Media Create has released the video game software and hardware sales figures in Japan for the week ending March 17th. Ubisoft’s recently released open world looter shooter, The Division 2 has topped software sales, selling over 63,000 copies in its debut week. The game topped UK sales charts as well, in spite of a significant drop in sales over its 2016 predecessor. Interestingly enough, those figures are also lower than what Anthem sold in Japan in its own debut week.

Meanwhile, One Piece: World Seeker has also had a pretty strong debut, charting in second position with over 51,000 units sold. Devil May Cry 5, which topped the charts last week, is now in third place, having sold over 33,000 copies. Meanwhile, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe are still holding strong in the next two positions, with sales of nearly 21,000 and 17,000 respectively.

On the hardware front, the Switch is still the highest selling console of the week, but has seen a significant drop in sales, moving nearly 57,000 units as opposed to last week’s nearly 70,000. The PS4, on the other hand, has held steady at over 32,000 units sold (base PS4 and Pro model sales combined).

You can take a look at the full software and hardware charts below.

Software Sales (followed by lifetime sales)

1. [PS4] The Division 2 (Limited Edition Included) (Ubisoft, 03/15/19) – 63,817 (New)
2. [PS4] One Piece: World Seeker (Bandai Namco, 03/14/19) – 51,039 (New)
3. [PS4] Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom, 03/08/19) – 33,149 (149,350)
4. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo, 12/07/18) – 20,706 (2,953,145)
5. [NSW] New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Nintendo, 01/11/19) – 16,997 (516,540)
6. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 11,288 (2,178,288
7. [NSW] Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! (Bundle Editions Included) (Nintendo, 11/16/18) – 10,112 (2,178,288)
8. [PS4] LoveR (Kadokawa Games, 03/14/19) – 9,985 (New)
9. [PS4] Judgment (Sega, 12/13/18) – 8,677 (263,407)
10. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Limited Edition Included) (Nintendo, 03/03/17) – 8,479 (1,325,825)
11. [NSW] Super Mario Party (Bundle Version Included) (Nintendo, 10/05/18) – 8,429 (1,055,218)
12. [NSW] Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition (Bundle Version Included) (Microsoft, 06/21/18) – 9,955 (640,825)
13. [NSW] Splatoon 2 (Bundle Version Included) (Nintendo, 07/21/17) – 7,516 (2,962,831)
14. [PS4] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Music and Art Clips (Atlus, 03/14/19) – 5,872 (New)
15. [PS4] Samurai Warriors 4 DX (Limited Edition Included) (Koei Tecmo, 03/14/19) – 5,330 (New)
16. [PS4] Kingdom Hearts III (Limited Edition Included) (Square Enix, 01/25/19) – 5,236 (790,805)
17. [NSW] Samurai Warriors 4 DX (Limited Edition Included) (Koei Tecmo, 03/14/19) – 4,704 (New)
18. [PSV] Kenka Bancho Otome 2nd Rumble!! (Spike Chunsoft, 03/14/19) – 4,704 (New)
19. [NSW] Kirby: Star Allies (Nintendo, 03/16/18) – 2,883 (743,782)
20. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo, 10/27/17) – 2,760 (1,962,818)

Hardware Sales (followed by last week’s sales)

1. Switch – 56,954 (69,766)
2. PlayStation 4 – 25,015 (25,154)
3. PlayStation 4 Pro – 7,206 (7,208)
4. New 2DS LL – 4,040 (4,424)
5. New 3DS LL – 892 (1,182)
6. PlayStation Vita – 870 (3,002)
7. 2DS – 793 (112)
8. Xbox One X – 91 (83)
9. Xbox One – 45 (14)

[Gematsu]

One Piece: World Seeker is the latest action-adventure game based on the series from publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment and developer Ganbarion. It is the first open-world One Piece game released so far and one that doesn’t just retell the story of the anime/manga. In World Seeker, players once again take on the role of Monkey D. Luffy, the franchise’s main protagonist, as he’s joined by his crew the Straw Hat pirates.

