Akira Game for PS2? 68
Deltan writes: "Akira fans rejoice! According to ICV2.com a game based on the classic Japanese animated film Akira is being developed by AIA for release in August, soon after the Akira remastered Video and DVD are released."
Re:Not the first Akira game.. (Score:1)
Typical game play (Score:5)
(Neo-Tokyo blows up)
Rendered Kaneda: Tatsuo!
Rendered Tatsuo: Kaneda!
(user inserts second game CD)
(Neo-Tokyo blows up)
(with apologies to whoever came up with the world's shortest Akira plot summary originally)
Chris
Re:Will they get both right second time around? (Score:2)
That, and it drives me nuts how the American voice actors insist on putting stress on the wrong syllable in Japanese names. kah-NE-da, and tet-SU-o. Aaarrrggghhh!!
Re:OK, but... (Score:2)
Re:So when (Score:1)
So when (Score:4)
Re:At least (Score:1)
Re:ghost in the shell - Hey! (Score:1)
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Re:Woe is me. (Score:2)
Actually, my SO remarked the other day that the she was disappointed with the Dragons of Pern RPG because it didn't look like Michael Whalen's cover interpretations. Whatever...
When you are translating between mediums, things can not be equal. Notice I did not say "will" not... they *can* not be the same. And they shouldn't - otherwise, why bother with the translation? In this game (I assume), your hero can die, and the person behind the controls will have any of a wide range of motivation. As you put it:
You shoud be able to pop peoples' heads like when Yamato took on Tetsuo; Clubing people's heads off from the back of a bike. shooting half a person's face off and let them slide into raw sewage. The list goes on and on and none of it will be in the game.
And it should *not* be in the game. Just as there are big chunks of very very *good* and important plot, dialogue and scenes that will not be in the film version of Lord of the Rings. And it really dosen't have as much to do with time or money constrains as it does with the simple reality that the qualities that make a good video game are not the same as the qualities that make a good manga. The qualities that make a good series of books are not the same qualities that make a good series of movies.
As an example: Ian Holm is a great actor - I'm looking forward to his interpretation of Bilbo during his birthday and the turning over of the ring. And that is exactly what it will be; an interpretation. And I'm satisfied to pay my $6.50, sit back, and enjoy the show.
Please for the love of GOD stop trying to make great things shitty. Go away. Die.
Hey! Here's an idea - widen your mind. I thought Akira (the movie) sucked. And the manga wasn't all that hot either. Sure it was better than the movie, but it wasn't as good as Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita manga. But you know what? That's my opinion, and I realize that.
One of my favorite movies is End of Evangelion. I recently was dragged along to see the sex comedy Tomcats... I hated it. But I did recommend it wholeheartedly to a friend of mine; he hated End of Evangelion, he thought it was stupid. But neither of us like "better" things... we just like different things.
And be ready... there will probably be the following phrase uttered by plenty of people: "Yeah, I saw Akira, even tried the manga, but didn't like 'em. But the video game was pretty cool". And they won't be wrong... they will just have a different opinion.
Imagine that.
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Evan
Re:Woe is me. (Score:2)
The PlayStation Ghost in the Shell has cut scenes that look like they are lifted right from side scenes cut from the movie. The exact same style of animation, the exact same voices.
It's a damn shame, IMHO - the manga had the Major as a sexually active practical joker with a serious problem with authority (typical Masamume Shirow character). Even though the visuals and setting of the game are based more on the manga (the fuchikomas are in it with their creepy baby faces and giddy humor, yeah!), the characters are based on the movie version. Meaning - excellent voice acting.
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Evan
ghost in the shell (Score:1)
Re:Not the first Akira game.. (Score:2)
Y'know... (Score:5)
There are only two things that are worth getting horizontal over in life: having sex, and riding those motorcycles from Akira. If the game doesn't let me be able to ride those things, then I ain't buyin it. Those were just about the sweetest pieces of personal hardware I've ever seen on the big screen, and that's saying alot considering stuff like Major Kusanagi's inviso-suit-thingy and the various flavors of body armor that pops up consistenly in anime. They just looked so freakin cool!
- Rev.Re:Typical game play (Score:3)
(Comment #120, the direct link doesn't seem to be working...)
Yeah, that was me. Here's a (slightly modified) repost:
[Neo-Tokyo EXPLODES.]
Tetsuo: KANEDA!
Kaneda: TETSUO!
[Neo-Tokyo EXPLODES.]
Creepy blue dude: Akeeeeera!
