Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 162

Ace Attorney 6 Localization Confirmed!

Rejoice, Ace Attorney fans! The newest Famitsu preview revealed Ace Attorney 6 for the Nintendo 3DS. Details about the game will be revealed in the next issue of Famitsu, and there will be a playable demo at the Tokyo Game Show (September 17-19).

But that’s not all…

You heard Wright! Ace Attorney 6 (working title), announced in Japan today, is also in development for the west!

— Ace Attorney (@aceattorneygame) September 1, 2015

Gyakuten Kenji 2 and Dai Gyakuten Saiban might still be in localization limbo, but Ace Attorney 6 localization has already been confirmed.

A few pieces of information have already been leaked. A scan was uploaded that shows Phoenix Wright, as well as another scan that shows a new character names Bokuto Tsuani, a monk-in-training.

The scans also reveal that Phoenix travels to an unknown country.

This new country deals heavily with the spirits of the dead, so I’d be shocked if Maya doesn’t return.

I’m very curious about the relationship between this country and its monks to the Kurain spirit channelers. The monk is shown with a Magatama, similar to those used by Maya’s family.

It also has a new gameplay element, where a “Water Mirror” on the floor of the courtroom shows Bokuto Tsuani’s face along with words in the water. What this does hasn’t been revealed yet.

This exciting news has left me with tons of questions.

Will Maya return? What about Apollo and Athena? Which supporting cast members will return (*cough*Blackquill?*cough*)? Has the difficulty found a happy medium after Dual Destinies’ too-easy approach? What will the prosecutor be like? Where is this other country?

Dual Destinies spoilerCould it be the country the phantom worked for?

And of course, since this game’s localization was announced immediately… what about AAI2 and DGS?

While I’m still hoping for an announcement about those two games, this news has thrilled me beyond belief! Share your thoughts on Ace Attorney 6 in the comments below.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Ace Attorney 6 Localization Confirmed! appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Martel Cosplay Redux

After my original Tales of Symphonia cosplay pictures, I promised I’d redo my Martel cosplay without the mistake pointed out to me by a helpful fan. Let’s not go into details, but instead enjoy round two of my Tales of Symphonia Martel cosplay!

I didn’t have a convenient chapel to take pictures in, so instead I went outside.

As before, the costume was made by Ajie Nugroho at Cosplay1. The wig came from Amazon, and I visited a local salon to get the bangs trimmed.

Is Martel awake yet?

In the end, I opted for a more serious Martel, even though my original cosplay pictures were happy and smiling. I did manage one smiling Martel indoors.

My outdoor attempts at smiling resulted in something closer to a sinister smirk.

Implied Symphonia spoilerMaybe it runs in the family?

I hope you enjoyed my new cosplay pictures! I certainly had fun dressing up again. Check out Cosplay1 to get a costume like this, and let me know in the comments if you think I make a good Martel.

And if you don’t know who Martel is, you should play Tales of Symphonia. You won’t regret it.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Martel Cosplay Redux appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

A New Game Inspired by Ace Attorney and Zero Escape

As an Ace Attorney fan, I’m always interested in games inspired by the series.

Nostalgia: Two Worlds | One Soul is an upcoming visual novel with gameplay similar to that in the Ace Attorney and the Zero Escape series, with RPG elements. Its developer, MagnaStudios, also names Mother, Snatcher, Blade Runner, and Brave New World as inspirations.

It is set in a cyperpunk world. The main character is 22-year-old Alice. She was one of 15 children captured for Project Nostalgia, an experiment designed to see if children could contact their alter-egos in other worlds. Project Nostalgia failed, and Alice was released along with the other test subjects.

The story is meant to be dark and mature, with genuine twists and choices that affect the outcome. MagnaStudios also aims to avoid cliches. Gameplay includes visual novel segments, puzzle rooms to escape, and RPG-style battles at key points in the game.

On the website, you can find details about the game, character profiles, and a sample of music. Updates are also posted on the developer’s blog.

Nostalgia is planned for the PC and Wii U. Seems like one to keep an eye on. Share your thoughts and impressions in the comments below.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post A New Game Inspired by Ace Attorney and Zero Escape appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Captain Toad: Cute, but not Thrilling

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a good game. It’s just not a great game.

I was excited for Captain Toad ever since E3 2014. The Captain Toad levels were my favorite part of Super Mario 3D World, and I thought the game looked adorable. Some fans also described it as a sort of 3D Adventures of Lolo, which I enjoyed.

