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Due to my Net problem, there's nothing really new, so to speak, to tell you.
Mega Celebration. Capcom will release next year on GameCube a compilation with all the 8 Megaman published on NES, 2 unreleased Japanese arcade games and some extras in a Sonic Mega Collection's style, to celebrate the blue robot 20th anniversary.
Megaman X on GameCube! Fans haven't been really happy with the only Megaman available on GameCube, Megaman Network Transmission. You could bet Capcom wouldn't leave them with a bad taste in the mouth, and indeed, they just announced at the TGS a new Megaman. Unfortunately for the strict fans, it is not once again a typical Megaman action game but a RPG ! Well, why not. It's starring Megaman X, the evolved version of Megaman seen in some great Super Nintendo titles. The game is called Megaman X Commad Mission and is coming in 2004.
Soul Sold. Of all the versions of Soul Calibur II, the GameCube is for once the best selling of the three in USA. Hurrah !
$99.99. New GameCube price in USA to make the GameCube highly competitve during the Christmas holidays. You know what you have to to... no, you don't ? Buy more game of course, because you surely already own a GameCube. Don't you ? DON'T YOU !?
No 1942. Nintendo Europe clarified that footage of Electronic Arts' Battlefield 1942 seen in the Game Conference in Germany was indeed a mistake and that the game is not coming on GameCube.
Atari. Atari, formerly known as Infogrames-Atari, has decided to cancel some GameCube titles, including Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
Updated with nothing marvelous: Mario Golf ranks the highest while Zoids VS II ranks the lowest.
Until further notice, all the news to be published will be done so offline (so you can't read them and you can't read this yet, how funny). My Internet connection has been unavailable for a week and there's nothing I can do at this time. Hopefully, next week everything will be back in order (with a few surprises).
So, what happened to Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life ? Number 5 you say ? Poor sales you say ? oh... Head to Japan Weekly for the lowdown this week on Harvest Moon and all the others !
The Key of Avalon is an arcade RPG game from Sega developed by Hitmaker and using real cards. So far nothing special, except... that the game is developed on Triforce, the Nintendo-Namco-Sega arcade system, which is also a way to ease the conversion of games from arcade to GameCube and vice versa. So, it wouldn't be surprising that in a near future Sega announces The Key of Avalon on GameCube. Besides, the GC would be perfect for it: the e-Card Reader e+ is the only device that could make the game possible to play as it requires to read some real cards.
Gotcha ! Capcom's Gotcha Force will be released on November 27 in Japan and looks even more promising.
NOL. Nintendo chose America On Line to become the official provider for the GameCube online. Nintendo insists that this agreement is not an indication of a change of policy toward online, so do not expect any new specific games. It seems it will mostly help Nintendo to promote their products through AOL services. Just like what Microsoft has been doing on MSN since their console exists.
Sega Spoiler. About Billy Hatcher. Strange Sega. When you have a nice surprise, you generally keep it otherwise it's not a surprise anymore. Well, Sega didn't. They fully unveiled that Sonic appears in Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg with several pictures and detailed explanations. Sounds heavy, huh ? It's easy to see why though. Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg does look like a promising title but seemingly many stupid players must be horrified by the nice looking graphics. Sure it looks childish and so does the title but is that a problem ? Does it make the game less appealing and interesting ? On the contrary, but try to explain this to some people, it's like to try swimming in quicksands. So, Sega, probably fearing the game is not going to get good sales and the release date coming nearer, thought that they needed to give it a boost and unveil the carrot for the donkeys, the Link of Soul Calibur II: a popular character which might make stupid-player wants more to buy that game than before even if he doesn't give a damn about the qualities of the game itself. Ah, but who cares... as long as more people will buy Billy Hatcher and the Giant we will be happy here, at Samurai Nintendo, coz originality must prevail.
Eidos out and in. This week Eidos said they wouldn't make games for GameCube anymore. This week Eidos said they would still make games for GameCube case by case. In other words, Eidos just said nothing because so far that's what they've been doing for the GameCube. We wish them the worst and multiple failures equal to their lack of interest for Nintendo consoles.
Zelda bonus disk again ? According to Planet GameCube who is quoting another site that I don't remember the name and never mind because PGC crashed my computer two times thanks to their damn commercials so I won't go back there again, so, yeah, according to this source, another Zelda bonus disk is on the way and should be released at the end of this year containing Zelda II (NES), Ocarina of Time (again) and Majora's Mask (N64). This really sounds like a joke. But well, it might become true because even the worst jokes become true.
Call this a coincidence, Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life has been released today in Japan and we have 15 new screenshots for you. Don't forget to come to check next thursday how well the game did in the chart in Japan Weekly. If you are eagerly awaiting to get this game in American or European version, we sadly don't have any news regarding its release. It's been announced for the end of the year or the beginning of next one which is quite vague. According to different sources, it might still come out at the end of the year in USA, but in 2004 in Europe. Be patient for now and enjoy these screenshots:
» Preview of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
More than one disappoitment awaits. Check out the latest Japanese sales in our Japan Weekly section.
