411mania's Release List for the Week of March 9, 2009

411mania gives a rundown on this week's game releases. Highlights include Avalon Code, Mana Khemia: Student Alliance, Samurai Shodown Anthology, and Docomodake BOING!

Avalon Code (DS)
Avalon Code is an action RPG created by Matrix Software, the developer of Alundra for the PS1 and, more recently, the co-developer of the Final Fantasy III and IV remakes for the DS. Like in many RPGs, the looming end of the world is what drives Avalon Code's story. What's different here is the fact that your mission isn't to stop the end from happening. Instead, you've been tasked with scanning all that is good in the world into The Book of Prophecies so that when the next world is created, only the things that are worthy are brought forth. Once something has been scanned, you can change its properties as you see fit by tinkering with its parameters. If there's a monster that you think is too strong, change its attributes to make it weak. Want to turn that regular sword into a flaming one? Add fire to its code. At the very least, this mechanic makes Avalon Code one of the most unique action RPGs on the DS and something to look out for if you're tired of all the remakes that the system has been seeing.

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Mana Khemia: Student Alliance (PSP)
This is a port of Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis, a turn-based RPG/school sim which was originally released last year for the PS2. It is considered the spiritual successor to the Atelier Iris series as it employs many of the conventions found in those games. Many of those who are familiar with the series consider Mana Khemia to be far superior to its predecessors in most respects save for the story (Atelier Iris 2 usually takes the cake in that department). The game was developed by Gust, a company that is well-known for its item-crafting systems and character development. I recently played through Ar tonelico II, so can attest to the company's ability to make item-crafting fun and rewarding. I also have no doubt that Gust has earned its reputation for great character development as Ar tonelico II had some of the most fleshed-out characters I've seen in a video game.

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Samurai Shodown Anthology (PS2, PSP, Wii)
Samurai Shodown Anthology contains all six 2D Samurai Shodown games with the exception of Samurai Shodown V Special. Out of the six games in this collection, I'd imagine that most of those who pick it up will spend the majority of their time on either Samurai Shodown II or VI. Samurai Shodown II is a safe bet as it's often considered the best in the series, mostly because the games that followed either had major flaws or were released long after the fighting game craze had died down (or both). Samurai Shodown VI is also a no-brainer as it contains pretty much every character from the previous five games (over 40 in all) and also gives gamers the ability to choose from the different gameplay styles found throughout the series ala Capcom's ISM and Groove systems. In addition, it has the distinction of being the only game in the collection to have been released on the Atomiswave, meaning that it has some graphical polish that was impossible on the aging Neo Geo.

Though the omission of Samurai Shodown V Special keeps this from being the definitive 2D Samurai Shodown collection, $15 for what you actually do get is pretty good and perfectly complements last week's release of KOF '98: UM. Now all we need is that Last Blade compilation...

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Docomodake BOING! (DS)
Boing! is a puzzle platformer that stars Docomodake, the fungal mascot for a well known mobile phone carrier in Japan. In this game, small versions of Docomodake can be pulled from him and used in various ways to get him to places he otherwise wouldn't be able to access. For example, they can be stacked to create a ladder or placed in special containers found throughout the level to create platforms. These "minis" can also be used as projectiles to take care of your enemies. One of the side effects of pulling minis out of Docomodake is that he shrinks a little every time. If enough are pulled out, he can be made to squeeze into tight places. However, he would also be vulnerable to attack. To get through the game in one piece, the player must figure out when to create minis, how many should be used at a time, and when to absorb them back into Docomodake.

While most of the things that I've heard about this game are positive, there have been complaints that it's short (around five hours) and not too difficult unless you're going for the highest possible rank in each level. This is probably worth a look if you're in need of a puzzler that can be played in short spurts.