Ninety-Nine Nights Gets August US Release Date

[bapenguin]

Microsoft sent out an official press release dating Ninety-Nine Nights (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/n/nnn/) for the XBox 360 for August 2006 in the US.

Microsoft announced today that “Ninety-Nine Nights” will hit store shelves in the United States in August 2006. The Xbox 360 exclusive, developed by gaming luminaries Tetsuya Mizuguchi ("Lumines," "Meteos") and SanYoun Lee (“Kingdom Under Fire”), launched to high acclaim in Japan and Korea earlier this spring.

Published by Microsoft and developed by Phantagram and Q Entertainment, “Ninety-Nine Nights” is an epic fantasy action game that features a sweeping story, stunning graphics and physics, seven playable characters, and epic-scale battles that include hundreds of on-screen enemies.

“Ninety-Nine Nights” follows the journeys of seven warriors. In a struggle between light and dark, a new world order is established after the destruction of the “mysterious power stone.” Warriors are destined to battle in a place far beyond their imagination, as a magnificent story spun of drama and emotion unfolds from multiple perspectives.
Excellent. This is coming earlier than I expected. I've been playing Dynasty Warriors 5 recently and that has me excited for this.

[Kelegacy]

Unfortunately, I haven't heard great stuff about the game. It's out in Japan and has been for awhile, but the reviews weren't stellar from what I heard.

I could be a bit wrong. Someone check Gamerankings for some import reviews if any are up, I can't right now.

[Reanimated]

Summer is going to be full of these sleepers. Dead Rising, Enchanted Arms, N3... good stuff, man. Plus, I'll be picking up LOTRBFME next month. Didn't play it on the PC, but I hear it's awesome and it just looks shit hot running on 360. Plus it controls great from what I've read.

[absolut taco]

I could be a bit wrong. Someone check Gamerankings for some import reviews if any are up, I can't right now.
I thought I saw a review for N3 on gamerankings a month ago where it got about 60/100 but now I'm not sure...

[Intruder]

63% average based on 2 Media Outlet reviews. Hope it is better than that, i have been excited about this one for a while.

N3 @ Gamerankings.com (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/928270.asp)

[Reanimated]

Famitsu Xbox gave it 37/40
Famitsu gave it 31/40


Pretty decent, I'd say. Looks like there are some import reviews on gamerankings, but one is from Edge and the other is some place I never heard of, so I can't speak to their quality.

[KidCactus]

It looks extremly repetitive and boring, not worth $399.

[Reanimated]

It looks extremly repetitive and boring, not worth $399.



Probably not. Good thing there's already several million+ selling titles out that are. :)

[Mike Jones]

Game looks like trash. Zero A.I.

[Deathbane27]

I'll think about after I buy the 360 for Halo 3. Maybe. :p

Oh killer app, where art thou?

[silv]

You mean Gears of War?

[Jack Random]

I got to play a bit of the demo while vacationing in japan and i really enjoyed it in a pure Dynasty Warriors kind of way. Of course, it's no killer app, it's just a fun distraction. I can easily picture myself using this game to vent a bit after a long day at work.

Looking forward to it.

[Kelegacy]

Summer is going to be full of these sleepers. Dead Rising, Enchanted Arms, N3... good stuff, man. Plus, I'll be picking up LOTRBFME next month. Didn't play it on the PC, but I hear it's awesome and it just looks shit hot running on 360. Plus it controls great from what I've read.
I am probably going to rent Dead Rising to see if I want to play it past the 3 or 4 hours of game time it requires to finish the game. If not, I've saved myself 55 bucks or so. But I haven't rented a game in a long time, and if 360 games have truly gone up to 8 or 9 dollars for a rental, I'll fucking scream.

Everywhere I turn, things are going up in price. The water bills of a nearby town just went up around 110 percent. That's NUTS! The problem is, while inflation continues to go rampant, we fucking make the same amount of money. I keep getting premonitions of a Snow Crash universe where million dollar bills are meaningless because of hyperinflation.

Back on topic, I'll skip Enchanted Arms if the mediocre reviews are to be believed, but I'll reserve judgement until stateside publications weigh in. There are better JRPGs out there to play; I no longer have the motivation to play a 6/10 RPG.

I hope more titles are coming before Viva Pinata hits in August. Hopefully that Rare title will be fun, but I don't know about Rare anymore. I think they jumped the shark with Grabbed by the Ghoulies.

