But of course, as you expect from Lucasarts this decade, it's broken and worthless. They removed the soundtrack. In a game with an amazing one. Evidently figuring out how to make the CD audio soundtrack work without a CD in was far too hard for poor Lucasarts...

Oh, they didn't fix any bugs at all either, so if you have any problems running it on your modern computer (and many people are, even though my disc-based copy works okay), tough luck.

Just announced yesterday, for DSiware (download only), with the first part coming late this year.

If there's one GBC game I should have bought after the GBA came out, it's Shantae. The game's so hard to find and expensive now, and from playing the rom a bit at some point it is a great game... but no, from mid '01 to mid '03 I didn't buy any handheld games. You'd think that because I didn't have a GBA I'd buy a few of the GBC games of late 2001 or 2002, but no, I didn't, the last GBC game I bought new was Zelda OoS in July or August 2001. Oh well... I'll own it sometime anyway. But anyway, this is pretty good news, WayForward's been trying to make a new Shantae game for a long time now. There were failed GBA and Gamecube efforts, and then more recently hints at a WiiWare one... but now it's DSiware. Kind of annoying, I wish it was on card, but oh well...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=374251

NINTENDO'S HOLIDAY LINEUP HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Find Great Gifts for Everyone on Your Shopping List


REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 15 - As summer draws to a close, the air begins to chill and people begin to turn their thoughts to holiday gift lists. Whether the people on your list have been playing since the 1980s or only since last week, Nintendo has you covered. The Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo DSi™ systems have a huge selection of games for everyone on your list, including many that you won't find anywhere else.

"This extensive lineup will keep players busy throughout the fall and into 2010," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "Shoppers know that Nintendo offers fun for everyone in the household."

Upcoming Nintendo-published games for the Wii console include Wii Fit™ Plus (Oct. 4) and New Super Mario Bros.™ Wii (holiday 2009). These games will join the current hot seller, Wii Sports Resort™, which comes with the new precision-control Wii MotionPlus™ accessory. Fans of portable games will enjoy Pokémon™ Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (Oct. 12), Style Savvy™ (Nov. 2) and The Legend of Zelda™: Spirit Tracks (Dec. 7) in addition to the just-released Mario & Luigi™: Bowser's Inside Story, all playable on both Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems.

The changing autumn leaves will be in good company with some new colors for the Nintendo DSi system and the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers. New White and Pink Nintendo DSi systems made their debut on Sept. 13, while a Black Wii Remote controller and Wii MotionPlus accessory package will be available this holiday season. A Black version of the Nunchuk controller will be sold separately as well.

Third-party publishers are supporting Nintendo platforms with impressive quality and wide-ranging titles. Wii exclusives like Dead Space™ Extraction from Electronic Arts and FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS® from Square Enix will provide thrills that can't be found elsewhere. At the same time, Nintendo DS owners are anxiously awaiting another powerhouse release: KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS from Square Enix. And Activision's Band Hero™, available on both Wii and Nintendo DS, features compelling interactivity between the two hardware systems through wireless connectivity.

Below is a partial list of upcoming games for Wii, the WiiWare™ service, Nintendo DS and the Nintendo DSiWare™ service. Note that game titles and launch dates are subject to change.

Wii

2K Sports
NHL® 2K10 - Sept. 15
Baseball Blast! - Sept. 28
NBA 2K10 - Oct. 6

2K Play
Dora the Explorer™: Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom™ - Fall
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: Super Game Day - Fall
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey™ Circus - Fall

505 Games
My Ballet Studio - November
Baby and Me - November

Activision Publishing, Inc.
Animal Planet Vet Life - Sept. 15
Marvel™: Ultimate Alliance 2™ - Sept. 15
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2010 - Sept. 22
Rapala We Fish - Sept. 22
Bakugan® Battle Brawlers ™ - Oct. 20
iCarly™ - Oct. 20
Madagascar Kartz - Oct. 20
Mountain Sports - Oct. 20
Hidden Mysteries Titanic - Oct. 27
Barbie™ and the Three Musketeers - Oct. 27
Jurassic Hunter - Oct. 27
DJ Hero™ - Oct. 27
Chaotic™: Shadow Warriors - Nov. 10
Hot Wheels™ Battle Force 5™ - Nov. 10
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®: Reflex - Nov. 10
Tony Hawk®: RIDE™ - Nov. 17
Band Hero™ - November
Guitar Hero® Van Halen® - Dec. 22

