GaijinPunch
09-27-2003, 05:46 AM
TGS 2003
Disclaimer: This is no where CLOSE to comprehensive. I only had one day to go, and wanted to see all the interesting stuff, so didn't spend a lot of time at each booth. Basically getting crammed with so much information, I'm drawing a LOT of blanks on names, and games featured at booths right now (especially since I've been out of the news loop for a year or so). So, this is just a broad review that I hope gamers can enjoy. On that note...
Not a bad show if I do say so myself. A little bit foreveryone, except for the girls, of
which there are always a lot, wearing very little. On that note, I think the Xbox Live booth (of which I tried out or looked at zero games) had the nicest girls. The uniforms helped, although I'm thinking of getting a petition together to have all the girls where mandatory butt-floss next year.
So, in no particular order, the things that stuck out.
Sega Booth:
Very nice. Some upcoming Sega Ages games (Afterburner [20% done, but very playable] and Gain Ground [60% complete] look great, but won't be released until next year -- nothing on PSII or IV). Sonic Battle (looks good, but not my cup of tea), Sonic Heroes, looks very good. Basically Sonic Adventure but using multiple characters simultaneously. PSO Episode III -- only saw the promo video as the line to play it was 2 hours long, and the screens were not over most of the 5'3" peoples heads. Not that excited about it anyway. The chic-ninja game (Kuniko or something) does look quite sweet, but it will be dubbed a Shinboi rip-off, for sure. Gungrave OD - I actually waited in line to play this for about 40 minutes, but had to go to the can, so didn't get a chance. I saw enough of it though - it looks nice. One guy I was with played it, and said it was harder than the original. Tetsuwan Atom (GBA) I played for a bit. Rather simple platformer, but shows promise. You run around punching and kicking the bad guys. The PS2 version only had a promo video up, and was mainly cinematic, so the vote isn't in on that one yet. The coolest thing at the booth was a showcase that had 4 Phantasy Star books: A strategy guide, the ever ellusive Fan Memorial and Drama CD which you can see at the site of yours truly, the Phantasy Star Compendium (also on my site) and The People that Made Phantasy Star book (which I own, but haven't posted it on the site). In the case NEXT to that, they had some original sketches (with artists notes and everythign on paper) of the original Phantasy Star characters, and some bad guys. I was tempted to break it open and steal them -- now THOSE are collectibles.
The bad thing about the Sega booth? They, like a lot of other companies think it's good for a selected number of people to play each game for 10-15 minutes, instead of a maximum number play it for 3-5 minutes (Taito doesn't follow this BS). Hence, I waited in line for 40+ minutes for Gungrave, and in the end, just wanted to take a leak and have a smoke. Sonic Heroes was 1 hour, and PSO Episode III was two hours... that's just wrong. No demo handouts either.
Hudson:
The booth for the retro gamer. Remakes of PC Genjin (Bonk), Adventure Island, and Star
Soldier all ready to play, as well as their Smash Brothers clone (with Hudson characters).
Tengai Makkyou II had some playtime on the screen, and looks promising for the
old-schooler.
Konami:
I flew through this booth. Had some decent stuff, but I didn't spend much time here.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater promo video was a big hit.
Capcom:
I'm TOTALLY drawing a blank here... I'll have to check my print ads and get back to you.
Strange.
Square Enix:
Drag On Dragoon (got it already, so didn't pay attention), The Dragonquest game where you
use the sword and slash the bad guys on the screen (someone posted about this earlier --
didn't try it, not interested) Shinyaku Seiken DensetsU (own it... moved on), FFVII DVD
Movie preview - looks good, but I've not played the game yet, Kingdom Hearts II - I hate
Daffy Duck so I stayed away. A brand new game that came out 18 months ago called Final
Fantasy XI... Get over it Square... Final Fantasy 12 (not XII, btw). Just one measly
poster, that says "Information Begins 11.19". So, wait for two months. Had some artwork
on it that told nothing of what it will look like. Oh, yeah, there was a giant Chocobo
and a Dragonquest Slime floating above their booth.
Tecmo:
Ninja Gaiden promo video on a huge screen. This looked nice, but was mainly FMV (and I
didn't see the whole thing). The rest of the booth was a bust.
