Opoona

[darksnowman]

I watched one of the videos - Opoona's still looking like it should be fun, lets hope it turns out that way! One handed gaming could be good... or it could be too simplistic...?

[jammy2211]

I watched one of the videos - Opoona's still looking like it should be fun, lets hope it turns out that way! One handed gaming could be good... or it could be too simplistic...?

 

It's an RPG and really gaming is always simplistic from a controls point of view anyway (well traditionally).

 

I think Opoona looks great and really hope it comes out in the US or EU. RPG's are going to be sparse for the first few years of the Wii's life and Opoona looks like it has a pretty strong developement team behind it. The art style is great (imo) and it looks like it's got some pretty original aspect to the gameplay.

 

I'm not sure I can see it ever being successful outside of Japan though, but it seems to have that 'casual gamer' appeal to it as well.

[Retro_Link]

New pictures

 

http://www.jeux-france.com/news20673_opoona-pour-le-27-septembre-au-japon.html

 

[Cube]

Japan release date: September 27th, 2007

[Jamba]

Ah thanks Cube. Really nice to see that the Wii is going to be getting some fleshed out games. This and Zak n Wiki are looking really good and i dont care if they look kiddy. From a gameplay point of view they look to be really fun.

 

Would be cool if this had some kind of online coop mode.

[pedrocasilva]

New scan:

 

 

[click to enlarge]

 

 

For those who pre-order it in Japan:

 

 

Source: http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/2007/06/29/103,1183097135,74239,0,0.html

[pedrocasilva]

New video:

 

-> http://www.jeux-france.com/downloads8128_video-opoona.html

[jammy2211]

Mmmmmmmmm I want.

[Noku]

A bit disappointed with the way they handled (or didn't handle) the sound (ie, no speech...).

 

I'll still look forward to it though

[Dante]

New scan.

[darksnowman]

Video preview on Gametrailers:

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/31485.html

 

Gotta say I'm still interested to see how this turns out- I wanna see if its successful at only using the nunchuk.

[darksnowman]

Burlingame, CA – March 18, 2008 - KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that Opoona™, a new Role-Playing Game (RPG) exclusively for Wii™ has reached gold status, and is scheduled to ship to North American retailers on March 25, 2008. Gamers can begin their journey at Amazon.com, Game Crazy, Gamefly, and GameStop.

 

Its gone gold then with the US release looming. Lets hope reviews start appearing soon. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it won't get amazing reviews and probably some low ones here and there... nunchuk only controls ftw? Hopefully the good stuff outweighs the bad enough that we'll be interested in checking this one out!

[pedrocasilva]

I want a PAL version confirmation.

[Owen]

It's not appealing to me at all, sadly!

[ThePigMarcher]

One I have been following for a while and it really does appeal , so I am hoping that some good reviews may start dropping soon.

[darksnowman]

It's not appealing to me at all, sadly!

 

Wha-? Not appealing you say?!?

 

*Looks at Owens sig*

 

"Don't like what i say on this forum? Feel free to ignore me and stop the hassle!"

 

Hmm!

 

Lol, seriously though, I've read most of whats been previewed of Opoona and watched a few videos too. It looks a bit weird and should handle rather "uniquely" too so I just wanna see if all this bizarreness (which I find appealing ) works out or whether it has backfired.

[Guest Maase]

It's not appealing to me at all, sadly!

 

Same here :'(

[darksnowman]

GT review:

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/32627.html

 

Story: 7.0

Design: 6.7

Gameplay: 7.2

Presentation: 5.8

 

Overall: 6.9

[Deathjam]

Looks fugly to me sadly and because you play an rpg for so long, I like to have a somewhat attractive graphical style or engine. Characters are too...unique for my liking.

[pedrocasilva]

good review, made me want it, hard.

[ThePigMarcher]

Seems to be a mostly positive review , and I hope it gets a release over here soon.

[darksnowman]

You hope its released over here soon? Well it looks like you have your wish because it has been announced that Opoona will hit Europe on July 25th, 2008. I was just skimming down Gonintendo and seen that. Its not too far off at all!

[pedrocasilva]

You hope its released over here soon? Well it looks like you have your wish because it has been announced that Opoona will hit Europe on July 25th, 2008. I was just skimming down Gonintendo and seen that. Its not too far off at all!

yep, here's hoping that I'll have money then :p

[ThePigMarcher]

Opoona will hit Europe on July 25th, 2008. I was just skimming down Gonintendo and seen that. Its not too far off at all!