[CONFUSING METAPHYSICAL THINGS happen.]
[Credits.]
apologies to RinkWorks,
-grendel drago
Which existing game will they rip off? (Score:3)
You could have:
But seriously, this game will suck, just like the Gundam games and movie adaptations in general always have...
8-Bit Akira (Score:2)
Right around the time the movie version of Akira made its initial sweep through the States, the NES cart of Akira was [quietly] released. What a load of drek that was.... unless _you_ enjoy slowly moseying through the movie script in a Myst-like fashion.
ROM images [dreamwater.net] of the cart exist.
Re:One can only hope... (Score:1)
Re:Typical game play (Score:2)
Re:Does anyone know... (Score:1)
The DVD should be out around July 24th.
Re:OMG (Score:1)
I heard that they were running it in LA after NY, though. Try heading that way.
Already done (Score:1)
Re:Woe is me. (Score:1)
its worth the karma loss... (Score:1)
tetsuo!
Game scare will be in surround sound (Score:4)
Just get four friends to stand around you and wheeze loudly. "Tuhh tuhh... WHEE-huhhh! Tuhh tuhh... WHEE-huhhh, WHEE-huhhh!"
Hrmm... (Score:5)
G.H.
Yes, they are lasers (Score:1)
Re:OK, but... (Score:1)
Like "2001", I guess. You don't read the book to find if it's better than the film, you read the book to find what actually _happened_ in the film.
Grab.
OK, but... (Score:3)
Oh, of course - flashy graphics, incomprehensible (or arguably non-existant) plotline, strange things suddenly pop up for reasons never explained. And lots of shit blowing up.
Tell the truth - did _anyone_ understand that film? And if so, how?
Grab.
orgasmic, man (Score:1)
Re:Cool but why bother.... (Score:2)
Still, Jet Grind Radio is a really cool game. Highly recommended. Its worth buying a Dreamcast for. If this Akira game does NPR as well as Jet Grind did it, then it should be a very beautiful game, graphics wise.
Re:Typical game play (Score:3)
The manga has a far more interesting and detailed plot. If you liked the anime, you will definitely like the manga.
While the slashdot header makes it seem like the game is based on the anime movie, the article doesn't mention wether it is based on manga or anime. There is a difference, and a big one to Akira fans.
Re:Cool but why bother.... (Score:1)
Since license==lack of originality... (Score:3)
1) Cel shading. Jet Set Radio rules, but now everyone and their dog has to code the same technique.
2) Any beat-em-up or third-person shooter section must do a bullet-time thing at one point.
3) Please, oh please let us ride Kaneda's bike!
4) Mind numbing cut-scenes taken straight from the film, or (more likely) drawn by the game artists in a noticibly inferior style.
5) There is about as much chance of us not seeing that big railgun as there is of there not being one in Doom3.
any other suggestions? (and please, lets hope lens flares have finally died a death)
Re:At least - DVD stuff (Score:3)
I think there will be a European (Region 2) release as well as the US Region 1 one. These will almost certainly both be Region encoded, as multiple companies are involved with the distribution rights globally, if memory serves.
Anyway, if you've not got your machine region chipped then do it now; missing out on imports is just too much hassle to do without. After that, try someone like Play 247 [play247.com] or Movietyme USA [movietyme.com] if you don't want to do the importing from the US. You'll be wanting the limited edition tin from the US anyway if you're a fan.
Re:Cool but why bother.... (Score:4)
Anyway, back to the point - Jet Set Radio uses a (then innovative) cel-shading technique to make its 3d characters look like 2d hand-drawn animated ones, and so is ideal for a game based on an animated film such as Akira. If you've only got a PC but own Quake 3 then try one of the models inspired by this idea over on Polycount: Honey [planetquake.com] was the first one I saw that experimented with this technique.
One can only hope... (Score:1)
*shudder*
You can't diss the Journey game... (Score:1)
Me too. (Score:1)
Cool but why bother.... (Score:1)
MG
Re:Cool but why bother.... (Score:1)
I'll have to take your word for as I've never touched a dreamcast.
MG
Re:Cool but why bother.... (Score:1)
Not if they do it like Jet Grind Radio for Dreamcast. If they did it in that style, it would look great on the PS2.
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Re:At least (Score:1)
I can assure you that there will be a dvd version of akira. Infact its slated to be released in June/July.
Re:Y'know... (Score:1)
thermoptic camo is the bomb. =)
eudas
Re:Will they get both right second time around? (Score:1)
eudas
At least (Score:2)
I heard it here as a rumour [slashdot.org] then as news [slashdot.org] but I wouldn't believe it (Well, I would but erm...).
