by [name redacted]

Week four of my ongoing, irreverent news column; originally posted at Next Generation.

This week is devoid of releases. There are only three games coming out in North America in the next seven days, the most noteworthy of which is the PC port of Bloodrayne 2. So again we turn our gaze across the sharp, cold fins of the Pacific in search of inspiration. As before, everything that Japan has to show, it’s showing on Thursday. That is, in this case, August fourth.

Armored Core: Last Raven (PS2)
From Software/From Software (J)

The tenth Armored Core game in ten years, Last Raven is intended as a kind of return to form after the previous game, Formula Front. From is trying to stir up a bit of hooplah over this entry, both by posing it as a “tenth anniversary” game and as the final PS2 game in the mech action series. As far as what this game does differently, each part of the player’s mech now accrues its own damage; too much damage, and its efficacity suffers. Notably, according to the plot, the player must finish the game within twenty-four game-hours.

Bomberman Land 3 (PS2)
Hudson Soft/Hudson Soft (J)

Perhaps recognizing the limitation in re-releasing Bomberman year after year, system after system, Hudson has turned to fleshing out the series with a bunch of thrilling mini-games like Bomber-Man Kart and a fishing contest. This is the third in the likely perpetual series; in grand EAD/Rareware style, sets the player out to collect pieces of something-or-other by completing irrelevant tasks in a theme park. For those who just want to play Bomberman good and well, the game also includes the classic battle mode that has kept Hudson afloat since 1985.

Grandia III (PS2)
Game Arts/Square Enix (J)

The original Grandia had a lot to live up to; though magazines like Gamefan kept touting it as the Saturn’s “Final Fantasy VII-killer”, thanks in part to a conflict of egos between then-Sega president Bernie Stolar and Working Designs honcho Vic Ireland, we never saw it over here in its intended format. When it did get ported to the PSOne, years after the fact, in a poor conversion and even worse localization, it didn’t really hit home with American audiences the way it might have. Those who have played it, though, tend to associate the game with the same feeling of awe and discovery that you might get out of Sega’s Skies of Arcadia.

Grandia II (coincidentally released opposite Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast, in late 2000) was just the opposite. It was one of the more cynical, by-the-books representations of the Japanese console RPG in recent memory. It really was repulsive – as pretty as it might have been, and as well-designed as its battle system was, taken strictly on its own merits. Apparently realizing that the only worthwhile part of Grandia II was its battle system (and even that was distracting in the context of the broader game), Game Arts ditched everything except battles in the next game, Grandia X. And the less said about that one, the better.

Here, though – this game might be Grandia’s redemption. It has a similar perspective to Arcadia and the upcoming Dragon Quest VIII, and seems to focus again on discovery and the wonder of travel. Its art, though typically over-designed, has a certain charm and humility missing from the last couple of games – and even Noriyuki Iwadare’s score seems like it might fit the game again, for the first time since the original Grandia. If you haven’t completely given up on Japanese RPGs by now, this might be one of the few worth taking a look at in the next year – if for nothing else, it should make a decent case study.

Summon Night EX Thesis: Yoaku no Tsubasa (PS2)
Flight-Plan/Banpresto (J)

The latest in a series of “simple” RPGs from Banpresto, intended for a more intuitive experience for a wider audiences. The story apparently involves two men and two women who inhabit a single body. From the current Japanese charts, it seems this game is the fifteenth most hotly-desired upcoming release, after Nintendo’s Animal Crossing DS and before Capcom’s Monster Hunter 2. It also sits two slots ahead of Square’s Final Fantasy III remake for the DS, and only two slots behind the game I talk about in the next paragraph.

World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 (PS2)
Konami/Konami (J)

For those who care about soccer, which seems to describe every person on Earth born outside the United States, this is the premiere soccer series. It has been described (by some people who have written for this very site, even) as the “King of Fighters of sports games”: every year, the design team either hones or completely revises the game engine, looking perhaps not so much for perfection as an original and interesting experience in every game. Every button and function on the Dual Shock is used, and used well. Official license or no official license, it doesn’t matter. To those who play it, Winning Eleven is Winning Eleven.

This ninth game distinguishes itself with a couple of new positions, “improved” character animation, new weather conditions (with visible breath in the snow), and a “Nippon Challenge Go for 2006” mode, whereby the player attempts to qualify the Japanese team for the World Cup. The network engine has also gotten an overhaul, allowing players to use Master League teams in competition.

And really, that’s it. Don’t worry, though – next week’s a little better. On Monday alone you can expect Madden NFL 06 across eight billion platforms and maybe your Linux-enabled toaster. On Tuesday, you’ll finally get something worth playing on your PSP. Then if you’ve never played Sonic: The Fighters, you’ll finally have your chance – though before you get too excited, you might want to wait and read a bit more. Until then!