★ Spark Blog ★

Skye: Endless Realm is an upcoming social MMO for the browser currently being developed by a small developer team called Heart Level Up.  Since the shut down of Tinier Me (December 10, 2012), Heart Level Up recently took advantage over the situation by launching a small promo on Facebook. Here is the picture.



In some sort of way, I think it might be going against copyright claims for G Crest because they still run At Games (which is the main Japanese version) even though Tinier Me is closed down.

Putting it aside, Heart Level Up claimed that items bought with real cash will go toward to international charities mainly unlike other social MMOs. So will this MMO become a major competitor to Gaia Online and perhaps At Games? Not much details are released so far but we will just have to see...

So unfortunately if you haven't heard, some free English anime theme MMOs are closing down this year which is currently Tinier Me and Beanfun games. You can check out their official websites for more details.

Tinier Me

Beanfun U.S.

But of course, the original Japanese versions won't shut down yet...

So there's an interesting anime flash game called Trigger Princess which is sequel for the Trigger Knight. The game will be a fantasy RPG experimental game which will be probably similar to the original. So currently, it's being developed by a small game studio called Mintsphere. Though unfortunately, they officially announced that they do not know the estimated release date but they do hope that they will release it sometime this year.

Other than that, unlike Trigger Knight, one of the developers (who goes by the name of FanFan) stated that the player will be playing as the heroine (Trigger Princess) and summon heroes to do her bidding since she can't really fight.

Here is a statement that FanFan said:

The Princess alone is helpless and cannot fight directly, but she can summon up to 6 “Ephemeral Heroes” to fight on her side. These “Ephemeral Heroes” act as her Sword and Shield, and there are several class to choose from, all with their own pros and cons. Summoning the right Ephemeral Heroes at the right stage while still managing your Resources (the same as Trigger Knight) will be the half-key to survive in this game.

While upgrading and choosing the Ephemeral Heroes already add depth to the gameplay, we will add more depth via Equipment selection. We wont tell how the equipment will change the tides of battle now, but it’s the another half-key of the gameplay. How so? Stay Tuned!

Quoted From:http://www.mintsphere.com/2012/02/16/trigger-extend-03-of-prototype-and-trikni-ios-release/

In any way, this game looks pretty quite promising and I'll be definitely looking forward to it. Putting that aside, if you didn't play the original game yet, you should try it!

Previous Post
Trigger Knight Anime Flash Game Impression

Hello everyone, I interviewed a Developer from Sentou Gakuen who goes by the name of Vendo. If you don't know what the game is, it is simply the first visual novel with MMO (massive multiplayer online)elements that you can play on your browser without having to download anything. This game was created by an indie developer team based in Indonesia called the PST Team. You can register and play the game here.

Spark: How did you become a Game Developer for the PST Team?

Vendo: I started out as a member of the community, just like any usual player. There was an application for a writer's position; I knew the current developers were having trouble with the writing in the visual novel portion of the game, so I decided to apply. Little did I know, there was already a writer, and I wasn't able to have a position just yet, because the community at the that time trusted that writer. That writer had apparently been working with the team for about a month or so, whereas I came from nowhere and had no background nor experience to prove myself; it ultimately became a conflict between two sides as to whether or not I should be allowed to be a writer. However, I displayed my abilities, and within two days: I was able to take over the position of head writer, and also on that same second day, became the only writer, of "PST Team".

Spark: So why did the previous writer leave the team?

Vendo: It's not a very cheerful story, and I cannot give too many specifics, but: The previous writer for Sentou Gakuen did not take it too well when I took the position of Head Writer, and therefore stepped down from the writing team. Rumors in circulation say that the previous writer opted out in an attempt to put pressure on me since I would become the only writer; though, I wasn't fazed by those new turn of events, because here I am today.

Spark: Ah, I see. Now, since the First Day (Prologue Scene) is the only scene so far in the game, when you will launch the next expansion update?

Vendo: As of now we're trying to provide the players with a flash-like (not flash-based) experience, so that readers do not have to go through "walls of text" when reading the Visual Novel (VN) of Sentou Gakuen. Therefore, the next update in the VN will hopefully be around a month or so, while at the same time, the update will come with the new, flash-like experience.

Spark: Will there be any romantic scenes in your future releases similar to a dating sim genre game?

Vendo: Since we are still new in development, future romantic scenes are voided by issues now such as writing for both the male and female genders simultaneously, and writing for viewers as young as their early teens. The topic of romance is there, but is not primary focus of any of the stories in Sentou Gakuen (SG). Although the stories of SG follow the typical Visual Novel style (where romance often plays a major role): good, bad and neutral endings are still feasible without romance involved, despite romance being a typical standard in many Visual Novels. Perhaps later on though, there may be stories which do focus on romance distinctly for both genders.

Spark: Since the game only allows you to have one on one duels for PvP (Player vs Player), will there be any team or co-op based duels in the future?

Vendo: Cooperation-based PvP is something still in consideration, especially since we are limited with what we can do now, so it's not likely to see something like that in the near future. Later on though, it may be possible to accommodate such a system.

