Namco/Bandai crank out new Naruto, One Piece, and Zatch Bell games [Archive]

RomanMack

05-03-2006, 07:22 PM

Three new games, of the three hit shonen on Toonami, are getting new games this year... Their names are...

"Naruto: Ultimate Ninja" for the PS2 http://ps2.ign.com/articles/704/704106p1.html

"One Piece: Grand Adventure" for the PS2 and Gamecube http://ps2.ign.com/articles/704/704111p1.html

"Zatch Bell: Mamodo Fury" for the PS2 and Gamecube http://ps2.ign.com/articles/704/704122p1.html

Dark Fact

05-03-2006, 10:48 PM

"Naruto: Ultimate Ninja" for the PS2 http://ps2.ign.com/articles/704/704106p1.html
Pretty good looking and really looks to be the best one of the bunch. I've played the japanese import and have to say that it's really fun and packs a lot of replay value! :)

"One Piece: Grand Adventure" for the PS2 and Gamecube http://ps2.ign.com/articles/704/704111p1.html
So let me get this straight! One Piece: Grand Adventure is One Piece: Grand Battle 4 again only this time, the characters that were deleted from the first U.S. release of the game are now put back in? I now feel sorry for anyone who purchased the U.S. release of Grand Battle. The only way I can see myself playing this game is if there are new extras and features put in. Otherwise, I'll just stick to my import copy of Grand Battle 4. :yawn:

"Zatch Bell: Mamodo Fury" for the PS2 and Gamecube http://ps2.ign.com/articles/704/704122p1.html
Not too familiar with the Zatch Bell game franchise but this looks to be quite a bit of fun. I hope controlling both the human and Mamodo characters won't become a huge pain in the ass. :sweat:

Simpler Simon

05-03-2006, 11:06 PM

So let me get this straight! One Piece: Grand Adventure is One Piece: Grand Battle 4 again only this time, the characters that were deleted from the first U.S. release of the game are now put back in? I now feel sorry for anyone who purchased the U.S. release of Grand Battle. The only way I can see myself playing this game is if there are new extras and features put in. Otherwise, I'll just stick to my import copy of Grand Battle 4. :yawn:

This doesn't look like Grand Battle 3, and it's definitely not Grand Battle Rush (there is no Grand Battle 4). In fact, I only know of 4 OP titles for Gamecube (GB3, Rush, Treasure Battle, Pirates Carnival), and this doesn't look like any of them?

Conekiller

05-03-2006, 11:15 PM

It seems Grand Advneture is tailor made for US audiences. I'm not sure what to think about that yet.....

RomanMack

05-03-2006, 11:23 PM

Pretty good looking and really looks to be the best one of the bunch. I've played the japanese import and have to say that it's really fun and packs a lot of replay value! :)

So let me get this straight! One Piece: Grand Adventure is One Piece: Grand Battle 4 again only this time, the characters that were deleted from the first U.S. release of the game are now put back in? I now feel sorry for anyone who purchased the U.S. release of Grand Battle. The only way I can see myself playing this game is if there are new extras and features put in. Otherwise, I'll just stick to my import copy of Grand Battle 4. :yawn:

Not too familiar with the Zatch Bell game franchise but this looks to be quite a bit of fun. I hope controlling both the human and Mamodo characters won't become a huge pain in the ass. :sweat:
Really, though... This new Grand Battle looks alot like the one we had, but it still looks very cool. U.S only or not.

I still want it. 24 characters (including Ace) and an adventure mode? Sign me up. The other 2 games look cool as well!

Anyway... I think you are mistaken... The only characters that were erased from Grand Battle Rush (our Grand Battle) were Enel, Akoji, Foxy, and Afro Luffy. Ace wasn't in Grand Battle Rush. And from the looks of it, it seems as if you can play as Wapol (who wasn't playable in Grand Battle Rush either). That should be fun.

Dark Fact

05-03-2006, 11:43 PM

This doesn't look like Grand Battle 3, and it's definitely not Grand Battle Rush (there is no Grand Battle 4). In fact, I only know of 4 OP titles for Gamecube (GB3, Rush, Treasure Battle, Pirates Carnival), and this doesn't look like any of them?
Oops, I meant Grand Battle Rush.

