1up preview

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3177967

Imagine this: You are surrounded by 20 giants who are slowly closing in on you. You take one swing of your hammer; the force of your blow drives the crowd a little to the right. Then you cock that hammer back like you're about to hit one out of the park, swing, and all at once those 20 giants explode like piñatas spewing blood and items all over the place. Torsos fly about like bottle rockets; meanwhile you're just concerned with the 100-foot monster in the background. To put it bluntly, Zangeki no Reginleiv (A Nintendo-published Wii game made by the studio behind Earth Defense Force 2017) is bloody murderous joy (I'm not a sociopath, honest!). Half of the fun in this game is just focusing all of your life's frustrations into the controller, and letting the mayhem ensue.

The other half is the Diablo-esque weapon collecting. As you slay countless giants, you are then able to create weapons that range from a simple sword to a megaton-bomb-shooting magic wand. This wand is so devastating that it carries a warning in the back of the manual -- so you don't blow up other players online. The game ups the ante quite quickly as you'll find yourself using all sorts of wacky weapons (including the bomb wand) in the first few stages. Not all weapons are great for every situation, if you are going into a stage with tons of dragons and flying wizards, it's probably not a good idea to come in with a long sword and a hammer. Enemies do eventually come down to melee level, but a little planning always makes life a little easier in the land of Reginleiv (or Iceland, or Norway, or whatever).

So far, Zangeki no Reginleiv has really impressed me. The online multiplayer is fairly lag free, though it sucks you don't share items with your offline characters (the stages are different, though). It would have been nicer with voice support, but this is on the Wii after all. Be happy there are online lobbies with room creation. If you have the ability to import Wii games, import! If you don't, pray to Odin that NOA (or heck, someone else) decides to localize this game, as it's definitely one to watch out for. In the meantime, check out some more crazy videos.

robio said:

Well it's not exactly tearing up the charts in Japan.  First week sales check in with at 22,000 according to Media Create.

Did you think it would?

Foolz said:

gamingeek said:

robio said:

Well it's not exactly tearing up the charts in Japan.  First week sales check in with at 22,000 according to Media Create.

Did you think it would?

22,000 is about what to be expected from a GG-hype thread game!

I was a sure a GG endorsed game was good for 23K.

gamingeek said:

This is a HQ video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--qoj2ktIdU

Engine looks good. Controls look snappy.

Will it become too repetitive though?

Sorry to keep bringing EDF up, but that game was a one trick pony and it was highly enjoyable for the lenght of the 14 hour campaign.  I don't know how the devs did it, but it was the same thing over and over again and it was still one of the funnest games I have played.

aspro said:

Sorry to keep bringing EDF up, but that game was a one trick pony and it was highly enjoyable for the lenght of the 14 hour campaign.  I don't know how the devs did it, but it was the same thing over and over again and it was still one of the funnest games I have played.

 EDF?

robio said:

Foolz said:

gamingeek said:

robio said:

Well it's not exactly tearing up the charts in Japan.  First week sales check in with at 22,000 according to Media Create.

Did you think it would?

22,000 is about what to be expected from a GG-hype thread game!

I was a sure a GG endorsed game was good for 23K.

Internationally. When it sells less than 1K outside of Japan we'll know it's flopped.

aspro said:

gamingeek said:

This is a HQ video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--qoj2ktIdU

Engine looks good. Controls look snappy.

Will it become too repetitive though?

Sorry to keep bringing EDF up, but that game was a one trick pony and it was highly enjoyable for the lenght of the 14 hour campaign.  I don't know how the devs did it, but it was the same thing over and over again and it was still one of the funnest games I have played.

Keep the EDF insights coming, because I hear its the same structure and devs so any comparisons are valid and insightful to me.

Agnates said:

Their previous games didn't even chart (on 360 too) in the top 30 I believe. So, being in the top 10 is a big improvement for them, especially since this a full price title and not a budget release like the EDF games. Anyway, who cares if it doesn't sell well? It's not like Nintendo is hurting for money, and Sandlot was already funded for its development, so thanks to Nintendo they went for three more years or however long without worrying about where their wages and income will come from. That's a good thing I would think, much like Treasure was commissioned to create Sin & Punishment 2, another cult classic that would inevitably also fail to set the charts on fire. At worst they won't collaborate again any time soon. Hopefully it will get localised so the few people interested in it (including myself really) can play it, but other than that, good or bad sales are inconsequential really.

That a refreshing and unique view to take. I wonder if it will get localised? I think Europe is a better bet than the US, because of games like Disaster and Another Code not getting a US release. Famitsu didn't give it a raving review though, I think western sites might like it more because of the epic scale and violence and immediate controls.

angrymonkey said:

Wouldn't it be published by Nintendo or no-one?

Yeah, I guess so.  I'm trying to think of a case where a Nintendo published game has been brought out here by another publisher (and can't come up with any)...

Sony first party games are brought out here (US) by other publishers all the time (like Rule of Rose, Popolocrois), but I can't think of a Ninty game...