Gamesugar

January 2, 2011

Review – Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood!

Prinny 2 Dawn of Operation Panties Dood
A lone Prinny once again slips on the red hero scarf for the sequel to Nippon Ichi Software’s side-scrolling deviation to the Disgaea universe. As the extended title suggests, and perhaps causes some brief moments of awkwardness at the checkout counter, Prinny 2 tasks players with retrieving a pair of Mistress Etna’s unmentionables by slicing across several 2D stages in order to save the day and avoid facing her demonic wrath.

The original release, Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?, remains one of the most difficult action games on the PSP – forged in the dark pits of hell and causing me to spend a few weeks recovering in a mental asylum back in 2009. While this sequel doesn’t buckle in challenging players seeking to perfect their ranking scores, there are a few changes that open the invitation for those who haven’t splurged on robotic fingers just yet. The most immediate addition is an easy mode that allows players to take three hits before dying as well as the opportunity to regain health points, which just to tweak your self esteem are symbolized by diapers – pink baby blocks also appear throughout stages on this setting to make jumps easier and block some enemy attacks.

Remarkably even this setting may leave some stunned at the challenge Prinny 2 smacks down.

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December 26, 2010

The View From Felghana

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , , , , , — Mister Raroo @ 6:13 pm

Ys The Oath in Felghana Review
There’s a group of lovable ne’er-do-wells that frequent the library I work at. All of them are past high school-age and their ambitions seem to center on engaging in Yu-Gi-Oh! duels, reading manga, and channeling as much time and energy as possible into playing Gaia Online. Though they might not have found their niche as productive members of society yet, the library is like a home to them, and it’s rather heartwarming to know that they’ve found a place where they fit in.

One of the members of this band of misfits always has a tattered PSP in hand, and he often uses our Internet connection to download new games via “alternative” means. Though I normally frown upon piracy, I know that purchasing new games is a luxury he can’t afford, and no degree of lecturing from me is going to stop him.

Once he discovered I was a fellow gamer, he began attempting to talk shop with me on occasion. His social and conversational skills are far from exceptional, and our discussions are usually awkward, though I would argue charmingly so. I know it probably takes a decent amount of bravery on his part to even approach me, so I’ve always tried to be as friendly as possible.

Recently he marched up over to my desk with a massive grin on his face – “Whys,” he cryptically said. I raised an eyebrow to signify that I didn’t quite follow what he was getting at, “Whys,” he repeated, “I just got the new Whys game.” At this point I deciphered that he was talking about Ys.

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December 20, 2010

Review – ClaDun: This is an RPG!

ClaDun This is an RPG
“This is an RPG!” declares ClaDun’s subtitle – and the statement is most definitely warranted. Actually, ClaDun is more of an action RPG but I won’t be a stickler. I will serve you with a warning though: ClaDun is old school in both style and substance. It’s a dungeon crawler that will ask you to spend time grinding. You will have to repeat multiple floors and entire dungeons many, many times, and you WILL die. You will die a lot.

At the game’s onset you are introduced to Pudding, a female wanna-be adventurer, and Soma, her lap dog male companion. Pudding, we discover, is terminally ill with “die laughing disease” and is desperately seeking Arcanus Cella, a mythical realm where you find whatever you are looking for. As it turns out, Pudding is looking for treasure, which is the perfect motive for a dungeon crawler.

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December 17, 2010

Final Fantasy IV Complete

Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection
Jump Festa time brings about a page for Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection. The PSP title that brings together Final Fantasy IV and the WiiWare Final Fantasy IV: The After Years came up earlier in the week, along with word of it including an additional scenario connecting the two games.

The game is dated for Spring 2011 in Japan, and until someone posts a trailer or some art, that’s all I’ve got aside from pointing you toward the page that sparked my fingers to posting in the first place.

November 9, 2010

PSA – Valkyria Chronicles 3 Demo Get

Filed under: News Feed — Tags: , , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 10:12 am

Valkyria Chronicles 3 Demo
I’ve got a hunch that some of you might be up for taking an early spin with The Nameless via the Japanese demo for Valkyria Chronicles 3. I’m hoping to find time to check it out tonight myself, but why should you wait for me to play and blab about it when you can grab it for yourself right now!

March 17, 2010

In Memory Of – My PSP 2000

Filed under: Features — Tags: , , , — Jamie Love @ 12:46 pm

In Memory
Prior to establishing Gamesugar, my PSP-2000 had developed a condition I’ve come to refer to as “PSP Leprosy” – a series of strange blotches staining the screen in permanent places. At the time I was quite concerned that this would cut its working career short, but the handheld soldiered on, ready to meet the new challenges that lay ahead during the year in gaming that is 2010.

However, during a recent adhoc co-op session for Metal Slug Double X, it was clear that my PSP was running much slower than its partner, with significantly longer load-times and finally a screen freezing glitch that forced me to remove the battery to turn it off. Still I held out hope that it might overcome this, only to have the freezing get progressively worse, until I was forced to accept that the patient was lost last night during an attempted revisit of Jeanne D’arc.

It’s impossible not to question why the young are sometimes cut short, long before their time and prior to releases like Valkyria Chronicles 2, Patchwork Heroes, and Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker – potential joys my PSP will never know. It’s true that the candle that burns twice as bright often lasts only half as long, and surely my PSP was able to attend gaming events and sample review code that made its short life far from ordinary.

I don’t expect an answer regarding the wisdom of the great designer in this situation, I can only mourn the passing of a portable device that gave itself in the service of gamers, in the hope of bringing a better level of information and game writing to their lives.

Assuming you’ll indulge me, a list of this PSP’s published service record can be found after the break, a permanent memorial in remembrance of its accomplishments.

Goodnight my first PSP, while I will undoubtedly be forced to replace you with another, you will never be forgotten.

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