[Wii] Opoona: a new RPG announced for Wii

Noone had made a thread for this one yet so I figured I'd throw one out there:

Quote:

Koei met with members of the Japanese press in Tokyo today to unveil a new, original RPG for the Wii. Titled Opoona, this game is being developed by Japanese development house Arte Piazza (previous work on Dragon Quest VII and the PS2 remake of Dragon Quest V) for Japanese release this summer.

The game's title is taken from the main character's name. Opoona is the son of a Cosmo Guard, a warrior that protects the peace in the universe. One day, he's out with his family on a space trip, and gets involved in an accident. His parents are killed, and he finds himself separated from his brother and sister.

Your goal in the game is to help Opoona find his siblings. Opoona starts his adventure on the planet of Landroll, which is being terrorized by demos known as the Dark Rogues. The people of Landroll reside in sealed residential areas, and those who dare step outside face threat of attack.

Part of the game has players experiencing daily life in one of these residential areas. You'll have to take on jobs in order to live properly. The game includes over twenty jobs, ranging from professional detective work to a part time job at a fast food restaurant. Performing jobs increases Opoona's stats, improves his relationship with townfolk, and also opens up new areas of the game world.

This isn't just another simulation game, though. The game includes a storyline that's split into chapters. As one would expect of an RPG, you'll have to explore the dangerous fields surrounding the residential areas and face off against enemies in battle.

The game's "Active Bon Bon Battle System" makes use of a few of the system's motion sensing capabilities. Opoona has a ball on his head called the Energy Bon Bon. You attack your enemies by tossing this ball. To toss the ball, you hold back on the nunchuck's analogue stick, then swing the nunchuck in the direction you want to toss. Koei noted that the entire battle system can be controlled with the nunchuck, so players can lay down as they play.

As you advance in the game, you'll eventually rescue your sister Paullina and your brother Copoona. These two can then be used in battle. Paullina has two balls on her head instead of one. Copoona has his Energy Bon Bon below him (he doesn't have feet, unlike his brother and sister), which apparently gives him better magic capabilities.

At today's unveiling event, Koei introduced some of the staff members of team Opoona. From Arte Pizza, Shintarou Mashima is producing the project, with direction by Yukiko Sugimura. The aural side of the project is being overseen by Hitoshi Sakimoto, who previously worked on Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story.

IGN

The art looks a little funky but the idea that the game is based on sounds kinda cool. I guess we'll see as more unfolds. There is a video of the game in action but as it was taken from a camcorder not much detail can be seen and the explanation of the game is in Japanese with no translation to english so I have no idea what is being explained about it.
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/10048

Visually speaking the game looks a little basic, but there does seem to be some effects going on such as real time reflections and specular highlights, though as the video is from a camara and not a direct feed its hard to tell at the moment.

Anyone have any thoughts or comments?
If there is any more media or info found feel free to post away.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

An honest to god RPG for the Wii, with music from Sakimoto? Exciting!

Not that Dragon Quest Swords will suck, but I've played the original stand-alone game, and it's less an RPG and more an arcade hack and slash. This games sounds like it could have the same quirkiness as Earthbound.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

yea, other than this I think there is a Tales game headed to Wii, but this one offers some interesting new concepts such as having to hold a job. It does have some quirky graphical similarities to Earthbound.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Oh, different jobs raises your stats! I can't wait to build up my burger-flipping stats and gain tons of experience from my second job as a mailroom clerk. What's that?! I have to get 50 S-Ranks on the burger-flipping minigames to unlock the Mech Dragon boss?!!! AWESOME WIIMOTE ACTION SHIMASU!!!

Honestly, this game sounds retarded.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Yeah, i think this game might be a renter for me when i finally get a Wii. But when i do rent it, maybe i'll be swayed, and buy it one day.

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The battle system looks interesting enough and might hold my attention for a while. I'd really like to know some of the intricate details of the game since I can't understand the video, either. That timer on the top right corner of the battle screen is making me curious.

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Gotta say I was more excited reading about the game than I was after I saw some screenshots. Looks kinda weird but hopefully the graphics or artwork or kinda nice. The thing I'm interested most about this game though is the music, considering Sakimoto's just damn awesome.

FELIPE NO

The idea reminds me of Earthbound, with the incorporation of real life concepts like jobs, and the retention of RPG elements such as the threats from the within the universe. Of course, it's another one of those quirky games to definitely read up on with lots of reviews. hopefully it's not too gimmicky with the Bon Bon balls or banking on just the unique ideas to keep it fresh.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by PsychoJosh

Oh, different jobs raises your stats! I can't wait to build up my burger-flipping stats and gain tons of experience from my second job as a mailroom clerk. What's that?! I have to get 50 S-Ranks on the burger-flipping minigames to unlock the Mech Dragon boss?!!! AWESOME WIIMOTE ACTION SHIMASU!!!

