Great Giana Sisters for the DS [Archive]

icbrkr

04-05-2009, 06:02 PM

An unlicensed SMB clone back in the day, it looks like it's been revamped and is.. well licensed now ;)

http://www.giana-sisters.com/giana_sisters_en.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxsVV9a5J9I

I'll take one please.

Diosoth

04-05-2009, 06:21 PM

It came out in Europe and now sits on my flahs card. It doesn't disguise that it's a SMB clone at all and seems that when they paid the licensing fee, Nintendo didn't much care.

Levels are all rather short and the game isn't particularly difficult. Only limited touch screen usage and the mic can be turned off if you want. The mic function can also be worked with the B button.

However, I'd still call it far better than Super Princess Peach was. There's easy, then there's the "you can't lose" design of SPP. I also didn't really care for New SMB either.

They also seem aware that calling it "Giana Sisters" makes no sense because there's only ONE of them, but that didn't stop them from putting both her forms on the box art anyway.

Tupin

04-05-2009, 06:46 PM

I've been looking forward to this one, can't wait...

Princess-Isabela

04-05-2009, 08:07 PM

ahh, memories - loved original on commodore 64 and beloved amiga.
picking this up immediately.

SamuraiSmurfette

04-05-2009, 09:00 PM

OMG was expecting a "April Fools!"

I am very excited now.

Sanriostar

04-06-2009, 12:56 AM

...and we've got our first DS game I'm gonna import...

Princess-Isabela

04-06-2009, 01:12 AM

only thing that stops me from buying it right now is prohibitive $50 tag price + shipping.

zektor

04-06-2009, 01:27 AM

How f'ing ironic! This was the scourge of Nintendo back in the day...now embraced on their own machine! Still, I think it's great! :)

Chemdawg

04-06-2009, 02:03 AM

OMG was expecting a "April Fools!"

I am very excited now.

same here i wasnt sure if they were for real at first

Sudo

04-06-2009, 02:17 AM

Hmm, I need to check this out.

robotriot

04-14-2009, 06:41 AM

I got it today, and I'm really liking it so far. It's got a very old school feel to it, the graphics (and animations) are great. I agree however that it's very much on the easy side so far. The game also features "achievements" of some kind.

boatofcar

04-14-2009, 07:12 AM

How f'ing ironic! This was the scourge of Nintendo back in the day...

Was it, really though? Sure, it may have been on some pirate famicom games, but I don't think anybody bought Great Giana Sisters that didn't already have Super Mario Bros. And if you bought it for C64 or whatever, it wasn't like that really hurt Nintendo.

robotriot

04-14-2009, 08:18 AM

I don't think it was available for any Nintendo system as a pirate, only for C64 and Amiga. It was the gameplay Nintendo had problems with.

boatofcar

04-14-2009, 09:58 AM

It was the gameplay Nintendo had problems with.

Again, did they really? I have a hard time believing Nintendo gave a rat's behind about this game.

blue lander

04-14-2009, 10:06 AM

A lot of people bought NES's in the beginning just so they could play SMB. If they could play something equivalent on their old Commodore 64, that could have meant a lot of lost business for Nintendo.

robotriot

04-14-2009, 10:31 AM

Again, did they really? I have a hard time believing Nintendo gave a rat's behind about this game.

They did, they managed to threaten the publisher Rainbow Arts so that the game couldn't be sold anymore. That's why Great Giana Sisters fetches a lot on ebay nowadays - it's quite rare. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giana_sisters

guitargary75

04-14-2009, 11:01 AM

Is it gonna come out in the states?

robotriot

04-14-2009, 11:08 AM

Apparently the worldwide release is in June.

BTW, shouldn't this topic be moved to Modern Gaming?

zektor

04-15-2009, 03:44 AM

Was it, really though? Sure, it may have been on some pirate famicom games, but I don't think anybody bought Great Giana Sisters that didn't already have Super Mario Bros. And if you bought it for C64 or whatever, it wasn't like that really hurt Nintendo.

Yeah, it was..from the wiki:

"Due to its extreme similarity with Super Mario Bros., Rainbow Arts was forced to withdraw the game from sale almost as soon as it was released and cancel release of the otherwise completed ZX Spectrum version, under pressure from Nintendo's legal arm"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Giana_Sisters

boatofcar

04-15-2009, 08:53 AM

Ok, that's all I wanted to know. Thanks for the info zektor :)

Zap!

01-16-2010, 02:05 AM

This needs to come out for the Wii in all its 2-D glory.

Tupin

01-16-2010, 02:10 AM

Is this going to come out in America?