Aspyr Media
My Baby and Me - Nov. 17

Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
101-in-1 Party Megamix™ - Oct. 27
Trauma Team™ - Spring
Shiren the Wanderer™ - Spring

Capcom® Entertainment, Inc.
Spyborgs™ - Sept. 22
Resident Evil®: The Darkside Chronicles - Nov. 17

City Interactive USA, Inc.
Chicken Riot - November
Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII - January
Art of Murder - March

D3Publisher
Family Party: 30 Great Games™ Outdoor Fun - Sept. 22
Astro Boy®: The Video Game - Oct. 20
THE SECRET SATURDAYS™: BEASTS OF THE 5TH SUN - Oct. 20
BEN 10 ALIEN FORCE™: Vilgax Attacks - Oct. 27
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight - Winter

Destineer
We Wish You A Merry Christmas - Oct. 13
Buck Fever - Oct. 20
Alien Monster Bowling League - Oct. 27
Marines: Modern Urban Combat - Nov. 3
Satisfashion - Nov. 17
Rec Room - Nov. 17

Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Sing It: Pop Hits - October
Princess and the Frog - November

Electronic Arts
MySims™ Agents - Sept. 22
Dead Space™ Extraction - Sept. 29
Spore™ Hero - Oct. 6
CHARM GIRLS CLUB™ Pajama Party - Oct. 20
SimAnimals™ Africa - Oct. 26
LITTLEST PET SHOP™ FRIENDS - October
NERF 2: "N-Strike"™ Elite - October
HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT 2 - October
FIFA 10 - October
Need for Speed™ Nitro - Nov. 17
EA SPORTS Active™ More Workouts - November

Knowledge Adventure
JumpStart® Escape from Adventure Island - Nov. 1

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Walk It Out! - October
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - November
Storybook Workshop - November
Karaoke Revolution - November
Ultimate Party Challenge - November
DanceDanceRevolution Hottest Party 3 - November
pop'n music - November
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 - Q4

LucasArts
Star Wars® The Clone Wars™: Republic Heroes™ - Oct. 6
LEGO® Indiana Jones 2™: The Adventure Continues - Fall

Majesco Entertainment
Our House: Party! - Sept. 22
A Boy and His Blob - Oct. 13
Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 - Oct. 20
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel - Dec. 1
The Daring Game for Girls - Holiday

Mastiff
Shimano Xtreme Fishing - Sept. 29
Remington Great American Bird Hunt - Oct. 27

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc
Dragon Ball®: Revenge of King Piccolo - October
Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked - November
We Cheer™ 2 - November

Nintendo
Wii Fit Plus - Oct. 4
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Holiday

Playlogic
Sudoku Ball Detective - Sept. 22

SEGA®
Wacky World of Sports™ - Sept. 22
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games™ - Oct. 13
Planet 51 - Nov. 17
Jambo! Safari:™ Animal Rescue - Q4
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing™ - Feb. 10
Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll™ - Early 2010

SouthPeak Games
My Baby First Steps™ - Holiday
Sushi Go Round™ - Holiday

Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS® - Dec. 26

Storm City Games
The Island of Dr. Frankenstein - Oct. 6
Vegas Party - Oct. 27
Bermuda Triangle: Saving the Coral - Nov. 9

Tecmo
Family Fun Football™ - Sept. 29

THQ
The Biggest Loser - Oct. 6
Cars Race O Rama - Oct. 13
Marvel® Super Hero Squad™ - Oct. 20
WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2010 - Oct. 20
SpongeBob Truth or Square - Oct. 26
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader: Game Time - Oct. 26
World of Zoo™ - Oct. 26
All Star Cheer Squad™ 2 - Oct. 27
Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter - Oct. 27
Daniel X - Jan. 12
World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars - Feb. 2

