Yeah, yeah, another MMORPG… for Gamecube?
by Ben Striegel 
{ Feb 26th 2005 at 4:30PM }
Now, normally this wouldn't even register so
much as a blip on my game-dar, considering all the other great MMORPGs out there. World of Warcraft, City of Heroes,
Everquest II, etc. What is remarkable about this game, however, is that it is being developed for a home console, an
environment where, for whatever reason, the MMOG scene has never quite taken off. Even more remarkable is that this
title is being developed for the Gamecube, a console which takes a lot of flak for its particularly barren online
lineup. Besides Phantasy Star II & III, the only Gamecube titles which even show potential for going online are the
4 or 5 LAN-enabled titles, which can only be played online using a program akin to WarpPipe. However, Chunsoft is
looking to change all that with their next online RPG, HomeLand. Judging by screenshots and movie clips, the
game seems to be a cross between Paper Mario, Animal Crossing, and Final Fantasy: Crystal
Chronicles.
Chunsoft hasn't yet released much information on their upcoming title (in English, anyway), but I've taken the liberty
to skim through
the official HomeLand website on an Engrish-laden quest for knowledge. From what I can infer, when you first start
the game you'll select either a male or female main character. Soon after, you will receive "the emblem," a special
item which will somehow affect your class. The single-player game will feature a large, open environment, resplendent
with villages, dungeons, side quests, and other usual RPG fare. Rather than random battles, you engage enemies in
real-time whilst traversing the overworld, at which point combat ensues. The battles are turn-based, and pretty much
consist of selecting an attack and picking an enemy at which to aim it. Additionally, enemies and allies may appear
mid-fight, meaning that a routine battle may quickly turn into an enormous brawl.
Aside from the online component, the central gimmick in HomeLand is that you have the ability to, um hold hands. And youre not just limited to one-on-one hand-holding, no siree. Were talking looooong chains of HomeLanders, several dozen in length, like a big virtual game of crack-the-whip. Wait, come back, its actually not as frooty as it sounds, and is a key element to several aspects of the game. By holding hands with a fire spirit, for instance, you and everyone else in the chain gain the ability to traverse pits of lava without taking damage. By holding hands with a wind spirit, you gain the ability to blow obstacles out of your path. In battle, the hand-holding mechanic serves a few purposes. First, the person at the very front of the chain gains a stat bonus from each person behind him, and also gains the use of the abilities of everyone else in the chain. Secondly, it serves to protect weak or wounded characters from harm, being that the person at the front of the chain is the only one who can give or take damage. The point of this system is to foster cooperation between players, which means you must choose your party wisely, especially when playing the online component.
Speaking of the online portion of this game (which is featured on its own disc), rather than taking the approach of a traditional RPG (a few giant servers for everyone in the game), HomeLand will allow players to use their Gamecubes to act as miniature servers, into which 35 other people may join. Whether or not this justifies the Massive in MMORPG is up for debate. Because of this, only people with broadband will be able to use the online component of the game (dial-up is, like, sooooo 1999). Despite Googles best efforts, I cant seem to find much information on the online mode at all, aside from the fact that youll play as your personalized emblem rather than your main character, and that it will serve to advance the storyline somehow. If anyone out there can read Japanese, Id appreciate it if you could provide a better translation (sorry Google).
The Debate: how much of an impact could HomeLand have on Gamecube sales, considering how late in the generation it is? If Chunsoft did decide to port HomeLand over to this side of the pond, would you rather they wait for the Revolution to come out (much like Nintendo did with Animal Crossing)? And would you even pick up the game anyway, considering the currently lackluster offering on all of Nintendos consoles so far?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
Bummer. I have a Gamecube, for a few games, but this seems like another example of a cool idea for a game that looks way too kiddied out. I'm not talking about the hand holding thing, that I think sounds cool. But the look of the game I can't take serious as an RPG. It just looks too safe? If they were to market it as a pikmin type game maybe but as an RPG? Doubt it.
Course, this is all based on what little info we have now.
Joel @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
I'd totally play the crap outta this!
Supah @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
I would too! When is this coming out in the US?
striegs @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
As of yet there's no release date outside of Japan. There the projected launch date is April 29th, while the online beta test is slated for March 15-27.
SetupWeasel @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
I got dibs on the character that looks like a piece of toast.
SetupWeasel @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
Ooooh! They are bundling the Broadband Adapter for like $10 more! That ain't too bad.
gascan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
Ok, here's some more info about online mode.