Tales of Symphonia has been released in Japan and has entered the Japanese chart at number 1 spot, check about it and the other games in our Japan Weekly section. Here's the latest UK top 20, Product Number 03 made it at the top spot, however it did not enter the top 20 multi-formats saturated with crappy PS2 games:
01- P.N.03
02- Star Wars Rogue leader
03- Lord of the Rings: The Two Tower
04- Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
05- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
06- Medal of Honor: Frontline
07- FIFA 2003
08- Sonic Mega Collection
09- James Bond 007: Nightfire
10- Skies of Arcadia Legends
11- Burnout 2: Point of Impact
12- Wario World
13- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
14- Enter the Matrix
15- Star Wars Bounty Hunter
16- Super Smash Bros. Melee
17- Star Wars: Clone Wars
18- Metroid Prime
19- Dead to Rights
20- WWE Wrestlemania X8
Metroid Prime is considered by many as the best GameCube title of the console. Samurai Nintendo's review might come as a surprise and possibly as a matter of anger for some, but we don't exactly share that view. However brilliant the game is in some areas, it is not flawless and several of its characteristics did not satisfy us or entertain us as much as it did for other players. Opinions and tastes are numerous, different, and interesting as such, and so we invite you to read a different point of view on this game. Some of our views might be strongly opposite to common opinions including to our readers', for instance regarding the graphics. Metroid Prime is a very good game, but not a game that we can praise more than for why we actually liked it.
» Review of Metroid Prime
Samurai Nintendo is facing some unexplained slowdowns and stalls at the moment, preventing the main page to load correctly. I do not think it comes from my excellent host Neopages, but rather from external scripts. Therefore, I removed all the ads plus the counter and the poll. It seems the loading finally worked again when the poll was removed.
Huuuuge, it's a huuuuuge update ! Along with the addition of 2 previews and more than 100 brand new screenshots for 10 upcoming games, you will find a detailed list of the latest major GameCube news below as well as new comments from readers, an updated Japanese planning, updated international release dates and other various little things. Don't forget you can still buy or pre-order games through our site on Amazon UK and Play-Asia. Have a nice visit on Samurai Nintendo !
16 new screenshots straight from the ECTS have been added to the preview of what's going to be THE game of the end of the year in Japan, US and Europe. Once again feel free to pre-order yours by following our links to Amazon.
» Preview of Mario Kart: Double Dash !!
On Amazon UK, Killer 7 is set to be released on November 14. Hard to believe. Until we know the truth, ponder on these 11 sexy screenshots.
» Preview of Killer 7
It's unsure if the game is going to be released in 2003. According to the number of hits coming this Christmas and the status of development of Twin Snakes, we somewhat hope no. 14 screenshots for those who will fail killing time till then.
» Preview of The Twin Snakes
With the release dates for Made in Wario Cube, Gotcha Force, R: Racing Evolution, Wrestlemania 19 and Pokemon Colosseum.
LAN. Local Area Network, a new way to play on your GameCube with friends. You know it's coming, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! was the first game announced with it. Now, during Leipzig Game Conference, it's been confirmed that two more games will use this interesting feature: 1080 Avalanche and Starfox 2. Kirby Air Ride was supposed to join this growing family too, but we're not sure about it yet. In Japan at least, the game is not compatible.
Made in Wario. Another surprise around the time of the Game Conference was the announcement that Made in Wario was coming to GameCube. Not necessarily a good surprise, sure the game is nice on Game Boy Advance, but once again Nintendo disappoints by lacking of originality and bringing a title released before. Besides, it seems the development time has been amazingly quick, the game will be released before the end of ther year, on October 17 in Japan and in November in the west ! We'll see soon enough if our fears are justified.
Mario Kart's bonus. Well, of course you know the famous bonus blocks in Mario Kart. This one bonus has nothing to do with it though. Nintendo plans to release a bonus disk along with Mario Kart Double Dash. The disk will contain demos of upcoming games and maybe more. However, it seems it will not contain Mario Kart 64 as some people thought and that's a good choice. GameCube titles don't need to be sold with a Nintendo 64 game to be enjoyed as they should.
Battlefield 42 ? The German GC has been more interesting in many aspects than the British ECTS. One more surprise came from a video, which briefly showed samples of EA's Battlefield 1942 and the Sims 2. Are these games really coming to GameCube ? This is unconfirmed so far, Marko Hein from Nintendo Europe hasn't been able to tell it in a Cube-Europe interview.
Tengai Mayko II - Manjimaru. Aka Far East of Eden II. We'll have some pictures soon, in the meanwhile, here's the Japanese box (image removed). No date and no confirmation of a release outside Japan (Far East of Eden Zero has not been released outside Japan if I remember correctly). The Japan release is set on September 25.