No my question is the following:
We all bought it in VHS, we all bought the comic.
So, will it still be Region1 or will the guys releasing it understand that it may not risk to appear in a Theater in Europe and thus they can release it Region-Free?
Basically I have two choices in the former case: Buy it in the US or Wait for a friend to DivX-ize it for me.
I just hope the relevant guy will catch this: I may get it illegally if you region-lock it.
Now, about the game, well... erm great!
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Re:Cool but why bother.... (Score:1)
You mean the same technique used by Reyes' CartoonReyes plugin for 3DS MAX, or some similar stuff for Lightwave?
You see a lot of this stuff in Futurama... the space ship sequences, bender kissing that titanic fembot, the matrix-esque when they resque prof. farnsworth... It's pretty cool how they are able to blend it in.
but is it done in real-time in the game? Then i'm impressed
Re:Okay, tell the truth... (Score:2)
Well, I would think that most of the people who even clicked on the subject, considering it was actually pretty clear what the topic was.
If you're in here posting and you're not interested, then you're probably just trolling.
McFarlane Akira toys were shipped a year ago. (Score:2)
Actually, the Akira figures [spawn.com] have been out for quite a while now. In fact, Kaneda and his motorcycle have been protecting the routers from the forces of evil for almost a year now. ?:^)
Does anyone know... (Score:1)
Re:Will they get both right second time around? (Score:2)
There's a bunch more, but I would highly, highly recomend anyone who enjoyed the original dubed version to check out what the movie can be like when the translation actually has some coherence...it's amazing.
Will they get both right second time around? (Score:4)
However, I also remember seeing Akira for the first time on BBC2, subtitled with a decent, rich translation of the story. The subsequent Manga Video release did a hatchet job on the subtitles, very much in the "We get signal! What!" style. So: please oh please oh please let the Akira rerelease have a decent translation. As good as, if not better, than the BBC version.
I may be an ignoramus, but... (Score:1)
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Re:Since license==lack of originality... (Score:1)
Re:Cool but why bother.... (Score:1)
Best Idea Ever (Score:1)
Are ya sure? (Score:1)
finally! (Score:1)
Re:Cool but why bother.... (Score:1)
Re:Woe is me. (Score:1)
An Akira game will be one of them. Like Gundam and DBZ.
About Tolken
Um... I was commenting on the trailer, which is out and it looks like Terry Brooks cover art. This is a bad thing in my opinion for a number of reasons.
The first and most important is that making a movie in the style of cover art from books that are pale impressions of the original is insulting.
The second is the difference in the quality of the light. Have you ever read the Father Christmas letters or the Sim.? Have you ever looked at Tolken's script? It isn't a soft cheese cloth with ruddy faced youths striding along. His hand is shaky and dark. Its like veins in the body of the earth. It is infused with something ancient and Celtic and dark, something the "LOOK" of the trailer lacks. I know not of the body of the movie but the face they presented is not the face of Tolken.
Don't get me wrong it looks like a better movie than most but it looks like the best of the lowest common denominator. Like a high end Sony integrated amp/tuner when you are used to listening to a Golden Tube amp running on a VPI turntable.
Either way...
Tolken isn't water colors or clay its India ink with a quill.
Also...
Nitpicking is Tolken's work because his notes represent more effort of will and imagination than any fully realized book before or since. He made up all this shit to explain the subtleties of a language he made up. He is a linguist and a celtic linguistic hacker, tiny detail is the whole world, full stop.
Woe is me. (Score:3)
Re:Y'know... (Score:1)
I guess I'll just have to make do with my Suzuki Intruder 800. Vroooooooom Squeeeeeeeal YAY!
Alan
Akira and New Generation (Score:1)
Re:OK, but... (Score:1)
Re:Cool but why bother.... (Score:1)
Oops my sarcasm is dripping again.
Bad history of anime games (Score:2)
Remember Vampire Hunter D [gamespot.com], Dragon Ball Z: Final Bout [gamespot.com], Gundam Wing: Battle Assault [gamespot.com]?
Of course, GameSpot [gamespot.com] ranks these games a bit higher than they deserve, IMHO.
Also there was a Gundam Wing game being developed for the PS2 launch, and it suddenly disappeared.
Christopher N Emmick
Not the first Akira game.. (Score:1)
uberworld.org
But they are making *new* toys... (Score:1)
Re:Woe is me. (Score:1)