Japan Gaming Guide

One of the coolest looking new games at the recent E3 show was Child of Eden. A spiritual successor to the seminal Rez, Child of Eden will allow players to interact with musical rhythms via Kinect.

As with Rez, players will come under attack from various surreal creatures which can then be shot, resulting in new beats and riffs being merged with the game’s music. This time around they will be able to aim with their arms thanks to Kinect’s motion detection. Standard controllers will also work, but it sounds like the experience is the perfect showpiece for Microsoft’s new peripheral.

Child of Eden is expected in 2011, for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is finally here. With stunning review scores across the board this looks like being the best Wii game in a long time. Tighter and tougher than it’s predecessor, gameplay has been made a little harder this time around. Don’t fret though, Yoshi will be along to help out, with extra abilities to complement Mario’s already impressive range of moves. Yoshi’s tongue will of course be aimed by the Wiimote. As well as eating fruits and power-ups you’ll be able to swing from the scenery like a hungry Tarzan to get over those tricky gaps.

The game is out this Thursday, May 27 and can be yours for 5800 yen.

Developer Dimps must have mislaid their speed boots. Sonic isn’t usually slow to arrive, but the forthcoming continuation of his 2D adventures has been pushed back to late 2010.

We can’t wait to get our hands on the new game, which will concentrate on Sonic alone and get back to the classic gameplay we know and love. The extra playable characters, that some regard as responsible for the decline of the series, have been dropped for this new episode.

Tomorrow sees the Japanese launch of Super Street Fighter 4. The updated version of Capcom’s superlative fighter includes ten new characters as well as new gameplay modes, moves and features.

The additional characters include old favourites T-Hawk, Deejay, Cody, Guy, Adon, Dudley, Ibuki and Makato from older Street Fighter games and the Final Fight series. The two newcomers are taekwondo expert Juri and Turkish oil wrestler, Hakan.

The old car and barrel smashing bonus stages have been restored, there’s a new 8 player team battle mode and a winner stays on ‘Endless Battle’ mode where spectators can discuss the match in progress.

As if that wasn’t good enough the game is launching at a low price, reflecting it’s status as an update rather than completely original game. You can pick it up for 4,990 yen, or 5,990 yen for the special edition.

We’ve had a good start for the year. Japan Gaming Guide has been nominated for a Golden Retrevo Award!

You can give us a chance of winning by voting for us:

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Whether we win or not, here’s to a great 2010!

A Merry Christmas and happy new year to all our readers. I hope your 2009 was awesome, and your 2010 will be even better!

Cheers.

Three Headed Monkey

The PS3 lightning edition has just launched, to the great excitement of Final Fantasy fans. Based on the 250GB PS3 slim, the lightning edition comes with a copy of Final Fantasy XIII and features the main character, Lightning, on the console itself.

Japan is Doomed got their hands on one and published pictures of the console for all of us to admire.

The lightning edition goes for a cool 41600 yen, and won’t be available for long so don’t wait too long if you want one.

Tri-Ace’s new RPG, End of Eternity (Resonance of Fate outside Japan) is getting a demo, which will give players a taste of the battle system, according to Famitsu. The tri attack battle system takes place in semi-realtime, with characters directly controlled for limited time periods. The battles are said to be tough, though the game offers an instant retry mode to stop things getting too frustrating.

The demo launches December 22nd, with the full game to follow on January 28th for PS3 and XBOX 360.

Read

Here’s the Japanese trailer for Winning Eleven 2010:

[Read, via GoNintendo]

He’s back. New Super Mario Bros Wii takes the updated 2D platforming formula that was such as success when it debuted on the DS and puts it back on the living room TV. There’s a new four player mode, with everyone playing on the one console. This is a riot and really feels like it belongs in the game rather than a tacked on gimmick – in fact Shigeru Miyamoto claimed he wanted to add the feature back in the sixteen-bit days but was held back by the limits of the technology.

By all accounts Mario has toughened up a little since his previous outings; The game is tougher than the DS version, something that will surely please Mario’s more dedicated fans. For the less committed gamer though Nintendo have included a new autoplay feature that allows the game to play itself after failing a level eight times. Though purists will balk at this, it is optional and means younger or occasional players can see the whole game without getting frustrated.

The Japanese are getting the game a couple of weeks late on December 3rd, Europeans get it on November 20th and the rest of you should have it already. If not, what are you waiting for?