This doesn't support a keyboard peripheral; you enter text via the controller. Which sounds horrid, but Chunsoft assures that its a "very simple" system. All I assume this would be is a virtual keyboard, any other alternatives? It would still certainly take a pile of time to talk. They may have some macro speech (my conjecture), but hell, that's not social.
About the server hosting - you have one of two choices: God mode or Adventure mode. God mode is the one where you host the server for up to 35 people. You can intervene, give advice or rewards, and summon some sort of hindrance or obstacle as you look at them from above. (Think DM mode) You don't actively partake in the game, but rather "draw the players to a safe resolution." Or, you could just decimate them...
Adventure mode just means you aren't hosting and you're one of the active participants. There are no official Chunsoft servers, and thus no monthly fees or setup charges. They're trying to offload the task of hosting onto players. (Hence the projected 35 person limit)
Uh, lastly there's something called Miracles on which there is no information. Details with the next update, they say. I guess some manner of divine wrath/blessing/SimCity Godzilla spawning.
This map http://www.chunsoft.co.jp/game/homeland/scr/god01.jpg looks neato! Kind of reminds me of Monkey Island.
Hope that helps
striegs @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
Sweet, thanks dude. As for your questions about the ease of using the virtual keyboard, I swear I saw a movie somewhere on the site that dealt with that. The thing is, the keyboard was obviously in Japanese, which differs a bit from the English alphabet. Check out the link for yourself:
http://www.chunsoft.co.jp/game/homeland/dl/hl_movie03.wmv
The typing part starts about 2:50 into the clip. The keyboard is shown in the upper left-hand corner, and looks like it uses some weird sub-menu thing. Any idea how that would work?
Justice @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
With the price of GC being pretty cheap, why not just throw it out there and hope console sales spike for a few more players?
I imagine with the right price point for this game, it could catch on.
Love the art style.
Kamalot @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
Wow! Thanks #8! The video makes this game look fabulous! Quite refreshing really. I really hope this comes stateside!
gascan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
Re: virtual keyboard.
Well, that's not actually a sub-menu per se - this has to do with the way the Japanese syllabary works. On the main panel are all sounds with the -a vowel, e.g. a/ta/ma/na/sa/wa. What you see expanding is additional characters in that "line." So when the menu opens on 'ma,' it's also showing mi/mu/me/mo - vowel derivatives.
There is no analog to this for English, since the base units of the alphabet are either vowels or consonants, not representations of the two combined. Thus, "ma" takes one character in Japanese, but two characters in the Roman alphabet, n'est-ce pas? This kind of menu would do nothing in English, so I'd expect a full QWERTY layout plopped on there. How did it work in Animal Crossing? Never played.
Excellent article here if you're burning to know about Japanese phonology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_language
It might take a little longer to type in English, at any rate. Is this even slated for an English release?
I love those fat little flying creatures!
striegs @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
The onscreen keyboard in Animal Crossing worked decently well, considering that the only taxing application of it was to write letters. With some practice it becomes second nature, but it's still not ultra-intuitive. Again, Animal Crossing never had you interacting with other players in real-time, so the functionality of the keyboard never really mattered much.
However, for this game it looks as if the developers are trying to keep the keyboard onscreen at all times, necessitating the need for something unobtrusive. In that sense, a standard QWERTY board would take up too much of the screen to be practical.
Now, IF Chunsoft decides on a North American release (which they haven't yet), it might be possible to expect something akin to a square cellphone keypad as far as the keyboard's layout is concerned. Anyone think that would that be feasible?
gascan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
I *really* don't anticipate North American release.
Radiant Silvergun @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
Final Fantasy XI was developed with the home console environment (PS2) in mind. Wasn't a version of Everquest also developed for PS2?
striegs @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
Final Fantasy XI is one of the notable exceptions to the rule. However, with the advent of the PStwo (which doesn't support FFXI's requisite hard drive), it seems apparent that Sony is trying to abandon that MMORPG in particular.
As for the PS2 game Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest, it was definitely an RPG, but only supported co-op play for up to four players online.
ay sontespli @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM
Regarding writing in Animal Crossing; the game has that cool diary/journal which one might actually use if it was not such a bothersome chore to use the controller to write! We are a family with 8 members using two memory cards and we seldom write letters to each other because of the onerous task of controller 'typing'.
I would hope with an online component that Homeland would be able to make use of a keyboard.
I would also like to see AC go online...