Spark: A player posted a suggestion in the game forums that there should be specific "Chapter Scenes" for those who want to replay back to a certain scene. The game currently does not have it but will it be possible to have something like that in the near future?

Vendo: A flash-like experience was mentioned in a previous answer. If we're able to implement a flash-like experience for the players, replays, scene selections, etc. may be possible in the future.

Spark: Thank you for your time and answering my questions. I look forward to your new releases.

So, do you like RPG-like games with only one button? (Yes, that's right; just "one button".) Well, a new studio called Mint Sphere did an attempt and created Trigger Knight which is a fantasy experimental anime flash game. The game of takes place in a random fantasy world which you would usually see. But, you get to play the awesome knight named Trigger Knight. The different thing about her, is that she's not your usual knight you see in a usual RPG. (Yes, I keep mentioning "usual") Trigger Knight has special stuff you get to use. But, she unfortunately has a life span.



Besides the "life span" and buying a certain item for it all the time, the graphics are not bad. The music is great and also the action. You can not really expect a nice decent job on a anime flash game like this. But, For some strange reason, it may get quite addicting.




Overall, you basically get to experiment how many days you get to last with luck and strategy. Another nice thing is that when you lose a run, your run will still be recorded under Achievements. Other than that, there's really nothing much besides the heroine being cute - don't you agree?

Conclusion: Interesting fantasy anime flash game and you should probably try it out too.

Play Trigger Knight

Recently, a Battlefield 1942 mod based on the Last Exile anime (specifically on first season) came out. But,unfortunately - it is not really fully developed yet. You can check out more details about this fan made game mod here. The creator said that vehicles like the Silvana, Claus's Vanship and other known vehicles that other characters use in the anime might be available to use. Also, steam tanks and steam rifles (the weapons that the Musketeers use) will come out. The official launch date is currently unknown for this game mod and this is the only game based on Last Exile so far. Surprisingly, the vehicles and weapons models are accurate.

A trailer recently came out for Monster Hunter 3G for the 3DS. It will launch in Japan on December 10. Here it is:

A recent preview video has been released for the up coming Hatsune Miku 3DS or also known as Hatsune Miku Project Marai. This video shows Hatsune Miku projected on a table top.



There are still no info if it will be ever released in the US or out of Japan. The details about this game is still sadly little.

Previous Posts:

http://sparknorkx.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-6.html

http://sparknorkx.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-2.html

Samurai Warriors: Chronicles for the 3DS is based of on the history of Japan (Samurai times and first use of guns/rifles) but it’s all “fictional” in a way. You play the role of either a hero or heroine and get involved with a lot of wars for the entire game. The nice thing about the gender system is that the Officers (Candidate NPCs) will treat you differently depending on your character’s gender. The hero wields a long katana and a rifle while the heroine wields the dual blades. But, this game is all subbed (meaning that everyone in the game talks in Japanese) but I have no issue with that at all because I love subbed anime and not cheesy English dubbed voices. Also, this game has “anime style” influence like in how the characters talk and interact with you, personality and much more. (By the way, if you didn’t know; the Japanese love their anime style so much that they use it all the time on their video games and entertainment things even though the visual isn’t anime like Samurai Warriors: Chronicles for instance.)



Story/Plot: 9.8/10

The game story is pretty neat and decent. It’s all about Japan struggling through wars. It’s much similar to Bioware’s Dragon Age and Mass Effect on the relationship and choice system. So, there’s a lot of choices to pick and explore where it goes. There isn’t exactly a “main” story because like again; you need to make choices and have relationships. The story cut scenes and main mission briefing is not boring to me at all. Some people say that they are boring because they pretty much want to rush the entire game or does not like Japanese stuff. The characters have nice personalities and cool humor (well, most of them).



Action: 10/10

The action is great. But, most reviewers and critics complain that this game is a “button smasher” even though it’s a hack and slash game. But again, for crying out loud; check out the Legend of Zelda: Orcania of Time, Street Fighter 3D and more for the 3DS and you will also be pressing the same buttons all the time like this game. That’s just a lame excuse they ever thought up though.There is grinding involved but you don’t have to do it much.

Graphics: 9/10

The graphics are cool and it’s not bad for a handheld. But, it’s way better than most other past or current handheld games. You can’t really expect much out of it.

Downloadable Content (DLC) - 10/10

The DLCs are awesome and makes this game world lasts way longer than any other single player game with no DLC. And just that, they are “free” and you can’t really complain about that. They have weekly updates from maps to unique weapons. If you didn’t get the weekly DLC when it first came out, don’t worry. You will be able to get most the DLC from the start and they are not out for a limited time.



Conclusion: 9.5/10

Overall, I love this game and I’m glad that I bought it. I never got bored with it or even will in the future. It has a lot of hours of gameplay and it will take a long time to complete everything especially added with DLC. I wasn’t even a fan of this series until I got this game. Note that there is a bunch of customization involved.

Note: This article was in the old blog and got re-posted.




Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai is coming to the Nintendo 3DS! It is to be released sometime in March, 2012. The game is said to be taking advantage over the 3DS's cameras. So far, the previews just reveal Hatsune Miku and the other Vocaloids are just chibis. I'm not really going to complain but they are still cute. More details will be posted soon. Here's the trailer.