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Games Entertainment

The Best Japanese Games of 2005 35

Posted by Zonk from the far-side-of-the-world-hits dept.
Next Generation has an article breaking down the 10 best games released in Japan this year. From the article: "This game will debut next year in America as "Steambot Chronicles," which is kind of a cool name. It is an action-adventure about a girl, a young boy with amnesia, and his giant robot. Now, that sentence might describe a hundred thousand animes -- though please, stick around for a minute. There's more: your giant robot looks like a car with legs, the girl is the lead singer in a jazz-blues-rock band whose guitarist might be trying to kill her so he can raise the backup singer to the lead position, and the only possession found on the young boy with amnesia was a harmonica with his name engraved in it. Exciting, huh?"
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The Best Japanese Games of 2005 More

The Best Japanese Games of 2005

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  • That just narrows it down to 10% of all Japanese RPGs ever released ;)

  • Where's Nintendogs? (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Seriously where is Nintendogs on that list? (or more appropriately why isn't Nintendogs on that list) It sold a lot of titles and months after its release it is still apearing on the Top 30 Japaneese Console game charts; it got rave reviews and was the first real 'system seller' for the Nintendo DS (which is now the must have gaming device in Japan).

  • The List (Score:4, Informative)

    by wheresdrew ( 735202 ) on Wednesday December 21, 2005 @05:13PM (#14312618) Journal
    Becuase 10 pages for 10 games is just stupid.

    10. Ikusagami - PlayStation 2
    9. Touch! Kirby - Nintendo DS
    8. Jump Super Stars - Nintendo DS
    7. Slime Morimori Dragon Quest II - Nintendo DS
    6. Senkou no Ronde - Arcades
    5. Ryu ga Gotoku - PlayStation 2
    4. Rogue Galaxy - PlayStation 2
    3. Wanda to Kyozou (aka Shadow of the Colossus) - PlayStation 2
    2. Otona no DS Training ["Brain Training for Nintendo DS"] - Nintendo DS
    1. Ponkotsu Roman Daikatsugeki Bumpy Trot ("Bumpy Trot, a Romantic Junkyard Action-Adventure") - PlayStation 2

    • No wonder Japanese are so much better in school than Americans if they have games like this:

      Otona no DS Training ["Brain Training for Nintendo DS"] - Nintendo DS

      Anyone know what this game is about?

      • I'm no Brain Trainee, but I'd imagine that you could probably find out what it's about by RingTFA.
      • That translation excludes a bit / an exact translation is "DS Brain Training for adults", and the full Japanese title is "nou wo kitaeru otona no DS training". It's, uh... it has like small excercises and stuff? Not really sure. Maybe it's in the article.

      • Re:The List (Score:3, Informative)

        by gullevek ( 174152 )
        I guess its about those things you see on TV too:
        - answer questions about certein events in history
        - guess Kanji
        - build new Kanji out of other Kanji
        - solve match problems
        - solve other typical bran problems (fold paper, find differences in pictures).

        Sadly I know nobody who has an DS, so I can't even ask them if they know it more ...

        You can check out the japanese homepage: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/andj/ [nintendo.co.jp]

        Okay, after looking at the webpage, its 100% what I imagined :)

        • Re:The List (Score:1, Troll)

          by MBraynard ( 653724 )
          Ok you snob - nice answer but how about telling me what Kanji is?
          • Kanji are the chinese Characters that the japanese use to write words.

            because you don't know how to type in "kanji" and "example" into google, here is a link with some simple Kanji: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2046.html [japan-guide.com]

            lots of greets, your snob :)
      • Brain training consists of short exercises designed to keep your brain active.
        Among the more mundane is 20 quick math problems. Subtraction, multiplication, addition. You write the answer on the touch screen.

        A challenging one is where it shows 20 or so words for 2 minutes. You have to memorize them and then write down as many as you can in 2 minutes.

        Among the more interesting is one where it will show you a word for a color but color it differently. You have to say the color the word is in. The microphon
        • I was very interested in this game when I first heard about it, now you've described what sort of challenges it has I definitely want it, it's a pity about the language barrier otherwise I'd import it like a shot.

          I agree that this could be a great game to bring to the US, I think it's got a broad appeal like Tetris on the old GB had. Trouble is Nintendo US seems to be very nervous about releasing the more unusual DS titles in the US e.g. Electroplankton is only available via their website IIRC.
        • Any idea if some of the features, like the word/kanji problems could be good for practicing Japanese language/writing?
      • I've played it but I am unable to read any Japanese at all. The only part of the game I could play was the math part. It will ask simple addition/subtraction/multiplication questions and you write out the answer as fast as you can. From what I could tell there are daily exercises to complete and it has much more than just math problems...I just couldn't read what was going on. It also feels pretty cool holding and viewing the ds sideways. I makes the DS seem like some electronic training book and not a
    • Ponkotsu Roman Daikatsugeki Bumpy Trot ("Bumpy Trot, a Romantic Junkyard Action-Adventure")
      "Bumpy Trot?" "Sounds like Engrish for "Four obese hookers with diarrhea, jammed into a Ford Festiva, on an unpaved country road." Fun for the whole family.
    • Becuase 10 pages for 10 games is just stupid.

      Click the "print" links on pages like that. It's right above the games listed in this case.
    • I gotta ditch the Xbox, get a DS, and borrow a friends PS2...
      Ah yes, learn japanese, too 8p

      Damn, I knew it was too simple 8)

  • Amnesia? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by PoderOmega ( 677170 ) on Wednesday December 21, 2005 @05:30PM (#14312758)
    I can only think of one off the top of my head, Flashback, but why I do have the idea tons of games start with the main character suffering amnesia? I guess it is a good way to learn about the main character's past without having to sit through something like Episode 1.
    • The story in Planescape Torment revolved around the amnesia of the main character.
    • FF7 kinda fits the bill...
    • King's Quest 3. Well, it's not amnesia, but it's the same premise. You start off the game not knowing who you are, and during the adventure you eventually find out what happened to you. It's the most memorable of the series, IMO. Amnesia is a deus ex machina, so authors are wary of using it. Except in soap operas, of course.
    • I think it's because of the ideas that (1) the player is supposed to fill the role of the main character and (2) the player should be able to start playing a game without having to read a novella first.

      So, amnesia is a fairly effective way of emotionally involving the player, because he starts off not knowing what's going on, and then learns about the situation, along with the main character. That way he always has the proper perspective.

      At least, that's my guess.

    • A couple more examples:

      - System Shock 2 (although it used it well, I'd say)
      - Cyberia 2
      - Final Fantasy 3 (aka FF6 in Japan)

      Dang, that's all I can think of right now where it's amnesia. There are a lot more games that give you a very ambiguous background (like Morrowind or a lot of other RPGs) so that you have a more-or-less blank slate when you're developing that character.
  • What about a non-action-adventure called "Slashbot Chronicles"? It would feature a young man with mild OCD and his giant online ego. No girls though.
  • I bought this game at Play Asia awhile back since it was dirt cheap. I only spent an hour with it, but it was pretty unimpressive. Mostly because the controls were awful. You need to control your mech with both analog stucks (a la Katamari), and trying to maneuever and shoot is awfully clunky. The first boss battle was terrible too. Maybe it gets better though, and I'm glad it got picked up for American release, just to see more obscure stuff here. The atmosphere is interesting, at least - reminds me of a M

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