And I liked Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.

Some parts just felt a little… lacking.

Let’s get the story out of the way. Captain Toad is not a plot-driven game by any means, despite the storybook format it’s told through. He and Toadette love treasure. A lot. Episode 1 begins when a giant bird (Wingo) grabs Toadette’s treasure, and she refuses to let it go even though that means the bird captures her, too. This isn’t the end of comic stupidity from our heroes.

That’s fine, though. It’s a puzzle game. A basic premise to give the player an overall goal is all we need, and the humorous elements make it charming.

The only reason the story bugs me is because it’s repetitive, an issue I have with other parts of the game. We’ll get back to that in a minute. First, I want to mention the camera.

There are two settings for the camera, zoomed out and zoomed in. There were many, many times when I wished I could focus somewhere in between. A slider or even a medium zoom setting would have made some levels much more enjoyable. Just a minor criticism.

On to the gameplay itself, the concept is simple. You control Captain Toad or Toadette and go through a small, often cube-like level to reach the star. Each also has three gems you can collect, as well as a bonus objective you won’t know until you finish the stage (which adds repetition).

Each level has puzzle elements you have to work out to make it to the star and/or gems. Since the Toads can’t fight, there are a few stealth sections, as well. A couple of levels emphasized speed and quick thinking, and they were my least favorites. I’d much rather sit and analyze each piece of the puzzle to figure out my next step than run from an advancing wall of doom.

While fun, the most puzzle-heavy levels never seemed up to the challenge of the others. This may be in part because I was bad at the faster-paced levels. I enjoyed solving the game’s puzzles and hoped to see more on that front. It’s no Professor Layton.

In typical Mario fashion, you can collect coins in each level. 100 coins equals one additional life. However, coins don’t carry over between stages, and only a few had coin-based bonus objectives. It left me unsure why I should collect coins in any level that didn’t have at least 100.

Finally, the boss battles left much to be desired. In general, each puzzle-themed boss fight worked well… except they repeated. You fight the same bosses more or less the same ways multiple times. I would have liked to see more variety, especially for the climactic battles.

If you want a cute, entertaining puzzle game and don’t mind some repetition and a few frustrating features, check out Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. However, if you want something deeper, you should probably look elsewhere.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Captain Toad: Cute, but not Thrilling appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Don’t Boycott Fatal Frame V

No box for us

This morning, I received an email from Nintendo that confirmed the rumored news–Fatal Frame V: Maiden of Black Water will be released in North America only through the eShop.

It comes out on October 22, with the start of the game available for free. After that, you can decide if you want to purchase the full game. It’s sort of a mixed demo/free-to-start method. It worked for Layton Brothers: Mystery Room, and I like its implementation here.

I expected fans to be displeased with the confirmation that Fatal Frame V is digital-only. What I didn’t expect was so many calls for a boycott of the game.

Four months ago, we rejoiced at the localization announcement. Until that Nintendo Direct, there were serious concerns we wouldn’t get the game at all. We’d sent tweets, letters, and petitions telling Nintendo that #WeWantFatalFrame.

After all that, we’re ready to abandon it just because we don’t get a physical copy?

Back when Dual Destinies, the fifth main-series Ace Attorney game, was released as a digital-only game, some fans wanted to boycott it. Their movement thankfully failed, but they accused those of us who bought and enjoyed Dual Destinies of ruining the future of Ace Attorney in the West. Hardly. If they succeeded, they might have doomed it.

The boycotters seemed to think if no one bought Dual Destinies from the eShop, Capcom would have said, “Hmm, we’re losing money on this game. Let’s spend even more money to release a physical copy!” No, a more realistic reaction would be, “Oh, it looks like there isn’t a market for Ace Attorney in the West after all.”

Fatal Frame hasn’t been released in North America in ten years. (Unless you count Spirit Camera, but that doesn’t help us.) Fatal Frame IV only came out in Japan, the second game’s remake came to Europe, and now Fatal Frame V is coming here.

We won’t get this, either.

Why does Europe get a retail release of Fatal Frame V (albeit a limited run only)? Because someone, whether it’s Koei Tecmo or Nintendo, has confidence in Europe’s Fatal Frame market. It got the Fatal Frame II remake, and it’s getting a physical copy of Fatal Frame V. Maybe it’s Koei Tecmo that’s unsure about the market here. Maybe it’s Nintendo of America.

