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I | Enix's Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari or Seven Winds Island Story is a definite charmer. The main character in the game is a large green dragon named Gappu or Garp, who walks erect and is lively with spot animation. Upon starting the game, a short montage filled with picture stills of the world are flashed across the screen to give players a taste of the Nanatsu Kaze universe. Once the player takes over, the camera focuses on a rock that is floating in the air. In the middle of the rock is a plated egg. Pressing the B button will effectively start thumping the cocoon and Gappy is soon hatched after a couple of jumps. Experimenting further with the buttons, the C button makes the dragon dig deep into his shoulder bag and look through his inventory. |
| Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari |
| If you leave the dragon alone, he will breath in and out with his belly distending and retracting in tune. His tail is also in constant motion along with his ears and wings which flap gently to and fro. After hatching, guide Gappu and have him pick up a little feather that shines (the game will give you clues that sparkle or shine). Once Gaapu grasps the feather, a mighty wind blows (accompanied by bats) which throws Gaapu off the floating rock. Once down, there is a three screen portion of the game to explore. On the right side is a distinctive rock and to the left portion there is a crystal shard that sparkles. The sequence in this portion is to plant a seed in the center screen and a 'treehouse' will sprout up in the middle. Once you enter the treehouse, there are additional areas to explore. | I |  |
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I | Nanatsu is the kind of game that warrants active exploration and testing of objects and situations. Eventually you'll meet many odd but interesting characters that you'll have to interact with and get clues and information from. Nanatsu has a certain special quality about it. It could be the incredible character designs or the intricate backgrounds and interactive game elements. In the treehouse, you can sit on a chair to save your game and open up a bureau to store items. There is even a diary that floats in the room that you can flip through. As you progress in the game, every event is transcribed to the diary with text and pictures which tell your story up to the point that you opened up the diary. |
| Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari |
| In some circumstances, you'll have to return with new information or objects that you obtain. For example, the bureau in the treehouse has a drawer that is locked which you'll have to open up later with a key. In this sense, Nana is a game where the entire island can be revisited and discovered again with new items and situations. Nanatsu is a delight to play but we do have a warning. A good amount of Japanese language understanding is absolutely required. There are points in the game where you will be asked certain questions and you won't be able to progress unless you know the correct answer. However we highly recommended this game for platform game fans who can read Japanese. | I |  |
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| One of the best things about Nanatsu are the delightful characters and designs. All of the creatures that you encounter in the game are interesting and beautifully crafted. Enix gifts buyers of Nanatsu with a second CD that contains hundred of images in 640 x 480 bitmap (*.bmp) format of every creature and location that may be found in the game. The artwork is of excellent quality and the detail afforded to each character will warrant close scrutiny. Some of the location pictures are pencil sketches but every creature is rendered in vibrant color. A section on the CD also contains a number of pencil sketches of the characters as they were being developed by the artist. A software trick will allow you to zoom in and out of a picture to check out the details and the intricacy in each image. All in all, a great game and a very nice bonus. The extra CD may also be read by a PC so all of the images may be used as wallpaper. | |
| We finally have a Grandia demo disc today that shows off the characters and the graphics that we can expect in the final release next week. The demo begins with a beautifully rendered animation that shows a ship's approach to an island during a thunderous night storm. Once you begin the actual game, you can explore the world but some functions are disabled and some locations are inaccessible. Grandia is one of those rpgs that has garnered a lot of interest in Japan and in the USA from fans of the genre. The most stunning thing about Grandia is the graphics. The environment is so well drawn and colored that you will find yourself stopping your exploration just to stand there and admire the craftmanship that went into designing the outdoors as well as the indoors. | I |  |
| Grandia |
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In this scene, the main hero and friend run through a market square as the denizens of the land go about their daily business. In later locations, the ground will change according to the enviroment. Castles have stone paths with wooden outlays while village floors are finished with tiled stonework and storm drains. Grandia will probably be the biggest RPG for the Saturn this year and although we have been taking pre-orders for a couple of months now, we are not able to guarantee all reservations for the limited edition of Grandia. The regular edition should be available to all pre-orders however. |
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