 

Excellent news , and there isn't much else to look forward to during Summer so it's a definate purchase. This and Okami should keep me occupied through those quiet months.

[darksnowman]

Opoona has completely dropped off my radar. C3 have had an interview with one of the team who made the game, Artepiazza- who has worked on other RPGs such as Dragon Quest in the past.

 

C³: First of all, where did the concept of Opoona come from, and how did you create such an unusual name?

 

Artepiazza, Developer of Opoona: The advancement of CG and hardware technology has allowed recent titles to feature overwhelmingly realistic visuals. Of course, we would add such graphics to our games at the request of the publisher, but in the case of Opoona, we were asked to create fun and unique visuals that convey the enjoyment of an RPG in a simple fashion. In fact, we also wanted to create these kinds of visuals.

 

In designing the characters, we came up with a simple design that even a child could recreate. Actually, Mr. Majima came up with the design for the main character, Opoona, in his bathtub. Mr. Majima drew the enemy characters from industrial designs that he likes. By basing enemy characters on non-living entities, we are confident that the designs are unique. You will notice that the name, “Opoona” has 3 “O’s” in it. The intention of this is to match the “round” letters to Opoona’s round shape.

 

C³: Why did you choose a cartoon look for this RPG, rather than a more realistic one such as in the Final Fantasy world? Did the age-group of the Wii user base have any part in the decision?

 

Artepiazza: The main reason is because this is Opoona and not a Final Fantasy game. Also, ArtePiazza has worked on the Dragon Quest series and this has taught us that designs should be simple and RPG’s should convince the player that he or she is the hero.

 

Opoona is a “lifestyle” game and the characters, along with the world, have been designed accordingly. These designs are intended to be fun and bring out the characteristics of the story.

 

C³: The sales in Japan were extremely disappointing. Can you talk about how the low sales compare to your expectations? And in hindsight do you think launching on the same day as Super Mario Galaxy was a mistake?

 

Artepiazza: We decided to release Opoona at a time when we thought full advantage of market conditions could be taken. Super Mario Galaxy is of a different genre than Opoona so we did not foresee the title as competition.

 

C³: Are expectations higher for the US and European release? If so, why do you think the game will appeal to the Western audience more than the Japanese?

 

Artepiazza: Based on hardware sales, we believe sales in the West will exceed those of Japan. Also, Opoona features a fantasy world so it should appeal to users of any culture or region.

 

C³: Has anything been changed or is there any new content in the Western version of the game?

 

Artepiazza: We thought it would be appropriate to maintain the same content regardless of region, so no changes have been made.

 

C³: Is the game only controlled using the Nunchuk, or are there other control set-ups that players can use?

 

Artepiazza: The game can also be played using the Classic Controller.

 

C³: What are some of your proudest achievements from the game? And was there anything else you would have liked to include if you had more development time?

 

Artepiazza: Creating a totally original epic RPG on our own has provided a great experience. Composing a huge map that can be traversed at great speed would not have been allowed (although exhilarating) by another studio, and we were also able to incorporate contemporary art into the game. Users that buy this game will experience something no other game can provide, and that itself makes the game worth buying. We are very grateful to KOEI for this opportunity.

 

With regards to portions we wanted to include but could not due to time constraints, game development time is usually short relative to the content. After completing a game, as much time is spent on testing as is spent on development. It’s nearly impossible to be 100% satisfied with a game upon its release, but we can also use the experience to create the next game.

C³: Have you considered re-creating the Opoona world for Nintendo DS? Do you think this would be possible at all?

 

Artepiazza: There are currently no plans for a DS version.

 

C³: Considering the critical praise your first game has received so far, will you be working on future Opoona games for Wii?

 

Artepiazza: That depends on users’ reactions and sales.

 

C³: What are your thoughts on the WiiWare download service? Can it be as successful as Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade service, or maybe even more popular?

 

Artepiazza: Please understand that as a developer, we are unable to comment on any particular platform.

 

C³: Will your team be bringing anything to WiiWare at any point?

 

Artepiazza: There are currently no plans for this.

 

C³: Finally, what would you say to anyone that is interested in Opoona, but is unsure about making the purchase?

 

Artepiazza: With the risk of sounding unoriginal, I would simply ask them to try the game. The world in this game is very unique and the music is great. You’ll have lots of fun exploring and adventuring.

 

http://www.cubed3.com/news/10120