Super Streetfighter IV 3D Producer Interview

Ono spills the goods on the upcoming SSFIV portable edition.

Gamespot recently did an interview with Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono on the upcoming Super Streetfighter IV 3D Edition on the Nintendo 3DS. Check it out for some of Ono’s insights on this new game as well as quite a bit of cool footage. This is one of the reasons why I’m probably going to get myself a 3DS when it comes out in a few months. Great fighting games on the go are awesome.

DOA Dimensions: Samus NOT Playable

Players looking forward to a certain space bounty hunter kicking ass in the upcoming Dead or Alive: Dimensions on the Nintendo 3DS are going to be disappointed. Although a recent trailer hinted at Samus Aran being a hidden playable fighter in the upcoming 3D fighter, it has now been confirmed that this won’t be the case. According to this article by Eurogamer, Team NInja has said that while Samus will appear to help the player (most probably by taking out the offending Ridley), she won’t actually join in the roster to fight. She will, however, need to be unlocked in some way.

This is, quite frankly, pretty lame. A lot of players interpreted the trailer as hinting that Samus was playable- I myself think that having all this fanfare for the Metroid connection would indeed be warranted by a playable character and not, in this case, a part of the stage. Anyway, too bad. This won’t break the game, of course, but it will leave quite a few players out there with a bad taste in their mouths and DOAD it’s first Major FAIL.

Hands-on with 3DS Fighting Games: SSFIV 3D and DOA Dimensions

Here are a couple of hands-on demo vids of two of the Nintendo 3DS’s beat ’em up titles. The first is Tecmo-Koei’s Dead or Alive: Dimensions, which has been described as doing the 3D effects subtly but excellently. Even from the cam vid, you can tell the animation is pretty smooth and fluid, as DOA has always been.
I am noting though with annoyance DOAD still has my pet peeve from DOA4- the fact that you don’t really seem to be able to KO anyone in the game anymore, just get them GROGGY. BAH.
Anyway, that irritation aside, nice points go to Ayane’s cute Tengu mask. When, oh when are you going to catch up to the rest of the beat ’em up world and implement Character Customization, DOA?

Some Ayane action on the 3DS.

The second video is for Super Streetfighter IV 3D, which is being demoed by Capcom’s Seth Killian. As with DOA, SSFIV on the 3DS looks spot-on perfect, even from the cam view. It also comes with the alternate outfits (like Chun-li’s leggy dress) which is niceness. Being able to assign specific moves or even combos to the buttons on the lower screen is excellent.

Seth Killian, Chun-li and Makoto demo SSFIV 3D.

I have to say though, as nice as these vids are (care of Kotaku), I have to note with irritation at how the game reporter knew pretty much crap about fighting games- even the big, long-standing ones- and apparently cannot be bothered to know even their basics. Not only that, they seem to revel in their ignorance. Game reporters, games are your job, dammit; be informed. Also, making fun of gamers or acting all Holier-than-thou is also not a plus… it just makes you sound like a Used Car Salesman- you just know they’re up to no good or lying through their teeth.
It’s no wonder these days, fighting game devs like Ono and Harada are heading to Twitter and Facebook to disseminate news to their fanbase and consumers directly, via a P2P approach, rather than going to these uncaring gamesites. MEH. Enough ranting. Moving on.

SSFIV 3D is out in March 27 along with the 3DS. DOAD should be out shortly afterwards. Fighting game awesomeness in your pocket, right there.

Dead or Alive X Metroid?

This short spot adds a new dimension to the fighting…

An intriguing minute of gameplay above from the upcoming Dead or Alive Dimensions for the Nintendo 3DS. Players will notice that the stage where ninja warriors Kasumi and Ryu Hayabusa are fighting is straight from sci-fi adventure Metroid, complete with obnoxious boss alien Ridley providing what may be the most dangerous Danger Zone yet in a DOA game. But that’s not all- the fight tantalizingly ends with a morph ball dropping onto the stage… will a certain galactic bounty hunter be showing off her hand-to-hand fighting abilities to the DOA crew? Team Ninja, the makers of DOA, are also the devs behind the most recent Metroid chapter, Metroid: Other M… certainly a guest appearance by Samus Aran wouldn’t be too hard.

Anyway, Ridley actually attacking the fighters might have been a cool idea ON PAPER, but from here it looks pretty damn irritating- really, do you think players will enjoy losing a close fight because of Azazel’s snotty little brother there? Hopefully there will be a way to get rid of the winged douche or at least avoid the attacks (which Ryu apparently couldn’t do). Anyway, an appearance by Miss Aran, preferably in her Zero suit, would be most appreciated. DOA Dimensions isn’t part of the 3DS launch lineup, but it will be out shortly after the March launch of the portable.

SSFIV 3D Edition US Trailers

The English version of the SSFIV 3D trailer.

Start collecting those quarters! Nintendo today announced that their 3D-enabled handheld, the Nintendo 3DS, will be out for the US in 2 months on March 27. The portable will launch with a $249 price tag, which is kinda like how much the Nintendo 64 went for years ago. Among the many launch titles is Super Streetfighter IV 3D Edition, which will offer online play and a cool new ‘3D’ over-the-shoulder perspective for gameplay, which you can check out in the video below. The price may be a bit hefty, but the 3DS is surely gonna sell through the roof. It certainly has a pretty strong lineup of games, with Resident Evil titles, Ridge Racer, DOA Dimensions, Blazblue Continuum Shift 2 and more on the way. I have a strong feeling I’ll be plunking down money for this one… if I find one before it sells out, that is.

