This Week in Famitsu

Welcome to the first of what will be a regular series here at Level Up Video Games, known as “This Week in Famitsu.” For those of you that don't know, Famitsu is the most popular gaming magazine here in Japan. Every week they put out an issue well in excess of a 100 pages, and they have been doing this for 25 years! Famitsu is THE gaming magazine of Japan, and is highly regarded around the world as well. Each week we will give you a little peak into the gaming scene here in Japan by offering up a small sample of what Famitsu is talking about.

WEEKLY FAMITSU #1175

Cover Story

This week's Famitsu is focusing its attention on Bandai/Namco Games, with a 50 page retrospective on the two companies' (recently merged into one company) most memorable and popular series. Did you know that both companies got their start in the mid-1950s manufacturing small coin-operated children's rides?

Over the years they have been responsible for creating and publishing such popular series as: Pac-Man, Gundam, The Tales of ~ RPG Series, Super Robot Battle, Tekken, Ridge Racer, Ace Combat, Taiko Drum Master, Dragonball/Dragonball Z, Soul Calibur, .dot Hack, Naruto, Katamari Damacy, XenoSaga, & Tamagotchi. However, the three most popular of those series here in Japan are: Gundam, Tales of ~, and Super Robot Battle.

Did you know that since the days of the NES there have been over 160 different Gundam games released for EVERY SINGLE console, EXCEPT the Sega Genesis (even the Virtual Boy got one). They even made a Gundam RPG for the NES! While not nearly as old as Final Fantasy, the Tales of ~ series is about to see its thirteenth entry released with Tales of Xillia for the PS3 this September; however those twelve games have actually been released on different consoles over 25 times!? The Super Robot Battle series, one that has seen only 3 releases in America, has over 50 releases here in Japan!

Featured Games

Kojima Productions: Famitsu takes a great look at all the cool features the upcoming 3DS version of Metal Gear Solid 3 will incorporate: touch-screen map/item interface, motion controlled gyroscopic sneaking, and custom camouflage via the 3DS camera. In addition, the article also talks about the upcoming PS3 HD re-releases of both MGS2 & MGS3, MGS Peace Walker, and Zone of the Enders 1 & 2.

Dragon's Crown (PS3/Vita): The very first HD game from VanillaWare, the developer of both Odin's Sphere and Murumasa. It is a 2D action-RPG with hand-drawn graphics and four-player online co-op for BOTH the PS3 and Vita. The game will have simplistic controls, deep character customization, and six different classes: Fighter, Amazon, Dwarf (Heavy Fighter), Sorceress, Wizard, & Elf (Archer).

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS): A look into how the 3DS's features have been used and incorporated into this gaming classic. The article also offers a refresher course on all the characters from Ocarina of Time in case you might have forgotten who the players are. 

In addition, Famitsu also polled hundreds of it's readers to vote on their favorite Zelda game of all time. Here are the results:

10. Oracle of Ages/Seasons (GBC)

9. Link's Adventure (NES)

8. Spirit Tracks (NDS)

7. Link's Awakening (GB)

6. Twilight Princess (Wii)

5. Wind Waker (GC)

4. Link to the Past (SNES)

3. Legend of Zelda (NES)

2. Majora's Mask (N64)

1. Ocarina of Time (N64)

Weird Games Found Only in Japan

Dancing Eyes (PS3): This is ostensibly a puzzle/action game coming out for the PS3 in Japan, where you watch girls...dance. You can dress the girls up in different outfits, and one 'minigame' involves peering through the clothes of the girl, x-ray style, at their lingerie. Another 'puzzle' involves matching up lines and blocks on a girl's shirt over her chest to get a.... special item. We were too scared to read further.

Hardware Sales: Week of 5/23-5/29

• PSP – 34,253 units
• 3DS – 25, 096 units
• PS3 – 15,842 units
• Wii – 7,552 units
• NDS – 6,389 units
• 360 – 1,751 units
• PS2 – 1,094 units

Top 5 Selling Games: Week of 5/23-5/29

• One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP (3DS) – 76,578 units
• Troy (PS3) – 28,556 units
• Pandora's Tower (Wii) – 22,344 units
• Nobunaga's Ambition: Heavenly Road (PS3) – 16,304 units
• Akiba's Trip (PSP) – 16,059 units

Top 5 Most Anticipated Games: Based on survey results from 5/26-6/1

• Tales of Xillia (PS3)
• Final Fantasy: Type-O/Agito (PSP)
• Dragon Quest X (Wii)
• Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)
• Photo Kano (PSP)

And that's all for this week! Hopefully you enjoyed this brief glimpse into what Famitsu deems news-worthy. We'll try to keep adding to what we cover in this feature, so that hopefully it becomes something to really look forward to. Until next time!

Submitted By: Aaron McKeever & Sherrie Blackwell