The Obscurer Tribune # 51

While everybody else was busy covering E3, The Obscurer Tribune was�well, actually we were covering the exact same stuff, since all our material comes from other places anyways. Still, there was plenty for fans of the unusual to follow, and here�s all of it that I could write down before collapsing of exhaustion:

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Hot on the heels of last week�s preview of DeathSmiles, out here later this month (BUY IT), Siliconera gives us a look at its sequel, which just recently released in Japan. While it doesn�t play too badly, I do hope Cave either improves or abandons the antiquated 3D graphics in the future.

We�ve already known about it for awhile, but Konami has finally made it official � as they say around here, yes, Otomedius Excellent is a thing. Also, despite what the press release says, this isn�t an XBLA title, but a disc-based retail game�it had better be, for a full 60 bucks. A trailer featuring some REALLY clumsy censorship is here.

If you want a look at the LE box for Strike Witches on the 360, check out Amazon Japan�s product listing.

Generalissimo Concelmo was apparently pretty impressed with PixelJunk Shooter 2 � keep an eye on this one! Kotaku concurs.

Two preview videos of Hard Corps Uprising has come to light, both showing part of the first level (one is a single player, the other has two cooperating) � assuming this is the game�s �standard� mode you get a life meter, though supposedly an �arcade� difficulty will be available for those who love their one-hit kills. You also appear to have a few new abilities at your disposal, from an air dash to bullet-reflecting � certainly a different take on the Contra formula than we�ve seen in some time � check out some additional video from E3 too. (DToid coverage here.)

There were a few early rumors to that effect, but yup, it�s officially happening � Child of Eden, a �spiritual sequel� to trippy rail shooter Rez, is coming out for the 360�s newly-revealed �Kinect� peripheral, and the PS3 too. The trailer certainly seems to fit the spirit of its predecessor�if you�re worried about the new control interface getting in the way, don�t be, because you can play with a standard controller if you�d like. Whew � bullet dodged! Some screens of the game�s creator demonstrating it are here, and some impressions from Kotaku are here. Also fake comment?

I�m not sure how shmuppy it�ll be with the word �simulation� attached to it, but there�s apparently a little bit of it in Steel Diver for the 3DS, so I figured I�d mention it (despite that it�s actually been around for awhile already). In other non-shmup (and non Rez) news, Star Fox 64 is getting a remake on the 3DS as well � all in all it seems that this was the most notable E3 for rail shooter fans in awhile. Some impressions are here and here, while words from Master Miyamoto are here.

As he promised, pendelton21 has resurrected his �Level Headed� blog series, and done it via Mission 2 (aka �the zombie stage� of Metal Slug 3.

Over at Tomopop you can gaze upon some more pics of the upcoming Remilia and Reisen figures from the �Touhou� series - figure fetishists might also want to check out an upcoming model of the 1P ship from Darius Burst.




First there was the poster, then came scads of previews�and then came the trio of gameplay videos for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (oh, and a shot at winning a t-shirt). Most important confirmation? No, not Dormammu, or maybe-Thor, or the launch button � the front-page interview with the game�s producer? Pfft. I meant that Deadpool does say �Shoryuken!� during his launcher. GOTF CONFIRMEDED, AMIRITE? (DToid coverage here.)

Forget all that, though � the REAL new frontier for fighting game is�the 3DS!? It would appear so, as both Street Fighter IV and Dead or Alive are making appearances on the system � hope it has a good d-pad.

The above wasn�t the weirdest fighting-related announcement at the show, though � that honor goes to Tekken�s Lars Alexandersson, who will be making a guest appearance as a playable character in�a Naruto game? Whut? (DToid coverage here.)

The new Mortal Kombat stuff revealed last week continues to expand its presence, whether via a E3 poster or an interview with That Guy Who Played Jax in the movie pitch�.oh, and some actually gameplay impressions too. On the home front Senor Gutierrez interviews Ed Boon, and RAB links to another video in his c-blog � oh, and by the way, be (possibly) prepared for downloadable fatalities.

I am going to assume that linking to the preview of the Scott Pilgrim game at Game Informer prevented angry fans from killing me for ignoring it � going by this theory I will also tell you that the game is coming to PSN first on August 10th, and link to Mooks� c-blog, which has a video trailer for it. (Front page coverage here.) Oh, and even more screens. And a front-page hands-on. And another preview with a second trailer. So please continue to not kill me!

All participants in nilcam�s �PS3 Fight Club� tourney ought to make sure they�re in on the latest updates � especially since that second link contains instructions on how to sign up for the upcoming King of Fighters XII phase of the proceedings!

The most recent Podsumaki cast focuses on the various Capcom/SNK crossover �versus� games � think we�ll ever see another one?

On the c-blogs s0lesurviv0r links to a really silly (but still amusing) �fan observation� of Super Street Fighter IV�s Hakan � I can only wonder how someone gets the idea to sit down and make stuff like this. The most recent �Cosplay Fail� blog by chaotical also features a couple of Street Fighter atrocities. There�s no need to cover the children�s eyes, though � you�ll need them to cover yours!

