Jump to content
NEurope
Dante

Earth Seeker

Recommended Posts

  • Capcom developers Noritaka Funamizu founded Crafts & Meister in 2004
  • Action game
  • Focuses on the destruction of Earth
  • No actual gameplay details yet
  • To be published by Kadokawa Games

 

andriasang.com

 

Remember Crafts & Meister? This studio was formed by veteran Capcom developers Noritaka Funamizu and Katsuhiro Sudo back in 2004 and went on to work heavily with Namco Bandai on such games as Chou Dragon Ball Z and, most recently, Fullmetal Alchemist To the Promised Day.

 

The studio's next game is Earth Seeker and is in development for the Wii. This all-original action title is set around the premise of the destruction of the Earth.

 

Aside from that, Game Jouhou's summary provides no details. Famitsu doesn't actually have any screenshots -- just artwork showing monsters, ships and other elements.

 

Development is at 60%. Kadokawa Games will release Earth Seeker this Winter.

 

Scans

earth_seeker-1.jpg

earth_seeker-2.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

More Info - Street Fighter II Designer Unveils New Wii Game

 

You might not have heard of Japanese development studio Crafts & Meister, but you have heard of some of its talent. One of the founders of the studio is Street Fighter II designer Noritaka Funamizu. The studio has produced a number of titles since their 2004 formation, most notably arcade cell shaded fighter Super Dragon Ball Z.

 

Expect to hear a lot more from the studio with their new game, a unique Wii action game titled Earth Seeker. The game was revealed in Japan today, and while specifics are lacking at present, the premise is certainly intriguing.

 

Earth Seeker is set on an alien world and puts you in battle with giant monsters. These monsters are actually your own creation, it seems.

 

The game's background story begins 1,000 years in the past as the Earth is about to be destroyed. Mankind puts all its great treasures -- including, it seems, full buildings -- in ships and flees the planet, only to crash land on another planet somewhere.

 

Following the crash, the ships' computers attempt to recreate the Earth's environment, something they've apparently been programmed to do. The computers are buggy due to the crash, though, so they end up combining encyclopedic information in creating new life forms.

street-fighter-ii-designer-unveils-new-wii-game-20100603105348284.jpg

The result is that you'll be facing off against some bizarre creature types. Examples revealed so far including a panther which has a power plug for a tail and a partially glass exterior allowing you to view its innards. There's also a creature that combines a "dragon" with light bulbs. Some creatures have motors for their movement.

 

You won't be alone in your fight against these beasts. The planet's natives are known as Guardians. They didn't take too kindly to the 1,000 years of bio contamination caused by your ships. But they do take kindly to your alcoholic beverages, and as long as you keep on supplying them with drinks, they'll help you out. The Guardians used your ship's technology to evolve as well, and now they can make use of items called "Energy Balls" during combat.

 

All this makes for an interesting premise to be sure, but Crafts & Meister hasn't said how it will come together in a game. Development is currently at 60%, according to Weekly Famitsu, so those details have presumably all been ironed out and are just waiting to be shared with the public.

 

Japan will get Earth Seeker through Kadokawa Games this Winter. International releases have yet to be announced.

Edited by Dante

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Why bring this out, which will sell badly, why not give us MvsC3???
This is not coming from Capcom. More like Capcom outcasts.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Andriasang. = Official Site Opens

Those giant Guardian faces disappeared from the Earth Seeker teaser site today to reveal a proper official site. There are a few additional details in there beyond what was initially shared by Famitsu last week (click here for a summary of that), so let's take a look.

2132422203.jpg

Story

 

The background story in the site's story section is just a bit different from what was shared in Famitsu.

 

It looks like mankind was forced to flee the Earth because of an approaching Black Hole. Thousands of ships were created throughout the world. These were large ships, capable of holding full cities. People placed the various treasures of the world in these ships and set off for various star systems.

 

One group of ships met with an unfortunate accident upon arriving at a star system. A gamma ray burst killed everyone aboard the ship. However, the ships' computers continued to operate and found a planet suitable for habitation.

 

The ships began to land on this "second Earth." However, upon coming into contact with the alien atmosphere, their Earth materials didn't react too well, and so they were forced into emergency landings.

 

Famitsu's summary is pretty accurate from here. The computers executed their "Earth Regeneration Program" in order to create a suitable environment. However, because of damage from the emergency landing, instead of creating the Earth creatures they'd originally intended, they ended up creating monsters.

 

A thousand years pass before Earth Seeker begins.

 

Character

 

Famitsu shared a look at a playable character that's shown in the site's character section. As all humans were killed during the gamma ray burst, your character is a new type of human created by the ship's computer.

 

Also introduced in the character section are the Guardians, the native residents of the planet. They make use of "Energy Balls" to support you on your adventure, and are big on liquor.

 

Monster

 

This section of the site has a look at two creatures, Protopros and Mamuma.

 

Creatures in Earth Seeker combine traits of various objects. Protopros, for instance, looks like an insect combined with a rail gun. Mamuma combines a dragon and a light bulb.

 

The monster section seems to give hints for how to track down and combat the beasts. Protopros likes dark locations, moves around underground, has a strong shell, and has a powerful thrust attack. Mamuma also likes dark locations. It has a soft body which is capable of absorbing bullets.

 

Field

 

This section currently has a glimpse at the field that you encounter at the start of your adventure. It's an odd field that mixes nature and artificial objects. There are also ruins, and you'll apparently find out why the ruins are there as you work through the game.

 

 

 

Game System

 

This section currently has a look at the game's Time Stop Battle system. Earth Seeker's combat system mixes real time and command-based elements. You move your character around in real time, but you can press A to freeze the action and input commands.

 

 

 

The site says that when you spot an enemy, or are spotted by an enemy, you and your Guardians will enter into battle.

 

Famitsu had a few extra details on the combat system. See this story for details.

 

Earth Seeker is due for winter release through Kadokawa Games.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It looks interesting, the setting and backgroundstory sound great, but I'm not sure if I like the idea of commanding minions. I'll have to know more about the gameplay.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It all sound quite promising - especially love the art. This could be great.

 

No news on a western publisher yet? *Looks in the direction of Rising Star*

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This isn't meant as a critique of the game, which may be fine and everything, but doesn't it strike anyone else, that this game is at least partly pieced together from bits of various sources a bit too obviously? Only by looking at the youtube trailer, I can at least make out two obvious sources for "inspiration".

 

The human race fleeing the earth in huge spaceships and crashing onto a new planet, where they reestablish society is Trigun all over. And the character's weapon looks like it would be very much at home in Xenoblade. ;)

 

Seems interesting, but all the JRPGs I want at the moment are Xenoblade and The Last Story.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×