<div align="center"><img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/jph11200/TTP.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
<div align="center"><b>April 13th - April 19th (2008)</b></div>
Hello, and welcome to the second issue of the <b>Temper Post</b> !
A weekly recap of all that's been going on on the GBAtemp Network.
<b>Contents & Index:</b><ul><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#a">GBAtemp & Scene News</a></li><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#b">Official GBAtemp Weekly Game Reviews</a></li><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#c">Featured Homebrew Release of the Week</a></li><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#d">Interesting Gaming News This Week</a></li><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#e">Community</a></li></ul>
Have a nice read!
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="a"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/mascot.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> GBAtemp & Scene News</div>
<b>Sunday 13th</b><ul><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82300" target="_blank">Acekard 2 v4.07a9 & v4.07a10 Loader</a></li></ul><b>Friday 18th</b><ul><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82960" target="_blank">New card on the market - iTouchDS</a></li></ul>
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="b"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/review.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> Official GBAtemp Weekly Game Reviews</div>
<b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c27.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> DS Game Review of the Week by <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=irpacynot' target=_blank title='View profile for member irpacynot'}>irpacynot</a></b></span>
<a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82621&st=0&start=0" target="_blank">The World Ends With You</a>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/img/nds-boxart/static/gt3151.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
What if there were invisible entities that could infiltrate and influence your thoughts? Walking down a bustling city street, you suddenly become self-conscious and concerned about what everyone around you thinks of you. Mental noise.
What if you were on the flipside of that reality? You could read the thoughts of everyone around you. You could even help and guide people by putting positive thoughts into their heads.
Welcome to Underground Shibuya. Welcome to…The World Ends with You.
I know quite a few of us Tempers have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this game, the English version of It’s a Wonderful World. Myself, I was, at first, more curious about the game’s battle system than anything else. I had tinkered with the Japanese version, but not being able to make heads or tails out of it, I quickly put the game away and waited for the localization. That said, when IGN did a preview of the game a couple of weeks back, my curiosity changed to something else.
Right off the bat, let me just say, I love this game. The World Ends with You (hmm…TWEWY?) has so many wonderful, little elements that make it great, but it’s the game’s underlying theme that really sets it apart from any game I’ve played before. Thing is, it’s a theme the average gamer might not consciously pick up on. The story itself isn’t too far off from what we got with both the Advanced Wars games on the DS, but there’s something much deeper here gamers will be treated to. The game doesn’t take itself too seriously, though. As a matter of fact, it seems to poke plenty of fun at the lifestyles portrayed by its main characters, as well as the culture of the city in which the story takes place. But again, there’s a deeper message the game tries to convey. What that message is should make for good discussion, so I’ll just leave it at that.
As a recap review, it would be impossible for me to offer too detailed an account of this game – there’s just a ton of depth to the gameplay. But to sum up, TWEWY is an RPG, yet it also plays much like an adventure game. Perhaps the game’s most notable aspect, however, is its level of customization. It’s a game that really puts the power in the hands of the player. Everything from setting the game’s level of difficulty, to the various clothes you wear and food you eat, as well as when you want to battle – the game lets you decide its pacing and approach. Additionally, though many of the story elements are cliché and rather hammy, the dialogue is simply wonderful; it’s funny, it’s irreverent and emo to the core!
If TWEWY did have any faults, I’d probably have to point at its battle system. As many folks already know, you’ll be battling two characters at once, using both the touch screen and face buttons. This system actually works well, and it is quite fun, but it can be a bit button / touch-mashy. Though you’ll gather a nice selection of pins (which are basically your weapons throughout the game – pins allow you to execute various attacks), the most practical ones are going to be the pin attacks you can spam. So, the battle system, though seemingly deep, is deceptively simple. That said, Neku (the main character) will gain the ability to rebound from throw-back attacks, and Shiki (Neku’s female companion in the game) will gain the ability to counter attacks; these and other abilities acquired along the way certainly help keep you entertained and on your toes.
Additionally, you’ll have to keep track of what brands of pins you’re using with respect to a given location you’re battling in. Throughout Shibuya, the style trends change from place to place. So, if you’re using a pin that’s “rad” in one place, you might do double damage to enemies in battle. Conversely, if a pin you’re using is lame, you might find yourself only doing half damage to enemies. It’s a very cool gameplay element that keeps things interesting. All the same, it’s the depth of customization, characters and dialogue, and the virtual experience of Shibuya, Japan that really make The World Ends with You an utterly refreshing and inspiring game to play.