"Setting aside its issues with the source material, the story of World Seeker is still pretty interesting and feels almost like a genuine One Piece filler story. While there are moments when the story needlessly drags on, it does have a lot of great moments."

One Piece World Seeker features an original story and setting made just for the game. Series creator Eiichiro Oda supervised the story of World Seeker and even created two new characters for it. It takes place on Jail Island where Luffy must not only rescue his crewmates but also help the island’s inhabitants resolve a long-growing conflict and prevent another war for ownership and control of the island and its resources.

Apart from the entirety of the Straw Hat crew, World Seeker features quite a large number of recognizable faces from the One Piece universe, including Marines Akainu, Kizaru, Kuma, Tashigi, and Smoker; Sabo of the Revolutionary Army; CP-0’s Rob Lucci; and Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji from the Germa 66. Then there are the previously mentioned two new characters created by Oda for the game – Jeanne and Isaac.

But even while Oda was involved in the creation of the game, several of its elements easily conflict and are inconsistent with the manga’s story. Some of these include the game featuring outfits of the Straw Hat crew from older arcs while also featuring characters introduced in latter arcs of the anime/manga. There’s also the inclusion of Akainu and the expected and massive significance of him and Luffy meeting again that the game just brushes off.

Setting aside its issues with the source material, the story of World Seeker is still pretty interesting and feels almost like a genuine One Piece filler story. While there are moments when the story needlessly drags on, it does have a lot of great moments. The dialogue between Luffy and his crew as well as the game’s other characters are also reminiscent of the anime/manga and the flow of the story is decently enjoyable.

"While the character models are pretty well-executed, they just look out of place in the game’s world. The different locations in the game also look quite bland, generic, and not at all reminiscent of any location in the One Piece universe."

One Piece: World Seeker features cel-shaded character models placed in a traditionally 3D-modelled world as opposed to both being cel-shaded, which poses quite a dilemma for the game. While the character models are pretty well-executed, they just look out of place in the game’s world. The different locations in the game also look quite bland, generic, and not at all reminiscent of any location in the One Piece universe.

The game also doesn’t provide much variety when it comes to enemy character models as it reuses many of the models and only adjusts them slightly to make them look different. While it is expected that a game like World Seeker would end up reusing character models for generic enemies, a larger variety of designs would have been very appreciated. Nonetheless, character animations both in-game and during cutscenes are quite decent.

As previously mentioned, World Seeker is the first game in the series to feature open-world gameplay. Switching to an open-world style, as opposed to the linear style of some previous titles, allows not only the developers but also the players the freedom and opportunity to introduce and experience more of Luffy’s abilities outside of combat. It also allows players to tackle the game’s many challenges and missions differently depending on their playstyle.

Many of the game’s maps allow players to access missions from different angles and some missions let players either go all out and fight or use stealth to take down enemies one by one.

Players also have access to a skill tree that can unlock and upgrade Luffy’s abilities that range from different attacks and defensive moves, boosts to his HP and other stats, to abilities that help him move around and explore the environment.

"While the game’s wide range of abilities make exploration and combat quite interesting and enjoyable, the combat does end up tending to be repetitive and tedious."

The game features several of Luffy’s abilities from the anime/manga and implements them in rather interesting ways. Luffy is able to switch between Observation Haki and Armament Haki modes, each giving him a different moveset and playstyle. Simply put, his Obvervation Haki mode gives him faster, single-target attacks as well as a dodge while Armament Haki equips him with slower, area-of-effect attacks and a block.

Luffy can also build up a Tension bar that can be used to unleash ultimate attacks such as his signature Red Hawk attack, activate Conqueror’s Haki, or transform into his Gear Fourth mode. The different modes and abilities the game gives players access fits its open-world style quite well and makes progressing into the game stay fresh as you unlock more. Lastly, the game also features equipment that can be crafted and equipped to increase Luffy’s attack or defense.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the gameplay is Luffy’s ability to extend his arms to reach out to ledges or trees and pull himself to them, which makes traversing the game’s world much more convenient and provides players access to different ways to travel around the map. The ability can also be upgraded to allow Luffy to slingshot himself into the sky and glide for a short time for even faster traveling.

