Kyle's Favorite DS Games Revisit

As promised, I have returned with my revised list of Favorite games for the Nintendo DS. If you go back and watch my old list, there's only five and there's more than one person talking; it's pretty much a disaster. I decided to fix this since I was in a better position to fix it. So take a watch, I'll sure you'll agree 'n' stuff. Now who wants marshmallows?!

First Pokémon Black/White 2 Details Revealed

We haven't posted much this week so I figure now is as good a time as any as some details about Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 have been released and that's kind of our thing.

Corocoro, the magazine responsible for many Pokémon related leaks of the past, as well as being responsible for hyping fans up just to shoot them down with lame announcements like Poképark 2, has revealed the first details and screenshots of the game. You can check out the first artwork of the two playable characters as well as the rival on the right there and I'll put the rest after the jump. Here's some bullet points on the actual details.

- set in Unova
- set 2 years later than Black/White
- Unova is partially frozen
- has 300 Pokémon within it
- various new areas in Unova
- this includes Hiougi City, where you begin your journey
- another area has a gym leader who focuses upon Poison; Homika and another gym leader is Shizui, the Water-type leader
- new researcher called Akuroma who researches Pokémon Strength
- Hiougi City has a Pokémon Centre and a Trainer School
- it also has areas where you can look upon the other areas
- Black Kyurem will know the move Freeze Shock
- White Kyurem knows the move Ice Burn
- the Unova Pokédex contains a combination of old and new Pokémon
- Psyduck is #026, Riolu is #033 and Metagross is #254
- June 24rd Japanese release date reconfirmed

The original Black and White games decided to try to "start fresh" by not including the ability to catch or battle any of the first four generations of Pokémon until after you finished the game. It's good to see they're going back to the ways of pretty much every Pokémon game since by allowing you to catch a mix of old and new from the get-go. Not to sound old fashion, but I prefer it that way. It's nice to get to know new Pokémon but it's also comforting to know there's old favorites you already know pretty well to fall back on if needed. But the real question is, who will annoy us in all the caves? Woobat or Zubat?

Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition Coming Stateside

In a quite bizarre move, Nintendo announced last year that Pokémon would be crossing paths with the Japanese strategy RPG series, Nobunaga's Ambition, last year. The game is all about Japanese warlords, some of which are based on real people, duking it out with a number of different Pokémon. It was released last month and due to the obscurity of the series Pokémon was crossing paths with, many people, myself included, doubted it would ever come stateside.

Well, I was wrong because Nintendo announced today that the game will be coming to the states on June 18th for the original Nintendo DS under the title Pokémon Conquest. Which makes sense, it's more likely to sell copies with a generic name rather than attached "Nobunaga's Ambition" on the end.

Still, it just goes to show where NoA's priorities are when it comes to localization. If this game involved, say, Fire Emblem, rather than Pokémon, it's likely it wouldn't have gotten localized. But since it's Pokémon, and will likely sell because of it, it's localized without question. We have to fight tooth and nail for games like Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story but if an obscure Pokémon game comes out in Japan that not nearly as many people care about, it's no big deal to localize it. Ah well. At least we are getting all three of these games. Hopefully Nintendo will announce a US release for Fire Emblem: Awakening next.

Pokémon Black 2 & White 2 Boxart

Yep. That's it. That's all I got today. I just feel like we haven't posted enough this week and we like Pokémon so hey, here ya go.

Oh, also apparently Kyurem's new forms are called "overdrive" mode or something like that. The details are very sketchy right now so don't quote me on that.

And starting in June in Japan, they're going to be giving out Keldeo through online distribution in honor of Black 2 and White 2, as well as a new movie I believe. I'm sure the states will see this event around the time Black and White 2 come out here.

Keldeo is level 15 and has the moves Aqua Jet, Sacred Sword, Hydro Pump and Close Combat.

The Ten Best Mario Party Mini-Games

So hey, Mario Party 9 for the Wii was released yesterday and I find that crazy. There are nine Mario Party games! No, there are 11 because of DS and Advance. ELEVEN! That is some insane stuff right there. Too bad the quality seemed to be on a constant downhill slide ever since 4. Regardless of how the quality in later games have been, there are very few multiplayer experiences out there quite like Mario Party. I remember plenty of great memories spent playing with friends and family, even some of the lesser ones like Mario Party 6. Mario Party is a lot of fun when you have a group to play with.

Go die, Domination.

But what makes Mario Party Mario Party? Well, the mini-games of course! Each game packs what seems like 60+ and they always make for a good time. That is unless they’re luck based or require you to tap A furiously for 10 seconds like Domination, those games are awful. But hey, we’re not here to talk about the bad, we’re talking about the good. The ten best, in fact. Yes, in honor of Mario Party 9’s release I’m looking at what I consider to be the ten best Mario Party mini-games. But before I begin, keep in mind that I don’t own Mario Party 7 or Advace, so none of those will be on here. Technically I don’t own 1 or 5 either but I’ve played those plenty with friends so I know of them. Anyway, let’s get started.

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 Announced.

Well this was unexpected. Instead of the long-rumored third entry in the series, "Pokémon Grey" being announced on Pokémon Smash today in Japan, instead, series producer Junichi Masuda announced direct sequels to both Black and White. So that's right, four entries in the same series rather than the usual three. Little information is known about the games with the exception of the names, the fact that they'll be on the DS, not 3DS and that they come out in June in Japan.

They also revealed that the game will involve two new forms of the third dragon, Kyurem. They looked to be fused versions of Zekrom and Reshiram to me. We'll keep you posted as more information on this (admittedly bizarre) announcement as it comes up.

Things I Would Like to see Happen with Pokémon Grey

I’m thinking about making “Things I Would Like to see Happen with...” a thing, as I tend to think (or in most cases over think) about these types of things...I already did this with the “Next Iteration of the 3DS,” and I think it was well received...Anyway, onto what this Blog Post is all about: Pokémon Grey!

Review - Sonic Rush

So this isn't so much a review as it is an 8 minute long video about why I hate Eggman Nega with occasional references to the rest of the game thrown in. ENJOY!

VGM of the Week #4

Ricky here, with my choice of VGM this week.

I've decided to start the bar high and share my personal favorite VGM of all time; I don't necessarily think it's the best, but let's just say it would take more than a silly little blog post to express the depths of my appreciation for this tune.

The Ace Attorney series has some consistently fantastic music that's always perfectly tailored to the situation, but this version of the iconic Cornered theme, appearing at the very end of Trials and Tribulations, is the best of them all. I can't recall another video game track that does a better job getting me pumped up. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Review - Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva

One of the most unexpected hits on the DS, the Professor Layton series, developed by Level-5, managed to bring text and puzzle based adventure games to the mainstream, US audience and quickly became one of the DS’ biggest franchises. So naturally, it makes sense that a movie would eventually be made based on the series. Each game has such a heavy emphasis on story, that it’s the perfect candidate for a movie adaptation.

So in 2009, an animated feature film version was released in Japan, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. Instead of taking one of the stories from the games and making it a feature film, they decided to go in a completely different direction and make a brand new mystery for the Professor to solve. The movie finally made it to American shores thanks to Viz media and it’s a good thing it did because it is a pretty fun film.