Video Games?

[Irina]

I'm not sure these count as a series, per se, but the Tezuka-based video games have a ton of discussion potential, particularly the GBA game, Astro Boy: Omega Factor.

In particular, has anyone here played Blood Will Tell, the PS2 game based on Tezuka's Dororo? I own it, but haven't played it yet. It seems to be multiplayer and cooperative, with one player controlling Hyakkimaru, and the other controlling Dororo.

I have played the GBA game, and I've played some of the PS2 Astro Boy game, but wasn't particularly enthralled with it. The GBA game, on the other hand, is a real treasure trove for a Tezuka fan. I was interested to see how popular it was in the US, given that most of the characters who appear in it would have been unfamiliar to most American readers. It features so many of the important figures, including Rock, Sapphire, Black Jack, the Phoenix, Astro of course, appearances by Rainbow Parakeet, Unico, The Amazing Three, Kimba, and others. Melmo is notably absent, which is odd, but she's the only one I really noticed missing who could possibly have fit into the game at all. I will say this, though, for the Tezuka fan who might not be an experienced gamer: this game is really hard. I had serious trouble with it on Normal difficulty, and I don't think I'd have ever beaten it on Hard.

Anyone else played any of these?

[cmoon]

I think Omega factor did rather well here, mostly because it is a good game (obvsiously the references are lost on people.) The fact that it was a new side-scroller from Treasure was enough to generate some interest. There's no denying it is a well designed game that's very faithful to Tezuka's work. I haven't played any of the other games, but I think they've all received hideous reviews.

[deadbeatpete]

I have the GBA Astro Boy game and think it's fantastic. It's just a shame they used the names from the English version of the latest animated series. That annoys me a bit!

[jonerik]

[Amrith]

[jonerik]

The latest series didn't "die".

I mean more in terms of how it performed on American television, where it was never given a chance to develop an audience since it was never shown on Saturday mornings, and was shuffled between the Cartoon Network and weekday afternoon syndication on Kids WB (which is how I ran across it in the first place). I bought the DVD set when it came out since I'd thought it was a really good show based on the three or so episodes I'd seen while at home from work.

[Amrith]

Ok, I didn't understand that you were talking about american airing

[Hekima]

I gotta ask really stupid questions about Omega Factor: Does Hyoutan-Tsugi make random appearances? If so, where?

[Amrith]

I think Hyoutan-Tsugi is not in the game.

[Amrith]

Awesome promo picture for the Black Jack japanese video-game on DS :

[putrocca]

Wow... I actually started crying when I saw that picture. I don't care what I have to do to get this game now...

And I was totally right that Rock would be in it.

[jonerik]

I must own this.

[Amrith]

[cmoon]

[Amrith]