While the game’s wide range of abilities make exploration and combat quite interesting and enjoyable, the combat does end up tending to be repetitive and tedious. Most of the fights, including some of the boss encounters, are also quite easy, which contributes to their tediousness. Making enemies more difficult and varied while also introducing more unique mechanics in the boss fights would have made combat enjoyable all throughout.

"There’s a lot to enjoy in One Piece: World Seeker, especially for fans of the series. But it’s also mired with the same faults of many other games in its genre."

Apart from the main story, World Seeker also expectedly features a large number of side missions and activities. Side missions can be discovered throughout the game’s world or from Luffy’s companions through its Karma social system. Sadly, the side missions are all rather generic and don’t really offer anything new in terms of gameplay. On the other hand, the side quests offered by Luffy’s companions may unlock additional cutscenes for players to experience.

There’s a lot to enjoy in One Piece: World Seeker, especially for fans of the series. But it’s also mired with the same faults of many other games in its genre. In spite of the One Piece franchise providing so much potential for design and gameplay, World Seeker still feels a lot like another generic anime/manga-based action-adventure game. But those who are able to forgive the tedium of its gameplay could still enjoy it a lot.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Devil May Cry 5

Ever since Devil Trigger exploded on the scene, we’ve been counting the days until Devil May Cry 5 was in our hands. Picking up after Devil May Cry 4 (and not DmC: Devil May Cry, thank goodness), the sequel sees Red Grave City invaded by a powerful demonic force. It’s up to Nero, Dante and a new playable character V to set things right. Nero has obtained some significant upgrades since the last game with the Devil Breaker, an item capable of unleashing different abilities depending on the equipped prosthetic. Dante can use his motorcycle that transforms into dual buzz-saws as a weapon and V can…summon familiars? That’s the Devil May Cry we know and love – it’s out on March 8^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

It’s not Dark Souls. It’s not Bloodborne. It’s not even Tenchu (FromSoftware clarified that a full stealth playthrough is not possible after all). So what is it? Set in a fantastical 16^th century Sengoku Japan, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a combination of fast-paced combat, skillful swordplay and wild cards like an axe and grappling hook hidden in a prosthetic arm. Focusing on an old samurai fighting to rescue his lord, Sekiro takes us on a sprawling journey filled with intrigue and adventure. What horrors await though and how does resurrection really work? We’ll find out on March 22^nd when it releases for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn

A remake of Kirby’s Epic Yarn, which launched for the Wii and pretty much kickstarted the yarn-based graphical style, Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn is coming to the Nintendo 3DS on March 8^th. It will have new modes, new power-ups and even lets you play as Meta Knight and King Dedede in different sub-games. Co-op has been removed having an awesome platformer with a lovable art-style like this on the go works nicely.

Dead or Alive 6

Team Ninja’s Dead or Alive series has been fairly dormant since the design shift in Dead or Alive 5. Dead or Alive 6 continues that trend, offering even more gorgeous environments and sharp characters to go with new mechanics. Simple, devastating combos are possible with the Fatal Rush and new Break Blows can be performed when the gauge is full. With 26 characters, a quest mode, story campaign and the same dynamic gameplay as its predecessor, Dead or Alive 6 is looking to be an intriguing return for an iconic franchise.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

So Anthem was kind of “eh” and Destiny 2 is kind of “meh” but hey, at least The Division 2 is almost here. Moving from the snowy reaches of Manhattan to the overgrown and chaotic Washington D.C., The Division 2 still offers some tight cover-based shooting and loot to collect. Along with three Dark Zone districts and new civilian settlements that can be contributed to, there’s also a significant focus on end-game with the Black Tusk faction, Specializations with their own unique abilities and weapons, and Invaded missions that pose tougher challenges. The Division 2 arrives on March 15^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Yoshi’s Crafted World

Not one but two cutesy platformers in March? We’re fine with that. Yoshi’s Crafted World from Good-Feel is coming to the Nintendo Switch on March 29^th and sees the Yoshis on an adventure to restore the Sundream Stone. Though it’s essentially a 2.5D platformer, the game mixes gameplay up by allowing objects in the background and foreground to be interacted with. The “flip” mechanic has been toned down since its initial reveal and it’s now more of an additional run through a level for collectibles. In its current demo though, Yoshi’s Crafted World is tons of fun and we can’t wait to dig into the final game.

The Sinking City

Known better for its Sherlock Holmes games, Frogwares embarks into the realm of cosmic horror with The Sinking City. Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s work, The Sinking City focuses on detective work and investigation – how certain quests are resolved will depend on the number of clues that players can suss out. The story sees private investigator Charles W. Reed looking into the cause of a flood that hits New England, driving everyone mad. Dare we say the one who lays dreaming is responsible? The Sinking City is out on March 21^st for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

One Piece: World Seeker

Jump Force may have fizzled but One Piece: World Seeker gives us hope. It’s developed by Ganbarion of One Piece: Grand Adventure and Unlimited World RED while the story takes us to Jail Island in the New World. Luffy and crew will fighting in an open world space while characters like Kizaru, Kuma, Smoker and Akainu make appearances. If the bombastic action of the other games was any indication, expect One Piece: World Seeker to be a blast. It arrives on March 15^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Tropico 6

El Presidente never dies and Tropico 6 may be his biggest caper yet. Spanning four eras like the previous game – Colonial, World Wars, Cold War and Modern – Tropico 6 provides an entire archipelago of islands to manage instead of one island. The adventure also extends beyond the islands as agents can steal various wonders of the world for you. Research has been revamped, citizens are simulated in greater detail and you can even customize the look of your own personal dictator. And can you say election speeches? Tropico 6 arrives on March 29^th for PC.

Left Alive

Square Enix’s Left Alive is one of the stranger releases of next month. It features the talents of Armored Core series director Toshifumi Nabeshima, Metal Gear Solid character designer Yoji Shinkawa and mech designer Takayuki Yanase. The focus is on survival, stealth and third person shooting with three different protagonists to play with. Oh and you can pilot mechs in some places. Despite all of that, Left Alive looks intriguing and could provide some kind of update on the Front Mission universe. It’s out on March 5^th for PS4 and PC.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season – Episode 4 “Take Us Back”

It’s been a turbulent ride for the final season of The Walking Dead. We’re not just talking about the closure of Telltale Games or Skybound Entertainment stepping in to finish the last two episodes. The game itself has seen Clementine and AJ committing atrocities, doing their best to stay sane and survive while protecting their new home. With the fourth episode “Take Us Back” marking the end of Clementine’s journey, will the series drag us back into the emotional pits of despair? Or provide a happy ending after all?

Of course, this rampant success has carried over into video games, and Unlimited World Red is the latest game that has spun out of the franchise. The story drops you into the boots of Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates, as they are transporting new friend Pato, a talking raccoon, home to “The Island of Promises” and Transtown, a small, seaside port. The crew lands to drop Pato off and gather supplies, and finds themselves enjoying the hospitality of the local inn after Luffy rescues the innkeeper from some local ruffians. When Luffy wakes up after enjoying a hearty meal, he finds the rest of the crew is missing, and sets off to rescue them.

What follows is a self-contained romp across multiple locations. This is great, especially for those of us who have never really experienced One Piece before now. I’ll admit it: before this, all I knew about Luffy was that he was a pirate with stretchy arms and played a mean game of Street Fighter IV on his days off, but I was pretty interested in the game world when all was said and done. Naturally, the story also contains a number of references and in-jokes, and finds an interesting way to bring back many vanquished friends and foes, which will no doubt please longtime fans.

"A lot of effort has clearly been put into capturing the anime’s colorful art style and mannerisms of the major characters, and this adds quite a bit to the experience."