Disclaimer: This is no where CLOSE to comprehensive. I only had one day to go, and wanted to see all the interesting stuff, so didn't spend a lot of time at each booth. Basically getting crammed with so much information, I'm drawing a LOT of blanks on names, and games featured at booths right now (especially since I've been out of the news loop for a year or so). So, this is just a broad review that I hope gamers can enjoy. On that note...
Not a bad show if I do say so myself. A little bit foreveryone, except for the girls, of
which there are always a lot, wearing very little. On that note, I think the Xbox Live booth (of which I tried out or looked at zero games) had the nicest girls. The uniforms helped, although I'm thinking of getting a petition together to have all the girls where mandatory butt-floss next year.
So, in no particular order, the things that stuck out.
Sega Booth:
Very nice. Some upcoming Sega Ages games (Afterburner [20% done, but very playable] and Gain Ground [60% complete] look great, but won't be released until next year -- nothing on PSII or IV). Sonic Battle (looks good, but not my cup of tea), Sonic Heroes, looks very good. Basically Sonic Adventure but using multiple characters simultaneously. PSO Episode III -- only saw the promo video as the line to play it was 2 hours long, and the screens were not over most of the 5'3" peoples heads. Not that excited about it anyway. The chic-ninja game (Kuniko or something) does look quite sweet, but it will be dubbed a Shinboi rip-off, for sure. Gungrave OD - I actually waited in line to play this for about 40 minutes, but had to go to the can, so didn't get a chance. I saw enough of it though - it looks nice. One guy I was with played it, and said it was harder than the original. Tetsuwan Atom (GBA) I played for a bit. Rather simple platformer, but shows promise. You run around punching and kicking the bad guys. The PS2 version only had a promo video up, and was mainly cinematic, so the vote isn't in on that one yet. The coolest thing at the booth was a showcase that had 4 Phantasy Star books: A strategy guide, the ever ellusive Fan Memorial and Drama CD which you can see at the site of yours truly, the Phantasy Star Compendium (also on my site) and The People that Made Phantasy Star book (which I own, but haven't posted it on the site). In the case NEXT to that, they had some original sketches (with artists notes and everythign on paper) of the original Phantasy Star characters, and some bad guys. I was tempted to break it open and steal them -- now THOSE are collectibles.
The bad thing about the Sega booth? They, like a lot of other companies think it's good for a selected number of people to play each game for 10-15 minutes, instead of a maximum number play it for 3-5 minutes (Taito doesn't follow this BS). Hence, I waited in line for 40+ minutes for Gungrave, and in the end, just wanted to take a leak and have a smoke. Sonic Heroes was 1 hour, and PSO Episode III was two hours... that's just wrong. No demo handouts either.
Hudson:
The booth for the retro gamer. Remakes of PC Genjin (Bonk), Adventure Island, and Star
Soldier all ready to play, as well as their Smash Brothers clone (with Hudson characters).
Tengai Makkyou II had some playtime on the screen, and looks promising for the
old-schooler.
Konami:
I flew through this booth. Had some decent stuff, but I didn't spend much time here.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater promo video was a big hit.
Capcom:
I'm TOTALLY drawing a blank here... I'll have to check my print ads and get back to you.
Strange.
Square Enix:
Drag On Dragoon (got it already, so didn't pay attention), The Dragonquest game where you
use the sword and slash the bad guys on the screen (someone posted about this earlier --
didn't try it, not interested) Shinyaku Seiken DensetsU (own it... moved on), FFVII DVD
Movie preview - looks good, but I've not played the game yet, Kingdom Hearts II - I hate
Daffy Duck so I stayed away. A brand new game that came out 18 months ago called Final
Fantasy XI... Get over it Square... Final Fantasy 12 (not XII, btw). Just one measly
poster, that says "Information Begins 11.19". So, wait for two months. Had some artwork
on it that told nothing of what it will look like. Oh, yeah, there was a giant Chocobo
and a Dragonquest Slime floating above their booth.
Tecmo:
Ninja Gaiden promo video on a huge screen. This looked nice, but was mainly FMV (and I
didn't see the whole thing). The rest of the booth was a bust.