Nostalgia

Developers: Matrix Software, Red Entertainment

Publisher: Ignition Entertainment

Release Date: Oct. 27, 2009

System: Nintendo DS

ESRB Rating: E10+

Official Web site

In a nutshell: I still have idea why it's called Nostalgia.

0:00 Of all the unplayed DS game review copies I took down on my two-week trip to Maryland, this is the one I have the strongest memories of hearing some good things about. But those memories are still pretty vague...

0:01 A vignette of hand-drawn manga scenes shows an airship, a sword battle, a hero carrying a girl from a crumbling castle, a woman casting a fireball, and another reaching for a bird bathed in white light. The music is peppy but also full of pomp and circumstance.

0:03 A blocky, red-haired man in a suit of armor walks to a pedestal with a rotating yellow... thing on it. He reaches out for it, but it pushes him back. Cyclopean robed figures force a girl over to him. "What is it?" she asks. "There is no need for you to know," he answers. No monologuing for this bad guy!

0:04 Suddenly, one of the robed cyclopses runs up and takes the girl to safety. He removes the robe and announces himself as Gilbert Brown, a guy who looks like Indiana Jones plus a bushy brown mustache. Brown shoots a trigger on the wall behind armored dude and runs through a closing door, just dodging a thrown sword.

0:05 In control now, the girl and I are running down a spiral staircae. The music seems a bit too sedate for such a tense situation. Anyway, we quickly come to the first random battle. The robed guy (a "Caba Combatant") hits me point blank IN THE FACE with some repeating rifle shots, but I only take two damage. I attack twice, doing 53 damage with my sword slices each time. Nice victory music... it's got a very old-school Final Fantasy feel to it. Is that why it's called Nostalgia, perhaps?

***-->CONTINUE READING AT<--***

***-->JOYSTICK DIVISION<-***

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Muramasa: The Demon Blade

Developer: Vanillaware
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Release Date: Sept. 8, 2009
System: Wii
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Slash-slash-slash-something-about-souls-slash-slash

0:00 I remember hearing a lot about this one at E3, but not so much after it came out. Still, I'm in the mood for some hand-drawn 2-D action today, so let's see if it merits discussion.

0:01 On the preview screen, the logo comes up over a full moon behind black clouds, with a loud gong and the sound of an unsheathing sword. Sleek.

0:02 "Answer the call of the Demon Blade, thirsting to draw and drink blood. Witness the fate of those who've drawn the demon blade." OK then ... I will. The credits start to appear over sweeping harp- and flute-heavy war music. A woman in old-fashioned Japanese garb unsheathes a sword. Two swords sit impaled in the ground in front of a sunset. A hazy forest flies by from a first-person perspective. A lonely warrior with a blue headband stands on a ridge. An old man with a long, white Fu Manchu mustache and beard stares evilly. The sun sets in the distance as the camera refocuses on a bug on a leaf. The full moon flies by a black sky in a diagonal. Leaves fall onto a pool of water, with a carp swimming underneath. And the logo appears again. Color me confused.

0:05 Before moving forward, I have to select my playing style. Muso lets me "cut through enemies easily," and "progress steadily even if you're not skilled at action games." Shura tells me that "to advance, you must evade, defend and use Secret Arts masterfully. Only for the brave." I may regret this, but I decide to be brave and choose Shura.

0:06 Two different stories to choose: The Story of Momohime and The Story of Kisuke. I can't tell any apparent difference from this screen, so I'll go with Momohime, I guess...

***-->CONTINUE READING AT CRISPY GAMER<--***

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Mercury Meltdown: Revolution

Developer: Ignition
Publisher: Ignition
Release Date: Oct. 16, 2007
System: Wii
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Super Mercury Ball Madness

0:00 I played the PSP version of this game a few years back and was moderately impressed. I'm hoping the Wii's motion controls can really put this puzzler over the top.

0:01 The Wii Menu screen for this title has a bouncing yellow smiley face over a bass jazz groove. Ten bonus points right off the bat!

0:02 The game shows a computer mainframe-style green computer prompt, then commences with a normal loading screen, then the regular "don't throw the Wii remote" warning. Weird.

0:03 Tutorial time. Tilt the Wii remote to tilt the stage, and your blob of mercury with it. The clock turns to a sad face if you're too slow. Awww...

0:05 Teleporters, pressure switches, etc. Nothing I haven't seen before, although it all looks a lot better on the big TV screen. Very stylish black outlines around all the major set pieces.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer