Contributions > Descriptions by Rik Hideto (473434)

Super Formation Soccer II is basically the same game as its predecessor Super Formation Soccer.

Significant features include a 4-player mode, battery backup, and a few new gameplay additions.

Part of the Formation Soccer series and one of the first soccer titles released for the PlayStation.

In Hyper Formation Soccer, the player can choose one of the national teams from all around the world, and participate on exhibition matches, world cup and Human cup. The game features the usual options such as match length and draw rules, as well as define different weather effects, etc.

Shutokō Battle R is the third installment in the Shutokō Battle series for the PlayStation. This time, however, the action is not limited to Tokyo - it has spread to the Osaka metropolitan area. There are three game modes to choose from: Scenario*: Try to beat the clock as well as your competitors to the finish line. The points you earn can be used to upgrade your car in the machine shop.

• Practice: You can practice driving before you try it on the real thing.
• Link Race: Connect another PlayStation and play against another player.

The more opponents you defeat, the quicker you will be able to meet the challenge of professional driver and street legend Keiichi Tsuchiya.

F-1 Grand Prix Part III is the third title in Video System's licensed F-1 Grand Prix series.

Based on the 1993 Formula One season, the main gameplay is the same as its predecessor. The ability to switch drivers and engines between teams or the ten-second stop-go penalty are some of the many additions. A few drivers and circuits that weren't part of the 1993 season are also included making it possible to compete in the 1991 and 1992 seasons.

F-1 Grand Prix Part II is the second title in Video System's licensed F-1 Grand Prix series.

Based on the 1992 Formula One season, the main feature was the introduction of a Story mode in which the player can create its own team and improve the car over the races.

Gal Gunvolt is a port of Mighty Gunvolt. It contains all downloadable stages from the updated version of Mighty Gunvolt.

Kirby’s Blowout Blast is based on Kirby 3D Rumble, which is a mini-game in Kirby: Planet Robobot. The game follows the same mechanics as the original Kirby game, Kirby's Dream Land, meaning there is no copy ability, like in future iterations of the series. The main difference in Kirby’s Blowout Blast is the introduction of the 3D environment, which changes the gameplay around. For instance, Kirby can now spit enemies he has swallowed in several different directions, with the introduction of a small arrow to indicate the direction Kirby will spit the enemy out.

Even though the game is fully playable in 2D, the use of the 3D gimmick gives the world a much greater sense of depth, and can sometimes help with the gameplay, just like it happened in Planet Robobot.

Each completed stage awards the player with bonus points, depending on how fast the stage was finished, how many enemies were killed, if all coins were collected and if damage was avoided. A gold ranking (or higher) will unlock the EX versions of the corresponding world, and since there are initially five worlds to beat, obtaining that rank in each single world will double the game’s length, making 10 worlds available.

Kirby themed Amiibo work with the game, unlocking several cosmetic extras. Other extras are also unlocked by having Kirby Planet Robobot.

This Japan-exclusive Amiibo bundled edition comes in a cardboard box and includes:

• HakoBoy!
• HakoBoy! Mōhito Hako
• Sayonara! HakoBoy!
• A Qbby Amiibo
• Original Soundtrack CD featuring the music from all three games

Captain Olimar wakes up after crash landing his ship, and realizing that the fuel supply is empty. After wandering about, he comes across some Pikmin hidden around, and eventually some Sparklium seeds, which are what is used as fuel for the ship, and thus, needed for escaping.

In Hey! Pikmin, a spinoff of the Pikmin series, the player controls Captain Olimar, in a 2.5D side-scroller with puzzle elements, instead of the traditional 3D real-time strategy that the series goes by.

Pikmin are found in the wild, and Captain Olimar can call upon them with his whistle, and then issue several different commands, such as throw them onto platforms, so they can remove obstacles and collect items. Olimar is controlled with the D-pad, while Pikmin are controlled with the stylus. As such, the game relies heavily on the touchscreen. Each Pikmin type has different abilities – for instance, blue Pikmin can swim, red Pikmin are resistant to fire, and yellow Pikmin are resistant to electricity. The player must then utilize different Pikmin to suit different situations.

Captain Olimar has a set of green bars depicting his health, which are depleted by simply bumping into enemies, instead of just by enemy attacks, like in previous games.

Miitopia plays like a classic JRPG, with the main feature in this game being the use of Miis as characters populating the world, allowing you to choose from your own Miis for the roles of your playable characters and major NPCs, while allowing the use of Spotpass for casting minor NPC roles. Besides being able to directly choose which Mii gets each role, the game can also do that automatically.

A simple job system is in place, giving you the ability to choose a job for each character that joins the party, each with their particular strengths and weaknesses. There are the usual jobs in the genre, like warriors, clerics, mages, besides more unusual ones, like cats. Equipment is progressively stronger, making it easier to improve growth, and food items can also be used to boost character stats. The battle system follows the traditional turn-based formula, with only the main character being controlled directly, even though there is an option for auto-battle, as well as fast-forwarding.

One aspect that is different from usual is the use of relationships between characters as a game mechanic, in that having a good relationship between two characters will have them help each other out in battle (for instance, through the use of healing items).

Miis can be transferred from the Tomodachi Life game, or from the Miitomo smart-device app. The game also supports Amiibo functionality, which provide customization to the Miis.

Splatoon 2 is a third-person shooter, just like its predecessor, and it also presents the same unique mechanics to the genre, like shooting ink from your guns instead of bullets, and being able to use that ink to traverse through painted zones, by turning into a squid. This squid form can move quicker through these zones, although it cannot shoot like the humanoid form. The game once again combines motion controls with the analogue stick.

Several new features are present, while maintaining the same gameplay elements of the original. There is a brand new single-player campaign, besides a local multiplayer mode due to the Switch’s ad-hoc functionality, both on the Switch console itself and on the TV. Besides classical weapons from the original game, like Splattershot, Ink Roller and Splat Charger, the game also presents the player with several new guns, like Splat Dualies, which allow for a wider range of fire. New special attacks are also introduced, being unlockable throughout the matches, including a rocket launcher with lock-on capabilities or a jetpack able to fire Inklings (the playable characters) into the sky and have them drop bombs. There also new maps exclusive to this game, making it larger than the original.

The sequel retains the aesthetic look of the original, with an even more vibrant color scheme. This comes into play particularly during the stylistic character customization system, which is meant to have players make use of the screenshot functionality, to take pictures of their personalized Inklings and share them online.

Inside a casino, during one of their heists, the group known as Phantom Thieves of Hearts is cornered by the police. Unable to escape, the leader of the group (the game's protagonist) is put under arrest, and goes into interrogation. Thus he begins to tell his story. After defending a woman from being harassed by a powerful politician, the 16-year-old protagonist is charged with assault and put on probation, which results in expulsion from his school. Following this, the protagonist is transferred to Shujin Academy in Tokyo, being forced to live at a coffee shop by the name of Cafe Leblanc, under the supervision of a friend of his parents, Sojiro Sakura. After going to school and making a couple of friends, is when the story truly starts.

Persona 5, like its predecessors Persona 3 and Persona 4, takes course during a whole school year and has elements of both social simulator and dungeon crawler. During day time, the player must attend classes, and can choose to spend his free time doing various side activities, like playing sports, fishing, exercising at the gym, watch T.V., going to the movies, going out with friends, taking part-time jobs and so on. There is a new game mechanic, the Confidant system, which is akin to the Social Link system present in previous games, whose sole purpose is to increase interaction with other characters and building relationships. The stronger the bonds with others, the stronger the benefits (usually related to the Personas themselves). This time around, and in reference to older entries in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, the Personas are obtained through the negotiation system, where the player characters speak with the demons that are fought, and try to persuade them to join the party, through several dialogue options. Players can also demand money or items from the creature instead. The Persona fusion system is still in place, allowing the player to create more powerful Personas by fusing existing ones, while in the Velvet Room. Personas are obtained by visiting Palaces, the dungeons in this game, which are areas given physical form by the desires of corrupt individuals. Unlike previous entries, these dungeons are not procedurally generated, thus having the same layout each time they're visited. Also returning from the first Persona game are guns, which have limited ammo.

The visual presentation is based on the picaresque theme on which the story is founded upon, and is very blatant in the U.I. screens. The thematic color for Persona 5 is red, just like Persona 3 had blue for its main color theme, and Persona 4 had yellow. The game's soundtrack incorporates acid jazz elements, as well as hard rock elements during boss battles, making it distinct from previous titles.

Planet Laika is a role-playing game where the player controls the titular character, Laika, who is part of an expedition to Mars, in order to discover the truth about rumors that have been going around, concerning the end of the world and the existence of a certain supernatural creature.

