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NDS
Dramatic Dungeon: Sakura Taisen -
New,
Restock Soon |
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Early
Partial Shipment
One of our suppliers in Japan was able to get a small shipment
of Dramatic Dungeon Sakura Taisen
shipped out to us on Friday of last week. We won't
be able to fill all preorders today but we'll ship
whatever we can. The remainder of our shipments are
scheduled to arrive on Wednesday or Thursday of this
week. Please note that the limited edition of
Dramatic Dungeon Sakura Taisen is expected
to arrive on Thursday. We did not accept preorders
for the limited edition but we'll update our website
once we have news on pricing and availability.
NCS Game Synopsis
«©NCSX»
Ever since Sakura Taisen shipped on
the Saturn console in 1996, the series of Sakura
games and videos have sold over 400 million copies. Those are
impressive numbers by any metric and a resounding
validation of the franchise's drawing power. The Nintendo DS is
the gaming platform of choice in Japan at the moment
so Sega produces a new Sakura-themed dungeon
exploration game for the handheld. The cast of
characters from multiple generations of
Sakura Taisen games are all present including the
main heroines Sakura Shinguuji, Erica Fontaine, and
Gemini Sunrise.
Steampunks are absent from the game so the heroes such as Ichiro Ogami,
Sakura, Iris, and many others walk around in their
theater clothes while attacking with swords and
blunting oncoming blows with shields.
Jan Code: 4974365910396
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NCS Game Notes
» Once the introductory sequence is over,
players take control of Ogami who leads a team that
consists of Sakura Shinguuji, Iris Chateaubriand,
and Maria Tachibana. The girls trail Ogami in a
flanking formation. When the game proper begins,
Maria leaves temporarily so that the party is made
up of Ogami, Sakura, and Iris. At one juncture in
the first dungeon, Maria makes a re-appearance and
rejoins the party after destroying a knight-like
enemy.
» Soon after leaving HQ, the party runs into
three blue beasts that look like jiggling jellies
with arms. A tutorial starts which explains the
battle system and Sakura slashes one beast while
Iris twirls and unleashes a teddy bear move which
heals party members. Sakura later takes care of the
other two creatures while Ogami watches. Afterwards,
the party commences north where they descend a
stairway to a dungeon.
» To attack, press the "A" button and Ogami
lunges forward with a rebel yell. Sakura and Iris
attack on their own volition when trouble rears its
head. The movement and battles in the game are
turn-based so that monsters and party members move
in concert with each other. For example, every move
you make governs the monster's move. If you don't
move, no one else moves in the game world. Take one
step forward and the monster takes one step.
» When exploring the depths of a dungeon, the
top NDS screen shows an auto-map of the area as you
spelunk and plumb. No matter how deep the party goes
into a dungeon, cherry blossoms waft through the
air.
» Maria is very helpful as a party member
because she's the only one in the beginning team who
can fire projectile attacks from short range.
» The second dungeon pairs Ogami with
Ri Kouran who has a special attack which puts
monsters to sleep. Once the Zzz's are evident, her
second attack turns the beasts into three gold bars.
Nice talent if you can get it. Ri Kouran does most
of the work in the second dungeon although Ogami
serves nicely as cannon fodder. In one of the lower
levels, they run into Sumire Kanzaki who destroy
three monsters with a single sword stroke. Later, a
beetle-monster of some sort drops from the ceiling
next to her and he runs off with a scream. Ogami and
Kouran follow and the three join up and become a
team. Kanna Kirishima eventually joins the trio in
another one of the lower levels and the quartet
finish out the dungeon by defeating a gnome-like
creature..
» For every three steps taken, Ogami recovers 1
HP. When he reaches a certain level, he'll recover 1
HP for every two steps taken.
» Ogami starts the third dungeon by his
lonesome. He enters the dungeon with about 100HP
which is enough to withstand the attacks from the
monsters he encounters. The toughest enemies are the
red-armored knights who shoot artillery that takes
10-20 points off of Ogami with every hit. When he
plumbs the lower levels, he meets up with Orihime
Soletta and then Leni Milchstrasse who provide some
much appreciated support.
» Traps are littered throughout the levels. When
a trap is sprung, there's a dialog box that appears
with three choices - one of them will allow Ogami to
escape the effects of the trap. Leni's special skill
is locating and disabling traps.
» Dungeon crawling is tough work and requires a
lot of energy. As such, Ichiro's stomach will growl
something fierce from time to time. If you don't
feed him after the second or third growl, his HP
indicator will turn purple and he'll lose 1 HP for
every move.
» The dungeons are created randomly every time
you play. This means that each time you replay a
certain level, it'll be something different.
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This document is ©NCSX 2008. All rights reserved. No
reproduction in whole or in part of this document
may be made without express written consent of
National Console Support, Inc. |
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