CB Droege's features this week: WarioWare D.I.Y., Dead or Alive Paradise, and the Icrontic Spotlight-Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love
Alex S. from Link-Cable writes: "During the heyday of the Nintendo DS and Wii, one of my favorite go to game series when throwing a party was the WarioWare set of games. These wacky, fast-paced mini-game collections were the perfect way to, not only have some hearty laughs with friends but to show off the more unique and underutilized side of Nintendo hardware. However, it’s been quiet on the WarioWare front for the better part of a decade now with the last ‘main’ game in the series released when the Wii launch in 2006 leading to the series becoming just one among many of seemingly forgotten Nintendo franchises and leads me to ask… what happened to WarioWare?"
Dating sim games aren’t a very popular genre in North America or Europe, but they are a huge phenomenon in Japan. They are known for containing certain elements and for most dating sims, those elements do not include steampunk mecha, magical monsters, or storylines filled with action, adventure, and emotional character development. Sakura Wars is not like most dating sim games.
Not many people realize that at one point this was one of Sega premier series. Actually Sakura Wars 2 on the DC was the first game I actually imported and the fist thing I ever bought online. I feel old now=/
Kinda funny is that i still own this game on the PS2. It was a very unique experience with its 'dating sim' elements but underneath that aspect of the game lies an extremely top notch tactical JRPG.
I have to check my memory card but i think i spent over 70 hours on this game primarily due to the high replaybility of it. There is so many choices you can make like which girl to court, dialogue choices, endings & numerous other stuffs to keep u interested.
It came very late in the PS2 & Wii life cycle so it was probably missed by a lot of people. If you can find a copy I highly recommend it if you love the series or JRPGs in general.
Visual novels are something of a niche of a niche for gamers in the West. The majority of them are imported from the East, with only a few receiving critical acclaim – or attention at all.
But that doesn’t mean they’re a medium best left alone. Representing a wholly different method of interactive storytelling and portraying games as art, the visual novel is gaining momentum here in the States.
This list will hopefully serve as an introduction into the world of visual novels. A couple of these games you’ll probably recognize; others, not at all. All that’s required is an open mind and a willingness to be surprised.