Really, though... This new Grand Battle looks alot like the one we had, but it still looks very cool. U.S only or not.

I still want it. 24 characters (including Ace) and an adventure mode? Sign me up. The other 2 games look cool as well!

Anyway... I think you are mistaken... The only characters that were erased from Grand Battle Rush (our Grand Battle) were Enel, Akoji, Foxy, and Afro Luffy. Ace wasn't in Grand Battle Rush. And from the looks of it, it seems as if you can play as Wapol (who wasn't playable in Grand Battle Rush either). That should be fun.
I'm not saying it won't be fun, it's just that I expect something a bit more upgraded to the game than be another version of Grand Battle only with new characters.

Andrew T. Hingson

05-04-2006, 03:14 AM

Ace is in it. Therefore I will buy it. I enjoyed GB despite 4kids and character removals... this looks even more fun. I just wish it was 4 player.

Naruto UN looks good.

Zatch Bell is going 3rd person split screen eh? I like it. Looks better than the first game for sure and will probably have more variety.

Apparently not one but two more DBZ fighters are coming this year. Both on PS2 of course. Sheesh man... how many is that now? Lets see... Budokai 1-3, Tenkaichi 1 and now 2 and Super DBZ. 6 in all, all on PS2. I think Super DBZ will be on the Wii though.

RAINMAN

05-04-2006, 03:26 AM

I wonder just how many DBZ games ben made sense the 16 bit era? I think the SNES had around 4 or 5 games made.

Nin-Nin69

05-04-2006, 05:52 AM

I take it the Naruto game is the first one for PS2. Lame. They should've went straight to the 2nd one.

So the new One Piece game will be a custom made Grand Battle for the US? Sounds great from this end as long as they include everyone playable until Grand Battle Rush with these new set of characters. Being Walpol should be intresting.

Simpler Simon

05-04-2006, 10:52 AM

So the new One Piece game will be a custom made Grand Battle for the US? Sounds great from this end as long as they include everyone playable until Grand Battle Rush with these new set of characters. Being Walpol should be intresting.

I did the math last night. For 24 characters, 16 of those will undoubtedly be the cast of the US Grand Battle.

Then if they cover Skypiea (which would make the most sense) they can port over the characters from GB3, which includes Ace, Hina, Wiper, Orm, Enel.

That makes 21. Wapol seems likely, so that leaves 2 more spots (Tashigi? Vivi?)

I'm really hoping Japan does their own version again, and includes some of the characters from the water 7 arc.

Nin-Nin69

05-04-2006, 12:47 PM

I did the math last night. For 24 characters, 16 of those will undoubtedly be the cast of the US Grand Battle.

Then if they cover Skypiea (which would make the most sense) they can port over the characters from GB3, which includes Ace, Hina, Wiper, Orm, Enel.

That makes 21. Wapol seems likely, so that leaves 2 more spots (Tashigi? Vivi?)
http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/704/704111/one-piece-grand-adventure-20060502001742811-000.jpg

Looks like Zeff, Walpol and Tashigi are the new additions.

I'd rather trade Zeff for Bellamy. You know because he can actually fight and is even stronger. Zeff is just a taller Sanji with a handicap.:shrug:

Conekiller

05-04-2006, 03:02 PM

I'd rather trade Zeff for Bellamy. You know because he can actually fight ... were you watching the same show as me!? :D

the adventure mode sounds interesting.

KuwabaraTheMan

05-04-2006, 03:06 PM

were you watching the same show as me!? :D

the adventure mode sounds interesting.

That 55 million bounty wasn't for nothing.

He's just no match for Luffy.

Nin-Nin69

05-04-2006, 03:33 PM

were you watching the same show as me!? :D
Remember when Zeff ate his own leg and ended his career? :anime:

Yeah I doubt the current Red Shoes Zeff could do much damage against someone like Bellamy.

RomanMack

05-04-2006, 04:31 PM

Well, all I know is that I want to use Wapol.

NOW. :p

Conekiller

05-04-2006, 04:54 PM

Remember when Zeff ate his own leg and ended his career? :anime:
Yeah I doubt the current Red Shoes Zeff could do much damage against someone like Bellamy.