The production of TWEWY is everything we’ve come to expect from Square Enix, and more. The artwork didn’t really appeal to me in screenshots, but seeing everything animate in the game itself really won me over. It’s got a very funky, retro style, and everything exhibits an incredible attention to detail.
The highlight of TWEWY’s presentation, however, is definitely the sound. Though it might not be everyone’s favorite stuff to listen to, the tunes in the game are hip and work amazingly well as a backdrop to the character conversations, battles and such. The sound effects, too, are just as crisp and clean as they can be. Needless to say, the audio plays as big a part in lulling you into this experience as any other element of the game.
The World Ends with You is candy. It’s full of sweet flavors, variety and all sorts of little details for players to tinker with. But it’s the way in which all those little elements attach themselves to this bigger picture that really makes this game worth playing, worth savoring. Check it out!
<!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Final Score:<b>9.0</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="c"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/homebrew.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> Featured Homebrew Release of the Week</div>
SunOL Review by <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Urza' target=_blank title='View profile for member Urza'}>Urza</a>
<img src="http://sundev.890m.com/SunDEV_files/SunOL/Releases/v0.1_alpha/Main_menu.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://sundev.890m.com/SunDEV_files/SunOL/Releases/v0.1_alpha/Viewing_roms.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
SunOL is a ROM database --<a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=SunDEV' target=_blank>SunDEV</a>-- which saw its first release a few days ago. It essentially brings almost all the information present in an online service like <a href="http://gbatemp.net/newgon/" target="_blank">our own release database</a> to the DS, for use on the go. To use SunOL, you're going to need to copy over either the "SunOL.nds" file, or "SunOL.ds.gba" file (dependent on your cart, and with the appropriate DLDI patch if need be), along with the included "data" folder.
The main screen of the application will have a scrollable list of ROMs on the bottom screen, with information on the highlighted ROM displayed on the top (Title, Region, Language, Genre, If it has WFC, Publisher, Release #, Dump date, internal name, save type, and ROM size). Clicking the shoulder buttons will cycle through the information windows-- including a scan of the boxart, and a screenshot which spans both screens.
One of the key features of SunOL is the "Online mode". Upon entering "online mode", your DS will immediately connect to the last hotspot you setup in any Nintendo WFC game. For the most part, functionality is the same as the "offline mode"; the main difference being that it will automatically attempt to download any missing boxart or screenshots you try to view. All the images are stored in the "data" folder, and the download below comes with the latest 33.
Visually, SunOL is quite aesthetically pleasing. Everything is smoothly animated, with very little lag even when scrolling the thousands of items in the list. Certain aspects of the included Ubuntu theme I feel are somewhat tacky (whats with the unfunctional menubar on the top eh?). Luckily its fully skinnable-- the themes consisting of a few PNGs and an INI file.
Already very functional and usable for the goal it set out to accomplish, SunOL is only going to get better in future releases. Planned features include filters, search, favorites, and the ability to download all 6000-something images in one go. This is a project to put on your radar.
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/download.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?download=2244" target="_blank">Download</a>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <a href="http://sundev.890m.com/" target="_blank">Project Website</a>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82895" target="_blank">Discussion Thread on GBAtemp</a>
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="d"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/essentialgames.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> Interesting Gaming News This Week</div>
<ul><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82582" target="_blank">Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Virtual Console) Release</a>. First ever Wii Virtual Console release ever. Congratulations to Team BlaZe!
</li><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82538&pid=1089117&st=0?entry1089117" target="_blank">Wii Official Release in Korea Announced</a>. Korea gets Wii! Unfortunately, it is incompatable with any other Wii game from another region and has <i>zero</i> Gamecube backwards compatibility.
</li><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82671&pid=1090966&st=0?entry1090966" target="_blank">New Trailer for Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm</a>. You may not be impressed by the PS3, or Naruto...but you will be impressed by this new Naruto game's graphics! Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storms graphics look absolutely stunning. Make sure to check out the trailer!