Bojay1997

01-16-2010, 10:08 AM

Is this going to come out in America?

A couple of weeks ago, one of the marketing guys at the developer said on their forum that they have a US publisher, but no release date yet. Hopefully that means it's still gonna happen.

Tupin

02-25-2011, 07:31 PM

Well, apparently it's been rated by the ESRB, and in fact has already been reviewed in Nintendo Power. Can't find any store selling it yet, when does it come out?

Bojay1997

02-25-2011, 07:45 PM

Well, apparently it's been rated by the ESRB, and in fact has already been reviewed in Nintendo Power. Can't find any store selling it yet, when does it come out?

It was listed for release 02/22/11 by a few sites, but it's Destineer, so I don't think they have hard release dates for any of their stuff. They usually distribute their games in bargain bin variety mixes at larger retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, etc... I have been looking out for it, but nothing yet at any retailers I have visited this week.

Wraith Storm

02-25-2011, 08:12 PM

I only recently got to play the original Giana Sisters on my Amiga. A guy at work sold me a ton of Amiga stuff for a good price and he had a copy of the game in there. I had always heard about the controversy surrounding the game but it was nice to finally give it a go.

When I heard there was a DS remake I thought it was somewhat funny considering the history of the game and Nintendo, but I didn't pay much attention because, most of the time I HATE remakes.

I have to say, the trailer in the OP looks pretty freaking awesome!!! Great music, tons of parallax, silky smooth detailed animations and VERY good pixel art. If the price is right I might just have to pick this up.

j_factor

02-26-2011, 02:33 AM

Three days after its supposed release date and it's still not even in the system at Gamestop and Amazon. Or anywhere else.

PapaStu

02-26-2011, 12:34 PM

Who is supposed to be the US publisher of it? This is a go to the horses mouth kinda thing.

j_factor

02-26-2011, 12:54 PM

It was listed as Destineer. Although, the game doesn't appear on their website.

joshnickerson

03-05-2011, 12:56 PM

I just shot an email about the game off to Destineer's product support, we'll see what comes of that.

Bojay1997

03-07-2011, 05:13 PM

Looks like Destructoid just got a review copy from Destineer. Still no word on the release date though. Has anyone heard back from Destineer?

joshnickerson

03-07-2011, 09:23 PM

Just got an email back today...

Here's what I sent Saturday...
"I have seen this game listed as a February 2011 release with Destineer as the publisher on several news sites, but I have yet to see the game for sale anywhere, or even on your website. So my question is two-fold; is Destineer the publisher of the game, and if so, when will the game be available for purchase?

Thanking you for a prompt reply,
Josh Nickerson"

and here's the reply I received today...

"Yes, Destineer is the publisher for this game.
We are currently working with distributers to get the game into stores.

Destineer/Macsoft Support"

So I guess they're still trying to get the game into stores...

03-11-2011, 11:40 AM

Is this game coming out in the U.S.?

It was reviewed in ninteno power but i
can't find it anywhere except ebay Germany

anyone know?

portnoyd

03-11-2011, 11:54 AM

Scroll down for great success.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=130027&page=2

PapaStu

03-11-2011, 01:28 PM

Scroll down for great success.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=130027&page=2

Merged for greater success

I had also emailed Destineer about the game and I got a similar response about working with distributors to get it into stores.

Bojay1997

03-11-2011, 03:10 PM

Merged for greater success

I had also emailed Destineer about the game and I got a similar response about working with distributors to get it into stores.

I'm really not surprised they are having problems. It's a weird name for a game which has never been officially released in North America previously. I can imagine a buyer or distributor passing on it just because of the name and I was frankly surprised they didn't try to rename it for US release. Not that I condone that behavior, but I can see the business need to do so.

StealthLurker

03-11-2011, 09:23 PM

Is this game coming out in the U.S.?

It was reviewed in ninteno power but i
can't find it anywhere except ebay Germany

anyone know?

I'm located in the states and ordered one from Amazon Germany. Came in the mail about 2 days ago, though haven't cracked it open yet. Was a fan of the ol' Amiga version. The videos of this one on youtube looked pretty damn nice.

.

Bojay1997

05-25-2011, 07:37 PM

Just a quick bump with some news. I just got my latest Cokem distribution listing and they are showing Giana DS for $20 on June 7th. It looks like a few other sites such as Play N Trade and Deep Discount are showing the same week. I hope this means we will finally get this game in the US.