The Last Chance of Animal Forest. The last chance for Animal Crossing to be released in Europe could be in spring of next year. In a surprising move, Nintendo told the e-Card Reader will be released at that time while it was first said it wouldn't come at all. The rumor has it that it could come along Animal Forest and, most likely, Animal Forest e+, the latest version released only in Japan so far. Two interesting elements to add to this piece of news is that Animal Forest is going to be released on October in Australia, where games are PAL like in Europe, and that Nintendo is suing some UK importers of Animal Forest. So, maybe Nintendo files a lawsuit against the importers because they will release the game soon in Europe, only next year because of the translation delay (not required in Australia; it all makes sense !). And as we all know Nintendo wouldn't miss an opportunity to make money: it'd be really crazy if they didn't bring Animal Forest in here.
Tales of Symphonia. Namco's first RPG for GameCube has been realesed last friday in Japan, we will give you its sales result on thursday. The game was highly praised by both Famitsu (9,8,9,8-34/40), Famitsu GameCube (9,8,10,10-37/40) and Dengeki (9,10,9,10-38/40).
Phoenix Reborns From Ashes. According to Atsushi Inaba, interviewed by Cube Europe, Dead Phoenix hasn't been cancelled, not even announced to be. Seemingly we shouldn't trust the release planning of Capcom from which the game has been removed. So in the end Dead Phoenix doesn't even need to bother being reborn from his ashes, it's not even dead.
A press release with the sense of humour. Generally we don't publish press release straight on Samurai N, we're not that lazy, this time we'll make an exception because this press release from Nintendo about Mario Party 5 is nicely humoristic and makes a funny use of the political context in USA.
MARIO PARTY 5 PRESS RELEASE:
"LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 2003-- Video game pioneer Mario disappointed voters across the state of California today, confirming he will not be a candidate in the upcoming gubernatorial recall election.
Instead, he disclosed plans to focus on furthering the development of the Mario Party, a well-established, alternative grassroots movement for people who want to see real action from their candidates.
"The California recall election is too much of a circus, even for me, and I live in a world filled with Koopa Troopas and man-eating plants. Multi-player is good -- but this election is over the top," says Mario. "I definitely would have been the most animated candidate but, even in times of deep budget deficits, saving princesses has to take priority."
Beginning Nov. 11, Mario will launch the next stage in the evolution of the Mario Party. His first act will be restoring peace to Dream World, just one plank in a long list of guarantees in the Mario Party 5 platform. Running exclusively on the Nintendo GameCube(TM) ticket, Mario and trusted cabinet members Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, Luigi, Toad and others will take his message to the streets, campaigning non-stop across all-new game boards and through more than 60 free new mini-games.
However, Mario remains guarded about rumors of a Presidential bid in 2004.
"I've spent my life collecting coins, leaping over obstacles and fighting bosses, so obviously I have the necessary experience," says Mario. "But as all game players know, everything else must be put on hold until the limitless fun of Mario Party 5 is explored. Once that's done, I will make a decision."
Since breaking onto the scene in the classic 1981 arcade game Donkey KongŪ, Mario has successfully jumped between console, arcade and hand-held systems, starring in games that have sold more than 165 million copies.
Like one of the better-known gubernatorial candidates, Mario is also a media celebrity and was born overseas. If he had continued with the race, Mario would have been one of the youngest gubernatorial candidates in California history. Because he dropped out of the election, Mario will not be disclosing his income or financial holdings, revealing only that he has enough money to buy all the Koopa shells he needs. Koopa shell options immediately jumped in after-hours market trading."
Paper Mario was recently announced to come on GameCube. It's suspected that the game develoment has just started and information about it are scarce not to say equal to naught. Speculating is a weird but amusing science so we'd like to share one hypothesis about the game with our readers. The basis for this hypothesis being non-existant maybe it would be wiser to consider it merely as a dream... The Game Designer Studio (makers of Final Fantasy) is supposed to be working on a new project entitled Kechirase Caravan Road. It wouldn't be impossible however that they are working on 2 projects, the other one being Paper Mario or rather, a new Super Mario RPG ! After all, we got Final Fantasy back on a Nintendo console thanks to them; and the three most prestigious Square's titles on Super NES along with FF were Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. The latter being only possible with a Square-Nintendo agreement. Besides, just at the time The Game Designer Studio is free to start working on another game, this Paper Mario is announced, only a coincidence ? To be honest, the original makers of Paper Mario, Intelligent Systems seems to be free too (since April). And their current project is unknown, so maybe it'll just be a Paper Mario Cube after all, but who knows, who knows... ! You Super Mario RPG fans up there can continue to pray this hypothesis comes true.
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Some news
Japan GameCube Ranking
Samurai N Offline...
The Key of Avalon
15 New Screenshots for Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
Japan and UK Charts Updated