Laika has multiple-personality disorder, and when talking to other characters, the player will see an aura around them in one of three colors, each of which is associated with a personality type: yellow, for those who wish to attain physical beauty; red for people who are strong and violent; and finally blue, who are psychotic but very crafty individuals.

Laika can absorb these auras, and therefore take on different personalities. This happens by filling up a gauge each time the player absorbs one of the auras, and allowing transformation into one of the three types by visiting a mirror. The game then uses these transformations to solve puzzles throughout, such as having Laika become “red” in order to lift heavy objects.

The battle system is somewhat akin to Pong, in that the player has to deflect enemy projectiles in order inflict damage himself, by using something called a Mind Core. Battles only occur when Laika is transformed into one of the alter egos.

Like many RPGs of its day, Planet Laika uses 3D polygonal characters with 2D pre-rendered backgrounds, along with CG cutscenes.

This is an updated version of Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode - Yokubari Sengen!. It was released exclusively in Japan.

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is a port of the Wii U game, Super Mario Maker, allowing players to create and play their own Mario platform game levels, as well as play through many other previously-created ones.

The most drastic difference between this game and the original is the fact that the 3DS version does not allow for the players to upload the courses they create on the Internet. Players can, however, share their courses with each other via StreetPass or Local Play.

The game comes with 100 exclusive courses, not available in the Wii U version. These courses have different goals (like collecting every coin in the level, for instance), which will earn the player medals upon completion.

Almost every other aspect of the game remains the same as its Wii U counterpart, aside from a few details such as the absence of some small elements (like the Big Mushrooms and the Gnat Attack minigame).

Even though it is a 3DS title, the game does not feature stereoscopic 3D.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is a follow-up to Shin Megami Tensei IV, taking place in the same setting, and with its plot acting as a follow up to the Neutral path of the previous game.

The story is set in the year 2038, in Tokyo, where a raging war occurred between the gods 25 years ago, resulting in the sky above the city being covered in rock, in order to avoid contact with the outside world. Even after the war ended, the world is still devoid of normality, with people killing each other, and Man being ruled over by both angels and demons. The player takes control of the character Nanashi, who after being killed almost at the start of the game, is revived by the demon Dagda, in return for becoming Dagda's "Godslayer".

The game then slowly directs the player through the usual Shin Megami Tensei alignment system, where decisions made will border on either Law, Chaos or Neutral routes, which will lead to a multitude of different endings.

There are several key gameplay changes in this game, comparing it to its sister title, Shin Megami Tensei IV:

• The expanded partner system is the most obvious improvement, with Nanashi being able to have up to seven partners during battle (the usual 3 demons to fight alongside him, as well as 4 support characters, each with their own support gauge);
• Update to the negotiation system, where previously failed negotiations will start where they left off if you try them again, instead of simply restarting all over;
• Enhancements to magic usage, whereby demons specializing in a certain magic type will use it more efficiently;
• Also regarding magic, the light and dark spells of Hama and Mudo no longer have the possibility of instantly killing an opponent, they now deal damage instead;
• Complete overhaul to the UI, making it a lot more user friendly and aesthetically pleasing;
• New sound effects (like demon roaring).

Some demon designs from the previous game were refined in this release, and the main character was given a teenager look in order to better fit the game's themes (instead of the original design, which made him look much older).

Bomberman Wars is an isometric tactical RPG, as opposed to the traditional top-down action/maze games in the franchise.

There's a story mode, where the main character, King Bomber, rules over the kingdom, but has to fight off Bagular and his soldiers, in order to conquer all land. Gameplay-wise, the player controls the King and his knights, moving the characters around in a grid, with limited moves each turn, as is usual in tactical RPGs.

This game is one of the first in the series to shift its main focus from multi-player to single player gaming. However, a versus mode is also available in addition to the story mode.

As a virtual reality game, The Climb was developed exclusively for use with HMD (head-mounted displays), such as the Oculus Rift. It is a rock climbing game, in first-person view mode, where the player scales mountains and other harsh environments, (with the possibility of using the Oculus Touch controllers for a more vivid experience).

The player has to explore the surroundings carefully, in order to find different places to hold on to. Just like with real rock climbing, there is also the need to frequently use chalk in your hands, so the player can have a better grip.

Layers of Fear: Inheritance is the DLC for Layers of Fear, featuring the same type of gameplay. It adds more depth to the story, expanding on the original by making the player control the daughter of the original protagonist, and piecing together the original plot and filling some previous plot holes with newly provided information. There are many recognizable areas from the first game, but also several new ones. The DLC features three different endings, which adds a degree of replayability.

