:: GAMES : NEWS ARCHIVES . January 2003




Preview: Zero Fighter
January 26, 2003
Here's a cool game coming to GameCube in Japan, it's quite unlikely we'll get it in the West but who knows... in the meanwhile, check how you like it in this preview.

Preview of Zero Fighter - Gekitsui Senki
 

Latest GameCube news
January 25, 2003
- Unity, a mixture of shoot'em up and musical game has been announced for GameCube. It seems to be exclusive to the system, and is planned for a 2004 release.
- Soul Calibur 2 is to be released on the same day as Product Number 03: March 27, 2003 in Japan !
- In Product Number 03, the main character Vanessa Z. Schneider, will now use laser beams coming out from her hands instead of guns.
- According to IGN, Retro Studios has officially started to work on a new Metroid game, again... We hope it's not true, or at least that they have another project on the way, because it's time to introduce new things. With the experience acquired with Metroid Prime, why not resuming work on the promising Raven Blade ?
- Factor 5 has 2 projects coming, but it's not certain yet if they are for GameCube.

Added latest pictures of Product Number 03
January 23, 2003
It's less thrilling than a pilgrimage game of course, but 8 new screenshots of Vanessa Z. Schneider (well, there's one of the boss of the first level) have been added.

A VERY shocking new game for GameCube !
January 23, 2003
There's a new game coming for GameCube in Japan, a game that I'm sure you never heard of, a game that I'm sure you are definitely not interested in. However, it is an utter and true scoop that Samurai Nintendo is going to tell you here, and I like so much when we have something to tell you that the others don't... makes me dreamy... *o*... a small site like ours, pennyless and all, who knows think that the others, the big ones, the ones which make money, don't. Haaaa...

Anyway, this game is just so boring that it is not going to make Samurai Nintendo famous, imagine the headlines: "Samurai Nintendo unveils the crappiest game of the year !" and so on. Yeah, yeah, stop the blabbering and come to the point. This game is called:

- shikoku-junrei-taiken-geimu ohenro-san hosshin no doujo(awanokuni) hen
- Game for experiencing pilgrimage around Shikoku Island - Dojo for starting pilgrimage at Awa.

(A big thank to Saman for helping with the translation !)

Believe it or not, this GameCube game is a simulation of pilgrimage. Amazing, heh ? The release date is set on a very cubic day, the 3rd March of 2003 (03/03/03). It seems a pedometer (measure you foot steps) can be used separetely and then connected to the GameCube and provide data. The "game" is developed by Pin Change, an entertainment division of Panasonic, Nintendo's partner. That's probably why they let such a hopeless concept being made into a video game. Well, it's really not the kind of game which is going to help Nintendo's sales improve. Here's a picture from the official promotion to make you believe the unbelievable (please notice the GameCube in the left):


 

Megaman EXE Transmission + Captain Tsubasa: Ougon Sedai no Chousen
January 15, 2003
2 games which seem to be exclusive to GameCube, one is already released in Japan for some time now (Captain Tsubasa aka Olive et Tom in France) and the other one is coming next March starring everyone's favorite jumping blue robot !

» Preview of Megaman EXE Transmission
» Review of Captain Tsubasa
 

Link in Soul Calibur 2: First pictures
January 15, 2003
Namco unveiled today some new characters for the fighting game Soul Calibur 2. One of them is Necrid, a huuuge green monster with a huuuuuger sword, designed by Todd McFarlane. The other character is dressed in green too, much more friendly to Nintendo fans' eyes, as the rumor foretold, it is Link from The Legend of Zelda. Here are the first big pictures (640x480 with no logos).

Correction: new screenshots of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
January 13, 2003
A vigilant reader, Socrates Efstratiou, noticed a big mistake in Harvest Moon's preview page: the screenshots were not from the GameCube version but from the Game Boy Advance one ! Gaaah... ;_; .....I feel lame now. Anyway, it's been corrected and I put 3 small screenshots. Would Natsume accept to give us more pictures of their new wonderful game... ? (it seems you are many to long for it)

New pictures of PN03 and Resident Evil 4 !
January 10, 2003
Say peepee-poopoo to the big video games sites, Samurai Nintendo got some new pictures of these 2 Capcom games before they do. Capcom published 18 new pictures. Some are VERY similar, I put only one picture when one group was too identical. It's still 13 pictures ! Enjoy, some are cool, especially for PN03. This girl rocks ! My most interesting comments (that's ironical) are not put yet, I'll write them next week. No time now.

A release date for Megaman and PN03 !
January 10, 2003
Megaman EXE Transmission, the first Megaman on GameCube (and hopefully not the last one like on Nintendo 64...) will be released on March 6, 2003 while Product Number 03 will be out on March 27, 2003. All this in Japan, player-san !

The New Game Boy Advance !
January 6, 2003
Nintendo is going to unveil tomorrow in an important press conference a new version of the Game Boy Advance. Samurai Nintendo got a picture for you, here it is:



Features of the Game Boy Advance SP:
- flip-up screen like the Game & Watch (1 inch thick, 2,5 cm)
- the screen is lighted and the light can be turned off
- the screen size is: 2.4 x 1.6 (inches), 6-7 x 4 (centimeters)
- rechargeable battery pack (10 hours with light, 18 hours without)
- compatible with all the Game Boy games
- price: 99$, that was also the Game Boy Advance's launch price in US
- US release date: march 23, 2003 (around new Pokemon launch...)

3 readers' comments !
January 2, 2003
Samurai Nintendo is not what you can call a "big site", so we don't often receive impressions from our readers. Maybe because the big sites are closed for Christmas holidays, we got a few more mails than usual this month, including some opinions about Doshin The Giant, Starfox Adventures and the upcoming Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. The comments have been added to the review/preview of each game. Don't hesitate to express yourself too !

The message board is down
January 2, 2003
The message board is closed for a while now because my host turned off its site. I'll try to get something new in the coming weeks. There's no emergency because there were no visitors there anyway ! (sigh)

Happy New Year 200Cube !
January 1, 2003
Samurai Nintendo wishes to all its readers and visitors a Happy New Year 2003 !
By the way, here's our top 10 of the year (european releases), if you haven't got those games yet, you ought to:

1. Super Mario Sunshine   >Lots of things to find, to smile at, to enjoy: simply the best
2. Super Smash Bros. Melee   >So much fun !
3. Eternal Darkness   >A very fascinating, intricate and innovative quest
4. Pikmin   >Great design and gameplay pleasure
5. Resident Evil   >A delight of horror, the best of the "haunted house"
6. Starfox Adventures   >Lack of fun, but beautiful adventure + Fox & Tricky are great
7. Luigi's Mansion   >Not very long but very entertaining
8. Star Wars: Rogue Leader   >The only Star Wars game which is worth the first trilogy
9. Doshin The Giant   >A different peaceful game
10. Super Monkey Ball   >Skill, skill and fun

Of course, if you live in US or Japan, Animal Forest +, The Legend of Zelda and Metroid Prime should rank high in this top 10.







:: GAMES : NEWS ARCHIVES . January 2003