TOMY Corporation
NARUTO™ Shippuden: Clash of Ninja® Revolution 3 - Nov. 17

Ubisoft
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs™ - Sept. 15
Where's Waldo®: The Fantastic Journey - Sept. 22
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™: Smash-up - Sept. 22
The Price is Right ® 2010 Edition - Sept. 22
Family Feud® 2010 Edition - Sept. 29
CSI™: Deadly Intent - Oct. 20
Monster 4x4™ Stunt Racer - Oct. 27
Rabbids Go Home™ - Nov. 3
Academy of Champions™ - Nov. 3
Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage - Nov. 8
Just Dance™ - Nov. 17
James Cameron's Avatar™ The Game - Nov. 24
Your Shape™ Featuring Jenny McCarthy - Nov. 24

UFO Interactive Games, Inc.
Army Rescue™ - Sept. 29
Rock Blast ™ - Oct. 20
Arcade Shooter: Ilvelo - Oct. 27
Geon Cube - Oct. 27
Smart Series Presents: JaJa' Adventure - Nov. 10

Vir2L® Studios
Medieval Games™ - Oct. 20

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Scooby-Doo™! First Frights - Sept. 22
Where the Wild Things Are - Oct. 13
Game Party® 3 - October
LEGO® Rock Band™ - Holiday
SCENE IT?® BRIGHT LIGHTS! BIG SCREEN!™ - Holiday

XSEED Games
JU-ON: The Grudge - Oct. 13
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga - Fall

WiiWare

Aksys Games
BIT.TRIP VOID - Q3
BIT.TRIP series (3 additional titles) - Q4, Q1

Broken Rules
And Yet It Moves - Q4

Frontier
LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias - Q4

Gameloft
Ghost Mansion Party - Q3
The Oregon Trail - Q4

Ghostfire Games
Rage of the Gladiator - Q1

Incredible Technologies
Carnival King - Q3

Konami
Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth - Q3
Frogger Returns - Q4

Nabi Studios
Toribash - Q4

Natsume
Moki Moki - Q3
Harvest Moon: My Little Shop - Q4

Nicalis
Cave Story - Q3
Night Game - Q1
La Mulana - Q1

NinjaBee
The Amazing Brain Train - Q4

Nintendo
You, Me, and the Cubes™ - Q3
Eco Shooter: Plant 530™ - Q4

Nintendo/TPC
Pokémon™ Rumble - Q4

Press Play
Max & the Magic Marker - Q4

React Games
Archon: Classic - Q1

Taito
Arkanoid Plus! - Q3

Team Meat
Super Meat Boy - Q1

Telltale Games
Tales of Monkey Island™: Lair of the Leviathan - Q3
Tales of Monkey Island™: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood - Q4
Tales of Monkey Island™: Rise of the Pirate God - Q4

Nintendo DS/Nintendo DSi

2K Play
Dora the Explorer: Dora Puppy - Oct. 26
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: New Year's Celebration - Oct. 26
The Backyardigans - Oct. 26
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus - Fall

505 Games
My Ballet Studio - November
Discovery Kids SpiderQuest - November
Dream Diary - November
Picture Perfect Hair Salon - November
IL2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey - Sept. 15

Activision Publishing, Inc.
Marvel™: Ultimate Alliance 2™ - Sept. 15
Animal Planet Vet Life - Sept. 15
Bakugan ® Battle Brawlers ™ - Oct. 20
iCarly™ - Oct. 20
Madagascar Kartz - Oct. 20
Barbie™ and the Three Musketeers - Oct. 27
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®: Mobilized - Nov. 10
Chaotic™: Shadow Warriors - Nov. 10
Hot Wheels™ Battle Force 5™ - Nov. 10
Band Hero™ - November

Aspyr Media
Fighting Fantasy™: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain - Oct. 26

City Interactive USA, Inc.
Sushi Academy - Oct. 13
Chronicles of Mystery: Curse of the Ancient Temple - Oct. 27
Animal Country: Life on the Farm - November
Party Designer - November
Art of Murder - February
Jewels of Sahara - March

D3Publisher
Astro Boy®: The Video Game - Oct. 20
THE SECRET SATURDAYS™: BEASTS OF THE 5TH SUN - Oct. 20
BEN 10 ALIEN FORCE™: Vilgax Attacks - Oct. 27
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight - Winter