That 55 million bounty wasn't for nothing.
He's just no match for Luffy.

Geez tough crowd :p

Simpler Simon

05-04-2006, 05:13 PM

Zeff's an odd choice for a playable character, Tashigi's a low-rent Zoro. I'd really rather get Vivi and Mr. 3 back.

Oh wait. 4Kids skipped Little Garden. Nevermind.

RomanMack

05-04-2006, 08:09 PM

Zeff's an odd choice for a playable character, Tashigi's a low-rent Zoro. I'd really rather get Vivi and Mr. 3 back.

Oh wait. 4Kids skipped Little Garden. Nevermind.Mr.3 can still be in it... Since they didn't skip him in the Alabasta story arc.

However... Even if they did... They won't care. They'd proboally would still include him, like they did with him as a sopport character in the original Grand Battle.

Dark Fact

05-04-2006, 09:26 PM

I wonder if Zeff can use his hat as his weapon? :confused:

FireStarterLE

05-04-2006, 10:42 PM

"Naruto: Ultimate Ninja" for the PS2 http://ps2.ign.com/articles/704/704106p1.html

hey cool, more characters. Though, to me, it still kinda looks like it has GameCube graphics in it, maybe a litle more sharper that the GC version. But big + to more characters

RomanMack

05-05-2006, 12:15 AM

The new Naruto game also seems to have more of a "comic" feel to it.

Nin-Nin69

05-05-2006, 03:08 AM

They've already pimped out ads for the PS2 Naruto game in the newest SJ.

09MurphyM

05-05-2006, 06:37 AM

The new Zatch Bell game sounds pretty cool. There are two reasons why i'm excited for this new game. One, since I am a Zatch Bell fan I shouldn't pass this opportunity up and two, I heard that you can play as mamodo that have already been beaten in the show, such as Reycom and Robnos!

RomanMack

05-05-2006, 05:44 PM

http://www.worthplaying.com/e3_2006.php?op=viewarticle&artid=1009

Worthplaying.com states that Tashigi and Princess Vivi are playable in the new One Piece game.

It also states something about the sopport character feature being deeper. Ooh... And you can build your own crew in the new story mode too!

Viper

05-05-2006, 06:01 PM

Uh, please tell me Alvida will be in the new game. I'm referring to her gorgeous look after she ate the Slip-Slip fruit and surprised everyone in the 4-part "Roguetown" arc. She's the only female OP character I like. I love her southern accent!:anime:

Kevin the Geek

05-06-2006, 03:18 AM

That new Zatch Bell game looks really good! I may have to rent it when it's released, and if I like it, I may buy it when it goes down to $20.

RomanMack

05-10-2006, 07:35 PM

IGN has new pics showing Vivi and Wapol as playable characters in the One Piece game.

http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/825/825925/imgs_1.html
PS2 version pics

http://media.cube.ign.com/media/825/825976/imgs_1.html
Gamecube version pics

New pics for Zatch Bell...

http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/789/789939/imgs_1.html

...And new pics for the Naruto game as well.

http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/611/611692/imgs_1.html

Nin-Nin69

05-10-2006, 09:17 PM

The shot with Vivi attacking looks sweet.

Conekiller

05-10-2006, 10:32 PM

The minigames int his OP game look fun. Hopefully there's a huge cast of playable characters (I like the idea of a couple of random Marines to fight)

RomanMack

06-03-2006, 03:12 PM

Namco/Bandai has new pages up for the new One Piece games, and the new Zatch Bell game...

One Piece: Grand Adventure: http://bandai.namco.com/games/onepiece_ga.html

One Piece: Pirates' Carnival: http://bandai.namco.com/games/onepiece_pirates.html

Zatch Bell: Mamodo Fury: http://bandai.namco.com/games/zatchbell_fury.html

RomanMack

06-29-2006, 01:39 AM

IGN just posted a huge blowout of One Piece: Grand Adventure pics! 50 new ones to be exact!

http://media.cube.ign.com/media/825/825976/imgs_1.html

Looks like Skypeia is in. There's a stage (where you can see Hatori), and also, it looks like Conis is a sopport character.