Honestly, this game sounds retarded.

So do you whenever you post.

This game sounds like the type which will be either utter crap, overhyped, or a total cult classic. It's too soon to start guessing what category it'll fir under just yet though. You know what this reminds me of? Giftpia. And you know what never received a translation? Giftpia. I'm interested either way.

The main character reminds me of Mr. Saturn. ._.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Yea, I would not knock the game yet, it was just anounced and while you can have a burger flipping job, you can also have a job as a detective. That sounds like a pretty cool concept that they have a range of choices for work and you have to work while you quest, so you have to weigh priorities. The game visually does not look great right now but it could be early still considering it was just announced.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

This game looks so bad, it makes me ashamed of even getting a Wii.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Grawl

This game looks so bad, it makes me ashamed of even getting a Wii.

of course, you'll be saying that about 3/4ths of the wii's library as of now. fuck the developers for porting ps2 shit (in general) onto the wii and not updating the graphics at all.

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Originally Posted by RushJet1

of course, you'll be saying that about 3/4ths of the wii's library as of now. fuck the developers for porting ps2 shit (in general) onto the wii and not updating the graphics at all.

Except, this isn't a PS2 nor is half of the Wii's (albeit small) library.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Guys, GUYS. Awesome news.



US release on March 25! While I have no idea what the fuck possessed Koei to bring the game over (the game did terribly in Japan despite strong reviews), I'm just glad they did!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

That's great! I was really worried it wouldn't make it over.

FELIPE NO

Since it was released in November, I was just assuming the game wasn't coming. Apparently it was quietly announced a little while back.

IGN has a good preview up, for those interested. Some english videos, too.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Alright, fine, be that way, guys!

New preview in video form. It's a promising game, but the preview neglects to mention that the Wiimote can be used along with the nunchuck (nunchuck-only control is optional).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Played this for a few hours today. Had to because I was curious.

Well I'd liken the experience to throwing a tennis ball against a garage door for hours. There is no growth or variation in the battle system from what I saw and the early quests were just goofy and couldn't help but think they were aimed at 5-7 year old children.

Rent it. I really have no idea if others would find this enjoyable but it wasn't my thing for sure.

How ya doing, buddy?

I bought it today and've been eating it up. Have you been upgrading the Bon Bons and whatnot? The battle system isn't groundbreaking, but it's no more tiring than a menu-based battle system where you need to constantly press the confirm button. At least with this system, arcing the Bon Bons stays relatively enjoyable.

The music is stellar, the menus and all that are easy to navigate, and there's an assload of stuff to do. The game's been suffering from some middling reviews in the US because of a poor map and large areas to explore, but they're babies. They even admit that most of the other things are great, but just can't get over the fact that the map doesn't clearly list where every little thing is. Feh.

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I bought it too, and I realized something:
This game is almost an SAT-prep/Brainteaser kind of game. It really works your capacity to memorize 3D space and locations, as well as what quests to do next and where each person is. Some battles also require you to throw your bon-bon around other enemies and think about angle and timing.

It's not so much an RPG... I do wish they focused more on the battles instead of the fetchquests, but part of me got addicted to raising my licenses even if they're kinda meaningless. It's a game for a very niche audience, but I have wide gaming tastes and am pretty forgiving, so I enjoy it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I have such great fun with this game. My only gripe is not having a guide lol. I saw that in order to build your friendships, you do have a small window here and there to do them. I saw that when I missed so-so's concert, I missed the opportunity to watch it because I slept for a day.

Licenses isn't that meaningless, most of them help with your friendships and your stats. Mira with Sweeper and Star license, hell, just working Attendant with Mac will yield you the chance to go to the Blue Desert Hotel to get that engineering license.

Engineering license would give you the rock drill to get past the rocks to get better treasures (coatings, currency and the rocks yield minerals for the farmer license) is the big one. I enjoyed most of this game by not just fighting (or otherwise the high encounter rate would annoy me sooner than later).

And god yes, the music is wonderful!

I didn't realize Josh's banned for a while... wish to take that diss back. Now I'm embarrassed!

I was speaking idiomatically.

Josh is perma-banned for retardation, actually. No need to feel bad about a well-deserved diss.

Lent this to a friend since I hadn't been in the mood to play it. I'm kind of getting back into the idea, so I'll have to ask for it back.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Meia

And god yes, the music is wonderful!

It really is

Squaretex is leading the way in tagging the Opoona gamerip, if anyone is interested in helping out. Thread here.

FELIPE NO