QCF: Unchained Blades

In another story of a niche publisher taking on a heavy labor of love to localize a hit JRPG to the North American masses, Xseed Games brings us Unchained Blades from FuRyu. A collaborative effort of Japanese game development’s A-list talent, the game's creators include Takashi Hino of Grandia fame, and Toshio Akashi, known for his work on the Lunar series. Even Nobuo Uematsu himself contributed some hot licks for the soundtrack.

All things considered, Unchained Blades is still an assumptive write-off among other by-the-numbers JRPGs destined to be overlooked. But upon further inspection, Unchained Blades breaks most of those expectations and delivers some real hope that the genre has plenty of life left in it.

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E3 2012: Nintendo Keynote Live Blog

E3 2012: Nintendo Direct Presentation Summary and Thoughts

Once again, E3 predictions and pre-show streams are flying across the web. As a result, everyone and their nonspecific grandpa (we'll get to that) is freaking out about who's going to showcase what. But truth be told, this is likely to be a slow year for all the major "hardcore" players tied in with Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo, however, has other plans.

Satoru Iwata recently presented a stream via Nintendo Direct where he discussed some of the features for the upcoming Wii U, Nintendo's ultimate weapon (or so we assume) in the continual console wars.

Between awkwardly familiar looking remote controls, and even more awkwardly disturbing possibilities with the Wii U controller's camera, here are some highlights from the brief yet satisfying presentation.

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The 3DS Ambassador Survival Guide

September 1^st marks the start of the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program. The program was set into place after Nintendo dropped the price of the 3DS forty percent and made their loyal fan-base look like a bunch of dopes, but it makes efforts to accommodate early adopters with twenty free games. It seems yet again, however, that Nintendo has dropped the ball, and the program has already started off to a shaky start.

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Quarter Circle Forward: Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D

A logo shouting “DINOSAURS” caught my eye initially. The little kid inside me gave those puppy dog eyes and said, “BUY IT!” with a curled lip. Thirty seconds later forty bucks was deducted from my account and I was off with my first Nintendo 3DS game purchase.

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Hands on: Nintendo 3DS

Weeks ago, we analyzed some of the launch titles and preparations in store for the Nintendo 3DS. Since then we've had the privilege of getting some hands on experience with the gadget, exploring much of what Nintendo has to offer during its initial launch. Our options seemed easily debatable at first, with two titles being recreations and the other usually catering to a specific market outside of the "core" gamer audience.

So how do these releases stack up after some time with the console? Apart from the three flagship launch titles, we'll also take a look at some of the other feature programs included with the 3DS, along with a revisited Nintendo classic coming later.

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Examining Nintendo 3DS Launch Titles

Nintendo had recently announced the games (and prices) to be released during the initial launch of the revolutionary 3DS. Three of them are Nintendo-published titles, with the remaining 13 being offered by third party developers. So how does this launch seem to stack up, especially when compared to previous handheld launches?

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Looking Back - Revisiting Nintendo Handhelds

Nintendo has dominated the world of portable gaming for decades, innovating and revolutionizing how we play on the go. Through it all, the company's vision for a handheld console has transformed from a device used only in cars, waiting rooms and airplanes, to something gamers can compare to other major home consoles on the market. Since the days of opening our first Game & Watch favorites and playing them on the go, Nintendo continues to deliver some of the most unforgettable moments of portable joy.

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