Destineer
Satisfashion - Nov. 17

Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure - October
Disney's A Christmas Carol - November
JONAS - November
Princess and the Frog - November

Electronic Arts
MySims™ Agents - Sept. 22
Spore™ Hero Arena - Oct. 6
CHARM GIRLS CLUB™ My Fashion Show - Oct. 20
CHARM GIRLS CLUB™ My Fashion Mall - Oct. 20
CHARM GIRLS CLUB™ My Perfect Prom - Oct. 20
SimAnimals™ Africa - Oct. 26
LITTLEST PET SHOP™ CITY FRIENDS - October
LITTLEST PET SHOP™ COUNTRY FRIENDS - October
LITTLEST PET SHOP™ BEACH FRIENDS - October
HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT 2 - October
FIFA 10 - October

Ignition Entertainment
Nostalgia - Oct. 20

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
WireWay - November

LucasArts
Star Wars® The Clone Wars™: Republic Heroes™ - Oct. 6
Star Wars Battlefront™: Elite Squadron™ - Nov. 3
LEGO® Indiana Jones 2™: The Adventure Continues - Fall

Majesco Entertainment
Our House - Sept. 22
Sideswiped - Sept. 29
Cake Mania® 3 - Oct. 13
Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 - Oct. 20
Cooking Mama 3: Shop and Chop - Oct. 27
My Hero: Astronaut - Nov. 3
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel - Dec. 1
Dawn of Heroes - Dec. 1
My Hero: Firefighter - December
The Daring Game for Girls - Holiday

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc
Dragon Ball® Z: Attack of the Saiyans - November

Nintendo
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Oct. 12
Style Savvy - Nov. 2
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Dec. 7

NIS America
A Witch's Tale - Oct. 6
Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island - Oct. 27

PopCap Games, Inc.
Bookworm™ - Dec. 1

SEGA®
Bleach:™ The 3rd Phantom - Sept. 15
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games™ - Oct. 13
Phantasy Star™ Zero - Nov. 10
Planet 51 - Nov. 17
Jambo! Safari:™ Animal Rescue - Q4
Sands of Destruction™ - January
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing™ - February
Infinite Space™ - Spring

SouthPeak Games
Montessori Music™ - Oct. 20
My Baby First Steps™ - Holiday
Sushi Go Round™ - Holiday
Crime Scene™ - Holiday

Square Enix
KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS - Sept. 29
SPACE INVADERS EXTREME™ 2 - Oct. 20

Storm City Games
Hands On! Tangrams - Oct. 13
Jewel Master Egypt - Oct. 20
Flaw - Oct. 27
Foto Frenzy - Nov. 2
Bermuda Triangle: Saving the Coral - Nov. 9

THQ
James Patterson Women's Murder Club: Games of Passion - Sept. 15
Fabulous Finds - Sept. 21
Just in Time Translations - Sept. 21
The Biggest Loser - Oct. 6
Cars Race O Rama - Oct. 13
Marvel® Super Hero Squad™ - Oct. 20
WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2010 - Oct. 20
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader: Game Time - Oct. 26
World of Zoo™ - Oct. 26
SpongeBob Truth or Square - Oct. 26
Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter - Oct. 27
MX vs. ATV™ Reflex™ - Holiday

TOMY Corporation
NARUTO Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2 - Sept. 15

Ubisoft
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs™ - Sept. 15
Where's Waldo®: The Fantastic Journey - Sept. 22
The Price is Right® 2010 Edition - Sept. 22
Family Feud® 2010 Edition - Sept. 29
Battle of Giants™: Dragons - Sept. 29
Imagine® Salon Stylist - Sept. 29
Imagine® Sweet 16 - Oct. 4
Imagine® Zookeeper - Oct. 6
PETZ® PONY BEAUTY PAGEANT™ - Oct. 13
Imagine® Fashion Designer World Tour - Oct. 20
CSI™: Deadly Intent - The Hidden Cases - Oct. 20
Jam Sessions 2 - Oct. 20
PETZ® DOLPHINZ ENCOUNTER - Oct. 27
Might and Magic® Clash of Heroes® - Oct. 27
Imagine® Artist - Oct. 27
C.O.P. The Recruit™ - Nov. 3
Rabbids Go Home™ - Nov. 3
Imagine® Babyz Fashion - Nov. 3
Fairyland Melody Magic™ - Nov. 8
Style Lab™ Jewelry Design - Nov. 10
Style Lab™ Makeover - Nov. 10
PETZ® NURSERY - Nov. 10
PETZ® DOGZ® TALENT SHOW - Nov. 17
PETZ® HAMSTERZ® SUPERSTARZ - Nov. 24
James Cameron's Avatar™ The Game - Nov. 24