[Achilles]

It looks extremly repetitive and boring, not worth $399.Well it's a good thing they're only charging $50 for it then.

[dimsumx]

Are there Historical Giant Crabs that I can attack for massive damage in this game?

[sTubbs]

Kelagacy, Rare jumped the shark when all of their good people left and formed Free Radical. Of course, Free Radical has become another monotonous, forgettable developer, so I guess Rare has pretty much dried up.

[Reanimated]

Enchanted Arms is a Strategy RPG, which is my favorite genre, so it's right up my alley.

As for the Rare hate - Kameo was awesome, IMO. PDZ was shit, but I found some redemption in the multiplayer. I think Viva Pinata looks fantastic, but I wish I knew what the hell it's all about.

[Ajguy]

I have faith in Q Entertainment. I've never held much stock in the Dynasty Warrior games, but I'll certainly throw this on my Gamefly queue.

[theguido]

Kelagacy, Rare jumped the shark when all of their good people left and formed Free Radical. Of course, Free Radical has become another monotonous, forgettable developer, so I guess Rare has pretty much dried up.

Well, if you play the Timesplitters games you can just feel the similarity between that and Perfect Dark, which is a great thing IMO, while Perfect Dark Zero is a turd of a game. Future Perfect didn't do much different, but it still was tons better than the average shooter out there---and heck, while I'm not exactly a FPS guru, that's my favorite shooter ever just because it's so fast and fluid.

[Mr.Condescension]

It looks extremly repetitive and boring, not worth $399.

I'm sorry, but who here thinks that any one game is worth $399?

[theguido]

Summer is going to be full of these sleepers. Dead Rising, Enchanted Arms, N3... good stuff, man. Plus, I'll be picking up LOTRBFME next month. Didn't play it on the PC, but I hear it's awesome and it just looks shit hot running on 360. Plus it controls great from what I've read.

Man, I don't understand what people find inspirational about these games. Ninety-Nine Nights sounds like a Dynasty/Samurai Warriors ripoff, and Enchanted Arms looks like a mediocre role-playing game. Woohoo?

Dead Rising looks good, but I can't imagine it's something I'm going to buy. It might be like Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Fun to play at first but once the gimmick's been worn out no longer fun.

I'm glad you have faith that they're going to be good. Hopefully the faith will get you through the mediocrity.

[Mr.Condescension]

I am probably going to rent Dead Rising to see if I want to play it past the 3 or 4 hours of game time it requires to finish the game. If not, I've saved myself 55 bucks or so. But I haven't rented a game in a long time, and if 360 games have truly gone up to 8 or 9 dollars for a rental, I'll fucking scream.

Everywhere I turn, things are going up in price. The water bills of a nearby town just went up around 110 percent. That's NUTS! The problem is, while inflation continues to go rampant, we fucking make the same amount of money. I keep getting premonitions of a Snow Crash universe where million dollar bills are meaningless because of hyperinflation.

Back on topic, I'll skip Enchanted Arms if the mediocre reviews are to be believed, but I'll reserve judgement until stateside publications weigh in. There are better JRPGs out there to play; I no longer have the motivation to play a 6/10 RPG.

I hope more titles are coming before Viva Pinata hits in August. Hopefully that Rare title will be fun, but I don't know about Rare anymore. I think they jumped the shark with Grabbed by the Ghoulies.

If you rent more than one game a month and they do raise prices you might consider gamefly or a blockbuster game account. I doubt they'll raise the prices on those, since people still mostly rent PS2 and XBOX games.

[Reanimated]

I have faith in Q Entertainment. I've never held much stock in the Dynasty Warrior games, but I'll certainly throw this on my Gamefly queue.




Speaking of Q & Mizuguchi, I can't friggin wait for Lumines on Xbox Live.

[dimsumx]

I'm sorry, but who here thinks that any one game is worth $399?

Those people that think MGS4 is worth $599. :P

[Mr.Condescension]

Those people that think MGS4 is worth $599. :P

I don't know of any :p
Seriously, the only people that ever say that nonsense are trolls.

[UglyPimp]

As a huge fan of Tetsuya's work I'll be completely depressed if this game is going to get ho-hum ratings from the US reviewers.

