bit flummoxed as to why some of the enemies (like the Goblin and Nutkins shown at the beginning) in the trailer above now seem to have sky-high HP.

Since I don't currently own a device capable of playing Final Fantasy: All The Bravest, I'd greatly appreciate it if any of you who wind up buying it would share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Yet another reason to be envious of iPhone owners

iPad (I think), iPhone and iPod Touch owners the world over gained access to what seems to be a great new app yesterday: Hudson's PC Engine Game Box (aka TurboGrafx Game Box in the States).



This free app, which comes with a copy of World Sports Competition, serves as a portal for PC Engine games, a number of which--Bonk's Adventure, Bomberman '94, Dungeon Explorer, Military Madness and Ninja Spirit among them--could/should be considered classics.

Each title costs $2.99, although a daily "featured game" can be sampled, free of charge, for three minutes.

(Via 1up.com and andriasang.com)

Trism 1.51 (aka Trism HD): Coming soon to an iPad/iPhone 4 near you

How many hairs been pulled from the heads of gamers since Steve Demeter's iPhone/iPod Touch puzzler, Trism, hit the App Store three years ago? I have no idea, but if I had to guess I'd say it's in the millions if not trillions.

That number is sure to increase once Trism 1.51 (aka Trism HD) is released. After all, the update will allow iPad and iPhone 4 users to get in on the Trism action.

No word on when Trism 1.51--or the announced-some-time-ago Trism 2--will hit the App Store, though Demeter assures both are on their way in his latest blog post.

What do you think the chances are that I'll get an iPad, iPod Touch or an iPhone before that happens? Yeah, I don't think they're very good either.

See also: 'The man behind the Americanization of Mother 3's Magypsies' and 'The Advocate: Apple's Gay Poster Boy'

Marvelous may (finally) have a hit on its hands

Marvelous Entertainment has published a number of magnificent games in the last year or so, including Little King's Story, Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Rune Factory Frontier. Unfortunately, none of those titles lit up the sales charts in any region.

Well, the Tokyo-based company may finally have a hit on its hands with the recently revealed iPad title, Followars. After all, it makes use of everyone's favorite social networking service, Twitter.

Described as an "RPG-style fighter" by the knowledgeable folks over at 1up.com, Followars connects to your Twitter account and creates an in-game character based on your follow count, Tweet count and other bits of information.

"It plays out something like chess," designer Kenichi Nishi told Famitsu magazine recently. "Two players gather around a single iPad and battle each other. Depending on the results, you'll be able to earn experience points and have your characters improve their skills and such."

As of now, Followars is without a release date or price, though both are expected to be announced soon.

(Via andriasang.com and 1up.com)

Trism 2: Coming soon to an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad near you

Steve Demeter, the gay game developer who made headlines around the world following the release (and runaway success) of his first iPhone offering, Trism, recently announced that a sequel will soon be made available for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Unfortunately, that was the extent of his announcement--well, other than the following teaser trailer:



Keep an eye on the Demiforce site and/or Demeter's blog for more information on this much-anticipated title.

See also: 'Steve Demeter: The man behind the Americanization of Mother 3's Magypsies' and 'The Advocate: Apple's Gay Poster Boy'