Virtual Play Games
Junior Brain Trainer - Nov. 10
Junior Classic Games - Nov. 10

UFO Interactive Games, Inc.
Smart Boy's Gameroom 2® - Sept. 29
Smart Girl's Playhouse 2® - Sept. 29
Smart Kid's Mega Game Mix™ - Sept. 29
Reversal Challenge - Oct. 13
Balloon Pop - Nov. 12

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Scribblenauts™ - Sept. 15
Scooby-Doo™! First Frights - Sept. 22
LEGO® Rock Band™ - Holiday
Where the Wild Things Are - Oct. 13
TouchMaster® 3 - Oct. 27

XSEED Games
THE WIZARD OF OZ™: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road - Sept. 29

Nintendo DSiWare

Gameloft
Uno - Q4

Hudson Entertainment
Bomberman Blitz - Q4

Nintendo
Art Academy™: Second Semester - Sept. 28
Art Style™: DIGIDRIVE™ - Q4
Electroplankton™ (10 titles total) - Q4
Picturebook Games™: The Royal Bluff - Q4
Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon™ - Q4
Sparkle Snapshots™ - Q4

Subatomic Studios
Fieldrunners - Q4

WayForward Technologies
Shantae:Risky's Revenge - Q4

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Ponyo's story is pretty straightforward compared to this.

Or their radicals are at least... Democrats did not say things this vile about Bush. We said plenty of bad things about him, sure, but nothing sickening and racist like some of these...


Source: Daily Kos, posters from the 9/11 and 9/12 right-wing protests this year.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/09091..._us_swayze

Wolverines!!!

I know that lots of gaming sites are hying the DC anniversary, and for good reason (the DC2 came out today, remember, just like all the hype said it would! Isn't it awesome? :D), but yeah, it's actually the PS1 anniversary too, 9/9/95... bah, can I just forget that one? :p

... The Dreamcast is an awesome console. The N64 is still my favorite console ever, for sure, and the Game Boy might be second, but DC is high on the list. The controller's one of the best too... of controllers with analog sticks I'd only rank the N64 controller and Saturn 3D controller higher. It's too bad that Sega was in a such horrible financial state that they had to give up on having their own consoles, but it IS all their own fault because of the innumerable stupid mistakes they made over the years,so it was earned, unfortunately. Oh well...

... On a related note, two homebrew DC games were announced today, both for actual disc-based release. Remember that because the DC plays CD-Rs or standard pressed CDs without a problem, it's one of the most popular systems for homebrew development and release on actual media today... it and the Atari 2600 are probably tops, pretty much. :)

One's a top-down 2d racing game and the other a 2d puzzle game (Lumines clone port of a cellphone game). These homebrew games rarely push system power -- the other ones in the past few years include several more puzzle games and a couple of 2d shmups. Cool stuff anyway, though. There aren't nearly enough top-down racing games, and it's a kind of game I've loved ever since I first played Super Off-Road in the arcades... :)

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6216991.htm...es;title;1

Not much information yet and a tiny little "trailer" video announcing it. We'll see, who knows yet. Not enough details there to say much of anything really...

It is out, and it is good!

The gameplay itself is rather simple. They took a page from the "simplicity" mantra of Super Smash Bros, at least here they did. The game actually plays a bit like a 3D smash bros. Instead of knocking players "out of bounds" to win, you take HP to 0, but not in the traditional way. In the same way that you can take hit after hit and still drag on a battle in Smash, the same can be said here. There's two scores, the HP score which is the only one you can reduce to actually "win" a match, and "bravery". Some attacks reduce HP and others reduce bravery. The catch is the amount of HP damage you do is entirely based on your bravery score, so in order to win you have to hit with lots of bravery attacks to build up enough points to actually do significant damage to the enemy's HP.