On the note of it being a Dynasty Warriors clone, why do reviewers always discount games that are like their predecessors or other games on the market? Some people haven't played the series and are coming in fresh, or haven't had experience with the genre. Shouldn't ratings have some kind of meter to reflect this, or at least could reviewers address it in their main articles? I personally read Gamespot a lot and find this a repeat fault of their otherwise great reviews.

[KamaItachi]

Famitsu Xbox gave it 37/40
Famitsu gave it 31/40


Famitsu Xbox also gave Rumble Roses XX 36/40

As a huge fan of Tetsuya's work I'll be completely depressed if this game is going to get ho-hum ratings from the US reviewers.

It will, because it is ho-hum.

[Reanimated]

And? It's no secret that the Japanese are fans of titty physics. The success of DOA in Japan is built on tit physics alone.

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

Enchanted Arms is a Strategy RPG, which is my favorite genre, so it's right up my alley.

As for the Rare hate - Kameo was awesome, IMO. PDZ was shit, but I found some redemption in the multiplayer. I think Viva Pinata looks fantastic, but I wish I knew what the hell it's all about.

I love strategy RPGs too. Problem is that enchant arm's "strategy" consists of a fixed 5x3 grid for each side, you cannot cross over into the enemies grid, and all you do is figure out the best placement per turn to hit the most enemies balancing range/power and standing in front of your weaker party members to block damage. It's incredibly basic and repetitive, and the only way it "evolves" is by getting moves that hit in slightly different patterns, i.e. a line 3 squares in front, 4 squares in front, or 3 horizontal at a distance of 3 squares.

Coincidence about this article, my copy of N3 just arrived today and I'm off to the post office now to pick it up. I'm expecting a pretty average game with some decent mindless action, so hopefully I won't be dissapointed.

[Twigz'N'Berries]

Ninety Nine Nights will be a better looking KUF....with all of the strategy sucked out. That isn't a good or bad thing, it just depends on how you like your gameplay. For those that have trashed Enchanted Arms, I am curious to know why. Generally the Japanese and the American/European have different tastes in their game. Just because Japan didn't like it doesn't mean that the rest of the world wont. I can't remember any good press from Japan about Morrowind either.

[KamaItachi]

And? It's no secret that the Japanese are fans of titty physics. The success of DOA in Japan is built on tit physics alone.

So you post the score of a good review of a game depsite the fact that you know the same magazine gives elevated status to titty physics? That doesn't bode well for the respectability of 37/40.

Fact is, Famitsu Xbox has a nasty habit of overating a lot of games, especially those which have seen a lot of coverage. I can see the logic behind it, they need to get people to believe that the support is strong and the library consists of more than import friendly U.S. titles.

It only takes a quick read of 2-3 of their issues to realize that they overhype titles and then feel compelled to back up that hype with applicable scores.

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

^^^ Agreed.

For those that have trashed Enchanted Arms, I am curious to know why. Generally the Japanese and the American/European have different tastes in their game. Just because Japan didn't like it doesn't mean that the rest of the world wont. I can't remember any good press from Japan about Morrowind either.

I am trashing Enchant Arm because I have played right through the game, and having played plenty of games of identical theme and genre before, I can safely say it's nothing special.

[KidCactus]

I'm sorry, but who here thinks that any one game is worth $399?
Well, that was kinda my point. I find it quite funny that no one reacts like you did when it's said in a PS3 news thread.

[Borys]

Reanimated buys every 360 trash out there and shits on every PS3 trash game announced.

Awesome double standards, dude.

[bapenguin]

This game will be a button masher for sure..but if they include some of the strategy elements like DW5: Empires did I'm all over it.

[Reanimated]

Famitsu's score was pretty decent as well. 31/40 isn't exactly "shit", so, I mean, you can take all of that "Famitsu Xbox" nonsense and shove it straight up your ass.

[Reanimated]

I love strategy RPGs too. Problem is that enchant arm's "strategy" consists of a fixed 5x3 grid for each side, you cannot cross over into the enemies grid, and all you do is figure out the best placement per turn to hit the most enemies balancing range/power and standing in front of your weaker party members to block damage. It's incredibly basic and repetitive, and the only way it "evolves" is by getting moves that hit in slightly different patterns, i.e. a line 3 squares in front, 4 squares in front, or 3 horizontal at a distance of 3 squares.




