Contact

[Vash]

N.A. Release Date: September 19, 2006 (or sometime September 2006)
Genre: Action/RPG

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/7766/93022273972frontfy9jy6hz0.jpg[/IMG]

Sites with some information:
- Atlus
- GameSpot
- IGN
- Wikipedia

LOS ANGELES--One of many interesting and very Japanese games on display at Atlus' booth space at the Electronic Entertainment Expo is Contact, which seems like a standard role-playing game from a very cursory glance but seems to have many unique touches to it on closer inspection. The game combines retro-style 8-bit graphics together with the look of traditional 16-bit console RPGs and features an unusual "trick seal" system that lets you peel off and slap on magic stickers to make strange effects happen. The game "shatters the fourth wall entirely," according to press materials. What else would you expect from SUDA-51, the mind behind Capcom's completely mind-boggling Killer7, who has aided in the production of this game?

Contact begins with you staring at a professor working away at some strange programs. Nothing happens--he keeps working away. So we poked him and got his attention. He addresses us directly, asking our name, our favorite food, all kinds of things. It's hard to tell whether all this is important or just small talk, since the professor is quite an affable guy. But then the tone becomes serious for a moment. "They're after me," he admits. Who, exactly? And then it becomes clear that the professor's lab is actually a sort of space ship. And it's under attack. Meanwhile, a boy and a girl cross paths...and something happens. Contact's story is quickly compelling but as strange as you might expect from SUDA-51.

The space station gets shot down and crash-lands on a tropical planet of some sort, and at this point, we took control of the boy character. Outside of the space station looked just like the inside of a pirate ship, which was odd, but we kept going past the ship and onto the tropical island, which was filled with some semi-dangerous critters. Here we figured out the combat system, with the professor's help. You simply toggle between running and combat stance. When in combat stance, all you need to do is approach an enemy to start attacking it. Special attacks are available, such as a basic power punch you get at first, which offers a great description: "Go straight for the liver!"

We didn't spend a great deal of time fighting in the 30 minutes or so we spent playing through the beginning portions of the game, but we did get to use the trick seal system a little. We also got an alternate outfit, that of a blue-clad ninja. Different outfits seem to grant the boy different special abilities. Reportedly the game also lets you "meet your friends with the Wi-Fi connection," but it isn't clear exactly how that works--an Animal Crossing sort of thing?

Contact has a unique look to it, but it's difficult to get a great sense of a game that's presumably fairly long and involved in an environment like the Electronic Entertainment Expo. We contemplated stealing the game multiple times and playing it a lot more if that's any consolation, though. It seems very interesting, and we'd expect no less from the creator of Killer7. Contact is apparently almost complete, so stay tuned to GameSpot for further coverage.

Screenshot:
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9965/contact002og1.jpg[/IMG] http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2121/contact003gk7.jpg[/IMG] http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9063/c ... 45lus3.jpg[/IMG]

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6883/32755fgeh2.th.jpg[/IMG]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6369/scan019isjk6.th.jpg[/IMG]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/706/32769iflo3.th.jpg[/IMG]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2223/scan029iaka7.th.jpg[/IMG]

Official site, wallpapers, trailer

I wasn't planning on getting a DS till the Final Fantasy III DS Remake came out but this made me reconsider. So what are you thoughts on the game from what is known of it?

Discuss...

 

[ryanwh]

*sits up to speak, looks around nervously...sits back down, fetal position*
Looks neat, but I feel its a shell novelty. A marketed attempt at an "niche" title, borrowing from known niche title successes. I mean, it looks good, real good, but I get the feeling there wont be any depth to this. Hope Im wrong.

 

[JonoSasson]

The graphics look quirky and really cool. I like the sound of the stickers too. Sounds like a really innovative idea, lookiing forward to playing this.

 

[Marcus]

I already gave my opinion on this and I personally think it's going to be a financial bomb. I believe it'll be a good game and not a novelty trying to capitalize on a novel idea although I'm probably wrong because Killer 7 had like, no depth to the gameplay at all and was nothing but a giant story (they should've just created an anime instead of a $50 waste of a game).

I'll still buy it only because like all Atlus games it'll disappear from shelves in a month (stupid limited releases).

 

[Balore]

Since this is from the maker of Killer 7, I'll probably get it. Chances are it's messed up. That means it's good.

 

[Mac]

Looks cool it deffently has its shining soul touch to it hence the health bar and graphics :D

 

[ryanwh]

HAPPY PRESENT FOR MARCUS
5 videos from contact leaked:
http://www.destructoid.com/contact-new-gameplay-footage
Fighting looks a bit...iffy(what I was worried about) but the music is pretty great.

 

[Marcus]

aw man, not only does your moral orel avatar make me want to love you like a woman but this find makes me want to treat you like a fine hooker.

this is pretty much what i always wanted from a handheld rpg and the music and art style is very nice. this is probably the closest we'll get to Mother 3 until an english release (there's rumors of a DS compilation of the mother trilogy but i doubt it knowing the way nintendo treats their franchises that aren't mario or pokemon).

can't wait for september. i might have to dust off my ds light which got shelfed after beating mario and luigi 2.

EDIT: seriously, the music is awesome. i can't believe they're actually making a bold maneuver and using an internal sythensizer to make internal tracked tunes. it sounds like it's coming straight out of a nes or c64.

p.s. i'm a big fan of .it, .mod, and .xms sound files so this is making me spooj all over. my good friend is making all the music for my homeland game using data from an amiga's internal synthesizer and it sounds so rad.

 

[ryanwh]

Wasnt there already a mother 1 and 2 compilation very recently that never left Japan? I think a full trilogy is just wishful thinking. Hell, I wish it were true for sure cus I get the feeling a fanslation rom would fuck up the subtle charm. But Im not getting my hopes up.

 

[Marcus]

There was a compilation... which never left Japan even though Mother 1 is 100% in english according to the original rom dump and Earthbound was released here, all Nintendo would have to do is dump the text from both roms and just shove them in the GBA cart, slap their logo on it, and ship it over. It's not like they haven't released games that sold shittily before but Nintendo's weird with anything that's not Mario or Pokemon.

It's just a rumor right now so I doubt it as well.

Oh yea, this game apparently pokes fun at other games and companies. There's a scene where that doctor says "hit it's weakpoint for massive damage!" which is making fun of that Sony E3 press conference where someone is playing Genji 2 while a sony rep explains the game and he says "oh no, a giant crab! hit it's weak point for massive damage!" It suddenly became a huge ytmnd fad just like the "RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RAAAAAAAAAAAAAACER!" remark

And you're right, battles do a look a bit iffy (I have no idea how the hell it works). The preview screenshots I've seen show almost 4 different styles of battling so hopefully there'll be more interaction than just swapping turns.