The characters, in all of their silly, hilarious, absurd glory are the real stars, however, whether it’s Luffy’s never say die attitude, Franky’s tendency to get excited over the smallest things, or Sanji’s obsession with Robin. A lot of effort has clearly been put into capturing the anime’s colorful art style and mannerisms of the major characters, and this adds quite a bit to the experience. It’s a good thing, because Unlimited World Red’s gameplay isn’t really anything to write home about.

You’ll move around the game’s fairly large environments, encountering enemies as you go. Often, the game will lock you into a confined space until you’ve beaten the baddies, and then allow you to move on. Combat is fairly simple: you’ve got light and heavy attacks, special moves, and a team attack that takes your entire special bar and will all but wipe out an entire group of enemies. Add the requisite context sensitive block/dodge button, and you’ve got what amounts to Dynasty Warriors-lite. The big difference is that you can switch between your party members on the fly, and that your allies are actually useful, and do not take damage.

These are welcome additions, but they don’t do much to change what is a pretty standard combat system. The game does its best to distract the player by challenging you to complete a series of combos without being hit for more damage, but that doesn’t stop the combat from becoming a repetitive slog during long play sessions, especially when the game forces you to go back to an area you’ve previously cleared and fight enemies until they drop an item you need to unlock the next area. The one exception to this is the boss fights, which are challenging, engaging, and varied. The patterns behind the bosses are pretty simple, but they’ll force you to change up your combat style, and provide a nice change of pace from the more standard villains the game throws at you.

"When you’re not fighting, you’ll be exploring the environment for items, fishing, and catching local critters, all of which can be used in the game’s crafting system. You can spend the materials you find to craft items, but the real reason to chase this stuff is so you can expand Transtown."

Fighting and completing chapters will gain you levels, which will increase your stats and allow you to access new abilities. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t really do much to teach you how these abilities work. You’ll eventually get it through experimentation, but good luck trying to figure out the difference between a Skill Word (skills you can use in the environment to access new areas), an Item Word (buffs you can use in battle), and a Custom Word (passive buffs) before that.

When you’re not fighting, you’ll be exploring the environment for items, fishing, and catching local critters, all of which can be used in the game’s crafting system. You can spend the materials you find to craft items, but the real reason to chase this stuff is so you can expand Transtown. Get enough materials, and you’ll be able to build new buildings, like a tavern, factory, or pharmacy, which will allow you to access to side quests, minigames, and farming, all of which give you access to more crafting materials.

It’s a neat little system that encourages you to interact with Transtown, which serves as the game hub, and the people within it, and gives you something to do when you don’t feel like going through a mission. It’s a lot of fun to fly around town with Luffy’s stretchy abilities, and expanding the hubworld is actually quite rewarding.

"That’s where Battle Coliseum comes in. This mode eschews all of the town building and RPG elements of the Story Mode, and focuses squarely on the action. Battles boil down to small skirmishes, one on one duals, and two on two team fights."

The only problem is that the game will occassionally lock you out of the story missions until you’ve expanded certain sections of the town, which forces you to go back to old areas and play minigames before you can advance the plot. This would be fine if you had some investment in building the town beyond “Get more stuff so you can build the town so you can get more stuff.” As fun as it can be, it’s completely ancillary and has no impact on the main plot whatsoever, and the requirement can be pretty frustrating when all you want to do is go to the next area.

That’s where Battle Coliseum comes in. This mode eschews all of the town building and RPG elements of the Story Mode, and focuses squarely on the action. Battles boil down to small skirmishes, one on one duals, and two on two team fights. There are three tiers to fight through, and each win will earn you points until you rank up, which will grant access to the next tier. Progress far enough and you’ll unlock new characters as well as quests that you can play in Story Mode.

Ultimately, One Piece Unlimited World Red is a game for the fans. It’s all here: the look, the characters, the art style, the fan service. It captures the look and feel of the series it is based on perfectly. Some will no doubt be let down by the lack of English voice acting and the presentation issues that come with being ported from the 3DS, but it’s a solid package overall, if one that feels a little repetitive. It’s let down by some weird design decisions, but those looking to join Luffy and crew on a fun romp through some uncharted waters will find a lot to like here, even if it is a little stretched out.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation  3.