SSFIV 3D gameplay on the 3DS.

Resident Evil 3DS Gameplay Demo Presentation

Survival Horror takes a New Dimension…

Here’s more footage from the Nintendo World 2011 show featuring the upcoming 3DS portable, this time with Capcom’s Resident Evil titles. Resident Evil: Revelations takes place on a ship with players taking control of heroine Jill Valentine (now back to her regular hair color). As I understand it, the game is adapting the original, suspense-filled and atmospheric gameplay of the first games, rather than the run-and-gun action of the more recent REs. Very nice, and the graphics certainly look awesome- Jill’s cute butt is certainly admiringly rendered. Heheh. Really though, don’t these guys know about head shots? Why the hell are they aiming at crotches so often..?
Anyway, those wanting the more action-oriented flavor of RE5 should be interested in Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, which stars both Chris and Claire Redfield in some high-powered Majini-fighting action adapted from the original mini-game mode on RE5.

Anyway, the RE games look like more reasons to get a 3DS, darn it. The portable is out this February.

Super Streetfighter IV 3D Live Presentation

It’s SSFIV… in 3D!!! OOOH!

Here’s a quite lengthy presentation at the recent Nintendo World 2011 show with the upcoming 3DS, with Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono demonstrating Super Streetfighter IV 3D for the audience. The whole vid is in Japanese but you don’t need to understand the audio to appreciate the game stuff shown. The ‘3D view’ of the game gives a nice, if kinda disorienting view of the game, giving a slightly diagonal line of sight to the action and showing a bit of depth. I wish the console version of SSFIV had this option, it’s pretty cool. Aside from that I guess Ono-san talks about the online features and in-game perks, which really shouldn’t matter that much to fans as this is probably already SOLD to them by now. Yeah, I’m thinking of getting a 3DS, which has a hefty amount of fighters coming to it. We’ll see how it goes come February. For now, check out SSFIV in 3D!

Dead or Alive: Dimensions Trailer!

The DOA Saga Continues on the 3DS.

Here’s a pretty lengthy trailer to the upcoming beat ’em up on Nintendo’s new portable, Dead or Alive Dimensions on 3DS. The spot shows off quite a few intriguing things. The roster looks pretty big, with what appears to be everyone from the previous chapters appearing in fine form, including longtime competitors like Leifang and Jann-Lee, as well as DOA4 additions like Mariposa and Kokoro. The characters appeared in different outfits, but these are probably alternate costumes instead of the character customization found in newer fighters.
The DOA saga looks like it will be retold in CG form via cinematics from the previous games, though it looks like an all-new and pretty intriguing story will be told via real-time cutscenes and includes quite a bit of drama and high-octane action. Apparently series’ original bad boy Raidou is back and causing trouble again, forcing the estranged sisters Kasumi and Ayane to work together to fight him.

The trailer goes on to show the return of tag-team combat, what appears to be online play (or at least local multiplayer and match-finding) and ‘digital control’, which means you use the 3DS’s second screen to tap commands easily (where’s the fun in that?). There should be a lot of fight in this comeback for Tecmo’s bouncy brawler. What can I say? I’m really excited with the trailer, as it shows as much new stuff as it does rehashed video. With this and Super Streetfighter IV 3DS coming, seems like I have a pretty good reason to invest in a new portable. Dammit.

DOA Dimensions has been given a March 24 release in Japan.

More About Dead or Alive: Dimensions!

DOAD’s Chronicle Mode promises education, drama!

Adriasang has just posted a cool article about the next DOA game, Dead or Alive: Dimensions for the 3DS. There will be a Chronicle Mode which will serve as both a type of tutorial as well as bring the players up to speed on the past events in the DOA storyline. Background characters to the game’s storyline will supposedly appear: Shiden, Kasumi’s father and head of the Mugen-Tenshin Ryu ninja clan, Fame Douglas, Helena’s father and head of the DOATEC committee, and Donovan, the dastardly doctor behind all the evil doings at the corporation.

Also revealed are other playable fighters- aside from the so-far seen ninja characters of Kasumi, Ayane, Ryu Hayabusa and Hayate, the roster will include Bayman, Hitomi, Christie and Helena.

Helena and Christie finally have a chance to settle their differences on the 3DS.

Also revealed was how the 3DS’ second screen would figure into gameplay. Apparently the lower screen would display directions for performing special attacks, and beginners can even directly tap these commands onscreen to actually perform them.
I’ve been a DOA fan for years, and I’d really love to support the return of this fighting title back from oblivion. It’s been a while, and other fighters like Tekken 6, SCIV and VF5 make DOA look pretty dated. The 3DS title doesn’t look like it will be the chapter for a significant refresh of the series, but it should be a nice bit to remind players that once upon a time, there was another player in the beat ’em up arena, from Tecmo. Here’s to Team Ninja getting busy and productive then.

Dead or Alive: Dimensions Trailer

The first new DOA fighter appears on the stage!

Here’s the first trailer video for the upcoming 3DS fighter, Dead or Alive: Dimensions. As seen in the stills so far, the only confirmed characters yet are the ninja fighters- Ryu Hayabusa, Kasumi, Hayate and Ayane. Evil Raidou, the boss from the original DOA, is back and seems even stronger than he ever was before. Tag Team play also seems to be back. So far, nothing truly new (aside from Raidou’s Kamehameha thing and Kasumi’s kinda frumpy new outfit)… hopefully we’ll see more fighters, fight mechanics and better duds if this is thinking to be a challenger in the present fighting genre. More as we get it then.