Oh, and Zeff is playable.

Nin-Nin69

06-29-2006, 02:33 PM

The idiots from IGN put up a clip for the new Zatch Bell game with the old one. :shrug:

(it's the one called New Fighting Footage)

http://media.cube.ign.com/media/724/724231/vids_1.html

From the look of it you switch between the mamodo and their master in combat. Also you could loose your book and have it destroyed.

RomanMack

07-15-2006, 03:11 AM

Well, here's the box art for "One Piece: Grand Adventure"

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/9/933789_76890_front.jpg

And here's the one for "One Piece: Pirates' Carnival"

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/8/929848_74039_front.jpg

Nin-Nin69

07-15-2006, 03:20 AM

Wow the cover for Grand Adventure is now one of my top favorite box arts of all time. Even though they recycled the picture of Luffy from Fighting for One Piece, that looks fantastic.

http://media.gamestats.com/gg/image/object/753/753665/fightingforonepiece_ps2jpboxboxart_160w.jpg

Kudos for Ener and Crocodile's shadows on the ground and Usopp ready to fight.

Now we know the cover for Pirates Carnival, we know that a ton of characters will be taken out. Kiss the Davy Back Fights and Water 7 cast goodbye. Also the image they chose for Luffy sticks out like a sore thumb. They should've got something better quality. :ack:

Simpler Simon

07-15-2006, 10:09 AM

Now we know the cover for Pirates Carnival, we know that a ton of characters will be taken out. Kiss the Davy Back Fights and Water 7 cast goodbye.

It was doubtful 4Kids would catch up to Davy Back, considering Skypiea is 40+ episodes and it took them a season and a half to get through Alabasta. And no Water 7 is pretty obvious. But I've seen footage of the stilts game from long ring, so it looks like most of the games will be there just without context.

I actually just bought the Jpn Pirates Carnival off play asia during their summer sale, and it works out a bit cheaper than the localized version. Gonna wait a bit on Grand Adventure and see if Jpn announces anything.

Conekiller

07-15-2006, 10:26 AM

Well, here's the box art for "One Piece: Grand Adventure"

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/9/933789_76890_front.jpg

Cool looks like Ener/Enel is in there (his shadow next to Crocodile's) and neato for Usopp getting a tough looking second billing to a badass image of Luffy. There's a chance I might buy this one

Nin-Nin69

07-15-2006, 04:33 PM

Oops just caught a lighting issue with Grand Battle. Shouldn't Mr. 0's shadow be crossing over with Luffy's shorts and making his leg darker?

RomanMack

07-15-2006, 05:07 PM

Yeah, it should. Oh well. :p

Nin-Nin69

07-19-2006, 01:22 AM

Here's a quick interview with Bandai on the new Zatch Bell game:

IGN: What changes have been made to the offensive and defensive systems for the sequel?
Glazebrook: Well, the game is so different from the previous Zatchbell game that it's really hard to call Zatchbell! Mamodo Fury a sequel. Everything about the game, with the exception that you can play both the human partner and the Mamodo, is new and different. For starters, the game is fully 3D, unlike the previous title where characters were battling on a 2D plane. Second, the player is able to switch between the selected human and Mamodo characters. Both the human and Mamodo partners will always have their own advantages and disadvantages. Finally, the player is able to upgrade their Mamodo in story mode. All-in-all, just about everything in Zatchbell! Mamodo Fury is new from the ground up.
IGN: Can you talk about some of the special techniques that will be featured in the game?
Glazebrook: Techniques in the game will vary from character to character, but all attacks are charge-based. When you attempt to unleash a spell, there is a meter called the Spirit Energy Gauge that determines which spell is capable of being used - completely based on how long you charge it. All spells, with the exception of the defensive spells, are triggered this way.
IGN: Will the game have anything along the lines of unlockable characters or bonus content?
Glazebrook: There are a number of characters that can be unlocked in Versus mode. Players will be able to figure out how to unlock them in the Story mode. That's all I'll say for now. I'm sure people will figure it out when the game hits stores.
IGN: What new characters will make an appearance in Mamodo Fury?
Glazebrook: Some of the new characters that will appear in this game that have not appeared in Mamodo Battles are the following: Reycom / Hosokawa //Sugino / Haru //Kolulu / Lori //Fein / Sebe //Eshros / Shin //Robonos / Ruku //Maruss / Rembrant //Baltrol / Steng
There are others as well, but you'll have to play the game to find out who they are!