Bandai Namco Games has revealed that Ganbarion’s One Piece Unlimited World Red will be releasing in North America on July 8th for PS3, PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The game will be an action adventure title based on the popular manga/anime where you’ll be able to control 20 different characters.

The game will also include a Battle Coliseum Mode, in which you can choose from any of the 20 different characters and go on a punching spree against the toughest enemies from the One Piece universe. Characters that will be selectable include “Flame Fist” Ace D. Portgas, Empress Boa Hancock, Luffy, Nami, Zorro, Sanji, Jimbei and many more. No word yet on how much filler the game will contain to match the show though.

One Piece Unlimited World Red will be releasing in Europe on June 27th for the above consoles; Japan gets it slightly earlier on June 12th. Stay tuned for more details.

Namco Bandai have announced that the manga based, Ganbarion developed action RPG One Piece Unlimited World Red will be releasing in the western markets later this year for the PS3, Wii U, PS Vita and 3DS. No, we don’t have any specific release date yet, but I’m guessing Namco will divulge that information soon.

Namco have also released a trailer along with the announcement, which we’ve embedded above. Check it out if you’re interested in buying the game.

The 3DS and PS Vita versions of the game will include local multiplayer for upto four players whereas the PS3 and Wii U versions of the game will include split screen gameplay for two players.

“As one of the most successful manga we ever witnessed, One Piece is a phenomenon that deserves AAA adaptations,” said Hiroaki Ochiai, senior VP of IP strategy at Namco Europe. “We decided to team-up with Ganbarion to create a new opus for the “ Unlimited ” series. Thanks to their expertise, we are sure to have an amazing game where all the details from the One Piece universe will be perfectly pictured. On top of that, we are really proud and happy to have a never-before-seen scenario for this game.”

Watch this space for more info.

Set in the continent of Imperia, divided into 9 kingdoms, in the wastelands of Akanos. A tale of romance, corruption and horror is woven in the first title from Ganbarion capping off a series of three JRPGs – The Last Story and Xenoblade.

You are tasked with saving the mysterious yet endearingly sweet Elena’s life as she is cursed into becoming a gruesome, tentacle waving beasty as time passes. The cure? 13 pieces of “Master Flesh” ripped from the heart of 13 colossal beasts ruling their own tower making up a fortress held together by gigantic chains wobbling over the deepest of chasms known as “The Scar”.

The whole game revolves around what is in its simplest forms a fetch quest. A rather tense, panicked and oftentimes revolting one at that. As time ticks on, displayed on the bottom right of the screen, Elena will slowly transform into a hideous beast where if she reaches full transformation she will be stuck like that. Game over. The mainly silent protagonist of the story – Aeron is set the task of adventuring up 13 different towers to slay the Master Beast atop and retrieve its flesh in which to feed to Elena. Yes, those scenes are exactly as horrific and stomach churning as you are imagining. Seeing a sweet and innocent girl corrupt herself through eating slimy, purple, pulsating blobs of flesh has its way of invoking sympathy for a character.

The main hook revolves around each foray into the towering fortress being a timed mission. If Aeron is gone for too long, he’ll return to find a pleasantly slimy, tentacle fiend instead of the endearing Elena. To prevent this from happening Elena can eat the flesh of the regular Beast flunkeys roaming the towers to stave the curse off that little longer. This means that the further you get to reaching the top of the tower through a series of less than taxing puzzles the more likely Elena’s sat back in the hub shrieking at her own wild tentacles appearing. The trick is to locate shortcuts and pathways leading back down to the bottom of the tower so that if you find you’re cut short three quarters of the way to the top you can slash a bit of prime cut Beast flesh, scurry back down to the bottom of the tower and deliver it to Elena just in time. This also means you have to make your way back to the top again with the knowledge now of where the correct paths are and the puzzles you solved already in place. As I played the first two towers I managed to finish both of them in one trip however I felt no rush as I didn’t even realise I was being timed. Although I did return from the second tower after a longer excursion to find Elena startlingly halfway through her horrific transformation.