There are more details. Hitting the opponent with bravery not just raises yours, it lowers their's. If their bravery hits 0, it "breaks". A bravery break will significantly raise your own brave, and further the enemy will need to wait for their brave meter to raise to "base" before their HP attacks will do anything at all.

Special items appear on the stage to unlock "super" moves for each character. This fills a meter. As time goes on and you do more bravery these items get bigger and fancier. Wait long enough and one of them will fully fill the so called "EX meter".

Pulling off moves is very easy, much like Smash Bros. One button does brave attacks, the other does HP attacks. Holding the stick towards, center, or away from the enemy will activate different moves. There's a button to lock onto the enemy (or an EX core), and one to block/dodge. Finally there's a button to jump and a button to speed dash.

That's the basics. Where it gets complicated is that all the characters can be fully customized. They have a huge list of moves they learn as they "level up" which can be equipped to the HP and brave commands (and each direction pushed in conjunction with those buttons) which allows for a lot of personalization. There's also extra abilities that can change how a character does things like jump, dash, and so on. Your character specializes in long range? Replace the "dash towards" command with one that dashes away.

There's also equipment. Equipment does all the things one might expect, boosting stats, additional effects, and taking a page from MMOs, "set bonuses" for equipping a bunch of parts from a single set of equipment. There's also some level restrictions on a lot of gear. Accessories make for some intersting gameplay decisions. There's the standard ones to boost things like bravery damage or recovery, but the majority of your planning is determined by the way you play. There are a number of "booster" accessories that take those standard fairly weak ones and boost them based on battle conditions. Being on the ground vs in the air covers two of them, for example. They also stack with each other, so for example if you are really good at prolonging a fight (you coward), equip a single strength booster and about 7 "time boost" accessories. The longer the fight goes on, the stronger the bonus becomes. Find yourself getting knocked around all the time? Equip a bunch of Low HP boosters to dramatically boost your accessories when you are low on HP. All these things are taught to you by the in-game tutorial explained by all manner of familiar faces, like Selphie or the FF6 Biggs and Wedge (Vicks? THERE IS NO VICKS! ONLY BIGGS!).

Lastly there's summons. These will actually have limits on consecutive use, so you can't depend on them for too long, even in multiplayer. Many automatically trigger based on certain conditions, but some need you to summon them yourself. There's ones to copy the enemy's brave whenever it is at least triple your base brave (one time per battle, 3 battles before it needs to recharge). Don't want to have to manually reequip summons due to these cooldowns? There's an easy setup for rotations to automatically switch in. Along those lines, you can save up to 3 different entire setups for each character.

As for the characters, they took the main protagonist and antagonist from each of the first 10 Final Fantasy games. Some of them required a little imagination. For example for FF1 they picked "Warrior of Light", a fighter/knight class type with no name and no past, since just about everyone puts at least one fighter in their group to take the hits. His antagonist is the rouge knight Garland. (Hint: Chaos, which he turns into, is also in the game, and it all ties into the story in an interesting way, but Chaos is not playable.) FF2 has Firion and the overbearingly "I rule you" The Emperor (no name, I think that's his way of more or less forcing you to call him emperor, for only he is fit to rule).

The rest:
FF3 Onion Knight (not any one in particular, apparently the original Famicom version had them as just generic kids with no default name) vs Cloud of Chaos. I'd think Xande would have been the main guy since the Cloud was just sort of a last minute final boss from nowhere appearence, but it works pretty well and the Cloud, unlike some final bosses, actually does have some storyline around it.

FF4 Cecil (Really cool, he can switch between Dark Knight and Paladin throughout battle, HP attacks in the air make him a Paladin, on the ground make him a Dark Knight, and both forms have their own full list of bravery attacks, some of which switch him back and forth themselves), and his rival, Golbez (Yeah, Zemus is the final boss of that game, and was controlling Golbez, who was controlling Kain, and once Golbez was freed everyone sorta forgot that he basically stole Kain's storyline from under him at the end, but Golbez has a much more personal connection to Cecil than Zemus.)