But whoever it is, if Fatal Frame V sells poorly, they will attribute that failure to a lack of fans.

And then we might not get the next Fatal Frame game at all.

Like Koei Tecmo’s decision to not localize Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, there is no conspiracy theory here. Nintendo of America (or Koei Techmo) isn’t being mean. It’s being a company.

Petitions, letters, and tweets help. I believe companies like Capcom, Koei Tecmo, and Nintendo listen to their fans. You know what they listen to even more, though? Fans’ wallets.

The vote you cast with your wallet speaks louder than all the tweets you could ever send. That’s why some publishers have used Kickstarter as a measure of interest. When we go out there and say we want Dai Gyakuten Saiban or Fatal Frame V, we could be lying. Whether we buy it or not is what game companies really see.

Now, there are legitimate reasons to be upset about Fatal Frame V’s digital-exclusive nature. It’s almost 16 GB in size, which is massive when the Wii U is sold as an 8 GB basic model and a 32 GB deluxe model. So tell Nintendo you want a physical copy. Sign the petition.

But don’t boycott Fatal Frame V because it’s digital-only. You’ll only confirm the company’s decision to not spend money on a retail release, and you may doom the franchise’s future in North America. Agree? Disagree? Let me know your view on Fatal Frame V’s eShop-exclusive release in the comments below.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Don’t Boycott Fatal Frame V appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Don’t Boycott Fatal Frame

No box for us

This morning, I received an email from Nintendo that confirmed the rumored news–Fatal Frame V: Maiden of Black Water will be released in North America only through the eShop.

It comes out on October 22, with the start of the game available for free. After that, you can decide if you want to purchase the full game. It’s sort of a mixed demo/free-to-start method. It worked for Layton Brothers: Mystery Room, and I like its implementation here.

I expected fans to be displeased with the confirmation that Fatal Frame V is digital-only. What I didn’t expect was so many calls for a boycott of the game.

Four months ago, we rejoiced at the localization announcement. Until that Nintendo Direct, there were serious concerns we wouldn’t get the game at all. We’d sent tweets, letters, and petitions telling Nintendo that #WeWantFatalFrame.

After all that, we’re ready to abandon it just because we don’t get a physical copy?

Back when Dual Destinies, the fifth main-series Ace Attorney game, was released as a digital-only game, some fans wanted to boycott it. Their movement thankfully failed, but they accused those of us who bought and enjoyed Dual Destinies of ruining the future of Ace Attorney in the West. Hardly. If they succeeded, they might have doomed it.

The boycotters seemed to think if no one bought Dual Destinies from the eShop, Capcom would have said, “Hmm, we’re losing money on this game. Let’s spend even more money to release a physical copy!” No, a more realistic reaction would be, “Oh, it looks like there isn’t a market for Ace Attorney in the West after all.”

Fatal Frame hasn’t been released in North America in ten years. (Unless you count Spirit Camera, but that doesn’t help us.) Fatal Frame IV only came out in Japan, the second game’s remake came to Europe, and now Fatal Frame V is coming here.

We won’t get this, either.

Why does Europe get not only a retail release of Fatal Frame V, but also a limited edition? Because someone, whether it’s Koei Tecmo or Nintendo, has confidence in Europe’s Fatal Frame market. It got the Fatal Frame II remake, and it’s getting a physical copy of Fatal Frame V. Maybe it’s Koei Tecmo that’s unsure about the market here. Maybe it’s Nintendo of America.

But whoever it is, if Fatal Frame V sells poorly, they will attribute that failure to a lack of fans.

And then we might not get the next Fatal Frame game at all.

Like Koei Tecmo’s decision to not localize Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, there is no conspiracy theory here. Nintendo of America (or Koei Techmo) isn’t being mean. It’s being a company.

Petitions, letters, and tweets help. I believe companies like Capcom, Koei Tecmo, and Nintendo listen to their fans. You know what they listen to even more, though? Fans’ wallets.

The vote you cast with your wallet speaks louder than all the tweets you could ever send. That’s why some publishers have used Kickstarter as a measure of interest. When we go out there and say we want Dai Gyakuten Saiban or Fatal Frame V, we could be lying. Whether we buy it or not is what game companies really see.