Aeron is presented with the impressive weapon of a large chain that not only helps whip the Beasts of each tower into shape but also is used to navigate the environment and solve puzzles. Aeron is controlled using the nunchuck while his simple repertoire of combat moves revolves around hammering the A button to create simple combos. Aeron can dodge attacks however this feels incredibly clunky and the whole combat system lacks the fluidity and complexity of say other action RPGs such as Devil May Cry. However the addition of the chain to Aeron’s arsenal means you can point using the Wii-Mote at any Beast on screen and tap B to fire the chain at the enemy this will create a link between Aeron and the beast and allow him to either throw it around like a rag-doll or tie it to another nearby Beast. This means when Aeron attacks one of the Beasts it deals damage to both of them which is an interesting and useful feature. Once the chain is attached to a Beast you have the option of tightening the chain by pressing a button on the nunchuk and shaking the Wii-Mote once the tension has reached a satisfying level to deal a large amount of damage. The more tension the chain has the more damage is dealt, with this in play battles quickly become a case of dodging into a far corner and snaring your enemies with the chain for as long as you can without being attacked by others.

Pandora’s Tower features many different environments as each tower has a different theme of sorts. For example the first tower revolves around a huge tree growing from the base right up to the top and so on. Each tower has puzzles to be solved and rooms of enemies to be defeated which is all well and good despite being hugely clichéd however none of these aspects are very inspiring in the slightest. The puzzles are often simple and can be solved with a few points and clicks with your trusty chain. This leaves much to be desired and the journey to the top of the tower, which should feel exhausting yet hugely rewarding, doesn’t feel half as epic in scope as it should be. In the exterior shots of these towers they’re huge! So why does it take half an hour to reach the top of the first two? The enemies are generally bland and revolve around the usual gaming baddie tropes. Scary wolves? Check. Flappy bat things? Check. Generic lumbering demon? Check. Giant walking tree creature that spews demons? Um. Combat with these creatures requires little changes to your fighting techniques and tactics as they can usually all be dealt with in the same manner. One thing that I found annoying was that I would clear a room of lumbering monsters only to leave for a second and return to find them fully respawned waiting for more chain whippage. Rooms that respawn enemies is a no no.

The boss fights with the Master Beasts are at times creative but all revolve around the same action which is to hook the clichéd purple glowing weak point, wait for the chain to reach full tension and then tug to deal damage. Doing this while avoiding all of their repeated attack patterns is the aim of the game when it comes to defeating the big nasties and it just doesn’t pay off.

The textures are muddy and bland and each tower features similar looking rooms with blocky models and uninspired environmental designs. With this game being originally recorded in Japanese we lucky Westerners get the privilege of having it dubbed in English and what an awful mess that is. The voice acting is terrible for a start, Elena has this cute almost cockney English accent going on while Aeron is American. What’s that all about? Not only that but you can almost hear the dull hiss of the recording mics when Aeron’s dialogue is played which makes it seem like his voice is coming from someplace else entirely and stands out a mile during the cutscenes.

Although the narrative is imaginative and through some tenderly crafted cut scenes the characters become instantly likeable and familiar the gameplay is far too clunky and uninspired to become the next Legend Of Zelda or Final Fantasy. An interesting blend of button bashing and Wii-mote pointing redeems the game slightly however the whole system could be refined and polished a whole lot more to create a more altogether satisfying and slick experience.

This game was reviewed on the Wii

Pandora’s Tower, the third of the holy trinity of the Japanese RPGs whose releases everyone’s been clamouring for in the west (after Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story), has finally been confirmed for a European release.

The game will release in Europe on April 13 for the Wii.

Pandora’s Tower is an action RPG which sees Aeron, a 22-year old former soldier, who must travel from tower to tower with his swords and chains to kill monsters, so that he can lift a curse off his beloved friend Elena, who is slowly transforming into a demon. The game promises real time combat and motion controls.

Stay tuned for more info.