National Console Support Daily Journal for December 19, 1997

National Console Support Daily Journal

Square's Chocobo Magic Dungeon places gamers in the webbed feet of a Chocobo (of Final Fantasy fame) where you explore, fight, gather items, level up and basically have a good time in deep, dank dungeons. Like any explorer of the human kind, your on-screen Chocobo will face many puzzles and oppressive adversity as you make your way through the somber levels of the dungeon. A tiny overview map on the lower-right corner of the screen gives navigational aid so that you won't meander aimlessly for hours. Square's production values are always high so expect a dramatic intro, interesting cut scenes and surprise elements in the gameplay.

Sony's Gran Turismo gathers together a large showroom of 87 cars and gives you the keys to drive any of them through racing circuits. The Dodge Viper and Acura NSX are two of the sportier models that you can choose but the Toyota Supra and Nissan 300ZX are also options for your driving enjoyment. The Gran Turismo mode of the game is similar to other racing simulations where you build up your car with winnings until you have the ultimate road warrior. So, you'll start off with maybe, a Ford Festiva but if you're good enough, you'll soon be zooming along in a Jaguar. Gran Turismo and the Dual Shock should go hand in hand for the ultimate driving experience.

The next SNK Saturn conversion will be Real Bout Special. RBS brings back the Brothers Bogard and their friend Joe Higashi as they battle the evil Geese Howard. SNK has stated that this will be Geese's last appearance in an SNK release so this is something of a monumental event. Mr. Howard has given the Bogards reason to live, fight, eat and sleep through 5 FFs so his disappearance may have grave consequeces for future Fatal Fury games. That is, unless Joe Higashi gets killed by Geese Howard's younger brother (Mallard?) and the Bogards get ample fuel for 5 more sequels.

Rockman Neo places the famous blue action hero in a 3-D platformer where he can run and gun in style. Rockman sans helmet will find himself in detailed cities, food markets, pastry stores and other interesting locales as he battles robotic bosses and interacts with everyday citizens. It wasn't really necessary for Capcom to put their popular platform figure in a 3-D adventure since their 2-D games still sell exceptionally well but it's a new twist on a tried and true license. Neo also adds a little more dimension to a character we've known for over a decade, ever since those heady 8-bit Famicom days.

Battle Garegga is not one of the many releases expected next week but it is previewed on the Soukyugurentai Value Pack that we received yesterday. This arcade conversion from Raizing/Eighting is another polished shooter that may look a bit like the recent Raiden Fighters. Like Soukyugurentai, Garegga has an interesting weapon system to help you conquer your enemies. Whereas Soukyu gave you a geometric web to track and attack, Garegga features adjustable firing patterns where you can concentrate your weapons in a forward firing pattern, behind you, concentrated in a tight 60 degree arc, on all four sides or to your left or right. One of the four planes that you can choose is known as the Silver Sword, whose main weapon is a billowing napalm attack. Napalm is the best video game weapon since it lingers and burns for a little while after the initial impact. With the Silver Sword and a third tier power-up, you can essentially spread explosive napalm death throughout the countryside and valleys.

This week was busy but next week should be even busier, especially on Monday. There is a lot of new stock and restock coming in on Monday and Tuesday. Yoshi won't be arriving on these shores alone. Please place your reservations and pre-orders over the weekend so that invoices, shipping labels and confirmations can be done on Monday morning for an expedited afternoon pickup and dispatch. It's another Friday so have a good weekend and we'll meet again next Monday.

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