Now, there are legitimate reasons to be upset about Fatal Frame V’s digital-exclusive nature. It’s almost 16 GB in size, which is massive when the Wii U is sold as an 8 GB basic model and a 32 GB deluxe model. Storage issues are one thing. Refusing to buy the game on principle is something else.

Don’t boycott Fatal Frame V because it’s digital-only. You’ll only confirm the company’s decision to not spend money on a retail release, and you may doom the franchise’s future in North America. Agree? Disagree? Let me know your view on Fatal Frame V’s eShop-exclusive release in the comments below.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Don’t Boycott Fatal Frame appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Enter the World of Yo-Kai Watch on November 6

As announced back in April, Level-5’s hit 3DS game Yo-kai Watch is coming West. On Wednesday, Nintendo revealed the release date: November 6.

I’m pleased the release date isn’t far off, because I’ve been excited for a while about this one. An RPG with inspiration from Japanese mythology, created by the developer of some of my favorite games? Sign me up!

Yo-kai Watch became huge in Japan (it’s even getting a Just Dance game), and the franchise is coming West:

November 3 – the manga is launched
November 6 – the first game comes out for the 3DS
Fall (uncertain date) – the anime airs on Disney XD
January – toy line is introduced

We were worried Yo-kai Watch wouldn’t be localized, but it’s clear Level-5 hopes to take North America and Europe by storm. Yet despite all these plans, people still seem unclear about what Yo-kai Watch is.

It’s not a Pokémon clone. Here’s a helpful guide from someone who has played the Japanese games. Not all of the features mentioned are in the first game, but it should give you a better idea of the series’ style.

If that isn’t enough, why don’t we re-watch the Nintendo Treehouse footage?

Rather than a variation on Pokémon, it looks like a fun RPG in its own right. I’m looking forward to Yo-kai Watch. Are you? If you share my confidence, you can pre-order it before November.

And don’t forget to check out my horror story “Rokurokubi,” found in Wicked Words Quarterly, if you’d like a darker look at yokai.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Enter the World of Yo-Kai Watch on November 6 appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

The Challenge of Writing Comedy

In addition to horror and fantasy, I like to write humor. My novella The Accidental Zombie is a zombie comedy, I’ve recently begun work on a romantic comedy visual novel, and much of my fanfiction leans toward comedy.

Unless you’re Paul Lynde.
Paul Lynde can be sarcastic without saying a word.

Writing humor comes with unique challenges (as all genres do). Different types of humor are more easily achieved than others. For example, it’s very hard to convey sarcasm if you can’t hear the person’s tone of voice.

Slapstick is also difficult to show through prose. It’s possible, and a couple of the situations I portrayed in The Accidental Zombie veer into slapstick territory, but it just doesn’t achieve the same effect.

As far as I’m concerned, Terry Pratchett is the master of comedic prose. If I can achieve even a fraction of Terry Pratchett’s humor, I’ll be satisfied. Right behind him is Lemony Snicket.

When it comes to video games, Ace Attorney is at the top of my list.

But oddly enough for a writer and gamer who rarely mentions TV, some of my greatest comedy inspirations are TV shows. Old TV comedies, like Hogan’s Heroes and Green Acres. All different types of humor come together, often in truly absurd ways, to inspire me. These inspirations drift throughout my humorous stories as surely as Silent Hill and H.P. Lovecraft haunt my horror.

I hope those samples entertained you and gave you a little more insight into my comedy inspirations. There are many more than these, of course. They help the most, not in showing specific situations or techniques, but in giving me a general sense for how ridiculous situations can spiral into greater absurdity.

The Green Acres clip, for example, could have left the joke at Lisa trying to pronounce pH. Instead, it took it a step further by having Mr. Haney pronounce it the same way, and then had Mr. Kimball claim it as an official technical term. That’s just how Green Acres is. It can achieve heights of surreal absurdity that work just because… it’s Green Acres.

In the Hogan’s Heroes clip, on the other hand, Hogan and his men pull off an elaborate stunt only made possible because neither Schultz nor Klink (and later on, Burkhalter and the supply officer) will admit they don’t know what a “gonculator” is. That layers the humor with irony–it’s funny to watch them talk about this object as though they know what it is, and funnier because the audience knows there’s no such thing at all.

Humor can be handled in a variety of ways, and I’ve tried to incorporate multiple styles into my own writing. Check out The Accidental Zombie and let me know how I’m doing. In the meantime, what are some of your favorite comedies and styles of humor?