Rocketboy

07-19-2006, 01:37 PM

I really hope they kept Hyde in the english version.

veemonjosh

07-19-2006, 04:18 PM

I wonder if Baltro will be in giant robot form or not.

And Kolulu? I was surprised she wasn't in the first game considering how many episodes she showed up in the one flashback.

Rocketboy

07-19-2006, 06:37 PM

Simpler Simon

07-20-2006, 12:08 AM

Well my import of Pirates' Carnival came in today. Quick impressions:

-They use opening 5 as the theme song, which will of course be cut. I do hope however they salvage some of the animation from the intro, as its really nice and shows the crew just having fun. I'd say 80% of the intro is usable, and maybe 95% depending on how much they cover of Jaya/Skypeia.

-If you've seen the preview trailers, it's not a Mario party board, just a bunch of event squares with a chibi-map below representing the major locations of the series. The Grand Line map covers Laboon to Alabasta, and takes a long time to play through. Skypeia better be included, because its a board unto itself.

-there is a "davy back fight" mode that allows you to steal squares that have already been taken. they could creatively get around this with the "usopp pirate gang" again, though you'd have to sacrifice practically the entire davy back cast, and foxy vocals.

-i've seen about 26 of the mini games. 5 take place post-alabasta, and 3 verge on spoiler territory depending on how far they take the series next season. The other 2 however, are pure davy back fight, and its a problem because they're the only "team" games i've seen so far. so there might be heavy edits to keep them in.

-the giants from little garden have a speaking role, and a mini-game. i wonder how they'll get around this one.

-water 7 is definitely included, though i haven't seen anything pertaining to it yet...

KuwabaraTheMan

07-20-2006, 12:22 AM

Nin-Nin69

07-20-2006, 12:35 AM

Just to show people, this is the link of who was in the japanese version.

http://www.bandaigames.channel.or.jp/list/ps2_gashbell02/chara.html

WARNING: Link contains MAJOR spoilers concerning the current arc. Look at your own risk.

Damn that is a tall order of characters. I pray that nobody is taken out of the US version. *crosses fingers*

Simpler Simon

07-20-2006, 12:41 AM

Is it easy to play and understand without a strong grasp of the Japanese language? Because I might be interested in checking this out, since it sounds really fun.

I'd say I'm missing the finer points to one or two mini-games so far, and there's probably a few menu options like difficulty settings that I would like to make more sense of. But on the whole, most games are pretty easy to figure out, and you can get a game going pretty quickly. Heck, I even figured out the save option.

I'll probably rent the american release just to cover the bases.

Simpler Simon

07-21-2006, 11:47 AM

Update: Anyone who's interested in importing Pirates' Carnival, Play-Asia has it for $24.90, here (http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-27-77-1-49-en-15-one%2Bpiece-70-11wy-43-99.html). Grab it before the sale ends.

Also, further impressions, this time in spoiler territory:

The last two boards are Water 7 and Long Ring Island. Long Ring is only 9 squares, making for a super-short game, but Water 7 is a sizeable board. Mini-games include Lepoard Lucchi chasing you through a burning Galley-La, Trying to steal back the suitcases of money from Paulie while he ropes you, and stealing gold from Franky while he fires the everything cannon at you.

In all, the game holds up well considering I'm playing by myself at the moment, but it does lose some replay value once the novelty of seeing the mini-games wears off. I'm willing to bet Mario party has a bit more variety in mini-games, but if you're a one piece fan its a nice title to own.

KuwabaraTheMan

07-21-2006, 03:25 PM

Andrew T. Hingson

07-21-2006, 06:17 PM

Oh fooey... I shouldn't have looked at that Zatch Bell image. Now I wont be suprised about Ponygon's Book owner.