FF5 Bartz (his job of choice, and his movesets, are based on the ultimate job in the game, Mime, which makes for some total awesomeness seeing him wielding both Cloud and Squall's swords AT ONCE) and his nemesis, ExDeath (Penello is right, this guy talks about nothing but the void, it gets old but his hammy overacting is part of his charm).

FF6 Terra (her EX form is obvious, esper mode, and it is awesome, she specializes in the magics, of course, and it's fun to eventually learn her devastating holy/flare/ultima combo attack), and the nihilistic sadistic madman Kefka (his moves are all just so ridiculous, and then suddenly terrifying (DON'T MESS WITH ME *stabs you to death with wings*), and EX mode is his evil god form. Kefka in particular has some hilarious intro comments for a lot of characters.

FF7 Cloud and his guy he hates, Sephiroth, this one needs no explanation. Sephiroth has a lot of demeaning statements to everyone. Most of them try to cut to the quick, but in the case of Kefka, all he can say is "you're annoying", which is hilarious to me.

FF8 has Squall who's attacks are just so... direct and "I kill you now", and the baddie his entire SeeD life was preperation for, Ultimecia (aside from a cutscene, she really doesn't have much time control, but plenty of spells and traps to set). Kefka to Squall: I smell a poser!

FF9 has Zidane the monkey thief (as in, he's a monkey that is a thief, not a thief that specifically steals monkeys) and his rival Kuja (Necros or whatever that guy was that just sort of, showed up as the final boss from nowhere wasn't picked because, well, he doesn't have that much of a connection to anything in that game).

FFX has Tidus who's moves are just, wild and unpredictable, and as the baddie, not Sin, but Jecht. This one's a little odd, considering that Jecht was only the boss of his game because he was merged with Sin, and here he's clearly not under Sin's control at all. Seems he's just been caught up in something he can't do much about and just is working with Chaos because he thinks it will get him and Tidus home. His EX does turn him into a sin-like creature though (not as big mind you).

Oh and if you look hard, there's also an NPC Taru Taru from FFXI named Shantotto (extremely egotistical black mage, hilarious actually), and Gabranth the judge from FFXII.

The story and cinematics were done by the same guy who did the story mode of Smash Bros Brawl (and the entire Kingdom Hearts series for that matter) so expect the same extremely ultra fantastical style. He does a great job really capturing the look of the Amano designed characters I'll note, adding a few extra touches, like the messy "Dark Knight Joker" style lipstick on Kefka. The basic premise is that all the Final Fantasy worlds had been shattered and gathered into one world to aid two gods (Cosmos, goddess of harmony, and Chaos, god of discord) in a battle that has lasted for an eternity, as the combatants are all simply revived with no memory of their previous fights every time they fall. The story revolves around finding some way to end the cycle and return everything to the way it was. The whole idea of an endless cycle is also the big revelation in FF1's storyline, and that's no coincidence, as that first game's storyline is what ties it all together. The two warring gods apparently used to be a couple or something. There's a lot to it I've yet to reveal, as like the Kingdom Hearts games there are a number of hidden "reports" to find that reveal the full story (wish Brawl had those, there's a number of questions I had about that).

I've played through the story mode, and it's been an amazing experience. Cloud fighting Terra was certainly one of the high points, and further the final battles relive some of my favorite lines from each of the end bosses (why strive to live when everything must die?).

Oh, and if none of that convinced you. Chaos has the same voice actor that played Goliath from the Gargoyles animated series.

Amazing game that really shows off what the PSP is capable of, and certainly an original and surprisingly engaging combat system. This game has been an addiction, which is more than I can say for most fighting games.

I thought I'd add all the little touches they put in here. The little story telling quirks of various FF games make it into the story modes of each character. For example Squall does a lot of inner monologue, and Tidus does a lot of narrating as characters silently talk. The extra costumes for the Amano characters allow one to play either with the coloring of the original artwork or the coloring used in the game, for example Terra's got either her blonde hair version or the green hair version with the extremely bright red clothes. If you don't like the blue coloring of Warrior of Light, you can pick his alternate red costume that looks a lot more like the in-game warrior/knight sprites from FF1. Onion Knight's main costume is styled after his NES look, but if you prefer the DS remake, his alternate costume, right down to the hair color and style, is based on Luneth from the remake's Onion Knight class appearance.