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post The Challenge of Writing Comedy appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Resident Evil 2 Remake Should Be Survival Horror

At last, it happened. After fans asked for years, Capcom finally announced a Resident Evil 2 remake. Our requests have been answered, our hopes fulfilled.

Now we can start worrying.

Resident Evil 2 is my second-favorite Resident Evil game, after the amazing “REmake” of the first game. REmake is my go-to example of how to handle a remake, as I mentioned in my recent discussion of Final Fantasy VII. I hope Capcom follows its own example and creates a true “RE2make” deserving of the name.

Ever since Resident Evil 4, Capcom has strayed from the survival horror genre. Its closest attempts were the Revelations games, which wobbled on the edge of the genre, afraid to let go of the new actionized style.

When Capcom points to Resident Evil: Revelations or Leon’s scenario of Resident Evil 6 as their return to the series roots, it presents two possibilities: 1) Capcom is lying to attract fans of the classic games, or 2) Capcom doesn’t know what made the old games great.

Let’s hope it’s the first. While we don’t want to think Capcom is out to deceive fans just to get sales, it allows for more hope that they can make a survival horror game if they want to. And they clearly want to.

The HD remaster of REmake, the upcoming HD remaster of Resident Evil 0, and now the Resident Evil 2 remake all show Capcom wants to appeal to that core fanbase again. Maybe the positive reaction to the REmake remaster has helped them overcome their fear of creating a true survival horror game.

A remake brings challenges that remasters don’t. It’s more than just a simple polishing of the graphics. REmake added new mechanics, areas, and story content, which is part of what makes it so brilliant. Its remastering was just a shinier release of the same game, with an additional control scheme option.

An ideal Resident Evil 2 remake should follow that style and be an enhanced, improved survival horror game with fresh surprises for returning players while the core gameplay holds true to the original. On the other hand, if Capcom just releases the exact same game with modern graphics, I wouldn’t complain.

And I can’t wait to hear what they do with the music!

Do you think the Resident Evil 2 remake will be survival horror? If so, will it take REmake’s approach to adding new content? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Resident Evil 2 Remake Should Be Survival Horror appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Pokémon Black and White: Story-Driven Pokémon

Despite what I said in my post about Black Holmes, we aren’t discussing Resident Evil 2 today, either. Instead, let’s talk about Pokémon Black and White.

I love these games. Their direct sequels received honorable mentions in my list of the top games I played in 2013, but they don’t hold a candle to the originals.

Pokémon Black and White came out shortly after I got back into the series after a long hiatus. While their decision to include only new Pokémon until the post-game caused some controversy, I liked it. It made me feel like I was starting the series for the first time again. I liked the decision to have older protagonists, and I liked the Unova region… but what really surprised and delighted me was the stronger emphasis on story.

My honest reaction when I turned on Pokémon White for the first time and the intro started was to check the box to make sure I actually put in the right game and not some other JRPG.

Unlike most games in the series, Black and White had a plot and characters compelling enough to make me want to know what would happen. They’re the only Pokémon games where I can seriously say I loved the plot twists.

And while there’s something to be said for good old Team Rocket, Black and White’s Team Plasma is probably my favorite Pokémon villain team. It has depths and shades of gray beyond any of the others, as well as some of the best characters.

The core series gameplay is perfectly intact, so if you’re a Pokémon fan who skipped this particular generation, I only have one question for you. Do you like story-driven games? If you said, “Yes,” what are you waiting for? Go buy either Pokémon Black or Pokémon White. Not only do they show a level of storytelling unprecedented in the main series, but they’re among my favorite Pokémon games of all.

They’re certainly leagues above X and Y.

So, what prompted this sudden discussion of Pokémon Black and White years after I played them? I wish I could say “Pokémon Black and White 3″ because that would be awesome and would have been on my list of E3 pipe dreams if I’d thought of it in time.

Actually, it’s because Play-Asia sent me an email this morning about a new Nendoroid figurine of my favorite Pokémon Black and White characters, N.

Not only is N my favorite character, but that figurine is adorable! In addition to N (with two different facial expressions), it comes with a Pokéball accessory and the legendary Pokémon Reshiram.

I’m not much of a figurine collector… but N just might find himself on my bookshelf alongside Milla Maxwell and Noble Team.

Share your thoughts on Pokémon storytelling, Black and White, and N in the comments below.

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Pokémon Black and White: Story-Driven Pokémon appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.