This Week in Famitsu

WEEKLY FAMITSU #1190

Cover Story

The cover story this week, as you can obviously see, is Gears of War 3. That's great for Japan, as it just came out on the 22^nd of September here for them, a scant two days after the North American release. We hope that the general population of Japan enjoys the game as much as the reviewers of Famitsu seemed to have; Gears of War 3 scored a 39 out of 40, with three out of the four reviewers giving it a perfect 10. Perfect 40 scores from Famitsu are incredibly rare, with only a handful of games ever receiving such a high score, most of them classics of gaming; the original version of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a good example of this. Being only one point off from a perfect score is less rare, but is still a worthy accomplishment, especially as Gears of War 3 is a 'Western' game, which traditionally aren't as well-received as the domestic ones here.

While this is great news for Japan, it's unfortunately not great news for us, or for you; Gears of War 3 is already out, and we assume that most of you are already furiously working on defeating the Locusts and Lambent. As such, that means that we don't really have much of a cover story this month, as you all already know all about it. Hopefully the shorter 'This Week in Famitsu' today will give you more time to play it.

Featured Game

Dragon Quest X Online (Wii): Dragon Quest is huge here in Japan, bigger than Final Fantasy even. In fact, Dragon Quest games are only allowed to be released on weekends here, by law, as the releases were affecting productivity at offices around the country. As such, it should be no surprise that news of the next installment of this beloved franchise has been eagerly awaited. The fans have finally gotten that news, but it's probably not anything like what they were expecting: Dragon Quest X is going to be an online only MMORPG, like World of Warcraft for those unfamiliar with the term. This could turn out to be either a huge hit for Square Enix, or a huge flop. After all, Final Fantasy XI was an MMORPG, and it was quite successful for them, with them still making money off of it to this day. Final Fantasy XIV, however, which was also released as an online only MMORPG to replace XI, was a huge flop. Huge, as in they haven't even been able to charge a monthly fee to play it yet because it's so messed up, huge. As such, there are some valid concerns the community has about Dragon Quest X. It being exclusive to the Wii, and having graphics only slightly better than the PS2 Dragon Quest VIII, are some of them. Still, with six races to choose from (Human, Ogre, Pukupo, Weddie, Elf, and Dwarf), and a huge world to explore, Dragon Quest X could overcome the odds and be wildly successful... if for no other reason than the fact that Japanese gamers can't live without their Dragon Quest.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS): Kingdom Hearts games are plentiful, as the games have truly become a series in their own right, almost rivaling Final Fantasy in popularity here in Japan. Unfortunately, this series tends to suffer from re-telling, re-releases, and ports, which is why we're happy to report that Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is an entirely new game, with an all new story! Featuring both Sora and Riku as main, playable characters, this title promises not only a new story, but new worlds and new enemies as well! In addition to the normal Heartless, there are all new creatures called Dream Eaters. Well.... actually, the enemies are really called Nightmares, as Dream Eaters come in two varieties. The other kind, Spirits, are apparently good, and accompany and help Sora and Riku in their adventure. They are also kinda cute, which Square Enix seems to be aware of, as the game will have AR cards released with it that will allow you to play and interact with different types of Spirits, like some sort of fantasy Nintendog. Also hanging out in the game to help you out is an all-new character: Neku, from the World Ends With You, makes a cameo appearance in Kingdom Hearts 3D. With the game also supporting the 3DS Expansion Slide Pad, we're sure that this will be a big seller for the sometimes embattled 3DS. We know we're excited for it.

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy (3DS): There have been many debates on the internet recently over whether or not Japanese games are out of touch. Western developers are making bigger and better games, and Japan, which was once the undisputed leader of making any game worth anything, is now being questioned as to whether they can keep up with the times. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, there is no question that Japan once ruled supreme at making games, especially RPGs, and regardless of what's going on currently, there are still fans of those games. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy is for them. Famitsu's coverage on this brand new, original Square Enix RPG includes a short interview with the producer, who flat out admits that this game is for fans of Japanese RPGs. There's not a lot out about the game yet, beyond that you will play as a Warrior of Light trying to prevent the destruction of the world. Sounds.. incredibly stereotypical for a Square Enix game (old-school Final Fantasy games, anyone?), but there is something about this title that is catching everyone's attention: it will apparently use AR cards and the 'augmented reality' feature they utilize in the game. In fact, they used it already to promote it, by making an AR card that makes a girl appear in your room and plead with you to save her world. You can watch a video of the AR trailer below, and quite an interesting one it is. Famitsu included an AR card to be able to actually view the trailer in person, which I did. It was amazing how it actually was interacting in my room. Unfortunately, in order to watch the trailer, you also have to download a special app from the Japanese Virtual Console, otherwise we would've taken a picture of the AR card so all of you could have enjoyed it in person as well. Hopefully the video will suffice. Consider us intrigued at the possibilities AR cards could open up with the traditional Japanese RPG gameplay of Bravely Default: Flying Fairy.

Hardware Sales: Week of 9/5-9/11

• PS3 – 62,266 units
• 3DS – 49,191 units
• PSP – 23,352 units
• Wii – 9,130 units
• NDS – 2,748 units
• PS2 – 842 units
• 360 – 727 units

Top 5 Selling Games: Week of 9/5-9/11

• Tales of Xillia (PS3) – 512,544 units
• Resident Evil Revival Selection (PS3) – 76,638 units
• Grand Knights History (PSP) – 19,996 units
• Resistance 3 (PS3) – 19,255 units
• Monster Hunter Portable 3^rd HD Version (PS3) – 19,190 units

Top 5 Most Anticipated Games: Based on survey results from 9/8-9/14

• Final Fantasy: Type-O (PSP)
• Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)
• Dragon Quest X Online (Wii)
• Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
• Dragon's Dogma (PS3)

And it looks like the PS2 outsold the 360 here in Japan for a month straight now. Does the mercy rule kick in anytime soon? We hope you enjoyed this week's Famitsu, and by the time we post next week's, the new website should be all rolled out....assuming all goes to plan. Look forward to the new website, with more new content, and as always, another 'This Week in Famitsu'!

Submitted by: Sherrie Blackwell