Any of you who went out to your local video game retailer (or online store) last week hoping to snag a copy of Mistwalker and Artoon's latest RPG, AWAY: Shuffle Dungeon, might have met with discouragement.
In news that came way too late, Majesco has delayed the North American release of the game by over a month, pushing it back to December 02, 2008. The reasons for the delay are unknown at this time, but apparently some people have already got their hands on it as it apparently shipped to some select retailers.
I totally spaced this whole thing until late last week since I've already been playing the Japanese version, but the announcement is still disappointing.
Anyone sad to wait another month for the game? Or have some of you been able to find a copy?
Mistwalker, Artoon, and AQ Interactive's next DS RPG, AWAY: Shuffle Dungeon, has finally gained a release date in North America: October 21, 2008.
Though the Japanese release date of October 16 has been announced for a little while, Majesco (the North American publisher) hasn't been as forthcoming with the release on this side of the Pacific. With a mere 5 days between the Japanese and North American releases, it seems like the delays to the game were indeed due to simultaneous localization.
Majesco has also released the North American boxart (pictured above) and a new English trailer, but I haven't been able to find a version that I can embed for you, so you'll have to deal with the Japanese one. Interested parties may view the English trailer at Majesco's AWAY page here.
This game kind of drops on and off my radar for some reason, but everytime it drops on, I get excited again. What are your thoughts on this title?
AQ Interactive recently released a new promotional video for their upcoming Nintendo DS action RPG, AWAY: Shuffle Dungeon, via the game's official website.
The trailer shows off some of the dungeon-exploration gameplay, explains the "shuffling" phenomenon, and introduces Sword and Aneira.
Developed by Mistwalker and Artoon, AWAY: Shuffle Dungeon will be available in Japan on October 16, 2008 from AQ Interactive, and sometime this fall in North America from Majesco.
If you're anything like me, you've played Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, and are thinking to yourself, "Self, it sure would be nice to get my hands on some more Mistwalker goodness." Well, though we might be waiting a while for Blue Dragon Plus and ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat (God only knows when Nintendo will finally get around to announcing a release date for that), Mistwalker's third DS RPG, AWAY: Shuffle Dungeon, is already confirmed for North American release this October, and it actually looks pretty sweet.
A (relatively) recent Famitsu article goes into some details about the game, and I figured I might as well share them with you, loyal Sword Machine reader. ;)
For those not up to speed on AWAY, here's the run-down: our young and conveniently-named hero, Sword, was hanging out one day, chatting it up with his friend Aneira, when suddenly, there was a bright light, and Sword almost got dragged away by the mysterious AWAY. (Yes, convenient naming schemes permeate this game, just go with it.) Luckily, Aneira pulled him out, but was unfortunately dragged in instead. When Sword gets a hold of himself, he notices that not only Aneira, but his entire village has mysteriously vanished along with the light. So, of course, he sets off for the dungeon that is said to be connected with AWAY...
During his adventures into the dungeon, Sword will rescue various villagers, returning them to the village, and giving him access to more items, weapons, equipment, and skills. The article lists three different shop owners that will need saving before Sword can get his shop on with their various wares. Bukki (a play on the Japanese word for weapon) is the weapons shop owner, and will be able to sell you new arms for your quest. Bohguu (again, a play on the word for equipment) is your friendly neighborhood armorsmith. Finally, Weldan (probably a play on the Japaneseification of the words "well done") is your man for item upgrades and customization.
Throughout his adventure, Sword will be able to find and use at least four different types of weapons: swords, spears, axes, and daggers (x2). Each weapon will work a little differently, and learning which to use when and on whom will become a key to Sword's victory. These weapons can be upgraded with Weldan, and it seems that there are certain weapons that have additional skills and attributes associated with them.
Finally, the article mentions some mysterious objects known as the Rainbow Strings, which are supposedly seven magical instruments that correspond to the seven colors of the rainbow. Each will be important in Sword's overall journey, and it seems like certain villagers will be required to play them.
The game's soundtrack composer, Nobuo Uematsu, was on hand with the article to talk about these seven instruments, claiming to have once seen the real-life versions of them in Transelvania. He explains that though he wanted to hear them played, he was told that they couldn't risk being broken. Luckily though, he says, they are all available in AWAY, and he hopes that players will enjoy their music.
For me, the parallels between this game and the SNES sleeper classic, SoulBlazer, are hard to miss. But that is certainly not a bad thing. And with Mistwalker's track record, and the charming nature of this game, I am very much anticipating this title.
Check out the scans of the articles below. (Thanks, RPGLand.)
AWAY: Shuffle Dungeon will be available on Nintendo DS from AQ Interactive in Japan on October 16, 2008, and sometime this fall in North America from Majesco.
So, Majesco was present at E3, showing off their large variety of games you probably don't care about. The one game that might interest you is the previously mentioned AQ Interactive + Mistwalker DS RPG, AWAY: Shuffle Dungeon.
Majesco released a few new screens for E3. Take a look at them and imagine what it would be like to play it (since they didn't release a trailer).
AWAY will be available in North America in October 2008.
Developed by Artoon and published by AQ Interactive in Japan, AWAY is a collaboration between Hironobu Sakaguchi (of Final Fantasy and Mistwalker fame) for the scenario, Naoto Oshima (best known as the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog) for the character and art design, and Nobuo Uematsu (composer behind Final Fantasy and every Mistwalker game to date) for the soundtrack. The game features real-time, on-screen battles, and dungeons that actively "shuffle" during play (this is difficult to explain, you have to see it in motion to understand).
AWAY: Shuffle Dungeon has been the victim of several release delays in Japan, having recently been pushed back to October 16th in the land of the rising sun. With Majesco's announcement putting North America's release date right around the same time, I can't help but wonder how many of those delays were due to the decision to release the game in both regions at about the same time. Certainly seems probable.
AWAY is the story of a young adventurer named Sword who stumbles upon a town that has been sealed away inside of an ever-changing dungeon, and he sets out to free it (cue Soul Blazer nostalgia).
Though no solid date has been set, we are willing to bet the NA release date will fall sometime with a month of the Japanese release date of October 16th. We'll bring you more updates as we get them. In the meantime, check out exactly what a "shuffle" dungeon is in the trailer below.
Any of you who went out to your local video game retailer (or online store) last week hoping to snag a copy of Mistwalker and Artoon's latest RPG, AWAY: Shuffle Dungeon, might have met with discouragement.