RomanMack

07-22-2006, 04:09 PM

http://www.shonenjump.com/news/newsblast/images/20060719/op_ss.jpg

Here's a scan someone ripped from the latest Shonen Jump, that shows a few pictures of what I believe to be "Grand Adventure's" adventure mode. Looks like you can level up your character and have different kinds of stats.

Simpler Simon

08-07-2006, 11:23 PM

IGN has updated with new gameplay videos and impressions of Grand Adventure, found here (http://cube.ign.com/articles/723/723998p1.html).

I'm liking the new lighting effects, and it looks like theres a dash of new content here and there, like the timed battle with Marines. But I'm still not sure if its enough new content to warrant a purchase.

I'm also betting if a Japanese version does come, it'll be after the current arc ends in the comic:

Franky is on the verge of joining, he's probably being prepped for inclusion in the next wave of licensed products

veemonjosh

08-08-2006, 01:05 AM

Franky is on the verge of joining, he's probably being prepped for inclusion in the next wave of licensed products

LALALALALALALA I'm not listening!

LALALALALALALA

Nin-Nin69

08-08-2006, 01:24 AM

The gameplay looks great, but I wish they had people who can play the game correctly record the videos. There was an extreme lack of special moves and whoever was Arlong was probally under the age of 4 because they used the same attack over and over and over. :shrug:

Simpler Simon

08-08-2006, 09:02 AM

LALALALALALALA I'm not listening!

LALALALALALALA

:ack: Sorry about that one.

RomanMack

08-11-2006, 12:52 AM

http://media.cube.ign.com/media/825/825976/vids_1.html

New videos of "Grand Adventure".

Simpler Simon

08-26-2006, 11:35 AM

The final two characters for grand adventure have been confirmed via gametrailers.com (http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?fs=1&id=3102). They are:

Kuina, Ohm

Nin-Nin69

08-26-2006, 12:58 PM

Too bad both of their VAs suck. :yawn:

RomanMack

08-27-2006, 12:02 AM

I wouldn't say Ohm's voice sucked. It sounded just about right. But you can barely hear it anyway.

But, it does look like they kept his "Eisen" word thing that he puts before he attacks.

Simpler Simon

08-27-2006, 11:26 PM

And the first reviews are in. IGN gives Grand Adventure a 7.8 (http://cube.ign.com/articles/728/728488p1.html), and the comments are overall positive, if a bit generalized.

RomanMack

08-27-2006, 11:45 PM

Ahh yes. That's pretty good for an anime fighter. It seems they indeed liked the adventure mode.

Can't wait to get it on the 29th.

Conekiller

08-28-2006, 10:43 AM

Dammit, I think I just got sold on Grand Adventure -__-

Andrew T. Hingson

08-31-2006, 10:48 PM

Well good luck finding it because I've yet to find the GCN version and only one store had the PS2 one.

Tash

09-01-2006, 01:11 AM

Well good luck finding it because I've yet to find the GCN version and only one store had the PS2 one.
Well, I guess we'll just have to wait until Saturday. (or Sunday at the latest)

*cries*

clucky

09-01-2006, 12:04 PM

I'm goona wait for battle stadium D.O.N.
Its only in japan right now but if it comes out here I'm defenatly gonna buy it
D=dragon ball, Z,GT
O=One peice
N=Naruto
imagen all those characters fighting each other
think of the combonations
nami vs piccolo
saske vs goku
Naruto vs luffy
the list goes on and on
http://www.toysnjoys.com/importngc.html (http://www.toysnjoys.com/importngc.html)

Andrew T. Hingson

09-01-2006, 01:56 PM

Battle Stadium D.O.N. is a great 4 player game but all and all it's not much of a single player experience and collecting characters and such is a HUGE pain because it really just comes down to luck. But if you really want it I suggest importing. While I do believe it will come out here you have to remember that the PS2 and the GCN are on their last legs at this point and that game wont come out until at least next year if it ever does here. So it could be quite a wait. But I figure at least the PS2 one will come out here.

Now searching many stores I finally found a copy for GCN at TRU. I had to decide between 10 bucks and my sanity because it was of course 39.99 there and Walmart was selling it for 10 bucks cheaper but didn't have it in stock (nor had it even come in yet). So I bit the bullet and I'm glad I did. I think I'll make a seperate thread for it though.