</li><li><a href="http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/?v=news&p=25592" target="_blank">Paper Mario being ported to the DS?</a> A rumor that Paper Mario is being ported to the DS. It would be the fourth game in the series; Nintendo has yet to comment on the rumor.
</li><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82843" target="_blank">XtenDS Creations Competition 2008</a> is a competition for you homebrew developers out there. A homebrew-developing contesting, with one catch - you must develop your homebrew game with their software. Prizes aren't too great, but let's hope that some homebrew entries turn out to be.
</li><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82944" target="_blank">Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Announced</a> for all current consoles and the Nintendo DS.</li></ul>
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="e"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/forum.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> Community</div>
<img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/jph11200/Topic-1.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Topic of the Week</span></b> goes to <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Heran Bago' target=_blank title='View profile for member Heran Bago'}>Heran Bago</a> and his <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82965" target="_blank">TWEWY (The World Ends With You) Jap Audio in Eur version topic</a> in the
<a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showforum=41" target="_blank">NDS - Game Development, ROM Hacking and Translations forum</a>. A useful guide for those playing The World Ends With You (Europe). This guide shows you how to change the audio from the European version of TWEWY to the audio from the Japanese version of TWEWY. Thanks for the guide, Heran Bago!
<img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/jph11200/Reply.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Post of the Week</b></span> goes to <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=HeatMan Advance' target=_blank title='View profile for member HeatMan Advance'}>HeatMan Advance</a> in the <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82885&st=0" target="_blank">DS #2234 Rondo of Swords discussion thread</a>. A moderately short post, but it was informative about the game. The first "hands-on impression" post on the game that I'd read in the thread.
<!--QuoteBegin-HeatMan Advance+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(HeatMan Advance)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->It has some good innovations, but feels like a poor mans Fire Emblem. It does seem to require a bit more strategy though.
I've only been through the tutorial and can't beat the final lesson. I only have a gripe with the controls. It's a little hard to tell if you've just selected the person or have de-selected them. I feel like I might waste a turn figuring this out sometimes.
You also have to plan way ahead with the whole passing through the characters system. It's good if you have the patience for it I guess. I'd rather play Fire Emblem myself.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c171.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Blog of the Week</b></span> goes to <a href="http://gbatemp.net/?act=module&module=blogs&member=Thug4L1f3" target="_blank">Thug4L1F3's Blog</a>. Thug's blog keeps up with the latest Xbox 360 releases. It's a great source for release updates for those in the Xbox 360 scene.
He includes boxart, screenshots, and all the information on the release(s) in every blog post. Make sure to bookmark his blog!
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c23.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /><b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Avatar of the Week</b></span> goes to <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=science' target=_blank title='View profile for member science'}>science</a> and <a href="http://jph.gbatemp.net/scienceavatar.png" target="_blank">his avatar</a>.
A guy with an ice cream sundae head and a leather coat? Awesome.
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c3.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">KYT Sessions This Week:</b></span><ul><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Masta_mind257' target=_blank title='View profile for member Masta_mind257'}>Masta_mind257</a> - <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82891" target="_blank">Session</a></li><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Little' target=_blank title='View profile for member Little'}>Little</a> - <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83111" target="_blank">Session</a></li></ul><img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c7.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Birthdays This Week:</b></span><ul><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=bobitos' target=_blank title='View profile for member bobitos'}>bobitos</a> (22)</li><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=TaMs' target=_blank title='View profile for member TaMs'}>TaMs</a> (18)</li><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=hankchill' target=_blank title='View profile for member hankchill'}>hankchill</a> (22)</li></ul>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/faq.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Temper Tips:</b></span>
Ever checked out the <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?act=module&module=fcdb" target="_blank">Friend Code Database</a>? Well, a short while ago, <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Samutz' target=_blank title='View profile for member Samutz'}>Samutz</a> coded up a Friend Code Database for GBAtemp. It's pretty self explanatory - it's a place full of Friend Codes. Add your Friend Codes, and view your friend's Friend Codes. It's a good resource to have when you're linking up with one of your fellow Tempers for some online gaming. Make sure to add all of your Friend Codes!
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/goty.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b>NDS and Wii Releases of the week, by Hadrian</b>: See what DS & Wii games are coming out next week <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82872" target="_blank">here</a>.
See you next week for another issue of the Temper Post!
JPH.