Araiguma Rascal is a puzzle game based on the anime series of the same name, featuring the raccoon Rascal.

The game plays just like a Tetris-clone, with a twist – the player is actually in control of Rascal, and uses him to stack items either vertically or horizontally in order to clear them, making the game similar to Wario's Woods, gameplaywise. Stacking three or more items of the same type makes them disappear, thus increasing the green bar on the bottom. As soon as that bar is full, the stage is cleared.

There is also a two-player mode that uses the same gameplay as the single-player mode (where the second player controls Sterling), both cooperative and versus, as well as a two-player "course game", where each player must run along a course by avoiding and pushing obstacles out of the way.

Bomberman Story DS is a spin-off from the main Bomberman series, being an action RPG with puzzle elements to it, in the likes of Zelda games. Some of the RPG elements include having a life bar to take into consideration, and having free movement on the map instead of being tied to the usual grid. This allows for greater exploration of the set, which is important as items can be found and used to increase Bomberman’s prowess (such as power ups or equipment). Bomberman can also level-up, as is common in RPGs.

A special feature of this game is its ability to connect with other Bomberman games (like Bomberman 2 for instance) in multiplayer mode. Just as its name implies, unlike usual Bomberman titles, this one features a storyline, depicting Bomberman as an agent on a mission to recover stolen data from a certain group of wrongdoers.

In this sequel to Bomberman for the DS, the eponymous character takes on the role of an anti-virus program, his goal being to eliminate the infection spreading through the technologically advanced Grid City. This sci-fi/cyberspace setting is quite different from usual Bomberman games.

In Bomberman 2, the player has access to both Mission Mode (single player) and Battle Mode (classic multiplayer). In addition, there is a custom multiplayer mode, allowing for Bomberman customization in fighting other players (no CPU allowed in this mode).

Like usual in Bomberman games, the player can acquire several power up items – though the catch with this title is that Bomberman can actually be equipped with several body parts that are scattered throughout the levels, which through an implemented leveling system, make the character more powerful over time. This addition brings a twist to the revisited Bomberman gameplay, opening space for more strategic decisions.

Nontan to Issho: Kuru Kuru Puzzle is a game based on a children’s anime and book series telling the story of a young kitten and his animal friends.

It is a block puzzle game the likes of Tetris and Baku Baku Animal, where the goal is to stack blocks in a way that matching ones are connected and therefore disappear. Unlike in Tetris games though, the blocks cannot be rotated – they can instead be flipped around to reveal different blocks on the reverse side. There’s also the usual bonus blocks that remove entire rows, as is common in this genre. A two-player mode is also featured, even though unlike what usually happens in two-player gameplay of puzzle games, the actions of one player will not affect the other directly (like having more blocks falling on your opponent’s screen after you scored pretty high).

In Bomberman Blast, the player can choose the trademark battle mode featured in Bomberman games, allowing up to eight players at a time, with online gameplay available; or a story mode, where the player’s Miis have been kidnapped, and it’s up to him to find them. This makes the player go on a journey through five different worlds, each with its own distinct boss, while also featuring tons of different enemies. In addition, there is also a "Bomberman for Beginners" mode that welcomes newcomers to the series with basic tutorials to teach the traditional Bomberman mechanics.

There are several new items relative to the Bomberman series, with some of them being activated through use of the Wii Remote’s shaking feature, introducing a new element in the series. Players can also buy upgrades and power-ups, as well as use their Miis during gameplay.

There is a WiiWare digital version that does not contain the story mode nor the beginner mode, as well as not allowing the player to purchase the extra items.

Layers of Fear: Edycja Konesera (meaning Connoisseur Edition) came out exclusively in Poland for the PC. It contains the following items, all fit inside a collector's cardboard box (dubbed "fankit" by the developers):

• a physical copy and a Steam key of the game Layers of Fear
• digital soundtrack
• an artbook
• a poster

In I, of the Mask the player controls a 2D character placed over a 3D background, where the goal is to navigate around a maze while collecting parts in order to build a robot. These parts need to be collected in a preset order, promoting exploration. Upon reaching certain parts of the maze, the player is confronted with a choice. Three crystals show up, each allowing for a different bonus action: one will move the player to another similar junction, the other will move the player to a different section of the maze, and the final one will allow for all robot parts at that maze junction to be gathered.