Nz17

05-25-2011, 08:31 PM

Thanks, BoJay. I'd like to finally get this game to see what all the years of buzz about the Amiga original were about. \\^_^/

joshnickerson

05-25-2011, 10:38 PM

Awwwww yeah. 'Bout time. :)

joshnickerson

06-08-2011, 09:51 PM

PapaStu

06-08-2011, 10:37 PM

June 7th would have been ship date, not street. I'd not expect to see it in any stores until tomorrow if we're lucky. Amazon still shows nothing. I think another email to Destineer is in order.

Bojay1997

06-08-2011, 11:35 PM

June 7th would have been ship date, not street. I'd not expect to see it in any stores until tomorrow if we're lucky. Amazon still shows nothing. I think another email to Destineer is in order.

I just checked and it fell off the distributors list that was updated late last week. That either means it got cancelled, delayed or is being sold as a retailer exclusive to Walmart or Best Buy, both of which get Destineer stuff in their dump bin selections. Very curious to see how this all turns out.

Mayhem

06-09-2011, 12:37 AM

Nothing was listed in Nintendo's DS schedule for the rest of the year either...

Zap!

06-10-2011, 03:20 AM

Move it to the Wii u!

PapaStu

06-10-2011, 12:37 PM

Move it to the Wii u!

Uh no.

I've still not heard back from Destineer. Last time I heard from them less than 24 hours after email. Closing in on 2 days now.

Bojay1997

06-10-2011, 12:44 PM

Uh no.

I've still not heard back from Destineer. Last time I heard from them less than 24 hours after email. Closing in on 2 days now.

Have you tried the distributor Cokem? I just did a UPC search and I found a couple of somewhat unreliable vendor sites showing August 2, 2011 as the new date. Of course, the Cokem list hasn't been updated with the new date, so who knows if it's accurate.

Bojay1997

06-20-2011, 07:05 PM

fahlim003

07-19-2011, 04:30 PM

Looks like Amazon now has a placeholder for Giana with an August 2nd release date.

http://www.amazon.com/Giana-Sisters-Action-Adventure-Video/dp/B0055S84EG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1308611055&sr=1-2
Did this link work at one point because it's not working for me now. I bet this game never comes out in North America, sadly. All the same, August 2nd is just around the corner so hopefully something materializes.

Bojay1997

07-19-2011, 05:51 PM

Did this link work at one point because it's not working for me now. I bet this game never comes out in North America, sadly. All the same, August 2nd is just around the corner so hopefully something materializes.

They moved it. http://www.amazon.com/Giana-Sisters-Action-Adventure-Video/dp/B0056LJ05Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1311112112&sr=1-1

Having said that, both CDWow and Deep Discount are still showing an August 2, 2011 release date, although they are rarely accurate. I suspect if this does get released over here, it will be in those front of the store bins/displays at Best Buy or Target closer to the holidays as that's how Destineer typically sells its DS and Wii stuff.

portnoyd

07-19-2011, 05:56 PM

Time to port it to the 3DS? :P

fahlim003

07-21-2011, 11:07 PM

They moved it. http://www.amazon.com/Giana-Sisters-Action-Adventure-Video/dp/B0056LJ05Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1311112112&sr=1-1

Having said that, both CDWow and Deep Discount are still showing an August 2, 2011 release date, although they are rarely accurate. I suspect if this does get released over here, it will be in those front of the store bins/displays at Best Buy or Target closer to the holidays as that's how Destineer typically sells its DS and Wii stuff.
Thanks for that. If your idea comes to fruitition I wouldn't mind - I'm actually interested in getting this on the cheap for a buddy of mine so if it's destined to bargain bins I'm all for it.

Suikoman444

07-28-2011, 11:58 AM

Looks like it's out in PAL regions. Found a review for it:
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/72/

They seemed to really like it.

Edit: whoops, guess you guys already knew that. Regardless, the review is nice.

Scissors

10-19-2011, 04:56 PM

I noticed this is now showing in stock at newegg.com. There's also an American eBay seller that has a bunch. They both have a stock photo with the European box art, but it seems unlikely that Newegg would suddenly have a bunch of out of print European DS games. They also both list the publisher as Destineer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16878160084
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GIANA-SISTERS-NDS-DSi-3DS-2011-3428-/360397286528

theclaw

10-19-2011, 05:07 PM

Huh, OK. Hoping it's legit. I should be getting one as a gift or something soon.

portnoyd

10-19-2011, 05:28 PM

Ordered from newegg. Let's see what happens.

Cornelius

10-19-2011, 05:58 PM

By way of the game's forums, it looks like this place has it, too: http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8438561

fahlim003

10-19-2011, 06:38 PM

Risen from the grave. Nice to see it eventually was released - perhaps I'll finally end up grabbing my buddy a copy for the holidays.

joshnickerson

10-19-2011, 08:40 PM

I had completely given up hope on this one. Now I wonder, should I snatch it online now, or wait for it to show up in stores?