Yeah, I've seen the videos on XBOXYDE and I actually thought the system looked interesting. Plus, BlimBlim had mostly positive things to say about it after having played through the import.

[Kelegacy]

Famitsu's score was pretty decent as well. 31/40 isn't exactly "shit", so, I mean, you can take all of that "Famitsu Xbox" nonsense and shove it straight up your ass.
But it's like saying that Gamepro gave that game 5 out of 5. It's meaningless, with Famitsu's track record. That's all they're saying. They rate games incredibly high without much merit besides hype. And if the game scored a 31/40 despite ordinarily inflated scores...you can do the math.

[Reanimated]

Since when does Famitsu = Gamepro? That's not the Famitsu Xbox score, it's the FAMITSU score. You know, the largest and most respected gaming publication in Japan, which has a reputation for being VERY hard on games - ESPECIALLY games on the Xbox.

77.5% from them is a damn decent score. It's not exactly "crap".

Just stop talking.

[Kelegacy]

Since when does Famitsu = Gamepro? That's not the Famitsu Xbox score, it's the FAMITSU score. You know, the largest and most respected gaming publication in Japan, which has a reputation for being VERY hard on games - ESPECIALLY games on the Xbox.

77.5% from them is a damn decent score. It's not exactly "crap".

Just stop talking.
You'll see.

You've been hanging out at Opa-Ages too much. Your asshole attitude is making this place reek.

[Reanimated]

I'm only an ass to people that spew garbage like "Famitsu = Gamepro" (jesus man, COME ON).

Start making sense and we'll get along like salt & pepper.

[Kefkataran]

f 360 games have truly gone up to 8 or 9 dollars for a rental, I'll fucking scream.

That's why I've been telling you: www.gamefly.com

[Kelegacy]

I'm only an ass to people that spew garbage like "Famitsu = Gamepro" (jesus man, COME ON).

Start making sense and we'll get along like salt & pepper.
I didn't say that they equaled one another, but that you can't take a Japanese magazine like Famitsu that is notorious for giving certain games ridiculous scores as the word of God. Gamepro was just an example of a comparable stateside publication, and IGN would be another. Jade Empire scored a 9.9 at IGN. WTF?

[absolut taco]

If you rent more than one game a month and they do raise prices you might consider gamefly or a blockbuster game account. I doubt they'll raise the prices on those, since people still mostly rent PS2 and XBOX games.
Prepare to scream. At hollywood video, 360 rentals are over $8, with 6% sales tax. Luckily, I bought my 360 at Game Crazy so it came with 12 free rentals, although I can only use 1 / month.

[Reanimated]

I didn't say that they equaled one another, but that you can't take a Japanese magazine like Famitsu that is notorious for giving certain games ridiculous scores as the word of God. Gamepro was just an example of a comparable stateside publication, and IGN would be another. Jade Empire scored a 9.9 at IGN. WTF?



Famitsu is notorious for giving Final Fantasy games ridiculously high scores. They're also notorious for pissing on the Xbox at every opportunity. Don't confuse Famitsu with Famitsu Xbox.

[Mr.Condescension]

Famitsu's score was pretty decent as well. 31/40 isn't exactly "shit", so, I mean, you can take all of that "Famitsu Xbox" nonsense and shove it straight up your ass.

31/40 is a middle of the road "C" in school, bro. That's not exactly a good score.

[Mr.Condescension]

Famitsu is notorious for giving Final Fantasy games ridiculously high scores. They're also notorious for pissing on the Xbox at every opportunity. Don't confuse Famitsu with Famitsu Xbox.

Well, let's not forget that people in Japan LOOOOOOOOOVE them some Final Fantasy, so for a japanese publication to give it a score higher than an American publication isn't exactly strange. They really do like the games that much.

[Reanimated]

31/40 is a middle of the road "C" in school, bro. That's not exactly a good score.



:rolleyes:


Coming from Famitsu, it's pretty decent. And this isn't school, "bro".

[Mr.Condescension]

:rolleyes:


Coming from Famitsu, it's pretty decent. And this isn't school, "bro".

Famitsu gives xbox games low scores because people in Japan don't like xbox games. That's quite clear from the sales of microsoft consoles and games in Japan. Famitsu's low scores for this game and other xbox games is less a reflection of bias as it is a reflection of gaming in Japan overall, which just happens to be who reads the magazine. 31/40 is a low score for famitsu overall.