This week�s �Sundays With Sagat� has some unusual (and harsh) words for Uncharted 2, but there are two other things that I have to ask � first, why censor every curse except the �f-bomb�? And more importantly, the heck�s up with the Puzzle Bobble music? A c-blogger offers a response here. The most recent �Weekend Destructainment� post also contains a really stupid Guile video (though for me any video with Guile in it is automatically stupid) and a �Sakura�s Theme Fits None� vid, if you care.

Need a bit more cute in this week�s Fighting section? Tomopop offers yet another look at the stumpy Noel figure that comes with the BlazBlue: Continuum Shift LE in Japan. Said site also launches a new series, �Throwback Thursdays�, with a feature on a Cammy figure first released in early 2007.




Good news for anyone hoping that Neptune makes it to our shores � it appears that NISA is already working on a deal with Compile Heart to make it happen. Fingers crossed, everyone!

Tribune readers already knew about both of them, but Atlus USA has by now officially announced their localizations of Etrian Odyssey III (release date September 21st, official site here) and the PSP version of Knights in the Nightmare (release date October 19th, official site here, teaser trailer here. I�m particularly excited to see Princess Yggdra, formerly a �guest� in the DS version, fully playable here.

You�ve been hearing drips and drabs about The 3rd Birthday for awhile now, but thanks to E3 you�ve finally got a trailer, which even mixes some gameplay footage in with the cutscenes. Siliconera also has two brief write-up about the game here and here.

For the moment, at least, it looks like Gamestop�s listing for Valkyria Chronicles 2 was correct, as the US release date has been announced as August 31st. Check out a few screens while you�re at that link,.a few more here, and some impressions from Gamer Limit (c-blog item here).

Just as a quick note, in case you were worried about how Xenoblade might sell, apparently it�s doing okay so far.

Tomopop shows us two upcoming figures of a pair of mechs from the Super Robot Taisen OG series.

Seeing as the RPG section is a little sparse this week, I don�t mind reporting a few non-obscure bits, first and foremost the fact that Secret of Mana, an old favorite of mine, is coming to the iPhone(DToid coverage here). Also hailing from my childhood is this crossover fanart of �Chrono Tigger�.




Straight from E3 comes a new Super Scribblenauts trailer � just like with the last one, watching it makes me giddy to just play around and see what sort of wacky stuff I can make appear. Hopefully it�s a bit more refined than the first, so players can enjoy the experience in full � some brief (and encouraging) impressions to that end from The Generalissimo are here, and some equivalent looks from elsewhere are here, here, and here.

Check out a nice-looking trailer and a few more screens for Lost in Shadow at this link � come to think of it, watching your shadow get thrown off a tower is probably almost as bad as actually being thrown off yourself!

I can�t top the title that DToid attached to this short bit of Tales of Bearsworth Manor footage, so I�ll just copy it � Dale North Throws Bears at Other Bears.

Well, I guess we can forget the whole �Valve hates Sony� bit�Portal 2 is coming to the PS3. Oh, and there�s a short trailer, too�yeah, it HAS been a long time. I�ve been okay, I guess. Some impressions are here, here and here, while an interview with one of Valve�s writers is here�by the way, it survived. But they didn�t. (DToid coverage here and here.) Oolong also links us to a trio of videos on his c-blog (front page coverage here.).

On the front page unang offers up some additional details on the latest Hatsune Miku: Project Diva goings-on, namely the Dreamy Theater add-on and the latest DLC song pack. One of the videos in there has been linked by the Tribune already, but the other is new.

Need yet another Joystiq E3-related preview or two? Here�s one for Comic Jumper, and another for Okamiden � read enough of these and you will officially know everything. Get on that. By the way, did I already post this Okamiden trailer at some point? Well, just to be safe here it is (possibly) again.

Check out a trippy trailer for DJ Max Portable 3, which is apparently due out sometime this fall.

Neither Sly Cooper nor Rayman are too obscure, but since I�ve got a soft spot for character-based platformers I saw fit to mention that the former is getting an HD collection for the PS3 (DToid coverage here), while the latter gets a new 2D entry for an unspecified platform (trailer is here). By the way, apparently Michel Ancel is working on the latter, so he hasn�t left Ubisoft yet � Beyond Good and Evil 2 hopefuls, keep hoping! On a related note, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (which has a couple of screens and a little footage, plus impressions) looks positively recycle-tastic (DToid coverage here). On the less obscure front, even Kirby and DK, not to mention Bonk, are getting back on the 2D platformer bandwagon � no complaints here!

More platformers? Oh, fine then � have a trailer for Trine 2, which even promises 500 percent more rainbows (DToid coverage here)! Oh, and don�t forget Limbo � while it kind of got lost in the shuffle this week, Gamer Limit was kind enough to post both impressions and an interview with one of the guys developing it. Agent Holmes also takes a semi-break from keeping us posted on Super Meat Boy this week (what a slacker � not like there was anything else major going on in the industry), and lets Joystiq pick up the slack.

Remember a certain well-regarded figure of Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere that was released a little while back? Didn�t get a chance to buy it? Well, you�re in luck, as it�s getting a re-release.

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I didn�t even go to the show and feel tired � I�m afraid to wonder how it must feel to actually be there! Anyways, thanks as always for reading and keep gaming obscurely.

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