PapaStu

10-20-2011, 12:00 AM

I'd given up hope too, especially after Destineer never got back to me that second (and third) times I contacted them.

I'm going to get one off NewEgg.

portnoyd

10-24-2011, 04:54 PM

IT'S THE REAL DEAL, FOLKS.

US Version, just got it in from Newegg.

Sweet.

If this doesn't make its way to major retailers/Amazon, we may have a Ninja Five-O situation on our hands here.

fahlim003

10-24-2011, 04:56 PM

If this doesn't make its way to major retailers/Amazon, we may have a Ninja Five-O situation on our hands here.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KHvGKN4z3TA/ThZxVXY_jHI/AAAAAAAAAug/1Om_ic-V5Oc/s1600/DarthVaderNooo.jpg
Don't jinx it! I haven't bought my reasonably priced copy yet!

PapaStu

10-24-2011, 10:08 PM

Don't jinx it! I haven't bought my reasonably priced copy yet!

It's 20 bucks! Get your ass on it! N A O W!

Mayhem

10-25-2011, 12:36 AM

I already have the PAL version, I wonder if it's worth buying this, although most of my DS games are American. Still, the PAL version is sealed, so it still has worth...

Nz17

10-25-2011, 05:42 AM

I already have the PAL version, I wonder if it's worth buying this, although most of my DS games are American. Still, the PAL version is sealed, so it still has worth...

Open the likely more common "PAL" version and play that and then save a sealed copy of the likely rarer "NTSC" version. Your future self will thank you.

(Editor's note: handheld games do not use NTSC, PAL, or SECAM unless designed for television display. This is Mr. Pedantic; good night.)

RPG_Fanatic

10-25-2011, 08:59 AM

IT'S THE REAL DEAL, FOLKS.

US Version, just got it in from Newegg.

Sweet.

If this doesn't make its way to major retailers/Amazon, we may have a Ninja Five-O situation on our hands here.

I just ordered it from Newegg. Now when or if it shows up do I open it to play it.

portnoyd

10-25-2011, 09:02 AM

Buy 2. :P

Mayhem

10-25-2011, 10:53 AM

(Editor's note: handheld games do not use NTSC, PAL, or SECAM unless designed for television display. This is Mr. Pedantic; good night.)
Oh I know, don't worry... just using anything but PAL/NTSC confuses some poor people :p

MarioMania

10-25-2011, 01:50 PM

Just say Euro version, not PAL..PAL/NTSC dosn't count on hanhelds

Nz17

10-25-2011, 04:15 PM

Just say Euro version, not PAL..PAL/NTSC dosn't count on hanhelds

True enough, but then again some people include Australia and New Zealand when they mention the "PAL" release of a game. Such is the case with the Sonic Generations Collector's Edition. Why, SEGA, why couldn't you make it release here too?!

Back on topic: I haven't played the DS version (yet ;)) but I have played the iOS (iPhone) version and I must say that it was pretty fun! I actually enjoyed it more than the Giana Sisters homebrew sequel called Giana's Return (http://www.gianas-return.de/). That's really saying something for an iOS game with software-based touch screen buttons! Usually that control scheme does not work very well, but due to the good implementation of the controls and layout, the high-quality nature of the game (and it being more forgiving than the original I would bet) is quite appealing. This definitely includes the gameplay and visuals! As the DS version acted as the base for the iOS one, I am eagerly anticipating playing that one when I can.

theclaw

10-27-2011, 07:18 AM

Mine arrived too. It came sealed with the GBA slot case design. Interesting, I thought Nintendo plans to phase that out?

BenG76

10-31-2011, 09:06 PM

Just ordered this today from newegg. Hopefully they still have plenty of copies. My order went through so far. Ive never dealt with this company before are they reliable?

PentiumMMX

10-31-2011, 11:35 PM

Ive never dealt with this company before are they reliable?

I used Newegg when I was building my gaming PC back in March, and I had no problems receiving my stuff in a timely manner. So yeah, they are quite reliable.

So, I ordered this game myself. Never played the original (Then again, the only C64 games I've played are the two Doctor Who games and International Ninja Rabbits), but as soon as I heard it was a Mario clone, I was sold.

PapaStu

11-01-2011, 12:45 AM

Newegg is a fine site, i've used them a bunch of times over the years. They tend to have LE's still available well after other sites pull them down, as most people don't think that they sell game stuff, but that they sell only computer things, which is nice for me.