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• Sega, Show Some Decency

  In the many years since Sega's fall from grace, we've seen the company systematically destroy every franchise we've ever held dear for the sake of profit at any cost. Really, the only series that are safe at this point are the ones that are simply too unpopular to bother exploiting. Rest assured, fans of Panzer Dragoon and Jet Set Radio, you are safe. Though, at this point, it wouldn't be too crazy to see Sega sink their greedy talons into franchises that never really had a chance; I honestly wouldn't be shocked if the company announced a Burning Rangers sequel with random dungeons and a snowboarding mini-game. Because of the company's desperate status, Sega's had a rather spotty record lately. But one game has seemingly restored some dignity to once-great company: Valkyria Chronicles. In a world of lousy, misguided Sonic the Hedgehog games, it was a breath of fresh air to see a Miyazaki-inspired tactical RPG that brought to mind Dreamcast classics like Skies of Arcadia. Sega's reaction to this newly-restored dignity? "Let's make swimsuit-clad capsule toy versions of these great new characters!" That sound you just heard was the whole world shaking its head in shame. Read More... Posted Mar 18 2009, 02:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: sega, sonic the hedgehog, japan scares me, bob mackey, valkyria chronicles

• Whatcha Playing: Spinning GameTap’s Wheel

  Talking about the greatest games gone by has made me realize something: I am totally over this release season. My two most anticipated games, Fallout 3 and Mirror’s Edge, have come, been played out, and re-shelved, and I have a feeling very little will touch those two titles in terms of uniqueness and ambition. Normally I would turn to my 360 backlog in this situation, but the NXE is actually turning me off to the system (my verdict: they made some cute fluffy characters for the grandma demographic, then put them in front of a sickeningly ad-riddled interface that will look to grandma like the deck of the Enterprise. Yes, the best part is the blade-based guide system, but that used to be the entire dashboard. The whole thing is an exercise in corporate cynicism, flushing a well-meaning and needed update straight down the tubes). So instead I’ll turn to the next best thing, GameTap. I love GameTap because it gives me access to a lot of weird, weird games for a monthly fee that is unreasonably low. It also has this little GottaGettaGame spinner which picks something out at random for you. This is by far the best thing about the service. So let’s give it a spin and see what I have to play today:   Awesome, something I’ve never heard of. Time to do some research! Read More... Posted Nov 24 2008, 03:00 PM by Joe Keiser with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: japan scares me, sega genesis, joe keiser, air hockey, gametap

• Japan Scares Me: Final Fantasy VII's Tifa in Tifatan X

  Final Fantasy VII did not become famous because it was a good game. JRPGs did not grow out of their comfortable niche because of that game. No, both game and genre hit big thanks to Tifa Lockhart. They boomed because of bazooms, became massive thanks to mammaries, and were triumphant due to tits. I’ve floated this theory here on 61 Frames Per Second before, but it bears repeating, if for no other reason than most folks, whether they admit it or not, tend to click on any internet link related to breasts. The breasts in question do not need to be too large, too small, or even in a moment of Goldilocks-esque serendipity, just right. They simply need to be breasts. Of course, today I have a perfectly logical reason beyond this truth. Today I discovered Tifatan X. Were Tifatan X ever going to make the trip to North American shores, an appropriate re-titling would be Kung Boob. The game is an explicit homage to Irem’s side-scrolling classic Spartan-X, better known here as NES launch title Kung Fu. It stars, as you may have already deduced, Final Fantasy VII’s Tifa Lockhart. The actually play is just the same as Spartan-X’s, except you have a slightly expanded selection of moves and the dudes in purple you regularly defeat take more than one hit to dispatch. Tifatan X makes it into the Japan Scares Me category for a familiar reason. Can you guess? Surprise, it’s inappropriate sexual content! Read More... Posted Nov 03 2008, 04:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, final fantasy, hg101, kurt kalata, final fantasy vii, japan scares me, Tifa lockhart, tifatan x, Spartan x

• Japan Scares Me: Tokyo Game Show Rising, Strangeness, and Panty-shot Beat ‘Em Ups

  Does it ever. Japan has me trembling in my delicate booties. Typically it’s just one thing or another that gets me quaking in abject terror: a bizarre fan-made video here, a witch molestation game there. Today, Japan’s working overtime. Gaming exists, at the Japanese moment, in a state of flux. Traditional gaming appears to be dwindling – way back in June 2007, Screen Digest predicted that 89% of Japanese households would own a Nintendo DS, a number that will likely need to be increased after the DSi releases later this year – while simultaneously thriving thanks to Capcom’s Monster Hunter Portable juggernaut. Major publishers continue to consolidate while the nation’s auteur creators start crafting more and more games to suit Western tastes and flock to Western publishing houses. Hell, the Xbox 360, an American console, outsold the PS3 throughout September. Things are topsy-turvy over there. It’s enough to make a man skittish, especially with the Tokyo Game Show due to start in just forty-eight hours. Read More... Posted Oct 07 2008, 05:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, playstation 3, nintendo ds, xbox 360, wii, psp, shadow of the colossus, ico, fumito ueda, team ico, chrono trigger, tokyo game show, japan scares me, dsi

• Japan Scares Me: Mario and The Western Show

  Edge Online ran a small feature piece this past Monday on artist Antonin Fourneau’s new multimedia project called Oterp, which appears not on canvas or film but on Sony’s PSP hardware. Oterp creates different sounds and music depending on its audience’s physical location using a GPS to track them. Fourneau’s creation, as Edge points out, joins the ranks of i am 8-bit and Reformat the Planet as evidence of videogames’ growing influence on humanity’s creative endeavors. And that’s great. It’s wonderful to look at how the life-imitates-art-imitates-life cycle is incorporating a still-young medium. It’s inspiring to see games inspire. That is, unless you spend a lot of time on the internet. Then you see what videogames have done to people’s minds. Especially Japan’s mind. Read More... Posted Aug 27 2008, 05:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, psp, mario, bowser, japan scares me, edge online, princess peach

• Japan Scares Me Follow Up: To Love-Ru Makes Japan Even Scarier Than Previously Thought

  Yes, it is disturbing that To Love-Ru for the Nintendo DS is proof that games about flicking young women’s erogenous zones is a bonafide Japanese trend. But Japan is not one to be outdone. No, Japan likes to go of its way to remind everyone just how damn scary it can be. Why, just look at To Love-Ru’s other recently revealed activities. Read More... Posted Aug 25 2008, 04:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo ds, tokyo game show, japan scares me, doki doki majo shinpan, snk, to love-ru

• Japan Scares Me: To Love-Ru - Exciting Outdoor School Version

  It occurred to me earlier today that rarely a week goes by here at 61 Frames Per Second without at least a cursory mention of how damn weird Japanese cultural trends can be. It isn’t particularly insightful or original to reiterate the fact; saying Japan’s a weird place to western eyes is a bit like pointing at the moon. But sometimes you just get bowled over by the country’s output and, more often than not, it’s a videogame that’s doing the bowling. Japan Scares Me will serve as a home on 61FPS for those games that are simply too odd to have come from any other place on Earth. Way back in 2006, SNK walked into the Tokyo Game Show and, with straight faces, announced Doki Doki Majo Shinpan. Shinpan is a game about flicking teenage girls’ breasts to find out if they are witches. Now, it’s well known that pornographic anime games are more than a cottage industry in Japan; they’re more like a skyscraper. It’s also recognized that, unlike North America where salacious images of Miley Cyrus are decried but obsessed over by many, Japan’s pretty open about their fixation with adolescent sexuality. So Shinpan’s existence was only shocking insofar as its actual gameplay turned less racy than expected. And also that the damn thing started a trend on the Nintendo DS. Read More... Posted Aug 13 2008, 03:00 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, nintendo ds, tokyo game show, japan scares me, doki doki majo shinpan, snk, to love-ru